Front Page

Act of Canonical Communion Signed in Moscow

May 17, 2007, MOSCOW – The Act of Canonical Communion between the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia and abroad was signed at Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral on Thursday morning. The historic document was signed by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and by First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Metropolitan Laurus. The ceremony is being attended by President Vladimir Putin, several thousands Orthodox believers, including believers who have arrived from abroad, and about 500 journalists.

Faith Leaders Renew Call to End Hunger
Kirkpatrick among Those to Attend June Gathering in Washington

May 17, 2007, LOUISVILLE – An interfaith convocation on hunger organized by Bread for the World (BFW), a Christian anti-hunger group, will bring together a host of prominent U.S. religious leaders, including the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The second Interfaith Convocation on Hunger is scheduled for June 11 at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The event, part of a larger conference in the capital, will address hunger in the United States and around the world. Participants will urge President Bush and members of Congress to join Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of other faiths in a new national commitment to ending hunger.

Iraq's Future Requires Careful, Reasoned Debate, Bishops Say in Letter to Congress

May 16, 2007 – Expressing "deep concern" for the situation in Iraq, more than 100 bishops of the Episcopal Church have written to all United States Senators and Representatives outlining the need for "a careful and reasoned debate" to end the violence "and bring stability and a just peace to the region." The May 15 letter was signed by 103 bishops, including Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and two former presiding bishops, the Rt. Revs. Frank Griswold and Edmond Browning. The bishops recalled an October 2002 letter to Congress in which they expressed their belief that going to war with Iraq was not justified. "Now we write again to express our deepest concern for the situation in Iraq and for our servicemen and women," the May 15 letter said. "We are filled with sorrow as we witness how our worst fears of what might ensue from war in Iraq become reality." In particular, the bishops noted the families and communities that "have been broken both in body and in spirit as service members are separated from their families for extraordinary periods of time, suffer mounting casualties, and all with no end of violence in sight."

WCC Supports Proposal for Rational Use of Medicines

May 16, 2007 – The World Council of Churches (WCC) has welcomed a resolution on rational use of medicines to be considered by the 60th World Health Assembly taking place in Geneva 14-23 May 2007. "It is of paramount importance that civil society and faith communities promote the concept of rational use of medicines and demand its application for the benefit of all," says Dr Manoj Kurian, WCC programme executive for health and healing. According to Kurian, who is a medical doctor, "Only this can counter the current trend of a pharmaceutical industry driven by market forces rather than by the needs of the majority."

General News

Bishops Updating ‘In Defense of Creation' Document

May 15, 2007, SPRINGMAID BEACH, S.C. – United Methodists are invited to assist the church's bishops in drafting a statement exploring the problems of and solutions to nuclear weapons, environmental degradation, global warming, endemic poverty and disease. More than 20 years ago, the United Methodist Council of Bishops introduced a pastoral letter called "In Defense of Creation." The 1986 letter responded to the possibility of nuclear war and the potential for extinction of life.

Commission Wants Further Study of Church's Ministry

May 17, 2007, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The commission charged with clarifying the ordering of ministry within The United Methodist Church will carry a resolution to the 2008 General Conference calling for four more years of study. Created by the 2004 General Conference, the 25-member Ministry Study Commission sought to address the "continued ambiguity in the denomination's understanding of lay, licensed, and ordained ministry" and is to bring conclusions to the April 23-May 2, 2008, gathering in Fort Worth, Texas.

Home by Another Way – By Changing Course, Mid-Kentucky Presbytery Campaign Moves with Greater Confidence Toward its $1 Million Goal

May 18, 2007, LOUISVILLE – When the Presbytery of Mid-Kentucky unanimously approved a $1 million capital campaign in partnership with the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands (MIJHH) in September 2005, presbytery leaders decided on just the right timeline and action plan to guarantee the campaign's success. God, however, appeared to have an entirely different scenario in mind. "Not ever having done this before," said the Rev. Betty L. Meadows, general presbyter of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, of the presbytery's first-ever capital campaign, "we had underestimated the educational process that was needed to realize the awesomeness of the presbytery's vision."

Leadership Group Fostering Churchwide ‘Culture of Call'

May 16, 2007, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – One year after a startling report showed significantly fewer young people seeking to become clergy in The United Methodist Church, a new advisory team has mapped out a strategy to create a churchwide "culture of call." The National Leadership Development Advisory Team is expediting information about the ordination process to district superintendents, boards of ordained ministry, candidacy mentors, pastor/staff parish relations committees and district committees.

Church Provides ‘Lids for Kids' to Cancer Ward

May 18, 2007, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bald heads are the norm around the cancer ward at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, where chemotherapy typically robs young patients of both their hair and their youthful energy. But brightly colored hats in all styles are a welcome special delivery that brings smiles to children fighting the ravages of the disease. Through the "Lids for Kids" ministry of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in nearby Hendersonville, a group of United Methodist Men collected nearly a thousand hats this year as part of its annual service project. "This is faith in action. ... It's putting feet on prayers," says the Rev. Allen Weller, senior pastor of the congregation.

Ecumenical News

World Mission and Evangelism Conference Recommended for 2011

May 17, 2007 – A global conference on Christian mission has been proposed for late 2011 by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The commission, newly elected and reconstituted following the WCC's February 2006 assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, includes delegates from member churches of the Council as well as from the Roman Catholic Church and several other Christian bodies not in full membership of the WCC. The recommendation for a 2011 conference was made on 26 April at the close of a commission meeting in Geneva, and it will go to the WCC central committee for action.

International Ecumenical Conference to Explore Christian Thought
and Contributions to Peace, Reconciliation and Forgiveness

May 15, 2007 – Christian scholars from Europe and US will discuss peace, justice and security and how they relate to religion, spirituality and healing at an international ecumenical conference on "Forgiveness, peace and reconciliation" to be held 17-20 May 2007 in Volos, Greece. The current situations in Cyprus, Serbia, Russia, Ireland and the Middle East will be amongst case studies considered in a conference section on "Orthodoxy in situations of conflict." A broad spectrum of distinguished theologians, scholars and academics, ecumenists, members of peace and reconciliation fellowships from the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant traditions will participate in the conference, which is being jointly sponsored by the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, the Boston Theological Institute – an ecumenical consortium of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant theological schools, seminaries, and university divinity schools – and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Message of the Presidents of the WCC at Pentecost 2007

May 14, 2007 – "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from Heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they where sitting. Divided tongues, as a fire, appeared among them. And a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability" (Acts 2:1-4 NRSV). The Feast of Pentecost reminds us that there is a new dispensation of the Grace of God, renewing the Old Covenant.

Editorial Page

Commentary: A Pentecost Vision for an Inclusive Church

May 18, 2007 – As we celebrate the season of Pentecost, we recall the birth of Christ's church in Acts 2, when people of many lands-diverse in their tongues and traditions-gathered, not knowing what awesome miracle and transformation was about to happen. Many similarly diverse United Methodists will also gather in this season of annual conferences, not knowing what miracles and transformations may occur in the midst and in the wake of their deliberations. We can only hope that God's Holy Spirit will likewise come upon us, invading our meeting places and infusing us with its inexplicable power to inspire our meager ministrations and make us like those first Christians.

Spanish News

La Visita Del Papa Tiene Fuerte Carácter Simbólico, Afirma El Moderador Del CMI

14 mayo 2007, SAN PABLO, Brasil – Al saludar al papa Benedicto XVI en el encuentro de representantes de las tres religiones monoteístas en el Monasterio de San Benito, en San Pablo, el moderador del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), pastor Walter Altmann, expresó votos de que los lazos de cooperación entre Ginebra y el Vaticano se estrechen cada vez más. Todos los líderes de iglesias cristianas, de las comunidades judía e islámica presentes en el encuentro con el papa, el jueves 10, tuvieron la oportunidad de dirigirle una palabra personal.

Iglesia Católica Y Universal Inician Batalla Mediática

18 mayo 2007, SAN PABLO, Brasil – La disputa es teológica, pastoral, evangelística, pero también mediática. En cuanto la Red Record, de la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios (IURD), canaliza inversiones en el complexo de comunicación de la empresa Caldas Júnior, de Puerto Alegre, recientemente adquirido, la Iglesia Católica prepara la instalación de la tercera red de emisoras de televisión en señal abierta en el país. Además de la Red Vida, inaugurada en 1995, y de la TV Canción Nueva, de 1998, la TV Aparecida, de los misioneros redentoristas, inaugurada en 8 de septiembre de 2005, también pretende tener alcance nacional.

Las Iglesias Reformadas Deciden Sobre Temas Vitales De Su Composición Y Funcionamiento

15 mayo 2007, MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina – Con el texto del profeta Isaías. "Pero los que confían en el Señor tendrán siempre nuevas fuerzas," las Iglesias Reformadas de Argentina (IRA)convocan a su 37° Sínodo, del 25 al 27 de mayo en la costera ciudad de Mar del Plata. El pastor Roberto Jordan, presidente de la denominación, expresó que están convencidos que en este tiempo, la promesa de Isaías es de gran relevancia. "Este va a ser un tiempo desafiante para nuestras iglesias, ya que serán tratadas propuestas importantísimas para el caminar de nuestras iglesias en el tiempo que se avecina," aseguró.

Foro Interreligioso Llama a Una Conversión Ecológica Del Ser Humano

18 mayo 2007, GUALEGUAYCHÚ, Argentina – Ante la proliferación de proyectos económicos y políticos que descartan de la mirada, el necesario cuidado del medioambiente, sectores religiosos, preocupados por el tema, comenzaron a debatir con la población, una nueva cultura ambiental. El pasado sábado 12 en la ciudad entrerriana, cuna de las protestas por la instalación de las plantas procesadoras de celulosa en Uruguay, se llevó a cabo un Foro Interreligioso denominado "Compromiso hacia una nueva cultura ambiental," que llamó a una conversión ecológica del hombre y la mujer.

Editorial: Niñas Y Mujeres En Un Nudo De Sombras Claudia Florentin

16 mayo 2007, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Madeleine MacCann tiene un poco más de suerte que miles y miles de niños y niñas en todo el mundo que desaparecen sin dejar rastro, y de los cuales, solo sus afectos más cercanos guardan el rostro, la ultima mirada, el ultimo instante en que estuvo cerca. Madeleine es la nena británica que el sábado cumplió 4 años y que fue secuestrada el 3 de mayo en una playa del sur de Portugal. La Policía de ese país trabaja en el caso en conjunto con Scotland Yard.

Propuesta De Celebración De Una Conferencia Mundial Sobre Misión Y Evangelización En 2011

17 mayo 2007 – La Comisión de Misión Mundial y Evangelización del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) ha propuesto la celebración de una conferencia mundial sobre la misión cristiana para finales de 2011. La Comisión que acaba de ser elegida y reconstituida según la decisión de la Asamblea del CMI que tuvo lugar, en 2006, en Porto Alegre (Brasil), incluye a delegados de las iglesias miembros del Consejo así como de la Iglesia Católica Romana, y de varios organismos cristianos que aún no son miembros de pleno derecho del CMI.

Mensaje De Los Presidentes Del CMI, Pentecostés 2007

14 mayo 2007 – "Cuando llegó el día de Pentecostés estaban todos unánimes juntos. De repente vino del cielo un estruendo como de un viento recio que soplaba, el cual llenó toda la casa donde estaban; y se les aparecieron lenguas repartidas, como de fuego, asentándose sobre cada uno de ellos. Todos fueron llenos del Espíritu Santo y comenzaron a hablar en otras lenguas, según el Espíritu les daba que hablaran." (Hechos 2:1-4 VRV-95) La festividad de Pentecostés nos recuerda que existe una nueva ley, fruto de la gracia de Dios, por la que se renueva la Antigua Alianza.

Conferencia De La Red Ecuménica Del Agua Sobre La Respuesta De Las Iglesias a La Crisis Del Agua En África

18 mayo 2007 – En una conferencia que se celebrará del 21 al 25 de mayo en la ciudad de Entebbe (Uganda), y que será inaugurada por el ministro de Medio Ambiente y Agua, se examinará el papel de las iglesias ante la crisis del agua en África. El coordinador de la Red Ecuménica del Agua (EWN por su sigla en inglés), Sr. Maike Gorsboth, dice que la Conferencia estudiará "el papel de las iglesias en el suministro de agua y saneamiento a las comunidades, así como la forma en que las iglesias pueden hacer frente a las condiciones económicas, sociales y políticas que están en la raíz de los problemas del acceso al agua. Se prestará especial atención a la manera en que nosotros, como iglesias, podemos ayudar a que el derecho al agua que Dios nos ha dado sea una realidad."

Jerry Falwell, Fundador De La Mayoría Moral, Muere a Los 73

15 mayo 2007, GINEBRA, Suiza – Jerry Falwell, uno de los más conocidos líderes del evangelismo conservador en Estados Unidos, murió este martes en el Hospital General de Lynchburg, Virginia. El nombre de Falwell aparece asociado con la organización Mayoría Moral, que el mismo fundó en 1979 para llevar adelante una campaña nacional contraria al aborto y los derechos de los homosexuales, y a favor de implantar las oraciones en las escuelas públicas y de una visión tradicional de la familia.

International News

Ecumenical Water Network Conference on Churches' Response to Africa's Water Crisis

May 17, 2007 – According to some estimates, over 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack adequate access to safe water. What can churches do to help ensure sufficient and safe water – a basic human right – for all the continent's inhabitants? A 21-25 May conference in Entebbe, Uganda, to be opened by Uganda's minister of water and environment, will discuss the role of churches in the face of the African water crisis. The conference, says Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) coordinator Maike Gorsboth, is about "the churches' role in providing water and sanitation to communities, but also about how churches can address the political, social and economic conditions that underlie water access problems.

Bishops Focus on Poverty in Africa and its Causes

May 16, 2007, SPRINGMAID BEACH, S.C. – What is poverty, and why is the word used to describe Africa? The questions were posed during an April 29-May 4 meeting of the Holistic Strategy on Africa committee, which is made up of African and U.S. church leaders seeking to strengthen ministries of The United Methodist Church in Africa. Africa is rich in diversity and uniqueness, but a common thread throughout the continent is degrees of poverty that adversely affect its people and their national governments. Although the continent is rich in mineral resources, "the resources are not controlled by Africa," said Bishop Joseph Humper of Sierra Leone.

WCC General Secretary Visits Eritrea

May 16, 2007 – World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia is visiting Eritrea 16-19 May 2007. Kobia will meet church and other religious leaders as well as top government officials. The visit follows action taken on the situation in the Horn of Africa by the WCC Executive Committee in February this year. Referring to it as "the most troubled region of the continent," the Executive Committee expressed "growing concern" about the "developments in this region of strategic importance." The WCC governing body also acknowledged the role played by "religious communities in Ethiopia, Eritrea and the wider ecumenical fellowship" in looking for ways of reconciliation.

People in the News

NCC, Rev. Bob Edgar Mark Passing of Rev. Jerry Falwell

May 15, 2007, NEW YORK – The National Council of Churches USA expresses to the family, friends and colleagues of the Rev. Jerry Falwell our sympathy in his sudden passing today. Rev. Falwell was a prominent and controversial figure on the American scene for many years. He often made public statements with which other Christians strongly disagree, including his contention that the terror attacks of September 11 were God's judgment on sinful America, and his support of apartheid and the Iraq War.

Reviews

Augsburg Fortress Releases New Volume in Lutheran Voices Series

May 14, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – Holy Purpose: The Blessings of Service, Obedience, and Faith by Rev. Carolyn Coon Mowchan is for anyone who is trying to sort out the increasingly anxious questions and confusing conversations about God's presence in their lives. As a self-described "Southern migrant from the heat of being a Baptist to the relief of being a Lutheran," Mowchan offers a middle ground perspective on what it means to talk of God's "plan" and "purpose" for our lives.

Augsburg Fortress Releases William White's Meditations on Grace

May 15, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – Crafted by William R. White as an engaging resource for readers on their own journey of faith, In Over Our Heads, focuses on themes of grace and discipleship. Included are compelling faith stories, strong retelling of many biblical stories, and provocative questions for reflection and discussion.

Beverly Lanzetta on Global Spirituality and the Sacred

May 17, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – Millions of Americans have adopted and adapted spiritual practices and virtues from a variety of traditions. What are they looking for? Theologian and retreat leader Beverly Lanzetta believes that our contemporary world desperately seeks a shared spiritual foundation adequate to meet our most pressing moral, religious, economic, and social issues.

New Primer on the Art and Science of Sound Congregational Administration

May 14, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – While leadership books abound, practical advice on administering and nurturing a congregation or other church-related institution – its programs, finances, staff, and assets – is rare. Church Administration: Programs, Process, Purpose, a new comprehensive guide, from two experienced and thoughtful churchmen, treats each aspect of congregational governance not as a bad imitation of business techniques but as a sacred calling with overriding religious mission.