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Rev. N. J. L'Heureux, Jr., Publisher & Editor
Rev. Pedro Bravo-Guzman, Editor-in-Chief
An Ecumenical Report of Local and Global News
in God's Household
Published by the Queens Federation of Churches
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British Methodists Call Climate Change a Moral Issue July 16, 2007, BLACKPOOL, England – British Methodists are urging congregations, communities and the government to do more than pay lip service to the threat posed by global warming – especially to the world's poorest people. During their July 7-12 annual conference, representatives of the British Methodist Church voted to monitor and reduce carbon emissions at every level of the church's life, encouraged businesses to disclose carbon usage and urged the British government to join binding international agreements on carbon reduction. NCC Eco-Justice Sermon Nationally Published and Broadcast July 17, 2007, WASHINGTON, D.C. – The sermon selection from the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) Eco-Justice Program's sermon contest earlier this year is now nationally published and will be broadcast next month. The latest issue of "Reflections," the twice yearly theological magazine of Yale Divinity School, includes "From Apocalypse to Genesis," the title of the sermon submitted by the Rev. Dr. Janet Parker, pastor for parish life at Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ, Arlington, Va. AJC: Hindu Prayer in U.S. Senate Promotes Diversity July 17, 2007, NEW YORK – The American Jewish Committee is deeply troubled by the verbal assault on Rajan Zed, a Hindu religious leader who delivered the opening prayer on the Senate floor last week. "Senate Majority leader Harry Reid's invitation to Rajan Zed to become the first Hindu to deliver an opening prayer is a testament to our national commitment to promoting ideals of diversity in every facet of American society," said Richard T. Foltin, AJC's Legislative Director and Counsel. Rajan Zed, who is the director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, Nevada, was interrupted by protesters in the Senate gallery who shouted hateful words during his prayer. NCC Ecumenical Conference Marks 50 Years July 20, 2007, OBERLIN, Ohio – "The things you are talking about these days are extremely important." So said noted church historian and Lutheran pastor Dr. Martin Marty in his lecture that opened the 50th anniversary of the modern ecumenical movement in the U.S. Nearly 300 participants from 80 Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal, Anglican, Evangelical denominations and organizations have come to the campus of Oberlin College in this northeastern Ohio city. It was here in 1957 that Roman Catholics first joined other U.S. Christians in ecumenical discussions called "Faith and Order." The Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) traces its beginning to that conference. Bringing the Multicultural Church to Life: L.A. Event an Ecumenical Effort July 20, 2007, LOUISVILLE — It wasn't your typical snapshot of a gathering of Presbyterians, or Lutherans or members of the Reformed Church in America, for that matter. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the Reformed Church in America (RCA) joined together to sponsor and plan "A Racial Ethnic Multicultural Event" in Los Angeles, July 12-14. The gathering of more than 600 people included a multitude of cultures, races, languages, traditions, and ages. With the theme "Spirit of Wholeness in Christ" as their backdrop, participants worshiped, danced, sang, studied and discussed what it means to be a multicultural church — not only on paper but also in reality. Basketball Teaches Life Skills, Coach Says July 19, 2007, GREENSBORO, N.C. – Dispensing a "basketball is life" philosophy, Coach Jevon Gilliard used a basketball court at Youth 2007 to demonstrate to teenagers that they must learn to listen to others, commit to excellence and bounce back after making a mistake. Prayer is also key, whether you're on the court or off, he said. As head basketball coach and athletic director for Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, Gilliard was invited to run the court with teens participating in the five-day United Methodist youth event. Finland: New Phase for Women's Ordination Issue July 20, 2007, HELSINKI, Finland/GENEVA – The 1986 decision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) to open pastoral ordination to women has been featuring in recent debate within the Finnish Lutheran church. The church leadership says the situation has now reached a critical phase, with some male pastors in some of the congregations expressing opposition to working with their female colleagues in worship services. Two incidents are currently under diocesan investigation, concerning a male pastor who did not report for duty when he should have served at the altar with a woman pastor. Global Gathering Draws 6,200 United Methodist Youth July 19, 2007, GREENSBORO, N.C. – Tori Champlin attended the largest youth event of The United Methodist Church because it was important for her to learn "how to see the world in a different way." A youth group member from Longs Peek United Methodist Church in Longmont, Colo., Champlin said she wanted to participate in Youth 2007 "since I just graduated from high school and this will be my last activity with the youth group. "I wanted to see other people like me who were (transitioning) to college and seeing how teens are with their religion," she said. See Van Go! A Bicycle Odyssey for Healthy Leaders Begins July 20, 2007 – A trustee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pension and his wife are cycling from St. Charles, Mo., to Minneapolis on a route along the Mississippi River to raise awareness for physically and financially healthy church leaders. Unconventional Businessman Shares Profits with the People July 18, 2007, MEDIA, Penn. – Clad in blue jeans and a T-shirt, Hal Taussig, 82, rides his bicycle to work every day and hasn't owned a car since 1971. "I gave my last car away to a hitchhiker," recalls Taussig. He does, however, own Untours, a hugely successful travel company. And he has done the same thing with $5 million in profits over the past 15 years that he did with his last car. Global South Primates Vow to Continue Violating Episcopal Church Boundaries July 20, 2007 – At the end of a three-day meeting in London, the steering committee of a group of Anglican Communion primates from the Global South has issued a statement warning that they will continue to violate the boundaries of the Episcopal Church and exercise authority over dissident congregations. In a statement dated July 18, the group claimed they had "no choice" but to exercise oversight for dissident Episcopalians in place of their American bishops, because the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops failed to embrace a "pastoral scheme" that would have provided dissident dioceses with an alternative to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Anglican-Methodist Covenant Faces Challenges July 16, 2007, BLACKPOOL, England – British Methodists say the Anglican-Methodist Covenant is facing challenges that some here might call a "bumpy patch." Signed in 2003, the covenant agreement sets out plans for greater cooperation between the two traditions. Commenting on a report about its implementation during the 2007 annual conference, British Methodist officials say the process has yielded "some encouragements and some disappointments." The role of women in church leadership and the role of bishops themselves are among issues that still have no formal agreement between Anglicans and Methodists. The British Methodist Church has no bishops. ELCA Secretary Calls for Continued LCMS, ELCA Conversations July 19, 2007, HOUSTON – Noting the diverse histories of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the secretary of the ELCA called for continued conversations between leaders of the two Lutheran church bodies. Speaking to the LCMS 63rd Regular Convention on July 19, the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, who will retire later this year after 20 years as ELCA secretary, said the different histories "shape the distinctive characteristics of the ELCA and the LCMS." "Therefore, we need to talk. We need to listen. We need to seek understanding," he told the delegates. The theme of the July 14-19 convention here is "One Message – Christ! His Love is Here for You!" WCC Salutes Two Member Churches' Reconciliation July 19, 2007 – The "entire fellowship of the Word Council of Churches (WCC) rejoices" at a successfully culminated "process of healing and reconciliation" that involved two of the Council's founding members, stated WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in a letter welcoming the "historic achievement" today. Through an agreement signed on Friday 13 July 2007 in Cairo, Egypt, and announced yesterday by the press office of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church have "solemnly declared their unity of faith, their commitment to common witness and their readiness to deepen and expand collaboration, leaving behind more than two decades of tensions," Kobia wrote. AJC Welcomes Vatican Clarification July 19, 2007, NEW YORK – The American Jewish Committee welcomes the Vatican's concern for replacing a prayer calling for the conversion of Jews in the Tridentine Latin mass. "We appreciate the statement by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, making it clear that efforts will be made to replace the disturbing Good Friday prayer for Jewish conversion found in the 1962 version of the Latin Tridentine mass," said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of Interreligious Affairs. Following the Pope's "Motu Proprio" announced on July 7, there had been concern that this pre-Vatican II prayer would again be more extensively used. "Contrary to those who presented the Motu Proprio, as a retreat from advances in Catholic-Jewish relations, this clarification in effect confirms those strides and even advances them," said Rosen. For Native Peoples, ‘God Is Still Red' July 20, 2007 – From July 10-13, some 50 Native elders and indigenous theologians gathered to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Native theologian Vine Deloria, Jr.'s most challenging work, God is Red, at the God Is Still Red Symposium, held at the Vancouver School of Theology in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The event was co-hosted by the Indigenous Theological Training Institute (ITTI); Yuu-hadaax, a project of the Centre for Indian Scholars; the Vancouver School of Theology (VST) Native Ministries Consortium; and Wilp Wilxo'oskwhl Nisga'a, a Nisga'a Nation post-secondary educational institution. Designan a Pastora Pentecostal Como Capellana De La Moneda Víctor Liza Jaramillo 20 julio 2007, SANTIAGO, Chile – La pastora pentecostal Juana Albornoz Guevara fue designada por la presidenta chilena Michelle Bachelet como la nueva capellana evangélica en el Palacio de la Moneda, convirtiéndose en la primera mujer en la historia que desempeña tal función, creada durante el gobierno del ex mandatario Ricardo Lagos. Albornoz, de 71 años, reemplaza a su antecesor, Neftalí Aravena, quien se desempeñaba como capellán evangélico de la Moneda, sede de gobierno de Chile, y trabajará conjuntamente con su colega católico Percival Cownley. Obispa Primada De Los Estados Unidos Quiere Fortalecer Lazos Con Iglesia Brasileña 17 julio 2007, BRASILIA, Brasil – Encantada con la provincia anglicana brasileña y con el deseo del fortalecimiento mutuo de los lazos de amistad, la obispa presidente de la Iglesia Episcopal de los Estados Unidos (Ecusa), Katharine Jefferts Schori cerró, el martes 10, la visita de cinco días que emprendió en Brasil. "Ella expresó el sentimiento de que la Iglesia Episcopal de los Estados Unidos tiene mucho que aprender da nuestra riqueza," comentó el secretario-general de la Iglesia Episcopal Anglicana del Brasil (IEAB), reverendo Francisco de Assis da Silva, en un articulo para el portal de la iglesia en Internet. Viaje Episcopal Con Sello Ecuménico 18 julio 2007, QUITO, Ecuador – Durante el mes de julio, la obispa Primada de la Iglesia Episcopal de Estados Unidos, Katharine Jefferts Schori, se encuentra visitando las diócesis anglicanas de Brasil, Ecuador y Colombia. En Ecuador, donde estuvo desde el viernes 13 al día de hoy, la Obispa Primada visitó Guayaquil y Quito. En visita al Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias, Jefferts Schori dijo que la Iglesia Episcopal tiene como enfoque la misión de Dios, por medio de la Palabra (evangelización) y la práctica de la justicia. Foro Interreligioso Reafirma De Necesidad De Un Compromiso Ético Con La Creación 16 julio 2007, LA HABANA, Cuba – Un Foro interreligioso sobre medio ambiente fue celebrado en la Iglesia Evangélica Los Pinos Nuevos de la ciudad de la Habana, el viernes 22 y sábado 23 de junio, en el marco del Programa de Ciudadanía Ambiental Global auspiciado por el Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA) y que implementa el Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (CLAI) en siete países latinoamericanos, entre ellos Cuba. Nueva Edición Del Concurso Latinoamericano 16 julio 2007, MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – Tres organizaciones sociales del Uruguay son las convocantes del sexto Concurso Latinoamericano de Emprendimientos Económicos Liderados por Mujeres de Sectores Populares "Así se Hace." La Red de Educación Popular entre Mujeres de América Latina y el Caribe (REPEM), el Instituto de Promoción Económico Social del Uruguay (IPRU) y Rompiendo Barreras invitan a participar de este premio dirigido a los emprendimientos económicos liderados por mujeres de sectores populares prioritariamente asociativos y/o familiares, en aquellos rubros en los que tradicionalmente no participan las mujeres y que generen oportunidades laborales para otras mujeres. Trinity Wall Street to Convene Partnership of Anglican Bishops July 20, 2007 – Trinity Wall Street is convening a group of bishops from Anglican Communion provinces in Africa and their companions in the Episcopal Church "for a consultation to strengthen relationships, develop mission partnerships, and to discover new opportunities to bear witness to the Gospel," according to a Trinity news release. Hosted by Iglesia Episcopal Reformada de España, "Walking to Emmaus: Discovering New Mission Perspectives in Changing Times" will be held in El Escorial, Spain July 21 through July 26. Stated Clerk Joins in Call for Farm Bill That ‘Strengthens Rural Communities' July 18, 2007, LOUISVILLE – Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick joined a number of religious leaders July 17 in a letter sent to the speaker of the United States House of Representatives pressing for a reform-minded farm bill. The letter, sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, coincided with the start of debates on the 2007 Farm Bill by the House Agriculture Committee. Annual Jonathan Daniels and All Martyrs of Alabama Pilgrimage Set for August 11 July 17, 2007 – The ninth annual Jonathan Myrick Daniels and Martyrs of Alabama Pilgrimage honoring Daniels and others, who lost their lives during the civil rights movement, will take place August 11 in Hayneville, Alabama. Daniels was the 26-year-old Episcopal seminarian who answered the call of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to help register African-American voters in Alabama, only to be shot and killed months later, on August 20, 1965, while shielding a then 16-year-old Ruby Sales from the shotgun fired as she attempted to enter a store to buy something to drink. Not-So-Peaceful City – Retired Priest Recalls Birmingham in the Days His Father Was Bishop July 13, 2007 – I grew up in Birmingham in the ‘30s and ‘40s. It was not peaceful. It was a very tough steel-producing city, covered with smoke and soot. There were frequent murders. My father, C. C. J. Carpenter, was the bishop of the Alabama Diocese from 1938, when I had just turned 5, until 1968. In 1951, a parish in Mobile wanted to start a parochial school. He gave his approval only when they agreed it could be integrated. Actions such as this put him on the hit list of the White Citizens Council and the Ku Klux Klan. He got frequent hate threats by phone. After the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954, racial events began to heat up in Birmingham, and he was quite aware of white people in Birmingham and other parts of the state who were capable of murder. It Is Not Circumcision – LWF Supports Mauritanian Women's Struggle to End Harmful Practice July 20, 2007, NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania/GENEVA – "I will never do it again! If I hear of someone doing it, I will report [them] to the police!" Ms Aminata Louli sits with a group of women in a dusky house yard in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. The women around her respond to her remarks with gentle laughter. Reed mats are spread across the ground, and more women gather in the space, some carrying children. Others are more elderly. There are young girls too. Louli used to be a professional female circumciser. The women have one commonly shared resolve: to erase the exercise of painful female circumcision in their country. Emergency Appeal Aims to Save Refugees in Chad July 17, 2007, CHICAGO – Warning that malaria could kill thousands of refugees in Chad as the African nation's rainy season begins, the United Nations Foundation launched an emergency fundraising appeal July 16 to purchase 40,000 insecticide-treated sleeping nets. The foundation called on Americans to help raise $400,000 to respond to the immediate need of people living in 15 refugee camps along Chad's eastern border with Sudan and its southern border with the Central African Republic. Children are particularly at risk among the more than 200,000 refugees displaced by spreading violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. July 18, 2007, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti/GENEVA – "In Colombia people suffer daily from acts of violence," says Dr Alois Moeller, representative of the El Salvador-based Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) regional program for Central America. "It is an extremely complicated situation, which unfortunately gets very little international attention." In a recent interview with Lutheran World Information (LWI) about DWS work in Colombia, Moeller explained that for almost 50 years, Colombia has experienced an internal armed conflict between different actors – the guerrillas, paramilitary groups and the national army. July 18, 2007, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti/GENEVA – Economic violence is the most imminent form of violence in Nicaragua, Bishop Victoria Cortez Rodriguez of the Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope told participants in a recent meeting of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department World Service (DWS) in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Contributing to a discussion at the DWS Central America and Caribbean regional consultation on "Violence and Migration and Their Impact on Citizenship and Democracy," Cortez stressed "Nicaragua experiences the violence of hunger and poverty." July 17, 2007, NAIROBI, Kenya/GENEVA – Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) "Stand With Africa" campaign presented a North American response to HIV and AIDS during a recent international meeting of women on HIV and AIDS leadership in Nairobi, Kenya. The campaign, a program of the ELCA Global Mission (GM) unit, seeks to support HIV and AIDS work, build peace and fight hunger both through direct congregational and community contacts in Africa, and through affiliated international organizations such as the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation (LWF), World Council of Churches and Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance. July 18, 2007, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti/GENEVA – That migration is a dramatic problem in Latin America and the Caribbean is best depicted in numbers: "Every hour, around 58 inhabitants of this region leave their countries of origin with the intention of not coming back. That results in an average of 1,388 persons daily, 41,670 per month, and about 500,000 each year," said Mr Jorge Rojas Rodriguez, director of the human rights organization Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement in Colombia (Consultoria para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento – CODHES). Rojas was speaking at a regional consultation of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) on "Violence, Migration and Their Impact on Citizenship and Democracy," held 18-22 June in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. July 18, 2007, NAIROBI, Kenya/GENEVA – A session of a recent international gathering on HIV and AIDS expressed concern that 25 years after the first known HIV case, religious leaders and institutions were taking too long to change, thus slowing down efforts to effectively respond to the AIDS pandemic. A pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Rev. Andrena Ingram, St Michael Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, said she had encountered stigma and discrimination, even as a member of the faith leadership. Most Christians Support Israel AND Palestine, Oppose Iran War: NCC Leaders July 16, 2007, NEW YORK CITY – As Pastor John Hagee prepares for his annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) gathering this week in Washington, D.C., two leaders of the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) are reminding observers that most Christians do not share CUFI's stated goals. "John Hagee's message differs greatly with what theologians have taught for centuries," said Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, NCC's Associated General Secretary for International Affairs and Peace. "The Christian Gospel is clear that salvation came through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ," said Dr. Kireopoulos. Kathy Magnus, Lutheran World Federation Regional Officer, to Retire July 16, 2007, CHICAGO – Kathy J. Magnus, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Regional Officer for North America, announced she will retire Dec. 31, 2007. Magnus, 60, has served as the LWF Regional Officer for North America since 2002. Prior to her position with the LWF, Magnus served as the vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) – the highest elected position a lay person can hold in the ELCA. Magnus has also served as a staff member of the ELCA Global Mission program unit and as an assistant to the bishop in the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod, Denver. Fortress Press Releases Ancient Gnosticism July 20, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – In the newly released Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature, Birger A. Pearson provides authoritative answers to the questions: Who were the Gnostics? What did they believe? Even as public interest is attracted to this esoteric religion, scholars have debated its origins, its relationship to Judaism and Christianity, and even whether one distinctive and separate Gnostic "religion" ever existed. Pearson's expert and accessible introduction brings the reader into this debate.
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