Front Page

UN and WCC General Secretaries Reaffirm Commitment to Strong, Close Collaboration

October 30, 2007 – The United Nations and the World Council of Churches (WCC) have reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate at a meeting between the general secretaries of both organizations held on 29 October at the UN headquarters in New York. "As the UN faces the 21st century highlighting the interrelatedness of development, security and human rights, the WCC strongly believes multilateralism is the only way to respond to the challenges of today," said WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia at the meeting.

ELCA New Jersey Bishop Addresses Impact of Immigration Raids on Children

November 2, 2007, WASHINGTON – The Rev. E. Roy Riley, bishop, New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA), Hamilton Square, spoke Oct. 31 at a news conference here on the impact of workplace immigration raids on pastors, churches, social service agencies and the children of immigrants. The news conference marked the release of Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America's Children, a comprehensive study of the social, economic and psychological effects that workplace immigration raids have had on children, families and the institutions that support them.

Hearings Address Nuclear Weapons, Poverty, Environment

November 1, 2007, WASHINGTON, D.C. – A task force revising a 1986 United Methodist statement opposing the use of nuclear weapons hosted a two-day hearing focusing on nuclear proliferation, poverty and environmental concerns. The Council of Bishops task force to update the "In Defense of Creation" document convened Oct. 23-24 to allow United Methodists, people of other faiths and experts to provide testimony on nuclear weapons and global security, pandemic poverty and disease.

Interreligious Leaders Urge ‘More Assertive' U.S. Role in Mideast Peace Process

November 1, 2007, WASHINGTON, D.C. – The president of the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) and eight leaders of the NCC's 35 member communions are among three dozen Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders urging the U.S. to be ‘more assertive' in preparing for the upcoming Arab-Israeli-Palestinian summit in Annapolis, Md. The Rev. Michael Livingston, NCC's president, is part of the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East (NILI). In a letter faxed today to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (text below) NILI urges U.S. support for principles and practical ideas for resolving the final status issues developed by Israelis and Palestinians and reflected in documents such as the Geneva Accord.

UCC Opposes Move by FCC to Consolidate Media, Lack of Public Input

October 31, 2007 – As the Federal Communications Commission conducts its final hearing on the subject of localism on Oct. 31, the United Church of Christ's media justice agency is decrying attempts by the FCC to allow greater consolidation of media and the lack of public participation in the process. "Not only does it seem that Chairman Kevin J. Martin is going to allow the media to consolidate further, but he is doing it as part of a flawed process," said Cheryl Leanza, managing director of UCC's Office of Communication, Inc. (OC, Inc.) "The FCC was supposed to create a solid factual record, but instead the facts and data is flawed and has come at the last minute with little opportunity for analysis."

NCC Joins Religious Leaders Urging Protection of Poor from Climate Change

November 1, 2007, WASHINGTON, D.C. – Religious leaders representing very diverse faith communities are urging Congress to take action to assist the poor who are facing the brunt of climate change. The Rev. Michael Livingston, president of the National Council of Churches USA (NCC), yesterday joined Jewish, Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical Christian leaders in a telephone news conference. "It has become clear that global warming is having and will continue to have devastating impacts on those living in poverty around the world, particularly those in least developed countries," said the NCC's Livingston, who is also executive director of the International Council of Community Churches.

General News

Changing from the Inside Out
PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer Helps Peruvian Kids Find Their Voice

October 29, 2007, DAYTON, OH – Leaving my family and twin behind in Dayton, I served for a year in Lima, Peru as a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Young Adult Volunteer. I worked in the office of the Joining Hands Network of Peru – a ministry of the Presbyterian Hunger Program – and with the Presbyterian Church Luz y Vida ("light and life"). I joined church members working with a community of rural people who migrated as a group from the jungle in search of a better life for their families. They set their homes on the bank of the Rimac River, behind a large hardware market. The community was built of thin, less than plywood-weighted walls and thatched roofs.

Winter 2007-2008 ELCA World Hunger Resource Packet Is Available

October 31, 2007 – The World Hunger Resource Packet of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for winter 2007-2008 is available. The packet contains resources to help individuals, congregations and synods of the church learn more about and participate in ending world hunger. "The packet isn't just for hunger leaders. Worship, youth, education, social ministry and other leaders in the congregation will find useful resources in the packet," said Sue Edison-Swift, communication director, ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal. "ELCA World Hunger and other congregational leaders do a mighty and important job helping members respond to Christ's call to ‘Go and do likewise.'

Hispanic Church Offers Alternative to Street Gangs

October 31, 2007, SALINAS, Calif. – When Pastor Frank Gomez first arrived at his church on the central California coast, he was sometimes afraid to stay in the building alone. "(Salinas was) a hotbed of gang activity – many shootings," he says. While counseling an imprisoned gang member, Gomez learned the young man once used the church parking lot to stake out a nearby business that he planned to rob.

Show Your Gratitude with Justice, Reformed Leader Urges

October 28, 2007 – Be grateful to God by living lives of justice, Reformed leaders from around the world and Presbyterians from Trinidad and Tobago were urged Sunday at the closing worship of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) Executive Committee meeting. "Our gratitude to God has implications for our lifestyles, for how we pray, for our attitudes, for our actions and commitment to justice, and for our relationships, especially with those who are normally thought of as outside the group," said WARC general secretary Setri Nyomi, "Our gratitude for the grace of God should be such that we will seek for our actions to be consistent with God's work of transformation."

A Muslim Student's Journey from Afghanistan to an ELCA University

October 29, 2007, CHICAGO – In post-9/11 America, being a young man from Afghanistan isn't easy, especially in an airport. Just ask 19-year-old Mouluddin Rahimi. When Rahimi first traveled from his native country of Afghanistan in August 2006 to begin studies at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa., he had to convince authorities at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport that he was not a threat. Rahimi received financial aid from Susquehanna University and is also a recipient of a Phoebe Herman scholarship granted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Music Leader Scatters Seeds for General Conference

November 2, 2007, FORT WORTH, Texas – To Marcia McFee, nothing exemplifies the Holy Spirit blossoming better than seeds. In fact, United Methodists throughout Fort Worth and Dallas are planting McFee's seeds – literally – to prepare for the denomination's 2008 General Conference April 23-May 2 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. As co-music director of the event along with Mark Miller, McFee is distributing hundreds of seed packets to the Central Texas and North Texas annual conferences. She hopes congregants will plant the seeds and bring the seedlings to General Conference as symbols of a unifying force in the global denomination.

Lutheran Congregations along Gulf Coast Call for Volunteers

November 1, 2007, CHICAGO – More than two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the U.S. Gulf Coast, the area shows a few signs of healing, but years of work remain. Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) from Port Arthur, Texas, to Ocean Springs, Miss., organized a "blitz" to attract volunteers in November and December. "Things are still pretty desperate on the coast," said Suzie Harvey, camp manager, Camp Victor, Ocean Springs, Miss. "We have 700 people on a waiting list to get their houses rebuilt, and that's just for our camp."

Pittsburgh Seminary Biblical Archaeologist Hits the Front Page
Ron Tappy's Find Called ‘Most Significant in Last 10 Years'

November 1, 2007, LOUISVILLE – Renowned biblical archaeologist and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary professor Ron Tappy was the subject of a recent front-page feature in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The story, written by Presbyterian elder and retired Post-Gazette editor Mark Roth, can be found on the Post-Gazettes Web site. In the story, Tappy is cited for his discovery two years ago near Jerusalem of a Hebrew "alphabet stone" that dates back to the 10th century B.C., during the time of King Solomon. The discovery was described by some experts, Roth said, as the most important find in biblical archaeology in the last 10 years, because "it suggests the earliest Hebrew Scriptures could have been written down in that era – hundreds of years earlier than many scholars had believed."

The Power of a Vision – a Message for the Church from the General Assembly Moderator

October 31, 2007, ATLANTA – How many places of need just around the corner or across the world are waiting for someone to care and catch a vision of what God might want to be done in that place? Here is one such place. A civil war has raged across Southern Sudan for more than twenty years. In the course of this war, it is estimated that two million people have been killed and another four million have been forced into exile or internal displacement. In the midst of this tragedy, the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles (pronounced skinnyatlas), NY, in the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse, joined in the effort to receive and resettle some of those who are now called the "Lost Boys" of Sudan.

Lutherans Train to "Live Faithfully in a Violent World"

October 31, 2007, CHICAGO – Peace and justice-minded Lutherans working to end violence will gather Nov. 16-17 for "Living Faithfully in a Violent World: Congregations and Community Working Together to End Violence," a training event hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod. "School shootings, police brutality, domestic violence and child abuse continue to characterize our violent society. No community is immune," said Loretta Horton, director for poverty ministries networking, ELCA Church in Society.

Ecumenical News

Archbishop Demetrios Meets with the Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of Armenia, Karekin II

November 1, 2007, NEW YORK, NY – On October 30th, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios met with the Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of the Armenian Church, Karekin II, at the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in Manhattan. The Catholicos is the highest ranking prelate of the Armenian Church. The Catholicos has been on a month long tour of the United States, and was eager to see Archbishop Demetrios before departing for Armenia on November 2nd. This was their second meeting, and lasted for one and a half hours, during which a number of spiritual and ecumenical topics were covered.

Spanish News

Homenaje a Pastores En El Congreso Chileno

2 noviembre 2007, SANTIAGO, Chile – El pasado martes 30 se realizó en el Congreso Nacional chileno una ceremonia donde fueron distinguidos dieciséis pastores provenientes de distintas regiones del país. Según informa COICOM, la ceremonia fue encabezada por el Presidente del Senado, Carlos Ominami y el Presidente de la Cámara de Diputados, Patricio Walker. También estuvieron presentes diputados y senadores, además del Intendente de la V Región, Iván de la Maza; y el Gobernador de Valparaíso, Ricardo Bravo.

Organizaciones Católicas De Comunicación Se Fusionan En Signis

31 octubre 2007, SAN PABLO, Brasil – La Unión Cristina Brasileña de Comunicación Social (UCBC), con 38 años de historia, se fusionará con la Unión de Radiodifusión Católica (UNDA) y la Organización Católica para el Cine y Audiovisual (OCIC) con vistas a la constitución de un nuevo organismo, Signis Brasil. El proceso de fusión de las organizaciones católicas debe durar tres años. "La idea original es que las tres organizaciones – y otras que se sumen al movimiento de creación de Signis Brasil – lleven sus proyectos y sus experiencias históricas para ese proceso, en la perspectiva de mantener y renovar aquello que es fortaleza, eliminar lo que representa flaqueza y reunir esfuerzos para la realización del sueño de una comunicación dedicada a la transformación y a la construcción de un mundo mejor," explica el director presidente de la UCBC, Francisco de Chagas de Morais.

Tormenta Tropical Noel Se Abate Sobre El Caribe

30 octubre 2007, LA HABANA, Cuba – Las lluvias continúan afectando a las provincias del Oriente y Centro de Cuba, al tiempo que se desplaza paralela a la costa Norte de la Isla la tormenta tropical Noel, que se mueve a unos 19 kilómetros por hora, con vientos máximos de 95 kilómetros por hora, y se prevé que cruce en las próximas horas al Noroeste de las Bahamas en dirección a los Estados Unidos. Noticias procedentes del estado de la Florida, donde hay una nutrida población de origen cubano, informan que se toman medidas preventivas.

La Intolerancia Religiosa, Un Problema Que Crece En Chiapas

29 octubre 2007, MÉXICO – Los conflictos por intolerancia religiosa en Chiapas, son cada día más violentos, más numerosos y menos solucionables, en opinión del vocero de la Barra Nacional de Abogados Cristianos, Óscar Moha Vargas, en diálogo con el Diario de Chiapas. En declaraciones a la periodista Guadalupe Citalán, Moha afirma: "lo único que se ha privilegiado son las agresiones impunes de católicos contra evangélicos," agregando que en este sexenio, que apenas inicia, la cifra de agresiones va en aumento.

Los Secretarios Generales De La ONU Y El CMI Reiteran El Compromiso De Colaboración

31 octubre 2007, GINEBRA, Suiza – Las Naciones Unidas y el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) han reiterado su compromiso de colaborar en una reunión entre los secretarios generales de ambas organizaciones celebrada el 29 de octubre en la sede de la ONU en Nueva York. "Mientras la ONU afronta el siglo XXI resaltando la relación que existe entre desarrollo, seguridad y derechos humanos, el CMI cree firmemente que el multilateralismo es el único camino para responder a los desafíos de hoy en día," dijo el secretario general del CMI, Samuel Kobia, durante la reunión.

Human Rights News

Athenagoras Human Rights Award to His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America
Deputy Secretary Negroponte Lauds Archbishop as "Stalwart Man of Faith"

November 2, 2007, NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America was the recipient of the Athenagoras Human Rights Award of the Order of St. Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in an emotion- filled evening, Saturday, October 27, at the New York Hilton. In presenting the award, Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the Order of St. Andrew stated: "His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America exemplifies the very elements that constitute the Athenagoras Human Rights Award – humanity, humility, holiness, compassion and leadership. We will never forget his extraordinary personal care in the tragic aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

National News

ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Church on Racial Justice

November 1, 2007, CHICAGO – In a letter to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, said he is "deeply troubled" by the number of incidents in the past three years that involved symbols and acts of racial hatred. The presiding bishop expressed "grave concern" for the "spiritual crisis concerning race relations" in the United States. Hanson called on ELCA members to take specific actions to address the "sin of racism."

Church Court Upholds Transgender Pastor's Appointment

October 30, 2007, SAN FRANCISCO – The United Methodist Church's supreme court has upheld a bishop's decision that a pastor who changed gender from female to male remains eligible to serve the church. In combining two separate docket items related to the Rev. Drew Phoenix, pastor at St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore, the Judicial Council stated that it was not ruling on whether changing gender is a chargeable offense or violates minimum standards set by the church's legislative body, the General Conference.

Pittsburgh Convention Approves First Reading of Constitutional Changes

November 2, 2007 – The annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh November 2 gave the first of two approvals needed to enact a constitutional change to remove language in the diocesan constitution stating that the diocese accedes to the Episcopal Church's Constitution and Canons as the church's constitution requires. Deputies voted 118 to 58 with one abstention to approve Resolution One. Clergy voted 109 to 24 in favor. An effort, labeled Resolution Two, to instead return the diocese to full "accession" to The Episcopal Church was defeated by voice vote.

Bishop Declines Presiding Bishop's Offer of Reconciliation

November 2, 2007 – On the eve of the November 2-3 annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bishop Robert Duncan rejected Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's request that he lead the diocese away from efforts to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church. The three-sentence letter, dated November 1, said in full: "Here I stand. I can do no other. I will neither compromise the Faith once delivered to the saints, nor will I abandon the sheep who elected me to protect them." The first two sentences echo the conclusion of Martin Luther's speech to the Diet of Worms in 1521, during which Luther refused to recant the stance he took against the Roman Catholic Church.

International News

Churches Determined to Influence Decisions at the United Nations

October 30, 2007 – Leaders from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its member churches are calling on the United Nations and member states as part of their concerted ongoing advocacy efforts. On Thursday, 1 November, some 80 church leaders, policy and advocacy officers of churches and ecumenical organizations from all over the world will visit a number of member state permanent missions to the United Nations at the UN headquarters in New York to advocate around the situation in the Greater Horn of Africa.

New Resource Devoted to Africa's Vulnerable Children
Resource Designed to Help PC(USA) Congregations Learn, Respond

November 1, 2007, LOUISVILLE – The 34 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa are not just a statistic to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission worker Frank Dimmock. As a regional health consultant in southern Africa, he helps churches and other organizations as they care for a large number of them. The problem is staggering, Dimmock admits, but he sees hope as communities come together to take care of orphans. Most have lost their parents to AIDS, other diseases or violent conflict. "Community-based care keeps children as close to their families as possible and keeps them in an environment that's familiar," he says.

South Korea to Host Worldwide Anglican Peace Conference

October 18, 2007 Peace initiatives and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula will be the foci of a worldwide Anglican peace conference November 14-20 when more than 150 Anglican leaders, ecumenical guests and other participants will travel to South Korea for TOPIK (Towards Peace in Korea). The conference will begin with a three-day peace trip to Geumgangsan in North Korea, where delegates will meet employees of the Hyundai Asan Company and hear about its programs of development and economic support for projects in North Korea, including flood-relief aid.

Tearing down the Wall – Cold War's End Helps Missionary
Deepen Connection Between PC(USA) and Churches in Former Communist States

October 30, 2007, LOUISVILLE – For Gary Payton life as a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-worker means applying what he once learned for the purposes of war to efforts of peace and reconciliation. And that's just fine with the 57-year-old Missouri native, who prior to working for the PC(USA) served 24 years as an officer in the United States Air Force during the height of the Cold War. His work at the time mostly focused on the Soviet Union, the nuclear-armed superpower foe of the U.S.

Sudanese Clergy to Benefit from Theological Education Program

October 30, 2007 – The Rev. Anderia Arok's vision of establishing continued theological education for Sudanese clergy in the Episcopal Church has expanded to include others as it comes into focus. "There are more than 30 Sudanese Episcopal priests here in the United States," said Arok, a Sudanese priest in the Diocese of Colorado. "Since we have come here, there has been no [formal] program that has brought us together for continued training."

Middle East News

Archbishop of Canterbury Meets Chief Rabbis in Jerusalem

October 31, 2007 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, today held talks in Jerusalem with Israel's Chief Rabbis. The Archbishop, accompanied by Bishop Suhail Dawani (Bishop in Jerusalem) and Bishop Michael Jackson (Bishop of Clogher), held the second in a series of annual discussions with Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger of Israel, accompanied by the Chief Rabbi of Haifa Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen. The first in the series was held at Lambeth Palace on 5 September 2006.

Swedish Delegation Visits Syria, Jordan

November 2, 2007 – Three persons from the Church of Sweden: Rev Kjell Jonasson Associate Executive Secretary and Liaison Officer with MECC and WCC; Carolina Grelsson, Programme Officer for Humanitarian Assistance, Thomas; a press officer; visited Syria and Jordan between 22 – 26th of October. The visit aimed at learning about the situation of Iraqi refugees in these two countries. In Syria, the delegation met with many Iraqi Christian families, listened to their sad stories and sufferings, witnessed the distribution of food items, and met with MECC officers and other organizations that are providing the facilitation for the relief.

Reviews

New Volume Analyzes Religious Battles over Interpretation of Genesis

October 30, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – No words ever recorded have had as much influence upon human affairs as those in the first three chapters of Genesis. Nor caused as much mischief, argues William H. Jennings in his latest book, Storms over Genesis: Biblical Battleground in America's Wars of Religion. In his fascinating and informative account, Jennings shows how and why fundamentalists and modernists, Catholics and Protestants, feminists and the old guard all have been drawn to Genesis and wrestled with its meaning, legacy, and relevance today.

Provocative Stories of Real People Encountering Conflict

October 31, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – In the newly released book Finding God in the Shadows: Stories from the Battlefield of Life, co-authors Marsha Hansen and Peter Huchthausen tell stories of men and women facing imperfect choices in difficult and dangerous situations-people who exhibit moral courage despite hardships, privations, and the burden of making life and death decisions for others. Most of the stories are set against the backdrop of war – World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War – and incorporate parallel historical moments from the Bible that help frame the questions raised by the contemporary story.

Fortress Press Releases Jürgen Moltmann Autobiography

November 2, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – Jürgen Moltmann's life and work have marked the history of theology after the Second World War in Europe and North America like no other. He is the most widely read, quoted, and translated theologian of our time. Now, after celebrating his eightieth birthday, he looks back on a life engaged in and forging a Christian response to the tumult and opportunities of our age. In his newly released autobiography, A Broad Place, Moltmann tells his engaging and searching life story, from his Hamburg youth in an unconventional parental home up to the incomplete completion of the present moment.

Keller Pens Unconventional Introduction to Theological Thinking

November 7, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – With immediate impact and deep creativity, Catherine Keller's newly released On the Mystery: Discerning God in the Process offers a brief and unconventional introduction to theological thinking, especially as recast by process thought. Keller here takes up theology itself as a quest for religious authenticity in a way that helps us probe the meaning of the divine, of divine power and compassion, of our evolving world, and of Christian life in the Spirit.