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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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December 18, 2008 – Dear Sisters & Brothers Greetings. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas there seems to be even more, darkness, conflict and despair in the world around us. That means for us, as Christians, we must think even more carefully and deeply about Jesus – the baby born in Bethlehem's stable. Many people are afraid of the dark whether it be the absence of light around them or fear of the unknown in their personal lives or the world at large. Peace Declaration to Be "Mission Statement" for the Churches December 23, 2008 – Peace is a way of life, says Rev. Dr Geiko Müller-Fahrenholz, and it is the mission of the churches to bring up new generations of Christians to live out God's peace in all aspects of their lives. A German theologian, Müller-Fahrenholz coordinated the group that produced the "Initial Statement Towards an Ecumenical Declaration on Just Peace" – a first draft for the declaration that will be presented at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Kingston, Jamaica in May 2011. In the following interview, he explains the how's and why's of the process. Take Toxic Toys off the Shelves, National Council of Churches Asks December 18, 2008, WASHINGTON – In a statement issued today, the National Council of Churches urged the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to enforce new legislation banning the use of phthalates in products made for children. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act takes effect February 10, but the CPSC has announced it will allow retailers to sell toys containing the banned phthalates past that date. "As Christians, we work to care for the ‘least of these,' especially children," said Cassandra Carmichael, National Council of Churches eco-justice program director. Christmas Letter from Mar Hadrian Elijah December 23, 2008 – In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Good and Holy Spirit One God, Almighty and Æternal, world without end. Amen. His Grace, Hadrian Mar Élijah Bar Israël, by the Grace of God, Bishop of Cosmopolis, To the people of God everywhere, rich and poor gathered together, Greetings in the Name of Christ Jesus! The annual jubilee of Christ's birth is upon us, and it is my great pleasure to be writing you this Christmas, with great tidings of joy and gladness. Just as the Saints of old gathered around the traditional bonfire in the desert to sing carols and watch the sky, we begin our ritual services with Morning Prayer on Christmas eve, and keep the night vigil in shifts of prayer. Archbishop of Canterbury's Christmas Sermon 2008 December 25, 2008 – In his Christmas sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, the Archbishop of Canterbury says that one of the lessons of the coming of Christ is that people shouldn't waste time waiting for larger-than-life heroes to bring comprehensive and total solutions to the ills of the world.=20 ‘There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus'; we've very likely heard those words many, many times in carol services, like an overture to the great drama of the Christmas story. The emperor Augustus would have been delighted, I'm sure, to be told that his name would still be recalled after twenty centuries – but more than a little dismayed that it would be simply because he happened to be around at the time of Christ's birth. Nutrition, Weight, Emotional Health among Health Risks for ELCA Leaders December 22, 2008, MINNEAPOLIS – The results of the 2008 Mayo Clinic Health Assessment are in and show a clear picture of the health of leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Of the more than 11,000 pastors, church workers and spouses who took the assessment through the ELCA-primary health plan: 76 percent are at risk for poor nutrition; 67 percent are at risk of being overweight, 60 percent are at risk for poor emotional health; 57 percent are at risk for high blood pressure; 50 percent are at risk for lack of exercise; and 23 percent are at risk for high cholesterol. December 23, 2008, BISMARCK, North Dakota, USA/GENEVA – At around 5 p.m. every Thursday, rain or shine, the guests start arriving outside Trinity Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Bismarck, North Dakota, USA, for a banquet. Volunteers – the true cornerstone of the Trinity community – begin to greet the guests, visiting with them outside the doors that open promptly at 5:30 p.m. Regulars fill each other in on their weeks. Smiles are contagious. When the doors open, more volunteers will be waiting to escort guests to a table for a hot and delicious meal, free of charge. Unlike most of the meals they've had this year, this one will be enjoyed on a beautiful table setting, complete with fresh flowers, colorful decorations, menus, and real china and silverware. Presiding Bishop Visits Military Chaplaincies in Washington, D.C. December 24, 2008 – Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori concluded a three-day visit to military chaplaincies in the Washington, D.C., area with a December 23 trip to the Pentagon. Jefferts Schori arrived at Bolling Air Force Base on December 20, and spent the following day there, preaching at the 8:15 a.m. service and learning about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the Rev. Michael McEwen, an Episcopal Army chaplain. Touring the Walter Reed Army Medical Center on December 22, the Presiding Bishop spoke with soldiers who had lost limbs in service and met with the families of those suffering from traumatic brain injuries. December 25, 2008 – It was Christmas Eve and they kept coming, a steady flow, mostly young and obviously many were from far away places. There was no room for me, well, not in the inn, but rather, no room in the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, known lovingly as Westminster Abbey. They were standing everywhere. It was a stupendous vision of humanity – incarnation! Having a clerical collar and indeed a cane/stick after a lingering painful knee operation, the head Marshall, someone I have always admired, said. "Jim, you better come with me to St George's." I obediently followed. It was not far. Indeed it was the chapel at the West End. I entered, looked up and was awe struck. What might have been an alone experience on Christmas Eve in a crowded abbey, and let me say this Christmas brings with it mixed emotions for sure for yours truly, had now become something completely different. Encuentro Compara Derechos Humanos Con Los Diez Mandamientos 26 diciembre 2008, RÍO DE JANEIRO, Brasil – Las iglesias precisan tener una práctica cristiana, no basta organizar reuniones de oración, dijo el antropólogo y pastor presbiteriano André Melo, en el encuentro de la Red Evangélica Nacional de Acción Social (Renas-Rio) y del Instituto de Estudios de la Religión (Iser), en conmemoración de los 60 años de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos. En el encuentro, los 50 participantes debatieron las similitudes encontradas en los más de 30 artículos de los Derechos Humanos y los Diez Mandamentos. La Red Ecuménica Celebra El Anuncio De Las FARC De Liberación De Seis Rehenes 22 diciembre 2008, COLOMBIA – La Red Ecuménica de Colombia, celebra el anuncio de las FARC de liberación de seis rehenes, solicita al Presidente de la Republica, Dr. Álvaro Uribe Vélez la facilitación del gesto humanitario de este grupo al margen de la ley para que sus familias puedan disfrutar este tiempo de Adviento y Navidad con sus familiares y ora al Dios de la vida para que se den los pasos para un acuerdo que permita la liberación de todos los secuestrados y desaparecidos en Colombia. La Declaración Sobre La Paz Será Una "Declaración De Misión" Para Las Iglesias 23 diciembre 2008 – La paz es una forma de vida, afirma el Rev. Dr. Geiko Müller-Fahrenholz, y las iglesias tienen la misión de enseñar a las nuevas generaciones de cristianos a vivir la paz de Dios en todos los aspectos de sus vidas. Müller-Fahrenholz coordinó el grupo que redactó las "Afirmaciones preliminares a una Declaración Ecuménica sobre la Paz Justa": un primer borrador de la declaración que será presentada en la Convocatoria Ecuménica Internacional por la Paz en mayo de 2011 en Kingston, Jamaica. En la siguiente entrevista, este teólogo alemán explica los cómos y porqués del proceso. Pregunta: La Convocatoria Ecuménica Internacional por la Paz de 2011 se define a veces como una "fiesta de la cosecha" del Decenio para Superar la Violencia que el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) lanzó en 2001. Zonas Humanitarias Resisten a La Violencia En Colombia 22 diciembre 2008 – Se llaman Pueblo Nuevo, Bella Flor, Nueva Esperanza, El Tesoro. Nombres que hablan a las claras de lo que las ‘zonas humanitarias' significan para sus habitantes. En ellas, cientos de familias desplazadas por la violencia en áreas rurales de Colombia intentan reconstruir sus vidas a la vez que reclaman la restitución de sus tierras. En octubre de 1996 ocho campesinos fueron asesinados por paramilitares en la comunidad de Brisas de la Virgen, en el departamento del Chocó, en el noroeste de Colombia. Baha'is Call for Reopening of Human Rights Center in Iran December 23, 2008, GENEVA – The Baha'i International Community today expressed grave concern over the closing by the Iranian government of Shirin Ebadi's Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran and called for its reopening. "The closing of Mrs. Ebadi's office is a blow to human rights for the whole of Iran," said Diane Ala'i, a representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. "The spokesperson of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that the reason behind the closure was that the Center has no license. PCT Associate General Secretary Says December 21, 2008 – The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) has always been at the forefront in promoting human rights in Taiwan. Recently, TCN had a chance to interview PCT Associate General Secretary Lyim Hong-tiong on the relationship between human rights and Christian faith. "Implementing human rights is part of the gospel," Lyim emphasized. "This is clearly laid out in the Lord's Prayer when Jesus teaches us to pray "Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." When we pursue human rights, we are simultaneously trying to bring God's kingdom to earth." December 23, 2008, GENEVA – The General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko has called on Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev to ensure the review of a draft legislation which, if signed into law, would place harsh restrictions on religious freedom in the predominantly Muslim country. In a letter to Nazarbayev, Noko expresses his concern about reports of the Parliament's passage at the end of November of a new law on religion, widely reported as containing harsher restrictions on freedom of religion and belief than previously obtained in the country. PCT Promotes "Innocent until Proven Guilty" in Controversial Trial December 21, 2008 – The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) is under heavy criticism by Taiwanese society and media for reaching out to former President Chen Shui-bian and his family. When corruption charges against Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen, surfaced in Taiwan, the former First Lady sought Gi-kong (Yi-Guang) Presbyterian Church member Li Sheng-shiung to be her defense lawyer and Li agreed. Speaking on this matter, Associate General Secretary of the PCT Lyim Hong-Tiong said that challenging an unjust judiciary that trampled a defendant's human rights is not only in accordance to the PCT's Christian values, but also pleasing to God. Humanitarian Zones Resist Violence in Colombia December 22, 2008 – They are called Pueblo Nuevo (new town), Bella Flor (beautiful flower), Nueva Esperanza (new hope), El Tesoro (the treasure). Names that clearly show what "humanitarian zones" mean to the people who live there. Hundreds of families displaced by violence in Colombia's rural areas are trying to rebuild their lives in these zones while at the same time demanding the return of their land. In October 1996, eight peasants were killed by paramilitaries in the Brisas de la Virgen community, in Chocó Department, in north-eastern Colombia. Some families in the community fled their homes, but not all of them. The disappearances and massacres began two months later. Crisis Situation Threatens Survival of Zimbabweans
December 22, 2008, MUTARE, Zimbabwe – A crisis of medical, political and economic proportions is threatening the resiliency and survival of the people of Zimabwe. At the end of 2008, unemployment was at more than 80 percent and food, water and fuel remained scarce. "We are weak but surviving," said a Mutare woman who asked that she not be identified. "People are struggling," said Bruce T. Chakatsva, president of the students' representative council at United Methodist-related Africa University. |
