Front Page

Barack Obama, Long Time UCC Member, Inaugurated Forty-fourth U.S. President

January 20, 2009 – Then-Senator Barack Obama, a 20-year member of the UCC, speaking to the 2007 General Synod in Hartford, Conn. Barack Obama, who spent more than 20 years as a UCC member, is the forty-fourth President of the United States. UCC churches serving the Washington D.C. area are joining in on the inaugural activities. Plymouth UCC in Washington held "The Continuation of Hope and Real Change" event on Sunday evening to commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to celebrate the historic nature of Obama's election. Christ Congregational UCC in Silver Springs, Md. held an evening prayer service Monday evening at which prayers for the country were featured.

US Churches and Obama: Rolling up Sleeves Rather than Finger-Pointing

January 20, 2009 – Poverty, violence and war are amongst the "enormous and formidable" challenges of the present time, representatives of member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the United States have pointed out to President Barack Obama on the occasion of his inauguration. "Ours is not to point fingers at your new administration and say ‘Fix it,'" members of the Board of the US Conference for the WCC wrote in a letter to Obama dated 20 January. "Rather, ours is to roll up our sleeves and partner with you to help bring about the changes that are so desperately needed for the United States and the world to more closely reflect God's vision for humankind and all of creation."

Ecumenical Conference Ends with Call for Bold Peacemaking

January 20, 2009, PHILADELPHIA – An ecumenical peace conference concluded here Jan. 17 with a declaration of God's vision of peace for the world, and direct action calling for an end to gun violence on the streets of Philadelphia. The gathering, Heeding God's Call: A Gathering on Peace, was convened by historic Peace Churches: The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, the Church of the Brethren, and the Mennonite Church USA.

Compassion and Love Preached at Obama National Prayer Service

January 21, 2009 – In her sermon at the first prayer service attended by US President Barack Obama after his inauguration, Rev. Dr Sharon Watkins, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), called on the leader who, she said, would "set the tone" for the nation, to chose compassion, faithfulness and love over vengefulness, anger and fear. Preaching at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on 21 January, Watkins, a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, said: "Even in these hard times, rich or poor, we can reach out to our neighbour, including our global neighbour, in generous hospitality, building together communities of possibility and of hope."

Surrounded by Prayer, Historic Inauguration Events Draw to a Close at National Cathedral
Presiding Bishop Prays for Obama, People of the U.S.

January 21, 2009 – Four days of ceremonies and prayers for President Barack Obama's inauguration came to a close January 21 with the traditional National Prayer Service at the Episcopal Washington National Cathedral. President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden attended the invitation-only service along with members of his administration, Congress, and the diplomatic corps; faith leaders and other invited guests, nearly 3,200 in all.

Faith Leaders Want to Partner with Obama

January 22, 2009 – United Methodists have joined other ecumenical faith leaders in a letter telling U.S. President Barack Obama that they will partner with him "to help bring about the changes that are so desperately needed." The Jan. 20 letter from the U.S. Conference of the World Council of Churches was signed by the Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, moderator, and the conference's board members, associate members and heads of churches. The conference represents 34 member churches of the WCC. The letter began by expressing excitement over the inauguration. "We are especially inspired by how you have engaged our youth, moving them to action and signaling the real possibility that another world is possible, and that they can be among those from whom ideas and leadership are sought over the course of your administration," the letter said.

General News

Third Annual Ecumenical Work Week Slated for Service in the Gulf Coast

January 22, 2009, NEW YORK – The National Council of Churches Special Commission for the Just Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast has scheduled the third annual Ecumenical Work Week in Gulfport and New Orleans this August 2-8. The work week, which has been growing steadily since it began in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, is expected to attract more than 100 volunteers who will spend a week working on houses still needing repair since the hurricane's devastation. As in past years, their labors will take place in an atmosphere of worship and witness. Volunteers will choose to work in either New Orleans or Gulfport, Miss.

Camp Mack Helps Feed the Hungry Locally, and in Guatemala

January 23, 2009, ELGIN, IL – Rex Miller, executive director of Camp Alexander Mack in Milford, Ind., has made a number of visits recently to the Milford Food Bank. The camp is an outdoor ministry center of two Church of the Brethren districts: Northern Indiana District and South/Central Indiana District of the Church of the Brethren. During the fall, Camp Mack recognized great need in the local area and invited its Waubee Lake Association neighbors to join the camp staff in a food drive. The drive supported needs at the local food bank.

Lutheran Student Movement Votes to Align Itself with the ELCA

January 22, 2009, CHICAGO – Lutheran Student Movement (LSM-USA) aligned itself more closely with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in one of several resolutions adopted here at its annual gathering Dec. 31-Jan. 4. Fifty colleges and universities sent 147 students who re-elected Craig Talmage as president. "We've been losing numbers to these events," Talmage said. One goal for his new term as president will be to determine "how we can get college students to gather differently than we've been doing," he said. "We really want to connect people."

CRC Home Missions at Work

January 23, 2008 Christian Reformed Home Missions is already doing many of the things to connect churches to their neighborhoods that author and researcher David Kinnaman suggested in his presentation on Thursday at the January Series at Calvin College. Kinnaman recommended that churches look around their communities and get involved by offering services that may not otherwise be available. And he said to do this without being too overtly Christian, to show rather than to just tell.

International Anglican Women's Network (IAWN) Meeting Feb 2009

January 22, 2009 – The International Anglican Women's Network (IAWN) will conduct its first formal meeting Feb. 22-27, 2009, at the Tutu Center at General Theological Seminary in New York City. Building on the strong presence of the IAWN during the 2008 Lambeth Conference, women representing 26 of the 38 Anglican provinces are expected. "We will focus on progress or lack thereof toward equality and empowerment for women in our regions," said Mrs. Priscilla Julie of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean, who chairs the IAWN Steering Group.

Presiding Bishop Accepts Two Bishops' Voluntary Renunciation of Orders

January 23, 2009 – Episcopal Church bishops William Wantland and Henry Scriven have renounced their orders and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has accepted their renunciations. Jefferts Schori said that Wantland, the retired bishop of the Diocese of Eau Claire, had written to her November 15 to say that he had "canonically affiliated" with the Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. She said that Wantland declared in his letter that he was no longer a member of the Episcopal Church.

Episcopal Students ‘Gather' in Colorado for Life-Changing Experience

January 21, 2009 – James Boyer, a junior social work major at Prairie View A&M University, admitted that he was wary of attending Gather, the national Episcopal student conference that was held December 28, 2008-January 1, 2009 in Estes Park, Colorado. "I really didn't want to go," he said in an interview. Not only had Boyer never been out of his home state of Texas, but he was anxious about being in the midst of what he assumed would be a crowd of white people. Being in the minority, said Boyer, an African-American student from Houston, often made him defensive, even confrontational.

Court Docket Includes Bush Library, Same-Sex Unions

January 21, 2009 – The United Methodist Church's supreme court will address several high-profile issues when it meets in April, including the performance of same-gender marriage ceremonies, the proposed George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University, and the membership process for people transferring from other denominations. Six of the eight items before the Judicial Council relate to bishops' decisions of law, which are automatically reviewed by the nine-member panel. The council will meet April 22-25 in Denver.

Ecumenical News

Communiqué: the Anglican-Methodist International Commission for Unity in Mission

January 19, 2009 – The Anglican-Methodist International Commission for Unity in Mission held its first meeting in the Centro Anglicano de la Diócesis de México in Mexico City, as guests of the Anglican Consultative Council. The Commission was co-chaired by the Right Revd Harold Miller, the Bishop of Down and Dromore (Church of Ireland), for the Anglican Communion, and the Revd Professor Robert Gribben (Uniting Church in Australia), Chairman of the Standing Committee on Ecumenics and Dialogue, on behalf of the World Methodist Council. The Commission has been given a mandate by its sponsoring bodies as set out in the London Document, the Report of the Anglican-Methodist International Consultation, which took place in London, UK, in November 2007.

Syriac Catholic Bishops: Unity of Pastors and Communities

January 23, 2009, VATICAN CITY – This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received bishops of the Syriac Catholic Church, led by His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, recently elected as patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians by the Synod of Bishops of the Syriac Catholic Church, meeting in Rome from 18 to 20 January. The Pope began his remarks by asking the Lord to concede "the grace of the apostolate" to the new patriarch, that he may "serve the Church and glorify her Holy Name before the world."

Spanish News

Asume Barack Obama. ¿Qué De Latinoamérica Y El Caribe?

20 enero 2009, CHICAGO – Las festividades en Washington hacia la toma de posesión del primer afro-americano que asume la presidencia de los Estados Unidos, ha logrado un entusiasmo sin precedentes en la historia del país y en relación con estas transiciones presidenciales cada 20 de enero. No cabe duda que la relación con la celebración del natalicio del Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. el 19 de enero, le dan todavía más dramatismo y notoriedad a los eventos. La euforia es inmensa a todo nivel desde los periódicos hasta la televisión y todos los nuevos artefactos electrónicos que la gente posee en estos días.

Agustinianos Denuncian Omisión Del Estado En La Amazonía

22 enero 2009, BRASIL – La Federación Agustiniana Brasileña (Fabra) pide la actuación de las autoridades para contener el proyecto de muerte instalado en la Amazonia brasileña, que prejudica a la sociedad. Reunidos en Congreso en Perus, en la capital paulista, la Fabra endosa la denuncia de los obispos da Amazonia, acusando al Estado brasileño de omitir el papel de mantener la soberanía de la región, dejando que ella se transforme "en un corredor de exportación, muchas veces proporcionando facilidades para la invasión del capital extranjero y de la biopirateria."

Cristianismo Y Revolución, De La Mano.
El Reverendo Oden Marichal a 50 Años De La Revolución Cubana

20 enero 2009, LA HABANA, Cuba –"Tuve llamados a traicionar la Revolución y al pueblo y a irme y vivir bien," declaró al periódico "Trabajadores," órgano de la Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), el pastor episcopal, secretario del Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba y diputado a la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular (Parlamento cubano), reverendo Pablo Oden Marichal. Precisó: "No hicimos revolución en el gobierno o desde las instituciones políticas y gubernamentales, sino desde nuestras filas. Vino la polarización y muchos se fueron. Representó un pérdida tremenda, porque si toda aquella buena gente, con un compromiso tremendo de fe y revolucionario, no se hubiera marchado, la derecha no habría ganado los espacios que hizo suyos en este medio."

En Tiempos De Crisis, La Gente Recurre Más a La Biblia,
Afirman Desde La SBP. Récord De Distribución En 2008

22 enero 2009, LIMA, Perú – La Sociedad Bíblica Peruana (SBP) dio a conocer su actividad del año 2008, recalcando que en los últimos cuatro años la distribución ha superado el millón de biblias, incrementando cada año sus cifras, aún en tiempos de crisis. En el año 2005 la distribución de biblias fue de 253,916 biblias, en el 2006 la cifra alcanzó las 273,021 unidades, en el 2007 logró las 311,578 biblias y en el 2008. La distribución alcanzó las 348,135 biblias, batiendo por cuarto año consecutivo el record histórico de distribución.

Coordinadora De Comunidades Cristianas
Llama a Romper Relaciones Con Israel Y Clamar Por Paz

19 enero 2009 – Por estos días el mundo es testigo de la acometida que con saña está ejerciendo el ejército israelí contra la población de la Franja de Gaza del mártir Pueblo Palestino; así comienza una carta titulada "Una tragedia que clama al cielo" de la Coordinadora de Comunidades Cristianas de Centroamérica Monseñor Romero. "Prácticamente se está dando la matanza de un pueblo en medio de un cerco férreamente controlado por los ataques del ejército sionista," dice la nota con fecha 17 de enero.

Iglesias Africanas Convocan a Orar Y Ayunar Por Zimbabwe

23 enero 2009, GINEBRA, Suiza – La Conferencia de Iglesias de Toda el África (AACC) ha hecho un llamamiento a los cristianos de África y a toda la familia ecuménica mundial para que el domingo 25 de enero, observen un día de oración y ayuno en solidaridad con Zimbabwe. En una carta del 15 de enero, dirigida a las iglesias miembros de la AACC y a los asociados ecuménicos, el secretario general de la AACC, Rev. Dr. André Karamaga, escribió: "Hacemos un llamamiento para que, en la oración y el ayuno, en palabras y obras, en la contemplación y la acción, se unan a nuestras hermanas y hermanos de Zimbabwe" que sufren la propagación de la epidemia del cólera, la escasez de alimentos y la continuación de la violencia e intimidación políticas.

Barack Obama, ¿Cambia La Historia?

21 enero 2009, LA HABANA, Cuba – El presidente estadounidense Barack Obama, en un frío mediodía de este martes 20 de enero, y ante más de dos millones de compatriotas y turistas aglomerados para presenciar su toma de posesión, ratificó su apuesta por los cambios al tiempo que exigía responsabilidad para enfrentar los retos del presente, encabezados por la actual crisis económica y las guerras en Irak y Afganistán.

Noko Dice Que Obama Trae Señales De Esperanza

21 enero 2009, GINEBRA, Suiza – El secretario general de la Federación Luterana Mundial (FLM), Ishmael Noko, envió una carta de congratulaciones al 44o presidente de los Estados Unidos, Barack Hussein Obama. Noko señala que la asunción de Obama, ayer, representa un marco en el inicio del siglo XXI que señala un profundo cambio para el mundo. El secretario general de la FLM comparó la posición de Obama con la del ex-presidente de África del Sur, Nelson Mandela, en 1994.

Simposio Analiza Desafíos De La Teología En La Sociedad Contemporanea

20 enero 2009, BRASIL – Reuniendo alumnos de diferentes regiones del país, culturas y religiosidades, la Facultad EST inauguró, en la mañana del pasado viernes 16, los trabajos del I Simposio de la Maestría Profesional, actividad que tiene por tema central "Teología y Sociedad Contemporanea: Compromiso Social, Educacional y Ético." "Este simposio es un marco, no solo para la Facultad EST, sino también para el campo de la teología, que consigue migrar del ámbito eclesiástico y ecumênico para procurar medios de inserción en la sociedad civil," destacó el rector de la institución, Dr. Oneide Bobsin.

National News

Human Rights Campaign to Gather Clergy in Nation's Capital

January 16, 2009 The 2009 HRC Clergy Call for Justice and Equality is scheduled for May 4-5 in Washington, D.C. The theme of the event, "Moving from Acceptance to Advocacy," reflects the vision of a faith-based movement for GLBT equality built from the ground up: in local churches, synagogues, mosques. The Rev. John Thomas, UCC general minister and president, is slated to address the gathering. The Clergy Call includes a focus on advocacy for transgender people and follows a series of trainings throughout 2008 which emphasized transgender education in 40 communities.

Archbishop Demetrios Participates in Inaugural National Prayer Service

January 22, 2009, WASHINGTON – Archbishop Demetrios of Americaa participated yesterday in the National Prayer Service held at the Washington National Cathedral, attended by President Barack Obama, First lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden and his wife Jill. The National Prayer Service is a tradition dating back to the Inauguration of George Washington, and this year had a strong interfaith character embodying the themes of tolerance, unity and understanding. Prior to the ceremony the Archbishop had the opportunity to see the President and convey to him the congratulations and best wishes of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Orthodox faithful of America.

Senate Protects Millions of Acres of Public Lands as People of Faith Voice Their Support

January 20, 2009, WASHINGTON – The newly convened 111th Congress moved quickly to protect millions of acres of God's Creation, backed by messages from thousands of people of faith. The Senate passed the Public Land Management Omnibus Act amid more than 1,500 messages of support from people of faith across the country. The legislation will now move to the House of Representatives for final approval. Included in this legislation was the establishment of new wilderness areas in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, and congressional authorization to the National Landscape Conservation System and protection of some of the finest scenic views, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreational opportunities in the Wyoming Range, both of which included letters of support from numerous national and local faith based organizations, including the National Council of Churches USA.

Church Can Be Model for Obama Team, Mccurry Says

January 22, 2009 – President Barack Obama is ushering in a time of "great awakening," and faith will play a big role in his presidency, said former White House press secretary Mike McCurry. "We are rediscovering a prophetic big-based voice on the left, on the center left, to match what I think has been common on the religious right for some time," he said in an interview with United Methodist News Service. "The Democratic Party and the progressive side of our political movement moved away from religion and politics during the 1970s and 80s." McCurry served as press secretary under President Bill Clinton and is a member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Kensington, Md.

International News

ELCA Joins Celebration of Ethiopian Church's 50th Anniversary

January 23, 2009, ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joined leaders of several churches and church organizations from Africa, Europe and North America here Jan. 17-18 for the "Golden Jubilee" celebration of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). In 2008 the growing 5-million member EECMY became the second largest church in the Lutheran World Federation, surpassing the 4.7-million member ELCA. Fifty years ago the EECMY was constitutionally recognized as a national church, but the church's history began in 1898.

ELCA Participates in Hurricane, Tropical Storm Relief Work in Haiti

January 22, 2009, CHICAGO – Disaster response work continues in Haiti, after tropical storms and hurricanes in the fall of 2008 killed more than 790 people and left 310 others missing. On Jan. 8 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $75,000 to support recovery efforts that will help hundreds of thousands of families there. The storms destroyed more than 22,700 houses and damaged 84,625 others, said Megan Bradfield, associate director for international development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission.

January 20, 2009, CHICAGO – Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $75,000 Jan. 8 to help meet the basic needs of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Months of heavy artillery fighting caused an estimated 250,000 people to flee their homes in Masisi and Rutshuru – towns in the DRC's North Kivu province. Between 1.4 million and 2 million people are displaced from their homes in North Kivu, according to the United Nations' World Food Program, Geneva.

CRC Grows in Sierra Leone

January 20, 2009 – More than 20 years of hard, patient work, coupled with what had to have been a few interventions by God, have led to the blossoming of the Christian Reformed Church among the mostly Muslim population of a few villages in northern Sierra Leone. When he talks of the growth, a light comes to the eyes and a smile to the face of Paul Kortenhoven, a Christian Reformed World Missions missionary who worked for many years, through good times and times of bloody struggle, to share the hope of Jesus Christ with the people of the West African country.

Sudan's Mundri Diocese Terrorized by Lord's Resistance Army Attacks

January 16, 2009 – Several parishes and villages in Sudan's Episcopal Diocese of Mundri have fallen victim to a fresh wave of attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel organization whose soldiers are prolonging a two-decades-long terrorist campaign gruesomely marked by widespread massacres and child abductions. At least four people have been confirmed dead and insecurity in the region is forcing residents to flee the villages of Tore Wandi, Moba, Bangolo, Ledinwa and Garia for the relative safety of Mundri.

Filipino Church Leaders Support Chief Justice

January 23, 2009 – United Methodist and other church leaders in the Philippines are strongly supporting the country's chief justice in the wake of reports that efforts to impeach him are under way, possibly for upholding human rights laws. Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, a United Methodist lay preacher, may or may not be threatened with removal. The press in the Philippines has been abuzz with reports that the justice is or is not the target of impeachment proceedings. His backers are not taking any chances and are speaking out. The three-member College of Bishops of The United Methodist Church in the Philippines issued a manifesto of support for the chief justice, as did the president of the country's National Council of Churches.