Front Page

Bible Is the "Ultimate Immigration Handbook"

June 15, 2009 – In a worship service opening the "Churches against Racism" conference in Doorn, Netherlands, 14-17 June, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia said the Bible was the "ultimate immigration handbook." Kobia asked Christians to apply the parable of the "good Samaritan" to the current context in which they live. "It speaks to us in this week after virulently anti-immigrant parties made unprecedented gains in European elections," he said. "This parable of Jesus calls us again to consider, ‘Who is my neighbour' and how are we to live out that relationship? Christ calls us to be neighbours of immigrants, of oppressed minorities within our own nations, of all who are in need of a neighbour."

Break down the Walls – End Racism and Racial Discrimination

June 17, 2009, DOORN, UTRECHT, The Netherlands – Called together by the Programme to Combat Racism (PCR) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and based upon our understandings of the basic principles of our faith, we believe that all Christians have a common responsibility to work for racial justice and inclusion, and with those suffering racial discrimination and exclusion, such as Dalits, migrants, people of African descent, Roma, indigenous communities and the Palestinian people.

The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism
Eight Local Heads of Churches in Jerusalem

June 16, 2009 – "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9) Christian Zionism is a modern theological and political movement that embraces the most extreme ideological positions of Zionism, thereby becoming detrimental to a just peace within Palestine and Israel. The Christian Zionist programme provides a worldview where the Gospel is identified with the ideology of empire, colonialism and militarism. In its extreme form, it places an emphasis on apocalyptic events leading to the end of history rather than living Christ's love and justice today. We categorically reject Christian Zionist doctrines as false teaching that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation.

General News

RCCongress 2010 – Diana Eck Plenary Speaker on Pluralism

June 18, 2009 – Diana L. Eck is Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies and Frederic Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society at Harvard University and Director of The Pluralism Project, a research team at Harvard University created to explore the new religious diversity of the United States and its meaning for the American pluralist experiment.. The Pluralism Project, funded by the Lilly Endowment, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation has been documenting the growing presence of the Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan, Sikh, Jain, and Zoroastrian communities in the U.S. This research project has involved students and professors at Harvard and in a dozen affiliate colleges and universities in research on America's new religious landscape.

Church of the Brethren Congregations Gather in San Diego for Annual Conference

June 15, 2009, ELGIN, IL – An Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren on June 26-30 will bring delegates from across the country to San Diego, Calif. This will be the 223rd recorded Annual Conference for the Church of the Brethren. The Annual Conference will meet on the theme, "The old has gone! The new has come! All this is from God!" (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). David Shumate of Roanoke, Va., will serve as moderator of the Conference, which is the highest elected position in the church. He also serves as executive of the church's Virlina District.

A Lutheran's Faith Remains Steadfast after Tragic Accident

June 17, 2009, CHICAGO – Diana Luscombe spent the past two years being angry with God. "God and I have a rapport where I can yell. And I feel like God says, ‘Bring it on.'" About two years ago Luscombe and her husband Mark, along with their 3-week old son and 22-month old daughter, were on their way to a church youth event. Luscombe was driving when the car veered off and hit a concrete median, causing the car to ricochet and roll three times landing on its roof. Their daughter's car window was the only one not broken. While her husband and children were not hurt, Luscombe broke her neck. Luscombe spent the next two weeks in an induced coma at a trauma hospital.

Joining God's Mission
Achieving the MDGs: Why Should We Care?

June 12, 2009 – Too often we Christians working to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals neglect to name our motivation: Our faith in Jesus Christ and in God's saving work in the world, God's mission. We need to declare that it is because of our Christian faith that we care about the MDGs. So what is this God's mission? As Christians, we affirm that because of God's love for the world and desire to be united with all of humanity, God took a unique and decisive step. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God entered the world. In Jesus, God created a New Covenant.

Letter to Clergy for the Year for Priests

June 18, 2009, VATICAN CITY – The Pope has sent a Letter to the priests of the world for the occasion of the Year for Priests, which has been called to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney. Tomorrow, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and day of prayer for the sanctification of the clergy, Benedict XVI will inaugurate this Jubilee Year for Priests during Vespers in the Vatican Basilica. The Letter has been published in Italian, French, Spanish, English, German, Polish and Portuguese. The complete text of the English language version is given below: Dear Brother Priests,

CWS' Jessica Eby to Speak at Refugee Rights and Policy Conference

June 17, 2009, NEW YORK – Jessica Eby, Protection Officer of humanitarian agency Church World Service, will speak at The Advocates for Human Rights' seventh annual Human Rights Law and Policy Conference on Monday, June 22, 2009 in Minneapolis , Minn. at the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney, LLP. The conference, Refugee Protection around the World: Durable Solutions or Durable Suffering?, will bring together international, national and local experts and advocates to examine the current refugee protection system, its shortcomings, and possible long-term solutions.

Convention Pledges Loyalty to Church, but Disputes Role of General Convention

June 17, 2009, ALBANY – The Episcopal Diocese of Albany recently reaffirmed its membership in the Episcopal Church while at the same time saying that the General Convention cannot tell it or any other diocese what to do. While reaffirming the diocese's "loyal membership in the Episcopal Church," a resolution passed during the diocese's annual convention, held June 5-7 in Speculator, New York, also agreed with a recent statement released by 15 active and retired Episcopal Church bishops who are Communion Partners, a group of Episcopalians who have said they will remain in the church despite disagreeing with some of its policies and theological stances.

Church Welcomes Free Health Clinic

June 17, 2009, GLENDALE, Calif. – Volunteers at First United Methodist Church were feverishly preparing to accommodate a multitude, but not for Sunday services. This was Tuesday evening, which meant people from all over Los Angeles would soon begin taking seats in an old Sunday school classroom to receive healing. For the next five hours, this room would be transformed into a free health clinic. "This clinic is the only 100 percent free clinic in Los Angeles County, as far as I know," said Dr. Arbi Ghazarian, who started the clinic six years ago. "Not a single staff member gets paid."

Accepting Grace Is Dad's Final Lesson

June 19, 2009 – The day I lost the ability to cry was in the spring of 1982. I heard a commotion in my parents' bedroom and walked in to find my mother hitting my father, who was in a wheelchair in the aftermath of a stroke and in the final stages of lung cancer. Seeing her strike this gentle, now defenseless man at the end of his life was a decisive moment. It hardly should have been surprising that an alcoholic, cared for all her life, would lash out in frustration at being placed in the role of caretaker. Still, there were no more tears left as I separated her from my father.

Spanish News

Camino De Edimburgo 2010, Cuba Estudia Significación
Del Congreso Evangélico Hispanoamericano De La Habana

16 junio 2009, MATANZAS, Cuba – La identidad evangélica latinoamericana, la unidad cristiana y la misión integral de la Iglesia, serán los tres ejes temáticos que integrarán a importantes líderes ecuménicos de la región y de Cuba en lo que será la celebración por el aniversario 80 del Congreso Evangélico Hispanoamericano, celebrado en La Habana en 1929. La importante cita, prevista para la semana del 22 al 26 del actual junio, ha sido convocada por el Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba (CIC); el Seminario Evangélico de Teología (SET), de Matanzas, sede del cónclave; el Centro Memorial Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr; el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) y su homólogo en la región, el Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (CLAI).

Alianza Por La Diversidad Sexual Anuncia Marcha Para Reforma Constitucional

19 junio 2009, SAN SALVADOR – Luego de una escalada de asesinatos y diversos hechos de violencia, la Alianza por la Diversidad Sexual LGBT de El Salvador, realizará este 27 de junio a las 02 PM hora local, una marcha hacia el Congreso Nacional para exigir la reforma del Artículo 3 de la Constitución de la República y para expresar luto y repudio por la muerte de más 11 personas en lo que va del 2009.

Los Medios Deben Decir a Los Gobernantes Que Respeten
Los Derechos Indígenas, Dice Presidente De La WACC

17 junio 2009, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – El Presidente del Centro de Estudios Pastorales para Centroamérica (CEDEPCA) y también presidente de la Asociación Mundial para la Comunicación Cristiana (WACC, por sus siglas en inglés), Dennis Smith Sinclair, ve justa la demandas de los pueblos indígenas del Perú, Ecuador, Colombia y Nigeria en África, donde las empresas transnacionales llegan a explotar recursos naturales, contaminando la vida y el medio ambiente.

Síntomas En Cuba De La Crisis Económica Mundial

18 junio 2009, LA HABANA, Cuba – Los síntomas de la crisis económica "están entre nosotros": fábricas afectadas, algunas paralizadas, producciones deprimidas, anuncios de peores contingencias, informa en un reportaje en sus dos páginas centrales este domingo 14 de junio el diario "Juventud Rebelde," el "Diario de la Juventud Cubana." Para el profesor de economía Roberto Campbell Tross, de la Universidad "General Máximo Gomez," de Ciego de Ávila, en el centro de la isla, "una de las grandes dificultades es la falta de una cultura económica que se traduce en el despilfarro de recursos, el sobreconsumo de portadores energéticos y la presencia de activos ociosos en las entidades."

Grupos E "Iglesias Cómplices" Pretenden Debilitar Al Estado Laico,
Afirma Diputada En Cumbre Evangélica

16 junio 2009, CIUDAD DE MÉXICO – Desde el poder, existen grupos que pretenden debilitar al Estado laico, y para ello se necesita una, o varias iglesias, que sean cómplices y que estén del lado de la autoridad, como hoy sucede, acusó la diputada Beatriz Pagés Rebollar. Desde el púlpito de la Iglesia Metodista de México, dijo que a los cristianos evangélicos se les relaciona con el activismo social y con el trabajo a favor de la sociedad, tal y como lo hizo Cristo, por ello son vistos como integrantes de la izquierda en México.

Multitudes, Represión Y Heridos En Manifestación De Respaldo a Los Pueblos Amazónicos

16 junio 2009, LIMA, Perú – Decenas de millares de personas se congregaron el pasado jueves 11 en el centro de Lima para mostrar su solidaridad con los reclamos de los pueblos amazónicos, quienes demandan desde hace dos meses la derogación de varios decretos supremos que promueven la inversión privada en sus tierras y hacen peligrar la preservación del medio ambiente. La otra razón de la movilización fue el repudio a los sucesos del 5 de junio en Bagua, donde murieron decenas de personas, entre civiles y policías, en un intento de desalojo de las carreteras que tenían ocupadas los indígenas amazónicos como protesta ante las leyes promulgadas por el gobierno del presidente Alan García.

Sínodo De Las IRA, Reafirma Su Fe Reformada Y Llama Al Compromiso Ciudadano

17 junio 2009, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Bajo el lema "Nuestra ayuda está en el nombre del Señor, que hizo el cielo y la tierra" y buscando "afirmar la fe reformada en el camino de la unidad," delegados y delegadas de las Iglesias Reformadas en Argentina (IRA) se reunieron del 13 al 15 de junio, en las instalaciones del ISEDET, para celebrar el Sínodo número 38. En el marco de las celebraciones en conmemoración a los 500 años del nacimiento de Calvino, las Iglesias Reformadas se encontraron para reflexionar y profundizar la comprensión de la vida y del legado del reformador, tratando de interpretar la tradición reformada en las iglesias y en el mundo de hoy.

Murió Hortensia Bussi, Viuda Del ex Presidente Allende

18 junio 2009, SANTIAGO, Chile – La viuda del ex presidente chileno Salvador Allende, Hortensia Bussi, quien al morir su marido el 11 de septiembre de 1973 se convirtió en una figura destacada contra la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet, murió hoy a los 95 años, informaron familiares. Bussi, profesora de historia, se casó en 1940 con quien sería presidente a partir de 1970, y tuvo tres hijas, Beatriz, Carmen Paz y María Isabel, quien es diputada desde 1994 -presidió la cámara baja entre 2003 y 2004- y, desde hace un año, primera vicepresidenta del Partido Socialista.

Religious Liberty News

Mission Society Wins Lawsuit on ‘Leafleting' Gay Festival

June 18, 2009 – The Apple of His Eye, a St. Louis-based LCMS mission society, is free to distribute religious literature at public events in the city of St. Louis, according to a U.S. District Court judge. On June 11, Judge Henry Autrey signed a permanent order that bars the city from arresting or threatening to arrest members of The Apple of His Eye while they are handing out their literature. The First Amendment lawsuit was filed last year after Apple of His Eye missionary Alan Butterworth and founder Steve Cohen were distributing free religious tracts in the city's Tower Grove Park during a 2006 "gay pride" event. Both men were first told to cease literature distribution at PrideFest, and later told to vacate the premises or face arrest.

National News

Navajoland: Convocation Delegates Approve Plan for September Episcopal Election

June 14, 2009 – Delegates to the 33rd annual Convocation of the Episcopal Church in Navajoland June 12-14 overwhelmingly approved creation of a leadership conference to facilitate the elections of an interim bishop in September and a Navajo, or Diné, bishop for Navajoland, an area mission of The Episcopal Church, by 2013. With Navajo vestments and crozier, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori officiated at a June 12 opening Eucharist and healing service attended by about 150 people, including 40 delegates at Good Shepherd Mission in Fort Defiance, Arizona.

Lutherans Raise Awareness about Health Care Issues

June 12, 2009 – This summer the federal government is considering comprehensive reform of the U.S. health care system. "It is no exaggeration to say that this summer might be the best opportunity in a generation to achieve any sort of comprehensive health care reform," said Robert Francis, director for domestic policy, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Washington Office. "This is why it is so important for people of faith to come together, talk about this issue and make their voices heard." On June 24 the ELCA and other faith communities around the country are uniting in Washington, D.C., to mobilize for "An Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer."

International News

Archbishop of Canterbury Calls for Commitment to Sustainable Peace in Sudan

June 18, 2009 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has issued a statement in support of today's ‘Sudan Day of Action' which calls for a renewed commitment to sustainable peace in Sudan. The Sudan Day of Action, organised by Baroness Cox and the Sudan Action Group, aims to raise awareness for the desperate plight of the people of Sudan. The Archbishop's statement is below: This Sudan day of action is a crucial reminder of the need for renewed commitment to achieving sustainable peace in Sudan.

CWS' McCullough Urges Honest Talk about Tough West Africa Issues

June 18, 2009, MONROVIA, Liberia – As nations in West Africa continue attempts to achieve lasting peace and prosperity after decades of conflict the Reverend John L. McCullough has issued a call for honest talk about the issues – poverty, hunger, corruption, conflict, dislocation – that have resulted in so many affronts to the dignity of people living in the struggling region. McCullough, executive director and CEO of humanitarian agency Church World Service, spoke on June 15 in Monrovia, Liberia to West African church leaders and government officials attending a week-long conference, "Climate Change, Human Rights, Peace and Security."

Church Leaders Plead for Citizens on China's Death Row

June 12, 2009, NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenyan church leaders are urging their government to move swiftly to save the lives of citizens of the east African country who are on death row in China. "They [Kenya government] have to be quick," Anglican Bishop Joseph Wasonga told Ecumenical News International on June 12 after news broke that five Kenyans had been sentenced to death in China, and six were serving life imprisonment terms, due to drug trafficking convictions. "Drug trafficking is a big challenge to countries, and measures should be taken against it, but still, those accused will need justice," said Wasonga, bishop of the Diocese of Maseno West. "The government must ensure these citizens are properly tried."

People in the News

National Ministries Names Liaison for Burmese Refugees

June 15, 2009, VALLEY FORGE, PA – National Ministries Executive Director Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III today announced the appointment of Rev. Rothangliani R. Chhangte, an ordained American Baptist minister, as liaison for Burmese refugees. Chhangte assumes her new post on June 22. Chhangte will address needs of the growing influx of Burmese refugees by building successful relationships and fostering meaningful partnerships among this population and American Baptist churches and regions.