Front Page

African Lutheran Church Leaders Explore Climate Change Impact on Food Security
Nairobi Meeting Will Deliberate Theological Perspectives on "Daily Bread"

October 2, 2009, NAIROBI, Kenya/ Geneva – Climate change, food security and poverty in Africa will be the focus topics of a consultation of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 6-10 October. Over 50 participants from LWF member churches in Africa, field programs of the Department for World Service (DWS) and related partners will focus on the three topics under the theme "Vision, Realities and the Witness of the Church amid Crises of Climate Change, Food and Poverty."

Archdiocese Launches Website Dedicated to Ecumenical Patriarch's U.S. Visit

October 1, 2009, NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America is pleased to announce the launch of the web site dedicated to the US Visit of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at www.usvisit2009.org. The web site, which was built by the Archdiocese's Department of Internet Ministries, features content that will be continually updated and expanded throughout the US Visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, known as, "The Green Patriarch," (a name coined by former US Vice President Al Gore and adopted widely in the international media) is making an official visit to the United States from October 20 to November 6, 2009.

Transforming Guns into Hoes

October 1, 2009 – Seventeen years after the war ended in Mozambique, churches are still collecting and destroying weapons and cleaning up areas of unexploded ordnance so the land can be farmed. When armed conflicts end, the world's attention tends to fade away rather quickly. Reconstruction, however, may take a very long time. Churches in Mozambique know this all too well, as a team of Living Letters team learnt in late July. Living Letters are small ecumenical teams that travel on behalf of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Decade to Overcome Violence to visit churches which strive to promote peace.

End the Cuba Travel Ban Now, EPPN Urges

October 1, 2009 – The Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN) is urging individuals to join advocates throughout the United States in calling on Congress to end the ban on American travel to Cuba. "The travel ban has done nothing, over the past five decades, to weaken the Cuban government or to prompt reforms in political or human rights," a September 30 EPPN alert said. "Most importantly, the Cuban people have been harmed by the ban because they have been cut off from the friendship and support of the American people."

General News

ILC Affirms Bible's Position on Homosexual Behavior

October 1, 2009 – The International Lutheran Council (ILC), an association of 34 confessional Lutheran church bodies (including the LCMS) from six continents, has unanimously adopted a statement emphasizing commitment to the Bible's position on homosexual behavior. The action was taken at the ILC's 23rd International Conference Aug. 26-31 in Seoul, South Korea. Titled "Same-Gender Relationships and the Church," the ILC statement notes "confusion and discord" resulting from "churches in various parts of the world – including Lutheran churches" – after "some church bodies have adopted resolutions stating that sexually active, same-gender relationships are an acceptable way of life for Christians" and/or "have approved ordination of pastors living in such a committed, sexually active same-gender relationship."

Lutheran Core Leaders, Members Map Organization's Future

September 27, 2009, FISHERS, Ind. – Leaders and members of the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (CORE) began planning for the organization's future by adopting a constitution, including plans for a "free-standing synod" not directly related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). They also suggested ways for constituents to communicate concerns. With the adoption of its constitution, CORE's name was formally changed from "Coalition for Reform" to "Coalition for Renewal." Biblical teaching, the creeds and the Lutheran Confessions are key values of CORE, according to its constitution.

ELCA, LCMS Leaders to Continue Cooperative Ministries, When Possible

October 1, 2009, BALTIMORE – Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) agreed they would do all they can to continue their longtime cooperative ministries, despite decisions made by voting members of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly regarding human sexuality. The ELCA is a 4.6-million member church based in Chicago. The 2.4-million member LCMS is based in St. Louis. The ELCA and the LCMS do not have "altar and pulpit fellowship" with each other because of doctrinal disagreements.

Lutheran CORE Attendees Express Variety of Viewpoints

September 27, 2009, FISHERS, Ind. – Some 1,200 Lutherans attended the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (CORE) convocation here Sept. 25-26, united in their concern about the actions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on human sexuality. But individual responses to the assembly actions varied considerably. The assembly adopted the social statement, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," by a two-thirds vote. The statement addresses several topics related to human sexuality from a Lutheran perspective.

Large ELCA Congregation Votes to Leave the Denomination

September 27, 2009, CHICAGO – Community Church of Joy, Glendale, Ariz., ended its affiliation Sept. 27 with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. The congregation was the 10th largest in the ELCA with 6,800 baptized members. According to the 2009 ELCA Yearbook, Community Church of Joy's current operating expenses are more than $2.7 million. It gave more than $207,915 to the ELCA and other organizations in benevolence. By a unanimous vote of 129-0, Community Church of Joy terminated the relationship at a congregational meeting following worship.

Lutherans "In the Pew" to Engage Globally Through National, Local Events

October 1, 2009, CHICAGO – Engaging in mission and ministry around the world is not an extracurricular activity, according to Sunitha Mortha of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Global mission no longer takes place "over there," she said. Immigration, travel and the Internet have brought the world to the individual. Mortha serves as director for the global formation program. She organizes two of the church's major events – the national ELCA Global Mission Event (GME) and the new Global Formation Event (GFE), the first of which is Oct. 2-3 at Living Word Lutheran Church, Katy, Texas.

Music and the Arts a Highlight of Summer Gatherings

October 1, 2009 – Singing was the draw at a festival of choirs in the Congo, while in Venezuela, both plastic arts and music played a key role at the annual Baha'i summer school. In the United Kingdom, the long-running Academy for the Arts gave 300 people the opportunity to focus on art, music, writing, or dance at a summer retreat. And in the United States, renowned Baha'i singer Narges and the Unity Bluegrass Band were among the performers who added an artistic element to the 50th year of the popular Green Lake conference.

Responding to Disasters, CWS Appeals for Donations

October 2, 2009 NEW YORK – In the wake of this week's rolling disasters across the Asia Pacific region and recent serious flooding in regions of the U.S., global humanitarian agency Church World Service calls on its donors and the public nationwide for increased support, as the agency responds to the latest events and begins to assess longer term recovery needs. The agency is also heightening its appeal for contributions to support the increasing food crisis and famine in Kenya. "We are urgently asking for help," says Church World Service Executive Director, the Rev. John L. McCullough.

‘Gardening for God' Reaps Unexpected Blessings

October 1, 2009, LEACHVILLE, Ark. – When members of a small United Methodist church followed Jesus' command to feed the hungry, they reaped a lot more than they sowed. This spring, Leachville United Methodist Church grew corn on about three acres along the main highway in this northeastern Arkansas farming town. Church members harvested the ears by hand, then delivered bags of about a dozen each to elderly residents and families in Leachville and the neighboring towns of Monette and Manila.

Black Church Leaders Learn Tech-Savvy Ways

September 29, 2009, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – United Methodist black congregations seeking to use the gift of technology often find themselves somewhere between Skype and phone trees. So when nearly 100 African-American pastors and lay leaders attended a gathering of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century here, they were eager to learn how to better present their message to today's congregations.

Ecumenical News

Honest Dialogue: the Basis for Interfaith Encounters

October 1, 2009 – World Council of Churches (WCC) current and incoming general secretaries have highlighted honesty in dialogue as the basis of meaningful interfaith encounters. "A fruitful mutual understanding [between people of different faiths] depends on honesty," stated the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia speaking at the opening of a conference involving Muslim, Christian and Jewish participants in Geneva on 30 September – 1 October. Honesty means "both convergences and genuine differences must be recognized and held in a creative tension," said Kobia.

Bartholomew I to Open the Faith and Order Plenary Commission Meeting

September 28, 2009 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will open the meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, which will take place in Kolympari, Crete, Greece, from 7 to 14 October 2009. At this plenary meeting, the 120 members of the commission, which is seen as Christianity's most representative theological forum, will address the question of Christian unity from new perspectives. Participants at the Crete gathering will not only address issues that have traditionally divided Christian denominations, but also matters that have become divisive in more recent times even within churches, such as questions of moral discernment.

Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists Mark 10th Anniversary of Joint Declaration

October 2, 2009, CHICAGO – Much work needs to be done for the meaning of a historic ecumenical agreement to take root among Catholic and Protestant believers, said a U.S. Roman Catholic leader, who preached Oct. 1 at a special worship and prayer service here at Old St. Patrick's Church. The Most Rev. Wilton D. Gregory, Roman Catholic archbishop of Atlanta, made the comment at a 10th anniversary celebration of the signing of the Joint Declaration on Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ). He also said the JDDJ should be shared with new generations of church leaders "as a standard of faithful preaching of the gospel."

Spanish News

Católicos Y Evangélicos Celebran Día De La Biblia

28 septiembre 2009, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – La iglesia Católica y las evangélicas realizaron marchas, jornadas de oración y cruzadas evangelísticas, para el último domingo de septiembre, en que se conmemoró el Día Nacional de la Biblia. El pastor Guillermo Sánchez, de la Iglesia de la Restauración, ante la crisis de valores y violencia que conmueve a esta capital en los últimos años, propuso durante el programa de radio de la CEPAD, voz oficial delo Consejo de Iglesias Evangélicas de Nicaragua, la promoción de una campaña de relectura y reflexión de las Sagradas Escrituras "para que el ser humano entienda la verdad y no se apegue a las corrientes del consumismo."

Concilio De Iglesias Se Solidariza Con 17 Mil Trabajadores Despedidos En El Sector Público

1 octubre 2009, SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Un comunicado de prensa emitido ayer aquí, por el Concilio de Iglesias de Puerto Rico (CIPR), denuncia las consecuencias en torno al despido masivo de 17 mil empleados y empleadas del sector público, considerado de "rudo golpe que se le ha asestado al pueblo. "Esta decisión del Gobierno, en primera instancia, coloca a decenas de miles de familias en una situación de completa indefensión y desasosiego, amén de afectar a la economía de nuestro país, así como la capacidad del propio gobierno de afirmar derechos civiles y democráticos y brindar servicios a la ciudadanía," continúa el texto.

"Dios Se Enamora De Los Pueblos Marginados," Afirma El Biblista Hugo Zorrilla

28 septiembre 2009, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – Durante una disertación que ofreciera el biblista latinoamericano Hugo Zorrilla, en el Seminario Abanabautista Latinoamericano de esta capital, afirmó que "Dios se enamora de los pueblos marginados." Ello coincidió con un curso intensivo, llamado Discernimiento de la Palabra, que se celebraba en ese Seminario, en el cual participaron líderes menonitas de centroamérica desde el pasado 21 y hasta el 25 de este mes.

El Debate Del Derecho Al Aborto Es Una Deuda De La Democracia Con Las Mujeres

29 septiembre 2009, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – "Espero que este año sin más dilaciones el parlamento nacional asuma este debate que es una deuda de la democracia con las mujeres, fundamentalmente discriminadas por situación de pobreza. Se debe garantizar nuestro derecho a decidir sobre nuestros cuerpos," afirmó la presidenta del INADI, Instituto Nacional Contra La Discriminación la Xenofobia y El Racismo, María José Lubertino, en el Día Latinoamericano por el Derecho al Aborto que se recuerda el 28 de setiembre.

México Inicia Curso Internacional Sobre Libertades Laicas

28 septiembre 2009, CIUDAD DE MÉXICO – Setenta participantes de más de 15 países y de múltiples organizaciones e instituciones vinculadas al tema de los religioso y la laicidad en la sociedad moderna, toman parte del IV Curso Internacional Fomentando el Conocimiento de las Libertades Laicas que se celebra en esta ciudad desde el lunes 21. Organizado por la Red Iberoamericana de Libertades Laicas, El colegio de México, que sirve de sede al evento, y el Programa Interdisciplinario de Estudios de las Religiones del Colegio Mexiquense, el curso toca temas como Principios de la laicidad; Estado laico, derechos humanos y democracia; Laicidad, derechos sexuales y reproductivos; y Retos actuales de la laicidad.

Patriarca Ecuménico Inaugurará Reunión Plenaria De Fe Y Constitución

28 septiembre 2009 – El Patriarca Ecuménico Bartolomé I inaugurará la reunión plenaria de la comisión Fe y Constitución del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) que se celebrará en Kolympari, Creta, Grecia, del 7 al 14 de octubre de 2009. En esta reunión, los 120 miembros de la Comisión, considerada como uno de los foros más representativos para el diálogo teológico en el mundo, abordarán desde nuevas perspectivas la cuestión de la unidad de los cristianos. Los participantes en la reunión de Creta no debatirán únicamente problemas que han motivado tradicionalmente la división entre confesiones cristianas, sino también asuntos que han causado divisiones en épocas más recientes, incluso al interior de las iglesias, como son las cuestiones relativas al discernimiento moral.

"El Pentecostalismo Es Un Fenómeno Explosivo," Afirma Teólogo Bautista Norteamericano

1 octubre 2009, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – "El Pentecostalismo es un fenómeno explosivo que viene del siglo XX y ahora se extiende como la espuma en América Latina, África, Asia y China, a partir de, más allá de cualquier poder político, interpretar el Evangelio recordando ciertos valores y creencias," afirmó el teólogo bautista norteamericano reverendo Stanley Slade, al dictar una conferencia durante la Semana de la Biblia, celebrada aquí del 23 al 30 de septiembre.

Pastoral Social De Cáritas Emite Declatoria Sobre El Estado De Sitio

2 octubre 2009, TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – "Movidos por la fe en Jesucristo fuente de justicia, verdad, fraternidad, paz y vida, Cáritas de Honduras manifiesta su profunda preocupación y consternación ante el rumbo que está adquiriendo la situación del país, que aflige y atemoriza todavía más a grandes sectores de la población," comienza diciendo una declaración, fechada este 30 de septiembre en Tegucigalpa y firmada por dicha pastoral social de la iglesia Católica.

Ley De Libertad Religiosa O Ley De Igualdad Religiosa

28 septiembre 2009, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – En algunos espacios de la sociedad argentina se ha establecido el debate sobre los diversos proyectos que existen y que llevan pretensiosamente el título de "Libertad Religiosa." Por un lado existe el proyecto elaborado en el contexto del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Cultos. Este proyecto fue consensuado durante un largo período con todas las organizaciones religiosas que hicieron llegar sus aportes y muchos de los cuales fueron incorporados al texto original. Lamentablemente este proyecto se encuentra a la firma del Canciller Dr. Taiana y aún no ha tomado estado parlamentario.

Transformar Armas En Azadas

1 octubre 2009 – Diecisiete años después del fin de la guerra en Mozambique, las iglesias siguen recogiendo y destruyendo armamento y limpiando terrenos de munición y restos explosivos para que la tierra pueda ser cultivada. Cuando la lucha armada en un país termina, la atención mundial tiende a decaer rápidamente. Sin embargo, la reconstrucción lleva mucho tiempo. Las iglesias de Mozambique conocen muy bien este fenómeno, como lo descubrió un equipo de Cartas Vivas a fines de julio.

Iglesias Solicitan Abordar Causas Estructurales Del Hambre

2 octubre 2009, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – Con un panorama de agudización de la sequía y el hambre en el país, el Concejo Ecuménico Cristiano de Guatemala y la Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes de Guatemala llamaron hoy a crear redes de solidaridad entre las comunidades y a luchar por el acceso a una alimentación con dignidad, a denunciar las causas estructurales que generan el flagelo y a acompañar las luchas por la defensa de la vida, los recursos naturales y la redistribución de la tierra.

"Las Visiones De La Libertad Religiosa" Discuten En Congreso De Libertad Religiosa, Conciencia Y Culto

30 septiembre 2009, COLOMBIA – Con la asistencia de diversos líderes espirituales y congresistas evangélicos concluyó el Primer Congreso de Libertad Religiosa, Conciencia y Culto, donde presentaron al gobierno nacional una iniciativa contra la violencia, la corrupción, la impunidad, la desigualdad y la pobreza, que permita rescatar los principales pilares de la sociedad.

Human Rights News

U.S. Rights Groups Urge Honduras, ‘Restore Civil Liberties, Protect Human Rights'

September 30, 2009 WASHINGTON. DC – Human rights advocacy organizations in Washington are calling on the de facto government of Honduras to restore civil liberties and respect human rights and freedom of expression, in the wake of crackdowns in the country following the June ouster of President Manuel Zelaya and Zelaya's secret return to Honduras on September 21. In a statement issued yesterday to the de facto government of President Roberto Micheletti, global humanitarian agency Church World Service Executive Director and CEO the Rev. John L. McCullough joined with faith-based and other NGO, Latin American policy, human rights, labor, and peace organizations, urging that the country's constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties be restored along with freedom of the press.

Religious Liberty News

Prominent Iranians Call for Religious Liberty

September 30, 2009, WASHINGTON – A best-selling author and an Oscar-nominated actress are among those who have called for religious freedom in Iran, including an end to the persecution of Baha'is in that country. Some 1,400 people heard Azar Nafisi, author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran," and Shohreh Aghdashloo, Academy Award-nominated actress for "House of Sand and Fog," speak at a public gathering this month at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. Both Dr. Nafisi and Ms. Aghdashloo were born in Iran, and neither is a member of the Baha'i community.

Court Action Allows Diocese to Resume Ministry at La Crescenta Property

October 1, 2009, LOS ANGELES – The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles on October 13 will resume ministry at St. Luke's of-the-Mountains Episcopal Church in La Crescenta, California, pursuant to a Superior Court order directing transfer of the property after some three years of litigation with a breakaway congregation. "Reconciliation and renewal in Christ continue to be our priorities in this transition, with our baptismal covenant calling us to respect every person's dignity," Los Angeles Bishop J. Jon Bruno said in a statement following the September 30 agreement.

International News

Indian Christian Leaders Call for an End to Caste-Based Discrimination, Also Within Churches

September 30, 2009 – As the United Nations has made a small but significant step forward towards declaring caste-based discrimination a human rights violation, Indian Christian leaders have called on the churches to confess that the caste system is still being practised also within them. The call came as senior representatives of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) met to discuss the churches' response to poverty and exclusion on the International Day of Prayer for Peace (21 September).

CRWRC Helps Bring Aid to Philippine Typhoon Survivors

September 30, 2009 – The Christian Reformed Relief Committee is working with local churches and disaster response teams in metro Manila to distribute emergency supplies to survivors of Typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines. The Typhoon is one of four disasters to hit Asia Pacific in the last week, including a 7.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked Indonesia early this morning. Three Christian Reformed Church of the Philippines (CRC-P) congregations in Manila were affected by storm—reportedly the worst in 40 years, taking more than 240 lives so far.

CRWRC Helps with Emergency Disaster Aid in Philippines, Indonesia, and Samoa

October 1, 2009 The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee is providing immediate, emergency aid in Asia in response to a sequence of catastrophic disasters that have occurred over the last week. PHILIPPINES With local churches, CRWRC is distributing food, water, blankets, and clothing to hundreds of Typhoon Ketsana survivors in settlements in and around Manila. CRWRC International Relief Managers will join development staff on the ground as soon as possible to assess needs for medical, rehabilitation, and livelihood interventions.

U.S., Overseas Lutherans Work Together in Response to Southeast Asia Storms

October 2, 2009, CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is working with its companion churches and institutions in Indonesia, the Philippines, the Samoan Islands and other earthquake, typhoon-stricken areas to respond to the needs of survivors. Worship and prayer resources for congregations are available at www.ELCA.org/worship, on the ELCA Web site.

Tanzanian Lutheran Bishop Stresses Need for Economic Recovery Programs

September 29, 2009, WASHINGTON – The Rt. Rev. Benson K. Bagonza, bishop of the Karagwe Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), shared stories of impoverished people in Africa with more than 25 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in a meeting prior to the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. "Tanzanians were among the poorest even before the present economic crisis," Bagonza said. "Therefore this economic crisis was yet another blow that has sent millions into a critical and vulnerable situation."

Interfaith Clergy Letter on Sudan Peace Delivered to White House
Episcopal, Other Faith Leaders Participate in October 2 Meeting

October 2, 2009 – Bishop Suffragan David Jones of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and Alexander Baumgarten, interim director of government relations for the Episcopal Church, joined faith leaders from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions for a meeting at the White House October 2 to present a copy of a letter on comprehensive peace in the Sudan signed by more than 1,400 clergy from across the United States. The letter, organized by the Sudan Interfaith Working Group, of which the Episcopal Church is a member, urges President Barack Obama to prioritize "efforts that will bring peace to millions that live in violence and fear while lacking the basic services essential for survival."