Front Page

Haitian Challenge: Remember History, Look Forward

January 20, 2010 – Haiti, long an outpost for United Methodist mission and relief workers, looks toward the denomination for guideposts toward rebirth. And it won't be easy. Now, in addition to continuing the long-standing mission of helping relieve the suffering spurred by historical poverty and official neglect, the denomination must help the country rise again once the bottom has been reached on this epochal human crisis. "We're talking about a country who will be starting from ground zero,'‘ says Harvey Dupiton, a member of the United Nations Association of Haiti.

U.S. Multiculturalism Is a "Done Deal"

January 20, 2010 – Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, professor of church growth and evangelism at North Park Seminary in Chicago, Ill., says church leaders who currently wonder if the United States is becoming a multicultural nation need to know that it is already "a done deal." In his presentation, Rah offered statistics to back up his assertions that the face of Christianity has changed and changed for good – in the U.S. and around world.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Celebrates Beginnings of Modern Ecumenical Movement

January 20, 2010 – The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity includes a Scottish flavor this year as Christians around the world remember the 100th anniversary of the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh that is widely regarded as a major milestone in the modern ecumenical movement. Each year, an ecumenical group in a different part of the world prepares the materials for the annual prayer week, which runs Jan. 18-15.

Presiding Bishop: King Would ‘Remind Us That the People of Haiti Are Our Brothers and Sisters'

January 18, 2010 – When 8-year-old Ismail Taylor-Kamara saw the news about the devastation Haiti suffered in last week's earthquake, he e-mailed his priest, the Rev. Canon Sandye Wilson, asking her to help him organize the children at St. Andrew & Holy Communion in South Orange, New Jersey, to help Haitian children. "He asked the most important question: ‘Will you help me?'" said Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori after meeting Taylor-Kamara at the church's "Small Fry Mass" for families with small children on Jan. 17.

Haiti Earthquake Response

Fallen Colleagues Remembered at Hotel Montana

January 23, 2010, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Walking up the curving driveway to the Hotel Montana, Melissa Crutchfield stopped several time to pick flowers. Crutchfield, United Methodist Committee on Relief international disaster response director, was on her way to a memorial service for two United Methodist executives and friends who died in the hotel after being trapped inside during the earthquake that hit Jan. 12. The Rev. Sam Dixon, top executive of UMCOR, and the Rev. Clinton Rabb, executive with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, both died from their injuries

LWF General Secretary Calls for New and Lasting Engagement with Haiti
Noko: Illegitimate to Continue to Claim Haiti's External Debts

January 22, 2010, GENEVA – In view of the tremendous loss of human life and the extent of the devastation as a result of the earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January, the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, called for a new and lasting engagement with Haiti "going beyond emergency response and recovery to a deeper solidarity with Haiti's struggle for stability and development." Even after the earthquake and its consequences disappear from the international news headlines, "the international community must continue to accompany Haiti in new long-term partnership based on a clear analysis and acknowledgement of the historical, political and economic processes that already before the earthquake had led Haiti into such a vulnerable situation," he said.

Aftershock Rocks Haiti: Diocese Expands its Recovery Role

January 22, 2010 – As a major aftershock rocked the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and Léogâne, more news emerged Jan. 20 about the growing role of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti in the country's short-term relief efforts and long-term recovery. The news included reports of babies being born and the loss of more people served by the diocese. A magnitude 5.9 aftershock struck just after 6 a.m. local time about 35 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which had earlier in the day calculated the aftershock at 6.1 on the Richter scale.

CWS Situation Report: Haiti Earthquake

January 22, 2010 – Via prepositioned CWS supplies, CWS partners were able to begin assisting survivors within 24-hours of the quake. CWS and its partners continue to respond to the needs of survivors both in and outside the capital of Port-au-Prince. Attention is also now turning to survivors who are now expected to leave the capital of Port-au-Prince for rural areas and into displacement camps just outside the city. Some 400,000 persons are expected to move to the camps.

Haiti Journal: Encountering Refugees, Stories of Loss

January 22, 2010 – Day one in Haiti. Day one in Haiti. It is a long, hard crawl from the border of the Dominican Republic to Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. The closer you get to the city, the slower you move. A crush of people, cars, buses, scooters, bikes and the occasional cow or donkey clog the two-lane road and compress it to a width that seems much too narrow for a car and too dangerous for anyone not surrounded by the secure walls of a vehicle. Somehow, everyone squeezes through.

ELCA Members Contribute More than $1.4 Million for Haiti

January 22, 2010, CHICAGO – As of Jan. 22 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have contributed more than $1.4 million to support recovery efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. According to Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer, about 11,000 gifts have been processed, totaling $1.43 million. With an additional $165,000 from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, $1.6 million in gifts have been contributed to the ELCA to support relief efforts in the Caribbean nation. The funds are being disbursed to three partner organizations of the church working on the ground in Haiti – Church World Service, New York; The Lutheran World Federation, Geneva; and Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore.

Medical Specialists Top Volunteer List for Haiti

January 22, 2010, NEW YORK – Medical specialists are the first category of volunteers needed to assist earthquake survivors in Haiti. Officials with the United Methodist Committee on Relief and other units of its parent agency, the Board of Global Ministries, said they would be working with the Methodist Church of Haiti and other organizations to provide medical and other services to Haiti. "We have already received an outpouring of inquiries and offers for volunteers to provide a variety of services," wrote Bishop Joel Martinez, the Board of Global Ministries' interim top executive, in a letter to bishops. "While we are encouraged by this spirit of support, we strongly advise that teams and others not set out for Haiti at this time."

Haitian Bishop Briefs Episcopal Relief and Development on Diocese's Priorities
Headmistress Says ‘The Tragedy Was Incredible to Me'

January 22, 2010 – Episcopal Diocese of Haiti Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin and other members of the diocese briefed two Episcopal Relief & Development officials Jan. 22 about the diocese's relief and recovery priorities. The meeting came 10 days after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake decimated wide swaths of Haiti just before 5:00 p.m. local time Jan. 12. It was the second time Katie Mears, the agency's program manager for USA disaster preparedness and response, and Kirsten Muth, Episcopal Relief & Development's senior program director, have been in Port-au-Prince to assist the diocese in the last week.

Church Continues to Assist Haiti with Aid by Air and by Hand

January 21, 2010 – Helicopters, satellite phones, a little shared rice, prayer and the laying on of hands were all part of the Episcopal Church's continued efforts to help the country of Haiti nine days after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake decimated parts of the impoverished nation. The hardware is coming into Haiti by way of the Dominican Republic, the Episcopal Church diocese there and Episcopal Relief & Development, and the rice and ministering prayer is coming, in part, from the three sisters of the Couvent Sainte Marguerite, adjacent to the cathedral and operated by the Sisters of Saint Margaret, who have told their Boston-based colleagues that they are staying put.

First LWF Relief Convoy Arrives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

January 21, 2010, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) plans to scale up operations and strengthen logistics capacity in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic following the Jan. 20 arrival of the first DWS convoy with urgently needed relief supplies in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is sharing funds given to the church by members in response to the Haiti earthquake with the LWF/DWS, Lutheran World Relief, Baltimore, and Church World Service, New York.

CRWRC Focuses on Haiti Response in Leogane

January 21, 2010 – The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) will focus its current emergency relief efforts in Haiti on the town of Leogane, about 20 miles west of Port au Prince, in coordination with other international non-government and Christian organizations responding to the January 12 earthquake and ongoing tremors. "Ninty percent of Leogane's residents have lost their homes," said CRWRC's Disaster Response Director, Jacob Kramer, of the town of about 175,000 people.

Church World Service Turns Attention to Children, Disabled in Haiti, Expedites Med Supplies
local Haitian Agency's Offices Destroyed, Years' Work ‘Feels like a Victim of the Disaster'

January 20, 2010, PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Following this morning's 6.0 aftershock in quake-decimated Port au Prince, Haiti, Church World Service staff on the ground continue to expedite emergency aid to those in need while also turning attention to vulnerable children and people with disabilities. Emergency hygiene and baby care kits and blankets now are being distributed. With ocean shipping schedules backed up, the agency quickly diverted part of a 40-foot container shipment of emergency kits scheduled to leave tonight."

Aftershock Rocks Haiti; Diocese Expands its Recovery Role

January 20, 2010 – As a major aftershock rocked the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and Léogâne, more news emerged Jan. 20 about the growing role of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti in the country's short-term relief efforts and long-term recovery. The news included reports of babies being born and the loss of more people served by the diocese. A magnitude 5.9 aftershock struck just after 6 a.m. local time about 35 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which had earlier in the day calculated the aftershock at 6.1 on the Richter scale.

Missionaries Call on Church's Deep Connections with Haiti
One Week Later, ‘Devastated Diocese' Continues 150-year History of Service

January 19, 2010 – Close to a week after the worst earthquake to rock the country in 250 years devastated Haiti, Episcopalians there might be recalling a Creole Haitian proverb that says God tells people: "You do your part; I'll do mine" ("Bondye do ou: fè pa ou, M a fè pa M."). The Rev. Lauren Stanley told ENS Jan. 19 that she has been using that proverb to help tell the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti's story after the Jan. 12 earthquake. "God has always done God's part and the Episcopal Church of Haiti has always done its part" for that last 150 years, forming Christians, teaching the children of the country, healing the sick, aiding the hungry and thirsty, helping the lame to walk by way of prosthetic limbs, she said.

Lutheran Federation Staff Reports Damage Extends Beyond Port-au-Prince

January 19, 2010, CHICAGO – Severe damage from the Jan. 12 earthquake extends beyond Port-au-Prince, Haiti. According to staff of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) Caribbean/Haiti program, the towns of Gressier, Carrefour and Leogane, west of the Haitian capital, have also been destroyed. Between 80 and 90 percent of buildings in Leogane were destroyed, according to United Nations reports. Getting through anywhere outside the capital takes a long time, reported Sylvia Raulo, program director, DWS Caribbean/Haiti. She said many people who have lost their homes in Port-au-Prince are moving to other towns.

LWF Convoy Brings Relief Assistance to Haitian Capital
Towns and Other Regions Outside Port-au-Prince Also in Ruins

January 19, 2010, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti/GENEVA – Reports coming from staff of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) Caribbean/Haiti program indicate that the severe damage from the 12 January earthquake goes beyond Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. The towns of Gressier, Carrefour and Leogane, west of Port-au-Prince, have also been destroyed, says Sylvia Raulo, DWS Caribbean/Haiti program director. Getting through anywhere outside the capital takes a long time, she notes, adding that many towns and areas in which the DWS has been working for years were hit hard by the quake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale.

CRWRC Sets up Logistics Center in Dominican Republic

January 18, 2010 – Due to the devastated infrastructure throughout Haiti, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) is setting up a logistics center in the Dominican Republic as a base for procuring and distributing aid after last week's 7.0 earthquake. "Haiti doesn't have large reserves of food and other supplies in the best of times, so existing supplies are expected to be exhausted very soon. Then, all supplies will have to come in from abroad," said CRWRC's Disaster Response Director, Jacob Kramer. "In addition, the container cranes on the docks in Port au Prince cannot be used.

Scientology-Sponsored Charter Flight Brings Medical and Spiritual Aid to Haiti

January 18, 2010, NEW YORK – A charter flight organized by the Church of Scientology carried 126 doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians and Scientology Volunteer Ministers to Port-au-Prince where the group arrived Sunday. Assisted by Homeland Security, the plane left JFK International Airport Saturday to provide urgently needed help in Haiti in the wake of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that hit the island on January 12. The effort brought together medical doctors and nurses from the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad (Association des Medecins Haitiens a l'Etranger), paramedics and emergency medical technicians from New York City and New Jersey led by the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and Scientology Volunteer Ministers from New York, Tampa and elsewhere.

Haitian Bishop, Living in Tent City, Says ‘The People Are Strong'
Duracin Calls for Help as Church, Episcopal Relief and Development Respond

January 18, 2010 – Rejecting offers to evacuate him from Port-au-Prince, Episcopal Diocese of Haiti Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin said Jan. 18 that he must remain in the Haitian capital. "No, I will stay with my people," the Rev. Lauren Stanley, one of four Episcopal Church missionaries assigned to the Haitian diocese, told ENS the bishop said in response to the evacuation offer. Stanley was home in Virginia when the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck just before 5:00 p.m. local time Jan. 12 and has been monitoring diocesan reports from there.

Papal Nuncio's Eyewitness Report from Haiti

January 18, 2010 – "I have just returned this morning. I found priests and nuns in the streets, without homes. The Rector of the seminary survived, as did the Dean of Studies, but the seminarians are under the rubble. Everywhere, you can hear cries from under the rubble. The CIFOR – Institute of Studies for the Men and Women Religious – has collapsed with the students inside, participating in a conference. The nunciature building has withstood the earthquake, without any injuries, but we are all amazed! So many things are broken, including the Tabernacle, but we are more fortunate than others.

CRC Helps Stem Horror in Haiti

January 16, 2010 – The Christian Reformed Church in North America missionaries are reported to be safe and to have enough food and water to sustain them for now following the devastating earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince, Haiti, causing widespread destruction, deaths and injuries on Tuesday. Church officials say the news until now has been mostly good, but they have not yet been able to contact many of their Haitian colleagues. Communication in Haiti is difficult and the fate of many of the Haitian staff remains unclear.

General News

Caribbean Book Is a Cry for Life

January 19, 2010 A new publication on economic and ecological justice by church-based economists and justice advocates in the Caribbean region is a call to action for churches worldwide according to the Guyanese editor of the book. "The cry for life resounds throughout scripture," says Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth. "The Bible is a record of God speaking through prophets and calling the faithful to challenge injustice in the world around them." Sheerattan-Bisnauth, who heads-up social justice programming for the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), made her comments in announcing the publication on 18 January of an educational resource guide called Power to Resist and Courage to Hope: Caribbean Churches Living out the Accra Confession.

Pennsylvania: Bishop Appeals Church Court's Decision

January 20, 2010 – Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison on Jan. 19 appealed a decision by an ecclesiastical trial court, asking that a 2008 ruling that the bishop engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy be overturned. After Bennison's 2008 trial, the church's Court for the Trial of a Bishop found in February 2009 that 35 years ago when Bennison was rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upland, California, he failed to respond properly after learning that his brother, John Bennison, a 24-year-old seminary student (later deacon and priest) whom he had hired as youth minister, was "engaged in a sexually abusive and sexually exploitive relationship" with a minor parishioner.

Pittsburgh: Bishop Price Invites Parish Leaders to Discuss Differences

January 21, 2010 – The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh's provisional bishop has invited the clergy and lay leaders of 40 congregations to meet with him and discuss concerns they may have with the Episcopal Church, according to a Jan. 21 news release from the diocese. "I believe that much of the recent pain and turmoil in the Diocese of Pittsburgh has been caused by misunderstandings about the Episcopal Church," wrote Bishop Kenneth L. Price in a Jan. 20 letter to parish leaders who have not actively participated in the Episcopal Church since October 2008.

New Worship and Song Collections Planned for 2011

January 23, 2010 – Although work on a new denominational hymnal was suspended in May 2009, the United Methodist Publishing House and the United Methodist Board of Discipleship are developing a shorter, different type of resource – "Worship & Song" – to be published in February 2011. "The forthcoming ‘Worship & Song' collection," said Gary Alan Smith, general editor, "will offer the best of the best of the newest worship resources to The United Methodist Church and beyond." The new collection will include separate volumes for singing and worship.

Ecumenical News

Continue to Pray for the Unity of All Christians

January 20, 2010, VATICAN CITY – Before his general audience, held this morning in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, Benedict XVI blessed a marble state of St. Rafaela Maria Porras y Ayllon, foundress of the Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which has been positioned in a niche in the external wall of the Vatican Basilica. The theme of the papal catechesis in today's audience was the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is currently being celebrated and which, the Holy Father noted, invites us to pray to the Lord for "the visible unity of all Christians," because unity is "first and foremost a gift of God."

Denmark: Lutheran Church Agrees Nordic Accord with Anglicans

January 19, 2010 – At an international service for the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen on Dec. 13 congregants noted a strong Anglican presence with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams preaching the main sermon and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu leading a key prayer. Church officials said that it was probably a coincidence but a few days before the service, on Dec. 9, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark had agreed to sign the Porvoo Declaration on joint collaboration with Anglican churches.

Editorial Page

Editorial: Building Partnerships and Sharing God's Blessings

January 17, 2010 – In the past, Taiwanese Christians in Vienna, Austria would attend a local church service with their European neighbors. As the number of Taiwanese students in the area increased, a Christian fellowship was eventually created to meet the needs of these students. Sadly, this fellowship was eventually disbanded due to lack of funding and staff. Several years after, when PCT General Assembly met up with members from Reformed Church in Vienna, the latter offered a place for Taiwanese people to meet when PCT announced it would send a missionary to Vienna.

Tragedy in Haiti

January 23, 2010 – Recently I was greatly distressed to read in a local newspaper that the renowned Evangelist, Rev. Pat Robinson, attributed the natural disaster in Haiti to the work of the Devil. Specifically he attributed the Earthquakes which rocked the island Nation to a pact Haitian patriots had made with Satan when they forged the Independence of this slave state in the late 18th-Century/early 19th-Century. I find this both religiously and theologically downright insulting!

Spanish News

Preside Obispo Luterano Acto Ecuménico En Conmemoración De Los Acuerdos De Paz

18 enero 2010, SAN SALVADOR – El ahora partido político FMLN inició la conmemoración del XVIII aniversario de la firma de los Acuerdos de Paz, con un acto ecuménico presidido por el obispo Medardo Gómez de la Iglesia Luterana. El acto fue celebrado en el monumento del Cristo de la Paz y asistió la máxima dirigencia política, el cuerpo diplomático e invitados especiales. También participaron representantes de la Iglesia Luterana, Anglicana, calvinista, Bautista y Católico-Romana. En El Salvador las Iglesias históricas desempeñaron un papel importante para las causas populares y, en gran medida, la resolución de los acuerdos de paz se debe al esfuerzo de éstas.

Colaborador Cubano En Haití Afirma Que La Discapacidad Se Agudiza Tras La Tragedia

21 enero 2010, LA HABANA, Cuba – "Muchas personas con discapacidad, problemas de salud y necesidades de medicamentos, viven hasta ahora sin ningún tipo de atención," afirma en un correo electrónico el joven misionero cubano Ezequiel Batista, quien se encuentra en Haití, desde hace dos años, trabajando allí el tema de la discapacidad. El pastor cubano de origen haitiano y graduado del Seminario Evangélico Los Pinos Nuevos en Cuba, expone que sostuvo un encuentro con un funcionario del Estado de allí, quien le atendió en plena calle, pues su oficina también fue destruída, manifestándole que la situación de las personas con discapacidades resulta doblemente difícil, aunque aún no se poseen cifras exactas de manificados en este sentido.

Cardenal Otra Vez Postulado Al Nobel De Literatura 2010

22 enero 2010, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – El padre Ernesto Cardenal, de 84 años, fue nominado otra vez al Premio Nobel de Literaura 2010, esta vez por la Sociedad General de Autores y Escritores de España (SGAE), junto a los escritores Ernesto Sábato, de Argentina, y Miguel Delibes, de la península ibérica. Nombrado anteriormente en el 2005 y 2007, el autor de poemas tan famosos como la "Oración por Marylin Monroe" o del "El Evangelio en Solentiname," fue sustentado, la pasada semana, por "los acreditados méritos literarios (...) que lo haceen acreedor al galardón más prestigioso de las letras," según reza en el acta de la SGAE.

Estado Salvadoreño Pide Perdón Por Víctimas Del Pasado Conflicto

21 enero 2010, SAN SALVADOR – En el acto por el XVIII Aniversario de la Firma de Los Acuerdos de Paz – realizado el sábado 16 de enero – isiblemente emocionado, el presidente de la República, Mauricio Funes, pidió perdón, en nombre del Estado, por las innumerables violaciones a los derechos humanos que se cometieron durante el pasado conflicto armado. La guerra civil, ocurrida en este país centroamericano entre 1980 y 1992, dejó como saldo más de 75 mil personas muertas y 8 mil desaparecidas.

ACT Establece Centro De Coordinación En Dominicana Para La Asistencia a Haití

20 enero 2010, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – "Destrucción masiva, dificultades con los alimentos, cadáveres en la calle, hedor, todo cerrado, falta de agua y tensión por desesperación de la población," es el reporte que hace el Equipo de Apoyo Rápido de la Acción Conjunta de las Iglesias, ACT, desde Puerto Príncipe, en una síntesis del informe que describe, de manera general, la situación que acontece en Haití. El documento, fechado el 17 de enero y enviado por Elsa Moreno, coordinadora del equipo de ACT que se encuentra en allí, recoge un diagnóstico rápido de la situación que se vive en Puerto Príncipe e identifica como necesidades prioritarias el agua, los albergues y la educación para establecer "cierta" normalidad a la mayor brevedad.

Llama Benedicto XVI a Luchar Contra Prácticas Inhumanas De Inmigrantes En Italia

21 enero 2010, CIUDAD DEL VATICANO – Una ola de violencia contra los inmigrantes africanos que trabajan en los campos de Italia, perpetrada en los últimos días, llevó al Papa Benedicto XVI a hacer un llamado al pueblo italiano. Como resultado de la violencia fueron heridos unos 70 africanos y la policía evacuó a cientos de ellos residentes em la ciudad de Rosarno, en Calabria. Según diversos medios de prensa, la causa está vinculada al crimen organizado del cual participa esa región italiana.

Iglesia Episcopal Demanda Urgente Solidaridad Con Haití

19 enero 2010, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – En una misiva circulada al clero y al pueblo episcopal de Guatemala, el Obispo Armando Guerra solicitó levantar, "de forma generosa," ofrendas en todas las congregaciones durante los oficios religiosos de enero para enviar a las víctimas del terremoto en Haití, ayuda que será canalizada a través de su Oficina de ERD en Guatemala.

Gobierno Envía Ayuda a Haití E Iglesias Reclaman Solidaridad

18 enero 2010, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – El gobierno de Nicaragua envió una unidad de ayuda humanitaria del Ejército Nacional, compuesta por 32 miembros y material médico, a fin de socorrer a los sobrevivientes de la tragedia en Haití. Las iglesias se unen para intensificar la ayuda. La unidad militar, bajo el mando del general Mario Pérez Cassar, partió el viernes en dos aviones Antonov 26, uno con personal especializado en rescate y evaluación de daños y otro con atención de primeros auxilios, médicos, enfermeras, medicamentos y casas de campaña con capacidad para atender durante ocho días.

WACC Llama a Crear Un Fondo Para La Reconstrucción De Las Redes De Comunicación En Haití

19 enero 2010, TORONTO, Canadá – La WACC – Asociación Mundial para la Comunicación Cristiana, a través de su Secretario General, Rev. Randy Naylor, hizo un llamado a sus miembros corporativos a colaborar con la recuperación de la infraestructura de comunicaciones en las comunidades, especialmente las estaciones de radio comunitaria. Aunque ahora hay otras prioridades, a largo plazo este daño también será vital en la recuperación. Haití es el país más pobre del hemisferio occidental, aún así su vibrante cultura oral de comunicación alternativa es evidente con 250 estaciones de radio comunitaria y sus transmisiones en creole y francés.

Organismos De Ayuda De Las Iglesias Responden Ante Emergencia En Haití

19 enero 2010, SAN SALVADOR – "Algunas oficinas de organizaciones de cooperación de las iglesias en Haití fueron destruidas por el pasado terremoto que arrasó con ese país, y las que no, sirven de apoyo para responder a la emergencia," informó Elsa Moreno, coordinadora local del Equipo de Apoyo Rápido de la Acción Conjunta de las Iglesias (ACT), organismo que se ha sumado a Naciones Unidas para la ejecución de un plan de contingencia. "Tenemos dificultades con la alimentación y el agua, los cadáveres por las calles son otra de las amenazas para la salud ... la comunicación es ilimitada y vivimos la desesperación de la gente," expresó Moreno en un informe a las Iglesias.

Más De Cien Religiosos Y Religiosas Muertas En Haití
La CLAR Llama a Estrategia Para La Ayuda

20 enero 2010, SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica – "Este domingo que sigue al terremoto de Haití nos permite celebrar la fe en uma profunda ocmunión com los hermanos y hermanas golpeados por la catástrofe del pasado martes." Así comienza una misiva enviada por el padre Gabriel Naranjo Salazar, secretario general del CLAR-Confederación Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Religiosos y Religiosas, quien, "teniendo en cuenta que lo que nos transmiten sigue siendo, apenas, una sombra de la realidad que allí se está viviendo," se refiere, entre otros asuntos a que "entre las y los miles de muertas y muertos y desaparecidos hay más de 100 religiosas y religiosos."

La Tragedia De Haití Continúa

16 enero 2010, MIAMI – La tragedia de Haití continúa. Los expertos han dicho que éste es el terremoto más grande que se recuerda. Hasta hoy sólo se han podido rescatar a una fracción de los que se encuentran atrapados bajo las ruinas. Por otra parte, la situación se empeora por la dificultad para hacer llegar los alimentos y los auxilios médicos a los heridos y a los que lo han perdido todo. El aeropuerto de Puerto Príncipe está colapsado por el número de aeronaves que han llegado de muchas partes del mundo.

Haití, Una Semana Después

19 enero 2010, MIAMI – Hoy martes se cumple una semana del terrible terremoto que devastó la capital de Haití y afectó otras partes del país. El optimismo que se vivió hace un par de días, parece decaer por la imposibilidad de hacer llegar agua, comestibles y acción médica a los que más lo necesitan. El aeropuerto está congestionado con los aviones que llegan de varias partes del mundo y las vías de acceso a otras áreas de la ciudad están bloqueadas por el número de cadáveres y la falta de equipos pesados para remover escombros.

Vudu Haití, Vudu Occidente

18 enero 2010, LIMA, Perú – Hablemos pues de demonios. Los españoles cristianos llegaron a fines del siglo XV a América, descubriéndola para sus ambiciones. Se produjo una cruenta matanza por parte de las huestes de Cristóbal Colon contra la población aborigen que vivía en la isla donde hoy se encuentra República Dominicana y Haití. Hacia 1540 la población indígena había casi desparecido. Enfermedades traídas por los europeos, el régimen de esclavitud al cual fueron sometidos, las matanzas y las hambrunas, todo provocada por hombres que besaban la cruz de Cristo, fueron la causa de este genocidio.

International News

North American Lutherans Prepare for Regional LWF Pre-Assembly
an Opportunity for Contextualized Response to Local and Global Challenges

January 21, 2010, GENEVA – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) Eastern Synod will host the North American region's preparatory meeting for the July 2010 Eleventh Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The assembly will take place in Stuttgart, Germany, under the theme "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread." The North America Pre-Assembly Consultation (NAPAC) to be held from 29 to 31 January in Kitchener, Ontario, will bring together around 40 delegates, youth stewards and advisers from the three LWF member churches in the region as well as staff.

Aborigine Church Proclaims Christ Through Community Clean-up

January 17, 2010 – About one year ago, Paiwan Presbytery's Jia-Chung Church began sweeping a main road bordering Kuei-Chung and Chi-Jia villages on the first Sunday of every month. Very early in the morning, some 20 church members head out to sweep this road together just before Sunday services. According to the church's pastor, Rev. Galaigai, it's harder for villagers to darken a church door, therefore, the church is going the extra mile in reaching out to the community. The ultimate purpose of sweeping this main road is to share the gospel through community service.

ELCA Wittenberg Center to Move, Establishes New Staffing Arrangement

January 21, 2010, CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Wittenberg (Germany) Center will move its offices to another location in the German city and employ a part-time coordinator who will also represent the ELCA in the observance of the "Luther Decade." The future viability of the center was in doubt this past October when it was announced that the center's two directors, the Rev. Stephen E. and Dr. Jean Godsall-Myers, would end their service at the center Nov. 30, 2009.

Middle East News

Draft Guidelines for October's Middle East Synod

January 19, 2010, VATICAN CITY – At midday today in the Holy See Press Office Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, presented the "Lineamenta" of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. The synodal meeting is due to be held in the Vatican from 10 to 24 October on the theme: "The Catholic Church in the Middle East. Communion and Witness. Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul." The "Lineamenta" or draft guidelines on the theme of the Synod have been published in Italian, English, French and Arabic, and are made up of an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion.

People in the News

WCC Congratulates Newly Elected Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej

January 21, 2010 – In a congratulatory letter to Bishop Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Nis, who was elected patriarch by the holy assembly of bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Friday, 22 January, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed " extraordinary joy" at the news of the election. "On behalf of the entire fellowship of the WCC member churches, in their deep commitment to make our unity in Christ visible, please accept, Your Eminence, our warmest congratulations and assurance of prayer that God will continue to bless the Serbian Orthodox Church through your leadership," Tveit wrote.