Front Page

Advocacy Days Conference Rallies with March for America on Immigration Reform

March 21, 2010, WASHINGTON, DC – As a lead-up to this afternoon's massive "March for America" immigration reform rally on the National Mall, an international conference this weekend on global migration issues also raised the volume on the immigration reform issue. Frustrated by an immigration system that fractures families and is viewed by reform proponents as neither fair nor humane, the nearly 750 participants at this year's Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference in Washington (March 19 – 21) are urging new U.S. immigration policies that make family unity a priority and provide visa reform, fair worker's rights, earned legal status for the undocumented, and humane enforcement.

Churches Launch Major Humanitarian Alliance

March 24, 2010 – The ACT Alliance, bringing together over 100 church-backed relief and development organizations worldwide, has been formally launched on 24 March with celebrations in Geneva and around the world. The new ACT Alliance is one of the world's largest humanitarian bodies working in 125 countries with a combined budget of 1.5 billion US dollars. It provides emergency food aid, shelter, water and sanitation facilities, and poverty reduction programmes in the world's poorest countries. The new body is a merger of the disaster relief network ACT International and its sister organization ACT Development.

Putting Faith at Work to Halt the Spread of HIV

March 24, 2010 – With a new sense of urgency in view of a pandemic that grows exponentially, high level figures from many of the world's faiths have committed to exercise "stronger, more visible and practical leadership" in response to HIV, with an emphasis on eradicating the stigma and discrimination towards those affected. "I am convinced that my faith must be more visible and active to halt the spread of HIV and reverse this pandemic," reads a "personal commitment to action" signed by some 40 Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh participants at a global Summit of High Level Religious Leaders that took place in the Netherlands from 22-23 March.

‘Need for Immigration Reform Is Now,' U.S. Faith Leaders Tell White House and Congress

March 24, 2010, WASHINGTON, DC – Building on the momentum of Sunday's massive comprehensive immigration reform rally in Washington, the head of humanitarian agency Church World Service, CWS advocacy staff, and a diverse group of U.S. faith leaders met Monday with representatives at the White House, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and staff of other lawmakers on Capitol Hill, to press for major immigration reform legislation this year. It was an issue that gained major public and media attention over weekend – despite the final fiery health care debate that was still roiling at that moment in the House. President Obama made his support for immigration reform visible on the big screen in a video message to the thousands of activists on the National Mall on Sunday.

President Signs Health Bill into Law; Faith-Based Groups Stay the Course

March 23, 2010 – President Barack Obama signed the health-insurance overhaul bill, extending coverage to some 30 million uninsured people, into law March 23 during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. "After a century of trying, today after over a year of debate, today, after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in America," said Obama, during the ceremony broadcast live on television and the Internet. Diocese of Connecticut Bishop Suffragan James E. Curry, speaking to ENS from the House of Bishops meeting in Camp Allen, Texas, called the legislation "a wonderful step that continues our national walk toward accessibility."

Lutherans Inspired at Ecumenical Advocacy Days

March 25, 2010, WASHINGTON – More than 80 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met here with more than 700 people of faith to worship, study and dialogue about migration and refugee issues at the eighth annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) for Global Peace with Justice March 19-22. The theme of this year's conference, "A Place to Call Home: Immigrants, Refugees and Displaced Peoples," focused on shaping U.S. immigration and refugee policies, and explored the root causes of migration and displacement. EAD is supported by 45 communions, religious societies and groups. The ELCA is a major sponsor of the event.

Debate Raises Questions about Church's Voice

March 26, 2010 – The debate over health care reform has touched off deep emotions in the U.S. public, but it has also sparked a separate – and equally passionate – set of reactions among United Methodists. As Congress grappled with the legislation during the weekend of March 20-21, many United Methodists were surprised to hear U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cite the church as a supporter of reform. On her Web site, she more specifically listed a church agency, the Board of Church and Society, in a long roll of organizations supporting reform. In the days that followed, United Methodist leaders fielded calls and e- mails from church members who were either elated or angry about the church's role. Many were confused. Who decided The United Methodist Church supports health care reform? Why is my church involved in a political issue? What authority does the Board of Church and Society have to speak for the church?

General News

Two New Members Elected to Universal House of Justice

March 20, 2010, HAIFA, Israel – The Universal House of Justice has announced the results of a by-election for two of its nine members. The new members are Stephen Birkland and Stephen Hall, elected in balloting in which members of national Baha'i governing bodies around the world serve as electors. The voting was done by mail, and results were conveyed today to all Baha'i National Spiritual Assemblies. The Universal House of Justice is the head of the Baha'i Faith. Its permanent seat is at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, and all members reside here for the duration of their service. The regular election of the nine members of the House of Justice occurs every five years at an international convention, held in Haifa. The most recent election was in 2008.

Namibian Bishop Kameeta Urges Global Lutheran Communion to Uphold its Unity
Keynote Address at Africa Pre-Assembly Challenges Churches' Role in Establishing Justice in Society

March 26, 2010, ABUJA, Nigeria/GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches have been challenged to focus on upholding the unity of the global Lutheran communion and on working together to ensure justice for all people in society. "We must not pride ourselves in the fragmentation, but in our unity. It is only in unity and in nothing else that our strength is anchored," said Namibian Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta, when he delivered the keynote address at the 24-28 March Africa Pre-Assembly and Church Leadership Consultation taking place in Abuja, Nigeria. Kameeta, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), is LWF vice president for the African region.

Glasspool Consent Continues to Draw Criticism, Praise

March 22, 2010 – Twelve active and retired Episcopal Church bishops, along with six rectors and deans, have said that they "disassociate" themselves from the wider church's consent to the ordination and consecration of its second openly gay and partnered bishop. The statement, posted here but not yet available on the Communion Partners' website, came in response to the March 17 news that Diocese of Los Angeles Bishop-elect Mary Douglas Glasspool had received the required number of consents from standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction to her ordination and consecration as bishop. Meanwhile, Fulcrum, a group of evangelical Anglicans in the Church of England, has called for Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori not to be invited to the next meeting of the Anglican Communion's primates or leaders.

Bishops' Theology Committee Publishes Draft Report on Same-Gender Relationships

March 24, 2010 – The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops, concluding its six-day retreat meeting at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas, has posted a draft of the long-awaited 95-page report titled "Same-Sex Relationships in the Life of the Church" on the College for Bishops' website. "For a generation and more the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion have been engaged in a challenging conversation about sexual ethics, especially regarding same-sex relationships in the life of the church," Theology Committee Chair and Alabama Bishop Henry Parsley wrote in the report's preface. "The hope of this work is that serious engagement in theological reflection across differences will build new bridges of understanding." A notation on the report's table of contents page cautions that the report "has been edited in several places" following a discussion among the bishops on March 20. "The responses of several pan-Anglican and ecumenical theologians will be added to this study in the summer, along with some further editing, before a final edition is published," the note concludes.

Rethinking Palm Sunday

March 25, 2010 – The first Palm Sunday was an outdoor event with cheering, frond-waving throngs greeting Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. It was a joyous beginning to a week that would turn incredibly tragic as Jesus was crucified – and then unbelievably joyous again as Jesus' followers learned of his resurrection. United Methodists in New Braunfels, Texas, will capture the spirit of that first Palm Sunday when they host their second Palms in the Park Service on Sunday, March 28. First United Methodist Church in New Braunfels first took its contemporary Palm Sunday worship service to the people in 2009. Church members invited guests to join them for worship at Landa Park, a beautiful area with natural springs, playgrounds and picnic areas located in the heart of the community.

Ecumenical News

World Mission Day 2010: Building Ecclesial Communion

March 26, 2010, VATICAN CITY – The Pope's Message for the eighty-fourth World Mission Day has been published. This year the Day falls on Sunday 24 October and has as its theme: "Building Ecclesial Communion is the Key to the Mission." Extracts from the Message are given below: "The month of October, with the celebration of World Mission Day, offers diocesan and parish communities, institutes of consecrated life, ecclesial movements, and the entire People of God an opportunity to renew their commitment to announcing the Gospel and to giving their pastoral activities a greater missionary scope."

Spanish News

Poner La Fe a Trabajar Para Detener El VIH

26 marzo 2010 – Con un sentimiento de renovada urgencia ante una pandemia que aumenta de manera exponencial, representantes de alto nivel de varias religiones se comprometieron a ejercer "un liderazgo más firme, visible y práctico" en respuesta al VIH. El énfasis está puesto en la erradicación del estigma y la discriminación hacia los afectados. "Estoy convencido de que mi fe debe ser más visible y activa para detener la propagación del VIH y reducir esta pandemia," dice el "compromiso personal para la acción" firmado por unos cuarenta participantes bahaís, budistas, cristianos, hindúes, judíos, musulmanes y sijs en la Cumbre mundial de líderes religiosos de alto nivel que tuvo lugar en los Países Bajos del 22 al 23 de marzo.

Las Iglesias Inauguran Una Gran Alianza Humanitaria

24 marzo 2010 – La Alianza ACT es una expresión genuina del llamamiento a ser uno para que el mundo pueda creer que Dios es un Dios de amor, dijo el secretario general del CMI. Foto: Alianza ACT La Alianza ACT, que reúne a más de 100 organizaciones de socorro y desarrollo respaldadas por las iglesias, fue formalmente inaugurada el 24 de marzo con celebraciones en Ginebra y en muchos otros lugares del mundo. La nueva Alianza ACT, uno de los mayores organismos humanitarios a nivel mundial, trabaja en 125 países con un presupuesto total de 1.500 millones de dólares estadounidenses.

Se Conmemora El Día Nacional De La Memoria Por La Verdad Y La Justicia

24 marzo 2010, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Varios actos en distintas regiones del país recordarán el 34° aniversario del golpe de Estado de 1976, golpe que abrió la página más sangrienta y oscura de la historia nacional. Cristina Kirhcner encabezará el acto central por el 34º aniversario del último golpe militar en el edificio en el que funcionaba la Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (ESMA), el principal centro de detención clandestino de personas de la ditadura militar.

Pastores Y Pastoras Analizan Capacidad De Sanación Del Perdón

26 marzo 2010, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – Un considerable grupo de pastores, pastoras y sus cónyugues se reunieron, el pasado 19 de marzo aquí, como parte de una serie de capacitaciones que realiza la Iglesia de Dios del Evangelio Completo, en 48 territorios guatemaltecos. La capacitación giró en torno a la necesidad de analizar y profundizar en el ministerio pastoral la importancia del poder de la decisión y el perdón. Lo interesante de este tema es que se enmarca dentro de los propósitos de la Campaña de Cuarenta Días del Perdón, que concluirá este 28 de marzo.

National News

PENNSYLVANIA: Hearing Set for Bishop's Appeal of Church Court Decision

March 22, 2010 – An Episcopal Church court will meet May 4 to hear oral arguments on Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison's request that a 2008 ruling that he engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy be overturned. The argument before the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop will take place at the Cathedral of St. John in Wilmington, Delaware. The court is Bennison's last resort in the ecclesiastical process. 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, then a 24-year-old newly ordained deacon (later priest) whom he had hired as youth minister, was "engaged in a sexually abusive and sexually exploitive relationship" with a minor parishioner.

Some Lutherans Continue to Be Affected by North Dakota-Minnesota Flooding

March 22, 2010, CHICAGO – The Rev. Emily A. Nesdahl led worship this past weekend at Harwood (N.D.) Elementary School because the building for the congregation she serves, Maple Sheyenne Lutheran Church, was isolated by overland flooding from the Sheyenne River. The Harwood congregation was ready. They had talked about this possibility on Sunday, March 14, and spread the word this past week about worship at the school location through the news media and e-mail. Nesdahl and others went to the church building on Thursday, March 18, to pick up hymnals and worship supplies for this past weekend.

International News

ACT Alliance Launched as New Global Humanitarian Organization
LWF Welcomes Merger of ACT International and ACT Development

March 24, 2010, GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has welcomed the creation of the ACT Alliance, one of the world's largest networks of church and church-related humanitarian relief and development organizations. In a greeting pronounced at the launch of the ACT Alliance on Wednesday, 24 March, LWF Deputy General Secretary Rev. Chandran P. Martin assured ACT Alliance colleagues of the Lutheran communion's support and solidarity.

African Lutheran Churches Urged to Intensify Efforts in Holistic Mission
LWF Africa Pre-assembly: Cameroonian Bishop Nyiwe Delivers Sermon at Opening Worship

March 25, 2010, ABUJA, Nigeria/GENEVA – Cameroonian church leader Bishop Dr Thomas Nyiwe has urged The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches in Africa to intensify their engagement in holistic mission despite the myriad challenges they face, as this calling remains an integral part of the mission to proclaim the gospel. The church's calling to "show special compassion and love to people in need, to give hope and serve the poor is as relevant today as it was when Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread," said Nyiwe, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon (EELC).

Call to African Churches to Embrace the Gift of Women in Leadership
Pastoral Letter to Church Leaders Insists on Firm Action on Women's Ordination

March 26, 2010, ABUJA, Nigeria/GENEVA – Women church representatives attending The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Africa Pre-Assembly and Church Leadership Consultation, have called on LWF member churches on the continent to "embrace the gift of women in leadership" while at the same time "promoting inclusivity in all structures of governance." In their message presented to the pre-assembly today, the women expressed their conviction about the essential perspectives that women bring to the ordained and lay ministry, especially in an increasingly fractured world.

Haiti – An Anglican Responsibility

March 23, 2010 – ‘The Anglican Communion needs to be actively involved in helping the rebuilding and healing of Haiti, working with the Église Épiscopale d'Haïti (the Anglican/Episcopal Diocese of Haiti) and its bishop the Rt Revd Zaché Duracin.' This was the message that Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa wanted to share with the wider Communion after a visit to Haiti 4-7 March 2010. Archbishop Makgoba was present in Haiti on a solidarity visit and in support of the work of The Gift of the Givers, the largest disaster relief organisation based on the African continent, which is in process of delivering the first shipment of relief supplies to meet urgent needs in Haiti following the earthquake on 12 January 2010.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Participates in Religious Leaders Summit on HIV

March 24, 2010, DEN DOLDER, The Netherlands – An international group of high-level religious and spiritual leaders pledged "stronger, more visible and practical leadership in the response to HIV" as a global Summit of Religious Leaders on HIV concluded here March 23. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), attended the summit. "Our focus was ending stigma and discrimination for those who are HIV positive and who have AIDS. We recognized that religious communities have been part of that," Hanson said in a telephone interview with the ELCA News Service before he left to return to the United States.

Middle East News

Christian Reformed Church Hears Gaza Doctor

March 19, 2010 – The Israeli tank shell crashed into the house in the Jabaliya Refugee Camp in Gaza just seconds after Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish finished talking with four of his daughters and his niece in their bedroom about the future. Outside the room, he heard the shrieking sound of wood, glass and bricks shattering. Then he heard screams. The shell killed one of his daughters and his niece and seriously injured another daughter. Soon after, another shell smashed into the room, this time killing two more of his daughters.

USAID to Purchase Cancer Equipment for Jerusalem Lutheran Hospital

March 23, 2010, WASHINGTON – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced this month it will purchase a second linear accelerator for Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH), a project of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in East Jerusalem. The equipment, valued at about $5.5 million, will be used to treat cancer patients. In an interview with the News Service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) while visiting here, Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, AVH chief executive officer, said the U.S. government's support is "diplomacy language that speaks to people right away.

People in the News

Two Members of Universal House of Justice Leaving after Decades of Service

March 22, 2010, HAIFA, Israel – Two members of the Universal House of Justice, Mr. Hooper Dunbar and Dr. Peter Khan, are leaving Haifa after decades of service at the Baha'i World Centre. The results of a by-election to replace them on the nine-member House of Justice were announced on 20 March, with the change effective immediately. The Universal House of Justice, which has its permanent seat in Haifa, is the head of the Baha'i Faith. The last regular election of the nine members took place in 2008. All have five-year terms, but the House of Justice gave permission to Mr. Dunbar and Dr. Khan to relinquish their positions owing to their advanced age and the burden of work associated with membership. Mr. Dunbar, 72, has served in Haifa since 1973 when he was called to the Baha'i World Centre as a member of the International Teaching Centre. He was first elected to the Universal House of Justice in 1988 and since then has been elected to successive terms.