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Rev. N. J. L'Heureux, Jr., Publisher & Editor
Rev. Pedro Bravo-Guzman, Editor-in-Chief
An Ecumenical Report of Local and Global News
in God's Household
Published by the Queens Federation of Churches
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At People's Conference, Christians Commit to Help Mother Earth April 22, 2010 – In an ecumenical declaration to be presented at the final session of the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, Christian organizations and individuals stress the positive role that religions and spirituality can play for a more harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. The 19-22 April conference in Cochabamba is hosted by Bolivian president Evo Morales. Over 10,000 people are attending, according to media reports, many of them from indigenous peoples and environmentalist networks. The closing session will be held on International Mother Earth Day, 22 April. Immigration Reform Now: Dollars, Sense, Ethics, Says Church World Service April 20, 2010, WASHINGTON – Increasing the U.S. Gross Domestic Product by $1.5 trillion over the next ten years is not a bad outcome, says humanitarian and advocacy agency Church World Service who exerted new pressure on Congress Monday to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation this year, citing positive economic reasons among others for urgency. Despite major financial reform issues and climate and energy legislation now facing Congress and the administration before mid term election fever overtakes Capitol Hill, CWS is urging Congress to enact immigration reform now – specifically, reform that reunites families and provides a pathway to legal status and eventual citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Viral UCC Ad Launch Inundates YouTube April 16, 2010 – Even before the UCC officially launched its new viral marketing message, The Language of God, leaked links to the video had become so popular that YouTube froze the view count on the message, thinking significant traffic was computer generated and not legitimate viewing. "This is disappointing as we'd hoped to use the view count as an indicator of how broadly the video had been distributed," said the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, the UCC's director of communications. "On the plus side, it's exciting to know that we generated so much traffic that YouTube flagged our video." American Indian Religious Educator to Address Global Church Event April 21, 2010 – A respected American Indian religious educator and cultural consultant is to be a featured speaker at an international gathering of Reformed churches in the United States this June. Richard Twiss, a member of the Rosebud Lakota/Sioux Tribe, will address the founding meeting of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) in Grand Rapids. Twiss is co-founder and president of Wiconi International, an organization supporting Christian ministry in Indigenous communities throughout the United States and the Americas. Stephen Kendall, a member of the Uniting General Council (UGC) planning team, says the keynote presentation will focus on the present-day concerns and aspirations of Indigenous peoples in the United States. SOUTHERN OHIO: Community Organizes Against Rx Drug Abuse April 21, 2010 – Wesley Workman didn't know those crisp spring days would be his last. Handsome and popular, Wesley led his football team in tackles for three years. He was a little lazy when it came to studying but the kind of kid who befriended everyone. When he playfully turned the gun to his head, laughing with his buddies, his father upstairs, Wesley felt invincible. Drugs will do that. At about the same time, Bob Walton Jr. was connecting the dots. ELCA Churchwide Organization Responds to Pension Plan Lawsuit April 23, 2010, CHICAGO – The churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said today it is "deeply concerned" for the well-being of participants affected by the termination of a defined benefit compensation retirement plan of Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Minneapolis. On April 21 former employees of the publisher who were covered by the terminated pension plan filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota. The churchwide organization's statement, issued to the ELCA News Service, said, "The entire ELCA, including the leadership of the churchwide organization, understands the far-reaching implications of this matter, and is deeply concerned for the well-being of the plan participants and continues to hold them in prayer." Proclaiming the Gospel Calls for Intimacy and Determination, Preachers Say April 20, 2010, KANUGA – Two preachers from different generations called participants in the Preaching Jesus conference here to consider the profound effects that preaching can and should have on them and on their listeners. Lauren Winner, an assistant professor of Christian spirituality at Duke Divinity School and author of a number of books including "Girl Meets God," told the participants during an opening presentation April 19 that sermon preparation "can be and is and actually should be a vital part of the spiritual lives of those of us who preach." ELCA Ministries among Possible Fund Recipients Through ‘Thrivent Choice' April 20, 2010, CHICAGO – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) World Hunger, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) and the Lutheran Malaria Initiative (LMI) are three of 10 choices listed as possible recipients of charitable funds through "Thrivent Choice" – a new Thrivent Financial for Lutherans program. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Minneapolis, is the nation's largest fraternal benefit society. As part of the program, members of Thrivent Financial will help choose where to direct up to $2 million between April 19 and May 21. Churches Gear up to Change the World April 23, 2010 – Being the church is about more than sitting in a pew. It requires "putting faith into action," asserts Deon Roach of Christ United Methodist Church, Chapel Hill, N.C. That is why she and other members of her congregation will be doing mission work from preparing health kits for Haiti to writing letters to Russian orphans as part of this weekend's churchwide Change the World events. Mission Agency Stresses Collaboration April 20, 2010, STAMFORD, Conn. – Global mission is about to become more local. Officials at the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries are signaling a "cultural shift" in how the denomination does mission. Instead of acting as an implementer of mission for the denomination, the agency must be "a resource to those individuals, churches, conferences and institutions already in mission," Ohio West Area Bishop Bruce Ough, board president, told directors during the April 12-14 spring meeting. Editorial: the Vision and Needs of Mass Media Ministries April 18, 2010 – It is customary for PCT churches to devote one Sunday every month fundraising for one PCT ministry. This occasion, which takes the form of a simple announcement accompanied by a special offering envelope or a guest speaker scheduled for that day's sermon, is an opportunity to get congregations involved in evangelism and enable PCT-affiliated organizations to share their vision with local churches. En La Conferencia De Los Pueblos, Los Cristianos Se Comprometen a Ayudar a La Madre Tierra 22 abril 2010 – En una declaración ecuménica que ha de presentarse en la sesión conclusiva de la Conferencia Mundial de los Pueblos sobre el Cambio Climático y los Derechos de la Madre Tierra, organizaciones y personalidades cristianas insisten en la función positiva que las religiones y la espiritualidad pueden desempeñar para conseguir una coexistencia más armoniosa entre la humanidad y la naturaleza. Iglesia Anglicana De América Central Reconoce No Atender a Juventud 19 abril 2010, CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ – La Iglesia Anglicana de la Región de América (IARCA) ha reconocido durante su IV sínodo provincial que carece de programas para atender a la juventud, pese a que esta población es mayoría en esta región. IARCA celebró la reunión en la histórica "Ciudad del Saber" de la capital panameña. Zona anteriormente ocupada por estadounidenses que administraban el canal de Panamá. En la actualidad esta ciudadela presta servicios de hospedaje y es sede de programas de Naciones Unidas y otras organizaciones. Campaña De Iglesias Cristianas Contra La Violencia Doméstica 20 abril 2010, LIMA, Perú – Bajo el lema "Esto tiene que parar" se realizó la primera campaña de información y sensibilización en contra de la violencia doméstica organizada por instituciones cristianas que atienden esta problemática como línea de acción. Entre las instituciones participantes se contaron la organización "Women Working" de los Estados Unidos, la Sociedad Bíblica Peruana, la "Red por una familia sin violencia" y organizaciones seculares que defienden los derechos de la mujer. En La Conferencia De Los Pueblos, Los Cristianos Se Comprometen a Ayudar a La Madre Tierra 23 abril 2010, COCHABAMBA, Bolivia – Más de 10.000 personas, muchas de las cuales pertenecen a pueblos indígenas, asistieron a la Conferencia Mundial de los Pueblos sobre el Cambio Climático. En una declaración ecuménica presentada en la sesión conclusiva de la Conferencia Mundial de los Pueblos sobre el Cambio Climático y los Derechos de la Madre Tierra, organizaciones y personalidades cristianas insisten en la función positiva que las religiones y la espiritualidad pueden desempeñar para conseguir una coexistencia más armoniosa entre la humanidad y la naturaleza. En El Tema De La Pederastia La Iglesia De Este País También Pide Perdón 23 abril 2010, SANTIAGO, Chile – Se suma la Iglesia católica chilena a las que, públicamente, han pedido perdón por casos de pederastia cometidos por su curia, cuando el presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal, monseñor Alejandro Goic, afirmó que en el país existen unos 20 casos, y dijo que no hay lugar en ese país para un sacerdocio basado en el abuso a menores. "El Pan Nuestro" Es Desafío Para Las Iglesias, Afirman Luteranos 19 abril 2010, COLOMBIA – Panes traídos por representantes de las 16 iglesias afiliadas a la Federación Luterana Mundial (FLM) fueron colocados en mesa común enfrente al altar y partidos por todos los participantes del culto de apertura, en el primer día de la reunión preparatoria para XI Asamblea del organismo ecuménico, que tendrá lugar en Stuttgart, Alemania, en julio. Usurpan Centro Comunitario Metodista En El Gran Buenos Aires 21 abril 2010, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – El pasado 25 de marzo,, el Centro Comunitario de la Iglesia Evangélica Metodista Argentina (IEMA), "Parroquia Carpintero de Nazaret" de Ingeniero Budge, en el gran Buenos Aires, fue intrusado por desconocidos, tal como figura en la denuncia que se radicó ese mismo día en la Comisaría de Puente de la Noria, Fiscalía UFI 18. "En esa fecha un grupo de personas rompió las puertas del edificio, entró violentamente y destruyó gran parte de los bienes que encontraron" relata la pastora Viviana Pinto, a cargo de la Pastoral Popular en la IV Región de la IEMA. General Theological Seminary Says it May Have to Sell Property to Pay Bills April 20, 2010 – The executive committee of General Theological Seminary's board of trustees said April 19 that the school may have to sell some of its property to raise enough money in order to pay its bills after mid-November. The Rev. Canon Denis O'Pray, chair of the trustees, said in a news release that the committee considered merger or collaboration with other entities, as well as the likelihood of "immediate philanthropy," before coming to the conclusion that selling property was the "most reasonable source" of money. He did not say what property might be sold. April 20, 2010 – The Archbishop of Canterbury has used his video address to the Fourth Global South to South Encounter meeting in Singapore to emphasise that it is the work of God's Spirit that can heal the tensions within the Anglican family. Dr Williams was speaking specifically to two items on the meeting's agenda: challenges for the Church's mission and the Anglican Communion Covenant, which he described as a new way of "grounding our mission." "The text of the [Anglican] Covenant is a whole," he said. PCT Fears Signing ECFA Is Akin to Opening Pandora's Box April 18, 2010 – What is ECFA and can you define and explain it in 30 seconds? To answer this question, PCT General Assembly invited Taiwan Think-Tank CEO Chen Po-chih to speak on this issue during the recent 55th General Assembly Meeting of the PCT. According to Chen, ECFA would essentially lift tariffs on more than 90% of imported goods between Taiwan and China and is literally an "open- door policy." Lutheran Youth Lead Efforts to Fight Malaria, Build Awareness April 23, 2010, CHICAGO – Melanie Ferraro, a senior high school student, is working to get 1,600 of her peers to care about malaria – a preventable, treatable disease that kills more than 1 million people a year. Ferraro, a member of Lutheran Church of Hope, Broomfield, Colo., said people her age can make a "difference for positive change." Lutheran Church of Hope is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In August 2009, the ELCA churchwide assembly authorized the continued development of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative (LMI) – an initiative to educate U.S. Lutherans about malaria, advocate for global health initiatives and raise funds to help combat the disease. WCC General Secretary Expresses Dismay over Recent Israeli Military Order April 21, 2010 – Expressing dismay at a recent Israeli military order redefining the notion of "infiltrator" in the occupied Palestinian territories, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, said he is "worried the new measures will be a severe obstacle toward the process for a just peace." Since 1969 the Israeli military defined an "infiltrator" as a person who unlawfully entered the occupied area. But in a recent amendment, the definition of "infiltrator" is "a person who entered the area unlawfully following the effective date, or a person who is present in the area and does not lawfully hold a permit." Work Advances on Restoration of Haifa's Golden-Domed Shrine April 23, 2010, HAIFA, Israel – With great care and patience, a dozen trusted workers are going over the entire stone surface of Haifa's renowned Baha'i shrine, mending and cleaning every spot that shows damage from half a century exposed to the elements. The stone restoration of the burial place of the Bab – one of two divine Messengers associated with the Baha'i Faith – is only one part of a four-year project that is bringing the benefits of 21st century engineering and building expertise to a structure whose first rooms were completed in 1909. Queen Mother of Civil Rights Dies at 98 April 20, 2010 – Dorothy Height was a leading voice for human and civil rights and an active member for many years at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in New York. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, Dorothy Height was the only woman, besides Mrs. King, invited onto the platform. When Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation's first African-American president 46 years later, she was invited onto the platform once again. "This is real recognition that civil rights was not just what Dr. King dreamed," she told The New York Times about Obama's inauguration. "But it took a lot of people a lot of work to make this happen, and they feel part of it." Lutheran Diocese Bishop Dies Returning from Poland President's Funeral April 20, 2010, CHICAGO – The Rev. Mieczyslaw Cieslar, bishop, Warsaw diocese of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) in Poland (ECACP), died April 19 in a car accident returning home from attending state funeral services for Lech Kaczynski, Poland's president. The ECACP is a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). According to news reports Cieslar, 60, died near the city of Lódz, located about 75 miles southwest of Warsaw. Police confirmed the car crash but released no further details. Valparaiso University Names Interim ELCA Pastor to Chapel Staff April 21, 2010, CHICAGO – Valparaiso (Ind.) University announced that the Rev. Phyllis N. Kersten, retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined the pastoral staff of the university's Chapel of the Resurrection April 19. Kersten will assume duties previously performed by the Rev. Darlene Grega. Grega, an ELCA pastor on the chapel staff, died nearly two weeks ago. Her death was ruled a suicide by the Porter County (Ind.) coroner. |
