Front Page

Up Close at Nuclear Treaty Summit, Churches Find Positive Signs

May 4, 2010 – The president of Iran and the US secretary of state made early headlines at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference in New York with a volley of accusations over nuclear development and nuclear weapons. However, for the members of a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation pursuing peace and human security goals at the conference the event, which opened Monday in New York, started with a more constructive air. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, for example, promised that the US would reveal how many nuclear weapons it has.

Faith Leaders Push for Climate, Energy Legislation in the Senate

May 5, 2010 – Lately, when the Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, president and founder of Interfaith Power and Light, preaches a sermon about the United States' dependence on fossil fuels and the possible shift toward renewable energy sources she turns to Luke chapter 5 and the metaphor that Jesus used when talking to the frustrated fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. "When it's not working, put your nets on the other side of the boat," Bingham, also an Episcopal priest, said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C., where Interfaith Power & Light, a national organization with 35 state affiliates aimed at mobilizing a religious response to global warming, is having its annual meeting.

Office of Government Relations Calls for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

April 29, 2010 – In response to the passage of an Arizona state law that will make it illegal for undocumented immigrants to be in Arizona and that will require people suspected of being illegal to show proof of legal status, the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations, based in Washington, D.C, has issued the following statement on immigration reform. The Episcopal Church, in its commitment to render hospitality to those who are most vulnerable, calls on the United States Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform. The passage in Arizona of the toughest anti-immigrant law in the country demonstrates the need for action at the federal level. In an open letter last Friday the Bishop of Arizona, the Rt. Rev. Kirk Smith, expressed that "today is a sad day in the struggle to see all God's people treated in a humane and compassionate manner (…) With the Governor's signing of SB 1070, it seems that for now the advocates of fear and hatred have won over those of charity and love. Arizona claims to be a Golden Rule State. We have not lived up to that claim."

Religious Leaders, Peace Activists Pray, Chant, Sing for Nuclear Disarmament

May 2, 2010 – Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was among religious leaders and activists gathered in New York May 2 at the Church Center for the United Nations for "For Peace and Human Needs Disarm Now!" – an interfaith convocation for the abolition of nuclear weapons. "It's a very important witness by many, many faith communities from around the globe to the difficulty and the problem of nuclear weapons," said Jefferts Schori, when asked about the convocation's importance.

Bishops Urge Action on Immigration

May 6, 2010, COLUMBUS, Ohio – A controversial Arizona law giving police broad powers to detain suspected illegal immigrants is mobilizing United Methodists across the denomination to work for immigration reforms. The Council of Bishops at its spring meeting offered prayer and support to Phoenix Area Bishop Minerva Carcaño in her opposition to the new law. She said the measure "not only invites abuse, but gives wing to racial profiling." In turn, Carcaño asked bishops from each regional conference to appoint a member or members to form local "rapid response teams" to disseminate information about developments in the immigration debate and ways church members can respond.

General News

Conference Supports LCMS Songwriters, Congregations

May 6, 2010 – "Amazing, edifying, encouraging, affirming, equipping, and worshipful" is how songwriter Mia Koehne of Phoenix began describing her thoughts and impressions of the first LCMS songwriters conference, April 21-23 at St. John Lutheran Church, Ellisville, Mo., in suburban St. Louis. Several other songwriters registered similar enthusiastic feedback when asked about the conference sponsored by the LCMS Commission on Worship for this article. And overall, a solid majority of the some-75 conference attendees gave it positive marks via an online survey.

Intercultural Consultation Celebrates Diversity in Harmony

May 6, 2010, ELGIN, IL – "Live in harmony with one another" (Romans 12:16). Drawing inspiration from Romans 12:15-17, approximately 100 Church of the Brethren members gathered to worship and work together at Camp Harmony in Pennsylvania. From April 22-25, the camp hosted people from congregations across the US and Puerto Rico, representing many ethnic groups including African Americans, white Americans, and Spanish speakers from around the world. Previously known as the Cross-Cultural Celebration and Consultation, this 12th Intercultural Consultation and Celebration was both a continuation of work from previous years and a movement in a new direction, guided by the denomination's Intercultural Advisory Committee and Rubén Deoleo, director of Intercultural Ministry.

Women Discuss Leadership Issues at WLI Conference

May 3, 2010 – The first time Dawn Modlin attended a national conference of the Women's Leadership Institute (WLI), in 2008, she was surprised to learn that women in The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod may serve as presidents of their congregations. And that the LCMS permits women to read Scripture during worship services. "I was like, ‘What?' Because that's not been historically anything I've ever grown up with, or seen, or experienced," said Modlin, 45 and a lifelong Lutheran in the Midwest. Modlin, who has studied theology and has a lay minister father and a deaconess step-mother, says she is disappointed that not all Synod congregations allow or encourage laywomen to serve as fully as laymen.

Bethany Seminary Charts Course for a New Direction with Strategic Plan

May 6, 2010, ELGIN, IL – At its March 2010 meeting, the Bethany Theological Seminary Board of Trustees approved a strategic plan to guide the work of the seminary through 2015. Bethany Seminary is the graduate school and academy for theological education for the Church of the Brethren, located in Richmond, Ind. Passage of the plan marked completion of another step in Bethany's ongoing process of developing, implementing, and assessing the seminary's strategic direction. Reframing Bethany's mission and ministry to address the challenges of providing quality theological education in the 21st century was high on Ruthann Knechel Johansen's priority list when she assumed the presidency in 2007.

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA: Parish Is First Episcopal Church to Win Energy Star Rating

April 29, 2010 – While more than 3,800 buildings in the United States have been awarded an Energy Star rating for superior energy efficiency, the first Episcopal church to win such a rating is St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Newport News, according to a news release from the congregation. St. Andrew's is part of the Diocese of Southern Virginia. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star is the symbol for protecting the environment and signifies that the building performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency.

Ecumenical News

SCOTLAND: Edinburgh Prepares for World Mission Conference in June

May 7, 2010 – About 300 delegates from more than 60 countries will travel to Edinburgh in early June for a global summit to mark the centenary of the 1910 World Missionary Conference that is widely regarded as a major milestone in the modern ecumenical movement. The Edinburgh 2010 conference, "Witnessing to Christ Today," will run June 2-6 and is being hosted by New College, home to the University of Edinburgh's School of Divinity.

ELCA, LCMS Leaders Discuss Theological Implications of '09 Assembly Actions

May 5, 2010, CHICAGO – Top leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) discussed in depth the theological implications of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly decisions on human sexuality. The church leaders met here April 12-13 as the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation (CLC), which meets twice a year. They also heard from the leaders of three cooperative agencies and provided updates about current happenings in each others' church bodies.

Spanish News

Iglesia Católica Pidió El Domingo Que Se Mejores Y Revisen Las Condiciones De Las Cárceles

4 mayo 2010, SAN SALVADOR – "Es un clamor público, una voz pública, que la vida en los centros penitenciarios nuestros es infrahumana y tiene que mejorarse, que revisarse," señaló el reverendo José Luis Escobar Alas, arzobispo de San Salvador, durante una conferencia de prensa al concluir su misa dominical. El prelado también se refirió a que el sistema judicial del país ha de ir acompañado de un trato digno a quienes violan las leyes e hizo la solicitud basado en informes acerca del estado actual de las cárceles salvadoreñas, luego que se registraran varios motines, la semana que acaba de concluir, causando dos muertos y 25 heridos como consecuencia de las reyertas.

Iglesia Griega Dispuesta a Acompañar Al Pueblo En Tiempos Difíciles

7 mayo 2010, GINEBRA, Suiza – La Iglesia de Grecia se prepara para ayudar al pueblo griego que enfrentar las consecuencias de duras medidas económicas tomadas por el gobierno, afirmó un funcionario de esta comunidad asistiendo a un encuentro ecuménico en Ginebra durante esta semana. El Arzobispo de Atenas y de toda Grecia y Primado de la a Ortodoxa Autocéfala de Grecia, Hieronymus II, se reunió el martes 4 de mayo con el primer ministro George Papandreou para expresar la voluntad de la iglesia oficialde apoyar al pueblo griego durante los tiempos difíciles que tienen por delante, dijo el Rev. Gabriel Papanicolaou. Papanicolaou asistió a una reunión ecuménica organizada por el CMI del 4 a 6 mayo.

Padres De Familia Piden Menos Programas De Sexo Y Drogas En TV

7 mayo 2010, ESTADOS UNIDOS – Una gran mayoría de los padres de familia en Estados Unidos expresaron su preocupación por los contenidos de la programación de TV que miran sus hijos, y demandaron un mayor control para disminuir la cantidad de sexo, violencia y drogas en las programaciones de TV. En un reciente informe sobre una encuesta realizada al azar a 500 padres de familia, por encargo de la Conferencia Episcopal de EE.UU, se da cuenta que más del 80% de los encuestados quieren un mayor control sobre los medios de comunicación, que muestran violencia, sexo, consumo de drogas ilegales, abuso de alcohol y un idioma malsonante.

Iglesia Católica Niega Complot Contra Diputados Que Rechazan Penalización Del Aborto

6 mayo 2010, SANTO DOMINGO – Manuel Ruiz, sacerdote y director ejecutivo de la Pastoral de la Vida de la Iglesia Católica aquí, negó, este miércoles, haber distribuido una lista para que los feligreses voten contra los diputados que desaprueban la penalización del aborto. La nota, aparecida en un diario local, afirma que Ruiz desmintió el hecho de que se esté repartiendo dicha lista que incluiría a aquellos que rechazaron la aprobación del artículo 30 de la Constitución de la República, destinado a penalizar tal práctica que, según la Iglesia Católica, va en contra de lo que enseñan las doctrinas en cuanto a la preservación de la vida humana.

Religious Liberty News

ZIMBABWE: Supreme Court Dismisses Church's Appeal; Property Case Still Pending

May 6, 2010 – Zimbabwe's Supreme Court May 3 dismissed a Church of the Province of Central Africa appeal that challenged a 2009 High Court decision recognizing excommunicated Diocese of Harare bishop Nolbert Kunonga and his breakaway faction as legitimate Anglicans. The Anglican province's appeal was dismissed because it had not paid security fees expected by the Supreme Court, Clifford Dzavo, diocesan secretary, told ENS May 6 via telephone from his Harare office. Dzavo said that lawyers representing the diocese had advised that such fees were not required.

New York Metro News

NEW YORK: Trinity Wall Street to Stage Rosanne Cash Concert

April 27, 2010 – Governors Island, in the middle of New York harbor, will be the setting for a free July 4 concert by Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash, sponsored by Trinity Wall Street. Trinity, which has maintained a chapel on the island since the mid-1800s, has hosted free summer concerts there since 2007, according to a Trinity news release. Previous Trinity concerts on Governors Island have featured Judy Collins, Janis Ian, Richie Havens, and Odetta, among others.

National News

Nashville Church Members Accounted for as CRWRC
Responds to Storms Slashing U.S.

May 7, 2010 – Reverend Jerry Hoek of Faith Christian Reformed Church in Nashville, Tennessee, contacted the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) early this week to let staff know that all of the church's members are accounted for after a weekend of heavy rain deluged the southern U.S., and resulting floods killed 21 people in Tennessee alone. "We are very thankful that to our knowledge, no one in our congregation has been seriously affected by the flooding, but the loss of life and the destruction of property involved has hit our city hard," Hoek said.

Lutheran Disaster Response Provides Emergency Grant for Tennessee Floods

May 4, 2010, CHICAGO – Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) provided a $10,000 emergency grant to assist local agencies in organizing initial responses to severe flooding in West and Central Tennessee, particularly in the Nashville area. The Rev. Kevin A. Massey, director for LDR and ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, ELCA Church in Society, said the grant was sent to Lutheran Episcopal Services of Mississippi (LESM). LESM is working with the ELCA Southeastern Synod, Atlanta, to help coordinate flood response in West and Central Tennessee, said Sandra Braasch. Braasch, an ELCA diaconal minister, is LESM director of disaster preparedness and response, Jackson.

Mississippi Lutherans Open Camps for Volunteers in Oil Spill Cleanup

May 5, 2010, CHICAGO – Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi (LESM) has offered two camping sites along the Gulf Coast for use by trained volunteers working to help cleanup the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. "LESM is offering both its volunteer camps, Camp Victor in Ocean Springs and Mission on the Bay in Bay St. Louis, to house trained personnel associated with the oil spill cleanup and wildlife rescue," said Sandra L. Braasch. Braasch, Jackson, Miss., is an ELCA diaconal minister and LESM director of disaster preparedness and response.

Receding Tennessee Flood Waters Reveal Death, Damage

May 6, 2010 – Bill and Mary Frances "Frankie" Rutledge apparently were on their way to St. George's Episcopal Church in the Belle Meade neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, on May 2 when their car was swept up in the torrential rains that were pounding the area and flooding large portions of the city. According to news reports, family, friends and church members found their car the next day with the doors closed and the windows rolled up. The Rutledges' bodies were found a few hours later behind two different grocery stores in the area.

Lutheran Services in Tennessee Announces Flood Volunteer Information

May 7, 2010, CHICAGO – Lutheran Services in Tennessee Inc. (LST), Nashville, has named a Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) site coordinator and established a phone number for volunteers who wish to help with flood cleanup in middle Tennessee. Jim Wirshing has been named site coordinator for LDR in middle Tennessee, said the Rev. P. Morgan Gordy, Lebanon, Tenn., chair of the disaster task force for the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Volunteers seeking information about work possibilities and housing can call 615-630-8565, she said.

International News

Buoyed by Success, Presbytery Plans Another Match-Making Event

May 2, 2010 – PCT Changhua Presbytery's youth ministry department organized a match-making event for singles last year in hopes that it would result in a few successful matches. The presbytery is pleased to announce that two youth who attended the event will soon tie the knot. Buoyed by this success, Changhua Presbytery staged a similar event this year on April 2325. It hoped that through a retreat filled with fun activities, young adults would get to know new friends and meet prospective mates.

Greek Church Ready to Stand by the People in Tough Times

May 6, 2010 – The Church of Greece is getting ready to assist the Greek people to face the consequences of tough economic measures taken by the government, a church official attending an ecumenical gathering in Geneva has said. The Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and Primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece, Hieronymos II, met on Monday, 4 May with the country's Prime Minister George Papandreou to express the church's willingness to support the Greek people during the difficult times ahead, said Rev. Fr Gabriel Papanicolaou.

BVS Volunteer from Germany Is Detained for Visa Lapse

May 6, 2010, ELGIN, IL – A young German man, Florian Koch, who has been serving in the United States through Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS), was detained for more than a week by immigration authorities in April. A request to extend his visa had been denied and BVS was in the process of filing a motion to reconsider the visa denial, when Koch was detained while vacationing in Florida by bus. The volunteer was detained on April 19 when those on the bus he was traveling in were checked by immigration officials. He was held at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) transitional detention center in Pompano Beach, in the greater Miami area.

PCT General Secretary Urges Churches to Promote ECFA Petitions

May 2, 2010 – PCT is one of the sponsors behind a new petition to make ECFA a referendum issue. During a press conference on April 23, PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang urged churches to continue amassing signed petitions. Taiwan's former President Lee Teng-hui and former Vice-President Annette Lu also attended the press conference. Former President Lee underscored it was important to understand why Taiwan and China were signing an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) instead of a free trade agreement (FTA) because the difference between the two is the reason why ECFA will be fatal for Taiwan.

Haiti Stage 2: CWS Helping Expand Rural Food Co-ops, Reunite Workers with Their Families
Agency, Partners ‘Helping People Where They Are' in midst of Country's Frustrations

May 4, 2010 – SANTO DOMINGO, DR/Port-au-Prince, HAITI – Initial Haitian government plans to relocate huge numbers of families to cities outside Port-au-Prince are being thwarted by land ownership issues and costs, adding to the frustrations of those made homeless by the quake. But humanitarian agency Church World Service is dealing within those realities and says it now is expanding its work to help families recover where they are and to support host communities stretched to accommodate migrating survivors. Those programs will range from repair of houses damaged by the quake and expansion of host homes where survivors are permanently relocating, to building food security for all by expanding already-successful farm cooperatives.

Study Guide to Help Prepare World Convocation on Peace

May 6, 2010 – "Telling the Truth About Ourselves and Our World," a study guide on overcoming violence in contemporary contexts, has been published by the World Council of Churches in English, French, German and Spanish as part of the build-up to the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in May 2011 at Kingston, Jamaica. Gathering about 1,000 representatives from church-related peace networks from all over the world, the convocation will mark the culmination of the ongoing ecumenical Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010) – Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace.

Middle East News

ELCA Bishops Express Concern for Israeli Orders' Effect on Palestinians

May 3, 2010, CHICAGO – Nine synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) expressed concern about new Israeli military orders regarding the "prevention of infiltration" in the West Bank in an April 30 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The bishops asked that the U.S. government exert its influence to ensure that "the orders in question are immediately frozen and ultimately rescinded," they wrote in their letter to Clinton.

People in the News

PENNSYLVANIA: Ecclesiastical Review Court Hears Arguments on Bennison Verdict, Proposed Deposition

May 4, 2010, WILMINGTON, Delaware – Attorneys for the Episcopal Church and for Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison argued before an ecclesiastical appeals court here May 4 about whether the bishop should have been tried and convicted on charges stemming from his response to his priest brother's sexual misconduct some 35 years ago. Among the issues facing the eight-bishop Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop after three hours of oral arguments are questions of whether the evidence presented at Bennison's trial supported his conviction, whether the canonical statute of limitations on those actions had run, and whether the trial court's sentence of deposition would be unduly harsh because Bennison himself did not engage in the sexual abuse.