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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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Religious Leaders Call for Action on the Environment, Poverty and Peace June 24, 2010, WINNIPEG, Canada – World leaders meeting in Canada have been urged to take "inspired leadership and action" to halt poverty, protect the environment, and end violent conflict. The challenge was made in a statement drafted by representatives of the world's religions, who gathered at the University of Winnipeg in advance of this week's G8 and G20 summits in Toronto. "Acknowledging our common humanity and embracing the imperative to treat all persons with dignity, we affirm that no one person is more or less valuable than another," said the statement. "We urge the political leaders to consider first the vulnerable among us, particularly our children, and to work together to address the dehumanizing scourge of poverty and injustice, and practice and promote care for our common environment, the Earth," the statement said. World Communion of Reformed Churches Is Born June 18, 2010 – More than 80 million Reformed Christians in 108 countries around the world formally united Friday when the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) approved articles of union and a constitution bringing them together as the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). The merger of the two organizations took place at the Uniting General Council, which is meeting through June 28 on the campus of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the upper Midwest of the United States. Conference to Explore Contemporary North American Responses to War June 22, 2010 – The Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana (USA) will host an ecumenical peace conference 28-31 July 2010, focusing on contemporary North American responses to war. Christian peacemakers of all traditions and disciplines are expected to attend the "Peace Among the Peoples" conference, aimed at reinvigorating the churches' conversation on war and peace. The event is a preparatory meeting for the World Council of Churches' 2011 International Ecumenical Peace Convocation. "Peace Among the Peoples represents the culmination of recent ecumenical peace efforts. June 25, 2010 – Oil company employees and environmental activists alike gathered in vigil on June 24 at St. Stephen's Church in Houston, Texas, offering prayers for those affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill and pledging to help renew the environment. "I knew we needed to be together to pray about it when I mentioned the oil spill at a worship committee meeting and two people started crying," said the Rev. Lisa Hunt, St. Stephen's rector, during a June 25 telephone interview from her office in Houston's Montrose neighborhood. About 50 people attended the 7 p.m. service, where representatives from the oil industry, the Sierra Club and others addressed the crisis. June 25, 2010 – The Rev. Dennis Gibbs received an urgent phone call from a New York City stranger right after a PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly segment featured Gibbs' chaplaincy at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, one of the country's largest jails. "He saw the part of the segment where I talked rather transparently about my own past at the jail. He said ‘I'm an alcoholic and I need help. I feel that you can help me.' That's a powerful connection," recalled Gibbs, director of Prism, the restorative justice ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Daily, powerful connections are what Gibbs hopes for.
Children Help Usher in New Era for Reformed Churches June 20, 2010 – About 3,000 Reformed Christians gathered at Calvin College Sunday for a worship service celebrating the birth of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, which unites 80 million believers in 108 countries. The service included prayers and scripture readings, anthems and hymns sung in at least a dozen languages, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and a special exchange with children. WCRC leaders told them: "We are coming together not just for ourselves but also for future generations." One child, Christina Lobulo, responded: "This is our family! We are one! To God be the glory!" Do You Have Calvin on the Brain? June 23, 2010 – As a lifelong Presbyterian, I approached the Calvin Neuron Factor test with fear and trembling. Would I be exposed as a pagan? A heretic? A Baptist? As part of the celebration of 16th century Reformer John Calvin's 500th birthday last year, two Swiss journalists have developed the online test as a way to "detect traces of Calvin in your brain," says journalist and theologian Michel Kocher. The two-stage, 12-question test playfully determines whether the test-taker is an "avowed Calvinist," a "pseudo-Calvinist," a "Calvinist oblivious of it" or a "Calvinist in disguise." "Our premise is that if Calvin had not lived, everyone's life would be different somehow," Kocher says, "so everyone is a Calvinist to an extent, even if they don't know it." A "New Beginning" for Reformed Churches June 18, 2010 – For Maria McDaid, Friday's opening of the Uniting General Council culminates nearly a year of excited anticipation. "I was looking forward to meeting people from every part of the world," says McDaid, a 25-year-old UGC steward and Sunday School teacher from London, England. "We're different denominations but we're all Christians. It's a privilege to be here." Many of the 1,000-plus global church members expected to gather Friday morning at Calvin College no doubt feel the same, as they prepare to usher in a new era of Reformed church history. Accra Confession a Hot Topic at WCRC Meeting June 24, 2010 – Fabia Gutierrez is very hopeful that the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) will decide to accept and work to implement aspects of the Accra Confession. Gutierrez was a garment worker and union official in a free-trade zone in Honduras until death threats made her flee the area. Her many years in the garment industry taught her that workers in her country were treated as commodities, working up to 18 hours a day for paltry wages and no benefits in order that multi-national companies could sell the garments at a cheap price in stores worldwide. Arising out of a 2004 meeting of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Accra, Ghana, the Accra Confession addresses the exploitation of workers in developed and underdeveloped countries alike. Drums Mark First Global Pow Wow in Midwest American City June 22, 2010 – The sky, which had been dark and ominous only hours before, was filled with sunshine and white clouds as a group of Native Americans crossed a pedestrian bridge over the Grand River and approached leaders of the newly formed World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) who waited at the other end. Dressed in tribal regalia, including a fur hat, Mike Peters told the ecumenical leaders and George Heartwell, mayor of Grand Rapids: "On behalf of the Three Fires Alliance and Native Americans from the four directions we want to welcome you officially and to celebrate with us in the spirit of unity." Peters is a pastor and member of the Odawa tribe, which is included the Three Fires Alliance. New World Communion of Reformed Churches a Source of Inspiration, WCC Says June 22, 2010 – "The formation of the World Communion of Reformed Churches is a source of inspiration for all of us who see the call to unity, to mission and to promote justice as one, undivided call," said World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in Grand Rapids, United States, on Saturday, 19 June. Tveit was greeting 380 delegates representing 227 Reformed churches from all over the world at the uniting meeting of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC). WCC Official Hopes for Joint Efforts with WCRC June 20, 2010 – Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches(WCC), had no intention of missing the recent merger of the Reformed Ecumenical Council(REC)and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) into the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Tveit was in Grand Rapids wanting to participate as thehistoric union occurred. "We at WCC have already had a rather strong relationship with WARC and REC," said the church official from Norway. Officers of New Global Reformed Organisation Elected June 24, 2010 – Delegates to the Uniting General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) have elected four regional vice-presidents, a general treasurer and 16 members to its Executive Committee. The vote followed immediately on the election of the organisation's new president, Jerry Pillay of the Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Over 300 delegates from 108 countries are meeting in the Midwestern city of Grand Rapids in the United States from June 18-26 for the founding meeting of the new organisation which represents 80 million Christians from Presbyterian, Uniting and United, Reformed and Waldensian churches worldwide. Native American Sees Link with Christianity June 21, 2010 – Mike Peters, pastor of 4Fires Ministry in Grand Rapids, Michigan and a member of the Odawa tribe, says the Bible is his plumb line. "When I consider the sacred ways of the Native American peoples, I can find many of them within its pages," he says. Peters, who helped organize today's Pow Wow in the park, sees parallels in his people's spiritual traditions and Christianity. "For instance, Native Americans ‘smoke' prayers in a sacred ceremony," he says."They use special blends of natural plant materials,which give off a beautiful perfume when burned, and the perfume takes the prayers to God."He finds that an "incredibly similar image" to the reference in Revelation to an angel sending sweet-smelling incense and prayers to God. Few Native Americans in the United States are Christian, he says, largely because missionaries refused to take native beliefs seriously. June 25, 2010 – The World Communion of Reformed Churches began to wrap up its 10-day meeting on Friday by addressing and adopting a number of priorities on which the new organization will focus. Debate occurred on the floor of Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, over a number of those priorities, especially how to best deal with the Accra Confession, a faith-based critique of the free-market economic system in an age of globalization. WCRC delegates accepted the recommendation that the new body continue to use the Accra Confession as a teaching tool on how Christians can view the economy and that it be considered as an important document to help guide WCRC as it addresses issues related to the world economy. "Rescue the Christian Faith from the Cowboys," Native American Tells Churches June 23, 2010 – "We have to rescue the Christian faith from the cowboys," says Native American educator Richard Twiss, a member of the Lakota Sioux Rosebud Tribe. The Indigenous leader made his remarks yesterday in an address to participants at the Uniting General Council of Reformed churches in the Midwestern American city of Grand Rapids. Over 300 delegates from 108 countries have gathered for meetings to mark the launch of a new global organization of Reformed churches, the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Twiss converted to Christianity as an adult after protesting the system of discrimination against North American native peoples for which he was imprisoned. Pope Offers Good Wishes to WCRC June 25, 2010 – Pope Benedict XVI has been one of several church leaders who have acknowledged the newly organized World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). The pope sent a letter to the new organization as well as a representative of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The message was read to delegates to the Uniting General Council who are attending the founding meeting of the WCRC in Grand Rapids, a city in the Midwest United States. Representatives of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council agreed on 18 June to merge to form a new organization representing 230 churches worldwide. June 22, 2010 – For many delegates at the Uniting General Council in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, one of the most striking displays in the foyer is the long banners that trace the hundred years of mission, starting with the Edinburgh 1910 Missionary Conference until the present day. Artist Judith Rempel Smucker is the designer behind the images you can see. A Mennonite, from Akron, Pennsylvania, she leapt at the chance to take part in the ecumenical project, brainchild of Jet den Hollander, Executive Secretary WARC Mission Project, 2006-2010. "The way we imagined the exhibition is as a pilgrimage through time. You start one hundred years ago, with the 1910 conference, and move through the years represented by the banners until the present day. Strengthening Communion – Deepening Dialogue June 25, 2010 – UGC News interviewed Gottfried Locher, the treasurer of the new WCRC Executive Committee, about the significance of this Uniting General Council and the tasks facing the WCRC. Just two weeks ago Gottfried Locher was elected as the new President of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, which has two million members. Gottfried Locher, since the last general Council in Accra in 2004 you have been a vice-president of the Executive Committee. What has changed between Accra and Grand Rapids? The feeling of unity and belonging has become stronger. In Accra social issues were to the fore and created a lot of controversial discussion. Speaker Calls for Truth and Reconciliation Commission June 22, 2010 – A renowned Native American leader today appealed to the newly-created World Communion of Reformed Churches to establish a truth and reconciliation-like commission to "seek ways to make restitution to tribal people" for the churches' complicity in "co-opting the Bible as a tool of colonialism and imperialism" in North America over the last 400 years. Richard Twiss, a Lakota/Sioux originally from South Dakota and now living near Portland, Ore., said such a commission – comprised of indigenous people from North America and the global South – is necessary to overcome "cowboy theology," which he said has perpetuated "a distinct evangelical bias against Native and indigenous culture and ways." Churches, Organizations Use Tamales to Love, Support Disadvantaged Children June 20, 2010 – YMCA's Changhua district has been reaching out to children from disadvantaged families by offering after-school tutoring and character education classes. This year, the organization decided to raise funds to buy tamales for these children in time for Dragon Boat Festival. Chinese tamale, or rice dumpling, is a traditional Chinese food made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves and it's usually cooked by steaming or boiling. Tamales are commonly given as gifts during Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar or sometime in May or June. General Synod Draft Legislation: Women in the Episcopate June 21, 2010 – The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have signalled their intention to propose jointly in due course an amendment to the draft legislation to enable women to become bishops in the Church of England due to be debated at General Synod in July. This note explains their reasoning. Roman Missal Becomes an iPad App June 22, 2010 – Italian priest Father Paolo Padrini, who developed the iBreviary app two years ago will be launching a new app that will allow priests to celebrate Mass with an iPad on the altar instead of a printed Roman Missal. Fr Padrini, a consultant with the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said the free application will be launched in July in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Latin, said an AP report on goldcoast.com.au. The application contains the complete missal, including all that is said and sung during Mass throughout the liturgical year. Sunday School Teachers Share Tips on Making Classes Interesting June 20, 2010 – Chiayi Presbytery's education committee held a training seminar for Sunday school teachers on June 12, emphasizing mainly on the themes of creativity and teaching props. It invited Wu Mei-huei, a presbytery staff with lots of experience in these areas, to share a few tips on making classes interesting. According to Wu, many ordinary objects can become props that make Sunday school lessons a tad more interesting if teachers use a little imagination. Teaching props can go a long way in helping children focus their attention, enhance their ability to memorize a verse, and remember songs and lessons. June 23, 2010 – Vatican officials have announced a discovery of the earliest known icons of Saints Peter and Paul, in a catacomb under an eight-storey modern office building in a working-class neighbourhood of Rome. The images, which date from the second half of the 4th century, were discovered on the ceiling of a tomb that also includes the earliest known images of the apostles John and Andrew, said an AFP report in the Herald Sun. They were uncovered using a new laser technique that allowed restorers to burn off centuries of thick white calcium carbonate deposits without damaging the dark colours of the original paintings underneath, the report said. June 25, 2010, MUENSTER, Germany/GENEVA – Lutherans believe the unity of the Church is based on the gospel and the sacraments, not on how churches are organized, how the ordained ministry is structured, on rules of ethics or on specific forms of worship. This understanding in the Augsburg Confession was strongly affirmed by Lutheran theologians from around the world meeting in Muenster, Germany earlier this month. "Realizing the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church," the marks of the church as confessed in the Nicene Creed, was the theme of the consultation organized by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Theology and Studies (DTS). WCC General Secretary to Meet Russian Patriarch Kirill June 24, 2010 – The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit will pay an official visit to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on 27-29 June. In his first travel to Moscow as WCC general secretary, Tveit will meet with Patriarch Kirill on Monday, 28 June. The Patriarch is the head of the WCC member church with the highest number of members. They will have conversations on the calling and the role of the WCC in response to Christ's call to be one, focusing on the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the WCC. ELCA Montana Synod an Example of ‘Ecumenical Hospitality' June 25, 2010, CHICAGO – Nestled in snow-peaked mountains and visited by outdoor enthusiasts, the city of Big Sky, Mont., can also be known for its "ecumenical hospitality," according to the Rev. Jessica R. Crist, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Montana Synod. On June 4 the synod welcomed into membership All Saints in Big Sky, a "union" congregation of the ELCA and the Episcopal Church, and it welcomed Lutheran and Presbyterian United Churches in Hot Springs, Mont., a union congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church and First Presbyterian Church there. June 18, 2010 – The Northern Province of the Moravian Church voted June 18 to enter into full communion with the Episcopal Church. The nearly unanimous voice vote came during an evening session on the second day of the church's June 17-21 quadrennial Provincial Synod at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. "This is an important day in the life of our churches," said David L. Wickmann, president of the Provincial Elders' Conference, Moravian Church North America. "This communion means our church has the opportunity to engage with one of our historic partners in a more complete and meaningful way." Nueva Comunión Mundial De Iglesias Es Fuente De Inspiración, Dice El CMI 24 junio 2010 – "La formación de la Comunión Mundial de Iglesias Reformadas es fuente de inspiración para todos nosotros que consideramos el llamamiento a la unidad, a la misión y a promover la justicia como un llamamiento indiviso," dijo el secretario general del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias, pastor Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, en Grand Rapids, Estados Unidos, el sábado, 19 de junio. Tveit saludó con estas palabras a 380 delegados que representaban a más de 200 iglesias reformadas de todo el mundo en la reunión de unificación de la Alianza Reformada Mundial (ARM) y el Consejo Ecuménico Reformado (CER). Iglesias Reformadas Y Presbiterianas Construyen Juntas Un Camino De Unidad 22 junio 2010, ESTADOS UNIDOS – En un hecho histórico, 230 iglesias presbiterianas y reformadas de 108 países decidieron constituir la Comunión Mundial de Iglesias Reformadas (CMIR), al votar afirmativamente por la unión de la Alianza Reformada Mundial (ARM) y del Concilio Ecuménico Reformado (CER). Haitianos Reconstruyen Iglesias Y Miran Al Futuro Con Esperanza 24 junio 2010 – Los lugares de culto de Haití no se libraron de la devastación causada por el terremoto del 12 de enero. En toda la capital, Puerto Príncipe, se están reconstruyendo iglesias derrumbadas. La Catedral de la Santísima Trinidad, uno de los monumentos de la ciudad, conocida por sus hermosos murales pintados por famosos artistas haitianos, figura entre las iglesias que se derrumbaron durante el terremoto. Actualizarán La Comprensión Ecuménica De La Misión En El Siglo XXI 24 June 2010 – La Comisión de Misión Mundial y Evangelización del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) ha iniciado un proceso encaminado a poner al día la comprensión ecuménica de la misión cristiana. El proceso tendrá dos etapas clave: un evento dedicado al estudio de la misión en marzo de 2012 y una nueva declaración sobre misión y evangelización que será presentada a la X Asamblea del CMI en Busan, Corea del Sur, en 2013. Iglesia Luterana Fija Su Posición Ante La Barbarie Que Vive El País 25 junio 2010, SAN SALVADOR – Un comunicado de la Iglesia Luterana Salvadoreña condena los últimos hechos de violencia y barbarie que han ocurrido en el país, ante la comunidad nacional e internacional, al expresar su consternación por los hechos sucedidos el pasado domingo 20 de junio en que desconocidos incendiaron a un grupo de pasajeros dentro de un ómnibus, que ya llega a la cifra de 18 fallecidos, según fuentes oficiales. Iglesia Católica Pide Revisión De Polémica Ley 24 junio 2010, CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ – La Iglesia católica panameña solicitó la revisión de la denominada "Ley chorizo," sancionada y promulgada, la semana pasada, por el presidente de la República, Ricardo Martinelli. Mediante un comunicado de la Comisión de Justicia y Paz, refrendado por la Conferencia Episcopal Panameña que preside monseñor José Luis Lacunza y el arzobispo de Panamá monseñor José Domingo Ulloa, la Iglesia sustenta que la norma debe ser revisada con la participación de todos los sectores, lo que aseguraría una "convivencia pacífica y una auténtica vida democrática." U.S. Reports ‘Serious Problem' with Trafficking June 24, 2010 – Over the past decade, the U.S. government has stepped up its efforts to combat global networks that foster modern-day slavery through forced labor or commercial sex. But this year's recognition that the United States itself has "a serious problem with human trafficking" is important, say United Methodists. Linda Bales Todd, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, celebrated the fact that the U.S. Department of State, "is willing, under the leadership of (Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton, to include information on what is happening." June 25, 2010 – Jack Plummer isn't expecting fireworks but rather a "sweet, sweet spirit" July 4 when parishioners resume worship for the first time in more than three years at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Oceanside, California. "I'm overjoyed," said Plummer, 48, now that the keys to the church property – which had been held by a breakaway group since September 2006 – have been returned to the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. "We never left St. Anne's even though we met in other places and (another group) had illegal possession – our hearts and minds were always here," said Plummer, who is the acting senior warden and acting parish secretary. Church Settles Dispute over Homeless Ministry June 24, 2010 – The legal food fight is over. CrossRoads United Methodist Church in Phoenix has reached an agreement with the city that ends an upcoming federal court battle over the church's Saturday pancake breakfast for the homeless. Prodigal's Home ministry, which partners with the congregation on the feeding program, has decided to relocate its Saturday breakfasts within the next six months to the impoverished neighborhood north of the church, said the Rev. Dottie Escobedo-Frank, the church's pastor. The ministry, she said, also plans to expand its program to serve meals five or seven days a week. Scientologists Honor New York "Drug-Free Heroes" on UN Day Against Drugs June 26, 2010, NEW YORK – Friday night, the New York branch of the Foundation for a Drug Free World, a group sponsored by the Church of Scientology, brought together a wide ranging group of heroes in an important fight. They joined chapters of the group worldwide in marking the United Nations International Day Against Illicit Drugs and Trafficking, giving awards to key New Yorkers who have taken the lead in the fight against illicit drug use. Meghan Fialkoff, head of the New York Chapter of the Foundation, spoke about their providing of The Truth About Drugs education materials available in 20 languages. Lutheran Disaster Response Provides Grant, Follow-up to Minnesota Tornadoes June 21, 2010, CHICAGO – Lutheran Disaster Response has provided a $10,000 emergency grant to Lutheran Social Service (LSS) of Minnesota to help the agency in its initial responses to last week's tornadoes in Minnesota, said Michael Nevergall, assistant director, Domestic Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). A series of tornadoes struck in Minnesota June 17, resulting in 795 damaged or destroyed buildings and three deaths statewide. Among them was Wes Michaels, 58, a member of Maple Lake Lutheran Church, Fertile, Minn., who died while shielding his daughter from a tornado as it struck near the family's convenience store and gasoline station in Mentor, Minn. NEBRASKA: Fremont Clergy Consider Impact, Pastoral Response Following Immigration Vote June 23, 2010 – The Rev. Jay Gabb was "disappointed" but realistic June 22, a day after voters approved an ordinance to bar undocumented immigrants from renting, residing or working in Fremont, Nebraska. As the part-time interim rector of St. James – the only Episcopal congregation in the small meatpacking town of 25,000 – Gabb considered the vote's impact on daily life and how to reach out compassionately to those on both sides of the issue. "I know there are some parishioners at St. James who probably voted for it and I know there are a number that voted against it," said Gabb, who the previous Sunday had challenged the congregation to "agree to disagree" and to make an informed choice when casting their votes June 21. A Story of Faith-Based Resilience in Haiti June 23, 2010 – When the earthquake hit Haiti on 12 January, Mitchelle Mothersil, an independent Pentecostal pastor, was lying on her bed in a two-story house in Carrefour Feuilles in the suburb of Port-au-Prince. When she heard the noise, which seemed to be coming from beneath the house, she immediately knew that it was an earthquake. "The house was shaking and I fell down several times when trying to find my mother and my children," she says in describing the first moments of the quake. She managed to get downstairs but could not open the door to the yard. Rebuilding Still at a Snail's Pace 10 Months after Typhoon Morakot June 20, 2010 – Ever since Typhoon Morakot devastated Aborigine townships and set in motion massive rescue and rebuilding efforts, Rukai Aborigines living in Pingtung have repeatedly emphasized rebuilding projects must respect the wishes and traditions of Aborigines. After much effort, PCT, Seventh Day Adventist, Methodist, and Catholic churches finally secured government permission to build permanent housing units that would be tailored to the needs and desires of Aborigines. June 22, 2010 – Approaching the boat landing of the fishing village on Viwa Island off the coast of Suva, Fiji, it is hard to imagine a more idyllic setting than this South Pacific paradise filled with one stunning island view after another. On the hillside overlooking the village sits a memorial church dedicated to the memory of a Methodist translator, John Hunt, who translated the Bible from Greek into Fijian more than 150 years ago and who still is revered by the villagers. In the evening dusk the chapel glows like a beacon across the water. Changhua Presbytery Trains Members to Become Model Reporters June 20, 2010 – Are you frustrated at the excess of negative coverage in mainstream media? Well, stop complaining and do something about it! Take out your camera and head outdoors to write your own news articles. In this age of internet technology, everyone can be a prime reporter and photographer. Aware of these trends and needs, Changhua Presbytery invited Chou Chih-tsun from Public Television Services (Channel 13) media planning department to coach interested members into becoming good reporters. Lutherans Address HIV Epidemic in the Caribbean, Latin America June 24, 2010, CHICAGO – The Caribbean has the second highest rate of HIV infection in the world after sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report from Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global Mission. In an effort to examine the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean and Latin America, ELCA Global Mission will host a consultation June 28-July 2 in Lima, Peru. "We are examining places in the world where HIV and AIDS are prevalent," said the Rev. Raquel E. Rodriguez, director, Latin America and Caribbean Continental Desk, ELCA Global Mission. June 24, 2010 WASHINGTON, DC – B'nai B'rith International is urging delegates to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to oppose the adoption of reports and resolutions that demonize Israel and target it with such measures as a proposed suspension of American military aid. The mainline Protestant denomination's biannual convention gets underway July 3 in Minneapolis. Among the materials slated for consideration by the assembly is a Middle East Study Committee report whose content dramatically emphasizes perceived Israeli wrongdoing and Palestinian suffering, while belittling Arab obligations, historical Jewish roots in the land, and the Jewish state's efforts for peace in the face of terrorism. . The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea Elects a New Archbishop June 18, 2010 – The decision making body of the Anglican Church of PNG (ACPNG), known as the Provincial Council has elected a new Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea. The election took place at the Provincial Council Meeting which was held in Port Moresby on 11th June 2010. The new Archbishop is the Rt. Reverend Joseph Kopapa who is the Bishop of Popondota Diocese. The ACPNG has five (5) Diocese and the Bishops from these Dioceses who are also members of the House of Bishops of the Province of PNG are eligible for election. Thomas Ferguson Named Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations Officer June 23, 2010 – The Rev. Thomas Ferguson has been named as ecumenical and interreligious relations officer for the Episcopal Church, according to a June 23 announcement from the Office of Public Affairs. Ferguson will develop strategies and actions supporting Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's ministry as chief ecumenical officer of the Episcopal Church, the release said. "Working with colleagues, Ferguson will seek to foster ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and cooperation with other Christian communions and world religions." |
