Front Page

End Religious Bigotry, Faith Leaders Say

September 8, 2010 – A diverse group of religious leaders has called upon other U.S. spiritual leaders to join them in condemning "derision, misinformation or outright bigotry directed against any religious group in this country." Prompted by the "anti-Muslim frenzy" sparked by the debate over plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero in New York – known as the Park51 project – the religious leaders said they were "profoundly distressed and deeply saddened" by recent attacks on Muslims. "We stand by the principle that to attack any religion in the United States is to do violence to the religious freedom of all Americans," the Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders declared during a Sept. 7 press conference in Washington. Jim Winkler, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society was one of those invited to the emergency summit organized through the Islamic Society of North America. As three dozen religious leaders – many of whom he knew – refined a draft statement, "I felt like there was a great spirit in the room," he said. "Everybody felt it was really crucial to do this."

Beyond Park 51: Religious Leaders Denounce Anti-Muslim Bigotry
Call for Respect for America's Tradition of Religious Liberty

September 7, 2010, WASHINGTON – As religious leaders in this great country, we have come together in our nation's capital to denounce categorically the derision, misinformation and outright bigotry being directed against America's Muslim community. We bear a sacred responsibility to honor America's varied faith traditions and to promote a culture of mutual respect and the assurance of religious freedom for all. In advance of the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we announce a new era of interfaith cooperation. As Jews, Christians, and Muslims, we are grateful to live in this democracy whose Constitution guarantees religious liberty for all.

NCC's Kinnamon Joins with Interfaith Summit to Address Fear and Intolerance Toward Muslims

September 7, 2010 WASHINGTON – A high ranking group of U.S. interfaith leaders, including the general secretary of the National Council of Churches, assembled here today to condemn plans in Florida to burn the Holy Qu'ran on Saturday, and to decry incidents of violence committed against innocent Muslims. The leaders noted the "anti-Muslim frenzy" that has existed in the U.S. since plans were announced to build an Islamic Community Center at the Park 51 site in Manhattan two blocks from the site of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. But the uproar over the Park 51 community center is only one aspect of the overall problem of anti-Islamic attitudes and actions across the country, the leaders said. In a press conference at the National Press Club, Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of America (ISNA), said Muslims in America report the highest degree of anxiety they have felt since September 11, 2001.

Churches Plan Vigils, Decry Muslim-Bashing

September 10, 2010 – United Methodists from New York to Florida are participating in peace vigils Friday night to promote religious understanding in the midst of the raging national controversy over Muslim relations. The denomination's Council of Bishops also added its voice on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as emotions stoked by the debate about the building of a mosque and community center two blocks from ground zero and the attention-grabbing threats of Florida Pastor Terry Jones to burn the Quran reached a fever pitch. As Jones held a press conference Friday morning at Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, the Rev. Dan Johnson, senior minister of Trinity United Methodist Church – a half mile away – prepared to host a "Gathering for Peace, Understanding and Hope" from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, in conjunction with the Gainesville Interfaith Forum.

General News

2010 Ministers Council Senate Charts Course for Strong Future

September 9, 2010, VALLEY FORGE, PA – The 2010 American Baptist Ministers Council Senate met at the Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake Wisconsin from Saturday, August 14 through Tuesday August 17. The meeting was convened by president Jeff Savage under the theme of "Creating a Community of Spiritual Leaders," based on Mark 2:1-12 and Psalm 121:1-8. The Senate was joined in a time of worshipful work by various ABC leaders from the national program boards and several local regions. In anticipation of the approaching conclusion of the Lilly grant funding the collegial covenant groups known as TIM (Together in Ministry) groups, the Senate approved a $2.5 million capital campaign to support the work of the Ministers Council at the national and constituent council levels into the future.

As Ninth Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks Approaches,
Kinnamon Asks Churches to Remember All the Victims

September 9, 2010 NEW YORK – The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 changed millions of lives forever, and the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches is calling on churches to hold all the victims in prayer – families of the dead and injured as well as millions of Muslims who continue to be targets of Islamophobia rhetoric and attacks. In a letter to NCC Governing Board members, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon expressed alarm that the pastor of a small church in Gainesville, Fla. continues his threats to burn the Qur'an, and called on Christians to remember Jesus' commandments to love God and "love your neighbor as yourself." Kinnamon included in his letter a bulletin insert of the statement issued September 7 by a historic summit of interfaith leaders expressing their concern about the rise of anti-Muslim statements and actions in the U.S., and urged communions to share the message with their churches.

TEXAS: East Austin Episcopal Pre-School Offers Wealth of Diversity

September 7, 2010 – Entering her kindergarten year at St. James,' a ministry of its namesake church in East Austin, Imani is among a truly diverse group of three- to five-year-old children who are blossoming within the school's unique blend of strong Montessori-based learning with a Christian perspective that emphasizes kindness. When the school began its 14th academic year in late August, 27 different Austin area zip codes were represented among its 70 students. The school's racial mix is wide, as is the economic diversity of its students' families. Forty percent enrolled with generous financial aid.

ELCA Joins Interfaith Religious Leaders to Address Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

September 7, 2010, CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joined a coalition of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to denounce rising anti-Muslim rhetoric and bigotry in the United States, as the country prepares to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The religious leaders met in Washington at the request of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Plainfield, Ind., which hosted an emergency interfaith summit Sept. 7. Afterward, the interfaith leaders released a statement at a news conference at the National Press Club.

Is Scientology Really a "Celebrity Religion?"
or Do the Media Focus Only on Scientology's Celebrity Members?

September 11, 2010, NEW YORK – "People in all walks of life – doctors, housewives, firemen, nurses, and students – find that Scientology provides them with tools they can use to lead a better life," says Rev. John Carmichael, of the Church of Scientology New York. "But when a housewife uses the methods of Scientology to organize her household better, or a businessman is more successful because Scientology helps him lower his stress, these stories don't get the same coverage as the successes of movie stars."

Four ELCA Young Adults on Road Trip to Talk about Global Service

September 7, 2010, CHICAGO – Four Lutheran young adults started a three-month road trip Aug. 27 to recruit people their age to consider a year of work overseas. Stephanie Anderson, Nathan Berkas, Sara Higgins and Elliot Williams are visiting congregations, college campuses and other areas where young people hang out to share how international service can be life-changing. They returned from their service four weeks ago. Traveling overseas "you quickly see the differences in language, culture, music and food," said Anderson. "But after living alongside people for a year, you realize that people everywhere are looking for the same things – love, support, friendship and encouragement.

ELCA Minnesota Congregation Baptizes 58 African Immigrant Children

September 10, 2010, AUSTIN, Minn. – The brick walls and brilliant stained glass windows here at Our Savior's Lutheran Church are a long way from the small prayer gatherings that take place under the shelter of trees in Africa. On Sept. 5, during a regular worship service at Our Savior's, 58 children of African immigrants were baptized into the family of Christ. Our Savior's is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Lutherans Call for Energy, Environmental Stewardship

September 9, 2010, WASHINGTON – Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are showing a greater interest and concern in energy issues, according to Mary Minette, director for environmental education and advocacy, ELCA Washington Office. "This is demonstrated by the congregations that are planning services and vigils on Oct. 3 to pray for the recovery of the Gulf of Mexico and the people who have signed a petition to Congress regarding the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico," she said. Oct. 3 is designated by the National Council of Churches USA (NCC), as a national day of prayer and remembrance for the long-term recovery of the people in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ecumenical News

WCC General Secretary Sends Greetings to Muslim Leaders for ‘Id Al Fitr

September 8, 2010 – The Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has offered his greetings, solidarity and a message of peace to the Muslim leaders of the world as they end the month of Ramadan. In the letter, Tveit also said the WCC and its member churches around the world reject and firmly condemn acts that might cause violence between Muslim and Christian communities, such as the reported plans of a small church in Florida, United States, to burn the Quran.

ENGLAND: Archbishop Offers Hopes and Prayers for Rosh Hashanah

September 9, 2010 – Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has sent a greeting to Jewish communities at the start of the festival of Rosh Hashanah, marking the start of the Jewish New Year, according to a press release from Lambeth Palace. Williams acknowledged that in the months ahead, direct negotiations will be taking place between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities. "This will be a critically important test for those directly responsible and a heavy responsibility lies on them to move the situation forward from the tragic patterns of recrimination and retaliation that have become so familiar," he said, adding that it is his hope and prayer that religious communities can pray together for peace and justice.

Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions
An Interview with Rabbi Or Rose

September 10, 2010 – Recently, we spoke with Rabbi Rose on new innovations in interfaith education within the seminary context, the future of the interreligious movement and what it means to live on the "growing edge" of life.

Moravian Church's Southern Province Enters Full Communion with Episcopal Church
Vote Echoes Similar Decision by Northern Province

September 10, 2010 – The Southern Province of the Moravian Church voted Sept. 10 to enter into full communion with the Episcopal Church. The 121-74 vote came after two hours of debate during an afternoon session on the second day of the church's Sept. 9-12 quadrennial Provincial Synod at Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said after learning of the decision, "I am delighted that the Southern Province has discerned the rightness of a full communion agreement with The Episcopal Church. Together we will be better able to serve Christ our chief Elder and all God's people."

Editorial Page

Religious Ignorance, Bigotry and Ill Will: a Lamentation for 9/11

September 12, 2010 – If one is looking for fuel to have a bonfire, there is no more explosive a mixture than ignorance, bigotry and ill will. We need only think of the slave trade in West Africa, the Trail of Tears in the United States, and the pogroms in Eastern Europe, not to mention armed conflicts in all parts of the world, to know that, at its worst, such ill will has turned into violence and the killing of countless people by others whose imaginations have been inflamed by bigotry. At the heart of many of these situations was theological ignorance. Unfortunately, we cannot forever consign ignorance, bigotry and ill will to the past.

Spanish News

Amor Al Prójimo Y Compromiso Congregaron Para Celebrar Por La Vida De Lucius Walker

10 septiembre 2010, LA HABANA, Cuba – "La mayor expresión de la originalidad y la creatividad de Lucius Walker fue su manera de practicar su amor al prójimo, la mayor expresión de ese amor fue su compromiso con Cuba y con su Revolución," expresó el pastor bautista Raúl Suarez Ramos, en el emotivo culto celebrado aquí, en conmemoración por la vida del máximo líder del movimiento Pastores por la Paz, quien falleciera el pasado martes en la ciudad de Nueva York, a consecuencia de un infarto masivo.

Estupor Y Rechazo Al Plan De Un Pastor De Florida De Quemar Ejemplares Del Corán

10 septiembre 2010, ESTADOS UNIDOS – Los planes de una pequeña iglesia evangélica de Florida de quemar 200 ejemplares del Corán ante un nuevo aniversario del ataque del 11 de setiembre de 2001, desataron una ola de protestas, manifestaciones en contra y estupor en ámbitos religiosos y políticos. Aunque por ahora la amenaza no se ha cumplido, continua la preocupación mundial.

Líderes Ecuménicos De Estados Unidos Dialogan
Con Miembros Del Gobierno E Iglesias Del CLAI

8 septiembre 2010, CARACAS, Venezuela – Como informara oportunamente ALC, líderes ecuménicos del Consejo Nacional de Iglesias de Cristo y del Servicio Mundial de Iglesias de los Estados Unidos realizaron una visita a Colombia, Venezuela y Ecuador con el propósito de dar a conocer a sus iglesias la realidad que viven los desplazados y refugiados colombianos en la región y dialogar con líderes de distintos sectores. Durante la visita a Caracas, se reunieron con líderes de las iglesias miembros del Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (CLAI) y con representantes del globierno bolivariano.

Iglesia De Escocia Determina Que Ya No Debe Referirse a Dios Como De Género Masculino

7 septiembre 2010, ESCOCIA – La Iglesia Episcopal de Escocia determinó que ya no debe referirse a Dios como de género masculino, informa el diario británico The Daily Telegraph. La medida, que deja caer términos como "Señor, Él, y Todopoderoso" de los servicios religiosos, fue tomado para hacer de Dios "una entidad más allá de todo género sexual" y luego que sacerdotes mujeres se quejaron de las referencias masculinas en las Sagradas Escrituras.

Consternación Entre Líderes Cristianos Por La Muerte De Lucius Walker

7 septiembre 2010, LA HABANA, Cuba – "Estamos profundamente conmovidos ante la repentina muerte de Lucius Walker, quien fuera para Cuba, y sobre todo para la Iglesia cubana, un ejemplo de militancia cristiana y política, de manera que no hemos perdido a un amigo, sino a un verdadero hermano en el diario compartir que nos enseñara Jesús," afirmó Marcial Miguel Hernández, presidente del Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba (CIC), al conocer la noticia de su fallecimiento.

La Unión Evangélica Pentecostal Afirma Su Compromiso
Con La Transformación Del País Y La Creación Toda

7 septiembre 2010, CARACAS, Venezuela – La Unión Evangélica Pentecostal Venezolana, UEPV, en ocasión de su Asamblea General Anual realizada del 26 al 29 de agosto pasado en la Piedad Lara, emitió una declaración pastoral donde resalta su compromiso con el pueblo venezolano. "Seguimos dando testimonio en el momento histórico de transformación que vive nuestra patria, como voz profética en Venezuela y América Latina, tal como lo determinaron nuestros fundadores y fundadoras," reza la carta.

Pastor Luterano Alerta Sobre Latente Desplome De La Montaña De Las Granadillas

9 septiembre 2010, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – Como consecuencia de la tala de los bosques La Montaña de las Granadillas, este bien que surte de agua por lo menos a 22 comunidades de Zacapa y Chiquimula, no ha resistido los embates de las lluvias y ha empezado a derrumbarse, a la altura de las aldeas La Trementina, Cerro Grande y Los Achiotes, desatando la alarma de los vecinos.

Religious Liberty News

Political Assault on Religious Expression near Ground Zero
Can Lead to Widespread Religious Discrimination

September 11, 2010 – The general media have given over their headlines to politicians and others arguing that the planned Cordoba House, a multi-story Islamic Cultural Center, should not be allowed to be constructed at mid-block on Park Place. The planned facility is something quite like a YMCA which would contain community recreational and meeting space for culture and art events – and separate prayer rooms on upper floors for Islamic, Christian and Jewish prayer. Muslims are being savaged in the headlines today. But the subtext is an attack on religious liberty in this nation.

National News

Episcopal Churches, Religious Leaders Plan Sept. 11 Interfaith Events
Florida Pastor ‘Suspends' Plan to Burn Quran

September 10, 2010 – Episcopal Church and other religious leaders are planning interfaith events on Sept. 11, the anniversary of the day when highjacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the day a Christian pastor had said he would burn copies of the Quran. The Sept. 11 commemorations will come the day after both the Jewish New Year celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Eid-el Fitr, the end of the monthlong Islamic observance of Ramadan. They will also take place against the backdrop of what the National Council of Churches recently called the "anti-Muslim frenzy" that has existed in the United States since plans were announced to build an Islamic community center in Manhattan, two blocks from where the Twin Towers of the Trade Center once stood.

ELCA Congregation near California Explosion Site Safe

September 10, 2010, CHICAGO – All members of Peace Lutheran Church, San Bruno, Calif., are reported safe following the Sept. 9 explosion and fire that resulted in four deaths and destroyed at least 38 homes in the city's Glenview neighborhood, said the Rev. Gail W. Cromack, pastor. Peace is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The cause of the fire has not been determined fully, according to news reports. What is known is that a natural gas transmission line in the area ruptured, causing an explosion, the reports said. At least 52 people are hospitalized.

International News

Pastors Sound Alarm on Environmental Degradation and Our Responsibility

September 5, 2010 – "You've got to learn to care for the water you drink!" said Taiwan Water Protection Alliance south region spokesperson Chen Shu-hua, who also happened to be a member of Fu-Chiang Presbyterian Church in Tainan. She urged Taiwanese people to do their part as citizens of Taiwan by keeping an eye on elected officials so that none of them would compromise the environment for the sake of securing votes from big corporations, resulting in unethical and unsuitable land development ventures.

Elementary School Set to Re-open in Haiti Thanks to Volunteer Efforts

September 9, 2010 VALLEY FORGE, PA – By October 1, schools in Haiti will re-open after the devastating January 12 earthquake that shattered the tiny nation. Thanks to the efforts of countless volunteers from Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), the Texas Baptist Convention, and American Baptist Churches, USA, Siloé School of the Grand Goâve Baptist Church will welcome nearly 350 new and returning Haitian students from kindergarten through 8th grade. Since February 2010, 63 American Baptist volunteers from the U.S. have been working with the Convention Baptiste du Haïti (CBH) and through American Baptist International Ministries (IM) and partner CBF to rebuild the church's school in the city of Grand Goâve, Haiti.

LWF President Younan Urges Humanitarian Relief Coordination in Pakistan
Call for Churchesõ Prayers and Affirmation of Support Through Act Alliance

September 7, 2010, GENEVA – The President of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan has urged organizations providing humanitarian relief to people affected by the recent flooding in Pakistan to coordination such assistance effectively in order to reach those in need. In a statement issued today, Younan called on all humanitarian relief agencies – religious and secular – "to draw on our shared common values and principles and find ways and means to coordinate our work together in a common strategy that ensures far-reaching support to the people in need in Pakistan." Disaster, he emphasized, "does not differentiate along ethnic, political or religious lines; neither should we."

SRI LANKA: a Plea to Withdraw the Eighteenth Amendment
A Statement by the Rt Revd Duleep De Chickera, Bishop of Colombo

September 7, 2010 – Many sections of the population are deeply alarmed at the possible repercussions the proposed 18th Amendment to the Constitution will have on our system of democratic governance. If passed by Parliament, the constitutional changes will remove the restriction on the two terms a person can serve as President, which all democratic countries with an Executive Presidency subscribe to. In addition, it will much more than before empower the Government and President to select and appoint persons to serve on the crucial commissions that are meant to safeguard the democratic rights of the people, such as the Elections Commission, Public Services Commission, Judicial Services Commission, National Police Commission, Bribery Commission and so on.

Remembering September 11 and Our Common Religious Heritage
A Peace for Life Plea for Tolerance Among People of Faith

September 10, 2010 – We in Peace for Life, an international faith-based movement engaged in interfaith solidarity for the struggle against global hegemony, support the call of religious leaders in the United States of America to put an end to the anti-Muslim bigotry that has swept many parts of the country in response to the planned construction of an Islamic community centre in New York City, two blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood. We denounce in particular the anti-Islam rhetoric and acts of some Christian groups in the USA against the Muslim community such as the threat of the evangelical Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida to publicly burn 200 copies of the Holy Qur'an on the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Youths Strengthened and Equipped Through Praise and Worship Camp

September 5, 2010 – Taiwan Church Press and Taichung Presbytery recently co-led a praise and worship camp on August 1619, 2010. The camp drew 450 youths from Presbyterian churches across Taiwan who came to Tainan for some spiritual and music training. This is the 5th time the camp has been held and this year's highlight included new seminars for youths interested in saxophone and street dance taught by professionals. There were also seminars on how to lead worship, as well as bass, guitar, drums, keyboard, sound system workshops and more. The highlight of this camp was training young participants on how to work with one another and lead a congregation in worship.

ENGLAND: Planned Quran Burning ‘Deeply Deplorable,' Archbishop of Canterbury Says

September 9, 2010 – Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has spoken out against a Florida-based evangelical Christian pastor's plan to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, calling it a "deeply deplorable" act that should be "strongly condemned by all people." Williams said that threats by Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Church in Gainesville, Florida, to desecrate Quranic scriptures "are challenges that we must respond to with a consistent message: that we oppose collectively all such provocations and insist that there is no place in our traditions for violent response."

U.S. Lutherans, Chinese Christians Engage in Theology, Social Service

September 8, 2010, SHANGHAI – Two areas of common interest between U.S. Lutherans and Chinese Christians are theological education and social services. Staff of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Global Mission met here Sept. 3 with leaders of the China Christian Council (CCC) to learn how these areas of common interest can serve as critical points of ministry between the CCC and ELCA. The Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission, the Rev. Peter Shen, ELCA consultant on China, and the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, ELCA director, Asia-Pacific continental desk, are in China at the invitation of the Rev. Gao Feng, CCC president.

Lutherans Witness Medical, Spiritual Healing in China

September 9, 2010, LUZHOU, China – A respirator unit has helped save the lives of more than 80 infants at the People's Hospital in Luzhou, China. Staff from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Global Mission visited the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital Sept. 2 and witnessed firsthand how engagement between the ELCA and the Christian church in China can lead to life-saving ministries. The respirator unit was purchased with a grant from the ELCA. Another respirator unit has since been acquired, making the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit one of the best in the region, according to the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, ELCA director for the Asia-Pacific continental desk. Hospital administrators are expanding the neonatal unit to cover an entire floor, he said.

Middle East News

WCC General Secretary Honoured in Jerusalem

September 6, 2010 – A high distinction has been bestowed on the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit. On Thursday 2 September, the Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre was presented to Tveit by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. Tveit was visiting Jerusalem as part of a WCC delegation meeting with members of the WCC member churches in the region as well as with Jewish and Muslim leaders. The Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre is an honour awarded by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem and the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. The name refers to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, built over the traditional site of Jesus' tomb.

People in the News

Bishop Mathews, Ardent Missionary, Dies

September 9, 2010 – The son-in-law of noted evangelist E. Stanley Jones, Mathews traveled the world as a Methodist missionary. He made more than 60 trips to India, 28 to Africa, 16 to Latin America and a dozen to Korea and Japan during his lifetime. Throughout his travels, he brought a commitment to Christian service, said his daughter Anne Mathews-Younes. "He loved life, he loved to serve and he was always willing to share of himself," she said. "He worked all the time because that's what you do when you're a Christian. There's always something to do."