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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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Presidential Order Re-opens U.S.-Cuba Religious Exchanges January 25, 2011 – The CEO and executive director of faith-based humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) says the White House executive order this month to ease travel restrictions between the United States and Cuba for religious, educational and cultural exchanges signals "the beginning of a new era of relations between the U.S. and Cuba." In a Jan. 18 letter to President Obama, the Rev. John J. McCullough expressed appreciation and "profound joy" on behalf of the agency and its 37 member communions and partner ecumenical organizations – including the United Church of Christ – in Latin America and the Caribbean, praising an order that allows remittances to religious institutions in Cuba that support religious activities. Guns and the Church's Moral Duty January 28, 2011 – Once I was a Foreign Service officer, a political officer trained to look at a host society and try to understand what makes it tick. After many years spent living abroad, I've become accustomed to looking at my own country in much the same way: as an outside observer, seeking to make sense of an often-jumbled mosaic. And one thing I've always stumbled over – that makes no sense to me – is America's obsession with guns and our inability reasonably to regulate their possession. How can one make sense of such inaction in a country where there are 90 guns for every 100 people – man, woman, or child – our nearest competitors being Yemen, a country afflicted by tribal strife and occupied in part by al Qaeda (61 guns per 100), and Switzerland, where every adult male is required by law to own a rifle as part of a well-regulated national militia (46 per 100)? UCC Congregations Lace up to Meet ‘Three Million Walking Challenge' January 26, 2011 – Positioning its momentum squarely onto the trail blazed by First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative to battle obesity in America, the United Church of Christ is asking all of its churches to get up and get going. As part of the "Three Million Walking Challenge," the UCC goal is for at least 250 churches and/or 2,500 UCC members to commit to walking 5 miles or 10,000 steps a week in two phases – Jan. 30-June 17, and July 11- Nov. 18. The combined goal is 600,000 miles. Final totals will be sent to Obama, whose hope is that faith and community organizations nationwide walk a collective 3 million miles by the end of November. Setting the early pace for the longer haul was the high-energy worship service Jan. 19 in the Amistad Chapel at the UCC's national headquarters in Cleveland. Nominations Being Accepted for Justice Awards at General Synod January 25, 2011 – In keeping with the spirit of former national agencies of the United Church of Christ, the Board of Directors of Justice and Witness Ministries has approved a recommendation to nominate candidates to honor with JWM General Synod Awards for exemplary work in the area of justice. Award honorees will be recognized at JWM's General Synod dinner July 1 in Tampa, Fla. Nominations are currently being accepted for prophetic justice workers, local churches and youth/young-adult and grass-roots organizations that deserve to be honored for effective justice work. January 25, 2011, GENEVA – Young Lutherans around the world will tackle environmental justice and experience the communion of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) through "LWF together – the earth needs you," beginning May 2011. Launched by LWF Youth at the Department for Mission and Development (DMD), "LWF together" combines a new method of global learning with renewed efforts for environmental justice. Coordinated by the LWF youth desk, local Lutheran youth groups around the world will team up with two other youth groups in different continents using the Internet to read relevant Bible passages together and develop an understanding of God's creation and humanity's responsibility toward it. ELCA Launches Livinglutheran.com for Sharing Stories and Conversation January 27, 2011, CHICAGO – LivingLutheran.com, a new website for members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), offers a daily blend of stories and conversation about what it means to "live Lutheran." LivingLutheran.com is the companion site to ELCA.org, the official website of the ELCA churchwide organization. "We really wanted to create an every-member publication but with a new twist on the concept," said Scott J. Hendrickson, ELCA director for marketing and public relations. "We could either print and mail a publication to all 4.5 million ELCA Lutherans, or we could leverage new technology to create a living, breathing publication where members can explore and talk about their faith experiences." ELCA Synod Bishop Addresses Bullying in YouTube Video January 27, 2011, CHICAGO – A synod bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has posted a video essay on YouTube in which he urges church members to stand with young people who are "victimized, brutalized or bullied." The Rev. Bruce Burnside, bishop of the ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin, Madison, said he made the video in response to reports of bullying locally and at a nearby college campus. Burnside's video is part of the "It Gets Better" project, an online video collection of messages started in 2010. Many public figures and celebrities contributed video testimonials to help reassure young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender that the bullying and torment they experience in their daily lives, especially in high school, will end, and that there's a better life ahead. Pope Receives Members of Orthodox- Catholic Commission January 28, 2011, VATICAN CITY – Today in the Vatican, the Holy Father received thirty members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The commission was founded in 2003 as the result of an initiative by the ecclesial authorities of the family of Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The first phase of dialogue, between 2003 and 2009, "resulted in the common text entitled ‘Nature, Constitution and Mission of the Church'," said the Holy Father. "The document outlined aspects of fundamental ecclesiological principles that we share and identified issues requiring deeper reflection in successive phases of the dialogue. Overcoming Pessimism on the Path to Full Christian Unity January 26, 2011, VATICAN CITY – Yesterday evening in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, the Pope presided at the celebration of Vespers to mark the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In his homily the Holy Father recalled how this year "the theme suggested for our meditations came from the Christian communities of Jerusalem. ... The Christians of the Holy City invite us to renew and strengthen our commitment to rebuild full unity by meditating on the model of life followed by the first disciples of Christ gathered in Jerusalem. ‘They devoted themselves,' we read in the Acts of the Apostles, ‘to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers'." Moravians, Episcopalians to Celebrate Full Communion Agreement During Feb. 10 Festive Service January 25, 2011 – The full-communion relationship recently agreed between the Episcopal Church and the Northern and Southern provinces of the Moravian Church in North America will be celebrated and inaugurated on Feb. 10 during a festive service in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, according to a press release from the Episcopal Church's Office of Public Affairs. The service will be held at 6 p.m. at the Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem. "This liturgical observance and celebration of full communion with the Moravian Church is an event that comes along once in a lifetime, if one is long-lived and fortunate," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said, according to the release. "Instances of reconciliation between different Christian communions since the Reformation have been rare – and the fact that we are marking this reconciliation with the Moravians is remarkable." Episcopado Hace Pública Carta Pastoral 500 Años De Misión Evangelizando La Nación 24 enero 2011, SANTO DOMINGO – Una carta pastoral, hecha pública aquí este sábado, que aborda el fenómeno de la Evangelización en América en sus 500 años, habla de "una Iglesia misionera" que agradece la participación en la labor de sacerdotes, religiosos y religiosas, laicos y laicas extranjeros, que desde el período colonial permitieron suplir las carencias de personal nacional para asumir la tarea evangelizadora. Washington Desencantado (Ahora) Con La Iglesia Católica Cubana 26 enero 2011, GINEBRA, Suiza – Documentos del Departamento de Estado revelados por Wikileaks hablan del desencanto de la Administración estadounidense con el papel de la Iglesia Católica cubana de cara al gobierno de la Isla. Un artículo reciente del diario español El País hace referencia a un cable del 2008 de Jonathan Farrar, jefe de la Oficina de Intereses de EE.UU, en la Habana, donde señala que "desde el cardenal Ortega hasta las monjas de provincias, la Iglesia católica evita desafiar al Gobierno," Según dicho artículo, "los diplomáticos de Estados Unidos no tienen grandes esperanzas de que la Iglesia católica sea el elemento que cambie el régimen castrista," y consideran que la Iglesia católica "ha renunciado al activismo político en la isla, e incluso optó por distanciarse de los disidentes católicos, a cambio de que el régimen le permita mantener un espacio para el culto y pueda reconstruir su infraestructura en templos y seminarios." FORT WORTH: Judge Orders Property Returned to Episcopal Church, Diocese January 22, 2011 – A Texas judge on Jan. 21 ordered a dissident group to return "all property, as well as control of the diocesan corporation" within 60 days to the Episcopalian leaders in Fort Worth who have remained loyal to the Episcopal Church. Tarrant County District Court Judge John Chupp cited the hierarchical nature of the Episcopal Church as the basis for his ruling, which granted motions for summary judgment filed by the Episcopal Church and the continuing Diocese of Fort Worth. "Because the Church is hierarchical, the Court follows Texas precedent governing hierarchical church property disputes, which holds that in the event of a dispute among its members, a constituent part of a hierarchical church consists of those individuals remaining loyal to the hierarchical church body," according to the order. January 28, 2011 – Dorothy Morris will live on in the hearts of those she loved, the Rev. Cliff Blinman told mourners Jan. 26 at St. Philip in the Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona. Morris, the last of the Tucson shooting victims to be laid to rest, was much beloved by her family and friends and especially by her husband of 54 years, George Morris, a retired United Airlines pilot, Blinman said. Morris attempted to shield his wife Jan. 8 when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a Tucson Safeway store where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) was holding an open meeting. Court Dismisses, Maintains Lawsuit Claims Involving ELCA, Augsburg Fortress January 28, 2011, CHICAGO – A federal judge dismissed significant claims against the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Augsburg Fortress Publishers contained in a lawsuit filed in April 2010. The lawsuit was filed by four plaintiffs in response to the 2009 termination of a defined benefit pension plan of Augsburg Fortress Publishers, a separately incorporated ministry of the ELCA, based in Minneapolis. Seven of the nine claims against the ELCA were dismissed. Seven of the 12 claims against Augsburg Fortress were dismissed. Michael J. Davis, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, ruled Jan. 27 that the terminated pension plan is a church plan and is exempt from the 1974 federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act or ERISA. Hakka Christians in Hualien Encouraged and Strengthened Through Fellowship January 23, 2011 – Christians living in Hualien area usually get together once a month to fellowship with one another. On January 15, 2011, the venue for this occasion was Fenglin Presbyterian Church in Taitung hosted by Fenglin Church's pastor, Rev. Chen Ming-hui. Such occasions are great opportunities for Hakka Christians to invite their families and friends who don't know Christ yet. Though people are usually not yet ready to receive the gospel, Chen believes it's vital Christians continue sowing gospel seeds and leave the harvest to God. January 28, 2011 – The brutal murder of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato has left much of the world in shock and caused outrage among Episcopalians who have repeatedly called for the church and society to step up the campaign to combat homophobia throughout the world. The Rev. Cynthia Black, interim rector of Church of the Epiphany in Plymouth, Minnesota, told ENS that Kato was "a valiant crusader for human rights. His death is a rallying cry for the church and the gay community – the killing and persecution of gay people around the globe must stop. Who will be the next to die?" Kato was reportedly bludgeoned to death in his home community during the afternoon of Jan. 26 and local police put the motive down to robbery. Best-Selling Author Opens Spring Dialogue Series at Elmhurst January 25, 2011 – Robert Putnam, best-selling author of "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community," will present "American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us" at UCC-related Elmhurst College February 3. Hailed as "the most influential academic in the world today" by the "London Sunday Times," Putnam is co-author of more than a dozen books, including "Better Together: Restoring the American Community and American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us" (co-written with David Campbell). He serves as the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and is a visiting professor at the University of Manchester (UK). Putnam's books have been translated into 20 languages and are among the most cited publications in the social sciences in the past half century.
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