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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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Church in America Clarifies Position on Ordinariate: Rome Offer Rejected February 5, 2011 – The Anglican Church in America (ACA), one of the largest of the Continuing Anglo Catholic bodies in the US, has issued a letter through its chancellors saying it will not join with its Archbishop, John Hepworth, and accept the Pope's offer of a personal ordinariate. Bishop Brian Marsh, Diocese of the Northeast, told VOL that this clarifies their situation which has been in some limbo since the Pope's offer due to a number of parishes in the ACA wanting to accept the Anglicanorum Coetibus. "While this clarifies our position at the present time the future remains open. Our leader is still Archbishop John Hepworth but that could change if he should go to Rome..." NCC Bible Translation and Utilization Committee February 9, 2011, OVIEDO, Fla. – The National Council of Churches, which developed one of the most respected and widely used English translations of the bible, is moving to encourage more people to read the bible in a variety of print and electronic formats. The NCC's Bible Translation and Utilization Committee (BTU) met in the Canterbury Retreat Center here to make plans for expanding the readership of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Both the NRSV and the Revised Standard Version were translated and updated by scholars from member communions and partners of the NCC, which holds both copyrights. Children's Disaster Services Offers Volunteer Workshops in Southern California, Indiana February 8, 2011, ELGIN, IL – Children's Disaster Services is offering two volunteer workshops in March, one in southern California, and one in Indiana. Children's Disaster Services is a Church of the Brethren ministry working cooperatively with FEMA and the American Red Cross to provide care for children and families following disasters. The program has been meeting the needs of children since 1980. A workshop on March 5-6 will be held in La Verne, Calif., at La Verne Church of the Brethren. Out of a Small Green Box: a Rediscovered Manuscript on John Kline. February 10, 2011, ELGIN, IL – Terry Barkley, director of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., provided the following report on newly rediscovered historical material related to Civil War-era Brethren leader John Kline: Shortly after assuming the directorship of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives on Nov. 1, 2010, I examined a small green box in my office labeled, "Original Penciled Manuscript of book LIFE OF JOHN KLINE by Funk." I quickly realized that I was looking at Benjamin Funk's original hand-written manuscript (partial) for his book, "Life and Labors of Elder John Kline." Healthy Scholars Build Appetite for Eradicating Extreme Poverty February 7, 2011 – Inspired by economist and professor Jeffrey Sachs, two college juniors are working to entice fellow students to pledge $1 a week to support the United Nations Millennium Goals and specifically to help eradicate extreme poverty in Africa. If their efforts succeed, they hope their Healthy Scholar Foundation model will spread to other campuses across the country. The idea emerged at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where Max Bevan, a lifelong Episcopalian from New Jersey, and Kiyo Egashira of Washington state took a development economics class and read Sachs' book "The End of Poverty" while studying abroad last semester. Black History Month: The Church's ‘Cross of Accountability' February 10, 2011 – When the Rev. Joseph "Sonny" Browne III began a historic preservation project at his Roxobel, North Carolina, ancestral "homeplace" last year he faced a stark reality – that its roots, and his, included slavery. "My family has lived in the same house since 1830. It was built by my three-greats-grandfather and they ran a plantation there. I always envisioned my family living there but it had this whole other side. What it must have been like, I had never imagined before," said Browne, 33, during a Feb. 1 telephone interview from Chocowinity, where he is rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in the Diocese of East Carolina. Record-Level Giving to ELCA World Hunger in December 2010 February 8, 2011, CHICAGO -The generous response by members and congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to a World Hunger appeal resulted in gifts of $3.3 million in December 2010, the highest ever recorded for that month. "Thanks be to God for the outpouring of financial support for ELCA World Hunger," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop. "In the month of December, ELCA members expressed our faith and gratitude to God for the birth of Christ. We gave generously so that there might be daily bread for all and together we might work to end hunger in our communities and throughout the world." National Council of Churches Welcomes Christian Delegation from China February 9, 2011, NEW YORK – The National Council of Churches on Monday welcomed a delegation from the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), a Christian group from China. The delegation included Elder Fu Xianwei, chair of the TSPM, who was among the church leaders who welcomed the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC general secretary, and then NCC President Archbishop Vicken Aykazian on their trip to China in 2009. Kinnamon welcomed the delegation warmly and hosted them for lunch February 7 in The Interchurch Center. Kinnamon presented Elder Fu with an inscribed copy of a calligraphed edition of the New Revised Standard Version of the bible, and Fu gave Kinnamon a framed painting of Chinese pandas. February 11, 2011, BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – With an evening Eucharist Feb. 10 that blended elements of the liturgical and musical practices of both traditions, representatives of the Episcopal Church and the two provinces of the Moravian Church in North America formally inaugurated a full-communion relationship between the denominations. The service at Central Moravian Church in downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the seat of the Moravian Church's Northern Province, included a newly written Liturgy for Christian Unity from the Moravian Book of Worship and an Eucharistic prayer adapted from the 4th century liturgy attributed to St. Basil the Great. Activistas De Derechos Humanos Denuncian 118 Asesinatos En Los Últimos 10 Años 10 febrero 2010, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – La ONG Unidad de Defensores de los Derechos Humanos, conocida como UDEFEGUA, denunció el lunes aquí que 18 activistas humanitarios y dirigentes sociales han sido asesinados entre 2000 y 2010, según las estadísticas de esa organización. El informe, pródigo en cifras alarmantes, expresa que en los últimos diez años los grupos que se dedican a la salvaguarda de los derechos elementales de la población y a denunciar sus violaciones, sufrieron dos mil 82 agresiones o ataques de los cuales se derivaron 118 asesinatos, y que solo el pasado año ocho activistas murieron a consecuencia de su labor, siendo una de las últimas víctimas la antropóloga Emilia Margarita Quan, del Centro de Estudios y Documentación de la Frontera Occidental de Guatemala. La Situación De Los Pueblos De Palestina E Israel, 10 febrero 2010, MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – El primer taller de capacitación binacional del Programa Ecuménico de Acompañamiento en Palestina e Israel (PEAPI, un programa del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias), se llevó a cabo entre el 5 y el 7 de febrero en el Centro Emmanuel, Colonia Valdense, con la participación de alrededor de veinte personas de Uruguay y Argentina. Jóvenes De Iglesias Históricas Ofrecen Metodología Para Prevención De La Violencia 8 febrero 2011, SAN SALVADOR – La juventudes de las iglesias históricas en El Salvador, aglutinadas en FECLAI, se mostraron complacidas hoy aquí, porque el Gobierno, a través del Ministerio de Justicia, ha validado la metodología "Busquemos la Paz," una alternativa para la promoción de La Cultura de Paz. "Esta metodología consiste en una serie de talleres. Dirigida a la niñez y los jóvenes de diferentes instituciones que deseen adoptarla, la propuestas se basa en impartir temas relacionados a la paz en la familia, la paz en la comunidad, la paz con la Creación, la paz en momentos difíciles," según lo explicó Carmen Díaz, representante de FECLAI-Juventud. El Salvador, país centroamericanos de 5.7 millones de habitantes, es una de las naciones más violentas del mundo según Naciones Unidas. Teólogos Piden Profundas Reformas a La Iglesia Católica: 7 febrero 2010, BERLÍN, Alemania – En lo que se supone es el alzamiento más importante contra la cúpula católica luego de 22 años, un tercio de los 400 teólogos de Alemania, Austria y Suiza, redactaron un manifiesto en el que exigen profundas reformas a la Iglesia católica y subrayan que esta requiere, "también, sacerdotes casados y mujeres en el oficio eclesiástico." Revelado el texto el pasado viernes por el diario Süddeutsche Zeitung, se expresa que nada así había ocurrido desde 22 años atrás, cuando 220 teólogos suscribieron la llamada Declaración de Colonia, de 1989, donde se criticaba a Juan Pablo II por la manera en que la Iglesia ejercía su gobierno. Tragedia Conmueve a Iglesias Evangélicas 9 febrero 2011, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – La muerte de cinco jóvenes de la Iglesia Evangélica Centro de Adoración Familiar Misioneros de la Luz, conmovió, este fin de semana, a los evangélicos de esta capital, quienes lamentan que no se hayan tomado las medidas pertinentes para que algo así no ocurriera. El hecho ocurrió el pasado domingo, cuando un grupo de 130 jóvenes llegó al balneario Tolesmeyda del Lago Nicaragua, en el municipio de Belén, departamento de Rivas, donde 25 de ellos fueron bautizados. February 7, 2011, WASHINGTON – Three heads of National Council of Churches member communions are among a dozen White House appointments announced February 4 to President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood partnerships. The NCC-related nominees are the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; the Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and H.E. Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. New Church Buildings Must Consider Universal Design, Says Christian Policy Advisor January 30, 2011 – What would houses where the elderly and the toddler can both walk safely and live comfortably look like? Would their stairs be able to turn into ramps? These were ideas explored in the recent 5th Annual Universal Design Contest where the theme of the year was "Residential Life." The contest featured more than 811 residential products – all emphasizing their safety and user-friendliness regardless of our age. Living in a safe and cozy home is a common desire, said Free Universe Education Foundation CEO Tang Feng-cheng during the award ceremony on January 13, 2011. Archbishop of Canterbury Awarded Doctorate by Catholic University February 2, 2011 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was one of four eminent scholars who today received honorary doctorates from the Catholic University of Leuven. They are awarded once a year to selected individuals of exceptional scientific, social or cultural distinction, on the Patronal Feast of the University, 2 February. Founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V, the Catholic University of Leuven bears the double honour of being the oldest existing Roman Catholic university in the world and the oldest university in the Low Countries. |
