Front Page

Palestinian Agreement Sign of Hope Tveit Says

May 10, 2011 – The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fkyse Tveit, has said the recent agreement reached between two Palestinian movements, Fatah and Hamas, holds not only the hope and promise for a healing process within the Palestinian community but also creates the atmosphere for a seeking "a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Israel/Palestine." "The signing of this agreement, for an interim unity government and fixing a date for a general election in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2012, is a significant milestone and promise to forge a Palestinian consensus for lasting and just peace in the region," Tveit said in a statement released today from the WCC offices in Geneva, Switzerland. The statement comes in advance of the WCC-sponsored International Ecumenical Peace Convocation which is being held in Kingston, Jamaica, 17-25 May.

In Qatar, Faith Communities Grow Through Service of Anglican Center

May 12, 2011 – It's early Friday evening in Qatar and the Islamic call to prayer echoes throughout the capital city Doha, but it's not just the Muslim community that is preparing for worship. In a section of Doha, in an expanding development that has come to be known as Church City, thousands of Christian migrant workers worship freely with the blessing of the Qatari authorities. Christianity in this Islamic state was once an underground religion, but today it thrives, thanks in part to people like the Rev. Bill Schwartz, an Anglican priest and an Episcopal Church missionary.

Catholics and Jews: Witness to Dignity of Human Being

May 12, 2011, VATICAN CITY – Today in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received a delegation from B'nai B'rith International, ("Sons of the Covenant" in Hebrew), the oldest Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded in New York City in 1843. The Pope expressed his appreciation for B'nai B'rith's "active participation" in the meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee, held in Paris at the end of February on this 40th anniversary of dialogue between the two religions. " What has happened in these forty years must be seen as a great gift from the Lord and a reason for heartfelt gratitude towards the One who guides our steps with his infinite and eternal wisdom."

General News

Bishops' Committee Reaches out to Catholic Scholars

May 13, 2011 – In what appears to be a reconciliatory move by the U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine towards church scholars who took issue with the committee's sharp critique of a book by a prominent Fordham University theologian, the committee executive director has written it never meant to question the "dedication, honor, creativity, or service" of the author. The bishops' doctrine committee in late March issued a 21- page critique of Sr. Elizabeth Johnson's Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God, a popular theological text used in colleges and seminaries. After studying the book for one year, the committee concluded it "does not accord with authentic Catholic teaching on essential points" and "completely undermines the Gospel and the faith of those who believe in the Gospel."

It Is Time for New Models of Mission with Indigenous Peoples, Says Canadian Cree Pastor

May 9. 2010 – The way the church has done mission with Indigenous peoples in the past has to change says Mary Fontaine, a Presbyterian pastor and member of the Cree nation in Canada. "I welcome the commitment of the World Communion of Reformed Churches to enter into dialogue with the world's Indigenous Christians on how to create new models for mission," Fontaine says. The first Indigenous person elected to a senior post in a global organization of Reformed churches, Fontaine serves as Vice-President of the North American region of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

Theologian Kung Says Only Radical Reforms Can Save the Catholic Church

May 7, 2011, MUNICH – The Catholic Church is seriously, possibly terminally ill and only an honest diagnosis and radical therapy will cure it, one of the sharpest critics of Pope Benedict XVI, the Swiss Catholic theologian Hans Kung, has written. Speaking at a sold-out event in the Literaturhaus (Literary Centre) in Munich on 2 May, Kung who is a former colleague of the pope at the University of Tubingen, introduced his new book, "Ist die Kirche noch zu retten?" ("Can the Church Still Be Saved?"). Kung argues that the malady of the church goes beyond recent sexual abuse scandals. According to him, the church's resistance to reform, its secrecy, lack of transparency and misogyny are at the heart of the problem. He said that the Catholic church in the United States has lost one-third of its membership."

IEPC Theme Song, One for the Masses

May 12, 2011 For Jamaican singer/songwriter Grub Cooper, music is not only the universal language but also the fastest way to reach people and touch their emotions. And for Cooper, the music has to be accessible to all. During the past 40 years Cooper has reached deep into the heart of Jamaicans with more than a thousand musical compositions, many of them written and performed as a member of one of Jamaica's top performing acts, the Fabulous 5. Now Cooper is bringing his gift of songwriting to the world through a newly recorded composition written specifically for the upcoming World Council of Churches (WCC), International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, which is being held in Kingston, Jamaica 17-25 May.

Episcopal AIDS Ministries Evolve along with the Epidemic

May 9, 2011 – Bruce Garner says his spiritual life was profoundly changed during an AIDS healing service in 1986 at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. "I felt the presence of God so strongly it was like I could reach out and physically touch the Holy Spirit," the Atlanta resident recalled. "As I watched people go up to the altar rail to be anointed, every one of them walked as though they had the weight of the cathedral on their shoulders." Returning to their seats afterward, "their faces had lighted up. They were standing straight, and you could tell that they had been healed. They had not been cured, they had been healed, and that was a very important point in my life."

Three Cups of Compassion

May 11, 2011 – With the first cup of tea, you are a stranger. With the second cup of tea, you are an honored guest. With the third cup of tea, you become family. This Balti proverb lends Greg Mortenson's book, Three Cups of Tea, its name. But with a class action lawsuit filed against him in early May following investigations by writer John Krakauer and 60 Minutes, what is needed now is three cups of compassion. The first cup of compassion is for Mortenson who has admitted that some of his 2006 book compressed several visits into one and otherwise simplified a complicated story for his readers. The recently hailed humanitarian has been eviscerated by one-time supporter John Krakauer whose diatribe Three Cups of Deceit leapt to the top of the Kindle Bestseller list soon after it was posted online on April 18.

2011 ELCA Video Contest Asks, ‘What Does it Mean to Live Lutheran?'

May 11, 2011, CHICAGO – What does it means to "live Lutheran" today? Members and congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are invited to answer that question and compete for ministry grants and cash prizes in the 2011 ELCA Video Contest. Congregations could win a $3,000 or a $1,500 ministry grant, and individual entrants could win a $1,500 or $1,000 cash prize. Prizes will also be awarded to the congregation and individual entries voted most popular by registered users of livinglutheran.com. "This is a wonderful opportunity for members and congregations to share their stories with the rest of the church and the world," said Scott J. Hendrickson, ELCA director for marketing and public relations.

Thousands Gear up to Change the World

May 13, 2011, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In dozens of ways, thousands of United Methodists will team up to make a positive difference – locally and globally – during the second-annual Change the World event on May 14-15. There's likely a project in your neck of the woods. The idea is simple, declared Bishop Linda Lee of the Wisconsin Annual (regional) Conference.

Denomination Faces Sizable Budget Cuts

May 13, 2011, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – While the U.S. Congress is hammering out a 2012 budget, United Methodists are engaging in a yearlong effort to craft denominational budgets for the years 2013 to 2016. Unlike protracted budget debates on Capitol Hill, two groups responsible for denominational budgets concluded their scheduled May 9-12 meeting one day early. The 40-member General Council on Finance and Administration and the 60-member Connectional Table quickly accepted proposed "realistic" overall budget reductions of 6.04 percent presented by a GCFA committee and line-item recommendations for denominational agencies worked out by their top staff executives.

Ecumenical News

Cardinal Koch Sounds "An Ecumenical Keynote" During Geneva Visit

May 11. 2010 – Cardinal Kurt Koch, who since July 2010 has served as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), has completed his first official visit to the World Council of Churches (WCC) at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. Koch came as the guest of the WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit. The visit was an opportunity for the cardinal and Tveit to discuss significant and ongoing cooperation between the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC. During the 8-10 May visit the cardinal met with staff members from WCC programmes and with leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). The programme included a dinner with faculty and staff of the WCC sponsored Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland.

Human Rights

Human Rights Report Lists Vatican for Failure to Protect Children

May. 13, 2011, VATICAN CITY – Amnesty International named the Vatican in its annual report on human rights' concerns for not sufficiently complying with international mandates on protecting children from abuse. It marked the first time the Vatican was named in the group's Annual Report on the state of human rights around the world. The 2011 Annual Report covered human rights in 157 countries, looking particularly at rights abuses and restrictions and at failures to implement international rights' agreements. The report, released May 13, said, "The Holy See did not sufficiently comply with its international obligations relating to the protection of children," specifically regarding sex abuse. The Vatican is party to the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Spanish News

El Cardenal Koch Hace Sonar "Una Tónica Ecuménica" Durante Su Visita a Ginebra

12 mayo 2010 – El cardenal Kurt Koch, presidente del Pontificio Consejo para la Promoción de la Unidad de los Cristianos (PCPUC) desde julio de 2010, ha completado su primera visita oficial al Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) en el Centro Ecuménico de Ginebra, Suiza. Koch fue invitado por el secretario general del CMI, Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit. La visita brindó a ambos la oportunidad de analizar la importante cooperación actual entre la Iglesia Católica Romana y el CMI. En el transcurso de la visita que tuvo lugar del 8 al 10 de mayo, el cardenal se reunió con miembros del personal de los programas del CMI y con dirigentes de la Federación Luterana Mundial (FLM) y la Comunión Mundial de Iglesias Reformadas (CMIR).

Bartolomeo I: "La Paz Es Una Cuestión De Elección"

10 mayo 2010 – En una encíclica que será leída en las congregaciones de la Iglesia de Constantinopla en todo el mundo el domingo, 22 de mayo, el Patriarca Ecuménico de Constantinopla Bartolomeo I recibe "con gran alegría" la iniciativa del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) de convocar la Convocatoria Ecuménica Internacional por la Paz (CEIP) en Kingston, Jamaica, del 17 al 25 de mayo de 2011. El Patriarca acoge la CEIP como "conclusión adecuada" del "Decenio para Superar la Violencia" interreligioso mundial y como una oportunidad para estimular y hacer posible la aparición de nuevos esfuerzos y redes para la paz.

La Convocatoria Ecuménica Internacional Por La Paz Comienza El 17 De Mayo

12 mayo 2010 – Con las voces de Martin Luther King III y la pastora luterana alemana Dra. Margot Kässmann entre otros, la Convocatoria Ecuménica Internacional por la Paz (CEIP) dará comienzo la próxima semana. Este importante acontecimiento ecuménico organizado por el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) tendrá lugar en la Universidad de las Indias Occidentales en Kingston, Jamaica. "Gloria a Dios y paz en la tierra" será el tema de la CEIP, cuyo objetivo es dar testimonio de la paz de Dios como don y responsabilidad de las iglesias y del mundo.

Evangélicos Van a Elecciones Como Aliados De Partido Gobernante

12 mayo 2011, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Los partidos de tendencia cristiana Alternativa por el Cambio (AC), Camino Cristiano Nicaragüense (PCCN) y el del Movimiento de Unidad Cristiana (MUC), van como aliados del Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN), en el poder, a las elecciones presidenciales del 6 de noviembre de este año. El diputado y presidente del PCCN, el cual dejó de ser aliado del Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC), Guillermo Osorno, declaró a la prensa nacional que negocia con el FSLN para continuar como diputado nacional y solicita tres parlamentarios más en posiciones de regiones donde nunca ha ganado el Frente Sandinista, y dos en el Parlamento Centroamericano.

Luteranos Y Menonitas Comienzan a Caminar Juntos Celebrando La Reconciliación

9 mayo 2010, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – En las Asambleas del Congreso Mundial Menonita en Paraguay en 2009 y de la Federación Luterana Mundial en Alemania, 2010, se produjeron, tras muchos años de diálogo ecuménico, la reconciliación a nivel mundial entre menonitas y luteranos. Un acto de encuentro y reconciliación entre ambas comunidades de Argentina se realizará en la capital del país. "En Buenos Aires, menonitas y luteranos hemos coexistido durante años sin tener mayores relaciones los unos con los otros.

National News

Brethren Disaster Ministries Issues Update on Tornado, Flood Response

May 11, 2011, ELGIN, IL – Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) has issued a situation report on the severe storms in the South, and an update on its rebuilding work following last year's flooding in Tennessee. Children's Disaster Services (CDS) also is reporting from its work to care for children and families affected by the disasters. "As you can imagine, the BDM and CDS offices in New Windsor (Md.) are inundated with the severe tornado outbreak that roared across the South on April 27," reported BDM coordinator Jane Yount. "This outbreak is being called the worst in four decades. There are more than 200 confirmed deaths in Alabama alone, and the death toll across seven impacted states has climbed to 346 as search and rescue teams comb the impacted areas."

National Cathedral Re-envisions its ‘Ministry at the Heart of the Nation'

May 11, 2011 – The people who formulated Washington National Cathedral's new strategic plan, its dean says, had to wear at least three different hats; one to inspire vision, one to prompt attention to practicality and one to help recall the bottom line. The process that resulted in the 2012-2014 Strategic Plan was, in part, about becoming very clear about "precisely the work that we think is financially feasible and fundable in our ministry," the Very Rev. Samuel Lloyd told Episcopal News Service in a telephone interview May 10. The plan is meant to describe "as succinctly and clearly as possible what we think we're doing for the country and for the Episcopal Church," Lloyd said. It includes mission and vision statements, followed by four goals for living out that mission and vision.

International News

Third Anniversary in Prison for Iran's Baha'i Leaders

May 10, 2011, NEW YORK – As seven Baha'i leaders in Iran complete their third year in jail, the Baha'i International Community has confirmed that the two women amongst them have been transferred to another prison. The seven were all members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to the needs of Iran's 300,000-strong Baha'i community. This Saturday, 14 May, six of them – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm – will begin their fourth year behind bars. The seventh member of the group – Mahvash Sabet – was arrested three months earlier than her former colleagues, on 5 March 2008. After an illegal 30-month detention in Tehran's Evin prison, they were tried on trumped-up charges and sentenced in August 2010 to 20 years in jail. They have been held at Gohardasht prison since that time.

Church of Ireland General Synod Votes to Subscribe the Anglican Covenant

May 13, 2011 – The General Synod of the Church of Ireland meeting today in Armagh voted in favour of the following Motion on the Anglican Covenant: ‘Seeing that the Anglican Covenant is consonant with the doctrines and formularies of the Church of Ireland, the General Synod hereby subscribes the Covenant.' The vote was passed by a large majority of the House of Representatives. The House of Bishops also voted as a separate House, approving the motion, also by a large majority.

International Ecumenical Peace Convocation Starts 17 May

May 11, 2011 With the voices of speakers including Martin Luther King III and German Lutheran pastor Dr Margot Kässmann, the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) will begin next week. This major ecumenical event organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) is to take place at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Kingston, Jamaica. "Glory to God and Peace on Earth" will be the theme of the IEPC which aims at witnessing to the Peace of God as a gift and responsibility of the churches and the world. The convocation runs from 17-25 May. The IEPC is the culmination of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) programme authorized by the WCC at its 1998 Harare Assembly and initiated in 2001. The event will bring some 1,000 participants from around the globe, representing WCC member constituencies, ecumenical and civil society networks working in the area of peace and justice..

Swiss Churches Share Their Challenges and Successes with Global Reformed Church Officials

May 13, 2011 – A visit by representatives of Swiss regional churches to governing board members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) has opened new perspectives on the challenges for Christians in a secular, prosperous country in Europe. "The number of Reformed Christians in Switzerland is declining," Federation President, Gottfried Locher told the gathering. "At the same time, the number of people who declare they have no faith or who belong to other faith traditions is growing." In a presentation Wednesday at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, church leaders from regional (or Cantonal) churches belonging to the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches welcomed WCRC's Executive Committee to Switzerland and shared stories of church programmes in several areas of the country.

Two Provinces Align with Anglican Covenant

May 13, 2011 – Two Anglican Communion provinces have aligned with the Anglican Covenant, albeit using different terms to define that decision. The Church of Ireland's General Synod voted May 13 to "subscribe" to the covenant, noting that it purposely chose that word rather than using "adopt." Meanwhile, the Province of South East Asia, has issued a "letter of accession." The original request to the communion's primates and moderators was that the member churches should consider the covenant and decide "on acceptance or adoption." "Subscribing the Covenant is an indication that the Church of Ireland has put its collective name to and aligned with it," the Church of Ireland said in a short press release.

Middle East News

Christians in Middle East Foster Inter-Religious Dialogue for Peace

May 11, 2011 – Christians in Lebanon and Syria are concerned about what is happening between Christians and Muslims in Egypt and its impact on the region, says a Lebanese Presbyterian educator. "Stories from Egypt scare us that a focus on religious issues will create enmity between peoples," says Najla Kassab who works with a church-based education programme serving parishes in Lebanon and Syria. Kassab believes that violence in Egypt on Saturday – when 12 Christians were killed by Muslims and two churches burned – raises the need for churches to play a role in reconciliation and dialogue in the wake of the revolutions that are sweeping countries in the Middle East. "We are at a time of questioning how change can happen in our diverse countries in a healthy way," Kassab says.