Front Page

Praying and Reflecting on World Mental Health Day

October 10, 2011 – "Mental illnesses affect people of all ages, in all societies, from the boy soldier in Sierra Leone traumatized by years of bloody civil war, to the mother affected by HIV/AIDS. Therefore it is crucial for the churches to challenge the stigma attached to mental illness," the Rev. Kjell Magne Bondevik reminds the churches. Bondevik spoke at a service of morning prayer dedicated to World Mental Health Day on 10 October. The chapel service was hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. Bondevik is moderator of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, president of the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights, a minister of the Lutheran Church of Norway, former prime minister of Norway and a staunch advocate for promoting acceptance and engagement with mental health issues.

Accelerating the Church's Response to HIV

October 11, 2011 – "The speed with which you run depends on what is chasing you." One of Ezra Chitando's favorite African proverbs also captures his beliefs regarding the church's long-term commitment to meeting HIV-related challenges. As people are chased by the devastation of HIV and AIDS, churches have had to increase their speed in responding, he says. The Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) has played a prominent role in encouraging and accompanying churches to as they become increasingly visible in the overall response to HIV.

CWS Resettles 5,318 Refugees in Fy 2011 Toward 56,424 U.S. Refugee Program Total

October 12, 2011 NEW YORK – U.S. refugee admissions down from 2010 due to delays related to new security checks Delays resulting from the introduction of new U.S. Homeland Security checks in February contributed to a significant drop in U.S. refugee admissions in FY 2011 (Oct. 1, 2010 – Sept. 30, 2011), with Church World Service resettling 5,318 (down from 7,055 in FY 2010) toward a U.S. Refugee Admissions Program total of 56,424 (down from 74,654 in FY 2010). The 56,424 includes 6,387 African refugees successfully processed for resettlement by the CWS-administered Resettlement Support Center based in Nairobi, Kenya. "The refugees we resettled will have a chance at life. We can be proud of that," said Erol Kekic, Director of the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program.

WCC General Secretary Visits Pakistan Calling for Protection of Minorities

October 13, 2011 – During his recent visit to Pakistan, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit urged for the protection of religious minorities and the need for the state to take necessary measures against religious intolerance. "The Pakistani government should not turn a blind eye to the culture of violence perpetrated through the use and abuse of the blasphemy law, which intensify communal hatred, intolerance and persecution that can hit anybody in the country, and particularly the religious minorities," said Tveit, who was speaking at a press conference in Lahore, at the end of his three day visit. Christians are among country's religious minorities including Hindus, Ahmadis, Parsees, Sikh and Baha'is, affected severely by the discriminatory laws, including the ambiguous blasphemy law 295 C, which has caused many lives, including of the minister for minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, this year.

General News

Looking Ahead to Future Mission Trends

October 13, 2011, NEW YORK – When the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries started work in Russia 20 years ago, the primary goal was to deliver food to the Moscow area. But a changing political climate also led to the opportunity to re-establish Methodism in the former Soviet Union, and the agency wasn't the only denominational entity interested in church growth in the region. Under the board's sponsorship, the Russia Initiative, which also includes Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, has created a thriving partnership among the denomination's annual (regional) conferences, congregations and institutions.

Ecumenical News

ELCA Bishops Value Ecumenical Partners, Consider Critical Mission Topics

October 9, 2011, CHICAGO – "We are exceedingly grateful" for the two churches' full communion partnership, the Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori told the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Conference of Bishops during its meeting here Sept. 29-Oct. 4. The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the church that includes the ELCA's synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary. Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the 2.4 million-member Episcopal Church, spoke to ELCA bishops about the ecumenical opportunities for shared mission work.

Spanish News

Reunión Del Comité De Planificación De La Asamblea En Busan

10 octubre 2011 – La Décima Asamblea del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) tendrá lugar en Busan, República de Corea, entre el 30 de octubre y el 8 de noviembre de 2013, bajo el tema "Dios de vida, condúcenos a la justicia y la paz." El Comité de Planificación de la Asamblea, en el que participan miembros del Comité Central del CMI y representantes de los asociados ecuménicos, se reunió recientemente en Busan en el lugar de celebración de la Asamblea, el centro de exposiciones y conferencias (BEXCO).

Acelerar La Respuesta De La Iglesia Al VIH

11 octubre 2011 – "La rapidez con que uno corre depende de qué le persigue." Este proverbio africano es uno de los favoritos de Ezra Chitando y capta también sus opiniones sobre el compromiso de la iglesia a largo plazo para afrontar los desafíos relacionados con el VIH. Cuando la gente se ve perseguida por la devastación del VIH y el SIDA, las iglesias tienen que aumentar su rapidez en dar una respuesta, afirma. La Iniciativa Ecuménica sobre el VIH y el SIDA en África (EHAIA) ha desempeñado una función primordial para estimular y acompañar a las iglesias, a medida que éstas se hacen cada vez más visibles en la respuesta general al VIH.

Denuncia Sacerdote Que Existen Centros
Para Capacitar a Niños En Crimen Organizado

11 octubre 2011, SANTO DOMINGO – Durante una homilía en la misa por la paz y en contra de la violencia, pronunciada en la parroquia de la Inmaculada de la Concepción, el fray Arístides Jiménez Richardson, denunció esta semana que en el país existen centros de capacitación de niños y adolescentes en el crimen organizado. El también coordinador nacional de la Pastoral Penitenciaria de la Iglesia Católica aquí, dijo que niños y adolescentes son sacados de los barrios para ser entrenados y convertidos en sicarios, a fin de ser destinados a los intereses del crimen organizado en este país.

La Esperanza En Cristo Es La Respuesta
a Los Desafíos De Las Iglesias, Afirma Altmann

11 octubre 2011, GINEBRA, Suiza –"Nuestra esperanza fundada en Cristo es el medio para dar respuesta" al contexto eclesial cambiante y los desafíos a los que se enfrentan las iglesias hoy, dijo el Rev. Dr. Walter Altmann, moderador del Comité Central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), a un grupo de trescientos delegados en la reunión del Foro Cristiano Mundial en Indonesia. "Esa esperanza debe manifestarse en las relaciones que cultivamos y en la comunidad que construimos entre las distintas tradiciones," dijo cuando saludaba al grupo, que se reunieron en Manado del 4 al 7 de octubre.

El Concilio Mundial Metodista Eligió Su Primer Presidente Latinoamericano

12 octubre 2011, BRASIL – "El Metodismo se está moviendo hacia el Sur" – ha sido el destaque del discurso del ex-presidente John Barret en el primer día del Concilio Mundial Metodista. Las Iglesias Metodistas del Hemisfério Sur son las que más crecen y no es por acaso que, tanto el Secretario General elegido – el Obispo Ivan Abrahams (Obispo Presidente de la Iglesia Metodista en Sudáfrica), cuanto el nuevo Presidente Mundial – el Obispo Paulo Lockmann (Obispo de la Iglesia Metodista de Brasil), son ambos del Sur.

Iglesias De Todo El Mundo Se Unirán En Una Jornada
De Oración Por La Lucha Contra La Pobreza

12 octubre 2011, ARGENTINA – Con motivo del Día Mundial de Oración por la lucha contra la pobreza, en marco de la Campaña Desafio Miqueas, miles de iglesias de todo el mundo estarán uniéndose en una Jornada de Oración llamada AYUNAR, ORAR, RECONSTRUIR. Se ha sugerido el 16 de Octubre para que durante el Culto Dominical se realice este día especial, pero dejan en libertad para que las comunidades elijan cualquier domingo de Octubre- o incluso Noviembre- para éste propósito.

El Moderador Del CMI En Solidaridad Con Iglesia De Indonesia

13 octubre 2011 – En una reciente visita a Indonesia, el Moderador del Comité Central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), Rev. Dr. Walter Altmann, transmitió la solidaridad de la comunidad mundial de iglesias miembros del CMI a los integrantes de la Iglesia Cristiana Indonesia (GKI) en la ciudad de Bogor (Java occidental), donde no hace mucho se impusieron restricciones a las actividades del culto.

Human Rights News

Nigerian Crusader Against Counterfeit Drugs
Receives Human Rights Award in U.S.

October 10, 2011 NEW YORK – On October 6th, in Manhattan, Dr. Paul Botwev Orhii, Director-General of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), received Youth for Human Rights Distinguished Leadership Award for his work against counterfeit drugs in his country, and setting an example for the rest of the world on this issue. Rev. John Carmichael, representing Youth for Human Rights International, said at the Award Luncheon at the Church of Scientology just off Times Square, "When people are cheated of their money and their health, even murdered by the results of fake drugs, they are being deprived of the fundamental Right to Life as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

National News

America's Oldest Hunger Walk Ups the Pace as Need Grows

October 11, 2011 SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – For the past 15 years, 67-year-old Marilyn Pisa has spent her Labor Day morning walking 4.5 miles through the neighborhoods of Valencia and Newhall, Calif., to support her local CROP Hunger Walk, one of some 1,500 events held annually nationwide and deemed the oldest hunger walks in America. CROP Hunger Walk, sponsored by humanitarian agency Church World Service, is the only U.S. charity walk that raises funds to help feed hungry people both in local communities and around the world.

Conference must Pay in Sex-Abuse Case

October 11, 2011 – The Minnesota Annual (regional) Conference must pay $164,000 in compensatory damages to a woman who was sexually abused by a former United Methodist pastor. A Winona, Minn., jury on Oct. 6 awarded the woman more than $1.4 million in a civil suit against the conference and Donald Dean Budd, who already had pleaded guilty to the abuse. The Minnesota woman accused Budd of pursuing an inappropriate sexual relationship after she went to him for counseling in 2003.

International News

B'nai B'rith Decries Massacre of Coptic Christian Protestors in Cairo

October 10, 2011, WASHINGTON, DC – B'nai B'rith International decries the Oct. 9 massacre of Coptic Christian protestors in Cairo who were marching to demand an end to the unrelenting anti-Christian agitation. Nearly 30 deaths and more than 200 injuries, mostly Copts, were reported from yesterday's violence. "This carnage is horrifying. The world must not turn a blind eye to this heinous atrocity," said B'nai B'rith International President Allan J. Jacobs.

Philosophers and Theologians Worldwide Condemn Iran's Attack on Baha'i Educators

October 10, 2011, NEW YORK – More than 40 distinguished philosophers and theologians from 16 countries have joined the condemnation of Iran's policy to bar young Baha'is and others from higher education. In an unprecedented global initiative, the 43 prominent academics – of Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim backgrounds – have signed an open letter, published in The Daily Telegraph (UK), and reported in the Folha de São Paulo (Brazil).

Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Condemns "Thuggery" Against Zimbabwean Church

October 11, 2011 – The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, said today that the dispute within the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe was "a result not of schism but of thuggery." In a statement issued after visiting Zimbabwe with Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury at the weekend, Archbishop Makgoba said members of a pro-Mugabe breakaway faction of the church under deposed bishop Nolbert Kunonga were being "helped to steal church property without recourse."

WCC Moderator Expresses Solidarity with Church in Indonesia

October 11, 2011 – During a recent visit to Indonesia, the moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, the Rev. Dr Walter Altmann brought the solidarity of the worldwide fellowship of WCC member churches to the members of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in the city of Bogor, West Java where worship activities have been restricted recently. The GKI Taman Yasmin Church has been prevented from worshipping in their sanctuary and has been prohibited from continuing further construction of their building, in spite of their constitutional right to conduct worship services.

Churches Inaugurate Monitoring Programme for Victims of Violence in Colombia

October 12, 2011 – Official statistics indicate the existence of three million people who were pushed away from their land and property in Colombia due to armed conflict that has taken place for years in the country. Human rights organizations claim, however, that the number of "displaced people" is actually close to 5 million people. A new monitoring programme, supported by the World Council of Churches and other actors, has been organized to address these human crises. In December 2009, Colombia's attorney general reported 2,520 cases of forced disappearance, out of a total of 35,665 crimes confessed by the paramilitary forces. A reported 2388 pits were found in the country and 2,091 bodies exhumed, of which only 796 were returned to families.

UN Secretary General "Deeply Troubled" by Developments in Iran

October 13, 2011, UNITED NATIONS – For the fourth consecutive year, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has strongly criticized Iran's record on human rights, saying violations have "continued and intensified" over the last 12 months. Iran has stepped up its crackdown on human rights defenders, women's rights activists and journalists, Mr. Ban said in a report released yesterday. The Secretary General said he was "deeply troubled" by recent developments, which included a "notable increase" in the country's use of the death penalty, along with a rise in unfair trials, amputations, and the use of torture, arbitrary arrest and detention.

WCC Supports Ecuador's Yasuni Project

October 13, 2011 – After a meeting with Ricardo Patiño, minister of Foreign Affair, Trade and Integration of Ecuador, World Council of Churches (WCC) officials call the Yasuni Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (ITT) initiative of the Ecuador government a courageous model of development. The meeting took place at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 10 October, organized by the WCC on request from the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) to talk about the Yasuni project, which implies Ecuador to definitively forego the extraction of over 840 million barrels of oil from the Yasuni area.

World Food Day: Haiti Co-ops Provide Dependable Food Supply

October 13, 2011, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti and NEW YORK – When you climb the mountains of northern Haiti and are greeted by the welcoming residents of the "Hand in Hand" food cooperative in Mayombe you are not just in good company. You also are witnessing a successful social experiment – a community becoming self-sufficient in feeding itself. "It's a chain of solidarity," said Elvius St. Fulis, a food cooperative member for the past decade. "Everyone is involved in the process – women, men. As a body, we're not dependent on the government. It's good to be self-reliant."

People in the News

Priest-Architect John A. Runkle Joins Haiti Reconstruction Team

October 13, 2011 – The Rev. John A. Runkle, an Episcopal priest and architect specializing in histoical projects and liturgical spaces, has been named consulting project manager to the Rebuild Our Church in Haiti team working on the reconstruction of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, according to an Oct. 12 release from the Episcopal Church Foundation, which is coordinating the effort. Runkle will collaborate with the project team to develop a design for the cathedral that will "respect and celebrate the Haitian people and their culture, respect the memory of the previous cathedral, incorporating the three surviving murals, comply with international seismic and hurricane building codes, incorporate environmentally-sensitive materials and methods, and include Haitian designers and construction workers on the team," according to the release.