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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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ELCA Presiding Bishop Calls for Immigration Reform November 2, 2011, CHICAGO – In Nov. 1 letters to President Barack Obama and members of Congress, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has called for comprehensive immigration reform and support for the DREAM Act (the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), legislation that would provide a path for citizenship for undocumented high school graduates. In his letter, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson wrote that the absence of reform has left several states to construct their own immigration laws, which are often "shortsighted and misguided." Time for Us to Challenge the Idols of High Finance November 2, 2011, LAMBETH PALACE – It has sometimes been said in recent years that the Church of England is still used by British society as a stage on which to conduct by proxy the arguments that society itself does not know how to handle. It certainly helps to explain the obsessional interest in what the Church has to say about issues of sex and gender. It may help to explain just what has been going on around St Paul's Cathedral in the past fortnight. The protest at St Paul's was seen by an unexpectedly large number of people as the expression of a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment that shows no sign of diminishing. There is still a powerful sense around – fair or not – of a whole society paying for the errors and irresponsibility of bankers; of impatience with a return to ‘business as usual' – represented by still-soaring bonuses and little visible change in banking practices. A Month of Health and Healing in November November 1, 2011 – A series of Biblical meditations on gender, reproductive and sexual health is being launched by the World Council of Churches (WCC), inviting congregations and individual Christians to make November a month of reflection on health and healing. "November is that time of year just before Advent when we prepare for our Saviour coming into the world," says Dr Manoj Kurian, WCC programme executive for Health and Healing. "It is a time for reflection and preparation as we invite God into our lives, a time for healing and transformation." CWS in the Ring with a Champ this Saturday November 4, 2011 – Church World Service will step into the ring – literally – this Saturday night, November 5, by invitation of boxer Angelo "La Cobra" Santana and his promoter, Don King. Santana, 24, a Cuban who received help from CWS in 2007 after reaching Florida on a homemade raft, will be defending his WBA Super Lightweight title at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. His fight will be the second in the show, which is to be webcast live beginning at 8 p.m. (Eastern) on Wealth TV. Challenging Gender Inequity in Pursuit of Women's Health November 1, 2011 – Dr Sarojini Nadar is a theologian and academic from South Africa working on the issues of gender, religion and health for many years. She is currently serving as senior lecturer and director of the Gender and Religion programme, School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Nadar has been deeply involved with churches to raise awareness about women's health in communities, challenging patriarchal values and working for gender justice. November 4, 2011 – While membership in 16 of the Episcopal Church's domestic dioceses and eight of its non-domestic ones grew in 2010, recently released data shows that overall membership has declined. The decrease is part of a trend that has seen membership decline by just more than 16 percent since 2000. Membership in the Episcopal Church in 2010 was 2,125,012, with 1,951,907 in its domestic dioceses and 173,105 in the non-domestic dioceses, according to a report online. Membership in the church's domestic dioceses in 2009 was 2,006,343, showing a decrease of 54,436 in 2010. Bishops Endorse Church Restructure Proposals November 2, 2011, LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – United Methodist bishops voted overwhelmingly Nov. 1 in favor of proposals to restructure the denomination and redistribute up to $60 million in church funds. The vote specifically endorsed a letter, titled "For the Sake of a New World, We See a New Church: A Call to Action," detailing changes – some requiring action by General Conference, some not. "We see a new church," the bishops' letter says. "It is a church that is clear about its mission and confident about its future, a church that is always reaching out, inviting, alive, agile and resilient." It asks all United Methodists to "work to do the ‘new thing' God intends for our church and discover the path God is making for our future." Maintain Connections, Top Court Rules November 1, 2011, SAN DIEGO – When annual (regional) conferences of The United Methodist Church decide to change their structures, they are obligated to retain some specific connectional relationships. That message was delivered to the North Texas and South Carolina annual conferences by the Judicial Council, the denomination's top court. In separate decisions from its Oct. 26-28 fall meeting, the council found that restructuring plans implemented by both conferences failed to comply fully with church law. The Church at Occupy Providence November 2, 2011 – Since Occupy Wall Street began, Episcopalians have wondered what the church's role should be in the movement. Where would Jesus be? Some, such as the "Protest Chaplains" in New York and Boston, have embraced the chance to get involved. Others have watched the protests unfold with curiosity, while attending to church business as usual: trying to grow the church by getting people to come inside the doors. There is an ironic sign floating around the Internet that blesses this time-tested way of being church: "Occupy the Pews of Your Episcopal Church," it proclaims. La Federación Argentina De Iglesias Evangélicas Consagró Su Nuevo Edificio Sede 4 noviembre 2011, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – En un clima de alegría y gratitud, la Federación Argentina de Iglesias Evangélicas (FAIE) celebró la consagración de su nuevo edificio sede, ubicado en la calle Condarco 321, en el barrio de Flores, de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, el pasado 21 de octubre. Después de haber vendido en mayo del año pasado la anterior sede en J. M. Moreno, se ha comprado una casa amplia que ha sido refaccionada en parte. 3 noviembre 2011, SANTIAGO, Chile – urante los últimos dos años la Biblioteca Nacional y Corporación SENDAS han desarrollado un trabajo conjunto para rescatar la colección existente de publicaciones evangélicas más grande con que se cuenta en Chile. En este propósito se han digitalizado la colección de revistas: Chile Evanjélico, Chile Evangélico y Chile Pentecostal, cuyos primeros ejemplares se comenzaron a imprimir en los albores del siglo XX, siendo estas unas de las primeras publicaciones evangélicas en español que relatan el quehacer de la iglesia evangélica nacional. 31 octubre 2011, ARGENTINA – Una comunión en Cristo liberada por la gracia de Dios que vive y trabaja junta por un mundo justo, pacífico y reconciliado"-(Visión de la Estrategia de la FLM 2012-2017), con esta frase comienza la carta que el Pastor Martin Junge, Secretario General de la Federación Luterana Mundial (FLM), envió a las iglesias miembros. 3 noviembre 2011, COLOMBIA – Por una muy amplia mayoría, 107 países a favor, 14 en contra y 52 abstenciones, Palestina ha entrado a formar parte de la Unesco, la rama de la Onu con sede en Paris encargada de promover la cultura y la educación. Preocupada con la preservación del patrimonio de la humanidad, la Unesco se concentra últimamente en dos objetivos, la promoción de África y la igualdad de género. Colombia fue uno de los pocos de Latinoamérica que no apoyó el reconocimiento de Palestina. No Se Avisora Solución Inmediata a La Intolerancia Religiosa En El País 4 noviembre 2011, CIUDAD DE MÉXICO – Doscientos setenta casos de intolerancia religiosa ocurrieron en el país, entre 2006 y 2011, mientras el gobierno de Felipe Calderón ha tenido una participación mínima en juzgar a sus autores y oculta este tipo de discriminación, cuando hay más de 2 mil personas expulsadas de sus propiedades en este período, expresó este jueves un artículo del diario La Jornada. Noviembre, Mes De La Salud Y De La Sanación 1 noviembre 2011 – El Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) presenta una serie de meditaciones bíblicas sobre el género y la salud reproductiva y sexual e invita a los cristianos, tanto a nivel de las congregaciones como a título individual, a hacer de noviembre un mes de reflexión sobre la salud y la sanación. Conmemoración De La Reforma Protestante Llama a Un Compañerismo Con Dios Y En Dios 1 noviembre 2011, LA HABANA, Cuba –"Eso es la iglesia entonces, o debería ser la iglesia: la comunidad de aquellas y aquellos que han optado por un compañerismo con Dios y en Dios, en la construcción de un mundo bueno, tan bueno como al principio, un mundo justo, pleno para cada criatura viviente; paraíso recuperado por la fuerza del amor y la perseverancia del que trabaja sin descanso, con la confianza en que Dios-padre y madre, hermano y compañero solidario, está entre y con nosotras y nosotros," expresó la presbítera-pastora Dora Arce Valentín. El Agua: Una Cuestión Política Que Precisa Una Solución Política 1 noviembre 2011 – El Dr. Rommel F. Linatoc reflexionó sobre las cuestiones del agua y el saneamiento en Filipinas desde una perspectiva ecuménica en una entrevista concedida durante el Foro Mundial de la Red Ecuménica del Agua (REDA). El tema del foro, que tuvo lugar del 25 al 27 de octubre en Nairobi, Kenia, fue "Como un árbol plantado por el agua." Una Reforma Continua En La Vida Personal Y Social 31 octubre 2011, CIUDAD DE MÉXICO – En el caso específico de la Reforma, existe una tradición llena de visiones brillantes y equívocos grotescos. Si tuviésemos conciencia de ellos, podríamos evitar la repetición del pasado e incluso comprender algunos de sus desarrollos históricos, contemporáneos nuestros, que se generaron en aquella época: de Lutero al psicoanálisis, del calvinismo al capitalismo, de Müntzer a Marx y Engels. Attacks on Baha'is Continue as Iran's Human Rights Record Comes under Further UN Scrutiny November 4, 2011, GENEVA – As a United Nations body concluded that Iran's persecution of Baha'is is clearly violating one of the world's major human rights treaties, the Baha'i International Community has learned of a recent wave of attacks on Baha'is and their property. In Rasht, three women were arrested on charges of activity against national security following terrifying raids on 16 Baha'i homes. In Semnan, around ten Baha'i-owned shops were sealed up by the authorities and two business licences were cancelled. CWS, CROP Hunger Walks and Food Security: November 4, 2011 – When participants in the CWS-sponsored CROP Hunger Walk in Arlington, Va. stepped off from Arlington Forest United Methodist Church last month, among the walkers was the head of the federal bureau charged with leading the effort to implement President Obama's global food security initiative. Paul Weisenfeld, who heads the USAID's Bureau for Food Security didn't just walk, he also spoke to participants about his agency's response to the Horn of Africa crisis and about the need to invest in food security through efforts like the U.S. government's Feed the Future initiative. ELCA Bishops Call State Immigration Laws ‘Shortsighted' November 3, 2011, CHICAGO – Nearly 60 of 65 synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) expressed their concern over new state immigration laws in Nov. 2 letters to President Barack Obama and members of Congress. In their letter, the synod bishops asked that both Congress and the administration work together on a complete federal overhaul of the U.S. immigration system and offered provisions for what the reform should entail. Washington National Cathedral to Reopen November 12 November 3, 2011 – Washington National Cathedral has announced that it will reopen with a week of events and celebrations beginning with the Nov. 12 invitation-only consecration of the Rev. Mariann Budde as ninth bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. The cathedral has been closed since it sustained damage from a magnitude-5.8 earthquake that struck in Virginia on Aug. 23. The cathedral initially was set to reopen for a weekend of events to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But after a 500-foot crane erected to stabilize damaged sections on the central tower collapsed on the cathedral grounds on Sept. 7, the 9/11 events were moved to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the plans to reopen the building were postponed. November 3, 2011 – The possibility that the adjacent Episcopal dioceses of Fond du Lac and Eau Claire could form a new diocese in northern Wisconsin has been laid aside due to "an irregularity" in the counting of the Fond du Lac vote. The irregularity appears to have occurred in the reporting of the vote of the Fond du Lac lay order. On Oct. 22, the annual convention of Fond du Lac and a special convention of Eau Claire appeared to have voted to ask the 77th meeting of the Episcopal Church's General Convention next July to approve what is called "junction." October 31, 2011, NEW ZEALAND – ChristChurch Cathedral – the icon of that quake-crippled city, and the most recognised church in New Zealand – is to be deconsecrated ahead of partial demolition. Bishop Victoria Matthews confirmed in a press conference in Christchurch today that the cathedral would have to be partly demolished, and further engineering measures taken to make the rest of the building safe. Until the demolition work is actually underway it won't be clear how much more of the cathedral will have to be brought down. But Bishop Matthews says some part of the structure may be able to be retained. Ecumenical Water Network Breaks New Ground November 3, 2011 – From Durban in South Africa to Busan in South Korea, water must be high on the agenda of international summits, conferences and church assemblies, according to participants in the Ecumenical Water Network Forum. More than 20 activists gathered in Nairobi, Kenya from 25-27 October for the forum, which meets once every three and a half years. They collaborated in shaping a three-year action plan that sets directions for this church-related global network on water. Clean, safe and sustainable water remains a rare commodity for billions of people in our world, noted the forum's participants. November 4. 2011, NEW YORK, NY – Denisse Pichardo, founder of a Dominican Republic educational project for children supported by CWS is the 2011 recipient of an award that has been called the "Nobel Prize for child advocates" – an annual honor that includes a cash grant of up to $50,000 for honorees' programs. The World of Children advocacy organization presented its 2011 awards to Pichardo and six other "changemakers" the organization says have "dramatically transformed the lives of children around the world," on Wednesday at its 14th Annual World of Children Awards Ceremony in New York City. UK Churches May Opt to Conduct Civil Partnership Ceremonies, Says Equalities Minister November 3, 2011, CANTERBURY, England – Same-sex couples will be allowed to hold civil partnership ceremonies in houses of worship in England and Wales, Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone announced in the U.K. Parliament on Nov. 2. "The government is advancing equality for LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) people and ensuring freedom of religion for people of all faiths. No religious group will be forced to host a civil partnership, but for those who wish to do so this is an important step forward," she said. Marriage between people of the same gender currently is not legal in the United Kingdom. In 1994, the Marriage Act was amended to allow civil partnerships to give same-sex couples the same legal protection as if they were married. NEW ZEALAND: Church Leaders Call for Fair Share for Most Vulnerable October 31, 2011 – Church leaders are calling on all political parties to acknowledge their shared responsibility to provide a just share of Aotearoa New Zealand's wealth and resources for all its citizens, especially the most vulnerable. This includes adequate income for everyone, fair taxation policies, access to good health care, affordable housing, and provision for sustainable living. The church leaders state: "These are not privileges but part of the common heritage of humanity. Social welfare is part of a greater picture of social, economic and environmental priorities and decisions about spending. Caring for others makes us better people and strengthens our community." November 1, 2011, JERUSALEM/GENEVA – Jerusalem's Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) has passed its first Quality Assurance Team for Radiation Oncology (QUATRO) audit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says the hospital's head. "The QUATRO is a comprehensive audit of radiotherapy practices and a tool for quality improvement," said Dr Tawfiq A. Nasser, the Chief Executive Officer of the AVH. QUATRO "is however authorized to shut down any machine, unit, or facility that is deemed unsafe or operating below standards." October 31, 2011 – The dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, has resigned saying his position "was becoming untenable" due to mounting criticism of the way the cathedral has responded to some 200 anti-capitalist protestors who've been camped outside since Oct. 16. Dean Graeme Knowles, who made the announcement during an Oct. 31 press conference, said that the last two weeks have "been a testing time" for the chapter (senior cathedral clergy) "and for me personally." He said that he believes he is no longer the right person to lead the cathedral. |
