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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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Could "Arab Spring" Turn into "Christian Winter"? December 8, 2011 – Churches in Egypt are praying and helping migrants, who flee home due to political turmoil, violence and uncertain future. There is a great need to develop stable democratic societies if the "Arab spring" is to bear fruits. Or else it might turn into an "Arab winter" with religious minorities at the risk of persecution. David Victor R. Youssef expressed this concern at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Ecumenical Network on Migration meeting taking place in Beirut, Lebanon from 5-7 December, organized by the WCC office for Just and Inclusive Communities and hosted by the Middle East Council of Churches. Youssef works for the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services and was interviewed by Naveen Qayyum, the WCC staff writer. December 6, 2011 – An international study process developed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) is preparing a report on freedom of religion as a fundamental human right for all. The fundamental rights of freedom of religion or belief are often violated by both governments and individuals, acting either on their own behalf or as members of majority groups. Despite significant initiatives taken by states and the international community, religious minorities in several parts of world are becoming the targets of discrimination, acts of violence or hostility and persecution because of their religion. The extent to which freedom of religion or belief can be considered as an absolute right in pluralistic societies, as well as its relation to various aspects of human rights, was the centre of discussion among experts who participated at an international consultation organized by the WCC's Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA). December 2, 2011, DURBAN, South Africa/GENEVA – Christian youth from 21 countries are in Durban, the site of international negotiations on climate change, to learn to care for the environment in a joint program of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Council of Churches (WCC). As global leaders start negotiations for an international climate change agreement, COP17, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the youth are involved in a two-week training and immersion program in South Africa called "Youth for Eco-Justice." When the program ends on 10 December, participants–including eight young Lutherans–head home to initiate and implement environmental projects as volunteers in their own contexts. 2011 Christmas Message from the LWF President December 7, 2011, GENEVA – In his 2011 Christmas message, The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan urges Christians to celebrate the hope of justice for those living through troubled times that is heralded by Jesus' birth. Younan reflects on Luke 2: 25-38, the account of Joseph and Mary bringing the infant Jesus to the temple for the first time and meeting Anna and Simeon, who had hoped faithfully for the Messiah. Through patient waiting, God's justice will prevail, no matter how desperate the situation is for vulnerable people throughout the world, states Younan, who is bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. "God's justice, incarnated in the manger and revealed on the cross, is stronger than any human promises. This is the meaning of Christ himself having been a refugee in Egypt. And Christ finds his manger today in every refugee, in all displaced, rejected, oppressed and migrant people," says Younan. November 28, 2011, SOWETO, South Africa/GENEVA – Health care workers at a Lutheran program say the specter of HIV and AIDS stigmatization still thrives in Soweto, a large city that started as a string of black townships near white Johannesburg in the days of apartheid. In Soweto's Jabavu suburb, a group of young South Africans and people from Europe and North America work at the Diakonia AIDS Ministry (DAM), a program launched and supported by churches in The Lutheran World Federation (LWF). They spoke of passion for their work which includes dispatching support staff to visit people and families affected by AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases at both their homes and in the hospitals. Fighting Ignorance, Fear and Stigma Through Bible Study December 9, 2011 – The shock expressed by members of a rural congregation when offered an opportunity for voluntary HIV testing and counselling, and other similar experiences have taught Pauline Wanjiru Njiru that it is not the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that kills people, but fear, stigma and ignorance. People are ignorant of the basic facts about HIV and AIDS, and they stigmatize others because they fear being associated with HIV and they fear infection, says Njiru, who works with the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA). Because of the stigma, people are unwilling to undergo testing. However, Njiru has learned that a contextual style of Bible study is one of the keys to helping the church overcome the stigma of HIV and AIDS and saving lives. December 6, 2011 – The Rev. D. Scott Russell, Episcopal Church chaplain at Virginia Tech, learned a few things during the journey that brought him to a recent appearance on the television quiz show "Jeopardy." The pressure of nine million people watching you bet your knowledge against two other players can make 30 minutes pass like 30 seconds, and the bright studio lights can erase short-term memory. If you take the often-given advice to try to beat your competitors and buzz in first to win the right to answer, "you have to have the right answer." Peace Depends on ‘Courageous Remnant' December 9, 2011, LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. used nonviolent civil disobedience to change the world and society, but the church is too afraid of what others will think to take the same risks, says the Rev. Bob Edgar. "How sad it is now that our churches are so passive, so quiet. You guys are genetically nice," Edgar told 302 participants at the fourth annual Lake Junaluska Peace Conference in November. "Sometimes you've got to speak up when people tell you to sit down, and you have to speak out when people tell you to be silent," he said. "You've got to be out on the edge a bit. Jesus was out on the edge. He got crucified for it." United Methodists Score High in Survey December 9, 2011 – United Methodists rank highest in favorability among five different faith groups in a new survey conducted by the Southern Baptist Convention's research arm. The research shows United Methodists are held in more favorable regard by the U.S. public than Catholics, Southern Baptists, Mormons or Muslims, according to LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. "(United) Methodists are well liked – and there is great opportunity if (United) Methodist churches will seize the opportunity that this positive perception provides," said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. "If they will show and share the gospel with their neighbors and plant evangelistic churches … they can turn a good reputation into a gospel opportunity." WCC Member Churches in Indonesia Renew Ecumenical Commitment December 8, 2011 – "The World Council of Churches is not just an organization in Geneva. We are the WCC." Such was the sentiment expressed by Indonesian WCC member churches at a seminar in Bali this past November. The swiftly changing ecumenical landscape and the need to maintain good communications prompted the meeting at which representatives of Indonesian member churches and regional partners came together with WCC staff to reflect, discuss, share and celebrate. Church leaders from 22 WCC member churches in Indonesia and East Timor were present along with representatives from the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI). Combatir La Ignorancia, El Temor Y El Estigma Por Medio Del Estudio De La Biblia 9 diciembre 2011 – La sorpresa manifestada por los miembros de una congregación rural cuando se les ofreció la oportunidad de someterse voluntariamente a pruebas del VIH y recibir el correspondiente asesoramiento, así como otras experiencias similares, han demostrado a Pauline Wanjiru Njiru que no es el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana el que mata a la gente, sino el temor, el estigma y la ignorancia. La gente no conoce los hechos fundamentales sobre el VIH y el SIDA, y estigmatiza a los demás porque tiene miedo a relacionarse con el VIH y teme la infección, dice Njiru, que trabaja con la Iniciativa Ecuménica sobre el VIH y el SIDA en África (EHAIA, por su sigla en inglés). Realizan Encuentro De Oración Y Paz Por La Familia 29 noviembre 2011, CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ – La Arquidiócesis de Panamá realizó, recientemente, el II Encuentro de Oración por la familia y la paz, en recuerdo especial del Beato Juan Pablo II, "cuyo legado debemos reflexionar con más profundidad," aseguró Monseñor José Domingo Ulloa, arzobispo de Panamá, tras hacer un llamado a defender la familia de todos los asaltos que sufre diariamente. Monseñor Ulloa, en ese sentido, dejó claro que los ataques contra el matrimonio y la familia van dirigidos a romper su unidad, "y es lógico porque la unidad es el valor por excelencia para proteger la familia. Derechos Iguales Para Todos: La Medida Para Evaluar La Libertad De Religión 8 diciembre 2011 – Mediante un proceso de estudio internacional desarrollado por el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) se está preparando un informe sobre la libertad de religión como derecho humano fundamental para todos. Los derechos fundamentales de libertad de religión o convicciones son violados frecuentemente tanto por los gobiernos como por personas individuales, que actúan por cuenta propia o como miembros de grupos mayoritarios. 2 diciembre 2010 ARGENTINA – Con el apoyo y el aliento de Church World Service-CWS y sus contrapartes en América Latina, Jean Salomon, presidente de la red haitiana ASR (Abajo con el régimen restavek), y la abogada Nadine François, encargada de las acciones de incidencia de la red, viajarán a Santo Domingo esta semana para representar a Haití y compartir sus puntos de vista y experiencias en un encuentro de gran importancia que servirá para crear una mayor conciencia sobre la necesidad de prevenir y responder a los hechos de violencia contra la niñez. Nueva Declaración Del Cmi Sobre Misión Y Evangelización En Proceso 5 diciembre 2011 – El primer borrador de una nueva declaración sobre misión del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) fue el tema central de una reunión de 5 días celebrada recientemente por los 25 miembros de la Comisión de Misión Mundial y Evangelización (CMME) en el campus de la Universidad de Ghana, cerca de Accra. El proyecto de declaración será presentado a una reunión más amplia sobre misión y evangelización, previa a la Asamblea, que se celebrará en Manila, en marzo de 2012, y en último término, se someterá a la próxima Asamblea del CMI en Busan, Corea, en 2013. Programan Oración Interreligiosa Por Las Víctimas Del Secuestro Y La Desaparición Forzada 5 diciembre 2010 Protestors Urge Trinity to Open Property to Encampment December 5, 2011 – Supported by members of the faith community, Occupy Wall Street is calling upon Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, in New York to allow protestors to establish a winter camp at property it owns at Sixth Avenue and Canal Street, about a mile north of the movement's original encampment at Zuccotti Park in Manhattan. Trinity released a statement on its website offering its continued support of the movement – including providing meeting space at church buildings – but not the use of its enclosed vacant lot at the city-owned Duarte Square that it leases to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Secretary of State Clinton Highlights the Work of ELCA-Related Ministries December 7, 2011 CHICAGO – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton noted the vital work of Lutheran social ministry organizations in welcoming refugees to the United States, during her Dec. 7 address at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugee's ministerial conference in Geneva. In her presentation to world leaders, Clinton shared a story about Fatuma Elmi, who applied for asylum in the United States after civil war broke out in her native Somalia in 1991. Settled in Minneapolis, Elmi has worked as an employment counselor at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota for the past 17 years. . Faith Guides Church in Penn State Crisis December 7, 2011 – To the Rev. Ed Zeiders, "It is a gift to be a Christian in a time like this." Zeiders is the senior pastor of the 1,800-member St. Paul's United Methodist Church in State College, Pa., where the entire community has been rocked by scandal involving charges of child sexual abuse filed against longtime church member and former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. God's grace is offered to all through the cross of Jesus Christ, who bore the sins of the world, Zeiders told his congregation on Nov. 20, a few weeks after formal charges were filed. December 8, 2011, DURBAN/GENEVA – With international negotiations on climate change near collapse in Durban, South Africa, Christian youth from around the world offer hope by studying their Bibles and reflecting on justice issues involved in the care of creation. Youth for Eco-Justice, a joint project of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Council of Churches (WCC), which concludes in Durban on 10 December, has brought together 30 young people in an open dialogue on the issues surrounding climate change. December 6, 2011, GENEVA – A group of Lutherans from different parts of Europe is converging on Helsinki for a three-day workshop on re-forming community diakonia in the region. The 7 to 10 December workshop in Järvenpää, near the capital city, will launch "Seeking Conviviality," a three-year process that aims to develop holistic diaconal responses by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches to growing poverty and marginalization in Europe. Rev. Dr Eva-Sibylle Vogel-Mfato, area secretary for Europe in the LWF's Department for Mission and Development (DMD), said the insecurity in which Europeans from both Western and Eastern Europe are living forms the backdrop for the workshop. Church Conference in Lebanon Seeks Response to Migration December 6, 2011 – Thirty participants including migration activists, leaders of migrant churches and representatives of ecumenical organizations from Africa, Europe and the Middle East are currently seeking an ecumenical response to migration at a World Council of Churches (WCC) conference in Beirut, Lebanon. They are addressing cross-cutting issues of global migration, which are causing appalling situations for the displaced communities and posing numerous challenges to which churches must respond from an ethical view point. "The Arab uprising has made the question ‘Who is my neighbour,' theme of this conference, even more significant," said Seta Hadeshian, director of the Diakonia and Social Justice desk of the Middle East Council of Churches. |
