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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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Episcopal Leaders Push to Abolish Death Penalty Across the Country June 14, 2012 – When Gov. Dannel Malloy signed a bill in April making Connecticut the fifth state in five years to abolish the death penalty, Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut Bishop Suffragan James Curry's attendance at the ceremony testified to the influence of Episcopal leaders on ending capital punishment in the state. Curry and other members of the diocese had worked with the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty since the 2005 execution of serial killer Michael Ross, the first prisoner put to death in New England in 45 years. Abolishing the death penalty became "a very, very contentious issue" in Connecticut after two recently released prisoners invaded a home and "brutally murdered" two girls and their mother in 2007, he said. WCC Meeting in China Looks at Changing Demography of Christianity, Freedom of Religion June 15, 2012 – "The growing church in the People's Republic of China today presents four characteristics: independent and autonomous, post-denominational, fast growing and faced with lots of challenges and emerging difficulties," said the Rev. Gao Feng, president of the China Christian Council (CCC), in a speech in China on 14 June. Feng was speaking at the 51st meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) being held in Nanjing. This is the first officially sanctioned WCC and CCC sponsored meeting held in China since the formation of the WCC in 1948. Speaking on the topic of the "Church in China Today" at a seminar on "Understanding China" Feng said "the demographic situation of Christianity is fast changing; however, there are more challenges that we also are faced with." Ecumenical Leaders Push for Sustainable Future of Earth at Rio+20 June 13, 2012 – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit both have pressed for the future sustainability of earth and stronger commitments for ecological justice at Rio+20. They sent messages to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20 which will take place from 20 to 22 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event will assess the developments twenty years after the UN Earth Summit on Environment and Development of 1992. In his message, Bartholomew I pointed out the challenges world leaders will face in "correcting the degradation of the planet" at Rio+20. My Dad: a Kind, Gentle Man of Steel June 17, 2012 – Dad was a very simple, kind and gentle person. But deep within, he was a man of steel. He loved his family. He provided for his children. He taught by example. On this Father's Day, I remember my Dad with great affection and love. Nettles Talbert, 1894-1971: I don't know much about Dad's early life. His parents were Louis and Isabella Talbert. I never met them or saw a photo of them. From what was told to me, Dad was from a large family that lived on the Talbert Plantation in Mississippi. At some point, the family left the Talbert Plantation. Most of the members went north never to be heard of again. My dad, with his brother Sam and sister Addie, came south and settled in the country somewhere near the town of Clinton, La. Dad met and married a lady from Clinton. WCC Calls to Strengthen Christian Theology in Higher Education June 12, 2012 – The role and relevance of Christian theological studies in public and private universities, as well as seminaries was at the forefront of a recent three-day consultation in Granavollen, Norway. Some 45 representatives of theological schools and associations from around the world attended. The consultation was convened by the World Council of Churches (WCC) programme on Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE), the Churches in Dialogue Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CiD) as well as the MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo. Religiosas Acusadas De Crear Lobby Feminista En El Vaticano 11 junio 2012, ESTADOS UNIDOS – Una agrupación femenina norteamericana conocida como Liderazgo de Mujeres Religiosas ha entrado en lucha de fuerza con el Vaticano, a partir de un duro informe que ofreciera la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, de este organismo, en 2008, donde hace una evaluación doctrinal de la misma y sacó a relucir, esta semana que recién finaliza, divergencias entre la doctrina oficial de la Santa Sede y las visiones particulares de estas monjas. voz en las decisiones de la Iglesia. Jaime Ortega, Un Controvertido Cardenal Por Defender La Labor Social De La Iglesia 12 junio 2012, LA HABANA, Cuba – "Palos porque bogas y palos porque no bogas," pudiera ser el refrán aplicable a la actual situación del cardenal Jaime Ortega Alamino, arzobispo de la Archidiócesis de La Habana, quien todavía es atacado por la parte más dura del exilio cubano de Miami, a raíz de sus declaraciones hechas en la Universidad de Harvard, a finales de abril pasado, cuando pareciera que su mayor "pecado" es haber asentado una metodología de diálogo crítico, desde las normas de respeto, entre el Gobierno de la Isla y la Iglesia. CLAI Intensifica Labor De Cara a Su Asamblea De La Habana En 2013 13 junio 2012, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – En el contexto de la preparación de su VI Asamblea Continental, a celebrarse en febrero 2013 en La Habana, Cuba, el Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (CLAI), inició, este mes, una intensa actividad con las iglesias-miembro de ese organismo en la región mesoamericana. Teniendo en cuenta que en esa Asamblea, que tendrá por lema "Afirmando un ecumenismo de gestos concretos" y donde se debatirá el tema "La Iglesia y los Derechos sexuales y reproductivos," se celebró este martes 12, en un hotel del balneario Montelimar, a 68 kilómetros al suroeste de esta capital, un encuentro con los delegados y delegadas de las denominaciones cristianas que integran la Mesa Nacional del CLAI, en su capítulo Nicaragua. Iglesia Católica Reclama El Diálogo Para Resolver Conflictos Mineros 12 junio 2012, LIMA, Perú – La iglesia Católica denuncia a la policía por haberla acusado injustamente de instigar las manifestaciones violentas anti-mineras que se produjeron en la provincia sureña de Espinar, donde la primer semana de este mes murieron dos manifestantes. "Hemos sido acusados de ser violentos, de provocar las manifestaciones en la ciudad de Espinar. Metodistas Conmemoran 40 Años De Ordenación Femenina, Pero Con Cuestionamientos 13 junio 2012, BRASIL – Aún en el metodismo, una de las primeras familias cristianas en ordenar mujeres al sacerdocio en América Latina, las mujeres todavía sufren discriminación, apuntó la reverenda María Inés Simeone, de la Iglesia Metodista Central de Montevideo, en la 61ª Semana Wesleyana de 2012, organizada por la Facultad de Teología (FaTeo) metodista. Dirigentes Ecuménicos Instan a La Promoción De Un Futuro Sostenible De La Tierra En Río+20 14 junio 2012 – Tanto el Patriarca Ecuménico Bartolomé I de Constantinopla, como el secretario general del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, han exhortado a los participantes en Río+20 a obrar en favor de sostenibilidad futura de la tierra y a adoptar compromisos más firmes en aras de la justicia ecológica. Ambos dirigentes han enviado mensajes a Río+20, la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible (CNUDS), que tendrá lugar del 20 al 22 de junio en Río de Janeiro, Brasil. Metodismo Británico Y Argentino Buscan El Diálogo En La ONU Por Malvinas 15 junio 2012, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Al cumplirse 30 años de la finalización de la guerra de Malvinas, las iglesias metodistas de Gran Bretaña y Argentina coincidieron en que es el diálogo a través de las Naciones Unidas el camino para el entendimiento por el conflicto de las islas. Lo hicieron a través de sendas misivas este 14 de junio. June 15, 2012, BOGOTÁ, Colombia/GENEVA – The chairperson of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Finance Committee Ms Christina Jackson-Skelton has commended LWF leaders for moving toward a budget and operational plan that is balanced and more sustainable. Presenting the LWF's 2011 financial results to this year's Council meeting, Jackson-Skelton said a revenue increase in 2011 over the previous year was marked by increased member church contributions. "Member churches have challenged themselves to be more accountable in the payment of membership fees and have turned around a two-year downward trend in this important revenue source," she told the LWF Council meeting 15-20 June in Bogotá, Colombia. Marginalized People must Be Focus of Service, Urges WCC Conference June 12, 2012 – "Diakonia is an essential ecclesial function. It must be prophetic and transformative. It cannot be opted only in convenient forms," asserted participants of a World Council of Churches (WCC) conference, reflecting on "Theology of Diakonia for the 21st Century." The event took place from 2 to 6 June in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Diakonia is a Greek term used in the New Testament to describe ministries of service, mission and support. It is the source of the English words "deacon" and "diaconal." The conference attempted to re-imagine the concept of diakonia from the perspectives of the churches, marginalized people, and communities in the South. Nigerian Reformed Churches Appeal for Prayers in Wake of Violence June 12, 2012 – Reformed church leaders in Nigeria are asking for prayers in the wake of attacks on Christian congregations in the central and north-eastern regions of the country. "We ask for prayers and encouragement," says Peter Aya, General Secretary of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ (ERCC). Aya made the request in a message received yesterday by the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) at its offices in Geneva, Switzerland. A second request for prayers arrived from the United Church of Christ in Nigeria (HEKAN) late in the day. The HEKAN and ERCC churches, with congregations in the troubled region, are the most affected of the six Nigerian WCRC member churches. June 15, 2012, BOGOTÁ, Colombia/GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge emphasized the biblical understanding of "communion as an important prophetic sign." In his report today to the LWF Council meeting in Bogotá, Colombia, Junge said, "We are indeed living in times, in which insecurities triggered by rapidly changing contexts and by the awareness of important global challenges … seem to move human beings and entire communities to withdraw into protected comfort zones." The notion of being churches in communion, he said, challenges this "retrieve mood" and encourages churches to remain "available and open to the other." June 15, 2012, BOGOTÁ, Colombia//GENEVA – Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan, President of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), has called on LWF member churches to be a voice for justice, peace and reconciliation in a world where extremism and armed conflict are growing. Addressing the LWF Council today at the beginning of its 15-20 June meeting in Bogotá, Colombia, Younan said, "Justice and peace must be seen in our vision as two sides of a coin. One does not exist without the other." The theme for this year's Council meeting, "Together for a Just, Peaceful and Reconciled World," is derived from the vision statement of the LWF Strategy 2012-2017. Ecumenical Accompaniers Share Updates on Palestinian Territory June 14, 2012 – A group of former ecumenical accompaniers got together to share updates over the situation in occupied Palestinian territory with European Union (EU) officials. They particularly focused on the conditions in so-called Area C of the West bank, which contains most Israeli settlements. This group of eight ecumenical accompaniers from Finland, Germany, UK, Ireland, Sweden and Norway participated in meetings from 4 to 8 June in Brussels, Belgium. The visit was organized by Anne-Marie Vuignier, staff of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See to Retire June 13, 2012 – The Archbishop of Canterbury has today announced that the Very Reverend Canon David Richardson, the Archbishop's Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, intends to retire at Easter 2013. Canon Richardson, who will be 67 next year, will have served for five years as Director of the Centre. He has recently been instrumental in establishing a five-year plan which will enable the Centre to take forward its mission with renewed focus and vigour in preparation for the fiftieth anniversary of the Centre in 2016 and beyond. |
