Front Page

Churches Crucial to Turn Tide of HIV, AIDS

August 14, 2012, WASHINGTON – No speaker claimed the church has the power of Moses to turn back the Red Sea of HIV and AIDS in the world. But scientists, activists, and political leaders at the 19th International AIDS Conference repeatedly stressed the crucial role faith communities must play to reach the vision of an "AIDS-free generation." The conference took place July 22-27 in Washington. New scientific breakthroughs that reduce the possibilities of HIV being transmitted and lowering the death rate of AIDS has prompted unprecedented hope that the world can achieve the UNAIDS goal of "zero new HIV infections, zero new AIDS deaths, and zero discrimination."

Archbishop of Cape Town Condemns Lonmin Deaths,
Calls for Strong, Measured, Intervention

August 17, 2012, SOUTH AFRICA – Condemning the rising violence and deaths at Lonmin's Mine, the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has called for ‘strong, but measured and proportionate' interventions from Government, police and unions, to end the ‘senseless loss of life.' ‘Our fervent prayers are with all the bereaved and injured' said Dr Thabo Makgoba, while warning that one could not bandage wounds or demand an end to conflict without addressing the issues on which conflict feeds. He said that God's promise of true peace could only be realised when there was true justice and equity, and that all sectors of society must strive for this. The Archbishop called for hard work, and positive recommitment to the vision of 1994, rather than complacency or hopelessness in the face of the country's challenges.

LWF General Secretary: "Every Single Human Being Counts"
Call for Better Protection of Humanitarian Space

August 19, 2012, GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has commended the efforts of humanitarian personnel worldwide while voicing concerns about the shrinking space for this work. In a statement issued today on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge called decades of humanitarian response by the Lutheran communion an "expression of [member churches'] faith and therefore an integral part of their mission." Often, local churches have the first contact with those in need, and in many cases the church itself "lives among people living in poverty and suffers displacement as it accompanies the poor and oppressed," he noted. Junge praised the "tireless effort of LWF member churches and their diaconal organizations in working together at the global level through the LWF's Department for World Service" to support people affected by drought, violence and hunger.

40 Days, No Emissions?
Swedish Lutheran Youth Undertakes Radical Eco-Justice Experiment

August 14, 2012, GENEVA – Joakim Book Jonnson, a salesman for a security company and a member of the Church of Sweden, transformed his urban commuter life when he decided to leave, at least temporarily, no ecological footprint. Simply put, he gave up emissions for Lent. He managed to live for 46 days with 80-90 percent reduced emissions. At times, he admitted, his own project–called "40 Days–No Emissions"–made him furious. "For the love of God, I wanted to give up! I spent hours, days, weeks, being furious for all sorts of things: plastic wrappings around vegetables, people driving cars, my roommate leaving the lights on."

General News

‘Church History Requires We Discuss Racism'

August 17, 2012 – The United Methodist Church ought not and cannot be silent about race and racism. The Historical Statement in the United Methodist Book of Discipline provides a history of Methodism's response to race/racism. Sojourners magazine has described racism as America's "original sin." We read: "John Wesley was an ardent opponent of slavery. Many of the leaders of early American Methodism shared his hatred of human bondage." But we also read of the "separation" over slave ownership in 1844 that created the Methodist Church South. That separation ended in 1939 in a "Unification Conference" establishing the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction as a compromise for those who were willing to exchange their pro-slavery attitudes for pro-racial segregation practice.

Skyhook Performs at Louisville 2012; Has Roots in Fine Arts

August 10, 2012 – Seth Wharton, drummer for CCM band Skyhook, and other members of the group grew up playing in church together. The roots of the music grew from there. "Dane and I grew up together almost since birth. Our dads were on staff at a church together," Wharton says. "About eight or nine years ago our youth pastor had a thing called ‘School of Rock' and started teaching kids how to play. He had a band, and his band mates started teaching the kids how to play music with their instruments." Wharton started participating in Fine Arts in 2005.

Small Acts of Love

August 15, 2012 – As a child of the church, one might think that at some point I would stop being surprised by the far-reaching impact of small acts of love. I was raised on stories of Dan West and Heifer International, Ted Studebaker and conscientious objection, and the stories that the members of my congregation told of their own work on behalf of the church. One might think I would stop being surprised, but this was certainly not the case when I first began my internship with the Death Row Support Project.

Wilkerson Urges Youth to Step out and Be Witnesses

August 10, 2012 – The excitement of Louisville 2012 continued to build Thursday night as thousands of students and leaders gathered and the presence of the Holy Spirit filled the National Youth Convention service in the KFC Yum! Center. Worth Dying For led the audience in another powerful time of worship encouraging the crowd to continue to stand for the love of Christ with songs like "Savior" and "Love Riot." However, the challenging message from Rich Wilkerson Jr., young adult pastor at Trinity Church in Miami, Florida, stoked the fire already lit in the lives of the teens in attendance this week.

Cost Adjustments to ELCA Benefits Program Lower than National Average

August 15, 2012, MINNEAPOLIS – Trustees of Portico Benefit Services approved 2013 cost adjustments to the benefits program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that fall below the national average of health premiums. At their Aug. 2-4 meeting here, Portico's board of trustees approved an overall cost increase of between 1 percent and 1.5 percent for most ELCA congregations and participating employers. The ELCA benefits program offers a bundled set of health, retirement, disability and survivor benefits designed to help pastors, rostered lay leaders, employees and their families to live well.

ELCA Celebrates its 25th Anniversary

August 12, 2012, CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is celebrating its 25th anniversary beginning January 2013. Under the theme, "Always being made new" the 4.2 million-member church will embark on a year-long reflection on the people and events that have shaped this church and the life-changing ministries across the United States and overseas. The ELCA is the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, with about 10,000 congregations, 65 synods and numerous churchwide ministries. "In 25 years we have started 435 new congregations, ordained nearly 8,000 pastors, sent more than 2,000 missionaries to serve in the world, and contributed more than $350 million toward the alleviation of hunger and poverty," according to ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson.

EPPN: Public-Policy Actions of the Episcopal General Convention

August 13, 2012 – As we arrive upon a quieter time of summer, when lawmakers head home for their summer recesses and the schedules in most of our church communities provide for some time of rest and re-creation, we in the Office of Government Relations take this opportunity to provide our members an update on the public-policy actions of the 77th General Convention that met in Indianapolis in July. As ever, the Convention provided the staff in Washington – and, even more importantly, Episcopalians throughout the Church – with new clarity about how our identity as Christians might shape our voice in the public square.

Programs Offer Summer Fun and Support for Kids in Need

August 13, 2012 – It was the first day of the summer B-SAFE Program in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, and one girl in Priscilla Alcantara's group kept wandering off, unwilling to talk to the other sixth-graders because her friends were in a different group. Alcantara, a teen staff member, asked if she wanted to talk to her instead. Alcantara, 17, stayed with the girl and helped her meet the other kids. "I just feel like, if I didn't talk to her, she would never have met new people. … But she noticed that they were just as nice as her friends, so she made new friends." Shy youngsters have been making friends for 13 summers at the Bishop's Summer Academic and Fun Enrichment Program, which serves 625 elementary and middle-school children and 125 teen counselors-in-training and staff in eight locations in the Boston area.

Ecumenical News

"The Ecumenical Movement must Expand its Commitment to Women"

August 15, 2012 – As the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (CONIC) celebrates its 30th anniversary, the event has been marked by the appointment of Rev. Romi Márcia Bencke, its first woman general secretary, elected in August. Bencke, a pastor of the Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil, has been deeply engaged with the ecumenical movement. Coming from the small town of Horizontina in Brazil, she studied theology at the Lutheran School of Theology in São Leopoldo. She worked for congregations of migrants in Alta Floresta do Oeste and the Ecumenical Centre for Training and Consultancy for their "Faith and Citizenship" programme.

Editorial Page

Reset

August 15, 2012 – It's pretty easy to become distracted in a world of so many possibilities, choices, and information at our fingertips. We have smart phones, GPS, blogs, and social media. Losing focus of our priorities is a simple mistake to make. The same thing can happen in the church. We have varying worship styles, uses for technology, and communication techniques that cater to our own theological perspectives or favorite areas of ministry. Yet it was amid all of these different voices that the task of creating a unified vision statement for the Church of the Brethren for the rest of the decade was born. A common vision? For such a diverse group? Was it possible? We were going to find out.

Spanish News

40 Días Sin Emisiones De Carbono? Un Urbanita Sueco Lo Consigue

17 agosto 2012 – Joakim Book Jonnson, un vendedor de una empresa de seguridad, miembro de la Iglesia de Suecia, cambió su vida de usuario asiduo de los medios de transporte urbanos cuando decidió, al menos temporalmente, no dejar ninguna huella ecológica. En pocas palabras, decidió reducir sus emisiones de carbono durante el período de la Cuaresma. Logró vivir durante 46 días con una reducción de sus emisiones de entre un 80 y un 90 por ciento. En ocasiones, confesó, su propio proyecto, llamado "40 días sin emisiones," llegó a resultarle irritante: «¡Por el amor de Dios, me dieron ganas de abandonarlo todo! Pasé horas, días y semanas poniéndome furioso por todo tipo de cosas: los embalajes de plástico que se les pone a las verduras, los coches, alguien que se había dejado las luces encendidas en casa…», dijo Joakim Book Jonnson.

Iglesia Luterana Hace La Diferencia Con Espacio Dirigido
a La Educación Sexual De Los Y Las Jóvenes

16 agosto 2012, SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica – Un espacio dirigido a la Educación Sexual Integral y la Prevención del VIH/Sida realizó, recientemente aquí, la Iglesia Luterana de Costa Rica (ILCO), con la población estudiantil del colegio San José del Río de Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, según una nota aparecida en la página web de esta institución.

Primera Mujer Consagrada Pastora Luterana En San Marcos

14 agosto 2012, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – Con una imposición de manos y una oración dirigida por el pastor José Pilar Álvarez, la congregación de la Iglesia luterana de San Marcos, consagró al ministerio pastoral de la diaconía a Pérsida Gudiel, convirtiéndose así en la primera mujer ordenada al ministerio allí, lo cual será refrendado el 19 de agosto próximo en una liturgia especial dirigida por el obispo salvadoreño Medardo Gómez, en la Iglesia Luterana ubicada en Zacapa, donde se ordenará también a Nidia Galdámez, como pastora para este departamento.

El CMI Expresa Su Pesar Por La Muerte De Abune Paulos

17 agosto 2012 – El reconocido líder cristiano y presidente del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), Abune Paulos, patriarca de la Iglesia Ortodoxa Tewahedo de Etiopía, falleció el jueves, 16 de agosto en Addis Abeba, Etiopía. El patriarca Abune Paulos era admirado en todo el mundo por su labor sobre el VIH/SIDA, el diálogo interreligioso y la protección de los refugiados. El patriarca tenía 76 años y había estado gravemente enfermo. El Secretario General del CMI, Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, expresó su profundo pesar por la muerte del patriarca y recordó la vida y la labor de Abune Paulos afirmando que sus contribuciones al movimiento ecuménico fueron "muy significativas."

National News

Church Strengthens its Position on Immigration Reform
in California, Diocese Urges State Action on ‘Safe Communities'

August 17, 2012 – Clergy, community members and young immigrants gathered at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco on Aug. 15 to celebrate a nationwide temporary reprieve from deportation for young, undocumented immigrants. But while applauding the limited measure that provides a legal pathway to work for young people brought to the United States as children, the crowd urged California Governor Jerry Brown to sign the TRUST Act to extend some protection to family and community members. Diego and Jose Hernandez, 18-year-old twins and high school seniors who came to the United States with their parents from Mexico when they were 7, for example, spoke at the press conference at the cathedral.

International News

Torrential Rains Flood Philippines – Millions Affected

August 10, 2012 – More than two million people in the Philippine capital of Manila alone were affected by the flooding caused by two weeks of heavy rains, leaving at least 60 people dead, more than 360,000 in evacuation shelters and homes, businesses and cropland flooded ‹ or in some cases, washed away. According to reports, more than half of Manila, a city of 12 million, was submerged by the rains and flooding. In one 72-hour period, 34 inches of rain fell in Manila, while some outlying areas recorded as much as 39 inches of rain. As the rains have finally subsided, floodwaters remain in many areas, while thick, litter-filled muck and mire remain wherever waters have receded.

Tents Mushroom in the Mauritanian Desert
LWF Workers Provide Shelter for Malian Refugees

August 14, 2012, MBERE CAMP, Mauritania/GENEVA – Even for people living here in southeastern Mauritania the heat is unbearable. On a typical day, it approaches 50 degrees Celsius in Bassikounou, where The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) staff acknowledges that the power supply has been out for 10 days and generators cannot function in such heat. Through its World Service program in Mauritania, the LWF manages the Mbere refugee camp at Bassikounou for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Newsreel Shows Work Commencing on House of Worship

August 14, 2012, SANTIAGO, Chile – The first video newsreel documenting progress in the building of the Baha'i House of Worship here has been launched online. The newsreel, titled "Progress on the Construction of the Baha'i House of Worship for South America," is in Spanish with English subtitles. It is available to view via the official website. The video presents a brief overview of the nature and purpose of Baha'i Houses of Worship and introduces the innovative design of the building for Santiago, which will be the last continental House of Worship to be erected.

CANADA: Let's Help Aboriginal Families Heal, Says Hiltz

August 16, 2012 – First, the church played a role in tearing aboriginal families apart. Now, it needs to help put them back together, says the primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Referring to the ongoing inter-generational impact of residential schools, Archbishop Fred Hiltz emphasized that the church "needs to play a role in nurturing and supporting initiatives that help heal aboriginal families. "We were part of tearing families apart," Archbishop Hiltz told more than 200 aboriginal Anglicans attending the Seventh Sacred Circle held Aug. 5 to 12 in Pinawa, Man.

Faith Groups Help Philippine Flood Survivors Recover

August 13, 2012 – Faith groups are responding as survivors of massive flooding in Manila and surrounding regions in the Philippines seek to rebuild their lives. Barely recovering from the devastation of Typhoon Saola, the country was battered by the Southwest Monsoon from Aug. 6-8, which brought torrential rains, affecting two million people, according to ACT Alliance, the Geneva-based coordinator of faith-based relief. The death toll stood at 60 as of 10 August, according to the Philippine government's disaster coordinator. Since 1,500 villages and 30 cities were flooded, about 293,000 people as of 10 August were in evacuation centers, most of them public schools and churches.

People in the News

Isabel Apawo Phiri Joins WCC as New Associate General Secretary

August 17, 2012 – African theologian, renowned academic and ecumenist Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri has joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) as its new associate general secretary for Public Witness and Diakonia. She took on her new position at the WCC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, this month. A Malawian by nationality, Apawo Phiri was a professor of African theology, dean and head of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, and director of the Centre for Constructive Theology at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

WCC Expresses Sorrow over Death of Abune Paulos

August 16, 2012 Renowned Christian leader and World Council of Churches (WCC) president Abune Paulos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, passed away Thursday, 16 August, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Patriarch Abune Paulos was admired around the world for his work on HIV/AIDS, interfaith dialogue and the protection of refugees. The patriarch has been seriously ill and was 76 years old. WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed deep sorrow over the patriarch's death. He remembered Abune Paulos's life and works, calling his contributions to the ecumenical movement "most significant."