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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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WCC to Hold International Hearing on the Plight of Religious Minorities in Pakistan August 22, 2012 – An international public hearing highlighting the plight of religious minorities and misuse of blasphemy law in Pakistan will be held from 17 to 19 September in conjunction with the 21st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Organized by the World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), the consultation will be held at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, only a short distance from the United Nations. The event continues the WCC's efforts to support and be in solidarity with religious minorities in Pakistan who are victimized in the name of its controversial blasphemy law. The blasphemy cases have resulted in death penalties and mob-instigated violence since the definition of the law was inserted into the Pakistan Penal Code. South African Religious Leaders Launch Campaign to End Corruption August 22, 2012, CAPE TOWN, South Africa – An inter-faith group of religious leaders in South Africa has embarked on a national campaign to fight bribery, patronage, nepotism and abuse of public funds. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Baha'i and African traditional leaders launched the "Call to End Corruption" on Aug. 22 in the impoverished suburb of Khayelitsha, a few kilometres outside Cape Town. "Corruption is not merely a material challenge affecting the political economy of South Africa (and the world), but also a spiritual, moral, and social concern," the leaders said in the campaign document. The leaders said corruption enabled people in leadership to profit from bad behavior and thereby justified "petty" corruption at all levels of society and creating a culture of impunity. They added that the pursuit of money and power was threatening South Africa's young democracy and robbing the poor of their basic needs. Haitians, Dominicans Brace for Isaac August 24, 2012 – As Tropical Storm Isaac bore down on the island of Hispaniola Aug. 24, residents of Haiti and the Dominican Republic were warned to take shelter as best they could. Diocese of Haiti Bishop Suffragan Oge Beauvoir told Episcopal News Service at midday that he had been in touch with clergy in the northern part of the diocese (which he supervises) telling them to make provisions for themselves and, where possible, their parishioners. "It's going to be very fierce," he told ENS via telephone en route to his Cap-Haitien office in the Greater North Region of Haiti. New Online Seminar Series Begins with Consequences of Penn State Scandal August 24, 2012 – Risk Management LIVE, a new monthly series of free online seminars that discuss risk management for churches and ministries, will debut at 11 a.m. (CDT) Tuesday, August 28, 2012. Sponsored by AG Financial Solutions, Risk Management LIVE features co-hosts Richard Hammar, JD, LLM, CPA, legal counsel for the General Council of the Assemblies of God, and Jerry Sparks, CRM, CIC, president of AG Financial Insurance Solutions. The seminar's premier will cover the cost and consequences of sexual misconduct at Penn State and how it could impact those involved in ministry. Brief but informative, this 30-minute event will include discussion on establishing safeguards, recommendations for ministries to follow and live audience Q&A. August 21, 2012 – The bishops and deputies who gathered in Indianapolis in July for the 77th meeting of General Convention made a historic statement about the relationship between bishops and dioceses, acknowledging that, on rare occasions, that relationship becomes severely strained, sometimes to the point of breaking. The statement, made by way of Resolution B021, set up a canonical process for reconciling or dissolving an episcopal relationship. Resolution B021 was the result of a call (via Resolution B014) from the 2009 meeting of General Convention to how to help dioceses and bishops resolve their differences. College Majors' Value Not Measured in Cash August 22, 2012 – The magazine industry is interesting to me, especially with regard to rankings. It seems these days magazines attempt to capitalize on rankings that purport to provide factual data the consumer desires. The strategy is smart to a degree, as the United States has a love affair with rankings – but only certain ones. We highly debate the BCS football rankings every year while never mentioning how our nation continues its slide in the world in terms of educating our children. Our priorities are in the wrong place. Our misplaced priorities revealed themselves in a recent ranking by Kiplinger's of the "worst majors for your career." Episcopal Women's Caucus Urges Church to Act on Reproductive Justice August 24, 2012 – The Board of the Episcopal Women's Caucus, a social justice advocacy group within the Episcopal Church, expresses our outrage at the current political discourse regarding reproductive justice. We are appalled by the misinformation that speaks of "forcible rape" as something different from ordinary rape and asserts that, in a "legitimate rape," a woman will not get pregnant, because her body has a way to "shut that whole thing down." Those of us who have worked to raise awareness about women's rights and promoted changes in laws to more actively prosecute rapists, strengthen jail sentences, and help victims of rape and sexual assault find help and hope feel that we have back tracked in time. Bishop Accused of Urging Disobedience August 24, 2012 – More than 70 United Methodist clergy and lay people in the United States have sent an open letter to the Council of Bishops accusing retired Bishop Melvin G. Talbert of encouraging disobedience to the denomination's stance on homosexuality. Specifically, the group's letter takes issue with Talbert's May 4 remarks at a United Methodist gathering outside General Conference, the denomination's top lawmaking body. The document also criticizes Talbert's June 16 sermon at the ordination service of the California-Pacific Annual (regional) Conference, in which he reiterated his earlier remarks. "El Código Civil Y Nuestro Estilo De Vida" 22 agosto 2012, BUENOS AIRES – Los obispos participantes de la 162º reunión de la Comisión Permanente de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina (CEA) dieron a conocer hoy un mensaje titulado: "El Código Civil y nuestro estilo de vida." En el documento advierten sobre el cambio del Código Civil y señalan que si se aprueba el proyecto sin modificaciones "algunos seres humanos en gestación no tendrán derecho a ser llamados `personas´; se legitimará, por un lado, la promoción del `alquiler de vientres´ que cosifica a la mujer y por otro, el congelar embriones humanos por tiempo indeterminado, pudiendo ser éstos descartados o utilizados con fines comerciales y de investigación. El "Gran Pecado" De La Iglesia Es Caer En El Conformismo, Afirma Presidente Del CIC 24 agosto 2012, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – "El gran pecado de la Iglesia es caer en el conformismo," afirmó el reverendo Joel Ortega Dopico, pastor presbiteriano y actual presidente del Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba (CIC), esta semana aquí, invitado a un diálogo con líderes religiosos, académicos y activistas sociales, ratificando, a su vez, que evangélicos de Nicaragua y Cuba estrecharán intercambios de experiencias en el común propósito de procurar el bienestar para las familias y contribuir a la unidad nacional. El CMI Expresa Su Pesar Por La Muerte De Abune Paulos 21 agosto 2012, GINEBRA, Suiza – 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. Consejo Latinoamericano De Iglesias Se Pronuncia Sobre Caso Assange 24 agosto 2012, QUITO, Ecuador – "Desde el Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (CLAI) queremos felicitar al Gobierno ecuatoriano por esa actitud humanitaria de conceder asilo diplomático, es decir, acogida y protección a una persona por motivos políticos en una misión diplomática, al fundador de Wikileaks, Julian Assange," expresa una misiva enviada este miércoles por el secretario general de ese organismo, reverendo Nilton Giese, al Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio e Integración del Ecuador, Ricardo Patiño. Long Island Bishop Calls for Campaign to Counter Brooklyn Gun Violence August 23, 2012 – Episcopal Diocese of Long Island Lawrence Provenzano has issued a statement about a recent increase in gun violence in Brooklyn, N.Y. The diocese encompasses all four counties of Long Island: Kings (the borders of which are the same as those of Brooklyn), Queens, Nassau and Suffolk. There are 32 Episcopal churches in Brooklyn. Six people were shot in Brooklyn during the night of July 29, including two children, and, six days prior, a 4-year-old was killed by a stray bullet as he attended a basketball tournament held in honor of a young woman who was fatally stabbed near the same playground two years earlier. On Aug. 13, four teenagers were shot by a person who reportedly fled on a bicycle. United Methodists Prepare to Meet Isaac August 24, 2012 – The Volunteers in Mission team in Haiti reported Friday night that the shifting winds and rain had disrupted internet service but that all was well otherwise. They said they would provide more information as soon as possible. With winds at 60 miles an hour, Tropical Storm Isaac continued toward Haiti on Friday afternoon, Aug. 24, and United Methodists were gearing up to provide relief. As the storm swirled into the Caribbean and toward the continental United States, United Methodist relief workers and annual (regional) conferences firmed up plans and put people in place to provide help as needed. AGWM/Convoy of Hope Stand Ready to Help Haiti August 24, 2012 – When a earthquake decimated Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and surrounding areas in 2010, leaving thousands of people dead, thousands more injured and hundreds of thousands homeless, AG World Missions and Convoy of Hope were quick to respond with relief ‹ as Convoy of Hope already had a feeding program established in Haiti and a freshly stocked warehouse. Today, Tropical Strom Isaac is growing stronger and is expected to develop into a hurricane, with Haiti currently in the predicted path. According to AG World Missions Communications Director Randy Hurst, nearly 400,000 survivors of the earthquake are still living in tent camps in and around Port-au-Prince. August 21, 2012, GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is moving to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of persons displaced by a recent flare-up of longstanding ethnic conflict in India's northeastern Assam state. Lutheran World Service India Trust (LWSIT), an associate program of the LWF's Department for World Service (DWS), plans to supply food, clothing and shelter to thousands of the most vulnerable displaced families as part of an ACT Alliance response effort. A fresh round of violence erupted between the ethnic Bodo community and migrant Muslims in the area after four youths were killed on 19 July. Since then, nearly 80 people have been killed and 400,000 have fled their homes for camps. ELCA Working to Meet Needs of Syrian Refugees in Neighboring Jordan August 24, 2012, CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is responding to the needs of Syrian refugees in Jordan, where an estimated 150,000 Syrians – 39,600 of which are registered with the United Nations as refugees – have fled. As the conflict in Syria continues to worsen, some Syrians have also fled to Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey. Jordanian officials recently invited the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and president of The Lutheran World Federation, into the process of addressing the needs of Syrian refugees. Younan has built a strong relationship with the royal family of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Younan is now helping to identify ways the ELCA and The Lutheran World Federation can deepen their participation in relief efforts. ELCA Member Named President of Lutheran Services in America August 22, 2012, CHICAGO – Charlotte Haberaecker will be installed Aug. 22 as president and CEO of Lutheran Services in America. A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Haberaecker is the fourth president of Lutheran Services in America. In alliance with the ELCA, Lutheran Services in America is made up of more than 300 health and human service organizations with aggregated annual incomes of more than $18.3 billion. |
