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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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Ecumenical Conference in Brazil to Discuss a New Financial and Economic Architecture September 27, 2012 – A framework and criteria for a new financial and economic architecture will be discussed at an ecumenical conference in Brazil this week. These criteria will embrace ethics and justice to address ecological concerns. The debates at the event will highlight the concerns of millions of people affected by the financial crisis. The conference is organized by the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Council for World Mission (CWM). WCC Conference Probes Sustainability Crises September 27, 2012 – What are the connections between widespread poverty and ecology? Seventy-five scientists, activists, philosophers and theologians are meeting from 26 to 30 September at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, in Kolympari, Greece, to understand the intertwined dynamics of economic development and environmental sustainability. The conference, entitled "Sustainable Alternatives for Poverty Reduction and Ecological Justice," is sponsored by the academy, the World Council of Churches (WCC) programmes on climate justice and poverty, wealth and ecology, along with other organizations. "Of course, poverty eradication and eco-justice are closely related, as poor communities in various parts of the world suffer the worst consequences of environmental degradation, climate changes and the current development model," says Dr Guillermo Kerber, Online Theology Library a "Quantum Leap" in Sharing Knowledge September 25, 2012 – More than 10,000 users have signed up for an online theological library supported by the World Council of Churches (WCC) that offers worldwide access free-of-charge to thousands of full text articles, dissertations and other documents covering theology and ecumenism. GlobeTheoLib, the Global Digital Library on Theology and Ecumenism, was launched in September 2011 as a joint project of the WCC and Globethics.net, a Geneva-headquartered foundation promoting dialogue on ethical issues. GlobeTheoLib uses the electronic platform of Globethics.net, which started a Global Digital Library on Ethics in 2008. The online theology library holds more than 600,000 full-text documents, according to a report presented to the annual meeting of the GlobeTheoLib Consortium in Geneva from 21-22 September. September 28, 2012, SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia/GENEVA – Representatives of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region affirmed how strategic training for ordained and lay people is promoting church growth and encouraging more participation of members in the church's prophetic mission. "We feel that all our team members – from the pastors to the administrative workers – understand this process of ‘just learn and do it,'" Linda M. Perez Gomez of the Christian Lutheran Church of Honduras said of the LWF-supported five-year (2007-2011) sustainability program to develop churches' local capacity and empower leadership. September 20, 2012 – Star Wars characters wear robes. Priests wear vestments. The English language is not a walled garden, but rather a trampled field over which many passers through have left their mark. The French language has an academy to protect it, which can ban certain words and which has the legal power to enforce its will. But on this side of the Channel, if you use a new word or phrase, as long as it sticks, that word or phrase may well find its way into the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Some of these neologisms have a certain charm or energy to them. Others are ugly, lazy or debased. El CMI Pide a Pakistán Una Comisión Que Investigue 22 septiembre 2012, GINEBRA, Suiza – Los participantes en la reunión de información y debate patrocinada por el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) sobre el abuso de la legislación contra la blasfemia de Pakistán han instado al Gobierno de ese país a que "tome medidas concretas y realistas para poner fin a los abusos de la ley sobre la blasfemia que están causando violaciones masivas de los derechos humanos." El CMI Suma Aportes De Teólogos Y Teólogas 26 septiembre 2012, LIMA, Perú – El programa de Pueblos Indígenas del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) durante las últimas décadas ha sido dinámico en el acompañamiento de muchas iniciativas y movimientos tanto de los pueblos indígenas como de otras representaciones en muchas partes del mundo. Con el fin de hacer visibles estas contribuciones y también para asegurar la presencia de un pueblo indígena efectiva en su Décima Asamblea en Busan, Corea del Sur en 2013, este programa del CMI llevó a cabo una sesión de trabajo con las teólogas y teólogos de los Pueblos Indígenas en Hualien, Taiwán del 16 al 20 de setiembre. Asesinan a Antonio Trejo, Abogado Y Pastor, Defensor De Campesinos En La Región Del Aguán 27 septiembre 2012, TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Sicarios asesinaron este fin de semana al abogado y pastor evangélico Antonio Trejo. Según informaciones, salió de una iglesia frente al aeropuerto Toncontin cuando fue ultimado con total impunidad. Trejo era apoderado legal del Movimiento Campesino del Aguan (MARCA), militante activo del partido Frente Amplio (FAPER), aspirante a diputado por el departamento de Colon. También fue quien presentó un recurso de inconstitucionalidad contra el decreto que da vida a las Redes Especiales de Desarrollo (RED), conocidas como ciudades modelo, por considerar que contradicen la carta magna. Concejales Piden Crear Con Urgencia Oficina De Asuntos Religiosos En Bogotá 27 septiembre 2012, COLOMBIA – En el marco del Primer Foro sonbre Libertad Religiosa, de Conciencia y de Cultos llevada a cabo en el Concejo de Bogotá, el pasado 25 de septiembre, y convocado por los concejales Arthur Bernal, Clara Sandoval y Marco Fidel Ramírez, con el propósito de avanzar en la implementación de la Oficina de Asuntos Religiosos y que se ponga en marcha a la mayor brevedad, bajo el Principio de Corresponsabilidad, para que pueda ser más efectivo el pleno ejercicio de la igualdad, en todas las instancias que se requieran. Luego De Seis Meses Las Iglesias Se Integran a Proceso 26 septiembre 2012, SAN SALVADOR – A seis meses de la entrada en vigencia de la declaratoria de una tregua entre las principales pandillas de El Salvador, MS-13 y Barrio 18, que inició el 9 de septiembre anterior, las Iglesias han atendido el llamado de sumarse al proceso de paz que se sigue. Luego de una consulta realizada por Raúl Mijango, ex comandante de la guerrilla salvadoreña y el vicario castrense de la Iglesia católica, Fabio Colindres-principales mediadores de la tregua-las iglesias. La Respuesta Ecuménica Al VIH Y La Violencia Sexual En Angola 27 septiembre 2012 – A través de la Iniciativa Ecuménica sobre el VIH y el SIDA en África (EHAIA) del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), la Rev. Josefina Ilda Cussinja Sademba ha participado en el desarrollo de respuestas a la pandemia del VIH y a la violencia sexual y de género en Angola. La Rev. Sademba, una pastora de la Iglesia Evangélica Congregacionalista en Angola, dirige una congregación de 1500 miembros en la ciudad de Viana. UN Experts' Concern for Religious Minorities in Iran September 23, 2012, GENEVA – Two United Nations Special Rapporteurs have expressed their deep concern at the situation of minority religions in Iran. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, has joined with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, to call for a "thorough and independent review" of "all cases against individuals arrested and prosecuted on charges related to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion and belief." Helping Young Adults Reach American Dream September 26, 2012 – Many young adults have spent long summer Saturdays in church getting free legal advice and encouragement in the quest of their dreams to one day become U.S. citizens. In June, President Obama opened the doors for young adults, ages 15 to 30, who are not U.S. citizens but have lived in the United States most of their lives to get a temporary reprieve from the fear of being deported while they are in school or serving in the military. United Methodist churches, as well as other faiths, are holding free clinics for these young adults – called DREAMers in reference to the DREAM Act or the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act that was first introduced in Congress in 2001. Chaplains for Schools in Hong Kong to Be Trained in Wales September 26, 2012 – Cardiff's Centre for Chaplaincy Studies has been chosen to train chaplains for more than 150 church schools in Hong Kong. The Centre is part of St Michael's Theological College and Cardiff University, who both just signed a partnership agreement with SKH Ming Hua Theological College to develop chaplaincy training. The Anglican Church in Hong Kong is working towards appointing a chaplain in every church school. The Revd Canon Dr Andrew Todd, Director of the Centre, recently welcomed the first students from Hong Kong, who have registered on the Cardiff Master of Theology in Chaplaincy Studies programme. Catholics to Exclude Dodgers of Church Tax September 23, 2012 – Roman Catholics in Germany who decline to pay the country's church tax will be denied communion, confession and a religious burial under moves signed by the Pope that, in effect, excommunicate them. The decree, issued yesterday by Germany's bishops and approved by Benedict XVI, seeks to end a long-running dispute over the implications for Germany's 24.6 million Catholics of opting out from a church tax. It will block churchgoers who choose not to pay the optional levy from becoming godparents or belonging to a Roman Catholic congregation. The church tax, which is collected by provincial authorities and is between 8 per cent and 9 per cent of income depending on the state collecting it, raises almost €5 billion ($6.2bn) a year. Ecumenical Response to HIV and Sexual Violence in Angola September 25, 2012 – With the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Josefina Ilda Cussinja Sandemba has been engaged in developing responses to the HIV pandemic, and to sexual as well as gender based violence in Angola. Sandemba, an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola, leads a congregation of 1500 members in the town of Viana. She has been associated with the Council of Christian Churches in Angola (CICA) with their women's desk, and currently works closely with the Lusophone regional office of EHAIA based in Luanda, Angola. Indigenous Theologians Reflect on Life, Justice and Peace in Taiwan September 27, 2012 – "Indigenous Peoples, in spite of their debilitating experiences of discrimination, displacement and disempowerment, have sustainable alternatives to many of the world's problems," said Dr Pusin Tali. These alternatives, he said, are "drawn from their rich traditions of wisdom, based on their deep interactive engagement with the earth." Tali is moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and president of Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary. Helping the Smallest the Most September 28, 2012, BUNJ, Maban County, South Sudan/GENEVA – As humanitarian aid agencies in South Sudan's Upper Nile state struggle to cope with the massive numbers of refugees arriving from Sudan and difficult weather conditions, children remain particularly vulnerable. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a founding member of the ACT Alliance, will focus its response to the desperate situation on children, who comprise more than 50 percent of the estimated 170,000 refugees in camps and settlements across South Sudan's Unity and Upper Nile states. September 24, 2012 – The Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler is an Episcopal priest living in Egypt. He has served since 2003 as rector of St. John the Baptist Church in Cairo. In this ENS interview, Chandler reflects on the changes in Egypt over the past two years and speaks about the recent protests triggered by a film containing anti-Islam content. NEW ZEALAND: Foundations Laid for Christchurch's Cardboard Cathedral September 24, 2012 – The laying of concrete foundations for Christchurch's "cardboard cathedral" started Sept. 24. Concrete trucks have been on the Latimer Square site pouring since 4 a.m., and are expected to be there for seven hours. The first truckload of 180 cardboard tubes for Christchurch's transitional cathedral was delivered to the city last week. Each tube is 6 meters long and weighs 120 kilograms. Altogether, 320 tubes will be used in the NZ$5.3 million (US$4.34 million) cathedral, which is the brainchild of Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. September 28, 2012, ZA'ATRI, Jordan/GENEVA – Winter is coming. And even though the late September sky offers no shade from the scorching sun and the drifting dust is a merciless reminder of the Jordanian desert, the months to come mean drastic changes. The 32 degrees Celcius will rapidly drop to single digits below zero at night, and the dust will turn into mud on rainy days. Za'atri camp in northern Jordan is 70 kilometers from the Syrian border. The number of Syrians fleeing the intensifying conflict at home into neighboring countries has been increasing dramatically over the past three months. By late September the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had registered 94,716 people in Jordan, which is now hosting the highest numbers, followed by Turkey and then Lebanon. New Primate Elected for the Church of the Province of West Africa September 29, 2012 – The Anglican Church of the Province of West Africa yesterday elected the Rt Revd Dr Solomon Johnson as its ninth Archbishop and Primate. Dr Johnson, who is currently the Bishop of Gambia, was elected to be the next Primate for the province at a special synod held at Cuttington University, Suacoco, Bong Country, Liberia, between 25 to 28 September. |
