wfn.org | UCC NewsBytes Aug. 10, 1998

["Barb Powell"<powellb@ucc.org>]

Monday, August 10, 1998 

United Church on first plane to Cuba 
           
A $10,000 gift from the United Church of Christ has helped
bring desperately needed medical supplies to Cuba. A cargo jet
full of splints, bandages, syringes and other disposables left the
U.S. for Havana on July 31, the first direct humanitarian aid flight
between the two countries in more than two years. President
Clinton lifted the restrictions this spring. The airlift was sponsored
by Church World Service, relief agency of the National Council
of Churches. The shipment was valued at $143,000. The UCC
gift came through its Global Sharing of Resources office. The
supplies were requested by the Cuban Council of Churches.

http://www.ncccusa.org             

Black churches asked to stand up against AIDS 
           
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher has requested more help
from African-American churches in the fight against AIDS. He
believes churches have "kept their distance" from the issue of
AIDS, because "it relates closely to the taboo subject of
homosexuality." 
      His plea resonates with Bernice Powell Jackson, executive
director of the United Church of Christ's Commission for Racial
Justice. "We desperately need our African-American leaders to
stand up," says Jackson. "We need our churches to be places of
healing and comfort and safety. We must end the silence." 
      Jackson also wants community leaders to join the churches
in pressing the Clinton Administration to declare HIV/AIDS a
public health emergency in the African-American community.

http://www.religiontoday.com/Archive/FeatureStory/view.cgi?file=980729.s1       
      

Church may bolt World Council of Churches 
           
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church might bolt the World Council of
Churches, reports the Internet news service Religion Today. If it
does, it will be a blow to the worldwide ecumenical movement,
says John Thomas, ecumenical officer for the United Church of
Christ, also a member of the WCC. 
      "The participation of the Orthodox churches in the WCC,
while often difficult for both Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike,
has been a gift," says Thomas. "Any diminishment of Orthodox
presence in the World Council is a source of deep pain and
disappointment for all who work and pray for the unity of
Christ's Church." 
      Eastern Orthodox churches in general have been restive
within the WCC in recent years, particularly over social issues.
Expect a showdown at the Council's Eighth Assembly in Harare,
Zimbabwe, in December.

http://www.wcc-coe.org               
http://www.religiontoday.com/Archive/NewsSummary/view.cgi?file=980729.brf
http://www.religiontoday.com/CountryProfiles/bu.htm

New bishop elected 
           
A ten-year-old who fled the Hungarian revolt with his family in
1956 is the new bishop of the Calvin Synod of the United
Church of Christ. 
      "The only friend I had in these United States when I was 10
years old was Jesus," remembers Louis Medgyesi of the painful
uprooting. But that lifelong relationship with the church has paid
handsome dividends. He will head a group of 32 Hungarian
Reformed churches in the UCC. 
      Unlike most local UCC churches-which are organized into
geographical areas-Calvin Synod churches are scattered in 10
states, from Connecticut to California. "We see ourselves as part
of the grand mosaic of Christianity," says Medgyesi, pastor of
Fairport Harbor (Ohio) Hungarian Reformed UCC. 
      The churches worship in Magyar and English, reaching out to
recent immigrants and the children of those who came before
them. 

Thanks to Timothy J. Gibbons and the News Herald
(Ohio) for portions of this story 

Africa trade bill under scrutiny 
           
A bill now before Congress opening up trade with Africa hurts
Africans, charge missionary leaders of the United Church of
Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The
African Growth and Opportunity Act would formalize U.S.
corporate involvement in Africa, ensuring greater access to
Africa's huge market as the United States competes with a united
Europe and Asia for markets abroad. But that comes at a steep
price, claims Dan Hoffman of the Africa office of the Common
Global Ministries Board, overseas agency of the two
denominations. 
      Hoffman says the bill would harm Africans by "privatizing
government assets, cutting domestic spending and corporate
taxes, while granting new rights to foreign investors to acquire
African natural resources and other assets without limitations."

http://www.disciples.org/dom/Africa/Positions/trade.htm             

Marching on Atlanta 
           
First, it was the Million Man March. Now, it's the Million Youth
Movement, a gigantic rally and pep talk for young people over
the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Ga. It is not sponsored by
the Nation of Islam, but has the endorsement of many mainline
African-American organizations. Two United Church of Christ
agencies are lending their support, too: the Office of
Communication and the American Missionary Association, a unit
of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries. Both
would like to see UCC churches send delegations, and the
Office of Communication is drumming up business with a radio
spot aired on Cleveland stations. 
      More info: (888)-696-5941 

Clergy Views

Bill Haffey likes vacations as well as the next guy, maybe more.
But he can't help but wonder if folks extend their holidays the
entire summer when it comes to church. "The average attendance
for the past three weeks has been about 50 percent of normal,"
mourns the pastor of Ridgeview United Church of Christ, White
Plains, N.Y. 
      "Are we using summer to surrender to the temptation to
'sleep in'?" he wonders. "I am just asking all of us to rethink our
summer practices. God does not take the summer off, nor does
God slow down for the summer. Should we?"

Good News

Jim meets Matthew
           
It's hard to be a loner in a town with a population of less than
100. But Jim had little contact and minimal communication with
anyone in Colwell, Iowa. He lived alone in a shack on the edge
of town. Everyone sort of assumed that someone else was
watching over him. No one was, and one bitter winter night Jim's
plight was revealed when he was found walking around the town
park tying to keep warm. His "house" had no plumbing,
electricity or running water and it was about to collapse. That's
when the United Church of Colwell stepped in and rallied the
community to build Jim a proper living space. For $5,000, they
built him a two-room 12-foot x 20-foot house with modest, but
comfortable, furnishings and appliances. Jim may still be a loner
but he has a friend in Matthew 25:40. 
      Thanks to "UCC Reporter," publication of the Iowa
Conference of the United Church of Chris

Kudos
           
First came the 100 all-time great movies, followed by the 100
best novels of the 20th century. Now comes Once Upon a
Heroine: 450 Books for Girls to Love (NTC/Contemporary
Publishing, 1998). These are books that provide role models and
identify issues faced by adolescent girls. The list was compiled
by Alison Cooper-Mullin and Jennifer Marmaduke, members of
The Scarsdale (N.Y.) Congregational United Church of Christ. 

In Memoriam

Shari Lewis, sidekick of "Lamb Chop."