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Headlines:

Evangelical Social Action Organizations to create network

Argentine Pentecostal leader calls on Pope to intervene to stop war

Pastor Felipe Adolf granted Honoris Causa

Evangelicals from Mexico, Argentina and Peru call for Peace

Two of Lulas government ministers are Evangelicals

Brasilia Governor orders racist book recalled

We must rediscover our common mission, affirms CLAI president

BRAZIL
Evangelical Social Action Organizations to create network

SAO PAULO, March 31, 2003 (alc). Evangelical Social Action organizations 
agreed to create a network in order to exchange information, identify 
existing Evangelical initiatives and encourage Evangelicals to participate 
in formulating public social policies.

The creation of this network emerged from the I Consultation of Evangelical 
Social Action Organizations meeting in Sao Paulo March 21 -23.

At the Sao Paulo meeting, participants defined the objectives, the ethical 
principles and the proposals that will guide the actions of Evangelical 
organizations in the Network. They also formed a provisional coordinating 
commission to organize the Network and seek its consolidation.

The provisional commission is made up of the Salvation Army, World Vision, 
the Diakonia of the Northeast, Koinonia - Ecumenical and Service Presence, 
Valley of Blessings, the Agente Institute and the Grace and Compassion 
Community Foundation.

A recent event identified more than 1,000 Evangelical Social Action 
organizations operating in Brazil, offering different help and social and 
spiritual support for the needy.

ARGENTINA
Argentine Pentecostal leader calls on Pope to intervene to stop war

BUENOS AIRES, April 1, 2003 (alc). Argentina Pentecostal leader Hector 
Petrecca called on Pope John Paul II to travel to Baghdad in order to put 
an end to the catastrophe taking place in Iraq. He also called on him to 
hold a meeting with religious leaders around the world.

In a letter sent to the Pope, Petrecca, pastor and president of the 
Christian Biblical Church of Argentina said "Moved, as all Christians are, 
by the gravity of the situation, I ask you to contemplate the possibility 
of traveling to Baghdad, Iraq."

He added that such a gesture could put an end to the situation as it "would 
allow a decorous solution for those involved in the conflict as the result 
will be for the good of all humanity."

"As a Christian I would feel extremely honored to accompany Your Holiness 
in such a venture if it were possible," said Petrecca. He is also a leader 
in the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) and a member of an 
international dialogue commission between Catholics and Pentecostals.

  In the letter he also called on the Pope to convene the heads of the most 
important religious in the world to join together to achieve peace in Iraq.

ECUADOR
Pastor Felipe Adolf granted Honoris Causa

By Manuel Quintero
QUITO, April 2, 2003 (alc). The Latin American Christian University will 
grant Pastor Felipe Adolf an Honoris Causa Doctorate at its fourth 
graduation ceremony to be held April 7 in Quito.

Pastor Adolfs long and fruitful ecumenical trajectory is cited among the 
reasons for the recognition. Between 1984 and 1988, he was Secretary 
General of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI). Moreover, between 
1980 and 1983 he was regional CLAI secretary for the Andean region, based 
in Lima, Peru.

Pastor Adolf, according to the document announcing the academic 
recognition, has been one of the authors of the unity between Protestant 
and Evangelical Churches in Latin America and the organizer of numerous 
continental ecumenical consultations that address the issues of peace and 
justice.

Under his leadership, CLAI became involved in brokering dialogue in Central 
American countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala, wracked by civil 
wars. In the final years of his mandate, the Council developed a peace 
program in Colombia and Guatemala.

It underlines that under his ecumenical leadership, groups of women and 
young people were created and developed, along with the indigenous pastoral 
and the pastoral on the family and movements in favor of human rights in 
many countries on the continent.

It also said that Pastor Adolf has created and encouraged a model of 
Biblical ecumenism and practice with the Catholic Church and with non 
government organizations in Latin America.

During his term as secretary general, CLAI organized three consultations of 
Bishops and pastors with the participation of the Catholic Church and 
important Evangelical Churches on the continent.

The document also refers to the significant amount of theological material 
Pastor Adolf has produced over the years and his notable work in national 
and international organizations and bodies.

Pastor Adolf, of Argentine nationality and a member of the Congregational 
Church in this country is an important reference about the social reality 
from the perspective of the Church, concluded the document, signed by Dr. 
Patricio Proaqo, dean of the UCL.

When he heard the news, Pastor Adolf manifested his surprise about being 
chosen to receive the important academic award.

When they told me they were granting me the honoris causa for my 
ecumenical trajectory, I immediately thought of the many brothers and 
sisters with whom we carried out this project: Federico Pagura, Emilio 
Castro, Gerson Meyer, Beatriz Ferrari, Juan Marcos Rivera, Gabriel Vaccaro, 
Juan Damian and many others, he said.

It seems to me that this recognition relates to a collective effort we 
carried out with a great deal of conviction, with an open, non-sectarian 
spirit, that listened and sought consensus, he added.

In going back over his nearly 20 years in CLAI, Pastor Adolf recalled the 
initial years when the ecumenical culture of the Churches was nearly 
inexistent.

We had leaders with great conviction in the Churches but their 
congregations did not accompany them in this vocation. So, we had to work 
intensely, reaching local congregations in all corners of the continent to 
create the foundation of an ecumenism that, while it had a universal 
character, was planted and developed with a Latin American perspective, he 
said.

Regarding subsequent phases, once CLAI was consolidated, Pastor Adolf said 
he was impressed by the ecumenical awareness of the Churches.

I have seen it in al the assemblies, from Huampani to Barranquilla and I 
always admire how Churches have appropriated CLAI and have made it an 
instrument to seek unity on the continent, he said.

Finally, Pastor Adolf expressed his gratitude to the major figures of the 
Latin American Church who, according to his words, not only taught him 
ecumenical practice but the profound human contents of this effort in favor 
of unity.

MEXICO
Evangelicals from Mexico, Argentina and Peru call for Peace

MEXICO CITY, April 2, 2003 (alc). As Evangelicals, Protestants, Anglicans 
and Christians we speak out against the war and say Not in our name.	We 
say yes to peace and dignity, according to joint statement from the 
Theological Community of Mexico and several Mexican seminaries and 
theological institutes.

Evangelicals  from the River Plate Evangelical Church (IERP) in Buenos 
Aires and the Evangelical Church of the Pilgrims in Chiclayo Peru spoke out 
in similar terms.

We join the official voice of various Christian entities around the world 
and in Mexico who have spoken out against this war  and we declare our 
nonconformity with the official position of the governments of the United 
States, Great Britain and Spain who are invading Iraq in the name of God, 
said the Mexican declaration .

This is not the God we know. The God we know is the God of history who 
demands justice, peace and love. This is the God that Jesus Christ reveals 
to us, who opens opportunities for life, for inclusion, for solidarity. 
This is the God who calls us to be peacemakers in building a new land, 
they added.

The statement was also signed by Anglican seminary students, by Baptists, 
Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians and by the Biblical institutes of 
Berea, Elim and Anabaptista.

In Argentina, the Evangelical Church of the River Place said that despite 
the warnings from numerous nations around the world, international 
organizations and protests in 600 cities including 30 in the United States, 
the northern nation persists in unilaterally seeking to solve the problem 
with weapons.

In formulating a resounding No to all violence and oppression, to conflict 
resolution by force, to war and genocide, to the war against Iraq, the IERP 
sustains that as followers of Jesus Christ they are convinced that God, the 
creator of life and who does not desire the death of his children, is a God 
of justice and freedom, is judge and Lord of all people and nations.

The war is flagrant disobedience of the divine commandments and a mockery 
of God, who makes an effort to sustain and free his creation, stated the 
declaration, signed by Federico H.Schdfer, pastor president of the IERP.

  The Evangelical Church of the Pilgrims of Peru said that in this 
difficult hour for humanity we affirm, as Christians that we will not 
allow the powerful, the managers of death and terror, to use Gods name to 
carry out their perversities and justify their hunger for power and the 
destruction of life.

We consider this irrational war of the North American, British and Spanish 
coalition against Iraq, analogous to other wars carried out by all 
totalitarianism that in different eras has devastated our peoples and 
suppressed free men, it added.

In our Christian awareness and motivated by our love for human life, 
justice and freedom, we are convinced that Saddam Hussein does not deserve 
our solidarity for the way he has created a totalitarian dynasty in his 
country. However, we cannot go to the other extreme and stand in solidarity 
with those who violate the rights and world juridical order, the 
fundamentalists of death, the document warned.

We call on all sister Churches, on all men and women, to stand in 
solidarity with the 26 million Iraqi people who are suffering this 
genocidal war, said the statement signed by Bishop Ubaldo Barrueto Varas.

BRAZIL
Two of Lulas government ministers are Evangelicals

BRASILIA, April 3, 2003 (alc). Environment Minister Marina Silva published 
a press statement denying her participation in the National Evangelical 
Forum on Social and Political Action (FENASP). According to Folha de Sao 
Paulo the group was created to lobby President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to 
include more Evangelicals in the government.

To include my name in an entity created to pressure the Lula government 
would be incoherent given that I already form part of the government, said 
Minister Silva.

The creator of FENASP, Bishop Robson Rodovalho, leader of the Heal Our Land 
Church, told reporter Valter Gongalves Jr., from the Evangelical Magazine 
Eclisia, that the groups aim is not in fact to pressure the government.

Rodovalho said that the FENASPs objective is to defend and bring to light 
a prophetic position to defend the values of the Kingdom of God before 
society, the government and the State. Other Evangelical congressmen, 
linked to the groups Political Council, denied their involvement.

Lulas cabinet includes two Evangelical woman. The appointment of Marina 
Silva was applauded by ecologists.

Along with Marina Silva, Benedita da Silva is the Minister of Social Action.

The two women have similar experience. Benedita da Silva, age 53 was born 
in Praia do Pinto and knows firsthand what it is like to live in a poor 
community and face discrimination.

As a teacher, she organized womens associations in the Chapeu Mangueira 
neighborhood where she later worked as an auxiliary nurse.

A graduate in Social Studies and Social Service, Benedita da Silva was 
elected alderman for PT in 1982 and a federal representative in 1986.

In 1994 she was senator, the first Black woman to hold a seat in Congress.

A mother and grandmother, a socialist and an admirer of Lula and Nelson 
Mandela, Benedita da Silva told the magazine Sem Fronteiras in November 
1995 about how all the pressure and discrimination she suffered only 
contributed to helping her mature regarding racial issues.

Regarding belief and religious ideals, Benedita recognized that she was a 
militant, religiously speaking without neglecting to question the role of 
Black people and women in the Church.

She said that faith and politics can live side by side as long as the 
belief is materialized in social work.

Marina Silva, age 44, is the mother of four children and was born in 
Seringal Bagaco, 70 kilometers from Rio Branco. Linked to ecological 
movements, she founded the Workers Central in Acre, work she carried out 
with Chico Mendes, a renowned environmentalist assassinated in 1988.

Silva studied History in the Federal University of Acre and at age 38 the 
current environment minister became the youngest woman to hold a bench in 
the Senate.

A religious woman, she began her political career as a militant in Base 
Christian Communities. In 1988 she was elected alderman for Rio Branco and 
provincial representative in 1994 on a PT ticket.

The daughter of a Black father, she dreamed of being a Nun. She lived in a 
convent in Acre where she cooked and took care of a garden. Determined to 
study, she waited each day for the lights to go out in order to study by 
candlelight until dawn. She eventually opted for political activism as 
opposed to religious life.

Benedita da Silva is linked to the Presbyterian Church of Brazil while 
Marina Silva is a member of the Assemblies of God.

BRAZIL
Brasilia Governor orders racist book recalled

BRASILIA, April 3, 2003 (alc). The Cultural Society of Quilombo Missions 
reported that Joaquim Roriz, governor of the Federal District of Brasilia, 
ordered the book "Banzo, tronco & senzala", recalled, because it 
offends Black culture and refers to Black people in a pejorative, 
prejudiced fashion.

The denouncement was presented by Senator Paulo Paim, of the Rio Grande do 
Sul Workers Party. According to Paim, who is of African descent, the 
parents of a student in a public school in Brasilia felt humiliated and 
discriminated against when they heard the reading of "Banzo, tronco 
& senzala".

The book, written by teachers Elzi Nascimento and Lesita Melo Quinta, has 
illustrations that show slaves with monkey faces, according to the 
denouncement. The book only has caricatures, argues journalist Maria 
Elsira, advisor for the Harbra Publishing house in Sao Paulo that published 
the work. The Emperor Pedro and the Princess Isabel also appear in the 
caricatures, she added.

Senator Paim said that the self esteem of a black child will be harmed when 
he or she reads a book.

The text of the book is amazing, said Maria Elsira. It is a re-reading 
of slavery in Brazil. It relates everything that happened and what happened 
was very ugly. He says the book is racist, surely he has not read it, she 
added.

The title of the book refers to its spirit. Banzo is the nostalgic 
depression that Black Africans felt on Brazilian soil, tronco is where they 
were tied to be beaten and represents the humiliation and senzala is the 
place on the hacienda where they were collected at nightfall.

The Barba publishing house has convened specialists to decide whether the 
book will be reformulated. "Banzo, tronco & senzala" is a 
para-didactic book, aimed at fourth grade. It was edited in 1998 and forms 
part of the collection Between Acts and Facts, that deals with Brazilian 
history.

Senator Paulo Paim is preparing a legal bill under which teaching and 
para-teaching material will pass through a type of quality control before 
entering circulation, as takes place with certain products.

GERMANY
We must rediscover our common mission, affirms CLAI president

By Manuel Quintero
BAD SEGEBERG, April 4, 2003 (alc). We must rediscover that Latin American 
and European Churches have a common mission said Bishop Julio Cesar 
Holguin, president of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) at the 
inauguration of the consultation on Mission and Cooperation. The event 
brought together some 50 representatives from Churches on both continents 
and began April 3 in northern Germany.

The event is the culmination of a process of consultation and analysis on 
the part of Churches in each continent about the major challenges of the 
missionary task and ecumenical cooperation at the beginning of the new 
century. The European Conference of Churches, CLAI and the World Council of 
Churches are sponsoring the event.

The president of CLAI, Anglican Church Bishop in the Dominican Republic, 
said that Latin America seems to be taking giant steps to a new lost 
decade similar to the 1980s, and the critical economic and social 
situation could be further complicated by the war in Iraq.

Bishop Holguin manifested his concern about the lack of critical voices 
that denounced the magnitude of the injustice, in particular the causes of 
poverty and exclusion.

In this context our Churches can reaffirm that the mission continues to be 
the same and each generation must make the necessary adjustments so that 
the results are those expected by the one who is the head of the Church for 
now and for all eternity, he said.

In his introduction to the meeting, Pastor Israel Batista, secretary 
general of CLAI, said that at a time when globalization seems to unite 
some and divide others, the Church, as the universal body of Jesus Christ, 
based on its local congregations, is the richest and most diverse testimony 
of unity that is built from the ground up.

We are called to give testimony to this unity, he said.

At this meeting we should affirm that the Church does not exist without a 
mission and that there is no mission without evangelism, just as there is 
no evangelism without teaching and no teaching without adoration, he said.

He also called on participants to stand firm in hope, despite the 
uncertainties and pain that mark the present.  This is an opportune time 
for faith. Hope does not only mark the difference between the past and a 
new life, but is a symbol of obedience and holiness in the world, said the 
CLAI secretary general.

Representatives from 11 European countries participated: Germany, Great 
Britain, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Rumania, 
Russia and Hungary. From Latin America, participants came from Argentina, 
Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, the 
Dominican Republic and Uruguay.

The meeting will end April 6 with Sunday workshop in congregations in 
L|beck, a place made  famous thanks to writer Thomas Mann, who based his 
novel The Buddenbrooks on the story of a local family.

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