wfn.org | [ACNS] Digest 7 Feb 2005

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

The following is a compilation of the recent stories added to the ACNS
digest, with stories from England, Liberia, USA, Canada, Kenya, and from
the Mothers' Union. It also includes a request from BBC Radio 4 (item
300 below) for submissions on the Kyrie Eleison prayer.

The ACNS Digest can be accessed here:

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm

The ACNS Digest archives can be accessed here:

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(305) 03-February-2005 - Third Church Estates Commissioner steps down -
England

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, has
confirmed that, with great regret, he has today received and accepted
Lady Brentford's resignation as Third Church Estates Commissioner to
take effect from the end of May this year.

Dr Williams paid tribute to her tireless work for the Church of England:

"We owe Gill a tremendous debt of gratitude for the years she has served
the Church Commissioners as Third Church Estates Commissioner. She has
been a mainstay for the often unseen, unsung but vital work of support
for the Church's mission, and she has brought to this work a distinctive
personal commitment to mission and renewal. We will miss her energy and
vision and wish her every blessing for the future."

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(304) 02-February-2005 - Liberian Church begins 76th Convention - West
Africa

>From the NEWS (Monrovia)

February 2, 2005

Jimmey C Fahngon
Monrovia

Targets L$500,000 For Renovation Works

The Episcopal Church of Liberia begins its 76th Diocesan Convention
tomorrow 2-6 February at the St Barnabas-on-the Field Episcopal Church
in Unification Town, Margibi County.

According to Episcopal Bishop, the Rt Revd Dr Edward Neufville, the
Convention will be held under the theme: "There Can Be Hope In The
Desert," from the text: Isaiah 35:1-10.

Flanked by executives of the Episcopal Church of Liberia, Bishop
Neufville told journalists that despite the difficulty the church and
the people of Liberia have experienced over the years, the Lord will
give them hope in the desert. More here:

http://allafrica.com/stories/200502020217.html

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(303) 02-February-2005 - Mothers' Union backs MakePovertyHistory -
England

>From the Mothers' Union (MU) web site

In 2005 the MU will be backing the MakePovertyHistory campaign, a mass
coalition of activists committed to eradicating poverty through the
three critical areas of trade, debt and aid. A diverse partnership of
charities, faith groups, NGOs and trade unions have identified 2005 as a
decisive year for action. In political terms 2005 will be unique.

The UK is set to host the G8 summit and take on the rotating Presidency
of the European Union. The Commission for Africa is due to report back
in April, and July will see the 20th anniversary of Live Aid. Towards
the end of the year the UN will meet in New York to assess progress
towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Without real policy
change the world's governments will fall far short of the goal of
halving world poverty by 2015.

The MakePovertyHistory campaign presents a major opportunity to push for
change and encourages us to ask ourselves if we don't do this who will?
As a grassroots organisation with over 3 million members in 75
countries, the MU has a powerful membership base that can make a
significant contribution to the campaign. If we don't take action now,
when will there ever be real change for the world's poor?

Through local participatory programmes, especially the Literacy &
Development Programme and the Family Life Programme, MU is empowering
women to work with their families and communities and initiate local
action to improve family incomes and living conditions.

The MU has more than 300 local workers and trainers, all part of the
communities in which they work, speaking local languages and
understanding local cultures. Encouraging women to gain confidence and
status in the community is a very important part of creating local civil
society organisations ready and willing to help them.

More information is available from http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/

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(302) 01-February-2005 - World Mission Sunday: money matters mulled -
USA

>From the Episcopal News Service of the United States of America

[ENS] Honoring a commitment made by General Convention in 1997
(Resolution A205) to augment the church's awareness of and participation
in world mission, World Mission Sunday will be observed throughout the
Episcopal Church on February 6 under the theme "Treasuring the
Communion."

The Episcopal Church's World Mission Interpretation and Networks office
is once again offering resources to help congregations celebrate World
Mission Sunday. Materials have been mailed to congregations and world
mission networks, and are available online at:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/agr/wmsunday

A Spanish translation of the covering letter and poster is available
online at:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/1649_54656_ENG_HTM.htm.

This year's theme will take a look at the role and importance of money
in global mission. In the 2005 program letter, Margaret Larom, recently
appointed director of Anglican and Global Relations (AGR), said that "at
the national level, one quarter of our church's annual budget is devoted
to nurturing global mission and Anglican relationships -- a total of
$6.6 million."

Approximately 16 percent of AGR's budget supports missionaries who go
out from the USA, another 31 percent supports the clergy, laity and
bishops of the Episcopal Church's 12 overseas dioceses and
jurisdictions, and the rest goes to provide base budget support for
Anglican provinces, covenants, and agencies such as the Anglican
Communion Office.

"This is serious money," Larom said, "...but it's only a fraction of
what Episcopalians contribute to God's work in the world," citing
approximately $3 million that is collected for the United Thank Offering
per annum, and the generosity of Episcopalians' response to emergencies
through Episcopal Relief and Development.

"Still, this is only a small part of the story," Larom added. "Almost
all of our dioceses have companion relationships with dioceses (or even
whole provinces) elsewhere in the Anglican Communion. Commitments of
cash are usually significant, but more important is the traveling back
and forth to get to know each other, the sharing of time to build a
vision, the working side by side to realize dreams of a better world."

For six years, AGR has produced posters and other resources for World
Mission Sunday. The website -  www.episcopalchurch.org/agr/wmsunday -
includes not only the resources for "Treasuring the Communion" but also
all materials prepared for previous themes. They can be used at any time
- the themes are timeless, and the resources are not dated. Large
full-color posters can be obtained from Episcopal Parish Services,
1.800.903.5544; the rest of the material can be downloaded from the
website and duplicated at will. Bulletin shells and inserts, homiletical
notes for sermon preparation, and other helpful items are also
available.

For further information please contact: Tracy Andres, 212.716.6226;
email: tandres@episcopalchurch.org

Looking ahead:

Every year on Good Friday, pilgrims from all over the world gather to
walk along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. Some carry a cross, to
understand better the nature of the burden that Jesus bore. Others
accompany them, as witnesses, as penitents, as believers.

Since 1922, Episcopalians in the US have supported the ministries of the
Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East through the Good
Friday Offering.

Further information about the Good Friday offering can be found online
at: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/1649_1669_ENG_HTM.htm

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(301) 01-February-2005 - Bishop Matthews back at work - Canada

>From the Anglican Church of Canada

31 January, 2005 - The Rt Revd Victoria Matthews of Edmonton returned to
active ministry this month after seven months of medical leave due to
cancer.

Bishop Matthews reassured members of her diocese that she went back to
work "with the permission of my doctors" and that she was not
overextending herself to avoid a relapse.

Her time away from the rigours of running a busy diocese was one of
"reflection and healing," she said in a letter posted on the diocesan
Web site. "I cannot begin to express my thanks for the prayers and
loving support I received from the diocese of Edmonton, the wider
Canadian church and the far reaches of the Anglican Communion."

In a lengthy interview with Edmonton Journal, Bishop Matthews talked
about new insights she gained about life and death from her battle with
breast cancer. She remarked in jest that after losing her hair to
chemotherapy she had hoped "for red curls and I got grey straight."

Now cancer-free, she said that her recovery was five months earlier than
expected.

Bishop Matthews discovered she had breast cancer in May 2004, only a few
days before the meeting of General Synod, where she was supposed to have
been the first woman nominee for primate (national archbishop) not just
in the Anglican Church of Canada but the worldwide Anglican Communion.
She withdrew from the primatial election and went into treatment
(including surgery) right away.

Asked by the Edmonton Journal if she would consider running again,
Bishop Matthews said, "One of the gifts of cancer is that your
priorities change, so it's not even something I think about. It's not on
the radar screen. I'm not a lady-in-waiting, waiting for some magical
job to come before me. I'm here to live my life."

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(300) 01-February-2005 - Kyrie Eleison - England

Message from BBC Radio 4

Do you have strong memories related to times when you have heard this
prayer or made this prayer? Does it particularly comfort or inspire you?
Do you remember a time when you recited this prayer for a special
reason? Perhaps you have a story about Kyrie Eleison that relates to an
important person or time in your life? If so, I would very much like to
hear from you.

BBC Radio 4 is making a programme dedicated to the story and meaning of
Kyrie Eleison told through the voices of ordinary people and historians.

The programme will reflect and explore the emotional reaction many
people have to the beauty and power of	Kyrie Eleison, and in a wider
aspect touch on how it expresses our human need for mercy.

To send your story or for more information I can be contacted at: Nicola
Humphries, BBC, The Mail Box, Level 9, B1 1RF or on email at:
nicola.humphries@bbc.co.uk or on 0044 121 567 6737. Please contact
before the end of March 2005. The programme will be broadcast on BBC
Radio 4 in August of this year.

Thank you

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(299) 31-January-2005 - Federal spending a moral matter - USA

>From the Episcopal News Service (ECUSA)

By John Johnson

[ENS, Washington DC] - "The federal budget is ... a moral document,"
said Presiding Bishop Frank T Griswold to an audience at the Center for
American Progress in Washington, DC, on 25 January. Anticipating
President Bush's 2006 budget, scheduled to be presented to Congress,
Presiding Bishop Griswold told the gathering that "rhetoric is one
thing, but the budget is concrete and reveals the truth of our
commitments," particularly with regard to the moral imperative of health
care access in the United States.

"Compassion is not an abstraction," explained the Presiding Bishop, who
was invited to the Center for American Progress to participate in a
panel discussion on national priorities centered on health care and the
federal budget. "Jesus tells us, 'be compassionate just as the heavenly
Father is compassionate ... It is clear to me as we read Scripture that
God's concern is for the orphan, the widow, the poor, and the
marginalized."

Joining Presiding Bishop Griswold were Center for American Progress
president John Podesta; Dr Ann Neale, a senior research scholar at
Georgetown University; and Dr Laurie Zoloth, professor of medical ethics
and the humanities at Northwestern University.

"The conversation leads to common cause and can lead us to action for
the common good," Presiding Bishop Griswold said, commenting on the
importance of having a values conversation centered on the issue of
health care. "My travels around the Anglican Communion have shown me how
important it is to extend our concerns about health care worldwide. In
some parts of the world malaria kills regularly more people than the
recent tsunamis. Our federal budget can be an instrument of compassion
both at home and abroad."

"There are today vast inequities in the delivery and accessibility of
health care both in the United States and around the world," said
Maureen Shea, director of the Episcopal Church's Office of Government
Relations. "President Bush will present to Congress a budget for the
next fiscal year very soon. As the budget process is carried out, we
will look at it through the moral lens of health care, looking to see if
there are adequate funds to help insure those of low-income, the working
poor and their children, to help fight AIDS both at home and abroad, to
protect against malaria, and to do the research necessary to understand
why one racial or ethnic group, or one gender suffers more than another
from particular diseases.

"Failure to adequately fund these programs will not reflect our national
commitment to justice," Shea commented.

"We will do our part" as churches and other non-profit institutions,
Griswold added, but "we can't do it alone."

The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations in Washington
works with a number of health care organizations such as the National
Coalition on Health Care, the Universal Health Care Action Network, and
Families USA to bring together the wealth of the nation's resources to
identify and propose solutions to the health care crisis. Numerous
General Conventions have passed resolutions in support of access to
health care that is just, equitable and available to all.

The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and
educational institute whose mission statement says it is dedicated to
"promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for
all." Further information about the Center for American Progress can be
found online at: http://www.americanprogress.org.

- John Johnson is a domestic policy analyst in the Episcopal Church
Office of Government Relations in Washington, D.C.

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(298) 31-January-2005 - Kenyan Church to release shame list - Kenya

Kenya's Standard newspaper reports that an Anglican diocese is to
release a list of politicians that it alleges are corrupt. The report
can be found here:

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=12057

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