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April 29, 2003

2003-088

Episcopalians: News Briefs

Archbishop of Canterbury opens 34th Trinity Institute in New 
York

(ENS/Trinity News) Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams 
returned to "Ground Zero" in lower Manhattan for the first time 
since September 11, 2001, to preach a sermon on the spiritual 
significance of listening to God and to one another. 

Speaking April 28 at the opening Eucharist of the 34th Trinity 
Institute at Trinity Church, Wall Street, Williams addressed a 
capacity audience and heard the premiere of a musical setting to 
one of his poems. 

On September 11, Williams, other guests at a Trinity Television 
taping and the parish's staff were forced to flee the area after 
the collapse of the south tower of the World Trade Center. He 
accepted an invitation to return for the Trinity Institute 
conference while he was still Archbishop of Wales. The 
conference theme is "Shaping Holy Lives, Benedictine 
Spirituality in the Contemporary World." 

"We tend, all of us, to try to solve our problems by more 
talking, and less listening," said Williams in his sermon. "As 
you read the Rule of St. Benedict, what you see being defined 
before you is a method for creating a listening community. And 
not simply a community of people who are all listening to the 
same thing but a community of people who are listening intently 
to each other."

He added, "It's one of the many ways in which the Rule of St. 
Benedict tells us what the community of Christ's disciples 
should be: a community of persons listening intently to each 
other, so that they can listen to God; listening to God 
intently, so they can listen to each other." But, he asked, what 
do we listen for? And what are we listening for in each other?

"We have a listening God, who, as we pray, listens his way into 
the very depths of what we are and so we too listen like that 
or we try to, because the strange thing about listening is that 
it is working with all our energies and powers so that we may do 
nothing," said Williams. "We need not only the example, but the 
power and spirit of God, to help us listen our way into the 
truth." 

We are hungry for truth and wisdom, he added, which can be 
discovered only by exposing ourselves to a listening God, and 
listening to one another in turn. "Listen, child,' says the 
Rule of St. Benedict so let us do that," he concluded.

At the offertory, Trinity's organist and choirmaster, Dr. Owen 
Burdick, premiered his setting of Rowan Williams' poem, Bach for 
the Cello. Burdick composed the music in honor of the 
archbishop's visit and dedicated it to the Rev. Frederic B. 
Burnham, the retiring director of Trinity Institute. Williams 
has written or edited more than 20 books on theology and 
spirituality, including "Writing in the Dust," a reflection 
inspired by his September 11 experience. 

The service and the full proceedings of the conference can be 
seen and heard on www.trinitywallstreet.org. 

Kenyan churches oppose call to make Christianity state religion 

(ENI) A proposal to declare Christianity as Kenya's state 
religion is generating heated debate among the country's 
churches.

The proposal comes from a group called the Kenya Church, which 
includes Methodists in the country and a number of Pentecostal 
churches. It comes as Muslims are calling for the entrenchment 
of Islamic courts in the country's constitution. But the Roman 
Catholic Church and most mainstream Protestant denominations are 
urging that religion and the state be kept separate.

The proposal to make Christianity a state religion came in 
advance of a national constitutional conference, opening in 
Nairobi. "To safeguard the interests of the Christian faith, 
Christianity must of necessity be declared the official religion 
in Kenya, provided that all other religions are accorded liberty 
to practice their beliefs," leaders of the Kenya Church group 
said in a statement.

The draft constitution to be discussed by about 600 delegates 
attending the meeting states that "there shall be no state 
religion" in Kenya. But according to leaders of the Kenya Church 
group, Christianity should be the official faith, since almost 
four out of five Kenyans are Christians.

About 78 per cent of Kenya's 30 million population is Christian 
and some 10 per cent Muslim, with others having mostly 
traditional animist beliefs. Muslims, however, claim that 20 per 
cent of Kenyans now practice their faith.

The Rev. Mutava Musyimi, general secretary of the National 
Christian Council of Kenya, rejecting the call for Christianity 
to be made a state religion, said all religions should treated 
equally. "Our country faces serious issues of poverty, tribalism 
and tribal-based politics. We must do everything to rise above 
tribal, religious and localized considerations and together 
forge ahead in building a unified nation," Mutava told 
journalists in Nairobi.

Kenya's Anglican archbishop, Benjamin Nzimbi, also rejected the 
call. "Since the draft constitution respects the freedom of 
worship, there is no need to turn around and choose a single 
denomination for protection," the Daily Nation newspaper 
reported him saying.

Latin American churches challenge economic systems

(WCC) Latin American governments should refuse to pay their 
foreign debt and creditors should cancel it, according to a 
document debated by church representatives meeting in Buenos 
Aires. The document also calls for "economic disobedience" and 
the reform of international financial institutions.

Entitled "Looking for solutions ... moving forward. Protestant 
churches say 'Enough is enough!'" the document was submitted for 
debate on April 28 at a consultation called "Globalizing the 
Fullness of Life." The document, drafted by sociologists, 
economists, theologians and pastors, is intended as an 
"invitation to realism" and a "call to move beyond powerless 
fatalism."

It calls on creditor nations and institutions to take a 
decision-- the cancellation of foreign debt--that "cannot be 
postponed if they do not wish to be dragged down into chaos." It 
also calls on governments across Latin America to "together have 
the courage and the political will to refuse to pay this foreign 
debt," described as "immoral and unpayable."

Latin American governments are also called to "economic 
disobedience" concerning the "dictates of international 
financial institutions. There is salvation outside the system," 
the document declares. "If it were not for the debt and the 
International Monetary Fund, Latin America and the Third World 
could have accumulated sufficient capital to ensure growth at 
the level demanded by the needs of their peoples," states the 
document. 

Organized by the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) and 
co-sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and other 
ecumenical organizations, the Buenos Aires consultation drew 
more than 100 representatives, mostly from Latin America and the 
Caribbean, but also from Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and 
the Pacific.

After offering a critical analysis of the dominant ideology, the 
document makes a series of concrete proposals on international 
governance and local and national initiatives. Topping the list 
is a proposal to reform international financial institutions 
like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the 
World Trade Organization to provide a link between economics and 
ethical and social aspects, including "respect and promotion of 
human rights." 

Besides measures on foreign debt and disobedience of 
international financial institutions, the document proposes 
"models of national governance" based on ideas about a new 
economic and social pact, and a new concept of the state. In a 
theological chapter, it explores Biblical perspectives on God's 
Grace which nourish the hope that a "different world is 
possible." 

After being redrafted, the document will be used for CLAI's 
lobbying and advocacy work with the US and Canadian governments 
and with international financial institutions.

The consultation is being cosponsored by the WCC, the World 
Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC)and the Conference of 
European Churches (CEC).

Free photos to accompany articles based on this update are 
available on the web at 
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/argentina-e.html 

Women are major force in China's growing Protestant churches

(ENI) Chinese Protestant churches say their membership has leapt 
to 14 million people, 75 per cent of their members are women, 
and social services are becoming a key part of their ministry. 
As the churches grow, they are placing more emphasis on social 
work and implementing sound management practices, the leaders 
said during a visit to Switzerland.

"One of the important characteristics of modern Chinese society 
is its huge transformation from tradition to modernity," said 
the Rev. Mei Kang-jun, executive associate general secretary of 
the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), a body linked to the 
China Christian Council.

In the past, Christians in China had not wanted to be involved 
with society around them, said Mei, who is editor of the 
theological journal Tian Feng. He told ENI that the church now 
wanted to show that in carrying out social service activities it 
was proclaiming the word of God.

"Among the social service projects done by Chinese churches, 
there are medical clinics, nursing homes for the elderly, 
schooling projects for poor children and training schools for 
released prisoners," Mei said at a seminar organized by the 
World Council of Churches in Geneva.

The WCC's Asia secretary, Mathews George, said at the seminar 
that "unlike in most other Asian countries," Christianity was 
introduced into China early, in AD 635, by the Nestorian 
missionaries. Still, from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, 
China was the scene of the one of the greatest-ever efforts at 
mission by Western Christians.

"In spite of all these intensive efforts the number of 
Christians was extraordinarily small in China," George noted. In 
1949, when China became a Communist country, there were fewer 
than 700 000 Protestant Christians. Yet today, there are 14 
million Protestants in China, says the TSPM. Formed in 1980 to 
promote indigenous Christianity, the TPSM worked with the CCC, 
grouping Protestants, after the lifting of the ban on religion, 
imposed from 1966 to 1979 by the Cultural Revolution.

"After several revolutions in China, the status of women has 
changed dramatically," said Chen Meilin, an executive associate 
general secretary of the CCC, an umbrella for Protestant 
Christians. "Over 75 per cent of the Christians in China are 
women. There are over 400 ordained women pastors in China and 98 
per cent were ordained after the Cultural Revolution."

Chen pointed out that more than one third of the teaching staff 
at the 18 seminaries and Bible schools in China were women. "The 
fact that half of the seminary students are women is another 
feature of our church," she noted. "In recent years, we have 
been sending women seminary graduates abroad to further their 
study so that some of the women can engage in studies of 
feminist theology," said Chen. 

Filipino churches change practices to halt spread of respiratory 
virus 

(ENI) Many religious practices in the Philippines are adapting 
in response to the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 
(SARS) after health officials reported four cases of the virus, 
two of them resulting in death.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila, in a 
circular issued on Saturday, forbade the common custom of 
kissing statues of saints then wiping them with a handkerchief. 
The majority of the country's 82 million population is Catholic.

"In this moment of uncertainty about this illness [SARS], we 
recommend that communion in the hand be practiced," Sin said, 
suggesting that priests put communion wafers in the hands of 
worshippers, instead of placing it on their tongues.

Romulo Ponte, a Catholic priest from the province of Laguna, 
south of Manila, is now giving communion by the hand. "An ounce 
of prevention is far better than a pound of cure," he said.

Non-Catholic churches have also taken preventive measures. At 
the Metro Olongapo Christian Church, common displays of 
community have been toned down. "To protect our children and 
prevent the spread of the disease, let us avoid kissing the 
babies in our church," the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted 
Bladimir Perez, a minister of the church, as telling his 
congregation in Olongapo City, north of Manila.

At other churches, pastors have discouraged their congregation 
from holding hands during the Lord's Prayer and from shaking 
hands as a sign of peace, and suggested replacing such gestures 
with a nod of the head.

A prayer healing ministry of the United Church of Christ in the 
Philippines has included the SARS situation in its regular 
prayer meetings. "We still believe that faith can move 
mountains," Marites Balacuit, the head of the prayer ministry, 
told ENI.

In some countries, such as Singapore, which has been heavily hit 
by the disease, priests have stopped hearing individual 
confessions to prevent close contact with parishioners who might 
have the SARS virus, news agencies reported. They are instead 
pronouncing a general absolution to their parishioners from the 
pulpit.

The entry of SARS into the Philippines has been declared a 
national emergency following the recent death of two Filipinos, 
both overseas workers. 

Zimbabwean Catholics urge government to 'step down' 

(ENI) In an unprecedented move, more than 200 Roman Catholics in 
Harare passed a no-confidence vote on President Robert Mugabe's 
government over the deteriorating human rights situation and 
economic decline in Zimbabwe.

"We ask, as our Christian duty and in the name of Christ our 
Lord, that the present government step down and hand over to 
those who are prepared to serve the country and all its people," 
said a statement issued on April 23 by 201 lay Catholics drawn 
from various congregations in the nation's capital.

They did not suggest a replacement for the government after 
Mugabe whose office issued a statement on April 29 saying the 79 
year-old president would not leave before his term ends in 2008. 
The statements came after the government launched a new 
crackdown on opposition supporters and human rights activists. 
State agents have been accused of torturing to death at least 
two people in separate incidents in the past month.

"The government has shown itself to be insensitive to the plight 
of the vast majority of its citizens and has been acting 
callously as it ensures its own well-being," the statement said. 
"It is no longer the government of the people irrespective of 
the supposed election results. The situation in our country 
cries out to Heaven for redress."

Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a state of economic 
stagnation and near-anarchy, characterized by violence, 
shortages of fuel and basic household commodities, high 
inflation, mounting unemployment and grinding poverty for the 
majority of the population.

The Catholic church members deplored what they described as 
state-organized violence and the continuing harassment and 
arbitrary arrests of individuals and organizations perceived to 
be anti-government; as well as the muzzling of the press. They 
also criticized the skewered distribution of food aid along 
political party lines, and the government's controversial land 
reforms "that have left fertile land lying fallow and farm 
workers with neither land nor employment."

But in an interview broadcast on state radio and television on 
April 21, Mugabe defended his government's policies, blaming the 
country's woes on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change 
(MDC) and countries in the West that have imposed sanctions on 
leading Zimbabwean officials. 

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