wfn.org | [ACNS] Anglican Communion News Service Digest

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

The following (9 items) is a roundup of this week's stories included in
the Anglican Communion News Service Digest:

(179) 16-September-2004 - Christian leaders support WCC prayer day -
England

 >From the WCC Press Office

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Orthodox Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, and the head of the Evangelical
Church in Germany, Bishop Wolfgang Huber are among those supporting an
International Day of Prayer for Peace called for by the World Council of
Churches (WCC) within its Decade to Overcome Violence. The date set for
observance is 21 September.

More than a dozen well-known Christian leaders and peace-makers from all
over the world are affirming churches' and faith communities' work for
peace and justice in a series of inspiring two-minute video messages
that will be made available at www.overcomingviolence.org/peace2004 on
Monday 20 September 12.00am Geneva time.

This year, the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence is focusing on the
United States, under the theme "The power and promise of peace". The
video messages thus also recognize and encourage the struggle of US
churches to witness to peace and justice, both domestically and
internationally.

Personalities joining the International Day of Prayer for Peace through
video messages are:

The Most Revd Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Archbishop
Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa
Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Wolfgang Huber, chairman of the council of the Evangelical Church in
Germany
Aram I, catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church (See of Cilicia) and
WCC Central Committee moderator
Hanan Mikhail Ashwari, Sydney Peace Prize winner and advocate for
Palestinian rights
Keith Clements, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches
Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of
Churches
Karen Hamilton, general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches
Israel Batista, general secretary of the Latin American Council of
Churches
Hildegard Goss Mayr, honorary president of the International Fellowship
of Reconciliation
Ahn Jae Woong, general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia
Bernice Powell Jackson, WCC president from North America
Thomas L Hoyt, Jr, president of the National Council of Churches of
Christ in the USA

Within the framework of its Decade to Overcome Violence, the WCC has
called on its member churches - which represent a membership estimated
at about 550 million Christians world-wide - to pray for peace on 21
September or on the Sundays preceding or following that day.

This WCC initiative links to the International Day of Peace declared by
the United Nations General Assembly, a world-wide effort intended as a
day of global cease-fire and non-violence, and as an opportunity for
education and raising public awareness.

The video messages in both webcast and broadcast quality will be
available as of Monday 20 (12:00 a.m. Geneva time) at
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/peace2004

Liturgical resources for the International Day of Prayer for Peace are
already available at the same website.

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.

(178) 15-September-2004 - Church defends immigration sanctuary - Canada

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Most Revd Andrew
Hutchison, has joined Canadian Church leaders in defending the Church's
'time-honoured' and 'biblically-rooted tradition' of providing sanctuary
to refugees facing deportation, the Anglican Journal of Canada has
reported.

Archbishop Hutchison stated in the news report that while the Canadian
Immigrant and Refugee Protection Act of 2001 provided for an appeals
procedure, this procedure - despite becoming law - had yet to be
implemented. "What we're asking our government is to stand by its own
legislation. There's no contradiction between our legal and moral
obligations here," he said. For the full story, by Marites N. Sison of
the Anglican Journal, click here:

http://anglicanjournal.com/130/07/canada01.html

(177) 15-September-2004 - Bishop Frade asks Bush to lift Cuba
restrictions - USA

In a letter sent on Tuesday 14 September to President George W Bush, the
Rt Revd Leo Frade, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida,
asked that restrictions on family travel and gifts to Cuba be
temporarily lifted to allow humanitarian aid, following the devastating
passage of Hurricanes Charley and Ivan through the island nation.

The restrictions, which went into effect June 30, limit visits to one
every three years, by immediate family members only. Limits have also
been placed on cash transfers and gift packages.

"Due to the restrictions recently imposed by your administration,
Cuban-Americans are not permitted to help, visit or care for their loved
ones in Cuba who are now suffering severe deprivation after being hit by
two hurricanes in less than a month," Frade's letter says.

"I appeal to your compassion and generosity, which has already been
demonstrated in your quick response to the needs of Floridians in this
disaster," he continues.

"I urge you to extend this compassionate concern to the people of Cuba
and their family members in this country by temporarily lifting the
existing restrictions, so that Cuban-American families may be able to
help their loved ones, and that the churches and other religious and
community organisations may also be able to assist the needy people of
Cuba. I understand that there are political complexities involved in
this situation, but I believe that our overriding concern must be to
help alleviate the suffering of the Cuban people. This is the time to
set aside political considerations and lift the restrictions that
severely limit our ability to respond to this great need."

Frade, a native of Cuba, came to this country as a student in 1960. Four
years ago he became Bishop of the Diocese of Southeast Florida, which
includes 82 Episcopal congregations from Jensen Beach to Key West.

The complete text of Bishop Frade's letter follows.

September 14, 2004

President George W Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush,

In the wake of the series of hurricanes that have battered the Caribbean
islands and Florida and still threaten the Gulf Coast states, we are
seeing not only tragic loss of life, but also massive destruction of
property, with many who already lived in poverty left completely
destitute.

As a bishop in the Church I have been able, along with the leaders and
people of my diocese, to organize and contribute toward efforts to
assist the people, as well as the churches, that have been so devastated
by the forces of nature. There are currently many community initiatives
that allow those who are hurting, both in this country and in the
Caribbean, to receive aid from their families, friends and other caring
persons.

Churches of various denominations are actively working to assist the
hurricane victims in Florida and all the Caribbean nations affected,
except one-Cuba. Due to the restrictions recently imposed by your
administration, Cuban-Americans are not permitted to help, visit or care
for their loved ones in Cuba who are now suffering severe deprivation
after being hit by two hurricanes in less than a month.

I appeal to your compassion and generosity, which has already been
demonstrated in your quick response to the needs of Floridians in this
disaster. I urge you to extend this compassionate concern to the people
of Cuba and their family members in this country by temporarily lifting
the existing restrictions, so that Cuban-American families may be able
to help their loved ones, and that the churches and other religious and
community organizations may also be able to assist the needy people of
Cuba. I understand that there are political complexities involved in
this situation, but I believe that our overriding concern must be to
help alleviate the suffering of the Cuban people. This is the time to
set aside political considerations and lift the restrictions that
severely limit our ability to respond to this great need.

American citizens of Cuban birth or heritage are waiting to respond to
the call for help from their families and friends in Cuba. As a
Cuban-born American, I ask that you help us to help our loved ones.

May God richly bless and care for you as you respond to his call to look
with pity upon the sorrows of those in need-those who cannot, without
your intervention, receive our assistance.

Respectfully,

The Rt Revd Leo Frade
Bishop of Southeast Florida
The Episcopal Church

(176) 14-September-2004 - Scottish Conference hailed a great success -
Scotland

A major four-day conference held by the Scottish Episcopal Church at
Heriot Watt University from 2-5 September has been hailed a great
success. Over 300 delegates from across Scotland took part in the
conference, which was led by three key-note speakers - The Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams; the Rt Revd John Miller,
former Moderator of the Church of Scotland and Minister in Castlemilk,
Glasgow and Rev Kathy Galloway, Leader of the Iona Community.

Each of the speakers reflected the theme of the conference which was
based on the miracle of the loaves and fishes (Mark 6 :31-44) and was
titled 'Our Offering, God's Blessing'. The Revd Kathy Galloway set the
scene of where we are in Scotland today by considering many of the
political, economic and cultural issues which influence our everyday
lives. Archbishop Rowan delivered a powerful and challenging biblical
exposition of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. The Revd John Miller
spoke through the moving stories of three of his parishioners. More
here:

http://www.scotland.anglican.org/news_headlines_23.html

(175) 14-September-2004 - New Capital Project takes off - Australia

 >From the September issue of 'Southern Cross'

by Madeleine Collins

The Most Revd Peter Jensen, the Archbishop of Sydney, is leading a major
funding project aimed to supply finance for Christian work.

It is known as the 'New Capital Project' and involves discovering
whether parts of the Diocese's asset base, which is estimated at $3 to
$4 billion, can be used to raise the money needed for ministry.

Between $100millon to $500million is needed to build new churches in
rapidly developing areas of the Diocese, rebuild inadequate ones to cope
with swelling numbers and give more funding to Moore College and
Youthworks College.

The Mission and its goal of reaching 10 per cent of Sydney for Christ by
2012 calls for prayer, more congregations and trained ministers and
reform of church life. Under the Mission, Moore College needs to at
least double in size, and a minimum of 10 new church sites and five new
churches need to be established in growing areas within five years.

A two year study found traditional ways of raising money, through
fundraising appeals, bank loans, selling off property to invest
elsewhere, bequests or philanthropy may be successful in the short term,
but would not raise the huge amount of money needed for the Mission
goal.

"When we started to look at ways of raising that sort of money it's
clear to us that appeals may raise some millions of dollars, but nowhere
near the sums we're talking about," said Archbishop Jensen.

"The first part of this exercise is really to assess where we are at -
making a survey of our assets. We ought to have done this many years
ago."

The Diocese has never done a survey of its own asset values. The project
is believed to be the first of its kind undertaken by any church in the
world.

Sydney's Standing Committee have approved an allocation of $1million
from the $160million Diocesan Endowment (Synod funds) for 'Stage One' -
the setting up of an 'asset realignment' database.

Consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers have been employed and a number
of senior staff are being sought to manage the project internally in the
Diocesan Secretariat. This stage will take 12 months.

All the assets of the Diocese - including parishes, schools, welfare
facilities and other institutions - will be assessed in terms of their
contribution to the Mission and a strategy developed to see how capital
funds might be raised through them. The project will need considerable
cooperation from the trustees of the Diocese's major assets, which have
a long tradition of strong independence.

"A project of this nature and size will challenge the culture of our
Diocese," said Dr Jensen. "It will require immense goodwill, trust and
wisdom. It may require sacrifice so that others may receive the gospel.
We are undertaking something very large for God."

http://www.anglicanmedia.com.au/index.php/southerncross/

(174) 14-September-2004 - New Archbishop of Perth elected - Australia

Anglican Bishop of Newcastle, the Right Reverend Roger Herft, has been
elected Archbishop of Perth and will move to the West in June 2005.

The current Archbishop of Perth and Primate of the Anglican Church in
Australia, the Most Revd Dr Peter Carnley, announced in early 2004 that
he would retire on May 26 next year.

Bishop Herft, in accepting his election to this position, said that the
decision to leave Newcastle, where he has served as Bishop for more than
11 years, was not an easy one for him or his family.

"We have spent the longest period of our ministry in the Diocese of
Newcastle. The people of this Diocese and of the many communities that
make up this region have offered us generous hospitality and will remain
a significant part of our lives."

The Diocese of Newcastle, Australia: http://www.angdon.com/

(173) 13-September-2004 - Peace Network to meet in Jerusalem - Middle
East

[From the Episcopal News Service]

Ways forward sought from violence of 9/11, casualties in Iraq, genocide
in Sudan, escalating Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Seeking to bridge divisions created by violent conflict around the
world, the Anglican Peace and Justice Network will meet 14-23 September
in Jerusalem for international dialogue emphasising "conflict
transformation."

Anglicans from more than 20 nations will be represented in the meeting,
convened at St George's College in Jerusalem, where the Bishop in
Jerusalem, the Rt Revd Riah Abu El-Assal, will welcome network
participants, including leaders from the Episcopal Church in the United
States. The Anglican Observer to the United Nations, Archdeacon
Taimalelagi F Tuatagaloa-Matalavea of Samoa, will also participate.

"We are meeting at a time of great tension in the world, especially in
the Middle East," said the Revd Canon Brian Grieves, director of Peace
and Justice Ministries at the Episcopal Church Centre. "We are bringing
varying perspectives with considerable passion and perhaps disagreement,
and we'll try to forge a consensus."

Canon Grieves said the network - which is a recognised arm of the
worldwide Anglican Communion - "selected Jerusalem as our meeting place
in order to give support to the peace process of Israelis and
Palestinians."

Also of concern is the crisis and genocide in Sudan, a further topic for
discussion at the Network meeting. From the wider African context,
participants from the Anglican Provinces of Burundi, Congo, Kenya,
Rwanda, Tanzania, Southern Africa and Uganda are scheduled to attend.

Participants will come from nations hard hit by violence and terrorism -
the effects of which were recalled especially in the United States this
weekend with the third anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror
attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC.

Loss of life in Iraq is also expected to figure into Network dialogue.
Canon Grieves said this week's report that 1,000 US military personnel
have died in Iraq "brings a sobering perspective to this meeting, and we
have to remember that thousands of Iraqis, most of them civilians, have
also died."

Canon Grieves said the meeting would unite "people coming from places
where there is conflict and loss of life, so our focus on conflict
transformation - or moving beyond conflict to healing, reconciliation
and justice - could not be more pertinent."

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens

(172) 13-September-2004 - Statement from the Bishop in Egypt - Middle
East

On the tragic death of the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of
Alexandria and all Africa We ere saddened by the news that Patriarch
Petros VII of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and all Africa.

The Patriarch died in an air crash as he was travelling within Greece.
The sad news came during the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the
Most Revd Rowan Williams visit to Cairo. Archbishop Rowan also expressed
his deep sadness at this great loss of a brother and friend.

Patriarch Petros VII, 55 years old, was a prominent Christian figure in
Egypt and he is known for his unique ecumenical role. He was a great
personal friend to our church and his church was always represented in
our monthly ecumenical meeting at All Saints Cathedral, Cairo. The
Patriarch was one of four presidents of the Middle East Council of
Churches.

We all in the Episcopal Diocese of Egypt pray for our sister church, the
Greek Orthodox Church, as they mourn this great loss. May the Lord fill
our hearts with peace and comfort as we come to realize that he is in a
better place now.

+ Mouneer

The Rt Revd Dr Mouneer Anis Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Church in
Egypt and North Africa

(171) 13-September-2004 - Presiding Bishop preaches at St Paul's -
England

(ENS) The Presiding Bishop of the United States of America, the Most
Revd Frank T Griswold, preached at the 11:30am Eucharist Sunday at St
Paul's Cathedral, London, having some months ago accepted an invitation
from the Very Revd John Moses, the Dean of St Paul's.
The Most Revd Frank T Griswold
St. Paul's Cathedral, London
September 12, 2004

Readings: 1 Timothy 1: 12-17; Luke 15: 1-10

In this world of ours, beset by hostility and violence, mercy and
compassion seem strangely out of place, if not altogether irrelevant.
Today's readings invite us to ponder the surprising and insistent ways
of God's mercy, and therefore to give root-room to the divine compassion
in our own lives. In the context in which we find ourselves this
invitation may seem remote or naive. And yet, compassion is God's very
nature writ large in the person of Jesus, who is the embodiment of
mercy, and calls us to be merciful, just as our heavenly Father is
merciful.

More here:

www.stpauls.co.uk/sermons

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