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The head of the National
Council of Churches in the United States, Dr. Bob Edgar, recently welcomed an
overwhelming vote by US Catholic bishops to join the fledgling organization
Christian Churches Together, CCT. If
completed as planned, the CCT could encompass over 150 million Christians from
scores of denominations in the United States.
The CCT will be divided into five segments representing the major
divisions of US Christianity:
Evangelical/Pentecostal, Historic Protestant, Orthodox, Racial/Ethnic
and Roman Catholic. Edgar welcomed the
Catholic Church into the CCT, calling the addition “an important step in
broadening ecumenical fellowship.”
Sudan and southern rebels promise peace as Christmas
gift
In Sudan the government and the leader of the rebel group in
the south of the country has promised to sign a comprehensive peace agreement
as a 2004 Christmas present. Sudan has experienced 21 years of civil war that
has taken as many as 2 million lives and forced the displacement of about 5
million people. Pastor Benjamin Alyuon of the Sudan Church of Christ told
Ecumenical News International, standing outside the UN Offices in Nairobi where
he had joined Sudanese refugees in a demonstration that "We are glad that
the UN Security Council has focused on the Sudanese conflict".
Philippine churches look at how liturgy can become
indigenous
In the Philippines it is often piano music
that is the accompaniment to Protestant and Roman Catholic church services. But
at one Protestant church in Baguio City, 250 kilometres north of Manila, the
measured beat of tribal gongs has replaced the piano in what is dubbed an
"indigenous worship service". And instead of the usual English or
Filipino hymns, worshippers sing religious hymns not only in local dialects but
also using tribal melodies, some of which use the tunes of native prayer
chants. This according to Ecumenical News International
A recent warning issued by
the religious humanitarian organization Christian Aid cautioned that
antiretroviral drugs alone are not enough to slow the spread of HIV. Concerned over misconceptions regarding the
virus, specifically the belief that drugs alone are enough to control HIV,
Christian Aid challenged a plan by the World Health Organization to provide
three million people with antiretroviral drugs by 2005, claiming it was not
enough to battle the disease. Saying
that the alleviation of poverty is the only way to curb the spread of HIV,
Christian Aid called for wealthier countries to help cancel third world debt,
allowing poorer nations more resources to train health care workers and provide
adequate medication to fight HIV.
In Azerbaijan the Adventist church in Gyanja (GÄNCÄ) was
raided by Police amidst a worship service. Two Adventist leaders were
interrogated, they were finned and one was threatened with deportation.
Director of Religious Freedom for the Worldwide Adventist Church Dr. John Graz
comments:
<actuality>
Catholic clergy from Africa
may soon be sent to minister in Europe, if a plan currently being discussed by
senior bishops is put into place. An
increasingly secular Europe has seen the number of available priests fall
dramatically in recent years, while a highly religious Africa has an
overabundance of priests in training.
If the proposed plan were indeed adopted, hand-picked catholic priests
from Africa would be sent to the clergy-starved United Kingdom while a few
European priests would move to Africa to provide experience and theological
education. The plan was introduced
during a recent Vatican-backed meeting of 100 bishops and archbishops from
Europe and Africa.
And finally…
In America, some Christian
churches have been experimenting with the combination of church and trade. This is a view that does not adhere to
traditional Christianity. However, for
Grace Capital Church in Pembroke, New Hampshire, this blend seems to be working
well. The church recently installed a
Starbucks coffee stand outside of their chapel and church leaders claim
membership has grown as a result.
Profits from the coffee stand will be donated to charity. Church leaders hope that as membership
grows, so too will coffee-generated donations.
For Network 7 News I’m…