News Briefs
Episcopal News Service. May 16, 2002 [2002-123-1]
Economic justice fund in Michigan goes interfaith
(Detroit Free Press) A fund that helps poor families and small businesses in the Detroit area is branching out from its roots in the Episcopal Church into the interfaith community.
The $3.2 million McGehee Economic Justice Fund, named for former bishop H. Coleman McGehee, Jr., is adopting an even larger mission and a new name, the Michigan McGehee Interfaith Loan Fund. "We now have a new board with representatives from other faith groups, including Baptists, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, a Jewish representative," said John Hooper, executive director of the fund. "Now we expect the fund will grow even larger and we can do more to help people."
The base of the fund has been created by individuals and religious groups who invested at least $500 with the fund. "Some investors don't want any interest from us. For others, we pay up to 4 percent interest," Hooper said. In turn, the fund offers loans at low interest rates to groups that build affordable housing, start small businesses and launch programs to help the poor.
"Now that the interfaith fund is up and running, this lets us go to the next phase, which is introducing this fund to our own faith communities," said Rabbi Marla Feldman of the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit. Representatives from several Protestant denominations are also poised to promote the fund among their congregations, according to Hooper.
Middle East travel seminar for journalists rescheduled for October
(ENS) A travel seminar for secular and religious journalists to Israel and Palestine, originally scheduled for April but postponed because of increased violence, is now scheduled for mid-October.
The seminar is being organized by the Media Project of the Middle East Forum, a broad-based ecumenical coalition of American churches and religious organizations working for peace in the region. It will be led by James M. Wall, senior contributing editor of The Christian Century, a frequent visitor to the region. He says the trip will provide journalists with background information and interviews with key political and religious leaders, but leave time to pursue specific assignments. It will be limited to 20 working journalists.
"We will meet with Christians, Jews and Muslims because we realize that hearing and seeing the situation from their perspective is critical to understanding the current conflict," he says. Yet he noted that "the Palestinian perspective, often missed and rarely understood by Western journalists, will be a priority for the trip."
Logistical support for the 11-day trip, October 16-27, will be provided by Betty Jane Bailey, a consultant to the Middle East Office of the Common Global Ministries Board of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ. Arrangements on the ground are being made by the Bethlehem Media Center.
Costs for the trip, no more than $2,400, will include airfare from Newark, ground transportation, hotels, and most meals. Applications and a $400 deposit are due September 1. A final selection of participants will be made by a committee of the Middle East Forum's Media Project.
For further information contact Bailey at BJBailey1@aol.com. Telephone is 973-324-9684 and fax 973-324-9685.
Interfaith program offers summer seminars on religious diversity in America
(ENS) The Interfaith Education Initiative (IEI), a joint project of Episcopal Relief and Development and the Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, is offering three summer seminars to help Episcopalians better understand the beliefs and practices of the many religions now a part of America's religious landscape.
"Worldviews: Foundations for Inter-religious Dialogue" will be offered June 10-15 on the campus of the University of Michigan in Dearborn, co-sponsored by the Diocese of Michigan and the university's Center for the Study of Religion and Society.
A second session of "Worldviews" will be offered July 22-27 at the General Theological Seminary in New York.
The third seminar, "An Anglican Response to Islam," will be held at General July 15-20 and feature a historical overview of Anglicanism's encounter with Islam, as well as discussion of Islamic law, eschatology, and human rights.
All three seminars will feature site-visits, provide information on religious beliefs and practices, and discuss interfaith dialogue methods and issues. IEI was created as a response to the tragedy of September 11 terrorist attacks.
For further information contact IEI at 800-334-7626, ext. 6312 or interfaith@episcopalchurch.org.
WCC's Faith and Order Commission celebrating 75th anniversary in August
(WCC) In 1927 a group of church leaders committed to church unity gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and launched what became the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. Bishop Charles Brent of the Episcopal Church USA reminded the participants of Christ's hope that "they might all be one."
Churches can make a similar commitment August 25 on the 75th anniversary of the Lausanne meeting. "In 2002, in a deeply divided world, the call to unity assumes even greater urgency if the church is to provide an alternative of reconciliation between peoples and with God," said the Rev. Alan Falconer, director of the commission. Over the years the commission has brought churches together in dialogue, creating new levels of understanding and cooperation. "The patient work of dialogue leads to conversion to inclusiveness and communion--it is essential for the witness of the church," he added.
The anniversary celebrations will begin with the laying of a wreath on the grave of Brent, who chose to retire in Lausanne and continue his work for unity, and end with an ecumenical service in the city's cathedral. The WCC Central Committee is scheduled to meet in Lausanne the following week so most of its members will participate.
The celebrations will include significant participation of Roman Catholics who have been full members of the commission since 1968.
Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music collecting data on congregations
(ENS) In response to General Convention resolution A066, the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music is developing a pair of questionnaires that will provide more data on the congregational worship life.
The first questionnaire will identify current patterns and practices in Sunday worship and the second has been sent to 10 people in each diocese, chosen by the bishop to represent the diversity of the diocese in all aspects of its life, according to an announcement by the Rev. Bruce Jenneker of Boston, co-chair of the commission, and the Rev. Clay Morris, the church's liturgical officer. They pointed out that the commission was "making history in its implementation of the resolution" because this is the first time the commission is seeking the advice of congregations, since the 1979 Prayer Book was drafted. It is also the first time it has used the Internet to gather information.
Jenneker and Morris report that the response to both questionnaires "has been very good." The congregational survey response has been over 20 percent and the diocesan survey has been sent to over half the dioceses--and half have already reported.
Once the date has been collected, a committee will begin the process of interpretation so that it can be published in the General Convention Blue Book.
For further information contact the Office of Music and Liturgy at the Church Center (800-334-7626) or e-mail to cmorris@episcopalchurch.org.
Church Center friends bid farewell to Sylvia Howard
(ENS) Friends and colleagues at the Episcopal Church Center in New York bid farewell May 8 to Sylvia Howard. A prayer service was conducted by Bishop Christopher Epting of the ecumenical office.
Sylvia Marie Howard was born June 11, 1941, in Oklahoma where she earned a degree in speech therapy at the Oklahoma College for Women. She moved to Amarillo, Texas, where she taught at a center for speech and hearing. In 1976 she married Fred Howard and they moved to New York City the following year.
She first started her work at the Church Center in the telephone room and then the office of the treasurer, serving a total of 27 years. Friends remembered that she made a very positive impact on those who worked with her--and those she met along the way. In addition to her husband, she is survived by a brother, two foster children, 13 nieces and nephews, and three grandchildren.