News Briefs
Episcopal News Service. June 6, 2002 [2002-146-1]
Terrorist attacks slow U.S. Refugee program to a crawl
(ENS) President George W. Bush signed a presidential determination to admit 70,000 refugees by this October but, in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, only a fraction have been admitted, leaving thousands stranded in the system.
"To date the U.S. has admitted about 12,000 refugees nationwide, contrasted with the 35-40,000 who would have been admitted by this time last year," said Richard Parkins, executive director of Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM). He pointed out that even the 70,000 figure was "a modest contribution to relieving a worldwide refugee crisis involving 14.9 million people and another 21 million internally displaced persons."
Parkins estimated that about 40,000 refugees will be stranded and "the human consequence is the prolonged suffering refugees will endure as they languish in squalid camps overseas. For many, family reunions will be postponed as relatives who have waited for years to be reunited are told that the possibility has been indefinitely postponed," he said.
"The cause of this crisis is the implementation of more stringent and elaborate security measures as a result of September 11," he added. "While respecting the need for greater protection against terrorism, it should be noted that refugees have consistently been among the most scrutinized and vetted of any immigrant coming to this country--and many are themselves the victims of terror. Their dream is to become productive American citizens and to express through their patriotism gratitude for the hospitality they receive."
At a May 21 news conference, the Refugee Council USA chair Lenny Glickman said, "This isn't a numbers game. This is a rescue program--and time is running out. Innocent refugees are dying. They are in critical need of rescue and our rescue program is failing them." The council has participated in Senate hearings on the mounting crisis, insisting that America can and must honor its commitment and apply its strength to rescue those fleeing terror.
"As a result of our advocacy efforts, the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service have accelerated their efforts to expand efforts to identify especially vulnerable refugees, those whose safety is at risk if they aren't rescued," said Parkins. "Refugee and human rights organizations have stressed that our national resolve to protect ourselves from external threat should not cause us to set aside our historical commitment to rescuing desperate people from persecution and terror."
Parkins said that refugee agencies will "continue to press for a federal strategy that restores a generous, responsive refugee admissions program."
Episcopal television ad campaign in California winning awards
(ENS) "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You," a television ad campaign created in 2000 and aired on local television stations in the San Francisco area, is winning national awards for its creativity and its production qualities.
The commercials were designed as an opportunity for the Episcopal Church to reach out to spiritual seekers and those who are looking for deeper meaning in their lives, emphasizing the church community as a diverse and inclusive environment. They address diversity and women's issues head on, showing the Diocese of California's leadership in social and spiritual issues.
Produced by GraceCom Media Ministry, a program of Grace Cathedral, the campaign was awarded a Telly Award in the category of public service announcements. The awards program honors non-network and cable commercials. This year the national competition drew 12,000 entries.
"We wanted to encourage people to take a second look at Episcopalians," said Canon Rick Johnson, who produced and directed the series. "We have an open-minded approach to Christianity, supporting anyone who wants to deepen their spirituality."
The campaign also received a Summit Creative Award for Best Television Public Service Campaign; a Gold Aurora Award for Advertising Campaign; and an Award of Merit in the Polly Bond competition sponsored by Episcopal Communicators.
Some concepts for the ad campaign were drawn from a print ad campaign of the Church Ad Project in the 1980s and the television ads from the project are now available to other Episcopal churches in the country. For more information contact the GraceCom office at 415-749-6360.
Appeal for worldwide truce during Olympic Games drawing wide support
(ENI) A half dozen Orthodox patriarchs have added their names to a growing list of church and government officials who are seeking to revive the ancient tradition of suspending wars during the Olympic Games scheduled for Athens in 2004.
"If the Olympic Truce can help us bring about even a brief respite from conflict and strife, it will send a powerful message of hope to the international community," says the appeal, launched last November. It has since been signed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, Georgia and Serbia, as well as religious leaders from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities.
In ancient Greece the truce enabled athletes and spectators to travel to Olympia to attend the games unhindered, according to the International Olympic Truce Centre, established by the International Olympic Committee and the Greek government to promote the idea. It quickly gained the support of Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Christodoulos of Greece who signed a joint declaration supporting "the many voices around the world" who hoped the tradition could be revived.
Senior political leaders from China, Iran, Ukraine, Germany and Yugoslavia, as well as the European Union and the Arab League, have supported the proposal. The Truce Centre says that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed to observe the truce.
"This is an occasion for reaffirming the age-old spiritual current against war and conflict," said Orthodox Metropolitan Jeremie Caligiorgis of France, who is president of the Conference of European Churches. "Religious leaders can exert a real influence for peace, when time and circumstances are right."
"The enthusiasm of Orthodox churches for this idea, which originated in traditionally Orthodox Greece, contrasts with their attitude to other ecumenical initiatives where they sense they're following someone else's agenda," said World Council of Churches Europe Secretary Alexander Belopopsky. He said that conflict resolution was an area where churches found it "relatively easy to work together."
Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in WCC completes its work
(WCC) A commission established to examine the participation of Orthodox churches in the World Council of Churches (WCC) held its fourth and final plenary in Finland, ending June 2, and will now send its results and recommendations, called "The Helsinki Report," to the WCC Central Committee when it meets at the end of August in Geneva.
In a brief communiqué, the commission said that it had fulfilled its mandate to prepare "proposals concerning the necessary changes in structure, style and ethos of the Council." Those proposals will deal with ecclesiological issues, decision-making, common prayer, social and ethical issues, and issues related to membership.
"Ecclesiological issues embrace all the matters under the consideration of the Special Commission: social and ethical issues, common prayer at WCC gatherings, matters of membership and representation, as well as how decisions are made together," commission members said in their final report.
In order to keep these issues before the governing bodies of the WCC, the Special Commission is recommending the formation of a Standing Committee on Orthodox Participation, consisting of 14 members, half of them Orthodox. The committee would be responsible for continuing the work of the Special Commission, "giving advice in order to reach consensus on items proposed for the agenda of the WCC, and raising ecclesiological issues."
The Orthodox member churches of the WCC have objected in recent years to what they perceive as a politicized agenda at the expense of the search for Christian unity. By arguing for a consensus model of decision-making, they hope that it would "preserve the rights of all churches, especially those who hold a minority opinion." It would also "provide a more collaborative and harmonious context for the making of decisions" and build mutual trust that would "make it easier for all to participate fully in the discussion of any burning ethical and social issue."
The Special Commission will also recommend that the WCC Central Committee consider wider possibilities for membership, opening a category for those who want to associate with the WCC without becoming full members.
Episcopal theologian wins two national book prizes
(ENS) Virginia Ramey Mollenkott--Episcopal laywoman, theologian, professor and author--has been awarded two national awards for her latest book, "Omnigender: A Trans-religious Approach," published by the Pilgrim Press. BookExpo America, the largest trade convention of publishers and booksellers in the nation, awarded her a Lambda Literary Award from the Lambda Literary Foundation, an organization devoted to promoting and recognizing books by gay or lesbian authors. The book also received a Benjamin Franklin Award from the Publishers Marketing Association as the outstanding book in the gay/lesbian category published in 2001.
In her book, Mollenkott explores society's preoccupation with "binary" male-female gender roles, examining the issue from Christian, Jewish, Islamic and other religious traditions. She challenges traditional understanding of gender roles, taking a trans-religious approach to gender justice.
Mollenkott taught English at the William Paterson University in New Jersey and wrote a dozen books, most of them dealing with issues of sexuality, gender, theology and the Bible. She also has been "an interpreter of the fundamentalist-evangelical-liberal continuum in American Christianity," according to a release from Pilgrim Press.
Anglican Congress scheduled for Atlanta in December
(AAC) A first-ever U.S. Anglican Congress is scheduled for December 4-7 at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta under the theme, "Anglicans Uniting for the Coming King." According to a release, the organizers will "seek to chart a fresh course for Anglicans in America, seeking a vision for the church that is biblical, far-sighted, reconciliatory, and transformational" with the aim "to discover new ways to move forward in mission."
According to Bishop Robert W. Duncan of Pittsburgh, one of the organizers, "There is a convergence taking place, and as orthodox and traditional Anglicans we are determined to play our part rebuilding and reconciling American Anglicanism. We expect to leave the Congress more closely united, and able to meet the mission challenges of this century together."
Planning for the Congress has been underway for several years and it is anticipated that it will draw lay and ordained from a dozen different Anglican jurisdictions from the U.S. and Canada. "There has been an extraordinary coming together among American Anglicans since 2000, and the Congress is the first fruits of renewed fellowship," said the Rev. Richard Kew. "It is a springboard into the future, the beginning of a new spirit of cooperation, for reconciliation and effective mission go hand-in-hand."
(For more information visit the website at http://www.anglicancongress.org or send an e-mail to anglicancongress@aol.com.)