World Report
Episcopal News Service. June 7, 2006 [060706-1-A]
* ENGLAND: 'Shrinking the Footprint' campaign launched
* NEW ZEALAND: Bishops issue pastoral letter on East Timor and Indonesia
* TANZANIA: Church still opposes condoms, sex education
ENGLAND: 'Shrinking the Footprint' campaign launched
[Source: Church of England] The Church of England marked World Environment Day on Monday, June 5, by taking a step forward in the campaign to 'green' the Church.
All parish churches have being invited to carry out an audit of current energy uses so that a benchmark can be established. Once the size of the current 'carbon footprint' of the Church has been assessed, the campaign will roll out initiatives to shrink that footprint.
In 2005, General Synod debated Sharing God's Planet -- a Report from the Church's Mission and Public Affairs Council -- and, among other things, asked for a report on a measured reduction in energy consumption of the Church of England in 2008. The Synod called upon the whole Church to engage with the issues of climate change and energy use at every level in the Church.
Bishop Richard Chartres of London, who heads up the Church's Shrinking the Footprint Campaign, strongly emphasized what was at stake during a Synod debate on the environment in February 2005:
"There is spiritual work and there is scrutiny of our own life together in our use of the gifts of creation. The Archbishop of Canterbury [Dr. Rowan Williams] has several times pointed out that we have no right to appeal to our contemporaries on this issue if we have failed to put our own house in order."
To coincide with World Environment Day, all dioceses in England received an Audit Pack to undertake the required assessment of current levels and types of energy consumption in church buildings in every parish. Parishioners have been invited to promote discussion of the issues locally. The audit resources are to be issued electronically to keep paper consumption to a minimum.
Further information about the campaign can be found online at: http://www.shrinkingthefootprint.cofe.anglican.org.
NEW ZEALAND: Bishops issue pastoral letter on East Timor and Indonesia
[Source: Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia] The three co-presiding bishops in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia -- Archbishop Brown Turei, Archbishop Jabez Bryce, Archbishop David Moxon -- have issued a pastoral letter in response to the political crisis in East Timor and the earthquake in Indonesia.
The full text of the letter follows:
We join the prayers of many others for the victims of the political crisis in East Timor and the earthquake in Indonesia.
We know thousands of people all over the world are praying for those affected by these tragedies.
We give thanks for the contributions of all the peacekeeping forces in East Timor, and we remember especially the New Zealand and Fijian soldiers there.
We also give thanks for the work of many aid agencies in Indonesia, including the ministry of Christian World Service and the Barnabas Fund.
We encourage generous contributions to these and other funds.
Our hearts go out to all those who suffer so greatly at this time in both countries.
We seek to pray and act in the name of the God of Justice and Peace.
Archbishop Brown Turei, Archbishop Jabez Bryce, Archbishop David Moxon Co-presiding Bishops in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
TANZANIA: Church Still Opposes Condoms, Sex Education
[Source: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks] Tanzania's Anglican Church is still vehemently opposed to condom use, despite its ambitious HIV/AIDS prevention campaign, and has called for a total ban on condom advertising to protect children from early exposure to sex, reported the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks.
The Rev. James Dominic of the Tanga Diocese said the church would continue resisting condom use because it promoted underage sex and immorality. "The advertisements [of condoms] encourage young girls and boys to engage in sex because they are told to use condoms."
The Anglican Church has been at the forefront of efforts to curb the spread of HIV. However, the church's continued resistance to condom use is likely to set back a government plan to educate children in primary schools about HIV/AIDS.
Full story: http://allafrica.com/stories/200606010673.html