Feliz Navidad a todos! Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad a todos! Merry Christmas!

One Week after the Bombing

Today it has been one week since a 22 year old suicide bomber took the lives of 25 and wounded 49 Coptic Christians during mass at the church next to St Mark's Cathedral. St Mark's is the seat of Egypt's Orthodox Christian church in Cairo. Supposedly, the Muslim Brotherhood is being blamed for the attack according to authorities. This type of attack is very sad, and we all should be praying for our brothers and sisters in Egypt, and for the families of those who were killed. If you don’t know what a Coptic Christian is, I suggest you get informed because they are one of the oldest Christian communities on our planet founded in the year 42 by Saint Mark. This previous fact should tell you their history in the church goes back to the very beginning. Blessings and get involved praying or doing something!

WCC on Aid for Minorities in Syria and Iraq

I am sharing this article from the WCC that deals with the need for adjusting aid better to fit the needs of minorities in northern Iraq and Syria. One relevant factor is that not all minorities handle conflict in the same way. The following is an excerpt from the article.

"In a new research report prepared by NCA and the World Council of Churches, it is emphasised that all relief work provided must take into account the diversity that exists among refugees. The minorities must be understood and respected if we are to arrive at effective solutions (www.oikoumene.org)."

Follow the link below to read the full article.

In Syria and Iraq, minorities must come out of the darkness — World Council of Churches

Source:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/in-syria-and-iraq-minorities-must-come-out-of-the-darkness.

Standing Rock and Stewardship of Our Planet

Under the Department of Homeland Security, the United States has the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services. From the words in those previous titles alone it is easy to determine what they are all about, and what they possibly represent and do. Yes, the United States is a sovereign nation with borders with other nations. However, unless one is a descendant of tribes that lived here in these United States before anyone else came over from elsewhere than one cannot be called a Native American. Of course, the reality is the majority of United States citizens are not Native Americans by ancestry. The history of Native Americans in these United States is extensive and complex in relationship to all others who settled afterwards, and I strongly suggest that everyone would become more informed and acquainted with this history. Most Native Americans today live on reservations which are segregated from where other settlers live going back almost two centuries in many cases. Treaties such as The Fort Laramie Treaty; for example, gave ownership of land that was seemingly already theirs to certain Native Americans. I am aware that I am only referencing one treaty just to hint at how the present reality came about. The following excerpt from the WCC website provides an understanding of what has been all over the news with relevance to Standing Rock, one of the reservations in which Native Americans dwell.

“Since April 2016, people from more than 100 tribal nations, environmental advocates and indigenous rights defenders have protested against the proposed construction of the controversial Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). The oil pipeline, connecting production fields in North Dakota to refineries in Illinois, would run alongside the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and traverse the Missouri River.

While proponents of the DAPL contend that the project will bring jobs and economic expansion, indigenous communities worry about harmful impacts on water and soils. The Missouri River is a key source of drinking water for many communities in the area. Moreover, the DAPL is said to cross Sundance grounds and village sites – lands deemed sacred by the Sioux Nations, the Arikara, the Mandan and the Northern Cheyenne.

“The construction of the pipeline, which would not only restrict access to drinking water for indigenous communities but would also pollute the river, is clearly a violation of the right to water,” said Dinesh Suna, coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network (blog.oikoumene.org).”

I suppose that no one should be questioning why I am writing about this topic on an ecumenism blog because stewardship of this planet is the responsibility of all. The following gathering and prayer is a great example of this stewardship with relevance to our Faith.

“On 3 November, “a day of protective witness in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Nation and with the water protectors,” church people from various traditions prayed together.

“Creator, you loved creation into being. Your goodness is present in the land and waters, in the creatures and peoples you created. You call us to be in right relation with all living things. Be present today, and every day, where people stand in peaceful defense of your creation. We recognize your presence in Standing Rock, with indigenous peoples who are protecting the waters. May we also be present in spirit and in truth. We recognize your presence in our own country where indigenous peoples also stand peaceably in defense of land and waters. May we be present in witness and solidarity. We recognize and repent for the violence that has marked relations with indigenous peoples on Turtle Island. We claim your challenge of truth and justice, and your promise of healing and reconciliation (www.oikoumene.org).”

I hope that this post has helped raise a little awareness on the matter. If you wish to become more involved, I suggest doing a Google search on Standing Rock, and I am sure that many helpful links will come up. Also, you can read more at the reference links below.

http://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/standing-rock-the-pain-of-the-past-and-the-challenges-of-the-future.

https://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/eco-justice-at-stake-for-standing-rock-people-in-usa.

References:

http://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/standing-rock-the-pain-of-the-past-and-the-challenges-of-the-future.

https://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/eco-justice-at-stake-for-standing-rock-people-in-usa.

Arango's Apologetics Page: Nobody is Right if Everybody is Wrong, but also Nobody is Wrong if Everybody is Right

I hope everyone is doing well. I am just sharing some personal thoughts on the past presidential election in the United States which I wrote about on the sibling blog, Arango's Apologetics Page. Blessings! The link is below.


Arango's Apologetics Page: Nobody is Right if Everybody is Wrong, but also Nobody is Wrong if Everybody is Right

Reformation Day

"Pope Francis has taken part in events to commemorate the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation during his trip to Sweden.

The Pope appealed to Catholics and Lutherans to "mend" history and look with honesty at the past, "recognising error and seeking forgiveness"(BBC)."

https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/37827736

Source:

https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/37827736

Eight Faiths Under One Roof

"The Haus der Religionen (House of Religions) in Bern houses a Christian church, Hindu temple, Buddhist centre, Alevi cemevi and soon, a mosque.

The five private religious spaces open into a shared “dialogue room” where members of different faiths eat, meet and hold events for the community (www.independent.co.uk)."

The foregoing is an excerpt from an article by Lizzie Dearden that was written for the Independent which is titled: 'House of Religions' bringing eight faiths together under one roof in Bern There are separate churches, mosques and temples for five faiths. The article is from 2015, and I have not seen a follow up, so I hope the idea is working out. Either way, this is definitely a brilliant idea. If something is about bringing people together, you can always count me in. Read more about it at the link below.

'House of Religions' bringing eight faiths together under one roof in Bern | The Independent

Source:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/house-of-religions-bringing-eight-faiths-together-under-one-roof-in-bern-10036654.html

Pray for Creation

As human beings, we should all understand that we need to be good stewards of our planet whether we believe in or belong to any religion. Below is a video message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

"September 1 was proclaimed as the World Day of Prayer for Creation by the Orthodox Church in 1989, and many other Christian churches have joined since then, with Pope Francis most recently in 2015. It was then extended to be a month-long Season of Creation, ending on October 4 (Feast of St. Francis)(http://seasonofcreation.org/)."

Season of Creation

References:

http://seasonofcreation.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5pHlymfjDk&feature=youtu.be

Arango's Apologetics Page: Low Church, High Church!

I hope everyone is doing well! Happy Labor Day! I just wanted to share this post from the sibling blog. Thinking about it, this is probably a perfect ecumenism article. I hope you enjoy reading it to find out why I said this. The link is below.



Arango's Apologetics Page: Low Church, High Church!

Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula

I hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to share this article from the WCC. I am just letting everyone know that it is "Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula." Read more about it at the link below...blessings!

Prayer and advocacy for Korean peace and reunification — World Council of Churches









Source:

http://www.oikoumene.org/

Condemnation of Attack at Istanbul Airport

I hope all are doing well. I simply wanted to share an article from the WCC with relevance to the attack at Istanbul airport.

"The World Council of Churches' (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has condemned as an “odious crime” the lethal attack by gunmen at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport (oikoumene.org)...."

"...“We pray for the victims and their families,” said Tveit, “and we hope and pray there can be a redoubling of efforts to bring peace to the region to end the conflicts which are fueling such odious criminal acts (oikoumene.org)...."

The full article is at the link below.

WCC strongly condemns lethal terror attack at Istanbul airport — World Council of Churches







Source:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/wcc-strongly-condemns-lethal-terror-attack-at-istanbul-airport.

My Thoughts on the Orlando Mass Shooting

We sing in church a hymn that says: "There's wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea." For me some days require much faith to believe this to be true, but who am I to question God's capabilities? Also, when I read 2 Samuel 12:14 and how God decided to kill David's son with Uriah's widow when the child had no fault, I have a hard time understanding God and doubt increases in me for brief a moment. However, I really believe that doubt is part of faith and not the opposite, as some claim.

Now, we look at the news of the Orlando shooting today which is the biggest mass shooting in US history, and I wonder where God’s mercy is? Of course, Texas Lt. Governor, Dan Patrick decided to tweet Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,” as soon as the Orlando shooting news broke. This verse came across his mind before anything else because perhaps in Sola Scriptura Evangelicalism the belief is that the Scriptures can be fully understood by the reader, and perhaps he believed this event was God's judgment to all the victims and their families. The tweet was later deleted and a Psalm 37:39 tweet basically replaced it, apparently.

Of course, I don't know how Dan Patrick would apply this reaping what you sow concept to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting back on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut when Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 innocent children, including 6 adults and his own mother. I think about all the killings, and realize that humans are killing humans, and not God. Evil exists and it is manifested by humans, just ask all the Holocaust survivors that were victims of the Nazis during WWII? But, what can we do to stop evil? Well, I think Jesus had the solution when he said: "love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.” St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:13: "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."My thoughts on the answer to all the things happening today and how we should respond is that we need to just love, and show love to all increasingly. The Beatles were even saying it in a song years ago: “All you need is love….” Jesus said: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out (Luke 19:40).” Don't be silent, speak out and manifest love, I don't think that rocks need to replace us in speaking the truth. I think I am done for now. Thank you for reading. Blessings!

Reference:

RSV Bible

Should a Church Close Down?

I hope and pray that all are well. I am writing on the subject dealing with the title's question because of a news article I just read about a church that closed down yesterday. The church was supposed to have closed 12 years ago. The parishioners fought to keep it open; however, they lost the long fought battle to do so. Why did the church close? The following excerpt from the article provides a good idea as to why it happened.

"...the parishioners tapped into a deep well of mistrust after the archdiocese, rocked by a sexual abuse scandal, moved to close dozens of parishes in 2004 — citing a decline in priests and congregants (nytimes.com)."

The full article is at the link below.

After 12 Years of Defiance, a Massachusetts Congregation Goes in Peace - The New York Times

Well, now we know more about the reasons why the church closed; however, that fact does not answer the question asked in the title: should a church close down? In Mathew 28:19, Jesus said:"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (RSV Bible)...." The foregoing is known as The Great Commission. In the early days of the church, Saint Paul planted many churches, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ based on those very instructions by Jesus. And, this is well documented in Paul's Epistle writings, as well as in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. I recently I heard someone say that it is called The Book of Acts instead of the Book of Thoughts because the apostles, Saint Paul included, were doing something (spreading the Gospel). They were not just sitting around thinking. Saint Paul, also said more than once in his writings, “be imitators of me.” Why were they doing something? Basically, because of their faith in Jesus Christ, and faith is not just simply believing in something, it apparently requires action. James 2:20 basically covers this idea by saying that “faith without works is dead.” I think we should be able to get the idea based on these previous verses. A church is supposed to be doing what Jesus instructed in The Great Commission or it perhaps should close down. To close and also try to be brief, it appears to me that the church in the article was still doing what a church is supposed to do. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Blessings!

References:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/us/after-12-years-of-defiance-a-massachusetts-congregation-goes-in-peace.html?_r=0.

RSV Bible

Ecumenism and the Armenian Genocide Remembered

I hope and pray that all are well. I am simply sharing some upcoming ecumenism news. Below is a quote that I extracted which should inform of the details.

“Following in the footsteps of St. John Paul II, who visited Armenia in 2001, Pope Francis will spend much of his time  in the country as the guest of the majority Armenian Apostolic Church and will attend a divine liturgy celebrated Catholicos Karekin II, the Orthodox patriarch, June 26 (www.thebostonpilot.com)."

Read the full article at the link below. Blessings!

http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=176486.

Reference:

http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=176486.

Bishop Angaelos and the Lambeth Cross

I hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to share some important ecumenical news for this month. It is always good to get updates from different sources. Here is some good news below.

"The Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism was conferred upon His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby, on 31 March 2016 at Lambeth Palace (www.indcatholicnews.com)."

Read the entire article at the link below. Blessings!

Coptic Bishop Angaelos receives major award for ecumenism - Independent Catholic News













Source:

http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=29773.

Arango's Apologetics Page: Happy Passover to All!

Happy Passover! Here is a post from the sibling blog which I think you might enjoy.


Arango's Apologetics Page: Happy Passover to All!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all! He is risen!

Prayer and Ecumenism

At the core of ecumenism is prayer. After all, ecumenism really began and begins because of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21 in which he prayed “that they may all be one.” The World Council of Churches is one of the organizations that acknowledge this fact with relevance to prayer. Moreover, the WCC has a prayer cycle on their website which in my opinion is a great idea for all to follow as prayer guide. The following is a statement from their website’s prayer section.

"At the very heart of the ecumenical movement is the reality of prayer. Jesus prayed that we may all be one, united in God in the mystery of the Trinity. That is the basis and the goal of our search for unity."

This is just a simple post on the importance of prayer in ecumenism, and I think this foregoing statement definitely hits the nail on the head. Perhaps one day soon we will all be praying the same prayer as Jesus, so that indeed we may all be one. Blessings and thank you for reading my blog!

Below is the link to the WCC’s prayer cycle, if you wish to visit the site and use it as a prayer guide, I think it would be a wonderful idea.  

In God's Hands: The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle — World Council of Churches







Source:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en.

The Vatican and Cuba Connection is Again at Work

On February 12^th, 2016, Pope Francis will be meeting Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in Cuba. The meeting was supposedly arranged by the Cuban dictator and tyrant, Raul Castro. Regardless of how I feel personally about the Castro’s, ecumenism meetings are always a good idea. The Russian Orthodox Church is a little over a thousand years old, and this will be the first such meeting in history. Vatican Radio said:

“Their meeting will take place in Cuba, where the Pope will make a stop on his way to Mexico, and where the Patriarch will be on an official visit. It will include a personal conversation at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport, and will conclude with the signing of a joint declaration (http://en.radiovaticana.va/).”

Soon we will know what this joint declaration which they will be signing is about. Honestly, it all sounds a bit exciting. Blessings! Below is the link to the full article from Vatican Radio.

Pope Francis to meet Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on February 12th - Vatican Radio









Source:

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/02/05/pope_francis_to_meet_patriarch_kirill_of_moscow_/1206182

Five Centuries

On October 31, 2017 will be the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses which for many Christians marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. However, in the Cathedral of Lund in Sweden the celebration will start this year, 2016. In fact, the huge news in the ecumenism front is that Vatican Radio has confirmed that Pope Francis will be traveling to Sweden to participate. I think that I have said enough, but you can read more about it at the Vatican Radio website. I hope you enjoy reading, and obviously the times seem to be changing quickly before our eyes. Blessings and the link is below!

Pope Francis to travel to Sweden for joint Reformation commemoration - Vatican Radio

Source:

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/01/25/pope_to_travel_to_sweden_for_joint_reformation_commemoration/1203462.