Reports and links to media
A quarter of the world’s children do not have enough to eat
The Journal.ie – A major survey carried out by the charity Save the Children has highlighted the problem of child malnutrition.
Read more – http://www.thejournal.ie/a-quarter-of-worlds-children-do-not-have-enough-to-eat-report-356526-Feb2012/
Catholic MP: thousands of Christians may be killed if Assad regime falls
Catholic Herald – A Catholic MP has said that if the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime falls then thousands of Christians in the country may be killed. Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP for Gainsborough, said that under the “nasty” regime Christian refugees from Iraq had found “an oasis of relative calm”. But following the Arab Spring uprising, he said, suspected rebels had killed a young Christian man.
Read more – http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2012/02/07/catholic-mp-thousands-of-christians-may-be-killed-if-assad-regime-falls/
Civil partnerships discussed by the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa
Extract from statement from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa issued on behalf of the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, gathered from 6 to 10 February, 2012, under Mantsopa Mountain at the St Augustine’s Centre, Modderpoort, in the Diocese of the Free State.
We revisited the issue of pastoral standards for civil partnerships, recognizing that we are engaged in a long term process even though many of our people now face immediate pain, isolation, and loneliness. While circumstances vary from diocese to diocese, all of us are openly engaged in a process of listening and discernment. Several bishops presented feedback from their dioceses. Special thanks were afforded to Bishop Bethlehem and the Diocese of Port Elizabeth for their example in readily engaging so deeply and thoroughly with this pastoral reality. We reaffirm that all dioceses continue to observe only the orthodox teaching and pastoral practices long held by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
Read more – http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/2/15/Statement-by-the-Synod-of-Bishops-of-the-Anglican-Church
Canterbury Christ Church University unites with Lady Doak College in Madurai
Canterbury Christ Church University, England has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lady Doak College in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, southern India.
The agreement will consolidate links between the institutions and help them to work together on future academic projects. One potential project, led by Dr Alex Kent from the University’s Department of Geographical and Life Science, aims to identify and map factors influencing food security and environmental quality in a series of nine villages in southern India.
Building on existing links Lady Doak College shares with the local communities in Tamil Nadu, Dr Kent will look to encourage villagers to share their expertise and local knowledge to help map land use, rural road networks, irrigation channels, and drinking water pipelines, as well as analyse proximity to agricultural markets. The information will be used to evaluate existing environmental quality and try to improve rural development, while helping the communities gain a greater sense of awareness of environmental and health issues which relate directly to everyday life, from access to clean drinking water and agricultural markets, to the condition of local infrastructure and effective waste disposal.
Professor Margaret Andrews, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students), and Peter Milburn, Director of the University’s Medway Campus, visited Lady Doak College in Madurai last month to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions.
Read more – http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/2/15/ACNS5037
Evangelical churches rise in France, attracting youth
ENI – The atmosphere is like a pop concert: in a darkened theater in the lively Montparnasse area of Paris, hundreds of young people sing catchy songs and wave their arms in the air, while a group plays booming music on stage. But this isn’t a pop gig. Welcome to Hillsong Church. The Australian-born Pentecostal church set up a branch in Paris in 2005 and has seen its congregation grow from a few dozen people at its first meetings to around 900 now at each of its two weekend services, conducted in French and English.
Hillsong’s pastor, Brendan White, won’t disclose membership figures. But on a recent Sunday, the 1,000-seat Théâtre Bobino – where the church holds its main services – was nearly full. This youthful, enthusiastic, multi-ethnic crowd is in sharp contrast to the diminishing gatherings in French Catholic churches, and it represents the rise not only of Hillsong, but of the evangelical movement as a whole in a country that is officially secular, observers say.
Read more – http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5465
Canada and Anglican Church Give 50 Refugee Families New Hope
ACNS – The Government of Canada and the Anglican Church today celebrated a joint agreement under which approximately 50 refugee families have been brought to this country from countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Iran. “Canada has a long and proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those around the world most in need of protection,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.
“Volunteer groups such as the Anglican Church have played an integral role in helping refugees come to and settle in Canada. I strongly encourage groups to come together to sponsor refugees and help provide a new secure beginning for victims of persecution from around the world.”
The agreement has allowed approximately 150 refugees to be brought to Canada by Anglican dioceses that hold sponsorship agreements with the Government. The families were selected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and referred to Canada for resettlement. This initiative, which was launched in April 2009, was part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund established by the Anglican Church. Former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson was the patron of the project. The fund is the Church’s agency for relief, development and supporting refugees, and works with dioceses that sponsor refugee families to come to Canada.
Read more – http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/2/14/Canada-and-Anglican-Church-Give-50-Refugee-Families-New-Hope
Rwanda: Ntazinda Ordained Bishop of Kibungo Diocese
ACNS – Ngoma-Reverend Emmanuel Ntazinda was over the weekend consecrated as the Anglican Church Bishop of Kibungo Diocese. Ntazinda becomes the fourth bishop of the diocese, replacing Bishop Josias Sendegeya, who retired. He has been serving as a Secretary at the same diocese in charge of its development. Addressing hundreds of faithful after his consecration, the beaming clergyman pledged to work towards the general development of the province. Ntazinda said he intends to embark on developmental projects, by sensitising Christians to form cooperatives.
“I have a very wide agenda…primarily to preach the word of God. But I will also sensitise church followers to embrace the culture of working in cooperatives. “I will also promote education by working closely with all stakeholders,” he pronounced.
Read more – http://allafrica.com/stories/201202140170.html