ecumenism
Luxembourg: Christian Churches for the Creation Next October 4 – the feast of St. Francis – closes the “SchöpfungsZeit 2010”, a series of initiatives promoted by the Council of Christian Churches in Luxembourg to raise public awareness on the theme of the protection of the Creation. Events will be held from October 1st- exhibitions, ecumenical celebrations, thanksgiving ceremonies – that will culminate with the Mass of St. Francis, followed by the Agape at the parish of Luxembourg-Belair. The ecumenical event stems from the initiative of the Orthodox Church, which in 1989, under the lead of Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I, had called for the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Creation, inviting the Orthodox and Christian world to assemble in prayer on September 1st every year to thank God for the gifts of Creation. During the Second Ecumenical Assembly in Graz (1997) and later with the third edition of the meeting held in Sibiu in 2007, participants issued a recommendation to celebrate this period, starting with the Orthodox Day of the Creation, and with the Thanksgiving harvest festival, which ends with the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. “Sibiu’s urgent appeal was received by Luxembourg’s Christian Churches”, is written in the statement that calls upon the faithful to adhere to the initiative. “For this reason, the Council calls for the celebration of the Creation in this year’s liturgies and events and in particular to celebrate the variety of the gifts of the Creation bestowed by God”. Among the major events scheduled figure the Feast for the Day of Creation, due to be held September 26 in Munsbach, the Protestant Thanksgiving Celebration of harvesting at the Eglise de la Trinité the morning of October 3rd and in the afternoon, the feast of Saint Francis in the chapel of the Franciscans, with Vespers, agape and commemoration of the passage of the Saint. Ukraine: a new theological portal On September 14, the first day of the liturgical year for Eastern Churches, according to the Julian calendar, on the joint initiative of the theologians of various Christian denominations the new Theology portal (www.theology.in.ua) was opened in Ukraine. Publications, theological reviews, surveys – along with undergraduate and master’s dissertations – are published in Ukraine, while forums, conferences and seminars are widely held across the Country – remarked the portal’s coordinator Yuriy Chornomorets -. Nonetheless, academic modern theology formation is still lacking. We need an holistic approach”. According to Chornomorets, “initiating coherent and topical theological discourse in Ukraine is of the utmost importance”. The Theology portal brings together Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox scholars, with the aim of “encouraging the development and the progress of high-level theological thought across the Country”, and granting it “a primary position in global theological thought”. Chornomorets informed that the establishment of the executive committee is under way, and that “the contributions of theologians, historians and theologians assures the high-quality content of the website”WCC: Letter for Millennium goalsThe Secretary General of the Ecumenical Council of Churches (WCC) – the historical body with a seat in Geneva which brings together 349 world Churches, including Orthodox, Protestants, Anglicans and various Pentecostal Churches representing some 550 million Christians – wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, to tell him that “without significant transformations of the global system of economic structures the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 is at risk”. Referring to the summit of the heads of Government and State held September 20-22 in New York at the United Nations building, Rev Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit asked for governments’ further commitment in addressing the causes of poverty. “We seize the occasion – Tveit said – to praise the UN for its leadership and for having coordinated, monitored and promoted” its Member States’ pledge to reach the Millennium Development Goals. We hope the New York summit will produce “an action plan to concretely address the deep causes of poverty and inequality”, the only path that leads “to the achievement of the Millennium Goals by 2015”. In the days prior to the summit the archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams uploaded a video-message on “Youtube”. The Millennium Development Goals – Williams said – are eight key objectives, ranging from the reduction of extreme poverty by 50% to the offer of primary education for everyone, these are objectives which over 200 nations and international bodies agreed on back in the year 2000!” In the message, the archbishop highlights the need for the Anglican Church to collaborate with world governments and NGOs in order to achieve the goals within the established deadline.
