Bishop brokers South Africa mine meeting; WCC to hold international hearing on plight of religious minorities in Pakistan; Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2012 Eid message; Faith groups help Philippine flood survivors recover
Bishop brokers South Africa mine meeting
Following one of the worst police shootings in South Africa since apartheid, Bishop Jo Seoka, chair of Christian Aid partner Bench Marks Foundation, has persuaded Lonmin executives to meet with striking miners in Marikana in the North West Province of South Africa.
Amnesty International is among those calling for an urgent resolution to the ongoing disputes and conflict between the rival unions and management at the mine north of Johannesburg.
“We have been in discussions since yesterday and we are pleased to announce that Lonmin have finally agreed to meet with representatives of the strikers,” Seoka announced, adding that executives at the British-owned mining company have already reversed their threat to sack striking workers because of the week-long period of national mourning.
Police opened fire on striking workers at the mine in Marikana, in the North West province, last week killing 34 miners.
The shooting took place during a protest by the miners over demands for better pay and conditions. Prior to last Thursday’s incident, 10 people had already died in the week of protests.
Bishop Jo Seoka said: “We have been in discussions since yesterday and we are pleased to announce that Lonmin have finally agreed to meet with representatives of the strikers.”
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16953
WCC to hold international hearing on plight of religious minorities in Pakistan
An international public hearing highlighting the plight of religious minorities and misuse of blasphemy law in Pakistan will be held from 17 to 19 September in conjunction with the 21st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The news follows the arrest and imprisonment of a Christian girl accused of violating Pakistan’s blasphemy laws on Monday.
Organised by the World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), the consultation will be held at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, only a short distance from the United Nations.
The event continues the WCC’s efforts to support and be in solidarity with religious minorities in Pakistan who are victimised in the name of its controversial blasphemy law.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16954
Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2012 Eid message
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has sent his annual greetings to Muslim communities for the festival of Eid Al-Fitr on Sunday 19th August, marking the end of Ramadan.
“It is a joy once again at Eid al-Fitr to send this message of warm good wishes to Muslim colleagues and communities, and especially to those friends and colleagues with whom Christians have enjoyed working together over the past year.”
In his final Eid al-Fitr message before leaving the position of Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams reflects on how “our relationship as Christians and Muslims has grown and deepened” over the over the past ten years:
“I am very grateful for the opportunities I have had in these last nine or ten years of growing into a fuller knowledge of our relationship as Christians and Muslims. I have been privileged to be welcomed to a number of great Muslim contexts and institutions around the world and have found myself stretched and challenged.”
“I have found it a great gift to be a small part in the mutual discovery and intensifying of relations here in the UK, and I am aware that we are modelling something here that is creative, fresh, honest and deeply hopeful.”
“It has not been an easy time, and there are huge challenges that we still face together. Nevertheless, we have learned how to quarry together the resources we have of a vision of human beings honoured before God.” More at :
http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/8/17/Archbishop-of-Canterburys-2012-Eid-message
Faith groups help Philippine flood survivors recover
ENI – Faith groups are responding as survivors of massive flooding in Manila and surrounding regions in the Philippines seek to rebuild their lives.
Barely recovering from the devastation of Typhoon Saola, the country was battered by the Southwest Monsoon from Aug. 6-8, which brought torrential rains, affecting two million people, according to ACT Alliance, the Geneva-based coordinator of faith-based relief. The death toll stood at 60 as of 10 August, according to the Philippine government’s disaster coordinator.
Since 1,500 villages and 30 cities were flooded, about 293,000 people as of 10 August were in evacuation centers, most of them public schools and churches. Another 246,000 were displaced and are staying with relatives and friends, ACT Alliance reported.
ACT (Action by Churches Together) members in the Philippines, including Christian Aid, United Methodist Committee on Relief and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) have distributed food packs and clothing.