Pakistan church attacked, Communion prayers requested; Trans Atlantic student exchange; Anglican leaders condemn anti-Islam film and violence; Boost for micro-finance at Alliance’s Nairobi workshop
Pakistan church attacked, Communion prayers requested
Thousands of people yesterday broke into a church compound in Pakistan, burnt down the church, and destroyed the homes of two priests and the school headteacher.
The motivation behind the attack in Mardan, near Peshawar, is not yet clear, but the school was looted with newly installed computers being stolen and the building was set alight. No-one is reported to have been injured in the attack.
The Bishop of Peshawar Rt Rev Humphrey Peters has appealed for support from the Anglican Communion condemned the attack: “The damage has been very severe, and we will need to rebuild. We are asking for people around the world to keep us in your prayers.”
The Moderator of the Church of Pakistan, Most Rev Samuel Azariah Samuel condemned the attack: “This news is very damaging to relations between the communities in Pakistan and around the world.
“The government and faith leaders in Pakistan have a role to play in education people that they have the right to protest, but to damage property and terrify people in this way is completely wrong. The government and faith leaders should provide the lead in preventing attacks.”
The Diocese of Peshawar, where the attack took place, provides education and health services to the local community – Muslim and Christian alike – and provided substantial support to victims of floods and a major earthquake in recent years, regardless of their religious affiliation.
http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/9/21/ACNS5188
Trans Atlantic student exchange
The School of Theology, the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, has entered into a partnership with Westcott House, Cambridge, U.K.
These two historic seminaries, both established in the 1800’s, have created a student exchange program for seminarians to experience prayer, study, and community life abroad in their middler year. The program takes place during the advent semester in Sewanee and the fall term in Cambridge.
The Rev. Dr. Benjamin King, assistant professor of Church history, and the Rev. Dr. James Turrell, associate dean for academic affairs, both of The School of Theology, felt that an integral part of a seminary education is the ability to experience Anglicanism in its many traditions. Looking to the Church’s English heritage, and with the benefit of an existing academic relationship, Westcott House was a great place to start.
Westcott House is dedicated to “pastorally and liturgically growing in compassion, creativity, and imagination to live the Gospel in every place to which God calls us.” The School of Theology shares in this formational process developing “leaders who are learned, skilled, informed by the Word of God, and committed to the mission of the church, in the Anglican tradition of forming disciples through a common life of prayer, learning, and service.” The two schools share a sense of mission to prepare clergy for service in the parish and beyond. That formed the basis for a conversation that quickly became a course of action.
The first exchange began in the summer of 2012 to allow time for the students to settle in before matriculation of the Advent/Michaelmas term. The School of Theology welcomed Lewis Connolly of Westcott House to Tennessee Avenue in Sewanee. In exchange, Alice Hodgkins, T’14, has ventured across the pond to Jesus Lane in Cambridge.
Anglican leaders condemn anti-Islam film and violence
Anglican leaders across the Communion have spoken out about The Innocence of Muslims, a film containing anti-Islam content which has so far triggered protests, violence and death in countries like Libya and Egypt.
Both Anglican and Catholic Archbishops in New Zealand have condemned the film, its message and its promotion, alongside the Federation of Islamic Associations President and the city of Wellington’s Regional Jewish Council Chairperson, Race Relations Commissioner and local Bishops.
According to Anglican Taonga magazine, the group labelled the film (which openly defames the Islamic prophet Muhammad) as “irresponsible” and “inflammatory”, saying it was dishonestly made and presented, and designed to mislead, provoke hate, and cause harm.
“We call on all faith communities in New Zealand to remain calm and to strive to foster mutual understanding, counter hate, and promote dialogue, within and between our communities”, they said.
In the Middle East, the Most Rev. Mouneer Anis, President Bishop, Jerusalem & the Middle East & Bishop in Egypt (one of the countries directly affected by protest and violence) has said that the response to this film was out of proportion and led to the death of innocent people, like the US Ambassador in Libya. “We here made it clear that we Christians reject this kind of provocative film”, he said.
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/9/19/ACNS5185
Boost for micro-finance at Alliance’s Nairobi workshop
Calls for world leaders to increase access to finance and markets for poor people came at the end of the Anglican Alliance workshop in Nairobi.
Opened by the Archbishops of Kenya and Central Africa, and with keynote speeches from African bankers and academics, the workshop brought together Anglicans from across Asia, Africa and Latin America. It put forward a package of proposals for advocacy and development to provide community-owned financial services backed by training in financial literacy.
And with attention focused on people working in small-scale farming, the workshop also set out priorities for action on World Food Day on October 16th. The Economic Empowerment Outputs document can be found at:
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/_userfiles/File/empoweroutcomes.pdf
It was backed by detailed commitments from individual participants for action when they returned home, ranging from building partnerships with local banks, training clergy in building financial literacy in their communities, and working on the theology of economic empowerment.
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/9/17/ACNS5184