Sun, 11 May 2008 22:45:32 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/ Asia Lutheran Communion en-us http://www.asia-lutheran.org/images/images/logo.gif http://www.asia-lutheran.org/ timo@asia-lutheran.org http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=217 Appeal to Authorities to Allow Entry of International Humanitarian Assistance PHNOM PENH, Cambodia/GENEVA, 9 May 2008 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has expressed its readiness to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar (Burma) in the aftermath of the cyclone disaster there, and at the same appealed to the authorities in the country to facilitate the entry and movement of relief teams and supplies in order to avoid a larger-scale disaster. Sun, 11 May 2008 22:45:32 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=216 As of Tuesday, the Myanmar government has raised the death toll from Cyclone Nargis to nearly 22,500 --- already 80,000 as of this evening (8/5). With another 41,000 missing, the death toll is expected to continue to rise. Hundreds of thousands were left without clean water and shelter ... The LWF and Mekong Mission Forum (MMF) are looking into extending help to the local and member churches in Myanmar. For more information about contribution, please contact LWF Asia or leave a comment at the end of this write-up. (Click 'read full article') For the latest update, please click link to BBC Asia News at the bottom of this home page (right) Tue, 06 May 2008 21:41:18 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=215 A 43 percent rise in global food prices in recent months had sparked fear and violent protests in Indonesia following reports of death due to starvation. Asia is home to two-thirds of the world’s poor and the soaring prices may throw millions of Asians back into poverty. Mon, 05 May 2008 00:35:57 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=214 April 26 was a celebratory day marked by thankfulness to God at China Lutheran Seminary in Hsinchu, Taiwan. After a decade of planning and two years of construction, the new 8 story “Theological Education and Church Resource Center” is standing tall and stately. International and local guests joined together to worship and thank God for His work through contributors, and pray for continued contributions toward the $2 million (USD) that still needs to be paid for the construction costs. Fri, 02 May 2008 04:14:07 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=213 Lutheran World Service (India) has just launched their new website. Visit them at: www.lwsi.org Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:59:33 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=212 The latest issue of the Asia Lutheran News (ALN 38) has been released! Click on the newsletter (right) to catch up with recent happenings in the region. Sally Lim Editor, ALN Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:37:24 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=211 The first Dialogue of Reconciliation for the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP) was held from November 22 – 24, 2007 in Manila. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was achieved through the meeting had been celebrated within the perspectives and promises of the ongoing process of reconciliation. Both Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod (LCMS) and LWF noted with gratitude and appreciation the achievement of the MOU but the process of healing after the meeting was so crucial in preserving the gains of the meeting. The implementation of Action Plan in relation to the MOU encountered some difficulties and obstacles although there was much reason for celebration over positive reports of reconciliation in various parts of the LCP and in the planning towards a joint convention. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:06:10 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=210 LOCATION: Geneva STARTING DATE: 01.09.2008 DURATION: 2 years POSITION AT: 100 % REPORTS TO: Programme Director for Unity, Mission, Evangelism and Spirituality Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:52:18 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=209 Birger Nygaard (48) from Copenhagen has been appointed as the new director of the Areopagos foundation and mission society. Nygaard was previously strategy leader and the head of the Danish office in Areopagos. He succeeds Knud Jørgensen, who, after ten years at the helm, has asked to step down. Jørgensen will continue to work in Areopagos with tasks relating to Asia and to the planning of the celebration of the 1910 Edinburgh mission conference. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:33:41 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=207 Francis Wong Hong Kong (ENI). Some Hong Kong Christian commentators say that to boycott the Beijing Olympics would be inappropriate and immoral, but one theologian says that deeming a secular event to be "sacred" is a violation of the Ten Commandments, a list of moral imperatives in Judeo-Christian teaching. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:51:00 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=206 Phnom Penh, Cambodia (02 April 2008)—Lutheran World Federation Cambodia (LWF Cambodia) received a second-place gold medal on Community-Based Disaster Risk Management from the Royal Government of Cambodia at the 5th Disaster Management Practitioners’ Workshop for South East Asia, which is being held in Phnom Penh from 02 to 04 April. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:01:46 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=205 All websites can share news from Asia-Lutheran.org website by utilizing RSS automation technology. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. The idea and word “Syndication” came from the printing press and newspaper world. It simply means: “one newspaper can share news and articles from another newspaper”. On the web it is even simpler to share news from website to website. RSS enables the Asia Lutheran Communion to enhance communion through better communication. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:35:54 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=204 "China's Christian Martyrs" by Paul Hattaway Monarch Books, 496 pages (195 pictures) An estimated 250,000 Christians have died in China for their faith since the Gospel was first introduced in the seventh century. "China’s Christian Martyrs" is packed with inspirational testimonies of how God’s people chose the eternal rewards of the kingdom of God over this world. Those who have read the book have reported being moved to tears and greatly encouraged in their own walk with Jesus Christ. May this book glorify God, inspire those who read it, and challenge believers to a deeper and more radical walk with Jesus Christ. Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:03:55 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=203 "Engage" Program Targets More Visible Youth Contribution to Church Life BANGKOK, Thailand/GENEVA, 2 April 2008 (LWI) - A three-year Lutheran World Federation (LWF) global youth training program was inaugurated mid-March in Bangkok, Thailand, with a workshop attended by young adults from LWF member churches in Asia and the Pacific region. "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread" - the theme of the LWF 11th Assembly in July 2010 provides the basis for deliberations by young adults participating in the 2008-2010 program titled, "Engage: LWF Global Training for Young Leaders." It is an initiative of the LWF Department for Mission and Development and its youth desk, LWF Youth. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 02:30:41 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=201 The Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music (AILM), a center for training of church musicians based in Quezon City, Philippines, has launched a new program designed for those who need to enhance their leadership skills in church music but could only spend a few months away from their home countries. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:38:01 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=202 20 March 2008 - Kuala Bubon, a fishing town in North Sumatra, Indonesia, can no longer be called a "sunken" or "lost village." Washed away by the tsunami that struck South East Asia three years ago, it has risen again with concrete homes built on "pilings over water." Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=200 PARIS - THE World Council of Churches, which groups the main non-Catholic Christian churches, urged its members on Wednesday to open a dialogue with Muslim scholars seeking inter-faith cooperation to promote justice and peace. This invitation marks an encouraging new stage in Muslim thinking about relations between Muslims and Christians,' the WCC statement said. 'Throughout their shared history, followers of the two faiths have too often misunderstood each other.' Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=198 Dear Readers LWF Cambodia has a new website. Visit them at: www.lwfcam.org.kh Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=197 RDRS (Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service) has provided financial support to assist the poor community for hygienic latrine and safe drinking water through two LWF member churches – Bangladesh Lutheran Church (BLC) and Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church (BNELC). Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=196 Vacancy Notice: Action by Churches Together, International JOB TITLE : Communications Officer LOCATION : Geneva, Switzerland STARTING DATE : As soon as possible CONTRACT : 4 year contract (may be renewed at end of term) WORKING ACTIVITIES : 100% REPORTS TO : Director, ACT International Coordinating Office OVERALL TASK : Communications Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:09:57 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=195 GENEVA, 13 March 2008 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has condemned the recent acts of violence in Israel and Palestine, and appealed for an end to "this infernal and self-destructive cycle" that cannot bring the region's people closer to peace. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:03:09 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=194 Salaam and grace to you from Jerusalem, City of Peace! We are profoundly and deeply saddened by the recent escalation of violence that killed 8 in the Yeshiva last night and 120 in Gaza in the last week. We express our sincere condolences to all who are mourning the loss of loved ones. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:44:03 -0400 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=193 New York (ENI). Protestants in the United States may soon become a minority in a country long perceived as predominately Protestant, according to a new study of the US religious landscape. The study by the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that the number of Protestants in the United States now makes up about 51 percent of the population. This is in sharp contrast to the mid-1980s, when about two-thirds of the nation was Protestant. Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:38:46 -0500 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=192 On 7th February 2008, at about 2.00 am, GKPI (Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia) Jurong was burned down by some unknown people. GKPI Jurong is one of the congregations of GKPI in Pematangsiantar at Riau Province (Middle Sumatra). This group of unknown people were masked. They smashed the door, burned the altar and pulpit of the church. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:18:31 -0500 http://www.asia-lutheran.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=191 Canterbury (ENI). A 6.5 million British pounds (US$12 million) multifaith centre is to be built in Guildford, southern England with separate worship areas for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and a further shared space for Buddhists and Hindus. "We think this is the first of its kind," Lesley Scordellis, the centre's main fundraiser, was quoted as saying by The Times newspaper. "The Jewish space has an exclusive kosher kitchen and the Muslim space has an ablutions facility. The design of the building is to facilitate the feeling that they [worshippers] are in one building about faith." (www.eni.ch) Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:41:10 -0500