Zprávy HCJB 22.5.2007

	5000 sborů vytvořilo komunitu MyChurch.org
	Přes 5000 sborů vytvořilo internetovou komunitu ve snaze podpořit a ozřejmit své nedělní bohoslužby na nové doméně MyChurch.org. Pastoři i farníci se setkávají on-line a zůstávají ve spojení celý týden. Stránka mychurch.org byla zprovozněna loni v létě na podporu zvlášť těch sborů, které chtěly nabídnout pohled na své nedělní bohoslužby a přitom se nechtěly stát součástí nabídky sekulárních společenských serverů jako MySpace.com. Pro MyChurch.org pastoři nahrávají a umísťují svá kázání k diskusi, elektronické zpravodaje nahrazují papírové výtisky, farníci posílají žádosti o modlitební podporu a připojují se ke konverzaci v rámci blogů a utříděných komentářů. „Rozhovory, na které jsme nikdy neměli čas, se uskutečňují online. Objevují se věci, ke kterým bychom se jinak dostali až za léta,“ říká pastor Dan Beasley. His Calvary Community Church v Marylandu má v rámci MyChurch.org 100 členů. Tato vymoženost také umožňuje misionářům a lidem, kteří hodně cestují, zůstat ve spojení se svým sborem. Pastor Jim Somerville z Prvního baptistického sboru ve Washingtonu D.C. vysvětluje: „Jsem rád, že MyChurch umožňuje našim křesťanům ve Srí Lance i v Dubaji účastnit se na životě naší komunity. Zdroj: Christian Newswire
	Všechny zprávy v angličtině.
	RARE LINCOLN-JOHNSON CAMPAIGN BUTTON AUCTIONED FOR MISSIONS Source: Christian Newswire A rare 1864 campaign button which has a ferrotype (tintype) photo of President Abraham Lincoln on one side and a photo of his vice-presidential running mate, Andrew Johnson, on the other was recently donated to the Champaign, Illinois non-profit organization, Empty Tomb. When sold on the organization’s eBay site, the proceeds will help fund Empty Tomb’s Mission Match project which matches church funds to assist in mobilizing churches for missions outreach. The supporters of empty tomb's Mission Match project believe that expanding missions can help revitalize congregations by focusing on the main purpose of the church – missions. Mission Match's Sylvia Ronsvalle feels that the Lincoln-Johnson button is particularly appropriate. “Abraham Lincoln's presidency brought justice to those who were enslaved in the 1860s,” she said. “Now, his image provides the means to encourage churches to reach out in Jesus' name to those who are hurting today.” The auction runs on eBay through Sunday, May 27, 2007. 3 FORMER US PRESIDENTS CALL FOR RELEASE OF PEACE PRIZE WINNER Source: Assist News Service Three former US Presidents and two former British Prime Ministers have signed a letter to the head of the military regime in Burma, calling for the release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Baroness Thatcher, Sir John Major, and former US Presidents Jimmy Carter, George Bush, Sr. and Bill Clinton joined 54 other former presidents and prime ministers from countries in all continents in urging Senior General Than Shwe to free the Nobel Laureate from house arrest. Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, is the recipient of over 60 international awards for her efforts to promote peaceful change in Burma, including the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament, and the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. Over 1,200 political prisoners remain in prison in Burma today. The ruling military regime is perpetrating widespread human rights violations, including rape as a weapon of war, forced labor, forced conscription of child soldiers, human minesweepers, torture, and destruction of villages, crops and livestock. In eastern Burma, over 3,000 villages have been destroyed since 1996, and over a million people internally displaced. HUGE RANSOM DEMANDED FOR IRAQI CHALDEAN PRIEST Source: Compass Direct News Church leaders in Iraq reported that kidnappers have demanded a huge ransom for the release of a Chaldean priest abducted in Baghdad over the weekend. Father Nawzat Hanna, age 38, was kidnapped Saturday morning, May 19 as he exited the home of a sick parishioner in the city’s Baladiyat neighborhood. “They phoned us, they want money and we cannot say anything else,” Baghdad’s Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni said. Christian sources indicated the ransom demand was six-figures in U.S. dollars, far more than the church could pay. Hanna is the only priest at the Chaldean Mar Pithion parish of 700 families, located in a north-eastern, predominantly Shiite, district of the city. Separately, in Baghdad’s Dora neighborhood, more than 190 Christian families in the past month have fled threats that they must either convert to Islam or leave, according to new figures from a church refugee committee. “The majority of them have been asked to leave Dora without taking any of their stuff, even their clothes,” Chaldean priest Bashar Warda said from Erbil. NEW ZEALAND CHURCHES INCREASE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN Source: Religion Today, Assist News Service Christians around New Zealand are showing increased concern about the environment and are encouraging churches to get more involved as well. For many years the Christian community in New Zealand has assumed that “green” issues were not really their concern and left it to the so-called “greenies,” and left-leaning organizations such as Greenpeace. But in the 21st century, the environmental threats to the planet seem more apparent and many Christians are beginning to believe they are called to protect what God created. Several initiatives are prompting churches and Christians to get actively involved and increase conservation awareness. Last year the Anglican Church passed a motion that placed particular emphasis on the first mark of its mission, which was “to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the Earth.” Kristel van Houte-Howes of A Rocha Aotearoa-NZ (a group for Christians concerned about the environment) said there seemed to be a growing environmental awareness in the Church. “Creation care and involvement is also a unique and essential way of reaching out to those people who care for the environment but don't know God, the Creator,” she said. 5,000 CHURCHES EXTEND COMMUNITY ONLINE AT MYCHURCH.ORG Source: Christian Newswire More than 5,000 churches have created online communities to enhance their weekly services on the new social networking site, MyChurch.org. Pastors and parishioners meet online to stay connected throughout the week. MyChurch.org launched in late 2006, to catering specifically to churches seeking to extend their Sunday gatherings online while avoiding the secular trappings of popular social networking sites like MySpace.com. On MyChurch.org, pastors record and post their sermons for discussion, electronic bulletins replace paper bulletins, and members post prayer requests and join conversations through blogs and profile comments. “Conversations we've never had time for are coming together online. The profiles and pictures are revealing things about us that might take years to come out,” says Pastor Dan Beasley. His Calvary Community Church in Maryland has 100 members in its MyChurch.org community. Social networking also empowers missionaries and travelers to stay connected with their home church. Pastor Jim Somerville of First Baptist Church in Washington D.C. explains, “I love it that MyChurch makes it possible for our members in Sri Lanka and Dubai to participate in the life of our community.” © Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA

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