Religion Today Summaries - September 15, 2005

Religious Leaders Challenge Churches to Partner with Governments in Eradicating Poverty
Religion News Service

Churches and governments must pursue partnerships to eradicate extreme poverty if the Millennium Declaration of 2000 is to meet its 2015 deadline concludes faith leaders who met at a two-day summit at Washington National Cathedral. Religious leaders from a wide range of denominations crafted the communiqué outlining steps for governments and churches to take in building a global movement to help the poor. The document will be presented to officials at the United Nations on the eve of its 60th anniversary by a delegation representing the creators of the communiqué. To read the communiqué in its entirety:  http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/news/050913communique.shtml       
To see a list of the summit participants, officially called The Consultation of Religious Leaders on Global Poverty at Washington National Cathedral, and background information on the summit: http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/news/050911index.shtml The Consultation of Religious Leaders on Global Poverty at Washington National Cathedral is an initiative of the Cathedral’s recently-established Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation. The center forges collaborations within the Anglican Communion, among Christian denominations, and with interfaith partners, governments, NGOs, and the private sectors.

Churches Urged to Join Week of Prayer for North Korea - September 19-25
Michael Ireland, Assist News Service

Churches and Christians around the world are being urged to remember the suffering people of North Korea during the Week of Prayer for North Korea running from 19-25 September, 2005. "The immensity of the need and the deep spiritual darkness in North Korea requires urgent and intense prayer by the Body of Christ," says Christian Solidarity Worldwide's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas. Thomas says that North Korea is probably the most closed of all societies in the world today and its walls of isolation have very effectively blocked the population from hearing the Gospel. CSW is urging all Christians to pray for North Korea during the Week of Prayer. "We know of no country in which the state repression of Christianity is so thorough and violent," says Thomas. "We therefore strongly urge the Church to fervently pray until we see the forced imposition of idolatry and the violent suppression of faith fall, and the walls of darkness and repression crumble. Now is a pivotal time to pray and we urge all Christians to take to heart the injunction in Hebrews 13.3 to 'remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

Help for Growing Crisis of Pornography Addiction among Teenagers and College Students
Agape Press

Pure Online (www.pureonline.com) has announced two new initiatives designed to help college and teenage boys and girls deal with the growing crisis of pornography addiction. "It's a massive problem," says Brandon Cotter, founder and CEO of Pure Online. "Our research indicates hundreds of thousands of young people have significant problems with pornography." The company, which also runs a website that helps married men struggling with porn addiction, has begun enrolling youth in two separate programs -- one for boys and one for girls. Cotter points out that Pure Online uses the anonymity of web surfing to its advantage by offering a completely confidential recovery workshop, thereby overcoming what experts and recovering addicts believe to be the biggest obstacle to treatment of sex-related addictions -- fear of exposure. The CEO says a key aspect of the program is its delivery system options that allow users to pay by credit card or, if they prefer, to cover the expense using PayPal, a secure and anonymous online payment service. Pure Online's program for married men, launched last year, has already begun helping nearly 1,000 men from 18 different countries. Cotter says porn addiction "infects more than a million men in the United States," and that number is "probably more than double" if one counts college and high-school aged young men and women.

Adopt a Church and Houses of Hope Online Registration
Tim Yarbrough, Baptist Press

Southern Baptist churches and individuals may now register online at www.namb.net to assist Katrina victims through the Adopt a Church and Houses of Hope initiatives. Announced by North American Mission Board President Robert E. (Bob) Reccord, the initiatives are designed to help damaged Southern Baptist churches recover and offer assistance to people displaced by the hurricane that devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Hundreds of Southern Baptist churches were damaged or destroyed by the hurricane, according to initial estimates. The Adopt a Church initiative suggests that partnering churches assist affected churches by sending missions and construction teams to help in recovery and rebuilding, provide care packages, take up a special offering, offer training teams to encourage and strengthen staff leadership skills, and assist pastors by replacing ministry libraries lost or damaged. A commitment of 12 to 24 months is requested or however long it takes for the affected church to get back on its feet. Information requested to register for Adopt a Church includes contact information, size of church and state convention. Information needed to register for Houses of Hope includes contact information, church information, specific skills or resources, number of people who can be accommodated, languages spoken and availability of transportation. (www.namb.net)