e-Review archive
Global Connection
June 2004
 

Ad apologizes for mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners

June 15, 2004    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04253} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE — A television ad featuring religious leaders in the United States apologizing for the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by Americans began appearing on Arabic television June 15. The ad, sponsored by FaithfulAmerica.org, an initiative of the National Council of Churches, is delivered in English with Arabic subtitles on Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya networks. "The ad is intended to give a message to the people in the Arab world that religious leaders in the United States are just as disturbed and horrified as they are about what happened to the Iraqi prisoners in the care of our soldiers," said retired United Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert, a spokesperson for the initiative. Talbert said the online Web group wanted the Arab world to know the actions of the American soldiers accused of abuse "do not speak the wishes and desires of the American people." full story

Church, colleges burning to strengthen connectional ties

June 16, 2004    News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04254} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE— United Methodist church, academic and seminary officials are working to rekindle the flame that once led a young person from a local congregation to a United Methodist higher education institution, to a United Methodist seminary and then to a church pulpit. United Methodist-related schools, colleges, universities and seminaries came together June 13-15 to develop strategies to strengthen their connection to one another and more effectively fulfill the goal of uniting knowledge and vital piety, the foundation of the denomination's church-related institutions. full story

Tomato pickers' group returns Taco Bell check as a ploy

June 22, 2004    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {04268} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK — Calling the offer a public relations ploy, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has returned a $110,000 check from Yum! Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell. The check was "the equivalent of a penny a pound for every pound of Florida tomatoes Taco Bell purchased in 2003," stated a letter from the corporation. But $110,000 is just a drop in the bucket and does not satisfy the workers' underlying demands, said a spokeswoman for the tomato pickers, whose cause has been championed by a number of mainline Protestant churches. The United Methodist Church officially joined the boycott during the 2004 General Conference. full story

Religious leaders urge Powell to revive Middle East peace plan

June 2, 2004     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04227} United Methodist News Service WASHINGTON — A delegation of religious leaders met with Secretary of State Colin Powell on June 1 to press the United States to immediately restart Israeli and Palestinian negotiations. The group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders also urged the appointment of a high-level envoy to broker peace in the region. James Winkler, top staff executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, said the delegation told Secretary Powell that the United States must take an even-handed approach to resolving the conflict. full story

Iraqi prisoner-abuse scandal disturbs soldiers, chaplains

June 4, 2004     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04234} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE — Pictures of leering U.S. soldiers humiliating, taunting and torturing naked Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison have become ingrained in the minds of people around the world. Soldiers interviewed by United Methodist News Service said they are scarred by the photos and want the world to know there are many "good" pictures and good deeds being done every day in Iraq that are not publicized. "I felt extreme pity for those Iraqi prisoners as well as their family members," said Maj. Holly Meeker, commander of the 372 Mobile Public Affairs Detachment out of Nashville, Tenn. "I know this type of behavior is not condoned or encouraged by any leaders that I have ever come in contact with." She said she speaks for every soldier when she says the pictures and stories were "shocking and upsetting." In the final hours of the 2004 United Methodist General Conference, delegates approved a resolution supporting calls for a full investigation into the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. The delegates also urged that the prisoners be treated in accordance with the international Geneva Convention. full story

Religions for Peace helps U.S. communities with issues

June 14, 2004    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {04250} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK — More than 110,000 unidentified remains of Native Americans-held for years in museums and universities-have yet to receive a burial with dignity. Through its "Return to the Earth" project, Religions for Peace-USA supports Native Americans trying to bury ancestral remains now scattered across the country and fosters reconciliation between Native and non-Native peoples, according to the Rev. Bud Heckman, a United Methodist pastor who serves as executive director. "Religious communities, we believe, have a unique responsibility here," he explained, pointing to historic oppression and mistreatment of Native Americans by religious groups. Reconciliation and forgiveness, he added, also "come naturally to religious communities." full story