News, March 05

News from the Churches

Buenas Noticias TV, the weekly evangelical programme on the national station TVE, has now double the air time, with 15 minutes each week. In addition, from March it is now aired in Spain at the later time of 9.00 on TVE2, a welcome change for Spaniards who like to lie in on Sunday mornings! It can also be seen on the international satellite ch l TVE Internacional on Sundays at 06.30 GMT in Europe, Africa and Asia and 10.10 GMT in the Americas. More info at http://www.rtve.es/tve/programo/index.html Note that the timing on the programme is Madrid time (GMT +1), final programme, still subject to change, published 24 hours ahead.

Religious minorities Trust set up by government The government on 25th January established a Trust for pluralism and co-existence between the state and religious minorities, made up Evangelical, Jewish and Muslim representatives.The object of the Trust will be to ch l state aid to the three recognised religious groups for cultural, educational and social projects. It has a budget of 3 million euros for 2005 It remains to be seen how projects will be classified, as some of the definitions are rather vague. It is not always easy to distinguish between, say, an educational activity and an act of worship.
This is the first time Spain has designated state funds to religious minorities, and comes 12 years after signing an Accord with Jews, Muslims and Protestants. It is another step towards the implantation of religious freedom in accordance with a democratic and pluralist Constitution. The government hopes the private sector will also participate with the Trust through donations and the support of specific projects. AC Press, ed P4S

The 6th Conference for the Evangelisation of Spain, which took place over the weekend of 6th to 9th January, drew some 220 participants to discuss the state of the evangelical community, its growth and the society in which we live. Keynote speaker Bill Connard of BGEA was unable to attend due to ill health, but Samuel Escobar of IFES fame stood in at the last minute to bring excellent studies to back up local plenary speakers. A variety of workshops, as well as the plenary speakers, challenged participants to consider the rapidly changing face of Spain and the development of new methods and opportunities to reach the nation. Overseas missions were also highlighted.

Tsunami Aid The Spanish Evangelical aid service PESE has an account for sending aid from Spain to the Tsunami affected regions. 90% will be spent on immediate aid needs, while the remaining 10% will go to spiritual counsel with Bibles and similar literature the main item. Aid will be ch lled via Tear Fund, the Salvation Army and Every Home Crusade.

Sources El Mundo, TVE, EP, ProtestanteDigital, Ferede