News, October 2009

News from the Churches

Sell-out for first Evangelical Communicators' Encounter. George Borrow Society meeting in Salamanca, 15th to 19th Sept. Amazing Grace finally available to Spain. This and more... Read on!

Amazing Grace, the film about William Wilberforce, was finally released in Spanish cinemas on 11th September. May it have a suitable impact!

The first Encounter of Evangelical Writers and Communicators is set for the weekend of 12th October, the national holiday. And it is already sold out! The weekend, mainly for people involved in the media, is the first of its kind and has drawn a lot of interest from many parts of Spain. Much of this interest is due to the great success of the Evangelical Alliance's communication branch, most notably the online news service Protestante Digital, which is also available in English.
However, while there are a growing number of communicators in general, Juan Antonio Monroy, the president of the writers' association ADECE, laments the lack of printed evangelical journals of quality. More than this, he is saddened by the lack of circulation of those published. Times are changing!

Nevertheless, for those concerned about the lack of publications, evangelical journalist Jordi Torrents, currently in Equatorial Guinea on an education project, is publishing two novels and a book on autism this autumn.

A meeting of the George Borrow Society took place in Salamanca, from 17th to 19th September. Borrow, most famous for his book The Bible in Spain, spent 4 years in the country during the 1830s, publishing his travelog in 1842 to great acclaim in Britain. It is still one of the finest ever books on travel anywhere, particularly concerning Spain. But what made it special was the fact, as Borrow himself admitted, that he did not primarily do it 'for fun', although he seems to have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. rather his objective was to print and distribute the Bible in Spain at a time in history when the country had been only a decade free of the Inquisition and well before freedom of religion was declared, in 1869.
During the encounter, the Society made a gift to the University of a painting by Miguel Elías of one of its most famous rectors, Miguel de Unamuno, together with George Borrow. Of course, Unamuno lived a century after Borrow and was famous for his friendship with protestants at a time, during the Spanish Civil War, when such a relationship was frowned on.
A press conference was held on 11th August to bring the meeting to the awareness of the public. National newspaper ABC was among those present. TVE is covering this event through Buenas Noticias TV, the evangelical progamme.

On 1st September the Madrid city council adjudicated two of five available plots to evangelical churches for their use to build places of worship. The remaining plots went to other religious groups. Both churches are in eastern Madrid, close to the airport: Alameda de Osuna and calle Talía Baptist churches. A pentecostal church, pastored by world renowned singer Marcos Vidal, lost out in an application in another district when the Orthodox church got the grant. For many years the government has provided the Catholic church land though local councils, but very few plots have been granted to other religious groups. A few examples of earlier cases can be found in our archives.

Future events

Clame '09, Building Bridges In November a major congress will take place in Malaga to gather Latins working among maily immigrants from a particular religious group in Europe. The congress is run under the auspices of COMIBAM (Latin missions association) and the Spanish and European Evangelical Alliances.

Earlier news in bullets:

• CEDIB, the Evangelical Council of the churches in the Balearics, is now registered with the government and with FEREDE. The churches now plan a celebration on 17th September.
• The Madrid pastors' fraternal, COMIMA, ran a Pro-Life publicity campaign in Madrid's Metro over the summer. In fact, during August it stepped up the campaign, begun in July. As the government moves closer to presenting its new freer abortion law in Congress, Pro-Life groups are busy campaigning in the streets and lobbying deputies. The main lobby group, HazteOir.org is mainly Roman Catholic, although other religious groups - and non-religious people- are also taking part in its campaign. But this is the first specifically evangelical campaign of which we have heard.

The summer outreach season is at a close, July and August were very busy. Here are a few bullets to resume:

• A Puerto Rican team helped the Brethren Assemblies in Galicia.
• Decision was in Baeza, Andalusia, moving on to Daimiel, Castilla-La-Mancha. See their web.
• Pocket Testament League were in Huesca (Aragon) and then in Benicarló (Valencia).
• OM had two outreaches, in Narón, Galicia, then in La Vera, Extremadura.
• MEM, the Baptist churches' evangelistic arm, were in La Palma, Canaries, and Manlleu, Barcelona. They also supported 25 other local church based outreaches across the country.
• King's Kids were in Extremadura.
• Many other organisations and churches held outreach events and summer camps. Schools closed from 19th June to the second or third week of September.
• Proel, Spanish branch of the Summer Institute of Translators, held summer courses.

(Click below to read this in full.)

For earlier news from the churches, click here!

Finally, more news from the churches is always available at the Protestante Digital site.

You can also listen to some reports and comment.

This week on Protestante Digital: (30th October)

The alternative to R.E. is nothing
Gypsy pastor writes cartoon history of his people
Inter-faith show of unity against abortion
Evangelicals show their wares in Valencia
Anxious times for film-maker without a distributor
Jews call on Popular Party to remove leader over anti-semitic views
´Why I´m no longer an atheist´
Prostituting the Red Sea
Losing the masses from Mass

(23rd)
Teaching ´nothing´ at school
Old Catholic´ Archbishop visits Spain
Politically-correct delegation for South Africa
Evangelist interviewed on television
Socialists discuss extent of religious freedom
A Christian voice within Socialist ranks?
Blasphemous TV series on the way
Denomination opens door to approval of homosexual practice
Too much democracy in Spanish churches

(16th)
“Our churches will never be the same again”
Kaka in cartoon and comic form
Making religious minorities more visible
Catholic Church will never pay for itself
Jewish community celebrates Feast of Tabernacles
Evangelicals hold flamenco concert in prison
From windmill to worldwide witness

(9th)
Legionnaires on the edge of the precipice
FEREDE to publish Primary School RE textbooks
No cover-up allowed in court
Valencia Evangelical Council signs agreement with government
Cortés asked to run for Mayor in Huelva
Increase in anti-semitic attacks worries Jewish community
Ex-Archbishop turns up on the dark side

(2nd)
FIFA shows double standards on religion
Wilberforce film reaches Spanish cinemas
Kaka denies his wife is to set up a new church
Monroy slams poor state of Evangelical journalism
Civil servant says religious symbols in schools are unreasonable
Borrovian spirit alive and well in Salamanca
Fliedner Trust offered compensation for land taken by Council
Nine prisoners baptised
Don´t quote me!