c. 1998 Religion News Service
Embattled Baptist leader pleads innocent to theft, racketeering charges
(RNS) The Rev. Henry J. Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, pleaded innocent Monday (March 16) to state charges of grand theft and racketeering.
Lyons has been the subject of federal and state investigations since his wife was charged last July with setting a pricey waterfront house on fire that he owned with co-defendant Bernice Edwards.
Edwards, a convicted embezzler and former denominational employee, pleaded innocent to a racketeering charge Monday.
Lyons has denied misusing funds or having an affair with Edwards.
The 55-year-old pastor of a St. Petersburg, Fla., church refused to comment as he exited the courthouse in nearby Clearwater but said on the way in that he felt”pretty good,”the Associated Press reported.
Lyons has survived efforts to oust him as president of the denomination after a series of reports alleged he used church money to buy real estate, cars and jewelry for Edwards. His five-year term ends in 1999.
Prosecutors, who filed an affidavit in February, alleged that Lyons defrauded the Anti-Defamation League of nearly $250,000 it donated from a fund to help rebuild black churches that burned in the South during a spate of arsons.
They also alleged that Lyons and Edwards inflated the number of denomination members to encourage companies to contribute to the denomination in exchange for product endorsements.
The judge set a tentative trial date for Jan. 4, 1999. Lyons could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Report: Presbyterians ratify full communion with Lutherans
(RNS) An unofficial tally of votes by presbyteries _ local governing units _ of the Presbyterian Church (USA) shows that a sufficient number of them have voted in favor of full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to bring the agreement into effect.
As of March 11, 88 of the 172 presbyteries had voted to approve the agreement _ two more than the majority necessary _ and bringing to completion 36 years of theological dialogue and increasing cooperation between churches in the Lutheran and Reformed traditions.
According to the ELCA, a festival worship service will be held at Chicago’s Rockefeller Chapel on Oct. 4 to formally declare the Lutherans, Presbyterians and two other Reformed denominations _ the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ _ in full communion.
The four denominations had all voted to approve”A Formula of Agreement,”which outlines their shared views on key theological issues, at their national meetings last summer.
The agreement allows for the exchange of pulpits among the four churches and the welcoming of members from all the participating denominations at one another’s celebrations of Holy Communion.
Methodist minister returns to pulpit following acquittal
(RNS) The Rev. Jimmy Creech, found not guilty of violating a United Methodist Church directive against presiding over a same-sex union ceremony, returned to his Omaha pulpit Sunday (March 15) after a four-month suspension.
Creech, 53, told congregants at Omaha’s First United Methodist Church that he believes his exoneration marks”the beginning of a reversal of growing hostility and exclusion of gay and lesbians in the United Methodist Church.” Creech preached to about 600 people who attended three separate services at the church Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
On Friday (March 13), a 13-person jury comprised of Nebraska Methodist ministers acquitted Creech of violating church regulations by performing a same-sex union ceremony.
The jury voted 11-2 that he had performed a same-sex ceremony and 8-5 that he had violated a church regulation. However, because nine votes were required to convict, Creech was exonerated. If found guilty, Creech could have been stripped of his ministerial standing and expelled from the church.
Creech had acknowledged that he led a ceremony last September in which two women exchanged rings and pledged their love to each other, but he insisted he did not know their sexual orientation. He also argued that the church directive he was charged with violating was advisory and not mandatory.
Creech was suspended without pay because of his actions. He was reinstated immediately after Friday’s verdict, which came in a church trial held in Kearney, Neb.
Clergy come in second in high ratings for professionals
(RNS) U.S. clergy rank second only to pharmacists for being in occupations that get the highest rating for ethical standards.
The Princeton Religion Research Center announced the results of the survey taken in late December in its Emerging Trends newsletter.
Sixty-nine percent of Americans surveyed said pharmacists have”high”or”very high”standards. Clergy came in second, with a 59 percent”high”or”very high”rating, reported Associated Baptist Press, an independent news service.
The most recent ranking showed a 3 percent rise for clergy, an increase from 56 percent the two previous years.
Clergy got their highest ranking of 67 percent in 1985. The ranking dropped to 53 percent in 1993 and has risen since then.
Other professions that received high rankings overall are medical doctors, 56 percent; college teachers, 55 percent; and dentists, 54 percent.
Newspaper: Child sponsorships mostly mythical
(RNS) A newspaper investigation of four charitable groups who promote child sponsorship programs has found that the notion of individual sponsorship of a poor child is mostly mythical marketing.
TV commercials for these groups ask viewers to send a few dollars each month to sponsor a child in need of health care and food. But the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday (March 15) that it found the specific children sponsored often get no or few benefits and money was sometimes accepted on behalf of children who had died.
Representatives of the four charities investigated _ Save the Children Federation Inc., Children International, Childreach and the Christian Children’s Fund _ defended their fund-raising methods, the Tribune reported. They said donors know money they give helps broader communities where children live rather than individual kids.”They know it is going for things like schools and water and clinics and village health workers,”said Charles MacCormack, president of Save the Children.
The emphasis on individuals in TV ads, such as ones featuring actress Sally Struthers, is needed, he said.”An awful lot of people who sign on to a personal human being will not sign on to a well,”MacCormack said.
The newspaper reported that the charitable groups were reviewing their practices as a result of its investigation. Save the Children has made numerous changes, including annual on-site checks.
Openly gay minister a nominee to replace N.J. Episcopal bishop
(RNS) An openly gay minister is on the official list of nominees to lead an Episcopal diocese in New Jersey.
The Rev. Gene Robinson, the Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of New Hampshire, is among the five candidates nominated Friday (March 13) to succeed Bishop John S. Spong of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.
Spong, who plans to retire on Jan. 31, 2000, has been active in his support of the ordination of homosexuals and women.
If elected in June by diocesan leaders, Robinson, 50, would then need approval by a majority of the 200 bishops in the church as well as the church’s 100 U.S. dioceses, the Associated Press reported.”He knows there will probably be more focus on him than we would like, but he’s committed and we’re committed to his nomination,”said Marge Christie, co-chair of the nominating committee.
The Rev. Todd H. Wetzel, executive director of Episcopalians United, a conservative group, said his organization would oppose Robinson.”We do not feel that an actively practicing, non-celibate homosexual is a godly example, any more than we feel an openly practicing adulterer would qualify as a godly example,”said Wetzel.”Behavior matters.” Robinson was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.
Three aid workers slain at Rwanda resettlement project
(RNS) Three field staff of the Lutheran World Federation were killed in Rwanda on the night of March 11 in an armed attack on the compound of a resettlement project near the border with Tanzania.
There was no immediate word on who the assailants might be but preliminary information from the LWF in Kigali said the killers appeared to have come from the Tanzanian border area.
The three, whose identities were not immediately released, served with the LWF’s Department for World Service and were helping to resettle Tutsi refugees displaced by the 1994 genocide that engulfed Rwanda.
LWF officials, who expressed”sadness and distress”at the killings, also said a number of other aid workers were injured in the attack.
The LWF has been involved in humanitarian work in the area since 1994. The resettlement project is funded by the the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with the LWF as the implementing partner.
Eugene Gibson Sr., leader of 3 Baptist groups, dies
(RNS) Eugene Gibson Sr., a Chicago pastor who was president of three Southern Baptist groups, died March 10.
Gibson, 62, died of an apparent heart attack, reported Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
At the time of his death, Gibson was president of the Fellowship of Southern Baptist State Presidents, the Southern Baptist African American Fellowship and the Illinois Baptist Association.
He was the founding pastor of Mission of Faith Baptist Church in Chicago, which has been affiliated with the SBC since it opened in 1977.
Quote of the day: Nigerian banker Ismailia Abu
(RNS)”There is no fundamental conflict between Islam and Christianity, they even share a common origin. That is why I live well with my wife who goes to church every Sunday but doesn’t see anything wrong with my going to the mosque every Friday.” _ Nigerian banker Ismailia Abu, quoted by the Associated Press, on the state of interreligious relations as Pope John Paul II prepares to visit the country March 21.
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