c. 2007 Religion News Service

NCC’s Edgar to Take Helm of Common Cause

(RNS) The Rev. Bob Edgar, the outgoing general secretary of the National Council of Churches, has been named president of the public interest advocacy group Common Cause.

Edgar, 63, a former congressman from Pennsylvania and an ordained United Methodist minister, was elected by Common Cause’s governing board on Friday (May 18). His tenure at the NCC ends Dec. 31 and he will split time between the two organizations until then, according to representatives.

“With devastating consequences, powerful special interests distort and disrupt the democratic process in ways that shift political power away from the American people,” Edgar said. “I look forward to carrying on (Common Cause founder) John Gardner’s vision of … a people’s lobby both in Washington, D.C. and in the states.”

Edgar has served on Common Cause’s national governing board since 2005 and succeeds Chellie Pingree, who retired in February. The Washington-based nonpartisan group, which advocates for ethical, open government and campaign finance reform, among other issues, claims 300,000 members and supporters.

Edgar announced in October that he would not seek a third term at the NCC, where he has been since 2000.

Edgar “has a demonstrated ability to inspire people to think and work creatively,” said Martha Tierney, interim chairwoman of Common Cause’s national governing board.

In his 10 years at the National Council of Churches, Edgar is credited with turning around its dim financial outlook through active fundraising. When he took over, the ecumenical organization sat in deep debt; now it claims to have several million dollars in reserve.

“There is no question the National Council of Churches has benefited from his leadership in many ways and I’m sure that Common Cause will also benefit and the nation will, as well,” said NCC President the Rev. Michael Livingston.

_ Daniel Burke

Clinton Joins Churches for Changes in Immigration Bill

WASHINGTON (RNS) Representatives from several major churches joined Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., on Wednesday (May 23) to call for streamlining the visa process for spouses and children of legal immigrants.

Clinton, a Democratic presidential candidate, said she will offer an amendment to the Senate immigration overhaul bill that would exempt spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents from the annual cap on family visas.

Under existing law, Clinton said, “Those who would enter our country legally are trapped in an unfair bureaucratic nightmare.”

Permanent residents with green cards often have to spend years separated from family members who are waiting to enter the United States. Clinton said her bill would reduce that delay and reunite legal immigrants with family members.

The amendment is co-sponsored by Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J. Officials from Lutheran, Episcopal and Roman Catholic organizations also spoke on behalf of Clinton’s plan.

Ralston Deffenbaugh of the Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service said, “We … have this quaint idea that families are good, and they should be together.”

The compromise immigration bill, which is being debated this week, has come under fire from both Democrats and Republicans for provisions that would allow as many as 600,000 temporary guest workers to enter the country.

Critics have also objected to a new point system in the bill for rating visa applicants that would boost employment visa numbers and tighten eligibility for family visas. Extended family members and adult children of immigrants would lose priority under the new system.

_ Charles O’Toole

Colorado Christian University to Appeal Tuition Assistance Ruling

(RNS) A Christian university in Colorado plans to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that a state education commission could deny tuition assistance to its students.

U.S. District Judge Marcia S. Krieger of Denver ruled Friday (May 18) that the Colorado Commission on Higher Education could exclude “pervasively sectarian” Colorado Christian University because that exclusion “operates to advance a compelling governmental interest.”

The state offers tuition assistance to low-income college students but its constitution prohibits the distribution of public money for religious education.

The college, which sued in 2004, argued that the commission’s “`pervasively’ sectarian” test violated aspects of the Constitution, including the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. It noted that students who attend the university and pursue studies in secular professions are disqualified while students at public institutions who have the same majors are not.

“… CCU’s designation as a pervasively sectarian institution suggests that a substantial portion of the `secular’ instruction its students receive is inextricably entwined with religious indoctrination,” Krieger wrote.

She said the school’s argument about secular education is “misplaced” because the secular instruction at other schools is “readily severable from any religious teaching.”

The judge referred to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2004, Locke v. Davey, which permitted Washington state to prohibit scholarships to college students seeking theology degrees.

“ … Based upon the application of Locke, the commission is only required to demonstrate that the exclusion of `pervasively sectarian’ schools from tuition assistance is rationally connected to a legitimate governmental interest,” she said.

Colorado Christian University President Bill Armstrong said the school intends to appeal the case to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“The effect of the ruling is to say that Colorado students will be denied state tuition aid for college if they want to attend a religious school,” he said. “Judge Marcia S. Krieger’s decision is a setback for the students involved and for religious liberty.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Christian Comedian Chonda Pierce

(RNS) “ … I share with my comedian friends who primarily work comedy clubs that if they want a real challenge, come try to make a roomful of Baptist deacons laugh without a two-drink minimum! Then we’ll see how funny you really are!”

_ Christian comedian Chonda Pierce, quoted by Today’s Christian magazine.

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