c. 2007 Religion News Service

Slim plurality of Anglicans say Episcopalians met demands

(RNS) A slim plurality of national churches in the Anglican Communion has given the Episcopal Church passing marks for pledging in September to stop ordaining gay bishops and authorizing rites for same-sex unions.

Ten of the 38 Anglican provinces, however, say they are not assured that the American church has halted its support for homosexuality, which they condemn as unbiblical.

The Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the global Anglican Communion, has been under intense pressure from Anglican archbishops in the so-called Global South to roll back its pro-gay policies or face a reduced role in the communion.

Episcopal bishops in September clarified an earlier pledge and stated explicitly that they will “exercise restraint” before consecrating another gay bishop; they also pledged not to authorize rites for same-sex blessings, though some acknowledged such blessings occur in their dioceses.

A joint standing committee appointed by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in October that Episcopalians had “clarified all outstanding questions” on the matter and given the needed assurances.

Williams then solicited the opinions of the 38 provinces, or national churches.

Twelve Anglican provinces agreed with the joint standing committee, according to a report issued by Williams last week. Ten provinces disagreed; 12 provinces did not reply; three offered a mixed response and one province said it would reply after further consultation.

Williams also solicited responses from the 75-member Anglican Consultative Council, a communion-wide body; only 27 members replied, however. Of those, 13 said the Episcopal Church had clarified all questions, eight disagreed.

The provinces and council members also gave mixed reviews of plans to designate pastoral leaders for disaffected conservatives in the U.S.

The archbishop said he does not endorse any opinion on the matter at this stage but will offer his reflections in a forthcoming Advent letter to Anglican archbishops.

_ Daniel Burke

Methodist commission moves toward `full communion’

(RNS) A joint commission representing the predominantly white United Methodist Church and several smaller black Methodist churches has voted to seek an official declaration of “full communion.”

The Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation & Union adopted a resolution at its Nov. 15-17 meeting in Chicago that will be presented at the major meetings of their member denominations over the next few years. The commission also wants a shorter name: “Pan-Methodist Commission.”

“I think it is a significant step,” said the Rev. Daryll H. Coleman, a representative of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church who has served on the commission for almost 12 years. “It allows us to make a visible witness of the cooperation that we even now already practice and express.”

Coleman’s denomination and two other historically black denominations, the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, have been longtime members of the commission, along with the United Methodist Church.

Two other predominantly black religious bodies, the African Union Methodist Protestant Church and the Union American Methodist Episcopal Church, have recently begun participating in the commission meetings.

Coleman said “full communion” includes recognition of the ordination of ministers in each other’s denominations and sharing of sacraments such as baptism and the Eucharist.

“I think that each of the African-American denominations are very intentional in terms of us desiring to work towards cooperative unity,” Coleman said. “We’re not looking at organic union.”

The United Methodist News Service reported that other participants in the meeting said the resolution is a sign of what has already occurred between the groups and of greater cooperation that can happen in the future.

“The resolution codified what we have already been doing in so many instances,” said African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Bishop Nathaniel Jarrett, chair of the commission.

Added the Rev. Larry Pickens, the top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns: “As we further clarify our ongoing relationship and the ways we can cooperate together, full communion is an indication that we are committed to unity as we state and demonstrate our mutual respect for each other.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Businessman pledges $70 million to Oral Roberts University

OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) A Christian businessman whose family owns hundreds of retail stores known for closing on Sundays offered beleaguered Oral Roberts University 70 million reasons Tuesday (Nov. 27) to clean up its act.

Mart Green, founder and CEO of Christian office and educational supply store chain Mardel, said his family gave the financially troubled, charismatic Christian university in Tulsa $8 million to help with immediate needs.

Green said the family would donate an additional $62 million in 90 days _ but only if an in-depth business review confirms that ORU has straightened out financial, leadership and governance concerns.

“ORU must restore its trust, its battered reputation and its beaten spirit,” Green said. “Now begins a time of healing. The board and Oral have agreed that significant changes need to take place.”

Mardel has 25 locations in six states; Green’s family also owns 395 Hobby Lobby arts and crafts stores in 32 states. Both Oklahoma City-based chains close on Sundays to allow employees to attend church and spend time with family.

Green, who has no personal ties to ORU, said he read about its problems in the newspaper. He spoke at a news conference at ORU after two days of closed-door meetings by the university’s board of regents.

Regents voted unanimously to accept embattled President Richard Roberts’ resignation and begin a search for a new president, said the Rev. George Pearsons, the board’s chairman.

Regents also decided unanimously to separate ORU and the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association “as a legal, financial and accounting governance matter,” Pearsons said. But spiritually, the two entities will remain one, he said.

Advocates say the change will help avoid a blurring of leadership roles and mingling of funds. Richard Roberts remains the head of the evangelistic association, a nonprofit ministry that produces radio and TV programs, Pearsons said.

Roberts, the son of ORU’s namesake founder, submitted his resignation as university president Friday (Nov. 23) amid intense scrutiny over allegations of financial, political and other wrongdoing. He was the second president in the 42-year history of ORU, succeeding his father, Oral Roberts, in 1993.

ORU has been embroiled in controversy again since a lawsuit was filed Oct. 2 by three former professors who claim efforts to act as whistleblowers cost them their jobs.

“We live in a litigious society,” Richard Roberts told a campus chapel service. “Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person whether they have a legitimate case or not. This lawsuit … is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion.”

_ Bobby Ross Jr.

Quote of the Day: The New York Times

(RNS) “A headline last Sunday about a Muslim man and an Orthodox woman who are partners in two Dunkin’ Donuts stores described their religions incorrectly. The two faiths worship the same God _ not different ones.”

_ The New York Times, in a Nov. 25 correction referring to a Nov. 18 story with the headline, “Worshipping Different Gods (but United on the Issue of Pork)”

KRE/RB END RNS