c. 1997 Religion News Service
Baptists’ money used in purchase of exclusive home
(RNS) At least $90,000 from the accounts of the National Baptist Convention, USA, was used in the purchase of an exclusive waterfront home by the denomination’s president and a woman who is not his wife.
The Rev. Henry J. Lyons has denied using any church funds for the $700,000 house. His wife, Deborah, was charged with setting fires in the house on July 6, after learning her husband owned it with Bernice Edwards, the church’s former public relations director of corporate affairs.
Sheriff’s deputies said Deborah Lyons told them she suspected her husband was having an affair with Edwards, but she has since denied saying that.
In a related matter, a group of ministers in Philadelphia held a meeting Friday (Aug. 15) to consider whether to seek changes in the structure of the denomination that would limit Lyons’ authority over its accounts. They also were considering asking him to resign.”I think we’re indebted to the wife,”said the Rev. David Weeks, president of the Philadelphia Baptist Ministers Conference.”If she hadn’t set the fire, all this would not be coming out.” Officials of the National Baptist Convention, USA _ the nation’s largest black denomination _ said Lyons does not have permission to spend the church’s money on his own real estate dealings, the Associated Press reported.”That is a no-no,”said the Rev. Fred Crouther, chairman of the group’s finance and budget committee.
To help acquire a loan on the house, which is located in the wealthy Tierra Verde section of St. Petersburg, Fla., Lyons presented a lease that indicated the denomination would pay $4,000 a month to rent the house from Lyons. The lease includes signatures of two denominational leaders, but authorities are investigating the validity of those signatures because one church official said he has never heard of the document.
In a July 11 press conference at his Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Lyons said,”There has never been any money taken from this church or from the National Baptist Convention to secure the loan on the house.” He also told members of his congregation that Edwards, who has been identified as a convicted embezzler, furnished the money for the house. His lawyer, Grady Irvin, declined to comment Wednesday (Aug. 14) on the use of money from convention accounts.
Lyons received a $455,000 mortgage from World Savings. A cashier’s check for $90,000 from United Bank in St. Petersburg was part of the down payment. Lyons’ denomination is listed as the remitter of that check.
Reformed bishop urges support for minority Hungarians
(RNS) An ethnic-Hungarian Reformed bishop from Romania has called on the World Alliance of Reformed Churches to support”the legal struggle”of minority Hungarians who face discrimination in Eastern Europe.
On Thursday (Aug. 14), Bishop Laszlo Tokes urged the Reformed body, which represents 211 denominations around the world, to issue an”unambiguous statement”in support of Hungarian ethnic and religious minorities, reported Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.
Romania, Slovakia, and parts of Ukraine and the former Yugoslavia are home to significant Hungarian minorities in those regions that belonged to Hungary before 1921 and were again under Hungarian rule between 1941 and 1944. Under communism, Hungarian minorities and churches were repressed, and critics contend the discrimination continues in those areas.
Tokes called on the WARC, meeting Aug. 8-20 in Debrecen, Hungary, to”take a resolute standpoint against any ethnic oppression”and to support”the legal struggle for keeping the people’s identity.” ENI reported that when asked if such support could exacerbate ethnic tensions in Eastern Europe, which is already embroiled in ethnic conflicts, Tokes replied:”Could we as human beings give up our rightful demands in order not to stir up ethnic tension?” National and ethnic identity is one of the issues under discussion at the meeting, whose theme is”Break the Chains of Injustice.” But a theology professor originally from Croatia and now teaching in the United States warned that ethnic identity is a”central problem”for WARC.”It is not enough to break the chains of injustice,”said Miroslav Volf.”We need to shape the kind of structures that would allow a culture of peace.” Tokes came to prominence in December 1989 as an outspoken opponent of the draconian regime of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Scores of people were killed outside Tokes’ home in Timisoara as they attempted to protect the pastor from arrest. The event is widely credited with having provoked the demonstrations that toppled Ceausescu later that month.
APA backs away from”conversion”therapy for gays
(RNS) The American Psychological Association adopted a carefully crafted resolution Thursday (Aug. 14) aimed at discouraging the use of so-called”reparative,”or”conversion,”therapies that seek to change gays and lesbians to heterosexuals.
But the APA, while saying there is no scientific proof that such therapy works and that there is some potential for harm in its use, did not dismiss the technique altogether. It said the therapy should be used only with”informed consent,”requiring psychologists to tell the client that being gay is not an illness and the risks and benefits of conversion therapy remain unknown.
The resolution was sharply criticized by Exodus International, an”ex-gay”Christian ministry, and by the Family Research Council, a conservative advocacy group.
Bob Davies, North American director for the Seattle-based Exodus International, called the resolution a”first step in the wrong direction.”Restricting the freedom of choice for gays seeking change is a very dangerous precedent,”Davies added.”Obviously, gays and lesbians who seek change must be self-motivated and not coerced _ but `coercion’ to remain gay is equally unethical.” The Family Research Council also criticized the APA’s call for therapists to read clients a statement declaring that homosexuality is not an illness and that the benefits of reparative therapy remain unknown.”Forcing therapists to read any such statement to their clients represents gross interference with therapists’ free speech rights, conscience, and professional clinical judgment,”said Robert Knight, the FRC’s director of cultural studies.”Therapists are going to have to lie to their clients and patients about what it means to be gay.” But a spokeswoman for People for the American Way, a Washington-based liberal civil rights organization, welcomed the resolution.”The idea that homosexuality is a condition from which one should be cured is old-fashioned bigotry passing as science,”said Judith Schaeffer, deputy legal director of PFAW.
The APA has represents some 151,000 researchers, educations and clinicians.
In 1973, overturning decades of psychological conventional wisdom, the APA adopted a resolution declaring that homosexuality is not a mental illness. The new resolution is considered in keeping with that stance.
Progressive National Baptists urge greater Cuban cooperation
(RNS) Delegates to the annual meeting of the Progressive National Baptist Convention passed resolutions calling for greater cooperation with Cuba by the denomination’s pastors and the United States.
The resolution, passed during the meeting held Aug. 4-8 in Buffalo, N.Y., urged support for the proposed Cuban Humanitarian Act, which would exempt the export of medicine and food from the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba.”Pastors of the Progressive National Baptist Convention are encouraged to visit, and to form fraternal relations with, the churches in Cuba which relate to the PNBC,”the resolution stated.
Organized in 1961, the predominantly black denomination has often been outspoken about civil and human rights.”It is ironic that we come to the end of the 20th century, facing a new millennium with a retreat from social justice on the part of our national government,”read a press statement issued at the meeting.”Today we are witnessing the expansion of the misery index, the abuse of workers under the guise of a balanced budget and the exploitation of workers under the umbrella of part-time employment, such as the workers of UPS (United Parcel Service) currently on strike.” PNBC leaders passed a resolution urging the development of a model program for its churches that would emphasize educational opportunities for children in reading, math and computer science. Another resolution called on all African-American Baptist denominations to hold simultaneous mid-winter meetings in 2000 to work together on public policy and human rights issues.
They also passed resolutions supporting statehood for the District of Columbia and reaffirming their concern about black churches that have burned and their commitment to racial justice.
L.A. school board postpones action on use of Scientology
(RNS) The Los Angeles Unified School Board has agreed to postpone until October taking any action on a proposed charter school that would use textbooks and teaching methods associated with the Church of Scientology.
The postponement was sought by special education teacher Linda Smith, who is setting up the special public school, the Northwest Charter School, for about 100 students.”We had some issues that we talked to Linda about,”said Joe Rao, administrative coordinator for charter schools in the district.”There appears to be some question of church/state separation.” Rao said Smith sought the delay so she could respond to questions raised about the use of Scientology-related material and methods as well as fiscal questions about the proposed school. The texts are used for literacy education.
Since the Los Angeles Times reported that the school planned to use the books, published by Bridge Publications, which also produces material for the church, questions have arisen about their appropriateness for use in public schools.”I’m concerned there may be some theme running through the text that would somehow reference a belief or … principle held by Scientology,”said Lucky Altman, a Roman Catholic official of the interfaith National Conference, formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
The books, which promote a teaching method known as Applied Scholastics, do not refer specifically to Scientology. They are currently under review by the California Department of Education and have been given preliminary approval for use as supplemental texts.
Quote of the Day: President Clinton
(RNS) President Clinton, in introducing new guidelines about religious expression in the federal workplace Thursday (Aug. 14), spoke about his personal interactions as a Southern Baptist with a variety of faiths:”I have been immeasurably enriched by the power of the Torah, the beauty of the Koran, the piercing insights of the religions of East and South Asia and of our own Native Americans; the joyful energy that I have felt in black and Pentecostal churches and, yes, even the probing questions of the skeptics. That is America at its best.”
END RNS
