c. 1998 Religion News Service
Christian Reformed Church regional group ends gay minister’s ordination
(RNS) A Michigan regional body of the Christian Reformed Church has terminated the ordination of the denomination’s first openly gay minister.
The 22-6 vote came at a Thursday (May 21) meeting of the Classis Grand Rapids East. Classis is a Christian Reformed Church term for a regional group.
Jim Lucas, a part-time chaplain and full-time worker in a gay ministry, announced that he was homosexual in 1992. Last fall, Lucas’ support for committed same-sex unions became known, causing a furor.
Lucas remains a member in good standing of Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The official vote only dealt with the technical issue that Lucas had not received a ministerial call, reported United Reformed News Service, an independent news service that covers Reformed and Presbyterian churches.
Ministers receive a call from God that inspires them to become preachers, and the call is confirmed by a request from a church asking the minister to become a a member of its staff, Philip Lucasse, stated clerk of Classis Grand Rapids East, told Religion News Service.
Lucas admits he never received a call from a church.
The Rev. Scott Hoezee, of Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, said,”The waters are being greatly muddied by the unfortunate words we hear of `deposing,’ `defrocking’ or other discipline. This is a procedural matter, not a discipline matter, and we need to be very clear about that.” Lucas, a sixth-generation descendant of one of the denomination’s founders, disagreed. “Bottom line that’s not a reason,”Lucas said of the vote.”There’s a reason that I didn’t have a call, because of what I currently believe on faithful, committed, permanent same-sex unions. This says as much about the church as it says about me.” Much of the classis’ discussion did deal with homosexuality and Lucas’ views on same-sex unions.”It seems we are between a rock and a hard place,”said the Rev. Roger Van Harn of Grace Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids.”The rock is Jim’s public stand on same-sex unions and the hard place is we need Jim.” Van Harn said that the classis should have reaffirmed the church’s position against same-sex unions while retaining Lucas’ ordination.
Other church officials maintained that the debate about Lucas’ ordination was not centered around same-sex unions.”I think the message this says is very clear,”said the Rev. Gerald Zandstra of Seymour Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids.”Nine years is the limit you can be in the ministry without a call. Any other message is a misreading.” Lucasse said that if Lucas were to receive a call from a church, he could reapply for ordination.
Study shows safe-sex programs more effective than abstinence education
(RNS) A recent study of intervention programs aimed at curbing risky sexual behavior that could lead to HIV has found that safe-sex education may be more effective than abstinence education.
The study, which focused solely on African-American adolescents, concluded that both abstinence and safe-sex education can reduce risky behaviors that can lead to the contraction of HIV. Previous research has shown that African-American adolescents are a high-risk group for the transmission of HIV, which causes AIDS.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, randomly divided 659 Philadelphia middle school students into three groups, with each receiving eight hours of instruction. A control group received health information unrelated to sexual activity while a second group received information about safe sex, emphasizing the need to use condoms during sexual activity. The third group received information stressing abstinence, focusing on reducing the frequency of sexual behavior.
The approach drew criticism from two Christian-based groups.”This is flawed because true abstinence education focuses solely on avoiding sexual contact before marriage,”the American Life League said in a statement.
Richard Ross, a spokesman for the True Love Waits abstinence campaign, also criticized the study, reported Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.”There is no indication that the eight hours of instruction had anything to do with moral absolutes,”he said.”In fact, the overriding theme was simply delaying sexual involvement.” The researchers concluded that the adolescents in the abstinence program were less likely to report having sexual intercourse three months after the program than those in the control group (12.5 percent vs. 21.5 percent). However, the findings were quite different during six and 12-month follow-ups.
They found that among participants who were already sexually active at the beginning of the intervention process, the safer-sex program participants reported less sexual intercourse at the six and 12-month follow-ups than did the abstinence and control groups. The students in the safer-sex program also reported having less unprotected sex at all follow-ups than the control group.
Update: Show with gay Christ figure won’t play
(RNS) A New York theater has scrapped plans to produce a new play by award-winning playwright Terrence McNally that features a homosexual Christ-like figure.
The off-Broadway Manhattan Theater Club said it will not produce McNally’s”Corpus Christi”this fall due to security concerns. Neither the theater nor McNally would comment any further, the Associated Press reported Friday (May 22).
Recent announcements about the show _ which features a lead character named Joshua who embarks on a spiritual journey and ends up having sex with the 12 disciples who follow him _ sparked an outcry of criticism from religious groups.
McNally has won three Tony Awards for his plays”Master Class,””Kiss of the Spider Woman,”and”Love! Valour! Compassion!”He is nominated again this year for the musical”Ragtime.”
China criticizes Dalai Lama support for India’s right to nuclear arms
(RNS) China has criticized the Dalai Lama for saying India has the right to possess nuclear weapons.
The comments of the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, who lives in India, follow global condemnation of India for its nuclear tests earlier this month.
The Dalai Lama said it was”undemocratic”to assume that a few countries could have nuclear weapons and the rest of the world could not.
Although he said he continues to work for peace and disarmament, the Dalai Lama added that developed nations should not tell Third World countries how to handle their weapons, the Associated Press reported.
A commentary in the China Daily said the Dalai Lama’s comments were made to”repay”the Indian government for its support and demonstrated that he is not a”genuine defender of peace.” The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since 1959, when an unsuccessful uprising in his Tibetan homeland against Chinese occupation forced him to flee.
China considers the Nobel laureate a dangerous supporter of Tibetan independence, although the Dalai Lama has said he is only seeking religious and cultural autonomy for the Tibetan people.
U.N. urges new Indonesian government to resolve East Timor dispute
(RNS) United Nations officials are quietly urging Indonesia’s new leadership to resolve the overwhelmingly Muslim nation’s dispute over Roman Catholic East Timor as a way of gaining international favor.
East Timor was seized by Indonesia 23 years ago, after Portugal abandoned it following more than three centuries of colonial rule. It was annexed in 1976 as the 27th province of Indonesia.
But U.N. leaders are not particularly hopeful the new president, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, will be able to take the steps needed to appease the world community, which has never officially accepted the annexation of the territory by Indonesia.
Habibie became president after the resignation Thursday (May 21) of Indonesian President Suharto following weeks of economic and political upheaval in the country.
The U.N. General Assembly has never recognized East Timor as a territory of Indonesia, which has been accused of widespread human rights abuses in the territory, the Associated Press reported.
Portugal would like there to be a referendum to determine the future of East Timor, but Indonesia insists the territory is an integral part of the Indonesian state.
In a carefully worded statement, Kofi Annan, the U.N.’s secretary-general, said he was relieved that”an orderly and peaceful transfer is taking place in Indonesia.” He did not mention East Timor in the statement. But U.N. officials said the organization wants to send the message that ending the East Timor dispute would help the international community view Indonesia more favorably.
Indonesian and Portuguese diplomats have been holding”working-level talks”on the East Timor issue under U.N. auspices, but no breakthroughs have been achieved.
Quote of the Day: School safety expert Ronald Stephens
(RNS)”Kids aren’t born violent; it’s learned behavior.” _ Ronald Stephens of the National School Safety Center in Westlake Village, Calif., as quoted in The New York Times on Friday (May 22) on the shootings Thursday at a high school in Springfield, Ore.
MJP END RNS
