c. 2000 Religion News Service
Lutheran Leaders Reject Opposition to Agreement With Episcopalians
(RNS) Leaders in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have said local synods and churches who disagree with the proposed “full communion” agreement with Episcopalians cannot reject it simply because they do not agree with it.
Meeting in Chicago last weekend (April 7-9), the ELCA’s Church Council _ the highest legislative authority outside of churchwide assemblies _ said the agreement with the Episcopal Church will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2001.
The historic agreement was approved by the ELCA last year and is expected to be approved by Episcopalians this summer. The accord will allow both churches to recognize each other’s clergy and sacraments and share in joint missions projects.
Opponents within the ELCA object to a provision that says Lutherans must recognize the historic line of bishops within the Episcopal Church, specifically in regard to ordinations. Lutherans say the “historic episcopate” goes against Lutheran tradition and downplays the role of the laity.
In a series of resolutions on the “Called to Common Mission” agreement, the council said the church’s 65 synods are not free to reject the agreement. The council said ecumenical relations are adopted by the entire church and are not “legislated on a synod-by-synod basis.”
Opponents, led by the Eastern North Dakota Synod, had asked the council to consider delaying the agreement until disagreements could be worked out. The council rejected that motion and said the agreement will go into effect next year, the same time Episcopalians will enter into the accord.
However, church leaders did leave the door open to ongoing discussions about how the agreement will be implemented to accommodate concerns about ordination.
In other business, the Church Council declined to initiate a study on the ordination of gays and lesbians within the ELCA. In November, the council asked a church agency to draft a report on the feasibility of such a study. Meeting in Chicago, the council decided not to pursue the study, opting instead to “continue thoughtful, deliberate and prayerful conversations throughout the ELCA about human sexuality.”
The Church Council also adopted a working policy on school vouchers. The council was asked to adopt a policy by churches in Pennsylvania, where state officials are experimenting with voucher programs. While stopping short of a churchwide policy or position, the council offered a set of guidelines for local pastors to evaluate voucher programs in terms of providing equal access to poor and minority students.
Pro-Gay Protestants Plan Major Convention in August
(RNS) As three major Protestant denominations prepare to debate the issue of homosexuality at conventions this summer, leaders of pro-gay movements within those churches plan to hold their own convention in August.
The conference, Witness Our Welcome 2000, is the first time that pro-gay movements within mainline Protestant churches have come together under one umbrella. The group plans to meet outside Chicago Aug. 3-6.
The WOW2000 meeting plans to celebrate the progress made by Protestant gays and lesbians as well as map strategy for the future. “This will be a place where (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered) persons of faith, families and friends can find affirmation and support for their faith journey,” said Mark Bowman, the coordinator of the conference.
The United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church (USA) and Episcopal Church all plan to tackle the thorny questions surrounding homosexuality at conventions this summer. The issue has become so divisive that some talk has surfaced of an inevitable schism, although many think that is unlikely.
Pro-gay Methodists are urging the church to remove a church statement that active homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching” while Presbyterians will be asked to ban same-sex marriage ceremonies.
Pro-gay Episcopalians will likely try to fight efforts to bring the U.S. church more in line with its conservative counterparts around the world. Currently, the Episcopal Church leaves the gay issue up to local dioceses, angering Anglicans around the world who support the church’s official position against gay unions and ordinations.
Jackie Belile, chairwoman of the conference, said the coalition has been talking about a joint meeting for about two years. Several of the groups jointly publish a magazine, Open Hands, Belile said.
The conference will feature a lineup of church activists who have been vocal on the gay issue. Among them is the Rev. Jimmy Creech, a former Methodist pastor who was defrocked after conducting a same-sex union ceremony in 1998.
Churches to be represented at the conference include the United Church of Canada, Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, American Baptists and Brethren/Mennonite churches.
National Religious Broadcasters Back `Dr. Laura’
(RNS) The president of the National Religious Broadcasters has written to Paramount Television urging its president to withstand protests by gay activists opposing “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger’s upcoming syndicated television program.
“Of course, in these days of political correctness, anybody who dares to say some decisions are right and some decisions are wrong will be subjected to a barrage of criticism,” wrote NRB President Brandt Gustavson to Paramount Television Division President Kerry McClugage. “This is precisely what has happened to our friend Dr. Laura. The logic these protesters are using clearly doesn’t make sense. To say Paramount should silence Dr. Laura for her lack of `tolerance’ is on its face intolerant. Such twisted logic should be rejected as laughable and the issue put to rest.”
In March, at a rally protesting the scheduled program, Joan M. Garry, director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, urged Paramount executives to eliminate the show from its schedule because she believes Schlessinger has defamed gays and lesbians.
“All of us have the same goal: to see that Laura Schlessinger stops defaming us _ gays, lesbians and fair-minded people everywhere,” said Garry of the rally’s co-sponsors.
“Don’t mistake it as a censorship issue: there is a difference between opposing viewpoints and a defamatory expression of those views which encourages prejudice and discrimination,” she said in remarks aimed at Paramount executives. “The former is crucial to an open exchange of ideas. The latter is unacceptable.”
The NRB, an association of more than 1,250 Christian television and radio organizations, presented Schlessinger with its chairman’s award at its annual convention in February, recognizing her for her defense of religion and morality.
Ugandan Police Offer Rewards in Search for Cult Leaders
(RNS) Ugandan police officials on Tuesday (April 11) offered rewards of about $1,300 for information that results in the capture of any one of six church leaders whose followers have been discovered buried in mass graves across Uganda in recent weeks, according to the Associated Press.
Police have been searching for leaders of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God since March 17, when more than 300 church members burned to death inside the group’s church in the village of Kanungu. In the weeks following the fire, which was initially believed to be a mass suicide, authorities discovered the bodies of more than 500 additional church members buried in mass graves in nearby villages. Many victims, including children, had been strangled or stabbed.
Officials expect to unearth more mass graves as they search other property connected to the religious group.
Authorities are uncertain how many group leaders are still alive, though police say they have positively identified the body of one leader, Dominic Kataribabo, a former Roman Catholic priest. Several local witnesses reported that the religious group’s two main leaders _ Credonia Mwerinde, 40, and Joseph Kibweteere, 68 _ left the group’s church the morning of the fire.
The other group leaders for whom rewards are offered are Joseph Kasapurari, Ursula Komuhangi and John Kamagara.
Authorities issued arrest warrants for the church leaders on Thursday (April 6), assuming all had survived the church fire and gone into hiding. The six face 10 counts of murder and could be hanged if captured and convicted.
Authorities believe the killings began when church members demanded the return of possessions they had turned over to the group after the world failed to end on Dec. 31, 1999, as leaders had predicted.
Scientologists Hail Greater Recognition in South Africa, Sweden
(RNS) The Church of Scientology is hailing its greater recognition in South Africa and Sweden.
In recent weeks, South Africa has granted ministers of the church the right to perform marriages and Sweden has upgraded it from a nonprofit organization to a religious community.
The church announced that the South African government granted 12 ministers the right to marry in a decision released April 3. The government’s ruling means that Scientology is now considered a legitimate religion in South Africa, said the Rev. Heber C. Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International.
“Official recognition as a bona fide religion will assist the church in fulfilling its mandate to improve society and minister to the spiritual needs of all South Africans _ a wish expressed by former President Mandela, who called on religions to help the government solve social problems,” he said in a statement.
The Associated Press reported that the church’s status in Sweden was upgraded as part of a new law that declares all churches fulfilling certain conditions will be considered religious communities with equal status.
The Swedish decision, which came March 15, will allow the church to apply for the right to marry people.
Quote of the Day: U.N. Investigator Radhika Coomaraswamy
(RNS) “No regime anywhere in the world that treats women the Taliban way should be allowed access to the community of nations.”
_ U.N. official Radhika Coomaraswamy, who has studied global violence against women, speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Commission on the extremist Islamic government that controls Afghanistan.
KRE END RNS
