c. 2003 Religion News Service
Episcopalians to Vote on Same-Sex Unions
(RNS) When the Episcopal Church gathers in Minneapolis in July, delegates will be asked for the second time to support the creation of worship guidelines to unite same-sex and other nonmarried couples.
The church will meet July 27-Aug. 8 for its 74th General Convention legislative meeting. A similar resolution narrowly failed when delegates and bishops last gathered in 2000 in Denver.
Integrity, an independent group of gay Episcopalians, plans to offer a resolution that directs the church to create marriage-like rites to “support relationships of mutuality and fidelity which mediate the grace of God between those persons for whom the celebration and blessing of a marriage is not available.”
If approved, the liturgical rites would be presented to the next General Convention meeting in 2006 for final approval.
At the 2000 convention, the church voted to “support” nonmarried relationships “characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication and holy love” but declined to approve same-sex rites.
The Rev. Michael Hopkins, pastor of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Glenn Dale, Md., and president of Integrity, said the 2.5 million-member church must “take the next step and do the unfinished work” of the Denver meeting.
“We have a significant portion of our members who are not being fully supported in the life and ministry of the church, and that shouldn’t be a comfortable place for the church to be, anywhere,” Hopkins said.
The church currently has no official position on same-sex unions, although such ceremonies are unofficially permitted in certain dioceses. However, a 13-member panel of bishops and theologians last month urged “the greatest caution” on same-sex unions because “we are nowhere near consensus in the church” on the issue.
A similar move to authorize same-sex rights in the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, Canada, has deeply divided the church there and sent shock waves of protest across the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch.
The Rev. David Anderson, president of the conservative American Anglican Council, said he is “absolutely opposed” to such rites. “Such an action, we believe, is un-pastoral to those most directly affected and can only lead to painful schism and isolation of the American church from the global Anglican Communion,” he said.
Hopkins said those “doomsday” fears are “simplistic.” He also argued that the Bible does not condemn homosexual relationships. “The Bible doesn’t know the kind of relationships we’re talking about,” he said.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Methodist Agency Warns Against Computer-Only Files
(RNS) The United Methodist Church’s historical agency cautioned that churches should not try to save money by keeping records and reports only electronically because technological changes may soon make them obsolete.
The church’s Commission on Archives and History said paper records are the only reliable way to ensure that information will still be accessible in the future.
“With the continued rapid change of technology, there is no guarantee that an electronic journal will be readable in five to 10 years,” the agency said in a letter to the church’s regional conferences.
Some conferences say they want to keep files on computers to save money. But the agency said records that were stored on floppy disks even 15 years ago may be inaccessible with newer programs. “Already, earlier versions of (Microsoft) Word documents cannot be read by the current Word program,” the letter said, according to United Methodist News Service.
The agency, which three years ago warned against selling historical records on the Internet, said journals are needed for at least 50 years for personnel matters, such as pastors’ pensions. It reminded churches that two paper copies of conference reports should be sent to the archives commission, and two paper copies should be filed in local archives.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Multnomah Publishers, Known for `Prayer of Jabez,’ Cuts Staff
(RNS) Multnomah Publishers, the company made famous by the best-selling book “The Prayer of Jabez,” has cut two dozen staff positions.
The Sisters, Ore.-based publisher of religious and inspirational books announced the restructuring April 3. It will eliminate 22 positions in central Oregon and two outside positions.
“We took this decision very seriously and made it after examining all aspects of how we needed to structure the company for the future,” said Don Jacobson, the company’s president and publisher, in a statement.
Multnomah expects profitable growth in 2003 but at a slower pace than in 2001, when “The Prayer of Jabez” became popular. The 92-page hardcover book by Bruce Wilkinson was cited as the top-selling nonfiction book in 2001 by Publishers Weekly.
Jacobson said the redirection and a revised economic outlook prompted the changes in staff levels.
“By focusing on fewer projects each year, we can concentrate our efforts on publishing books that better match our mission of being good stewards of life-changing content,” he said.
Forbes magazine, in an article about the company in its April 14 issue, said sales of the “Prayer of Jabez” book have dropped to 20,000 copies a month, compared to the 1 million sold monthly at its peak. That decrease played a role in the company’s 46 percent drop in revenues and delaying of plans for a new 55,000-square-foot headquarters.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Reform Movement Establishes Jewish Fiction Award
(RNS) The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, which is the congregational arm of the Reform Jewish movement, has announced a new prize for promising Jewish fiction writers.
The Reform Judaism Prize for Jewish Fiction will be presented for the first time in November at the UAHC’s biennial convention in Minneapolis.
The prize, which carries a cash award of at least $5,000, will be awarded by a panel of scholars and Jewish professionals, and it is governed by a committee. Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel is the honorary chair of the committee.
The recipient of the prize will be a Jewish writer under age 45 who has published at least one novel or collection of short stories but has not received any major book awards in the past.
Organizers hope that the prize will become a major annual event in the Jewish world, even achieving a status akin to the Pulitzer Prize.
In addition to the cash award, the winner will be published in Reform Judaism magazine, which is sent to 310,000 households in North America.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
Boston Globe Wins Pulitzer for Church Abuse Coverage
(RNS) An Boston Globe investigation into sexually abusive priests that sparked a national overhaul in Catholic Church policy won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
The Globe’s Pulitzer cited the newspaper for “courageous, comprehensive coverage of sexual abuse by priests, an effort that pierced secrecy, stirred local, national and international reaction and produced changes in the Roman Catholic Church.”
The Globe’s investigation, which began with a court victory to unseal church documents in late 2001, eventually led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law one year later for his handling of the abuse crisis.
Globe articles that began appearing in January 2002 led to a national review of church sex policy, which resulted in dramatic reforms passed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops six months later.
“You made history last year,” Globe editor Martin Baron told a packed newsroom Monday (April 7) after the awards were announced. “And you made the world a better and safer, and more humane place.”
The public service award carries no cash prize, but The Globe will receive a gold medal. The Pulitzers, the most prestigious journalism awards, are administered by the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the nation’s largest group of abuse victims, praised The Globe for its work. “The Globe’s coverage has prompted hundreds of media outlets to begin delving into other religious institutions,” said SNAP President Barbara Blaine. “The result is that children will ultimately be much safer.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Quote of the Day: U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige
(RNS) “All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith. Where a child is taught that there is a source of strength greater than themselves.”
_ U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, who served as a deacon at Brentwood Baptist Church, a predominantly black Southern Baptist church in Houston, before joining President Bush’s Cabinet. He was quoted by Baptist Press.
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