c. 2003 Religion News Service

Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Reports Drops in Membership, Giving

(RNS) Membership and total giving in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod declined in 2002, based on statistics from its congregations.

The denomination announced that the total baptized membership reported for 2002 is 2,512,714, which is 27,331 fewer than for 2001. That decline is almost twice as much as the decline reported for 2001.

The total for confirmed membership reported for 2002 is 1,907,923, or 13,026 fewer than reported for 2001. There was a similar decline reported for 2001.

Members contributed $1.2 billion to their congregations in 2002, a decline of $13.8 million from the figure reported the previous year. Giving dropped about $12.1 million from 2000 to 2001.

Congregations retained about $1.1 billion in 2002 for their own use, a decline of $6.2 million from the previous year. They sent $117.1 million to outside causes, including the denomination’s districts, which in turn send money to the national headquarters. In 2001, the congregations sent $124.7 million to outside causes.

The statistics, compiled by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s Office of Rosters and Statistics, are based on reports from 84 percent of the denomination’s congregations. In 2001, 69 percent of the congregations made reports.

Within days of the release of the statistics, the denomination’s board of directors issued a statement concerning “real financial and legal challenges” it is facing and its desire to develop a plan to meet them.

“The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is currently facing financial challenges that have been caused, at least in part, by a downturn in the economy and by past funding policies and practices of the Synod,” the board statement reads. “The board is convinced that the Synod has the ability and the resources to overcome the current financial challenges and commit particular attention to missions and the education of professional church workers.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Fair Trade Advocacy Groups Cheer New Proctor & Gamble Coffee Line

(RNS) Faith-based fair trade advocacy groups are cheering an announcement from consumer products giant Proctor & Gamble on Monday (Sept. 15) that it is introducing Fair Trade Certified coffee through its specialty coffee division, Millstone.

“It’s a win-win for the world’s small-scale coffee farmers, for the environment, and for P&G itself,” said Sister Ruth Rosenbaum, executive director of the Center for Reflection, Education and Action.

Over the past two years, shareholders and nonprofit organizations have been pressuring P&G _ the largest seller of coffee in the United States and one of the four largest coffee companies in the world _ to offer fair trade coffee.

For several years a fixture in churches and food co-ops _ and even Starbucks _ fair trade coffee is purchased through cooperatives of small coffee farmers at higher than average prices, to guarantee a sustainable income. Currently, Fair Trade Certified coffee pays farmers a minimum price of $1.26 per pound, more than twice a recent International Coffee Organization average price of $.52 per pound.

Advocacy groups say P&G is entering the field none too soon. With the price of coffee at a 30-year low, falling 50 percent over the past three years alone, they say, a widespread humanitarian crisis is facing 25 million coffee-growing families in more than 50 developing countries.

“With world market prices as low as they are right now, we see that many coffee farmers cannot maintain their families and their land anymore. We need Fair Trade now more than ever,” said Jeronimo Bollen, director of Manos Campesinas, a fair trade coffee cooperative in Guatemala.

Mike Griffith, president of the Global Beverages division of Millstone Coffee, said the company’s new fair trade line _ Millstone Mountain Moonlight Fair Trade Certified, Millstone Cup of Excellence Signature Roast and Millstone Rainforest Alliance Certified Signature Roast _ will offer consumers “a way to enjoy exceptional coffee while supporting conservation and the many families who grow coffee.”

The new Signatures line will be available immediately to wholesale accounts and to individual purchasers through Millstone’s Web site (http://www.millstone.com). P&G has also committed to build consumer demand through marketing, with the aim of eventually offering its fair trade coffee in supermarkets.

Pleased with P&G’s announcement, fair trade advocates like the anti-poverty Oxfam say they will encourage other institutions to follow suit.

“Oxfam challenges global giants Kraft and Nestle, as well as the U.S. government, to take immediate steps to address the structural inequities that trap coffee farmers in a cycle of poverty,” said representative Liam Brody.

_ Christina Denny

Hallmark Offers First Card for Major Muslim Holiday

(RNS) For the first time, Hallmark is offering a greeting card to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

The holiday is observed on the first day of the month that follows the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the day. Muslims believe that the Quran was revealed during Ramadan, and Eid al-Fitr celebrates and gives thanks for the sacred scripture.

The holiday is expected to fall on Nov. 24-25 this year, depending on when the new moon is sighted.

Hallmark’s cards will be available in stores as single cards or in a multi-pack. The phrase “Eid Mubarak,” which means “happy holiday” in Arabic, will appear on the cards.

Because Islam is practiced in many countries, each of which has distinct cultural symbols, the cards were designed to appeal to all Muslims, regardless of ethnic background.

Hallmark said that the design of the cards avoids “any icons that could be construed as regional or cultural, rather than Islamic.”

Other card companies, including American Greetings, offer cards for Ramadan, though many of these are online cards. Hallmark offered an electronic Ramadan card last year.

Hallmark also launched a card for the Hindu holiday of Diwali this year.

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Indian Officials Propose Rule to Control Religious Conversions

NEW DELHI, India (RNS) Federal officials in India have framed fresh rules that aim to restrict religious conversion among uneducated Hindus.

The legislation, drawn up by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, has not yet been approved by the Indian parliament. It has the support, however, of BJP, the ruling Hindu nationalist party, which vigorously opposes the conversion of uneducated and lower caste Hindus to Christianity or Buddhism.

“This rule is not against conversion. We are just trying to regulate forcible conversion,” said Bizay Sonkar Shastri, chairman of the National Commission.

“Our aim is to ensure that secular nature and the principles of equality are not violated by conversions,” he said.

Under the proposed law, those wishing to convert to a new faith must request permission from a local government authority. The official would then forward the request to the local police and, if there is no objection, grant written permission for the conversion.

In a country where 350 million people are illiterate and 260 million fall under the poverty line, the rule also demands aspiring converts to have secondary education.

Violators would be fined 1,000 Indian rupees ($21) per day from the date on which the conversion took place.

“This will effectively deny a large section of Indians their right to religious faith ensured by India’s constitution,” said Oliver D’Souza, an official with the All India Christian Council. He said Indian Christians will fight the rule if implemented.

Earlier, church groups in India expressed disappointment over a Sept. 1 Supreme Court ruling that declared there was “no fundamental right to convert” anyone from one religion to another and that the government could impose restrictions on conversions.

Conversion to Christianity is a highly controversial issue in India. In January 1999 Australian Baptist missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons were burned alive, allegedly by Hindu fundamentalists who accused Staines of converting tribal people. A group of 13 men were convicted Sept. 15 of murdering Staines and his two son and their sentences are expected to be handed down Monday, Sept. 22.

_ Joshua Newton

Religious Broadcaster Garner Ted Armstrong Dead at 73

(RNS) Garner Ted Armstrong, a religious broadcaster who split from his father’s Worldwide Church of God, died Monday (Sept. 15), his son announced.

“I know that my Dad fully expected that his work will continue, and we all have an enormous responsibility to make certain that his work has not been in vain, and that his voice will not be silenced,” said Mark Armstrong in a statement.

The Associated Press reported that Armstrong, 73, had suffered from pneumonia.

Garner Ted Armstrong was president of the Intercontinental Church of God in Tyler, Texas, and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association in Flint, Texas. He founded those organizations after splitting from his father, Herbert Armstrong, whose Worldwide Church of God was known under his leadership for its Old Testament practices and unorthodox theology.

Garner Ted Armstrong was the voice of “The World Tomorrow” radio program, becoming its full-time speaker in 1957. The program reached more than 300 radio stations worldwide and was rebroadcast in five languages. By the 1970s, Armstrong aired on more than 165 television stations.

“Garner Ted was `the’ radio preacher for many years,” Louis Moore, a former longtime Houston Chronicle religion editor, told the AP. Moore, now the owner of an evangelical Christian publishing house in Garland, Texas, said the fact that many young people had not heard of Armstrong “indicates how swiftly and fully he departed the highly visible role he once had.”

Armstrong, once considered the heir apparent of his father’s ministry, left the Worldwide Church of God after his involvement with a series of women was revealed.

Born in Portland, Ore., and raised in Eugene, Ore., Armstrong interviewed world leaders and discussed topics such as the Middle East, criminal justice and child training, relating current affairs to biblical prophecy.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: David Groth of Virginia Beach, Va.

(RNS) “I’d say it was 50-50: 50 percent prayer, 50 percent plywood.”

_ David Groth, speaking of how Virginia Beach, Va., was preparing for Hurricane Isabel as he hung boards over the front window of David’s Beach Shop and Mini Mart. He was quoted by USA Today.

DEA END RNS