c. 2006 Religion News Service
Presbyterian Minister Cleared on Charges of Marrying Lesbian Couples
(RNS) A church court in California has cleared a lesbian Presbyterian minister who was charged with improperly officiating at the weddings of two female couples.
The Rev. Janie Spahr was cleared Friday (March 3) by a 6-1 vote of a church court in Santa Rosa, Calif., which ruled that same-sex weddings are not “outside of, or contrary to, the essentials” of Christian faith.
Spahr, 63, is a self-proclaimed “lesbian evangelist” whose organization, That All May Freely Serve, advocates for greater acceptance of gays and lesbians in church life.
“This historic ruling means that as a minister, I can exercise my conscience to marry two people who have demonstrated their commitment to love, honor and cherish one another,” Spahr said after the verdict.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) allows churches to conduct same-sex union ceremonies as long as they are not equated with traditional marriage. The court said Spahr was acting “within her right of conscience” in officiating at the two ceremonies.
“We affirm that the fundamental message of the Scriptures and (doctrinal) Confessions is the proclamation of the Good News of God’s love for all people,” the court said. “It is a message of inclusiveness, reconciliation and the breaking down of barriers that separate humans from each other.”
The court handles judicial complaints for the Presbyterians’ Redwoods Presbytery, a regional body of more than 50 churches headquartered in Napa, Calif.
Spahr was called as co-pastor of a church in Rochester, N.Y., in 1991. The Presbyterians’ highest court invalidated that call in 1992 because of a ban on non-celibate homosexual clergy. Spahr was allowed to remain a minister in good standing.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Leader of Divestment Effort Worries About Jewish Pressure on Churches
WASHINGTON (RNS) The head of a Palestinian Christian group pushing for divestment from Israel says he is concerned some previously supportive churches in the U.S. are being pressured to back away from the effort.
The Rev. Naim Ateek, an Anglican priest who heads the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Center, expressed concern in a Friday (March 3) interview that “some” American churches are succumbing to “political pressure from Jewish Zionist organizations and communities.” Ateek declined to name the churches he had in mind.
He acknowledged that “pressure is mounting also from inside the churches from church members who support Israel” _ a reference to groups such as Presbyterians Concerned About Jewish-Christian Relations, which has spearheaded internal Presbyterian Church (USA) opposition to overturn the denomination’s 2004 vote that sparked the American church divestment movement.
When asked if he was satisfied with how the divestment campaign was going, Ateek said churches “could do more” and “act quicker.”
PCUSA’s highest policy body, the General Assembly, was expected to take up the divestment issue once again at its June biennial meeting. Recently, however, the denomination’s committee on investments announced it is not ready to make specific recommendations on which companies to divest from.
Pro-Israel American Jewish groups have interpreted that circumstance as a significant slowing of the divestment campaign in the United States. The Jewish groups argue that divestment is a one-sided action that unfairly targets Israel while failing to hold Palestinians responsible for their part in the ongoing Middle East conflict.
An Episcopal Church committee report also stepped back from recommending divestment, saying instead that “corporate engagement,” such as stockholder actions, is a more effective way to get firms to change their policies on selling to Israel. Other groups, such as the United Church of Christ, have also stopped short of taking up Sabeel’s call for full-scale divestment action.
“I’m hoping that the mainline churches will not back down from morally responsible investment,” Ateek said. “They need to be encouraged in every way.”
Ateek’s comments came during a two-day Sabeel conference held in a PCUSA church in downtown Washington. The conference attracted more than 350 people, the majority of them members of mainline denominations, according to organizers. It was the 16th such event that Sabeel has held in North America over the last three years.
_ Ira Rifkin
Israel’s Muslims Accused of Exploiting Incident in Christian Church
JERUSALEM (RNS) Israel’s acting prime minister has accused the country’s Muslim leaders of capitalizing on an incident in which firecrackers were set off in a Christian church.
“There is an attempt to reap political capital from this incident,” Ehud Olmert, Israel’s acting prime minister, said Sunday (March 5), referring to a Friday (March 3) incident in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. “There is something almost ludicrous about the heads of the Muslim community, which is not noted for displays of tolerance toward Christianity, marching at the head of a protest over an incident caused by an eccentric couple, and trying to leverage the event for their election campaign.”
Haim Habibi, who is Jewish, and his Christian wife, Violette, set off firecrackers in the church. According to tradition, the church’s grotto was the home of the Virgin Mary and the site of the Annunciation, in which an angel appeared to the young virgin, announcing she would give birth to Jesus.
The attack, which the indigent couple said was intended to draw the government’s attention to their economic woes and problems with social services, sparked widespread rioting by Arab Christians and Muslims from the religiously mixed town.
Immediately after the attack, which took place during a Lenten service and reportedly caused minor damage to the church, hundreds of youths converged on the basilica and tried to enter. Rocks were thrown at police and badly damaged a police car and an ambulance. A dozen police officers and civilians were injured.
The next day, Saturday, thousands of Christians and Muslims participated in a peaceful protest march led by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah, as well as local Christian and Muslim officials. Some marchers held Palestinian flags or signs reading “Israel breeds hate.”
Haaretz.com, part of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, reported that the Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a Vatican representative for holy sites in Israel, met with the Habibi family Monday (March 6) and said: “It is the intention of the church to forgive. This hurt us but we are not holding a grudge.”
_ Michele Chabin
Muslim Students Seek Apology From University of South Alabama Paper
(RNS) Muslim students at the University of South Alabama are seeking an apology from the school’s student newspaper, the Vanguard, after it reprinted a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
“We just wanted an apology and for them to not do it again,” said Joseph Stewart, a freshman who is president of the school’s Muslim Students Association. “We’re just saying this is rude; it offended a lot of people.”
The newspaper has no intention of apologizing, however, said Jeff Poor, the Vanguard’s editor in chief. He said the newspaper printed the cartoon to back freedom of speech. “We stand by our decision,” Poor said.
The cartoons were first printed in a Danish newspaper last year. Protesters worldwide have decried them as a deliberate affront to Islam, and a number of demonstrations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East have turned violent. Islam generally forbids the depiction of human form as a type of idol worship. Many Muslims consider images of Muhammad to be blasphemy.
The Vanguard featured the cartoon as part of an editorial titled “A truly free press must not cower down to extremists” in its Feb. 13 edition.
“Although the editorial staff at the Vanguard does not approve or support the intent of being offensive for the sake of being offensive of the cartoons, we firmly stand behind freedom of speech and freedom of the press,” said the paper in the editorial.
_ Jeff Amy
Pat Boone Wins `Faith & Values’ Lifetime Achievement Award
(RNS) Recording artist Pat Boone, 73, was given a lifetime achievement award at the 14th annual Movieguide Faith & Values Awards.
The awards are the brainchild of Christian movie critic Ted Baehr, whose mission is to encourage writers and producers to develop movies with “stronger Christian values and principles.”
Five prizes of $50,000 each were handed out Thursday (March 2) and a lifetime achievement award was given to Boone “for his tireless and superior efforts over many years to redeem the values of the mass media and to present the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the mass media.”
In the 1950s, Boone, known for his white buck shoes, was so popular that some thought he might rival Elvis Presley. As Boone aged, he became increasingly known for promoting evangelical Christian values.
Baehr, who is the founder and publisher of Movieguide, a biweekly movie review service aimed at advising evangelical moviegoers, said he hoped the addition of two new $50,000 awards this year would have a lasting impact.
“As soon as you recognize and commend, you get people who want to move in this direction,” Baehr said.
One of the new awards, the Ware Foundation Libertas Prize, gives $50,000 to the executive producer of a TV show or movie that did “the most to improve cultural understanding between Americans and people in other countries.”
The prize was split between the TV series “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye.”
Movieguide’s other new $50,000 prize was split between three new screenwriters _ David M. Anthony, Heather Hughes and Graham Moes _ for most spiritually uplifting screenplays by first-time screenwriters.
An episode of “7th Heaven” won the $50,000 prize for most inspiring TV program of 2005.
In addition, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” won for most uplifting movie and topped Movieguide’s list of the 10 best family films of 2005. “Pride and Prejudice” headed off the list of 10 best films for mature audiences.
The Movieguide’s awards gala was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
_ Zain Shauk
Quote of the Day: Thomas S. Monaghan, Catholic philanthropist and founder of Domino’s Pizza:
(RNS) “I would say I just misspoke, the town will be open to anybody.”
_ Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan, after previously announcing plans to develop a Florida town governed by Catholic principles _ including a ban on birth control _ consistent with his nearby university, Ave Maria. He was quoted by the Associated Press.
MO/PH END RNS
