c. 2006 Religion News Service

Jury Gives $115,000 to Woman Who Declined to Discuss Her Faith

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (RNS) A federal jury has awarded a Huntsville woman $115,000 in damages after finding she was fired as a medical clinic office manager when she chose not to discuss her relationship with God with a doctor.

The jury returned the verdict Dec. 20 in favor of Carolyn Hall, who sued her former employee, Alabama Pain Center, in February 2005.

Hall was awarded $15,000 in mental anguish and $100,000 in punitive damages. The jury deliberated two hours before returning the verdict.

Hall testified during the three-day employment discrimination trial before U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith. Hall contended her firing came after a meeting with Dr. Dean Willis, who told her in October 2003 that he was concerned about her job performance because he did not know where she stood with God. Willis also held daily prayer meetings at the center.

Hall responded that her relationship with God was personal and chose not to discuss it. Hall was hired July 8, 2002 and was fired Feb. 3, 2004.

Defense lawyer Donna S. Pate could not be reached for comment. In court documents, the defense maintained Hall was fired because of her job performance, not because she was the victim of discrimination.

Willis, who testified in the case, also denied the October 2003 conversation occurred.

John Saxon, Hall’s attorney, said she obviously concluded that religion is a deeply personal matter.

“No employer should impose his or her religious beliefs on employees or force that employee to talk about her deeply held religious beliefs if she did not want to,” Saxon said.

_ Val Walton

Study Says Conflict, Race Influence Church Growth

(RNS) Congregations interested in growing weekly attendance would do well to make a plan for recruiting new members, become multi-racial and make sure serious conflict doesn’t take root.

That’s the message of a new analysis released this month (December) by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary. The “FACTs on Growth” report, based on data collected in a 2005 survey of nearly 900 congregations, found that congregations reporting growth in worship attendance between 2000 and 2005 tended to exhibit certain common attributes.

Multi-racial congregations had a better chance of growing than those predominantly consisting of one racial group. Sixty-one percent of multi-racial congregations said they had experienced growth, while just 31 percent of predominantly Anglo congregations said the same.

But even more important may be whether people in the pews, no matter their race, actually get along with one another.

“Whether or not a congregation finds itself in serious conflict is the number one predictor of congregational decline,” writes C. Kirk Hadaway, director of research for the Episcopal Church and author of the report. “This finding points out the need for conflict resolution skills among clergy so minor conflict does not become serious, debilitating conflict.”

Conversely, congregations were most likely to grow if they:

_ had a clear mission and purpose as a congregation

_ conducted “joyful” worship services

_ adopted a specific plan for recruiting new members

_ had changed worship format at one or more services in the past five years.

What’s more, congregations were likely to grow when men comprised the majority of active participants. Among congregations where at least three out of five regular participants were men, 59 percent of congregations reported growth. But among churches where no more than two in every five regular participants were men, only 21 percent said they had experienced growth.

“As American congregations become increasingly populated by women,” the report says, “those congregations that are able to even out the proportions of males and females are those most likely to grow.”

_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald

Swedish Church Introduces Burial Rites for Aborted Fetuses

BORAS, Sweden (RNS) Bishops of the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden have issued instructions for burial rites for aborted fetuses, called a “pastoral ceremony” that does not include a worship service.

The instructions were contained in a bishops’ letter published on Dec. 13.

Bishop Erik Aurelius, one of the authors of the document, told Religion News Service that the instructions were issued because “there have already been reports of a small number of cases of such burials.”

He said the church envisions a pastoral ceremony for fetuses aborted in late pregnancies for medical reasons. Priests will not question why the abortions were conducted, even if fetuses aborted in early pregnancies, for non-medical reasons, were presented for burial.

Late-term abortions for medical reasons are always very difficult for the parents, Aurelius added. “There are a lot of sorrow and guilt and these burials will be a part of the pastoral care that a priest administers to grieving couples,” the bishop noted.

“There will be no rituals for such ceremonies. We leave it to the pastor and his or her wisdom,” he said.

The letter also called for the holding of funeral services for deceased church members even if there are no relatives and the only person in attendance is the priest.

“The church has the responsibility to at least try to have a burial service for every member, and this will not be anything less than an ordinary service with relatives present.”

_ Simon Reeves

Quote of the Day: Barbaro surgeon Dean Richardson

(RNS) “It’s not a miracle. It’s anything but that. Some of the Barbaro fans aren’t going to like that, perhaps. I’m a scientist, I’m not a doctor. I’m not a faith healer or a religious person. I believe in the application in science and I think nothing that’s happened to him is particularly miraculous.”

_ Dean Richardson, the chief surgeon for Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who broke his right rear ankle at the Preakness in May. Richardson, of the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, was quoted by the Associated Press.

KRE/JL END RNS