c. 2007 Religion News Service
Associated Church Press Honors Top Religion Writing
CHICAGO (RNS) Religion News Service, The Anglican Journal and Alliance Life magazine took home top “Best in the Christian Press” honors from the Associated Church Press convention here on Tuesday (April 24).
Awards were given in 59 categories for work done in 2006 in the religious press. Top awards include Award of Excellence (first place), Award of Merit (second place) and Honorable Mention (third place).
Religion News Service was awarded first place for “Best in Class: News Service,” followed by Presbyterian News Service and ELCA News Service.
The Toronto-based Anglican Journal won first place for “Best in Class: National or International Newspaper,” followed by Episcopal Life. The Christian Chronicle and Mennonite Weekly Review were tied for third place.
Alliance Life won for “Best in Class: Denominational General Interest Magazine,” followed by DisciplesWorld and U.S. Catholic in second place and The Banner in third.
Other “Best in Class” winners include:
_ Regional Newspaper: The Catholic Sun (first place), The Alabama Baptist (second place), UM Connection (third place).
_ Special Interest Magazine: a Common Place (first place), Cathedral Age (second place), Lutheran Women Today and Reformed Worship (tied for third place).
_ Ecumenical General Interest Magazine: Sojourners (first place and only award)
_ Journal: Touchstone (first place) and The Cresset (second place).
_ Newsletter: Context (first place), At Home With Our Faith (second place); Lifelines and Vital Theology (tied for third place).
_ Independent Web Site or E-Zine: Cafe (first place), United Methodist NeXus (second place), Salt of the Earth (third place).
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Religion Important, but So Is Nation, Europe’s Muslims Say
(RNS) Muslims in three major European cities were just as likely as non-Muslims to identify strongly with the country in which they live and sometimes even more so, according to a new Gallup Poll.
Conducted between November 2006 and February 2007, the survey of 1,518 Muslims in London, Paris and Berlin found that most felt their religious belief did not compromise their loyalty to the countries where they reside.
In London, 88 percent of Muslims surveyed said religion is an important part of their lives, while 85 percent in Berlin and 68 percent in Paris agreed. When asked if Muslims are loyal to the countries in which they live, 74 percent of Muslims in London answered yes, as did 73 percent of Muslims in Paris and 72 percent in Berlin.
The poll also found that Muslims identified with their European countries as much as other Europeans. In fact, in the United Kingdom, 57 percent of Muslims said they identified strongly with the country, while just 48 percent of non-Muslims said the same.
Meanwhile, just 35 percent to 45 percent of non-Muslims in the United Kingdom, France and Germany believed that Muslim residents were loyal to their countries. Also, smaller numbers of Europeans described themselves as religious: France, 23 percent; United Kingdom, 36 percent, and Germany, 41 percent.
The poll had margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
Several events, including the London subway bombings and Paris riots, as well as the murder of a Dutch filmmaker by a young Muslim extremist, have contributed to the perception that Muslims in Europe are poorly integrated.
John Esposito, founder of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, said the poll “underscores that Muslims in Europe are integrated and wish to be integrated.”
_ Omar Sacirbey
British Group Seeks to Rebrand St. George, Country’s Patron Saint
LONDON (RNS) St. George has gone down in legend as the warrior-knight who rescued a maiden by slaying a dragon, but a new campaign is afoot to celebrate the patron saint of England as a caring person of conscience rather than a killer of monsters.
The Ekklesia religious research organization wants to rebrand George as “the people’s saint of the downtrodden” and to turn his saint’s day, April 23, into a national day of dissent for calling those in power to account.
Little is actually known of the early Christian martyr, who tradition says was born around 280 AD and never saw England. Sixth century legends immortalized him as the now-familiar warrior-saint wearing knight’s armor emblazoned with a scarlet cross.
His legend grew with the tale of his rescuing a Libyan king’s daughter from a dragon and then slaying the monster with his sword _ a deed that turned him into the medieval ideal of selflessness for Western warriors riding to the Crusades and flying the flag of his emblem, the red cross against a white background.
Over the centuries, the story of St. George and his slaying of the dragon has become a widely known theme represented in ecclesiastical art around the globe.
But, said Simon Barrow, who with Jonathan Bartley authored the Ekklesia report that appeared April 20 in the Church of England Newspaper, “It is time that St. George was reclaimed from the dragon, from past associations with racism and the far right, and from images of arrogant flag-waving.”
Barrow was referring to the adoption of the red-cross flag as a banner by fascist-leaning politicians warring against minorities in Britain and by England soccer fans warring against opponents in stadiums and streets.
The Ekklesia authors suggested that to consider St. George a symbol of “England alone, above, better” damages English people as a whole. Instead, Barrow said, George should be recognized as “the people’s saint.”
Jack Straw, Britain’s former foreign secretary who now leads the House of Commons, wrote in a public letter that he “resent(s) the hijacking of St. George and his emblem … by those on the far right.”
“I wonder if any of those who have wrapped themselves in a St. George banner and chanted objectionable, racist slogans ever realized that the man himself was a Turkish Arab?” Straw wrote.
_ Al Webb
Chris Tomlin, Aaron Shust Bring Home Most Dove Awards
(RNS) Singer and songwriter Chris Tomlin was honored six times at the 38th Annual Dove Awards on Thursday (April 25), earning more recognition than any other Christian artist at the Nashville, Tenn., ceremony.
Tomlin, who won five trophies at last year’s honors, was named artist of the year and male vocalist of the year. His “See the Morning” was named pop/contemporary album of the year and praise and worship album of the year. He also was honored for his work as co-writer of “Holy is The Lord,” which was named worship song of the year, and his involvement in “Passion: Everything Glorious,” which won special event album of the year.
Another winner in multiple categories was worship leader Aaron Shust, who was awarded three Doves, including new artist and songwriter of the year. He wrote “My Savior, My God,” which was named song of the year.
“Chris Tomlin and Aaron Shust deserve their moment to rejoice in the recognition their community has bestowed on them with their multiple Dove Awards and it is evident they will be impacting gospel and Christian music for some time to come,” said John W. Styll, president of the Gospel Music Association and executive producer of the GMA Dove Awards, in a statement.
The ceremony will air in national television syndication in May.
Winners in major categories include:
Song of the Year: “My Savior, My God” by Aaron Shust
Artist of the Year: Chris Tomlin
New Artist of the Year: Aaron Shust
Female Vocalist of the Year: Natalie Grant
Male Vocalist of the Year: Chris Tomlin
Group of the Year: Casting Crowns
Songwriter of the Year: Aaron Shust
_ Adelle M. Banks
Gay Bishop to Enter N.H. Civil Union With Partner
(RNS) Openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson said he and his longtime partner will register under New Hampshire’s new civil union law for gay couples when it takes effect next year.
“My partner and I look forward to taking full advantage of the law,” Robinson told The Associated Press.
The 59-year-old Robinson, whose 2003 election as bishop of New Hampshire has brought the global Anglican Communion to the brink of schism, has been with his partner, Mark Andrew, 53, for 18 years.
New Hampshire is set to become the fourth state to offer civil unions after the state legislature voted Thursday (April 26) to approve them. Gov. John Lynch said he would sign the law.
“I think this moves us one step closer to the American promise to all its citizens of equality under the law,” Robinson told the AP. “New Hampshire understands fairness and has acted on that value.”
Robinson is the first openly gay man elected as a bishop in the Episcopal Church. While Robinson is accepted by the Episcopal Church’s liberal majority, many conservatives in the wider Anglican Communion believe homosexuality is sinful and were deeply distressed by his election.
In February, Anglican archbishops demanded that the U.S. church promise to stop electing openly gay bishops as well as ban any blessings for same-sex commitment ceremonies by Sept. 30. The Episcopal Church has yet to meet those demands.
_ Daniel Burke
New Trial Ordered for Leader of Grave-Robbing Cult
(RNS) A New Jersey appeals court has ordered a new trial for a leader of a grave-robbing religious cult who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for directing a follower to steal human remains from two Newark cemeteries.
Miriam Miraballes, an alleged high priestess in the Palo Mayombe sect, was unfairly convicted in a 2004 trial after an expert on cults was improperly allowed to give his opinion on her guilt, according to a ruling by the Superior Court Appellate Division.
Miraballes’ appellate attorney, William Welaj, also argued that 15 years was an excessive sentence for the 61-year-old Cuban immigrant, who is being held at a correctional facility in Clinton, N.J. But the court said it did not have to rule on that question because it was ordering a new trial.
Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, said his office believes the Miraballes trial was handled properly and that it would seek to have the matter reviewed by the state Supreme Court.
Miraballes’ trial in April and May of 2004 came after a highly publicized series of thefts from above-ground mausoleums at Holy Sepulchre and Mt. Pleasant cemeteries. In one theft, the bones of Richard Jenkinson, a prominent industrialist and Newark mayoral candidate in the early 1990s, were dragged from his crypt at Mt. Pleasant.
Newark police and the FBI linked the grave robbing to practitioners of Palo Mayombe, a religion with African roots that experts say is practiced by a small number of Cuban immigrants. Palo worshipers at times use human skulls and other remains in their ceremonies.
Miraballes _ also known as Miriam Mirabal _ was accused of directing one of her followers, Ramon Gonzalez, who testified at her trial, to carry out crypt thefts. She was found guilty on May 3, 2004 of seven counts of burglary, theft and conspiracy to commit theft. On June 25, 2004, Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin sentenced her to 15 years in prison.
During her trial, Marco Quinones, who investigates religious cults for the New York Police Department, took the stand as an expert witness. According to the appellate decision, Ravin improperly allowed Dean Maglione, then an assistant Essex County prosecutor, to ask Quinones what role he believed Miraballes played in the cemetery thefts, instead of limiting his expert testimony to the general nature of Palo worship.
The ruling said Maglione “elicited an opinion that the `61-year-old Cuban woman’ was responsible for the cemetery thefts” and that his questions “called on the expert to opine on the credibility of the state’s case.”
The 3-0 ruling, written by Judge Harvey Weissbard, found that the “question and answer were erroneously admitted” by the judge, despite the failure of Miraballes’ trial attorney, Francisco Guzman, to vigorously object.
In addition, the appellate panel found that Maglione should not have been allowed to ask Quinones whether, in his expert opinion, a Palo priestess would be truthful in court testimony. Quinones responded that a Palo priestess would lie rather than reveal the group’s secrets.
_ William Kleinknecht
Report Says Catholic School Enrollment Continues to Slip
(RNS) Enrollment in Catholic elementary schools continued to decline in the 2006-07 academic year, while secondary school enrollment rose slightly, according to a report by the National Catholic Educational Association.
More than 2.3 million students are enrolled in Catholic schools in 2007, a drop of 1.8 percent from 2005-06. During the last two years, enrollment has declined by almost 100,000 students. It has fallen 12.5 percent since 2000, according to the report, which was released during the NCEA’s convention in Baltimore in April.
Since the 2005-06 academic year, 212 Catholic schools merged or closed, while 36 new schools opened, according to the report.
Enrollment is down throughout the U.S., but particularly in large urban areas in the industrialized North, which witnessed a 15 percent drop. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these areas were populated by high concentrations of Catholic immigrants, according to the report.
In contrast, there is an increase in demand for Catholic schools in areas of the Southeast and far West of the U.S., the report says, where 34 percent of the schools have waiting lists.
There are 1.7 million students enrolled in Catholic elementary schools in 2006-07 and 638,000 in secondary schools, according to the report. More than 25 percent of those students are minorities and almost 14 percent are not Catholic.
The peak year for Catholic school enrollment was in 1965, when 5.6 million students were enrolled in nearly 13,500 schools.
_ Daniel Burke
Christian Worship Expert Robert E. Webber Dies at Age 73
(RNS) Robert E. Webber, an expert on Christian worship, died April 27 in Sawyer, Mich., after suffering from pancreatic cancer. He was 73.
Webber, a professor of ministry at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Ill., was known for his expertise in the early church. He edited The Complete Library of Christian Worship, an eight-volume series published in 1995.
The son of Baptist missionary parents, Webber authored more than 40 books, including “Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail,” “Worship Is a Verb,” and “Ancient-Future Faith.”
“Robert Webber influenced many thousands of Christian leaders through his speaking and writing,” seminary dean Charles Hambrick-Stowe said in an announcement of Webber’s death. “Two qualities are at the heart of his teaching ministry _ authenticity and accessibility.”
Webber worked at the seminary for seven years. He previously spent 32 years as a professor of theology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., where he remained professor emeritus.
In 1998, he founded the Institute for Worship Studies, now known as the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, in Orange Park, Fla.
“Bob Webber significantly influenced many in our generation with the understanding that worship is the key to the renewal of the church,” James R. Hart, the institute’s provost, said in a statement.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Study Says a Dog May Not Be a Catholic Priest’s Best Friend
LONDON (RNS) Having a pet may seem an ideal way to relieve stress. After all, what better way to unwind than sitting down with a cat purring on your lap, or taking your dog for a leisurely walk?
But not if you are a Catholic priest, according to a new study.
Earlier research found that companion animals could improve physical and psychological health, particularly among the elderly. A team from the University of Wales, Bangor, wanted to see if that held true for Catholic priests, whom previous studies had shown were more prone to professional burnout than their Anglican colleagues.
Researchers led by Leslie J. Francis, an Anglican priest, surveyed 1,482 Catholic parochial clergy in England and Wales. The research team included a Catholic priest.
“Contrary to expectation, there was no evidence of improved work-related psychological health among the priests who lived with a companion animal,” they concluded. Their findings have been published in the international journal Mental Health, Religion and Culture.
One lesson was the danger of generalizing from one field of research to another: Studies on the benefits of pet ownership had been conducted largely among the elderly, the sick or the socially isolated. Catholic priests, it turns out, didn’t fit the pattern.
Having a dog _ and taking it out for a walk _ encouraged interaction with other people. But Catholic priests probably already had “all the access they need _ and perhaps more than they really want _ to social interaction,” the new study found.
Similarly, Catholic clergy probably already experienced all the distraction they needed, Francis and his team noted. Because of increased pressure due to the increasing shortage of priests, the study found priests might not have enough leisure time to benefit from having a pet in the rectory.
Commenting to the Irish Times, Francis said the study reflected the stress facing clergy. For many people, companion animals helped them unwind after a day’s work, but many clergy were “so severely overworked” that having a companion animal simply added to the pressure.
“Walking, feeding, caring for the dog,” he said, “can be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
_ Robert Nowell
Quote of the Week: Religion Historian Martin Marty
(RNS) “It used to be that every new Episcopal bishop was written up in Newsweek magazine. These days, just think of what you have to do as an Episcopal bishop to get mentioned in Newsweek.”
_ Religion historian Martin Marty, referring to the decline of mainline Protestant churches and the controversy surrounding an openly gay Episcopal bishop, at the Associated Church Press convention in Chicago.
KRE END RNS
