c. 2007 Religion News Service
Gordon College Triples Endowment With $60 Million Gift
BOSTON (RNS) An evangelical college on Boston’s North Shore is about to become nearly three times richer, thanks to a $60 million gift from a California couple whose two grandchildren attend the school.
The gift to Gordon College from real estate developer Dale Fowler and his wife, Sarah Ann Fowler, catapults Gordon’s endowment from $33 million to $93 million. In honor of the gift, administrators on Wednesday (Aug. 29) unveiled a sign naming the Wenham, Mass. campus, “The Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Campus.”
“Our great desire is for Christ to be pre-eminent in our management of wealth,” Dale Fowler told a school-wide audience at a chapel service marking the first day of school (Wednesday, Aug. 29). “Hopefully many others, led by God’s Spirit, will see in Gordon College an opportunity to make a difference.”
Even before pledging their endowment gift, the Fowlers had become active donors to Gordon. Their financial commitments paved the way for such projects as new bleachers for athletic events, campus landscaping projects and a soon-to-be-established post for an admissions recruiter in Southern California. Now the unrestricted endowment gift opens a range of opportunities for the school’s approximately 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students.
“The Fowlers’ gift is often the most difficult money for colleges and nonprofits to raise as most gifts go towards a specific project,” said Dan Tymann, the school’s executive vice president for advancement, communication and technology. “Their generosity will not only secure the financial future of the College, but will also allow Gordon to invest in more student scholarships, enhance faculty salaries, support new and ongoing programs and assist with capital projects.”
_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Lesbian Priest Among Candidates for Episcopal Bishop of Chicago
(RNS) An high-profile lesbian priest from Cleveland is one of five candidates nominated to be the next Episcopal bishop of Chicago.
The Very Rev. Tracey Lind, dean of Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral since 2000, is one of three women and the only openly gay candidate recommended by a search committee, the Chicago Diocese announced Tuesday (Aug. 28).
In June 2006, Lind said she took herself out of the running to become bishop of the Diocese of Newark, N.J., saying she felt called to remain in Cleveland. She said then that her decision had nothing to do with her sexuality although the issue of gay bishops has engulfed the worldwide Anglican Communion in controversy.
Lind cannot give interviews at this point in the electoral process, a spokeswoman for her said. But Lind released a statement saying she has been praying about her decision since she was approached last winter.
“I believe that accepting this nomination is what God is asking of me, and I will strive to respond to that call faithfully and with grace,” she said. “The remaining process is one of discernment for the people of the Diocese of Chicago.”
Lind’s nomination is likely to raise concerns among conservative Episcopalians already angry over the 2003 election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire. The national church has promised to “exercise restraint” when considering gay bishops, but has not agreed to ban them outright.
The other nominees are the Rev. Jane Gould, rector of St. Stephen’s Memorial Episcopal Church in Lynn, Mass.; the Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash.; the Rev. Margaret R. Rose, director of women’s ministries for the Episcopal Church; and the Rev. Timothy Safford, rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia.
Additional candidates may be nominated by petition during the next two weeks. The election is scheduled for Nov. 10.
_ David Briggs
Update: Billy Graham Released from Hospital
(RNS) Evangelist Billy Graham, who had been hospitalized for episodes of intestinal bleeding, went home Thursday (Aug. 30), his staff announced.
Graham, 88, entered Mission Health & Hospitals in Asheville, N.C., on Aug. 18 and underwent a colonoscopy four days later. The procedure revealed an area of active bleeding, which was treated with cauterization.
“We have been pleased that he has been able to come back from this incident as well as he has,” said Dr. Lucian Rice, an internal medicine specialist at the hospital, in a statement shortly before Graham’s discharge.
“He will continue to have therapy at home, and I feel that he can have a very good recovery.”
The colonoscopy showed that the bleeding problem was consistent with an arteriovenous malformation, which is a tangle of small blood vessels in the colon’s lining.
Medical staffers reported that the evangelist had been in good spirits and took frequent walks in the hospital, which is near his home in Montreat.
Graham suffers from Parkinson’s disease and other ailments and has been mostly homebound in recent years. Ruth Graham, his wife of more than 63 years, died in June.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Survey Says Women Solo Pastors Earn More Than Men
(RNS) Women clergy who serve as full-time solo pastors earn more than their male counterparts, a new study of church workers shows. But women who serve as senior pastors _ with other clergy serving beneath them _ earn less than males in the same position.
An overwhelming majority of solo pastors responding to a survey by Your Church, a ministry of Christianity Today International, were male. But the 6 percent of respondents who were female reported a total compensation that was 10.4 percent higher than male counterparts.
Looking at salaries and housing alone, researchers found, on average, that the earnings of female solo pastors were 8.7 percent higher than those of males.
The total compensation for female solo pastors was $62,472, compared to $56,558 for their male counterparts. In comparison, the average total compensation for women serving as senior pastors was $66,218 while their male counterparts had an average of $81,432.
Total compensation included the sum of salary and benefits, such as housing, retirement, continuing education, and life and health insurance.
The survey found the only other position where females reported higher compensation than their male counterparts was secretary/administrative assistant.
Information for the survey was gathered through mail and the Internet from January through May from subscribers of publications such as Church Law & Tax Report, Leadership Journal, Church Treasurer Alert! and Christianity Today International e-newsletters. Of the more than 5,750 respondents in 13 different church positions, 661 were solo pastors and 899 were senior pastors.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Orthodox Seminary Appoints Lawyer as Dean
NEW YORK (RNS) The flagship U.S. academic institution of Orthodox Judaism has appointed a rabbi with a law degree from Yale University as the new dean of its seminary.
Rabbi Yona Reiss will become dean of Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in New York. Reiss, who received his college degree from Yeshiva University and was ordained there, will replace Rabbi Zevulun Charlop. He officially assumes the post in July 2008.
“The kind of study they get there has to be of the highest levels of rigor and insight in terms of the discipline of Jewish learning,” University President Richard Joel said. “But it also has to be in a kind of seamless whole, with a sense of wonder about the world and discovery. For that task, Rabbi Reiss is kind of like the poster child.”
The appointment is significant because it comes at a time when there is some tension in the Modern Orthodox movement about how modern it should be, said Sylvia Barack Fishman, professor of contemporary Jewish life at Brandeis University.
“One response has been to reject modernity, to close it off,” Fishman said. “What the appointment of Rabbi Reiss seems to say to observers is, `No, we are not going to reject modern scientific knowledge and modern culture. We are going in the direction of embracing those things and using them to create a stronger traditional Judaism.”’
Reiss has worked in both the secular and religious worlds. He was an attorney with a New York law firm, and since 1998 has served as director of the largest rabbinical court in the U.S., the Beth Din of America.
Reiss said that experience fueled his passion for community service, something he hopes will influence the 340 students who are studying for the rabbinate at the seminary.
“I want others to be proud of having the benefit of this type of enlightened exposure to Torah Judaism and to bring the benefits of that education to the world,” he said. “I think the greater community is looking for guidance and would benefit from what Yeshiva University has to offer. We can reach out more.”
Reiss will be the fourth dean of the seminary, which has ordained 2,700 students since it was founded in 1896.
_ Ansley Roan
Orthodox Send Relief Supplies to Fire-Damaged Greece
(RNS) The U.S.-based International Orthodox Christian Charities is sending emergency relief supplies and a team of Orthodox priests to Greece to help communities devastated by weeklong wildfires.
As firefighters douse the remnants of blazes that have killed 64 people and cost the country at least $1.6 billion, according to news reports, IOCC says it is budgeting $75,000 for immediate needs.
“IOCC’s response to the crisis is a pan-Orthodox expression of hope to the victims,” said IOCC Executive Director Constantine M. Triantafilou. “The organization is addressing emergency needs, such as providing livestock, with an eye towards Greece’s long-term need to rebuild its agricultural sector.”
The forest fires, concentrated in Greece’s south, have damaged Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic games; destroyed at least 1,500 homes, and left 4,000 people homeless, according to international reports.
The Orthodox priests heading for Greece are experienced in trauma counseling, the IOCC said, having worked previously on projects after Hurricane Katrina and the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Founded in 1992, the Baltimore-based IOCC is the official humanitarian aid agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, an umbrella group representing nine U.S. Orthodox churches.
_ Daniel Burke
TSA Responds To Sikh Screening Concerns
WASHINGTON (RNS) Officials of the Transportation Security Administration pledged Thursday (Aug. 30) to continue discussions with Sikh leaders who expressed concern that revised airport screening procedures discriminate against people wearing turbans.
The TSA revised its rules about head coverings on Aug. 4.
“The new standard procedures subject all persons wearing head coverings to the possibility of additional security screening, which may include a pat-down search of the head covering,” reads a description of the rules on the TSA’s Web site.
The agency said such a measure was needed if security officials “cannot reasonably determine that the head area is free of a detectable threat item.”
Sikh men _ and some women _ wear turbans as a matter of religious duty. Sikhism requires men not to cut their hair. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, some Sikhs were attacked after they were mistaken for Muslims.
Majit Singh, board chairman of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said members of the Sikh community consider the new procedure to be discriminatory.
“We are deeply troubled at the potentially marginalizing effects this policy revision has on the Sikh American community,” he said. “While the need for securing our nation’s airports is undeniably important, the new screening procedures directly `profile’ the Sikh American community and other communities of faith.”
The agency said TSA Administrator Kip Hawley “takes their concerns seriously and is interested in reaching a workable solution that does not compromise security.”
Singh welcomed the response, saying he looks forward to working with TSA officials to create a procedure that “ensures that civil liberties are not violated.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Christian Group Fights Expulsion for Foot Washing in Court
(RNS) An evangelical Christian campus group that was expelled from Savannah State Univerity is in a legal battle with the college over the question of whether the practice of foot-washing can be considered hazing.
On Aug. 24, a federal judge denied efforts by the Georgia school to have the entire case dismissed.
The student group, Commissioned II Love, was recognized as an official organization in 2003 but was later suspended and then expelled in 2006, after some students complained to university police that its members engaged in “practices that are not unlike (that) of a cult,” such as “foot washings” and “baptisms,” a court document states.
“Christian groups can’t be treated as second-class citizens on campus,” said Joseph Martins, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund’s Center for Academic Freedom, which has sued the school on behalf of the group and its officers.
“What’s happened here is Savannah State University, which is a public university, has basically kicked off (the group) simply because they’ve been exercising their First Amendment rights.”
The group had been controversial on campus, holding events with guest speakers on its “Biblical Perspectives on Greekdom,” which criticized the partying atmosphere of some Greek-letter organizations.
Off campus, the group held a weekend retreat at a nearby beach at which current members washed the feet of new members, following a practice instituted by Jesus with his disciples.
A campus hearing officer ruled that there was a “cause of concern” about some of the activities of the group, which was charged with harassment and hazing.
University officials declined to comment on the suit.
“It’s an ongoing legal matter,” said Loretta Heyward, spokeswoman for the school. “It would be inappropriate for the university to make any comments.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Polish Cardinal Says Controversial Radio Station Needs Reform
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II’s former secretary urged Poland’s Roman Catholic Church to take control of a Polish radio station criticized for promoting anti-Semitism.
In a speech to his fellow Polish bishops on August 25, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow called for the establishment of a “new governing board” for Radio Maryja and its sister TV station Telewizja Trwam.
The stations reach millions of Poles, and are especially popular among the elderly in rural areas, offering content of a strongly Catholic and nationalist character. Critics have denounced the stations’ programming as xenophobic and anti-Semitic.
“We are at the threshold of a dangerous crisis _ somebody else is guiding the direction of the ministry in Poland,” Dziwisz said, according to a translation of his remarks by the Associated Press.
There is a “threat that the church in Poland is being identified solely with the position of Radio Maryja,” said the cardinal, who was Pope John Paul II’s top aide for decades.
The text of his speech was published on Tuesday (September 4) by the Polish weekly Tygodnik Powszechny.
According to the newspaper Zycie Warszawy, the Polish hierarchy was divided in its response to Dziwisz’s speech, with several bishops opposing the call to take over the broadcaster.
Radio Maryja is currently under the control of its founder, the Rev. Tadeusz Rydzyk, a major political figure in Poland, whose meeting with Pope Benedict XVI last month provoked complaints from Jewish leaders in Europe and the United States.
Earlier in the summer, a Polish magazine reported that Rydzyk had been recorded denouncing Jews and their influence on Polish President Lech Kaczynski. Rydzyk said that he “didn’t intend to offend anyone.”
In response to the complaints, the Vatican issued an unusual statement insisting that the pope’s meeting with Rydzyk did “not imply any change in the well-known position of the Holy See on relations between Catholics and Jews.”
_ Francis X. Rocca
Church Groups Push for Debt Relief Act
WASHINGTON (RNS) Liberal religious leaders will begin a 40-day fast this week (Sept. 6) to advocate for legislation that would cancel the debts of the world’s 67 poorest countries.
The Rev. David Duncombe, a veteran social activist and retired campus minister from Salmon, Wash., will fast for at least 40 days in the nation’s capital, according to the Jubilee USA Network, an alliance of more than 80 religious denominations and faith communities.
Participating in one-day fasts related to the Jubilee Act or endorsing the effort are the Rev. Jim Wallis, a progressive evangelical and head of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, evangelical author Tony Campolo, Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of South Africa, Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine and the Rev. John Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ.
2007 is a Sabbath Year, according to Jubilee USA, which in the Old Testament meant that Hebrew creditors were expected to cancel the loans of fellow Hebrews.
In June, Reps. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., introduced the 2007 Jubilee Act in the House of Representatives. Jubilee USA says their goal is to get a hearing on the bill and similar legislation introduced in the Senate.
_ Daniel Burke
Quote of the Week: The Rev. Leo Edgerly Jr. of Oakland, Calif.
(RNS) “You can go to Europe and see Gothic cathedrals. You can come to Oakland and see this.”
_ The Rev. Leo Edgerly Jr., a member of the advisory board for the new $190 million Roman Catholic Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, Calif., which has been criticized for looking like a beehive, an inverted basket or a nuclear reactor. He was quoted by the Associated Press.
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