c. 2007 Religion News Service
Slim plurality of Anglicans say Episcopalians met demands
(RNS) A slim plurality of national churches in the Anglican Communion has given the Episcopal Church passing marks for pledging in September to stop ordaining gay bishops and authorizing rites for same-sex unions.
Ten of the 38 Anglican provinces, however, say they are not assured that the American church has halted its support for homosexuality, which they condemn as unbiblical.
The Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the global Anglican Communion, has been under intense pressure from Anglican archbishops in the so-called Global South to roll back its pro-gay policies or face a reduced role in the communion.
Episcopal bishops in September clarified an earlier pledge and stated explicitly that they will “exercise restraint” before consecrating another gay bishop; they also pledged not to authorize rites for same-sex blessings, though some acknowledged such blessings occur in their dioceses.
A joint standing committee appointed by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in October that Episcopalians had “clarified all outstanding questions” on the matter and given the needed assurances.
Williams then solicited the opinions of the 38 provinces, or national churches.
Twelve Anglican provinces agreed with the joint standing committee, according to a report issued by Williams last week. Ten provinces disagreed; 12 provinces did not reply; three offered a mixed response and one province said it would reply after further consultation.
_ Daniel Burke
Methodist commission moves toward `full communion’
(RNS) A joint commission representing the predominantly white United Methodist Church and several smaller black Methodist churches has voted to seek an official declaration of “full communion.”
The Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation & Union adopted a resolution at its Nov. 15-17 meeting in Chicago that will be presented at the major meetings of their member denominations over the next few years. The commission also wants a shorter name: “Pan-Methodist Commission.”
“I think it is a significant step,” said the Rev. Daryll H. Coleman, a representative of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church who has served on the commission for almost 12 years. “It allows us to make a visible witness of the cooperation that we even now already practice and express.”
Coleman’s denomination and two other historically black denominations, the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, have been longtime members of the commission, along with the United Methodist Church.
Two other predominantly black religious bodies, the African Union Methodist Protestant Church and the Union American Methodist Episcopal Church, have recently begun participating in the commission meetings.
Coleman said “full communion” includes recognition of the ordination of ministers in each other’s denominations and sharing of sacraments such as baptism and the Eucharist.
“I think that each of the African-American denominations are very intentional in terms of us desiring to work towards cooperative unity,” Coleman said. “We’re not looking at organic union.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Businessman pledges $70 million to Oral Roberts University
OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) A Christian businessman whose family owns hundreds of retail stores known for closing on Sundays offered beleaguered Oral Roberts University 70 million reasons Tuesday (Nov. 27) to clean up its act.
Mart Green, founder and CEO of Christian office and educational supply store chain Mardel, said his family gave the financially troubled, charismatic Christian university in Tulsa $8 million to help with immediate needs.
Green said the family would donate an additional $62 million in 90 days _ but only if an in-depth business review confirms that ORU has straightened out financial, leadership and governance concerns.
“ORU must restore its trust, its battered reputation and its beaten spirit,” Green said. “Now begins a time of healing. The board and Oral have agreed that significant changes need to take place.”
Mardel has 25 locations in six states; Green’s family also owns 395 Hobby Lobby arts and crafts stores in 32 states. Both Oklahoma City-based chains close on Sundays to allow employees to attend church and spend time with family.
Green, who has no personal ties to ORU, said he read about its problems in the newspaper. He spoke at a news conference at ORU after two days of closed-door meetings by the university’s board of regents.
Regents voted unanimously to accept embattled President Richard Roberts’ resignation and begin a search for a new president, said the Rev. George Pearsons, the board’s chairman.
Roberts, the son of ORU’s namesake founder, submitted his resignation as university president Friday (Nov. 23) amid intense scrutiny over allegations of financial, political and other wrongdoing. He was the second president in the 42-year history of ORU, succeeding his father, Oral Roberts, in 1993.
ORU has been embroiled in controversy again since a lawsuit was filed Oct. 2 by three former professors who claim efforts to act as whistleblowers cost them their jobs.
“We live in a litigious society,” Richard Roberts told a campus chapel service. “Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person whether they have a legitimate case or not. This lawsuit … is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion.”
_ Bobby Ross Jr.
Pope offers `working meeting’ with Muslims
VATICAN CITY (RNS) In response to a letter from Muslim leaders seeking better relations with the Christian world, Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday (Nov. 29) invited those leaders to the Vatican for a “working meeting” on inter-religious dialogue.
Writing on behalf of the pope, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, expressed Benedict’s “gratitude” and “deep appreciation” for an open letter that 138 Muslim scholars and clerics sent to the pope on Oct. 13.
That letter invoked the common principles of “love of the One God, and love of the neighbor” as the ultimate basis for peace between Muslims and Christians. Bertone’s reply acknowledged and reaffirmed those points.
“Without ignoring or downplaying our differences as Christians and Muslims, we can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely, belief in the one God,” the cardinal wrote.
Bertone noted that Benedict was “particularly impressed by the attention given (by the Muslim letter writers) to the twofold commandment to love God and one’s neighbor.”
Dated Nov. 19 but published only on Thursday, Bertone’s letter was addressed to Jordan’s Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, a signatory of the Oct. 13 letter.
The cardinal invited Ghazi and a “restricted group of signatories” of the prince’s choosing to visit the Vatican, for both an audience with Benedict and a “working meeting” with Vatican experts on inter-religious dialogue.
_ Francis X. Rocca
Joyce Meyer says $23,000 `commode’ is not a toilet
(RNS) Joyce Meyer Ministries said it plans to respond to a Senate investigation into lavish spending, and clarified reports of a $23,000 “commode.”
The Fenton, Mo.-based ministry is one of six evangelical TV ministries that has until Dec. 6 to respond to a request for financial information issued by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
Grassley, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said his requests came after public complaints and news media reports alleged large salaries and affluent lifestyles by various religious leaders.
Grassley’s staff plans to meet with representatives of Joyce Meyer Ministries on Tuesday (Dec. 4), said Jill Gerber, his committee press secretary.
In his Nov. 5 letter to that ministry, Grassley said the Jefferson County, Mo., real estate assessor’s office had recorded a purchase of a $23,000 “commode with marble top.” He asked for verification of the cost and an explanation of its tax-exempt purpose.
Responding to that query, the ministry said: “While many have mistakenly associated this piece of furniture with a common household toilet, this particular term actually refers to the classic definition of commode identified by Webster’s Dictionary as, `a tall elegant chest of drawers.”’
The ministry said it was one piece of a 68-piece furniture purchase in 2001 for a total of $261,498, but the $23,000 figure was an “errant value assigned by the selling agent.”
“Joyce Meyer Ministries takes financial stewardship and accountability very seriously, and this oversight serves as an opportunity to only improve future practices,” the ministry said in a statement.
_ Adelle M. Banks
British church roofs get unique `DNA’ markers
LONDON (RNS) British clergy, fed up with losing their church roofs to thieves, are striking back by daubing the lead and copper coverings with a high-tech liquid to provide each church with its own traceable “DNA.”
The chemical, called SmartWater, makes an individual _ and invisible _ identification mark that experts say can be read even if the metal has been melted down.
If the lead or copper can be recovered in usable form, then so much the better. But in any case, the “DNA” mark will enable police to pinpoint exactly which church the metal came from and give them a far better chance of apprehending the culprits.
Police authorities also believe that once would-be criminal gangs get the message that the roofs they are targeting are clearly marked, they will be inclined to lay off. Meanwhile, police also are cracking down on scrap dealers, warning them about the use of SmartWater and advising them not to accept scrap metal from churches.
The Church of England says it has been forced into action by a sharp increase in the number of thefts of church roofs, from 80 recorded cases in 2005 to some 1,800 already this year. Insurers have paid out some $12 million worth of claims in 2007 alone.
Police authorities say a dramatic surge in the price of copper and lead on international markets has spurred criminal gangs to strike at churches, which they have seen as particularly easy targets _ at least until now.
“This is bad news for metal thieves and good news for everyone else,” said Oxford Bishop John Pritchard, whose diocese has been victimized by 40 thefts of church metal this year.
_ Al Webb
North American Muslims issue fatwa against terrorism
WASHINGTON (RNS) North American Muslim clerics issued a fatwa against Islamic terrorism here Friday (Nov. 30), hoping to build on the just-completed Mideast peace talks and a Vatican invitation to meet with Muslim leaders.
The Fiqh Council of North America, an affiliate of the Islamic Society of North America, counts support from some 500 Muslim leaders and organizations for its condemnation of violence, chairman Muzammil H. Siddiqi said.
“Targeting civilians’ life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is prohibited in Islam _ haram _ and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not `martyrs,”’ the fatwa reads.
The fatwa also says Muslims have a duty to alert law enforcement about any threats to human life and must not cooperate with any group or individual involved in terrorism.
Friday’s fatwa follows similar attempts by moderate Muslims, including the Fiqh Council, to denounce violence, Siddiqi said. But both Siddiqi and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, on hand Friday to promote the fatwa, said previous calls were “widely ignored.”
Recent events worldwide, however, including Mideast peace talks in Annapolis, Md., and a flurry of correspondence between Muslim scholars and Pope Benedict XVI make this an opportune time to gain momentum in the U.S., leaders said Friday.
“We’ve reached a good plateau,” said McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington and a leader in interfaith peace efforts. “Now we have a good foundation to build on.”
McCarrick gently chided Americans for not heeding previous attempts by moderate Muslims to be heard. The fatwa, he said, “is a monumental step. … We’ve never taken notice before. Now we’re taking notice of the clear statements they’ve made.”
_ Daniel Burke
Court rejects Iowa faith-based prison program
(RNS) An Iowa prisoner rehabilitation program run by evangelicals oversteps church-state boundaries and should not receive government funds, a federal appeals court decided Monday (Dec. 3).
InnerChange Freedom Initiative runs a program “dominated by Bible study, Christian classes, religious revivals and church services,” ruled the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
“The direct aid to InnerChange violated the Establishment clauses of the United States and Iowa constitutions,” the court decided.
The prison program, which is affiliated with prominent evangelical Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship Ministry, received state funds from Iowa beginning in 2000. Part of that money should be returned to the state, the court ruled.
The appeals’ court ruling partially upholds a lower court decision from last June. The two courts differed on how much money should be returned.
While participation in the program was voluntary, those who signed up got better cells, were allowed more visits from family members, and had greater access to computers than other inmates, the court found.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which brought the suit against the prison program, said “government officials have no business paying for religious indoctrination and awarding special treatment and benefits to those willing to embrace one religious perspective.”
_ Daniel Burke
Lutherans issue election guidelines for churches
WASHINGTON (RNS) The nation’s largest Lutheran denomination has issued election-year guidelines for congregations and outlined seven issues, from hunger to health care, that reflect the church’s emphasis on social justice concerns.
The guide, “Called to be a Public Church,” from the 5 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, suggests ways for churches to participate in the political process without endangering their tax-exempt status.
But unlike the “Faithful Citizenship” guidelines recently issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Lutheran guidelines generally refrain from addressing specific issues such as abortion. Instead, the document highlights broad topics churches and parishioners could consider.
“This church understands government as a means through which God can work to preserve creation and build a more peaceful and just social order in a sinful world,” Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson writes in introducing the 76-page document.
Hanson said the guidelines are meant to help steer _ but not dictate _ discussions in local churches. The document is careful to note that “all of the suggested activities … are nonpartisan and do not encourage the promotion of any one party or candidate for public office.”
After reviewing basic IRS guidelines for tax-exempt churches, the guide suggests churches participate in poll monitoring or candidate forums. It says direct contributions, endorsements or get-out-the-vote efforts with particular candidates or parties are prohibited.
The guide also offers background materials from the ELCA’s Washington office on domestic hunger, housing, healthcare, global poverty and hunger, global warming, immigration, and peace.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Beliefnet acquired by Fox
(RNS) Beliefnet, one of the country’s leading Web sites devoted to religion and spirituality, is under new management as part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the Fox Entertainment Group.
The deal, announced Tuesday (Dec. 4), gives Beliefnet a new sense of permanence after it emerged from bankruptcy protection five years ago. The site is now profitable and gets 3 million unique visitors each month.
Steve Waldman, who co-founded the site nearly eight years ago, said the deal would give Beliefnet access to News Corp.’s advertising, video and technology expertise and allow “content collaboration that runs in both directions.”
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although Waldman said he was approached by Fox. “There was no huge rush to sell the company,” said Waldman, who will serve as president and editor-in-chief of the revamped company.
The acquisition adds to News Corp.’s $64 billion media empire, including the 20th Century Fox film studios, the Wall Street Journal, MySpace, the Fox Faith film division and HarperOne and Zondervan, two of the biggest names in Christian publishing.
Waldman said the site will retain its distinctly interfaith character even as News Corp. expands its mostly Christian media portfolio.
“We’re confident that we will maintain our strong commitment to serving all faiths,” he said. “It’s part of what enabled us to create our reputation, and our reputation is part of what they’re buying.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Progressives call for ceasefire in `Christmas culture wars’
(RNS) Progressive Christian leaders issued an open letter to “Christmas culture warriors” such as Bill O’Reilly Tuesday (Dec. 4), asking them to direct their outrage toward deeper moral problems like poverty and war.
“It’s time for a ceasefire in the Christmas culture wars,” the religious leaders write in the letter, which was printed in Tuesday’s editions of the New York Post and The Washington Times.
The letter, sponsored by the Washington-based Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, is also scheduled to run in the Dec. 14 edition of National Catholic Reporter, an independent newsweekly.
O’Reilly and John Gibson of Fox News, as well as Bill Donohue of the New York-based Catholic League, are called on by name to “join us in a new campaign of civility and conscience that restores our focus on the common good during this holy season.”
All three men, the letter says, have targeted department stores, local governments and school systems for saying “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas.
“To focus on how department stores greet customers at a time when American soldiers are dying in Iraq and 37 million of our neighbors live in poverty is a distraction from the profound moral challenges we face,” the letter says.
Donohue responded Tuesday (Dec. 4), saying “I need no lectures from those whose idea of helping the poor is opening a can of soup for them.” Donohue also said that “as a veteran, I have done more to promote the cause of peace than all the surrender types have every done. … They owe their very existence to people like me.”
Signatories to the open letter include Sister Yvette Arnold of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; Brian McLaren, a leader of the “emerging church” movement; Alexia Kelley, executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good; and Thomas Melady, former U.S. ambassador to Burundi, Uganda and the Vatican.
_ Daniel Burke
Quote of the Week: The New York Times
(RNS) “A headline last Sunday about a Muslim man and an Orthodox woman who are partners in two Dunkin’ Donuts stores described their religions incorrectly. The two faiths worship the same God _ not different ones.”
_ The New York Times, in a Nov. 25 correction referring to a Nov. 18 story with the headline, “Worshipping Different Gods (but United on the Issue of Pork)”
KRE/RB END RNS
