News Briefs
Items of Interest from Around the Church and Around the World
Black, Native American, Asian Missioners Leaving Church Center Staff
The Rev. Lynn Collins, missioner for Black and Urban Ministries, and the Rev. John Robertson, missioner for Native American Ministries, concluded their work at the Episcopal Church Center at the end of 2002. The announcement was made by Pat Mordecai, chief operating officer and assistant to the presiding bishop for administration.
“[L]ast February the decision was made to begin a search for a Director of Ethnic Congregational Development and the ethnic missioners were informed at that time that their positions were to end as soon as we had named the director of the department,” Mordecai said. “They were also told that the new positions would have a much stronger focus on growing and developing congregations, while maintaining the advocacy role so important within these communities.
“Because we have not had success as yet in nam
ing a Director of Ethnic Congregational Development,
we believe now, eight months later, that it is important to begin the process of transition and for some of the ethnic ministries staff to bring closure to their work as presently constituted.
“Early in the new year, we will begin a search
process for filling the new positions in Ethnic Congregational Development, and we will continue in our search for a director,” the statement concluded. “In the meantime, we hope to name an Acting Director of Ethnic Congregational Development in the near future.”
Mordecai said the church center is “very grate
ful” to Collins and Robertson for “their years of service and contributions to the life of this organization, our ethnic communities, and the church at large.”
On November 1, Mordecai announced the re
tirement of the Rev. Winston Ching, missioner for Asian Ministries, after 29 years at the Church Center, calling it “a remarkable accomplishment.” (ENS)
‘Firewall’ Resolution Passes in Diocese of Pittsburgh
A resolution touted as an attempt to build a “firewall” between self-described “orthodox Anglicans” and decisions of the General Convention passed at the 137th annual convention of the Diocese of Pittsburgh on November 2.
The resolution, modeled after one passed in February by the Diocese of South Carolina, states that the diocese:
•”affirms that the Creedal confession of the
Triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and of the unique saving work of Jesus Christ. We cannot use liturgies that depart from scriptural revelation and the historic Faith.”
•affirms “that in God's love for all people, the
only sexually intimate relationships receiving His blessing in Scripture and Tradition are those of a man and a woman within an intended life-long, faithful, marital covenant. The Church cannot bless any other sexual relationship, and we cannot recognize the blessing of any other.”
•affirms “the right of conscience for those who
cannot agree with changes in the Faith, Order, or Practice of the Episcopal Church when those changes contradict the expressed mind of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the historic catholic faith. We cannot
accept canons which mandate clergy and laity to comply with such changes.”
A similar resolution was passed earlier by the
Diocese of Fort Worth.
The 93 priests and deacons at the convention
favored it 73-14, with six abstentions. The 174 lay deputies adopted it 119-49, with six abstentions.
“We voted and recorded the pattern of our vote.
We tried not to be winners and losers, but rather brothers and sisters. Though divided, we sought to be one church in how we did what we did,” said Pittsburgh bishop Robert Duncan, who had initially supported the resolution but stated later in pre-convention meetings that he thought the resolution “divides and hurts people.”
He also provided assurances that the resolution
would not limit the use of liturgies by individual parishes wanting to use them, although such use might have to be overseen by another bishop. Duncan took no part discussion of the resolution, although he did preside.
The vote was taken by secret ballot after a motion to table the resolution failed. After its passage, members of the ad hoc group Those Opposed to Resolution One (TORO) walked to the front of the convention floor wearing signs that read “Christ Unites, Resolution 1 Divides.”
Kansas Blessings Policy Upheld
Narrow Margin Defeats Resolution Against Blessings for Couples Outside of Marriage
The 143rd convention of the Diocese of Kansas narrowly defeated a resolution opposing Bishop William Smalley's policy of blessings for couples outside of marriage in a vote that was characterized by people on both sides of the issue as “prayerful” and “grace-filled.”
The convention took place October 18-19 in
Overland Park, Kansas.The resolution, which had been proposed by 12 priests and two deacons, urged Smalley to reconsider his policy and would have put the diocese on record as saying the policy “does not reflect the mind of the diocese.”
The vote was taken by orders, a procedure that
in the Diocese of Kansas usually is used for votes on major issues, most recently in 1999 regarding apportionment rates.
The vote was: clergy in favor of the resolution,
31; clergy against, 38; clergy abstaining, 7; lay people in favor of the resolution, 60; lay people against, 52; lay people abstaining, 12. A majority of the votes cast in both orders was required for the resolution to be adopted.
Jean Crutchfield, president of the diocesan
standing committee, presided over the debate and vote. Smalley relinquished the chair, saying he did not think it was appropriate for him to preside over this matter.
Discussion of the resolution ran almost an hour,
with speakers in support of and opposed to the resolution alternating their remarks. More than a dozen speakers lined up at the two microphones, almost all of them priests, to make their views known.
Those in support of the resolution said they objected to the process Smalley used to issue his policy,
which permits parishes to decide if they wish to bless the relationships of non-married persons in liturgies that may not resemble marriage. Several speakers said that Bishop Smalley should not have acted unilaterally but rather should have waited for the church as a whole to move together on this issue.
Other speakers challenged the diocese to act prophetically on the issue of how the church treats homosexuals.
During debate another priest had indicated he
felt torn by the resolution and could see merit in both sides, resulting in his decision to abstain. He asked Crutchfield to call for abstentions as well as ayes and nays once voting began.
In remarks made earlier to the convention,
Smalley had called on those present to pause for prayer whenever anyone felt it was needed, needing only to say, “Point of order, we need to pray.”
Delegates called for times of prayer throughout
the deliberations of convention, including before the vote on this resolution. As delegates prayed silently, one person rose to offer the prayer for the unity of the church from the Prayer Book.
After the convention had concluded, Smalley
noted that the debate had been cordial and “showed the collegiality we enjoy in this diocese.” He said, “We do differ from one another but can deal with our differences with respect and cordiality. The entire discussion was wrapped in prayer.”
Diocese of LA Uses TV Ads to Fight Violence
The Diocese of Los Angeles launched a series of 30second ads on local television stations around Christmas to carry a message against violence--and to welcome people to the Episcopal Church.
The “Stop the Violence” campaign stemmed
from the recent cross-country “Hands in Healing” trip taken by diocesan leaders and youth. The spots feature some of those same youths speaking out for the prevention of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, gang activity, hate crimes and terrorism. The series of spots was prepared at the request of Bishop Jon Bruno by the diocesan communications office working in part
Diocese of LA Uses TV Ads to Fight Violence
nership with Collage Digital Video of Glendale.
While recognizing that it was not possible to
use cable television to provide complete coverage within the six-county region, the diocese tried to use its budget to purchase airtime for maximum effectiveness. In some cases it was possible, for example, to place the spots for as low as $50.
Other congregations and dioceses that might
want to consider adapting the spots for local use should contact Bob Williams at the diocesan office of communication, 213-482-2040, ext. 240 or at e-mail, media@ladiocese.org.
Norwegian Lutherans Name Second Female Bishop
Norway's second female Lutheran bishop, a trained scientist, was consecrated on February 9 at a ceremony attended by Norway's King Harald V.
Laila Riksaasen Dahl was ordained as bishop of the Diocese of Tunsberg in southeastern Norway. The king is the constitutional head of the church, and his attendance at the ceremony is seen as a sign of the royal family's support for female church leaders.
“The consecration will be a big day for the church as well as for the people. Guests from far and near will show the public that we are a part of a big family of churches,” said David Gjerp, who is acting bishop of the diocese until Riksaasen Dahl takes over.
Scandinavia's first female bishop, Rosemarie Kohn, also from Norway, was consecrated in 1993. Kohn will also take part in the festivities to mark Riksaasen Dahl's consecration.
Today most Nordic countries have female bish
ops. In addition to Norway, Sweden has two, Denmark has one, and the Lutheran bishop of Greenland, a selfgoverning Danish territory, is also a woman. However, Iceland and Finland do not have women bishops.
Riksaasen Dahl was appointed to the Tunsberg diocese in September last year to succeed Bishop Sigurd Osberg, who retired in December after 12 years at the head of the diocese.
Riksaasen Dahl has served as a parish priest since 1995. She has university degrees in mathematics and chemistry, and has been a teacher as well as a lecturer at the Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology.
The Church of Norway has 11 dioceses, each headed by a bishop. Today, about 15 per cent of the Church of Norway's pastors are women, but more than half of the theological students are female, Lutheran World Information reported. Women make up 40 per cent of the Church of Norway's national council.
Religious Leaders Meet with Pentagon Officials
A group of religious leaders met with Pentagon officials, including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, December 18 to discuss aspects of the war on terrorism. Participants described the two-hour meeting as a “good exchange.”
Pentagon officials briefed the church leaders on
America's role in Afghanistan and the changing shape and source of threats. They took questions from the church leaders on the religious and moral implications of the military campaign. “Today the enemy is not all that visible or discernible or noticeable and yet is a very, very real threat and represents imminent danger,” said the Rev. Clarence Newsome, dean of the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC.
Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold said that
he left the meeting with “an enlarged sense of the complexities of the problems” facing military leaders as they combat the threats of terrorism, but he reasserted his opposition to the possibilities of war with Iraq. “I still
have the gravest reservations about a war, but I certainly was encouraged that some of the nuances and complexities that are so integral here are being included in the conversations” at the Pentagon, he said in an interview.
Newsome and Griswold said that the church
leaders suggested that an increase of American concern for some of the major problems of the world, such as the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, might help combat terrorism. As Anglican churches continue their growth in many African countries, Griswold said that a generation of AIDS orphans and militant strains of Islam threaten to destabilize the region and make it ripe for terrorists looking for recruits. “I said I think we need to be aware of these sorts of larger concerns,” he said.
Bishop John Chane, the new bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, joined church leaders in the discussions, along with Jewish, Roman Catholic, Methodist and Evangelical representatives.
Pennsylvania Council of Churches Announces Award
The Pennsylvania Council of Churches has announced the creation of the Welcome To All award. The recognition will honor congregations that are making an outstanding effort to include people with disabilities. The award is open to all individual houses of worship in Pennsylvania, including churches, synagogues, and mosques. The honorees will be announced on May 1, 2003. In announcing the award, the Rev. Doug Hodges, Coordinator for Contract Chaplaincy with the Council, explained that the Council hopes to recognize congregations that not only welcome people with physical disabilities, but also people with mental disabilities. “We hope that the Welcome To All award will recognize congregations who have removed barriers and help other congregations think about ways they can remove barriers as well.”
Churches Join Humanitarian Campaign to Aid Iraqi Children
Several religious organizations--including Church World Service (CWS), the relief and development arm of the National Council of Churches--have joined a campaign to raise $1 million to address critical health care needs of Iraqi children.
Funds raised by the “All Our Children” cam paign will purchase desperately needed items such as antibiotics, anesthesia, intravenous kits and devices to monitor clean drinking water. The United Nations attributes the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children to an extremely complex web of internal and external forces, including the trade sanctions that were imposed in 1990.
“It is a crisis of tragic proportions to which com
passionate people of faith in the United States must respond,” according to the appeal. “At a time of great anxiety about another war in Iraq, this effort by people
in the USA will be a tangible demonstration of our love for children, a love shared by all humanity.” The plan is to distribute the supplies to pediatric hospitals under the supervision of international relief organizations.
Many of those organizations have been providing relief for more than a decade. CWS, for example, has already provided more than $3 million in blankets, food, medical supplies and other aid for children and their families since 1991. The Mennonite Central Committee has shipped about $4.2 million worth of food and material assistance and supports a number of agricultural, educational and health-related developmental relief projects. CWS is cooperating with the Mennonite Central Committee to raise funds for more supplies and school kits that it shipped earlier to Jordan.
For more information call 1-800-297-1516 or go to the web site at www.churchworldservice.org
Episcopalians Begin Work with Muslims in Georgia
Episcopalians and Muslims are working together in the Atlanta metro area to help Muslim refugees establish new lives in Georgia, according the the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We'll learn from each other and we'll grow
together,” said the Rev. Bob Hudak, rector of Church of the Nativity in Fayetteville. He is working with the Muslim Community Center of Atlanta and the Christian Council of Metro Atlanta on the refugee plan. The Muslim Community Center has become a popular meeting and prayer center and an anchor for the thriving Muslim community in Fayette that now numbers more than 500 people.
While the reception has been mostly warm, there
are signs that some are hesitant to accept Muslims in the community following the September 11 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. “The wounds haven't healed,” said Hudak, noting that some Episcopalians were not prepared to support a joint remembrance service with Muslims to mark the anniversary of the terrorist attacks and promote tolerance.
Yet Hudak is committed to interfaith network
ing, pointing out that some of his church members attended a dinner during the month-long Muslim observance of Ramadan.
Christians in India Pay Tribute to Irish Missioners
Christians in the Indian state of Gujarat have paid tribute to India's first Irish Protestant missionaries at the place where they started their work over 160 years ago.
“The church here is a child of the Irish missionaries,” said Bishop Vinod Kumar Malaviya of the Church of North India at the November 28 ceremony in Rajkot attended by nearly a thousand members from the region.
James Glasgow and Alexander Kerr were sent
by the Presbyterian Church of Ireland in 1841 and were soon followed by another 55 missionaries who founded many schools throughout the state. Philip McDonagh, Ireland's ambassador to India, said that his presence at the celebration was “an acknowledgment of the strong link between the Irish Presbyterian Church and Gujarat.”
He pointed out that the decision to send the missionaries was one of the first decisions of the church's General Assembly after its founding in 1840.
The strong link continues. Nigel Eves, the Presbyterian Church's Asia desk secretary, said that the church had raised 710,000 pounds sterling to support the relief and rehabilitation work of the Church of North India (a 1970 merger of Anglicans and other Protestants as one of four United Churches in the region) after a recent earthquake.
“I cannot remember another time when there
has been such an overwhelming response,”he said. At least 20,000 people were killed and another million made homeless by the earthquake, according to government statistics.
A Year After the Fall of the Taliban, Vigilance is Still Needed in Afghanistan
While lauding social and political progress made in Afghanistan during the past year, Afghan human rights activists say much vigilance--and international support--is needed to protect human rights in what remains a very insecure, and in some cases hostile, environment.
Even so, in recent interviews after the one-year
anniversary of the US-led military campaign which resulted in the fall of the Taliban regime--which wanted to create the world's purest Islamic state–several activists said changes in Afghanistan should not be minimized.
“There has been a kind of restoration in Af
ghanistan,” said Sarwar Hussaini, director of the Cooperation Center for Afghanistan (CCA), an Afghan human rights organization that has support from US church groups and relief agencies. He pointed to a sense of hope among Afghans, particularly those who had suffered under Taliban rule, and hailed progress that includes a fledgling press, which he believes is freer than the press in neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
“The situation is much, much better than it was
a year ago,” said Sima Samar, who heads the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and is the director of Shuhada Organization, an Afghan relief organization that also has ties to US churches and relief groups.
Nonetheless, both Samar and Hussaini said they
remained troubled about the problems experienced by women who, despite the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, still face serious inequities in education, employment and health care. “There are still many barriers for women,” Hussaini said.
The economic situation in Afghanistan remains
dire, Samar said, with women and children particularly vulnerable. “The country is in a bad situation,” she said of Afghanistan's still-teetering economy.
The activists said the lack of a national army,
police force and judiciary system remained a grave problem; they also echoed concerns by international human rights groups that the United States and its allies need to expand peace-keeping forces in Afghanistan. So far, peace-keeping forces have limited their role to work in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. As a result, Afghanistan's national government remains far too dependent on local warlords to maintain security, according to Human Rights Watch, the New York-based human rights organization.
Curiously, one of the remnants of Taliban rule,
the much-hated “Vice and Virtue,” a police-like religious force to maintain public morality, has re-emerged recently, though in a much tamer form than before. It still tries to exert public pressure to maintain conservative social decorum, though it is no longer taking men to task for the length of their beards or berating (or physically harming or even killing) women for their choice of dress.
Nonetheless, its continued existence is a trou
bling sign that the social conservatism that was unthinkable in Afghanistan 20 or 30 years ago retains a strong pull on the country. “Don't we need police rather than `Vice and Virtue' ?” Samar said.
Woman's Name Added to Reformation Monument in Geneva
Four new names have been chiseled onto the Wall of the Reformers in Geneva, including a female lay theologian. Marie Dentiere, a Flemish-born, 16th century Reformer now takes her place beside Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and other prime movers of the Reformation.
Dentiere's name will be joined by those of early
reformers Peter Valdes, founder of the Waldensian movement; John Wycliffe, responsible for the first English translation of the Bible; and John Huss, the preacher whose teachings united a movement in Bohemia.
Dentiere was described as “a theologian of surprisingly modern, reasoned feminism” by the Rev. Isabelle Graessle, a theologian who served as first female moderator of the Protestant Church of Geneva's Company of Pastors and Deacons.