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Where would you draw the line?

I've mentioned before that I'm taking part in the Faith Forum on Genetics sponsored by Pacific University, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, and the National Institutes for Health.  The project is designed to help faith communities grapple with the theological / ethical questions that surround new genetic technologies. 

One of the most difficult questions you'll encounter in this field of study is the question of disability.  Is it ethical, for example, to terminate a pregnancy because genetic testing shows that once born the fetus might develop alcoholism or some debilitating disease at a later stage of life?   

PBS's Religion and Ethics Newsweekly covers a related topic this week on their program.  Host Bob Abernethy says:

We have a special report today on a wrenching ethical dilemma that has emerged from new medical technologies. Doctors can now detect early in a pregnancy if a fetus has Down Syndrome. The condition usually results in physical disabilities and some degree of mental retardation. Armed with that information, expectant parents face the decision of whether to terminate the pregnancy.

My wife and I decided not to have our twins genetically tested.  That was a personal decision and we were fortunate that they were born without any problems.  I'm comfortable leaving decisions such as these up to the potential parent / parents involved.

But I also take seriously this statement from the National Council of Churches USA that was included in their recent report Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Policy On Human Biotechnologies

The promise and danger of biotechnology is perhaps nowhere more obvious than the ways it affects people with disabilities and their families. There is no one "disability" perspective on the use of biotechnology, for people with disabilities and their families are first of all people, with different values, theologies, and understandings about the purpose of life and God's call to care for one another.  The use of tools and processes declared to be neutral and value free, and designed to relieve suffering, holds great promise when they can support the lives of people with disabilities or alleviate unnecessary pain or suffering. But biotechnology becomes profoundly disquieting to many with disabilities when disabling conditions or predictions are equated with life long suffering, imperfection, or disease. When those personal and social values are combined with the power of technology to prevent the birth of a child with a disability or defect, the possibility of a new eugenics fueled by social values, market forces, and personal choice, rather than official policy, becomes quite real.

Our reflection causes us to challenge the assumptions that everything needs to be "fixed" or "improved" and that we know how best to do this; and that just because something can be done does not mean it ought to be done. Science cannot save us from finitude.

Click here to read and / or watch the PBS story.

Where would you draw the line?


NCC's 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches cites two 21st century trends: blogging and the Emergent Church

Press Release from the National Council of Churches

(Guess whose blog gets a mention in this new book....CC)

2006yearbookNew York, March 30, 2006 -- First it was the mimeograph machine and the Ediphone. Then radio preachers. Then, in rapid succession, the television, desktop computers, e-mail, CDs and mobile phones.

Almost from the beginning, American theology and church communication have been intricately linked with emerging technologies. Preachers have often sensed God's call to spread the word as loudly and as widely as possible, and many think electronic media are divinely inspired.

Now the National Council of Churches' 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches examines the latest electronic miracle -- the blog -- and considers its influence on the Emergent Church (EC).

No one knows how many bloggers occupy cyberspace, but chances are your teen or tween are updating their thoughts even now. Blogs are journals or personal diaries that, instead of being hidden in desk drawers, are posted on the Internet for the prying eyes of thousands or even millions of readers. Many blogs are updated daily to record the evolving insights of the blogger. Not every blog is compelling reading, but some blogs have a growing and devoted following, such as Ariana Huffington's www.huffingtonpost.com/ , for left-leaning viewpoints, or Hugh Hewitt's http://hughhewitt.com/ on the right.

When the Democratic and Republican Conventions provided bloggers with press credentials, it was a sign that the blog has become a prominent medium of 21st century communication. It was probably inevitable, then, that the blog would become an important tool of the Emergent Church.

The Emergent Church is defined by Yearbook Editor, the Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, as a "conversation" (some would say movement) birthed in 20th century Protestantism and "characterized by a robust, energetic and growing online and hardcopy literature" that attempts to shape responses to contemporary culture.

Common attributes of the EC, Lindner believes, are an emulation of the person and ministry of Jesus, a fondness for anecdotes and stories as means of discovering truth, a focus on mission, and a stress on the centrality of worship, even in experimental forms.

Scores of EC proponents are using blogs to advance these ideas and stimulate dialogue. Lindner says it is not possible to generalize them into a predictable demographic class, but she offers examples of prominent EC bloggers: John O'Keefe, founder of www.ginkworld.net, "an emerging/postmodern site exploring what it means to be a follower of Jesus in today's world;" Spencer Burke, former pastor, founder of http://theooze.com Web site, "dedicated to the emerging Church culture;" Mark Driscoll, founder of Mars Hill Church (www.marshillchurch.org) in Seattle; Mark Pearson, founder of www.cityside.org.nz in Aukland, New Zealand; and Karen Ward, founder and pastor of the Church of the Apostles, www.apostlechurch.org, in Seattle.

Emergent Church has become so popular among evangelicals that an EC track appears on the agenda of the National Pastors Conference sponsored by Zondervan and InterVarsity.

"Perhaps what has made blogging particularly interesting to religious people," Lindner writes, "is that journaling is already a discipline that religious people maintain in significant numbers." What is new, Lindner says, is that personal meditations can now be "easily and economically shared with a limitless number of others."

The blog is also becoming an important tactic for institutional communication. The Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, associate general secretary of the NCC for Interfaith Relations, maintains a blog at http://nccinterfaith.blogspot.com/.

No one knows what future technologies will offer, but Lindner expects blogging "to remain a persistent feature of the religious landscape" for the foreseeable future. EC blogging, she says, will remain on the Internet "so long as questions remain about faith, and people ponder the ultimate questions of life."

The 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches cites the following blogs that are used by Emergent Church practitioners for communication:

Biblical Theology—biblical-studies.blogspot.com

Bible Software Review Weblog—www.bsreview.org/weblog/blogger.html

Biblioblogs— www.biblioblogs.com

Café Apocalypsis—cafeapocalypsis.blogspot.com

Christian Alliance for Progress—blog01.kintera.com/christianalliance

Christian Origins—www.christianorigins.com

Christianity Applied—christianity-applied.blogspot.com

Christianity Today Online—www.christianitytoday.com/ctmag/features/weblog

Chuck Currie—http://chuckcurrie.blogs.com/chuck_currie

Daily Hebrew—dailyhebrew.blogspot.com

Emergesque—http://www.faithmaps.blogspot.com

The Evangelical Outpost—http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com

Get Religion—http://www.getreligion.org

Jesus Creed—www.jesuscreed.org

Idle musings of a bookseller—http://anebooks.blogspot.com

The Magdalene Review—http://www.magdalenereview.org

NCC Interfaith Relations—http://nccinterfaith.blogspot.com

Open Book—http://amywelborn.typepad.com/openbook

Religion News Blog—www.religionnewsblog.com

Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean—www.philipharland.com/

Blog Sollicitudo Rei Socialis—http://socialconcern.blogspot.com

Stumbling Toward Divinity—http://leppercolony.blogspot.com

The Sword—http://michaelturton2.blogspot.com

Think Christian—www.thinkchristian.net

The 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches costs $45 and may be ordered at www.electronicchurch.org.


Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom Will Hold June Summit For College Students

Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom (SYRF), a project of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, will be holding a national summit meeting for college age students from June 5-7 in Washington, DC.  What is SYRF?  From their website: 

Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom (SYRF) educates, organizes and empowers youth and young adults (ages 16-30) to put their faith into action and advocate for pro-choice social justice. SYRF is a program of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

SYRF creates venues for youth education and activism, designs youth-specific materials, and builds lasting relationships with youth oriented organizations, campus clergy, and youth programs of our denominations. Since young people lead this program, SYRF lifts up pro-faith youth and young adult perspectives on reproductive choice issues and provides young people with tools and opportunities to advocate for choice on their campuses, high schools, congregations and communities.

The summit is designed to teach college age students how to be effective advocates for reproductive rights in their faith communities.  Click here to download the flyer.  Pass it around your to youth groups and help get the word out.   


Accessible Airwaves For Us All

Just days after the United Church of Christ launched a major new campaign to encourage the mainstream media to include mainline voices of faith on news programs (in lieu of the Religious Right political voices now seen on most news programs) the National Council of Churches USA released this important related statement:

New York, March 30, 2006 - The president of the National Council of Churches, the Rev. Michael Livingston, strongly urged church communicators to, "Tell our story. By any means necessary."

"Mainline Protestant and Orthodox churches have been pounded into irrelevancy by the media machine of a false religion," Livingston said. He described what passes as religion to be, "a political philosophy masquerading as gospel; an economic principle wrapped in religious rhetoric and painted red, white and blue."

Livingston made his remarks this week (March 27) in Cleveland at the semi-annual meeting of the National Council's Communications Commission. He spoke to about 30 communicators from many of the NCC's 35 member denominations.

"Get it [our story] out there," he said, "this truth about the human condition and the work of the church, these churches, this one effort of millions of Christians alongside and through NCC/CWS [Church World Service] to live in obedience to the word of the one who sends us into the world: When you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it unto me. It all comes down to this, love God and your neighbor."

Livingston, who is also executive director of the International Council of Community Churches, lamented the media attraction to Pat Robertson and how the work seems to go unnoticed by Christians in agencies like CWS, Lutheran World Relief and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

The communicators were challenged not to mimic or imitate others.

"We need fresh approaches to telling our story, reaching and touching our nation with what we know to be a faithful response to the gospel," Livingston said. He singled out FaithfulAmerica.org as one way to share the good news of faithful Christians responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Livingston is serving the two-year term as elected president of the NCC through December, 2007. He has pastored Presbyterian churches in New York City and Los Angeles. He also served on the staff of Princeton (N.J.) Seminary prior to his current position with ICCC.

There are 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations who are members of the NCC comprising nearly 45-million Christians in North America.

Click here to read Rev. Livingston's full address.

And visit Accessible Airways to send a message to network executives letting them know how you feel. 


Senate Judiciary Committee Bill On Immigration Far Better Than House Bill

Religious groups have been at the forefront this year in the battle to defeat draconian anti-immigrant legislation passed in the US House.  The battle has now turned to the Senate.  This week the Senate's Judiciary Committee passed a pretty decent bi-partisan bill which attempts to deal with immigration in a fair and ethical way.  People for the American Way reports:

"This bill provides a ray of light and hope for hardworking, law-abiding immigrants who seek a path to citizenship and the promise of the American dream. It was a victory for the men and women who poured onto the streets of American cities seeking justice, and a victory for bipartisan leadership. The Senate Judiciary Committee demonstrated what is possible when our political leaders cast aside mean-spirited tactics meant to divide our country and work together in good faith to solve a vexing problem."

"This bill demands compromise from all quarters in the debate over immigration. It's not perfect, but it holds out the hope of finally achieving lasting, positive reform of our broken immigration system.

"It contains many of the most crucial elements of comprehensive reform. It offers citizenship to deserving immigrants. It does not needlessly punish Good Samaritans who provide food and shelter to the needy. And promising students who lack citizenship could put themselves on the path to permanent residency and a good education. I'm proud that People For the American Way supporters and activists poured thousands of messages into Capitol Hill to support the improvements in this bill.

"We still have concerns over portions of the bill, especially regarding the rights of immigrants to due process, and judicial review of their cases. Nevertheless, this bill is an enormous improvement over other proposals, and a rebuke to Senator Frist's attempt to force a punitive, enforcement-only bill to the Senate floor.

"We hope this spirit of bipartisan debate and compromise will continue as the bill proceeds to the Senate floor. We will not slow our advocacy efforts."

Unfortunately, Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, trying to gain ground with conservatives for his 2008 presidential race, is pushing his own version of the House legislation and keeping the bi-partisan bill from being debated. 

Send a message to your Senator asking that the Judiciary Committee bill get a full debate on the floor of the Senate.   

Update: Church World Service Action Alert


Jubilee Grassroots Conference: May 19-20 in Portland, Oregon

Notice from Jubilee USA Network

Join Jubilee folks from around the country for our first annual Jubilee Grassroots Conference in Portland, Oregon - May 19-20th!

You are invited to join Jubilee Oregon Network and the Jubilee USA Network Friday and Saturday, May 19-20, 2006, for our first annual grassroots conference and skills training! You will deepen your knowledge of the debt issue, have the opportunity to network with Jubilee supporters from around the country, and strengthen your skills needed to work for debt cancellation and economic justice for the world’s impoverished countries. We will be inspired by speakers from the Global South, have “how to” workshops on grassroots media, fundraising, advocacy and develop strategies together around the 2007 Sabbath year.

Examples of workshop topics include:
Spiritual Roots of Jubilee and Jubilee Congregations
Lobbying Congress from the Grassroots: Strategies to get your Representative to Support the Jubilee Act
Debt and Trade: How to link with labor movements

Logistics
The event will be held at First Unitarian Church located at 1101 SW 12th Ave in Portland, Oregon. Home stays are available on a first come first served basis so register early! The Mark Spencer Hotel (www.markspencer.com) is available for $89-$119 based on two-person occupancy. Each additional person is $10 per night. All rooms have kitchens.

Registration
The conference cost is $35 and includes 3 meals: Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday lunch and a celebration Saturday evening. Please send the
registration form and your check for $35 to: Jubilee USA Network 222 East Capitol NE Washington DC, 20003.

Travel and Registration scholarships are available for those would not be able to attend the conference without financial assistance. The deadline for the scholarship application is April 15. The application can be found here and sent to [email protected].


Jubilee Oregon members will help with homestays & hotel info where needed.

Conference Materials:

Flyer for use in outreach to grassroots Jubilee supporters
Conference schedule and workshop topics (tentative)
Registration form
Scholarship application

Please plan to join us! For more information, contact Diane at [email protected] or Nancy Yuill of Jubilee Network Oregon at [email protected]

Related Post:  Micah 6:1-8: A Sermon For Jubilee Sunday


John McCain Gets Into Bed With Jerry Falwell

Pastor Dan noted over at Street Prophets today that US Senator John McCain, a leading presidential contender in 2008, will be giving the commencement address this May at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.

One of the reasons that I’ve long admired McCain, despite the many policy differences I have with him, is that during his failed 2000 run for president he blasted Falwell and Pat Robertson and stated that the Religious Right had undue influence over the Republican Party.

Now McCain feels he needs the Religious Right in his corner come 2008. How pathetic.

If McCain will climb into bed with Falwell for a little love fest at Liberty you can bet he will climb into bed with anyone. With one move McCain has signaled that he is just another typical politician willing to say or do anything to get elected.

I hope the voters remember.


Rejection Hurts: Stories Of Being "Ejected" From Church

Would a church really outright reject someone from worshipping with them?

It happens quite frequently.

Women are often rejected from leadership in churches simply based on their gender.

There are churches that openly exclude gays from the communion table.

There was even one church that kicked out everyone who voted for John Kerry!

Part of the new United Church of Christ advertising campaign includes a web site – rejectionhurts.com – where people can share their stories of exclusion from churches.

The aim of this site is not to caste stones but to give people the opportunity to communicate the grief they have felt to others so that we can all learn from these experiences.

God doesn’t reject people. Neither should we.  All of us can do better.

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Read the comments on this post from Street Prophets


United Church Of Christ To Networks: Stop Playing Favorites

One of the primary reasons that I started to publish this blog was my frustration over the fact that whenever religious leaders were interviewed in the mainstream media on public issues the source was always some right-wing fanatic (Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell come to mind). I figured that maybe a blog might in some small way be a tool for spreading the Gospel message as many mainline Christians read it. Robertson and Falwell (add Albert Mohler to this category) don’t preach the same Gospel message that Jesus did and it continues to be a source of frustration to me and many others that the mainstream media continues to use those same sources as “the” spokesmen for all things Christian. It has to stop. Maybe now it will. J. Bennett Guess from United Church News reports:

Have the religious “mainlines” been sidelined? That’s the view of the Rev. Robert Chase, the UCC's communications director, who today announced a new blog-focused advocacy campaign to draw attention to ways in which the nation’s historic, mainline Christian denominations have been “silenced” by network and cable news programs.

Accessibleairwaves.org has placed ads on dozens of internet blogs, drawing attention to the UCC’s new effort to lift the public voice of the old “mainliners.” The announcement came on the same day that another of the UCC’s 30-second television ads was unveiled for the media, even though it has been rejected by the broadcast networks as “controversial,” therefore “unacceptable.” The newest ad, known as “ejector seat,” will begin airing April 3 on cable networks only.

The major networks’ silencing act is not only affecting the UCC, Chase said, but other mainline churches as well. According to Media Matters, a public-interest research group, you’re far more likely to hear from the head of Focus on the Family or the 700 Club, than you are a United Methodist bishop or the stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

“What do James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Richard Land and Gary Bauer have in common?” asked Chase at a press conference in Cleveland. “Together, they have racked up 36 appearances on the Sunday news talk shows, including Meet the Press and Face the Nation, during the past eight years.”

“But what do the principle leaders of the United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), American Baptist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Reformed Church in America, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, among others, have in common?” he further asked. “They haven’t appeared once.”

“Increasingly,” Chase said, “millions of U.S. Christians have grown weary of having their more-inclusive, more-progressive values silenced.”

Accessibleairwaves.org encourages mainline Christians to note and share how their denominational leaders have been left out of the public discourse. Moreover, the website -offers opportunities for persons to share their concerns with network news producers.

Visit the site and send a letter to the networks telling them to include progressive Christians on their programs.

For the record, I'm running the blog ad at no cost to my denomination. 

Related Link: Are Christians Being Silenced? How about the United Church of Christ? from Frederick Clarkson at Talk To Action   


United Church Of Christ "Ejector Seat" Ad Unveiled; Major Networks Refuse To Air It

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The United Church of Christ is unveiling our new television commercial this morning at a press conference in Cleveland.

Visit ucc.org to watch the spot (or click here).

“Ejector seat” is a funny commercial that will resonate with many who feel that typical church life leaves them out.

The national television networks have banned the ad claiming that the spot is issue advertising.  It will run on cable.

The New York Times has an article out about the commercial this morning:

The church will return on April 3 with a second commercial, also from Gotham, titled "Ejector Pew." The spot depicts a smug, traditional-looking family looking askance as they are joined inside a church by worshipers who are significantly different from them.

Suddenly, the worshipers who are disabled or elderly, or who appear to be gay, Hispanic or of Middle Eastern origin, are forcibly ejected from their seats. "God doesn't reject people," the commercial says. "Neither do we."

This time, the campaign, with a budget estimated at $1.5 million, extends well beyond television. The intent is to stimulate conversation and debate with so-called viral efforts that are to include a substantial online presence, on Web sites and blogs; chain letters, in the form of e-mail messages; audio podcasts; posters; events at local churches; and even merchandise like decals, tote bags, pens and golf balls bearing the phrase "God is still speaking," which is the campaign's theme.

In addition, the UCC has re-launched a website, www.accessibleairwaves.org , where the church’s communications office provides visitors with the opportunity to send a message to network executives asking that they allow mainline voices on television. More on this later.

Enjoy watching.

Update: Here's the Religion News Service story on the UCC ad


Religious Leaders Speak Out On Immigration

It has been truly stunning (and inspiring) to see massive protests erupt across the United States in opposition to draconian immigration legislation being proposed in the United States Congress.  Over 500,000 people marched in Los Angeles this weekend. 

Like with Iraq, there is great unity in the Christian community opposing these moves in Congress.  HR 4437, the anti-immigrant legislation passed in the US House of Representatives, is opposed by both leading Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders.  Click here to learn more about this legislation and click here for an action alert from Church World Service asking the US Senate to oppose the House legislation. 

Many conservative political leaders hope to use immigration as a wedge issue in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

Here are a few of the statements issued by religious leaders on immigration in recent weeks:

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

There are several reasons the Catholic Church is involved in the immigration debate. The Old and New Testaments, as well as the encyclicals of the Popes, form the basis for the Church's position. In Gospel of Matthew, Jesus calls upon us to "welcome the stranger," for "what you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me. " (Mt. 25-35, 40). The Church also is involved in the issue because many of the Catholic faithful are immigrants who need the support and assistance of the Church. Finally, the U.S. bishops believe that our current immigration system is not good for our nation and contributes to the human suffering of migrants. Thus, they seek to point out the moral consequences of a broken system.

The Rev. Bob Edgar, general-secretary, National Council of Churches:

In our policy on immigration, the National Council of Churches USA -- which represents 35 member denominations with more than 45 million adherents -- clearly states that under God, persons and nations are responsible to each other and for the welfare of all humanity. God mandates the Israelites in the Book of Exodus to "neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."

As Christians we believe that we are called to advocate for policies and mindsets that do not foster hate and perpetuate fear and discrimination. That is why we strongly urge Congress and the President to pass comprehensive immigration reform that upholds the dignity of all people and reflects the principles for which our nation was founded. Except for Native Americans, who were here when the boat landed, and African Americans who were brought here on slave ships, and Mexicans who were the original inhabitants of most of the Southwest, once, we, too, were strangers in this land.

The Bible teaches us that we have all been created in the image of God and God expresses love and concern for all of humanity -- the condition of our lives as well as the condition of our souls. Developing policies based on hate and fear of those who do not look like us -- but, are nevertheless created in the image of God -- is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bad public policy.

National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference:

The Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform calls upon President George W. Bush and Members of the Senate to enact legislation that will address all facets and dimensions of the immigration issue. Our concerns stems from the immigration legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives and the subsequent proposals currently in the Senate.

As Hispanic Evangelical leaders we are concerned with the security of our nation and the simultaneous well being of our immigrant families of which the majority is of Latin American descent. We support immigration reform based on our Judeo/Christian value system that empowered this nation of immigrants to thrive while preserving standards of compassion and humane treatment to all who seek a better life

The Hispanic Evangelical church consists of approximately 20 million Hispanics in America. We wholeheartedly understand the legal, moral and political juxtaposition surrounding this issue. However, we believe that we can protect our borders, implement current immigration laws and present a viable solution to the undocumented immigrants currently in our nation within the framework of Biblical mandates and our Judeo/Christian Value System.

Rabbi Scott Sperling, Director of the Union for Reform Judaism's Mid-Atlantic Regional Council:

As American Jews, we recognize the need for a generous, fair and non-discriminatory immigration policy. For over 350 years, Jews have sought freedom and opportunity on America's shores, and many continue to do so today. As a community, we are especially aware that generous immigration policies have benefited Jews fleeing persecution and economic hardship, and we remember painfully the times when these policies have been unfairly restrictive. Having struggled to adjust to a society that did not always welcome our arrival, we understand some of the challenges faced by today's immigrants as well as the need for a firm commitment to our nation's security.

In addition to our historic experience, our tradition also demands of us concern for the stranger in our midst. The Torah contains over 36 references to this principle, including Leviticus' command, "When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" [19:33-34]. Throughout two millennia of diaspora and disenfranchisement, Jews have clung to this principle, which permeates not only our religious tradition but the American legal tradition as well.

As both Americans and Jews, we keep this principle in mind as we face the reality of the eight to twelve million undocumented migrants currently living in the United States, and the hundreds of thousands attempting to come each year. Experience has shown that tightening security at the border alone will not work, as long as thousands of people are still desperate to enter this country to work or to be reunited with loved ones. We need real solutions to the problems that plague our nation's immigration system, not just cosmetic fixes.

What would those solutions entail? Like many others in the faith community, as well as members of the labor, business, and legal communities, we believe that a program of earned legalization for undocumented migrants already living in the U.S. would provide an appropriate alternative to programs aimed primarily at detaining and deporting eight to twelve million people.

Add your voice to this growing chorus.   


"Monday press conference to premiere UCC's newest TV ad"

Gissucc_1The United Church of Christ's new advertising campaign kicks off tomorrow with a press conference.  Visit this site and Street Prophets tomorrow morning for coverage of the press conference - and for the announcement of a new project the UCC will be launching.  Until then check out this article from United Church News for an update on the preparations:

Written by J. Bennett Guess

Friday, 24 March 2006

The UCC's national staff in Cleveland gathered in the Amistad Chapel on Friday morning for a pep rally of sorts in anticipation of the UCC's unveiling of its new TV ad on Monday. For many staff members, it was their first opportunity to preview the 30-second commercial before it will be released to wider audiences.

A press conference is scheduled for Monday, March 27, at 10 a.m. to release the ad, which will appear on multiple cable networks starting one week later, April 3. It will be the UCC's third national ad run and, for the first time, the UCC's commercial will appear in Spanish on the Teledmundo and Univision networks.

"Ejector seat" -- as the ad is called -- will be available for viewing at <ucc.org> at approximately 10 a.m. on Monday, just as the news conference gets underway.

Sporting fashionable, sporty or downright silly hats -- as part of the celebratory mood of Friday morning's gathering -- about 100 staff members attended the preview session at the UCC's Church House, where UCC General Minister and President John H. Thomas said the joyful tone was fitting, given the church's widespread anticipation of the new ad.

"We give thanks for this moment of celebration," Thomas said during the occasion's opening prayer. "May this morning encourage and inspire us."

Thomas pointed out that, in the coming weeks, the appointed lectionary texts include a Gospel story where people are heard saying, "We have come to see Jesus."

"That's really what this ad campaign is all about," Thomas said. "People are anxious to see Jesus." 

That's why, Thomas said, it's important that UCC churches and members ready themselves with Christ-like hospitality in anticipation of those who visit our congregations during the Lent and Easter seasons.

Ron Buford, director of the Stillspeaking Initiative, said the new ad will air on "CNN, Discovery, A&E, all the major cable networks." A complete schedule of when and where the ad will be appear will be available online by April 3, once the last-minute ad-buy details are complete, Buford said.

Fund raising continues, with the hope of extending the ad run for a total of six weeks or until Mother's Day.

A cadre of "web deacons" -- many of whom are retired UCC clergy -- have been trained and will be ready to answer inquiries at <stillspeaking.com> as well as tend to any pastoral needs that arise during the ad run.

"This is an exciting time and exciting things are getting ready to happen," Buford told the staff gathering.


Walking For Oregon Senate Candidate Sam Chase

Liz and I took the twins out to Beaverton this morning and went door-to-door for Oregon Senate candidate Sam Chase.  Sam is a great advocate of affordable housing and public education.  He also happens to be a friend.  The race is for an open seat in District 17 (which includes most of Beaverton and NW Portland).  We walked today in a neighborhood next to the junior high school I attended (now a middle school) and where many of my friends grew up.  Sam has the backing of prominent Oregonians such as former Governor John Kitzhaber.  We hope the Democratic primary voters in District 17 get to know Sam and will support him in the election this May.  There is no Republican candidate in this race.         


"Support Comprehensive Sexuality Education"

One of our most important causes - as Christians, as Americans - ought to be the protection of our children from unplanned / teenage pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.  Unfortunately, President Bush takes his cues on this subject from the Religious Right instead of educators or even medical professionals.  The result:  the federal government is spending millions on abstinence-only programs that simply do not work and the administration is opposing proven methods to reach kids that do.  There is, however, a bill in Congress now being considered that could shift federal policy in a director that favors the health of kids.  The United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries office reports:

The Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, S 368/HR 2553 (visit THOMAS to read the bills) was introduced in Congress last spring and is still awaiting congressional action.  The bill addresses the unbalanced approach to sexuality education currently being funded by Congress.  Since 1996, federal tax dollars have been used solely to fund "abstinence-only-until-marriage" sexuality education programs.

These programs and school curricula are prohibited from discussing contraceptives unless they are portrayed as ineffective.  Some of these programs contain medically inaccurate and incomplete information, and use fear and shame tactics to educate young people about sexuality.  The programs cannot address reproductive choice or sexual orientation.  Congress continues to fund these programs despite research that shows them to be less effective than programs that include information about both abstinence and contraception.

The REAL Act would allow states and local communities to provide responsible, comprehensive sexuality education that includes information about abstinence and contraception that is medically-accurate and age-appropriate.  A Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows that 93 percent of Americans support teaching comprehensive sexuality education in high schools, and 83 percent support teaching comprehensive sexuality education in middle/junior schools.  Education makes for better choices, and it can save lives.

On Tuesday, March 28, 40 youth and young adult advocates from the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association will take to Capitol Hill to meet with their members of Congress and urge them to support the REAL Act.

Add your voice to this effort by e-mailing your members of Congress or by calling them on March 28 and urge them to support the REAL Act.  Find out if they are a cosponsor of the bill.  Thank them if they are, and urge them to sign on if they have not yet done so.

Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Click http://www.ucctakeaction.org/action to send a message asking your members of Congress to support the REAL Act.

The Our Whole Lives Curriculum, published jointly by the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association, provides responsible, comprehensive, age-appropriate, accurate and value-based human sexuality education.  Find out more about Our Whole Lives at http://www.ucc.org/justice/owl/index.html.

Don't let the Religious Right be the only religious voice speaking out on this critical issue.  Send a message to Congress today.


The Rev. Patrice L. Rosner Named New Director Of Churches Uniting In Christ

Press Release from the National Council of Churches:

The Rev. Patrice L. Rosner, Associate General Secretary for the Education and Leadership Ministries Commission of the National Council of Churches in the USA, was elected as the new Director of Churches Uniting in Christ, to begin her work on June 5, 2006.

"While we regret the loss of Patrice here at the Council, we celebrate with her the new challenge and adventure she has accepted at CUIC and wish her the very best," said the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, NCC General Secretary. "For nearly six and one-half years, she has done an outstanding job for the Council and we expect great things now for Churches Uniting in Christ."

In accepting her call to this position, Rosner, an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) said, “It both humbles me and excites me to be called to give leadership to CUIC, an initiative so rich with possibilities for living into the vision of seeking full visible unity in Christ. With these communions I hold a fervent hope that in this next year, through prayer, discernment, and dialogue with one another, the CUIC partners will come to consensus in their proposal for the mutual recognition and mutual reconciliation of ordained ministries. The communions have so many gifts to give to and receive from one another.”

As Director of Churches Uniting in Christ, Rosner will serve as the primary staff to CUIC, with responsibilities to help the member communions in living out their relationship in seeking full communion in mission, service, worship and ministry. She will coordinate the work of CUIC, interpret its vision, and give leadership to shaping opportunities for a visible witness of the churches in the world, especially in relation to overcoming racism.

Rosner brings a strong background of ecumenical experience to this new position, especially in the areas of Christian education and leadership development. In her work with the National Council of Churches these past six years, she has coordinated thirteen program committees involving more than 22 communions and agencies. She has given leadership in the areas of dismantling systemic institutional racism, preparing Bible study curriculum, developing programs for a variety of age levels and settings and continuing education for pastors and lay leaders, and ecumenical formation of youth and young adults.

Meeting in Charlotte, N.C., upon the invitation of Bishop George W. C. Walker, Sr., Senior Bishop of the AME Zion Church, the Coordinating Council of CUIC also elected new officers: as president, the Rev. Dr. Suzanne Webb, pastor of a Disciples congregation in St. Louis; as Vice President, Bishop Ronald Cunningham, Ecumenical Officer for the C.M.E. Church; as secretary, Mr. Abraham Wright, a lay person in the International Council of Community Churches and teacher in Beltsville, MD; and as treasurer, Mr. James Tse, an Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accountant in New York.

Inaugurated in January 2002, Churches Uniting in Christ includes the following member communion: the African Methodist Episcopal Church [AME], the African Methodist Episcopal Church Zion [AME Zion], the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)[Disciples], the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church [CME], the Episcopal Church (USA) [Episcopal],the International Council of Community Churches [ICCC], the Presbyterian Church (USA) [PCUSA], the United Church of Christ [UCC], and the United Methodist Church [UMC]. In addition, there are two “Partners in Mission and Dialogue”: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA] and the Moravian Church (Northern Province) [Moravians].


Christian Peacemaker Teams Hostages Freed!

Statement from Christian Peacemakers Teams:

Our hearts are filled with joy today as we heard that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released in Baghdad. Christian Peacemaker Teams rejoices with their families and friends at the expectation of their return to their loved ones and community. Together we have endured uncertainty, hope, fear, grief and now joy during the four months since they were abducted in Baghdad.

We rejoice in the return of Harmeet Sooden. He has been willing to put his life on the line to promote justice in Iraq and Palestine as a young man newly committed to active peacemaking.

We rejoice in the return of Jim Loney. He has cared for the marginalized and oppressed since childhood, and his gentle, passionate spirit has been an inspiration to people near and far.

We rejoice in the return of Norman Kember. He is a faithful man, an elder and mentor to many in his 50 years of peacemaking, a man prepared to pay the cost.

We remember with tears Tom Fox, whose body was found in Baghdad on March 9, 2006, after three months of captivity with his fellow peacemakers. We had longed for the day when all four men would be released together. Our gladness today is made bittersweet by the fact that Tom is not alive to join in the celebration. However, we are confident that his spirit is very much present in each reunion.

Harmeet, Jim and Norman and Tom were in Iraq to learn of the struggles facing the people in that country. They went, motivated by a passion for justice and peace to live out a nonviolent alternative in a nation wracked by armed conflict. They knew that their only protection was in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers. We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.

Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families. In the spirit of the prophetic nonviolence that motivated Jim, Norman, Harmeet and Tom to go to Iraq, we refuse to yield to a spirit of vengeance. We give thanks for the compassionate God who granted our friends courage and who sustained their spirits over the past months. We pray for strength and courage for ourselves so that, together, we can continue the nonviolent struggle for justice and peace.

Throughout these difficult months, we have been heartened by messages of concern for our four colleagues from all over the world. We have been especially moved by the gracious outpouring of support from Muslim brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. That support continues to come to us day after day. We pray that Christians throughout the world will, in the same spirit, call for justice and for respect for the human rights of the thousands of Iraqis who are being detained illegally by the U.S. and British forces occupying Iraq.

During these past months, we have tasted of the pain that has been the daily bread of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Why have our loved ones been taken? Where are they being held? Under what conditions? How are they? Will they be released? When?

With Tom’s death, we felt the grief of losing a beloved friend. Today, we rejoice in the release of our friends Harmeet, Jim and Norman. We continue to pray for a swift and joyful homecoming for the many Iraqis and internationals who long to be reunited with their families. We renew our commitment to work for an end to the war and the occupation of Iraq as a way to continue the witness of Tom Fox. We trust in God’s compassionate love to show us the way.

Living through the many emotions of this day, we remain committed to the words of Jim Loney, who wrote:

"With God’s abiding kindness, we will love even our enemies.
With the love of Christ, we will resist all evil.
With God’s unending faithfulness, we will work to build the beloved community."


Oregon Names Building After Governor Barbara Roberts

RobertsOne of my personal heroes is former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts. She was Oregon’s first woman governor, served as Oregon’s Secretary of State and before that was a member of the Oregon Legislature. She got her start in politics as a community activist working to make sure her disabled son and other children received a quality public education. State Senator Frank Roberts, her terrific husband, passed away in 1993. Just before he died his office invited me to give the invocation before the Oregon Senate.

The governor worked at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Portland State University's Mark O. Hatfield School of Government after leaving office.  Governor Roberts retired from PSU this past year.

Gene Ediger, my good friend and colleague at Baloney Joe’s, often said before his own death that no one in Oregon spoke with more eloquence and passion about issues related to poverty than Governor Roberts. She was a strong advocate of our work at Baloney Joe’s to end homelessness and also supported our work with Burnside Advocates Group.

So it was a great pleasure for me to read in The Oregonian that the state of Oregon has renamed the Department of Human Services building the Barbara Roberts Human Services Building in honor of her public service.

It is a well deserved recognition.


"New research confirms vivid diversity of ecumenical movement"

Statement from the World Council of Churches

The vivid diversity of the ecumenical movement has been highlighted in new research, published by the World Council of Churches (WCC) this month, that confirms the continued growth of the fellowship of churches.

A product of the research, A Handbook of Churches and Councils: Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships provides the first comprehensive overview of the state of the world’s ecumenical organizations, the main global Christian bodies and their member churches.

The result of intensive consultation with churches in all regions, the book contains articles and data on virtually all the major ecclesial traditions and groupings of churches that exist within Christianity, as well as a detailed analysis of regional and national councils and fellowships of churches. Along with a presentation of more than 150 Christian bodies and councils of churches, the book provides statistical information and a brief history and description of each of the 348 member churches which form the WCC. Included also are lists of member churches of all Christian world communions, regional ecumenical organizations, national councils of churches, and other regional and sub-regional church bodies.

Among the major findings of the project is that WCC member churches now span over 520,000 parishes and local congregations in 150 countries, are served by upwards of 490,000 clergy, and encompass as many as 590 million faithful worldwide.

According to Hubert van Beek, a specialist on Christian trends and former programme executive for ecumenical relations at the WCC, the project provides the reader with "a concise overview of the main ecclesial traditions that make up contemporary Christianity". More than a record, however, the book also offers a solid basis for reflection about the state of the world’s churches and the future of the ecumenical movement in the 21st century, he emphasizes. "The Handbook demonstrates concretely the outreach of the ecumenical movement and serves to remind us that its ownership rests not only with WCC but with all the partners, and ultimately with God."

The Handbook of Churches and Councils: Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships is published in English only, and can be ordered online from WCC Publications.

February 2006, 638pp.

ISBN 2-8254-1480-8 Price: Sfr.55.00, US$43.00, £24.00, €36.50

More information is available on the WCC Publications web page:

wcc-coe.org/wcc/news/pubs/index-e.html


Albert Mohler’s Equal Opportunity Bigotry

Albert Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a leading figure in the Religious Right, wants to make sure he is on the record with Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson....

From The Tower Online:

Defending recent statements by evangelists Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson regarding Islam, R. Albert Mohler Jr. said on FOX News' "The O'Reilly Factor" that ideologies which keep people from coming to faith in Christ are manifestations of demonic power.

"In the case of the two statements ... from Dr. Graham and Pat Robertson, they were speaking a deeply held Christian truth there that Christians have believed for 2,000 years," Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said March 17. "[A]ny belief system that keeps persons from coming to Christ we would see as a manifestation of a demonic power."

Mohler was responding to comments made by Robertson on his "700 Club" television program March 13 and by Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, on ABC News' "Nightline" March 15.

"These people are crazed fanatics, and I want to say it now," Robertson said of radical Muslims. "It is satanic, and it's time we recognize what we're dealing with."

Graham said of Islam, "If people think Islam is such a wonderful religion, just go to Saudi Arabia and make it your home. Just live there. If you think Islam is such a wonderful religion, I mean, go and live under the Taliban somewhere."

Comments such as these are hateful and have nothing to do with Christianity. 

Mohler also attacked Buddhism and Hinduism.

The Southern Baptist Convention has also come under fire over their belief that Jews are doomed to hell and Mohler has been a leader in the fight against civil rights for gay and lesbian peopleCatholics are also a target of Mohler's wrath.   

Read the comments on this post at Street Prophets


The Bush Faith Based Initiative: Pay Back For The Religious Right

Many mainline churches and national non-profits fought hard to oppose President Bush's faith-based initiative plan.  Why?  It tears away at the separation of church and state. 

I chaired the faith-based policy group of the National Coalition for the Homeless in 2001-2002 and we agreed with the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ (among others) that government should not be in the business of funding churches or religious groups to provide religious services.  That does not mean that faith-based groups should not receive federal dollars.  In fact, long before Bush came to office faith groups had been recipients of federal support.  But back then there was a clear line drawn between the social services paid for with federal dollars and religious services.  Now that line is blurred. 

Bush couldn't get his plan through Congress and so signed executive orders requiring the government to fund church programs.  And where has all that money gone?

The Washington Post reports today the money has been spent funding political allies of Bush's in the Religious Right.  Yes, your federal dollars are being spent as pay back money to religious leaders who have put their loyalty to George W. Bush ahead of their loyalty to any church.  When I directed the Goose Hollow Family Shelter at Portland's First United Methodist Church we wouldn't take federal money because we knew our church could not be an agent of the government. 

The services being paid for by the president's faith-based initiatives are not held to the same professional standards as other recipients of federal dollars and are often based on "Scriptural authority" rather than any professional model of care.

Those living in poverty and receiving these services disserve better.   

Related Link:  Faith-Based Initiative/Charitable Choice

Read the comments on this post at Street Prophets


Afghanistan May Put Man To Death for Converting To Christianity

Afghanistan - yes, that Afghanistan (you know, the democracy set-up by the Bush Administration) - is putting a man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity.  The penalty: death. 

Send the Embassy of Afghanistan a message urging that charges be dropped against Abdul Rahman and that he be set free. 

Read the comments on this post at Street Prophets


"Details of UCC's new TV ad emerge earlier than planned"

An anti-UCC web site leaked the content and a photo of the United Church of Christ's new God Is Still Speaking ad this week.  UCCtruths, the site that recently admitted receiving and distributing material from the Republican Party aligned-Institute on Religion and Democracy, was criticized for their move today by UCC officials. 

UCCNews said UCCtruths offered "critical comments and an unflattering still-image" that provided a misleading impression of the ad.

The ad was recently previewed to an audience of UCC women leaders.  One UCCtruths participate - a former seminary colleague of mine named Michael Ochs  - wrote on their discussion board today:

And just to make sure I take full advantage of an opportunity to be comepletely stereotypically sexist, can you really show something to 800 women and expect there not to be gossip about it?

That comment really offers a great example of the tone offered by this group.

Here's the UCCNews article:

A website known for its negative critiques of the UCC's National and Conference settings has published a description of the UCC's newest national TV ad, a full week before church leaders were planning to release the new ad publicly at a press conference scheduled for March 27 in Cleveland.

On March 20, ucctruths, which said it possessed a copy of the UCC's new ad, posted a description of the commercial, along with critical comments and an unflattering still-image "video grab" which gives a false impression of the tone of the UCC's newest commercial - known as "ejector seat" - especially its treatment of persons with disabilities.

"From the beginning of my ministry with the UCC Disabilities Ministries, I have been deeply aware of such a possibility of disability being used as a wedge issue," the Rev. David Denham of UCCDM told United Church News, in response to the site's posted out-of-context image.

The site is long-known to lambaste UCC leaders, including the occasional use of unflattering photos. A recent post critical of General Minister and President John H. Thomas' March 7 lecture at Gettysburg College includes an unrelated image of Thomas with his eyes closed, appearing to be asleep.

In an email to <ucctruths> at 7 p.m. (ET) on March 20, Stillspeaking Coordinator Ron Buford appealed to the site to not publish the ad until the scheduled March 27 release date.

"We have only given the ad to people who have promised to keep it within the UCC until the press conference," Buford wrote. "Whoever released this to you has borne false witness, either directly or by omission. I do not believe you want to proceed with material you have received in this way."

On Tuesday morning, <ucctruths> responded to Buford, saying that it had no plans to run the ad in its entirety at this time.

In December, United Church News consented to a request by Buford and others to embargo all descriptions of the ad until the March 27 public release. However, along with <ucctruths.com>, United Church News has subsequently learned that at least one major news source - Sojourners Magazine - was provided an accurate description of the ad, which it discussed in its Jan.-Feb. issue, along with quotes attributed to Buford.

At Buford's request, the commercial also was previewed by an estimated 800 people this past weekend (March 17-19) at the UCC's New England Women's Gathering.

The UCC's newest ad uses humor to draw attention to a serious topic - the feelings of rejection that many people say they have experienced through institutionalized religion. It begins with a shot of an African-American mother trying to calm a crying baby. Sitting in a church pew, the mother fidgets anxiously, as she endures sour looks from fellow worshipers. Eventually, someone in the wings pushes as "ejector" button to rid the church of her - and her noisy baby. Into the air they go flying.

In a similar fashion, a gay male couple, an Arab-American, a person using a walker, among others, get "ejected." Finally, when a homeless person wanders in and takes a seat, nervous parishioners - expecting she'll get the boot for sure - scoot away from her. "God doesn't reject people. Neither do we," reads the text on the screen.

The commercial then ends with a contrasting image - shots of diverse, welcoming UCC members. The announcer's invitation emphasizes: "The United Church of Christ - no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here."

Read the comments on this post at Street Prophets


The Good News In Controversy

Anti-gay groups that target the United Church of Christ - like the Biblical Witness Fellowship and their theological spin-off Faithful and Welcoming - have been pedaling stories in the media that the UCC is in crisis because of a decision by our General Synod to endorse gay marriage.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  There is controversy - no question - but controversy has always been part of the UCC tradition.  And in many cases that controversy is leading to new growth and new discipleship.   

The Rev. John P. Gardner and the Rev. Ruth E. Phillips of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ of Fort Wayne wrote today in The Journal Gazette:

The article, "Gay-union issue still splits UCC" (March 4), identified a deep and painful divide that exists among some United Church of Christ congregations on the question of marriage equality. It is sad when congregations become consumed in turmoil, whatever the cause. And sad, too, is the fact that a few congregations have rejected their peculiar history and tradition to mirror the dominant cultural prejudice against sexual minorities that prevails in our land. Such prejudice, while popular and often heralded in pulpit and parish, has little to do with the Gospel as proclaimed and practiced in the United Church of Christ.

There exists a larger context to life in the UCC that the article failed to address. For more than 30 years the UCC has been an advocate of an inclusive community where people are not primarily defined by their sexual orientation. More than 25 years ago the General Synod of the UCC both discouraged and deplored the use of scripture to generate hatred or to violate civil rights. More than 20 years ago the General Synod recognized and vowed support for the diversity of family patterns that exist within the church.

The more recent stance on marriage equality stems from this history. For the record, since the vote of this past summer, 49 churches, less than 1 percent of the UCC's 5,725-plus congregations, have voted to disaffiliate. Of those churches departing, most had previously been distancing themselves financially from the denomination. Curiously, there were also reports of a sharp increase in inquiries about UCC affiliation. During the year 2005, 23 new congregations were welcomed into the UCC, and an additional 42 churches expressed a "firm interest" in joining.

There was controversy during the civil rights movement when the UCC became one of the first Christian bodies to speak out on behalf of interracial marriage and controversy long before that when the UCC ordained the first woman minister in the United States. 

And there was controversy when Jesus preached a message of inclusive love.

As Rev. Gardner and Rev. Phillips write:

We are a peculiar people making our appeal to a still-speaking God. Our yearning is for that which we cherish: a church where God's love trumps hate and checks fear; where the baptized are considered beloved and a blessing; where the table of communion is accessible and graceful; and where God, rich in mercy, steadfast in love, reigns as the rightful judge of all things human.

The UCC is a church that boldly proclaims an extravagant welcome. We don't pretend to be all things for all people. But for those seeking a community of wide liberty and personal responsibility, where the values of justice, peace and compassion are the prime pursuits of faith, we are a community of amazing grace.

There is often good news in controversy. 

Related Link:  UCC Firsts 


"2006 Spring Storms and Tornadoes"

Request from Church World Service:

Appeal Number: 6286

Appeal Amount: $30,000

Situation Report

Severe weather the weekend of March 11-12 and continuing through Monday March 13 spawned several tornados and flooding affecting parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. At least 10 people were killed in Missouri and dozens more were injured.

Worst hit: the state of Missouri, for which President Bush issued a federal disaster declaration. In all, 396 homes were destroyed, 896 damaged and 450 affected.

Most heavily impacted counties: Johnson - 30 homes destroyed, 50 damaged; Monroe - 37 destroyed, 110 damaged; Christian - 127 destroyed, 128 damaged; Lawrence - 25 destroyed, 48 damaged.

Meanwhile, in northeastern Oklahoma, a total of 67 homes were damaged in the communities of Twin Oaks and Colcord. Of those, 36 were destroyed. The number of businesses that sustained damage has increased to five. Numerous outbuildings were damaged and destroyed, fencing is down in many areas and cattle and other livestock are missing.

Emergency Appeal

Church World Service (CWS) expects to deploy one of its Disaster Response and Recovery Liaisons (DRRLs) to Missouri. DRRL Tom Davis is monitoring the situation and is contact with state and local faith leaders.

CWS does not expect to deploy a staff person to Oklahoma, though Oklahoma-based DRRL Lura Cayton is monitoring and in contact with state and faith leaders.

This appeal is for anticipated support of long-term recovery groups in affected areas, particularly Missouri. It is also, as noted, an initial appeal and may be expanded through the spring season as further tornadoes and storms occur.

Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be sent to your denomination or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 46515. Please designate: 2006 SPRING STORMS #6286

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is responding -- or to make a credit card contribution -- please visit the Church World Service Website at www.churchworldservice.org or phone (800) 297-1516.


The Third Anniversary Of The US Invasion Of Iraq

This weekend marks the third anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.  Just months after the start the president proclaimed that all major combat operations were over and that the US mission had been accomplished.  How far we are from that day.  Just this week the US began new massive air raids and Iraq seems to be in the midst of civil war.  Civilians and US soldiers continue to die.

The invasion was opposed by most Christian bodies - including the Vatican and the World Council of Churches. 

Below is the statement issued by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches on March 20, 2003.  I'm posting it in the hope it reminds us all of issues that are still important three years after this failed and immoral military campaign.

With profound sorrow I recognize that the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain, three members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, have gone to war against Iraq. They have done so without the consent of the UN Security Council, ignoring the voice of civil society, of the churches and of other faith communities in those countries and world wide. I condemn this rush to unilateral military attack. Non-violent means to solve the conflict have been far from exhausted. Disarmament of Iraq could have been achieved without a war.

The pre-emptive military attack against Iraq is immoral, illegal and ill-advised. The WCC and its member churches repeatedly warned these powers that this war will have grave humanitarian consequences, including loss of civilian life, large-scale displacement of people, environmental destruction and further destabilisation of the whole region.

The implicit unilateralism, by the US, the UK and Spain, contradict the spirit, ideal and prospect of multilateralism, the fundamental principles laid out in the UN Charter, and may damage hopes to create a strong international order in the post-Cold War period. By relying on the right of the powerful, including the use of threat and economic pressure, to influence other states to support their action, these countries undermine international rule of law that has taken half a century to construct.

The failure, however, does not lie with the UN, but with those governments that chose to go outside of the Security Council. The international community must clearly demonstrate, and remind those countries, that the UN Charter and multilateral responsibility are expressions of a civilized, progressive and peaceful international order and that the only sustainable response to terrorism is to achieve rule of law, within the rule of law.

The fact that the sole superpower, together with old colonial powers of Europe, chose to go alone against a country with a Muslim majority is politically dangerous, culturally unwise and ignores the growing importance of religion and culture for the political identification of many people. We fear that this war will only confirm and aggravate stereotypes and, in many parts of the world, add to an image of the West marked by colonialism and crusades.

The military attack on Iraq comes at a point when the UN weapons inspections were working and the prospects for disarmament of Iraq with non-military means was growing considerably. I, therefore, deplore that the opportunity for disarmament, mandated by the UNSC Resolution 1441, has been lost with this unilateral military attack. The UNMOVIC and IAEA inspectors were allowed into the country because the UN resolution could invoke military action. However, by putting themselves in a position from which war became inevitable, the US, the UK and Spain failed to exercise the basic responsibility that follows with the commission of trust to serve on the UN Security Council.

  • I strongly appeal to the governments of the US, the UK and their supporters, to immediately cease all military activity in Iraq and return the full responsibility of the disarmament of Iraq to the UN Security Council.
  • I urge all governments to oppose this unilateral action and work for a cease-fire.
  • I call on all parties to the conflict, including Iraq, to abide by human rights obligation under international humanitarian law.
  • I ask our member churches to come together to seek God’s guidance and to continue theological reflections on the will of God for the world.

The response from churches against the war in Iraq has been an unprecedented manifestation of unanimity . The energy that has been released bears witness to a spirituality that calls for peaceful coexistence of all nations and peoples in accordance with the principles enshrined in the UN Charter. That energy must not be lost. Churches should continue their united efforts to stop the war, to give assistance to those in need and to cooperate with people of other faiths, especially Muslims, to restore confidence and trust amongst the nations of the world.

As followers of Jesus Christ, when faced with death and destruction, we are reminded of his words: “I have come that you may have life and that you may have it in abundance”. When violence is unleashed, fear for life and peace increase, but God does not forget his people.

Though the mountains move and the hills shake,
My love shall be immovable and never fail,
And my covenant of peace shall not be shaken.
So says the Lord who takes pity on you.
(Isaiah 54:10)

At this time of repentance, the World Council of Churches prays for all the people who will suffer in this war, as well as the soldiers and their families. Although this is a day when diplomacy was rejected by some, our call for peace remains. Any war comes at a high price of death of soldiers and civilians, destruction of property and the environment, as well as division of people, governments and cultures. This war is no exception.

Wars cannot be won, only peace can.

Rev Dr. Konrad Raiser
General Secretary


Jewish Leaders Back Divestment To Promote Peace

This from Ekklesia:

Jewish and Israeli groups have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, backing the call by the Church of England's General Synod to disinvest church funds from companies profiting from Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

In a letter seen by Ekklesia, and dated yesterday (15th March) the 16 groups assert that sanctions against the Occupation have a 'solid moral foundation' and urge the Archbishop of Canterbury to have the 'moral strength' not to back down from supporting the Synod's decision.

The motion, which was passed by the Church's 'Parliament' at the beginning of February provoked outcry from the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, as well as a group of Conservative MPs who accused Synod of being 'politically motivated'.

In what was seen by many in a snub to Synod however, the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) subsequently said it would not recommend disinvestment, most notably from the controversial US company Caterpillar.

In yesterday's letter to Rowan Williams however, Jewish and Israeli groups say that they deplore those who have labelled Synod 'anti-Semitic' for their decision. They also express their hope that the 'unfortunate' decision by the EIAG will not undo the resolution that Synod made.

The letter states; "We, the undersigned representatives of Israeli and Jewish organizations, have witnessed the Occupation first hand. In our view, Israel's Occupation and settlement policies stem more from territorial claims than from genuine concerns of security, which can only be addressed through a complete end to the Occupation and peace with the Palestinians. Of the 12,000 Palestinian homes demolished by Israel in the Occupied Territories since 1967, less than 5% were demolished for security reasons (and even then we oppose demolition as a form of collective punishment, illegal under international law). In 95% of the cases the families involved were completely innocent of any security offence and were never even accused of or charged with any offence.

"We therefore extend to you and the Church of England our unreserved support of the synod's call to disinvest from Caterpillar and other companies profiting from the Occupation. This is an entirely appropriate moral stand for civil society to take."

The letter asserts that Caterpillar custom-makes its massive D-9 and D-10 bulldozers for the express purpose of demolishing Palestinian homes, and that these machines are sold to Israel as military equipment.

The letter further highlights that the demolition of Palestinian homes is prohibited by international law and that the Fourth Geneva Convention requires an occupying power to protect the well-being of vulnerable civilians under its control, and forbids collective punishment.

"In light of the ongoing and extremely severe human rights violations committed by the Israeli government in the Occupied Territories," the letter continues, "we believe that sanctions against the Occupation have a solid moral foundation. We can only hope that with your support the decision of the Synod to endorse divestment will not be undone by the unfortunate decision of the Ethical Investment Advisory Group.

"As Israelis and Jews, we also deplore the statements of those who have labelled the synod members, including yourself, as anti-Semitic. It is inconceivable to us - indeed, we find it grotesque - that Jews who have suffered displacement and exile could possibly defend the demolition of thousands of Palestinian homes or any aspect of the Occupation.

"We hope they come to understand that the Occupation threatens to destroy the entire moral fabric of the Jewish community, in Israel as well as in the Diaspora. We hope that the call of your Church for divestment in Caterpillar will resonate with the Prophetic tradition of our own people, so that the leaders of British Jewry will join with your initiative. What unites us is the understanding that either Israelis and Palestinians achieve a just peace or both peoples continue their downward spiral into violence and suffering. Your call for divestment in companies profiting from the Occupation represents an important brake on that downward spiral."

The letter is signed by Paula Abrams-Hourani, European Jews for a Just Peace; Gaby Belz, Just Peace Between Israel and Palestine (Switzerland) Paola Canarutto, Rete-ECO (Italy) Liliane Cordova Kaczerginski, Union Juive Francaise pour la paix; Jeff Halper, The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) Abe Hayeem, Just Peace (UK) Ruth Hiller, New Profile (Israel) Dan Judelson, European Jews for a Just Peace; Richard Kuper, Jews for Justice for Palestinians (UK) Vivien Lichtenstein, Joint Action for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (UK) Orna Neumann, ICAHD UK; Rachel Ostrowitz, Noga Feminist Magazine (Israel) Mitchell Plitnick, Jewish Voice for Peace (US) Fanny-Michaela Reisin, European Jews for a Just Peace - Germany Gila Svirsky, Coalition of Women for Peace (Israel) Sergio Yahni, The Alternative Information Center (Israel)

The United Church of Christ, which passed a resolution calling for economic leverage to be used to promote peace in the Middle East, has been accused of supporting anti-Semitism from groups such as the Anti-Defamation League.

Other US Jewish groups, such as Jewish Voice for Peace, have backed the UCC.

My own opinion continues to be that divestment should be used only as a last resort after renewed advocacy on the part of Christians worldwide to promote a just peace.   

I take seriously the concerns of peace advocates such as the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism which argues that divestment now may do more harm than good and sway public opinion in Israel further away from any peace process.


This week on State of Belief (3/19/2006)

Here's the press release from The Interfaith Alliance concerning the episode of Air America's State of Belief that I'll appear on this Sunday:

Washington, March 17 – On this Sunday's "State of Belief," The Interfaith Alliance Foundation's new show on Air America Radio, Rev. Welton Gaddy talks about a new term for Christian fundamentalists, FBI spying and welcomes special guest Al Franken who gives the Religious Right update.

Welton talks with Rabbi James Rudin, author of The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right's Plans for the Rest of Us, about Christocrats and who they are. Rudin uses the term in his new book to describe extreme fundamentalists who seemingly wish to replace the Constitution with Old Testament Biblical law.

"It only takes 2% of a population to change the entire perspective if they are extremely determined, well financed and driven," Rudin says. "This small group has enormous power both political and religious in society today."

Jim Kleissler, Executive Director of The Thomas Merton Center in Pittsburgh, joins Welton to discuss the FBI spying on his center's anti-war protest.

Al Franken channels Pat Robertson as he joins Welton to give this week's religious right update. Tune in to find out who Al has in his crosshairs.

Chuck Currie, host of ChuckCurrie.blogs.com and prominent religious blogger, gives his thoughts on the challenges faced by the progressive religious movement and how bloggers are taking on those challenges.

State of Belief explores the intersection of religion with politics, culture, media, and activism. Through interviews with newsmakers and celebrities, reports from the field, and his own commentary, Welton shows how religion and radical freedom are best friends and how the religious right is wrong – wrong for America and bad for religion.

State of Belief

Religion and radio, done differently

Brought to you by The Interfaith Alliance Foundation 5:00 to 6:00 PM EST each Sunday Air America Radio Network

To see where and when State of Belief is broadcast, go to www.airamericaradio.com/stations. (It is likely that State of Belief will be on the air this Sunday at 5 PM EST on your local Air America Radio affiliate. Or, you can listen online or on XM Satellite Radio, channel 167).

To listen online, go to: www.airamericaradio.com/listen

To stream or podcast State of Belief, go to www.StateofBelief.com


Democratic Courts At Risk In US

Over the last couple of years a highly orchestrated campaign to harm the independence of the judicial branch of government has been waged by the Religious Right and their allies in the Republican Party.  Their call for courts to be shut down because of opposition on the Right to judicial rulings, for example, has been compared by the editor of The Christian Century to the political maneuvering of the fascists who seized control of Germany in the 1930s.

This week we got a glimpse at what at least two members of the US Supreme Court feel the impact of all the politics swirling around their profession has been (and could be):

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as noted earlier this week, recently called the activities of former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and his cohorts in Congress a threat to democracy.  DeLay, a Texas Republican under criminal indictment but beloved by the Religious Right, has threatened judges with retribution for not following his political agenda (whether his threat of retribution included a threat of violence is a matter of great concern).  O'Connor was appointed to the bench by Ronald Reagan.

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that O'Connor was not alone in her views:

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg assailed the court's congressional critics in a recent speech overseas, saying their efforts "fuel" an "irrational fringe" that threatened her life and that of a colleague, former justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Addressing an audience at the Constitutional Court of South Africa on Feb. 7, the 73-year-old justice, known as one of the court's more liberal members, criticized various Republican-proposed House and Senate measures that either decry or would bar the citation of foreign law in the Supreme Court's constitutional rulings. Conservatives often see the citing of foreign laws in court rulings as an affront to American sovereignty, adding to a list of grievances they have against judges that include rulings supporting abortion rights or gay rights.

Though the proposals do not seem headed for passage, Ginsburg said, "it is disquieting that they have attracted sizeable support. And one not-so-small concern -- they fuel the irrational fringe."

She then quoted from what she said was a "personal example" of this: a Feb. 28, 2005, posting in an Internet chat room that called on unnamed "commandoes" to ensure that she and O'Connor "will not live another week...."

In her speech, Ginsburg said that the Internet posting was brought to her attention by Supreme Court Marshal Pamela Talkin, who is responsible for court security.

According to Ginsburg, the posting said: "Okay, commandoes, here is your first patriotic assignment . . . an easy one. Supreme Court Justices Ginsburg and O'Connor have publicly stated that they use [foreign] laws and rulings to decide how to rule on American cases. This is a huge threat to our Republic and Constitutional freedom. . . . If you are what you say you are, and NOT armchair patriots, then these two justices will not live another week."

America is truly in a political battle between those who support Constitutional democracy and the rule of law and those who are willing to abandon the Constitution in favor of a theocracy led by the Religious Right.  The law and the voters must hold them accountable for their words and deeds.    


Speaking of IRD....

Speaking of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (here and here this week)....

They've got a new leader.  And who has this right-wing political group turned to in their effort to "reform" mainline churches?

A fellow who isn't part of the mainline at all: 

The Rev. Dr. James Tonkowich, reports Frederick Clarkson, is a minister in the small Presbyterian Church in America - an evangelical church that broke off from the larger mainline Presbyterians over the ordination of women.

Surprise, surprise.


All They Have Are Lies

The headline on the Biblical Witness Fellowship (BFW) web site blares out:

JOHN THOMAS ADMITS COVERT COLLUSION WITH DEMOCRATIC PARTY

He did?  When? 

Well, BFW (which is affiliated with the Republican Party aligned-Institute on Religion and Democracy) says that Thomas, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, made the admission in a speech attended by IRD staff (who then transcribed the speech and distributed it to anti-UCC groups):

In a March 7th speech to Gettysburg College in which he resumed his attacks on diversity and renewal in the UCC and other mainline denominations, UCC President John Thomas made a startling admission. Speaking to the ways in which the church has historically influenced politics and society in the United States, he said, "But I'm sensing that the pattern is now beginning to shift, at least over the last 20 years, and politicians and politics have begun to find ways to use, manipulate, control religion for their own particular interest." Then he went on to admit, "And recently, well-connected Democratic operatives have begun quiet conversations with a few progressive religious leaders, including me, asking how their candidates might be able to use religious language and imagery more effectively to connect with churchgoing voters."

Biblical Witness Fellowship has consistently asserted that attempts to discredit evangelical renewal in the mainline denominations with grossly inaccurate misinformation about their supposed political connections was an exercise in projection. The UCC and other mainline denominational leaders have long drawn their issues and positions directly from the playbook of leftist political groups. Synod resolutions are often drafted by labor unions and political activists from the left. President Thomas has now confirmed our analysis.

Either the BFW folks simply cannot discern the clear meaning from Thomas' speech or they have become so disassociated from the truth that they cannot bear to speak it.  Here is what Thomas said in full context:

...the red state blue state paradigm falls apart for the church just as it does for politics, and in the end I believe that's a good thing.  Americans, either as political beings or as religious beings, are far too complex to be neatly slotted into such encompassing categories.  And churches, even relatively progressive churches like the United Church of Christ, are both red and blue in their membership, their theological positions, and their moral views.  Bush voters and Kerrey voters sit side by side in our church's pews.  Increasingly mainline church leaders and evangelical church leaders - leaders who differ radically in many ways, including their political loyalties - are allying themselves together around a common commitment to the care of the creation and on behalf of the needs of the poor.  Last May, for example, I sat with a Southern Baptist leader and with the vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals in a meeting with the Administration demanding that the federal food stamp program funding in the new federal budget be restored.  Red and blue politicians may vary considerably in their attentiveness to the poor, but at least in this instance red and blue church leaders hear the hunger pangs of poor children in a common cry.

In the end, this failure of the red state blue state model for the church may be the best news our red state blue state political landscape can receive.  In a society marked by deep political and ideological alienation, where the fabric of the commonwealth is frayed to the point of tearing, communities that find ways to tolerate difference and live creatively with diversity may be their own form of redemption not simply for themselves, but for all of us.  But in order to be this redemptive community, we will need to resist the political interests who would use us for sectarian, partisan, and ultimately deeply dividing interests.  Here the challenge is the same for progressive and conservative churches and their leaders.  It is terribly seductive to have political leaders and interests approaching you for your blessing.  But do pastors and church leaders really want to have politicians lining up at their door come election time?  Do they really want to be welcomed into a world where support and influence are traded like futures on the commodity market?  The Old Testament is clear in its distinction between the prophets of Yahweh and those court prophets who offered their blessing to the king in return for a comfortable place in the court.

You'll note that BWF did not link to Thomas' speech on their website.  It is better, afterall, that their followers not know what Thomas really said.

Sadly, IRD and their allies are so blinded by partisan loyalty that they cannot see the truth Thomas has to offer.  So they resort to lies and disinformation as their only hope for attracting supporters.  Their methods are shameful - and unchristian. 

Related Post:  Republican Party-aligned Institute on Religion And Democracy Attacks United Church of Christ

Related Post:  Biblical Witness: How We Understand the Bible Matters


This Sunday On Air America's State of Belief

Air America fans can hear me this Sunday on State of Belief.  I'll be offering the commentary for this week's program

Also on the show this Sunday:  Al Franken

I'm hoping my appearance on the same program will boost the popularity of this little known comedian / talk show host.

State of Belief airs Sundays from 5-6 Eastern (that is 2-3 here on the left coast).

Where can you listen?

On your radio - click here for a list of Air America stations.  (Schedules may vary between stations - contact Air America or your local affiliate.)

On your XM satellite radio.

On your computer - click here to listen live, Sundays at 5PM Eastern.  And check the State of Belief website on Mondays to hear and download the latest show.

On your iPod - podcast State of Belief from your iTunes music store.

Tune in and let me know what you think. 


Roman Catholic House Democrats Support Constitutional Democracy Over Papal Authority

In late February a group of pro-life and pro-choice Roman Catholic Democrats in the US House of Representatives issued a joint statement explaining how faith shaped their views on public policy.  These Democrats differ amongst themselves on the hot button issue of abortion but find common ground on issues concerning poverty and war.  They wrote:

In recognizing the Church's role in providing moral leadership, we acknowledge and accept the tension that comes with being in disagreement with the Church in some areas. Yet we believe we can speak to the fundamental issues that unite us as Catholics and lend our voices to changing the political debate -- a debate that often fails to reflect and encompass the depth and complexity of these issues.

As legislators, we are charged with preserving the Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom for all Americans. In doing so, we guarantee our right to live our own lives as Catholics, but also foster an America with a rich diversity of faiths.  We believe the separation of church and state allows for our faith to inform our public duties.

The US Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops responded to the Democrats this week with a statement of their own.  Much of it was appropriate :

A recent public statement by 55 Catholic and Democratic members of the House of Representatives offers an opportunity to address several important points about the responsibilities of Catholics in public life.

We welcome this and other efforts that seek to examine how Catholic legislators bring together their faith and their policy choices. As the Catholic bishops of the United States said in our June 2004 statement, "Catholics in Political Life":

We need to do more to persuade all people that human life is precious and human dignity must be defended. This requires more effective dialogue and engagement with all public officials, especially Catholic public officials. We welcome conversation initiated by political leaders themselves.

Therefore, we welcome the Representatives' recognition that Catholics in public life must act seriously and responsibly on many important moral issues. Our faith has an integral unity that calls Catholics to defend human life and human dignity whenever they are threatened. A priority for the poor, the protection of family life, the pursuit of justice and the promotion of peace are fundamental priorities of the Catholic moral tradition which cannot be ignored or neglected. We encourage and will continue to work with those in both parties who seek to act on these essential principles in defense of the poor and vulnerable.

My only critique thus far is that many Roman Catholic bishops clearly crossed a line during the 2004 elections and used church resources to work for the defeat of pro-choice Democrats and in support of anti-choice Republicans (Republicans who also supported the war and the death penalty).  Pro-choice Republicans were left alone by the bishops.  I doubt the sincerity of people like Archbishop Burke of St. Louis to work with people of both parties.

In any event, here is the real heart of the bishop's statement:

At the same time, we also need to reaffirm the Catholic Church's constant teaching that abortion is a grave violation of the most fundamental human right - the right to life that is inherent in all human beings, and that grounds every other right we possess. Pope John Paul II's apostolic exhortation on the vocation and mission of the laity, Christifideles Laici, which the Representatives' statement cites, declares:

The inviolability of the person which is a reflection of the absolute inviolability of God fínds its primary and fundamental expression in the inviolability of human life. Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.... The human being is entitled to such rights, in every phase of development, from conception until natural death; and in every condition, whether healthy or sick, whole or handicapped, rich or poor (# 38).

While it is always necessary to work to reduce the number of abortions by providing alternatives and help to vulnerable parents and children, Catholic teaching calls all Catholics to work actively to restrain, restrict and bring to an end the destruction of unborn human life.

The hypocrisy is that the bishops hold Republicans and Democrats to different standards. 

The bishops are free to try and influence public policy - I support that freedom 100%.  But they are not free to engage in partisan political activity.  The law forbids it.   

As Americans, we should appreciate that the Roman Catholics House Democrats support the Constitution over papal authority.   


National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Institute for Welcoming Resources join forces

Press Release from the National Gay / Lesbian Task Force

Program is umbrella for more than 1,300 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender welcoming congregations, seminaries and campus ministries

Unprecedented joining of secular and faith-based organizing efforts

WASHINGTON, March 13 — The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force announced today that the Institute for Welcoming Resources (IWR), an umbrella organization for leading Protestant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) welcoming church programs, has merged with and will become a program of the Task Force. The move, an unprecedented joining of LGBT secular and faith-based organizing, is designed to provide new resources, training and strategies that will increase the number of people of faith supporting equality for LGBT people.

"We are extremely proud the Institute for Welcoming Resources, an essential leader in the effort to win support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in key denominations, is joining forces with us," said Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman. "The more than 1 million individuals in the 1,300 congregations supported by IWR are some of our movement's most valuable allies in the fight to reclaim 'moral values' from those who try to justify anti-gay bigotry as 'deeply held religious beliefs.'"

IWR works with the welcoming church movement in eight mainline Protestant denominations: the Presbyterian Church USA, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Community of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the American Baptist Churches and the Alliance of Baptists. Through this movement, congregations decide — through a formal vote — to offer an unconditional welcome to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities and their families. To date, more than 1,300 congregations — with more than 1 million congregants — have adopted statements that explicitly welcome LGBT people to full inclusion in the life and ministry of their congregations.

"Those of us in the welcoming church movement see it as our job to proudly claim the witness and language of our faith traditions," said the Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, executive officer of IWR. "Unfortunately for those of us who are Christian, some of that language has been hijacked by the radical right and used to attack and abuse LGBT folk. We are determined to change that." Voelkel, a minister in the United Church of Christ, will continue to lead the IWR program as a member of the Task Force staff.

With new resources and expertise resulting from this move, IWR expects to place faith-based field organizers across denominations in strategic locations around the country; produce new resources for welcoming congregations, seminaries and other settings; train clergy and lay leaders to work for LGBT equality; and exchange lessons learned between faith-based organizing in the mainline Protestant churches and progressive people of faith in other religious traditions. As part of the Task Force, the IWR program will continue to organize the "Witness Our Welcome (WOW)" conference as the national convening of welcoming people of faith. It will also continue the outreach work of the Shower of Stoles project, a visual and liturgical representation of the leadership gifts of LGBT people of faith and the loss that occurs when they are banned from leadership.

"We are confident our becoming part of the Task Force will help us grow this critical movement and take us to a new level of participation and effectiveness," said Voelkel.

Faith-based LGBT activism — a parallel stream

Like the Task Force, which was founded in 1973, many of the organizations with which IWR works have been in existence since the early 1970s, with a substantial history of LGBT organizing. This "parallel stream" of faith-based LGBT activism has grown alongside the secular political movement. For instance, Lutherans Concerned/North America, an organization of LGBT and allied Lutherans, has been working within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada since 1974. Over the years, these faith groups have given spiritual strength to LGBT people, bound up wounds caused by religious abuse, and advocated for full inclusion of LGBT people within their denominations and in society as a whole. In the process, they have won hundreds of thousands of dedicated heterosexual allies in their churches and achieved significant institutional change.

While extraordinary progress has been made within Protestant denominations, including the United Church of Christ's recent General Synod resolution endorsing marriage equality for same-sex couples, it has been done with comparatively few resources. A recent report released by the Task Force National Religious Leadership Roundtable, David v. Goliath: A Report on Faith Groups Working for LGBT Equality (and What They're Up Against) found that pro-LGBT faith organizations were out-spent by their anti-gay opponents by an average of 8 to 1.

"Much of the most important and heroic work to win hearts and minds on LGBT issues has been within religious denominations," Foreman said. "It's long past time for the secular and faith-based wings of our movement to share resources and expertise and advance as a united movement."

IWR as part of the continuing interfaith outreach of the Task Force

Working with faith leaders is not new for the Task Force. Since 1998, the Task Force has convened the National Religious Leadership Roundtable, an interfaith collaboration of more than 40 faith organizations from across the spectrum of American religious traditions. National Religious Leadership Roundtable members act as spokespeople, educators and citizen advocates in order to change the public dialogue on religion and LGBT issues. In addition to the denominations represented in the IWR, the National Religious Leadership Roundtable includes Episcopal, Metropolitan Community Church, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Missionary Baptist, Unitarian, Quaker, Mormon, Seventh-Day Adventist, Eastern Orthodox and spiritualist representation.

A Muslim member of the Roundtable, Imam Daayiee Abdullah, spoke about the value of the Task Force working more closely with the Institute for Welcoming Resources. "A rising tide lifts all boats," Abdullah said. "As churches become more welcoming, there becomes less of an idea that all 'people of faith' oppose LGBT equality. I'm glad to work with my brothers and sisters in the welcoming congregations and learn from them, and I think they, too, will learn something from me."

To find out more about the IWR, including a comprehensive and geographical list of all the welcoming congregations around the country, visit www.welcomingresources.org.

IWR partner organizations include:

  • More Light Presbyterians (Presbyterian Church USA)
  • Open and Affirming Program(United Church of Christ)
  • Reconciling Ministries Network (United Methodist Church)
  • Reconciling in Christ (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
  • Gay and Lesbian Acceptance (Community of Christ)
  • Open & Affirming Ministry (Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
  • Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (American Baptist Churches and the Alliance of Baptists)

Faithful and Welcoming In Name Only

The Rev. John Thomas, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, spoke this past week at Gettysburg College.

His topic:  The IRS, the IRD, and Red State / Blue State Religion.

The speech was first posted online by an anti-UCC web.  The writer of that site later admitted in an e-mail distributed to his yahoo group that he received it from the Republican Party aligned - Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD). 

IRD, for those not familiar, is an organization funded by right-wing political extremists.  Their aim is to silence Christian voices opposed to war and economic policies that abandon the "least of these."  IRD has been circulating the speech with the apparent hope that the content would foster division within the denomination. 

I suspect, however, that Thomas' comments will in fact help in the campaign some of us are waging to expose the political interests and ties of IRD and their allies.  Exposing IRD for what and who they are will only help unify our mainline churches.       

Some highlights of Thomas' speech:

The IRD supports and encourages campaigns of disruption and attack in Mainline churches through its Alliance of Church Renewal.  IRD has committees specifically focused on the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, and the Presbyterian Church (USA), committees which provide support for so-called renewal groups within each of these denominations - the Presbyterian Lay Committee, Good News, and Anglicans United.  More recently the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the American Baptist Churches, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have increasingly come into their sights as well.  The IRD pursues its political agenda in the churches through three strategies:  campaigns of disinformation that seek to discredit church leadership, advocacy efforts at church assemblies seeking to influence church policy, and grass roots organizing which, in some cases, encourages schismatic movements encouraging members and congregations either to redirect mission funding or even to leave their denominations.  Indeed, the Mainline churches are facing hardball tactics....

....the IRD, through related organizations in its Association of Church Renewal, encourages grass roots dissenting movements within denominations using classic political organizing around "wedge issues," issues such as gay marriage or ordination, or Middle East policy.  These movements do far more than encourage vigorous theological and moral debate within denominations; in reality they seek to disrupt, ultimately to control, and failing that to dismantle mainline denominations.   In the United Church of Christ the IRD's desginated related organization is the Biblical Witness Fellowship which publishes The Witness, a newspaper filled with articles attacking UCC leaders.  BWF encourages participation in and support for global mission outside the denomination's network of missionaries, partnerships, and projects.  And BWF also provides a "placement" service for so-called "orthodox" pastors and churches that refuse to use the denomination's search and call process, thereby setting themselves outside the processes of oversight in the denomination. More recently, BWF has found common cause with two other groups: the Evangelical Association of Congregational Christian and Reformed Churches and with the "Welcoming and Faithful Movement."  The Evangelical Association regularly provides strategic advice to congregations upset with denominational resolutions, showing them steps whereby they may leave the denomination with their buildings and other financial assets.  Leaders of a new "Welcoming and Faithful" movement claim that is its being organized to provide a place in the denomination for more "orthodox" members of the United Church of Christ who might otherwise leave the church.  It is allegedly organized simply as an alternative to the Open and Affirming Church movement which expresses the denomination's welcome of gay and lesbian Christians.

But the agenda is far more ambitious.  Regular mailings are sent to local church leaders, often deliberately by-passing the pastors.  One such mailing, sent by a judicatory leader associated with Welcoming and Faithful, encouraged churches to stop sending mission support to the denomination.  The leader of Welcoming and Faithful is now traveling the country seeking out disaffected members with the claim stated in their literature that leaders of the United Church of Christ "declared independence from Jesus and the historic faith of the church" with our marriage equality vote on July 4, 2005.  A national conference is being organized for this summer which apparently is to culminate in a pilgrimage to the Cleveland headquarters of the United Church of Christ in order to present a "manifesto" demanding a reversal of last summer's support for marriage equality for all regardless of sexual orientation.  These same stories are being repeated in every mainline denomination.  In the latest and perhaps most shocking maneuver, it is being reported that members of some of these groups are joining congregations, ultimately getting themselves elected to positions of authority, and then dropping the veil of innocence to press for congregational disaffiliation. 

What is important to note here is that IRD's interests are not primarily fostering church renewal or encouraging lively theological and ethical debate in church councils and assemblies. The ultimate goal is to reshape the Protestant mainline into a powerful force advancing the neo-conservative political agenda with its goal of promoting its own version of "Western representative democracy" around the world.  Just as politicians are now forging alliances with churches to promote their electoral agenda, and, in the process disregarding IRS laws and regulations,  IRD is using church members, and even outside groups, to disrupt and ultimately control the mainline to promote its own political agenda.

Click here to read the full text of his remarks.

And also make sure you stop by and read the post today by Pastor Dan on Street Prophets concerning this relatively new anti-gay group called Faithful and Welcoming


Michael Kinnamon: A Different Vision of Human Community

The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, Allen and Dottie Miller Professor of Mission and Peace at Eden Theological Seminary and chair of the Justice and Advocacy Commission of the National Council of Churches USA, preached this Sunday at the Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference in Washington, DC on I John 3: 11-18.  Dr. Kinnamon was one of my professors and during the fall 2005 semester I had the pleasure of working as his teaching assistant.  Below is his sermon:

"A Different Vision of Human Community"
Ecumenical Advocacy Days
March 12, 2006
I John 3: 11-18

I John!  Why did it have to be I John?!  The organizers have done a splendid job of putting together these Advocacy Days, but why did they have to choose I John as our focus text?!

There are, of course, wonderful passages in this letter, including one of my favorite lines in all of scripture:  "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (4:18).  And the particular text chosen for these Advocacy Days contains one of the Bible's most devastating questions:  "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?" (3:17). But the overall tone of this letter reflects a mindset that we must reject in the name of the gospel!

That's a pretty radical thing to say, so follow with me while I explain.

I John was written by the leader of a fearful, insecure community that understood itself to be threatened by external enemies and internal dissenters.  If we read between the lines of the Gospel according to John, we can tell that this community was originally part of the synagogue; but at some point they were expelled, which is why in the gospel "the Jews" are enemy number one. 

In this letter, however, there is a new enemy:  those who have left the community, apparently over theological disagreement.  And this attack from within has enraged the writer of our epistle.  Listen to these verses from chapter two:   "Children, it is the last hour!  As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come... They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us" (2:18-19).  These separatists, we are told, are "liars," "false prophets," "under the power of the evil one," "opponents of God."

As you know, this letter is renowned for its emphasis on love!  "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God..." (4: 7).  Indeed, "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them" (4:16).  But it is love only for those within the community, love for "our kind."  Those on the outside belong to the world; and, says the author to his readers, "the world hates you" (3:13).  Therefore, "do not love the world" (2:15).

The mindset of this letter is radically dualistic:  They are the children of the devil; we are the children of God (3:10).  They are murderers like Cain; we are righteous like his brother (3: 12-15).  Any of this sound familiar?  Their deeds, born of hatred, are evil; our deeds, done in love, are good.  Therefore, protect yourself from them and cling to one another.

There is no talk in I John of welcoming the stranger or forgiving the sinner or loving the enemy.  You remember how Jesus, according to Matthew and Luke, asks "What's the big deal about loving those who love you?  Everybody does that!"  But the author of this letter apparently didn't have Matthew or Luke on his reading list.  And there is no Golden Rule in I John.  The implied message here is " Love your brothers and sisters, but do unto those others before they do it unto you."

Does any of this sound familiar?

To be honest, I can understand why a small, marginalized community - the community of I John - would feel threatened by foes within and without, why its members would be tempted to think in terms of us and them.  Such a way of thinking, however, is still hazardous to one's spiritual health; and when this mindset is coupled with political, economic, and military power, it is hazardous to the health of the world!

Friends, we gather this weekend in Washington, not simply with strategies or programs that differ from the current administration, but with a different vision of life in human community. 

This vision, if I'm not mistake, far from splitting the world, insists that all life is interrelated.  This means, among other things, that security is never won through unilateral defense but through attentiveness to the injustice that afflicts other children of God - and everyone is a child of God!  That's why support for the Millennium Development Goals would contribute more to our security that new weapons systems ever could.  Dr. King, as usual, had it just right:  "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is a nation approaching spiritual death" - because its priorities are fundamentally askew.

I realize, of course, that none of this makes any sense if you live by the logic of I John.  How can a willingness to risk living in diverse, interdependent community possibly make us more secure?!  But isn't it the vision of the prophets that justice is the basis of lasting security (see Isaiah 32 and Micah 4)?  Isn't it the vision of the apostle that the well-being of one depends on the well-being of all (see I Corinthians 12)?  Isn't this the gospel?!

This vision of interrelatedness certainly applies to the church.  Like the author of I John, I deplore division in the body of Christ!  I long for us to accept our gift of unity in Christ and to demonstrate a love for one another that will speak volumes to the world about the God who first loved us.  But true community is never formed over against others.  "Gated community" is an oxymoron.  The gospel calls us (empowers us) to see God's image in those who are not in our image, to realize that God's love binds us to people who do not look or think as we do - and thereby to bear witness to the One who loves not only us but even us.

It is this dualistic mindset, seen so clearly in I John, that leads to racial profiling and other forms of discrimination.  It is this mindset that leads to a willingness to care for "our own," whoever they happen to be, while letting those others in Kenya or Eastern Congo or the lower Ninth Ward fall off our moral radar screens.  It is this mindset that leads to a society of economic winners and losers with a little recognition that "the neighbor" is anyone left by the side of the road.

And it is this dualistic mindset that leads persons, in the community of I John or contemporary America, to divide the world into those who are evil and those who are good.  I am convinced, as I imagine you are, that evil is never more powerful than when we assume that it only resides elsewhere.

But of course, this cuts both ways.  It is easy to point a finger at the President for the way he splits the world into opposing camps, urging us to recognize enemies that can only be destroyed as part of a divinely-ordained struggle between good and evil.  Pointing at him alone, however, only repeats the problem.  All of us want peace, and most of us (I suspect) decry this war.  But, to be honest, we also want things that make for conflict, including a standard of living that contributes to the poverty of global neighbors.   

If all we had were different strategies and programs, then we could indulge in the same rhetoric as the administration.  But we gather here in Washington, not just with different strategies and programs, but with a different vision of life in human community; and this vision indicts the self-righteousness and the left no less than the arrogant dualism of the right. 

I will admit that, in an era marked by crisis, I find the sharp-edged language of I John attractive and, in a sense, even appropriate.  Take a stand against the war!  Absolutely.  Protest against policies that punish the poor and reward the rich!  Absolutely.  Reject intolerance!  Absolutely.  Saying "yes" to our neighbors means saying an emphatic "no!"  to all that excludes or diminishes them.  But the vision we hold keeps us from saying that only others are guilty of hardness of heart and forces us to acknowledge our relationship with all of God's children.  There are many times when I wish God would be a bit more discriminating.  But there it is:  George Bush is my brother in Jesus Christ.  That's not the mindset of I John; but it is the mindset of the gospel. 

Before ending, I want to say something positive about this text that our organizing committee chose for us to consider!  And there is one very big plus: Love, according to the author of I John, is not just affection but action.  If I say that I love George Bush, it doesn't mean that I think sweet thoughts about him!  It means that I act toward him the same way that I act toward you:  I pray for him and, if he is in need, I respond.  Love, as described in our text, is an act of the will.  No one can "fall in love" on command, but we can choose to be for the other as Christ has been for us.

Remember our reading:  "Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action" (3:18).  Or as my daughters might put it:  Talk is cheap!  How can you say you love if you, having the world's goods, see a brother or sister in need yet refuse to help (3:17)?

But here, too, there is a problem.  The author of I John writes of active love in terms of sacrifice, following the example of Jesus.  Verse 16:  "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us - and we [therefore] ought to lay down our lives for one another."  Yes, sacrifice is a crucial Christian theme.  The problem, however, is that historically certain groups - women, minorities - have been asked (expected!) to sacrifice far more than people who look like me.  Perhaps it is time for us to emphasize not the imitation of Jesus' death but the imitation of his life - welcoming strangers, forgiving sinners, loving enemies.  In a culture so fixated on violence and death, surely it is time for us to lift up our vision of interdependent life - in this world, in all its fullness, for all God's children.

I John!  Why did it have to be I John?!  As I hope is obvious, I love the Bible and try to put it at the center of my life.  But there are times when we are called to challenge parts of scripture in the name of its central theme - the gospel of God's universal love made flesh in Jesus Christ.

In the same way, I love the United States of America.  But there are times when we are called to challenge the basic direction - the basic vision - of this country in the name of this same gospel.  Now is such a time!  We gather here in Washington, not just with different strategies and programs, but with a different vision of life in human community.  This vision is the gift and promise of the one gracious God - to whom be the glory for ever and ever. 

Michael Kinnamon
Eden Theological Seminary


Our Seattle Weekend

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We made a short trip up to Seattle this weekend to visit our friends Shannon and Myles and to spend time with Chalmers and Carolyn, Liz’s dad and step-mother. Carolyn and Chalmers were in town to visit Stephen, Carolyn’s son, who so happened to be performing this weekend in the Tacoma Opera’s production of La Bohème, by Giacomo Puccini.

The News Tribune said on Saturday:

Rumph offered the audience a thoughtful Rodolfo, innocent and rather sweet, with a confident, warm tenor that used superb control to great emotional effect, particularly in the signature "Che gelida manina."

We were not surprised to see Stephen draw such high praise. He is a talented singer.

This was a much nicer Seattle experience for me than the time the mayor ordered his police to shoot rubber bullets and lobe tear gas into the crowd in which I was standing during a 1999 Seattle protest against the WTO. It has taken some time for me to want to visit Seattle again.

The air was much fresher on this occasion.

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Additional photos will be made available later on our family site.


Tom Fox, Christian Peacemakers Team Member, Killed In Iraq

One of the members of the Christian Peacemakers Team held hostage in Iraq has been murdered. Tom Fox was a United States citizen. Christian Peacemakers Team released the following statement today:

TomfoxwallIn grief we tremble before God who wraps us with compassion. The death of our beloved colleague and friend pierces us with pain. Tom Fox’s body was found in Baghdad yesterday.

Christian Peacemaker Teams extends our deep and heartfelt condolences to the family and community of Tom Fox, with whom we have traveled so closely in these days of crisis.

We mourn the loss of Tom Fox who combined a lightness of spirit, a firm opposition to all oppression, and the recognition of God in everyone.

We renew our plea for the safe release of Harmeet Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember. Each of our teammates has responded to Jesus’ prophetic call to live out a nonviolent alternative to the cycle of violence and revenge.

In response to Tom’s passing, we ask that everyone set aside inclinations to vilify or demonize others, no matter what they have done. In Tom’s own words: "We reject violence to punish anyone. We ask that there be no retaliation on relatives or property. We forgive those who consider us their enemies. We hope that in loving both friends and enemies and by intervening nonviolently to aid those who are systematically oppressed, we can contribute in some small way to transforming this volatile situation.”

Even as we grieve the loss of our beloved colleague, we stand in the light of his strong witness to the power of love and the courage of nonviolence. That light reveals the way out of fear and grief and war.

Through these days of crisis, Christian Peacemaker Teams has been surrounded and upheld by a great outpouring of compassion: messages of support, acts of mercy, prayers, and public actions offered by the most senior religious councils and by school children, by political leaders and by those organizing for justice and human rights, by friends in distant nations and by strangers near at hand. These words and actions sustain us. While one of our teammates is lost to us, the strength of this outpouring is not lost to God’s movement for just peace among all peoples.

At the forefront of that support are strong and courageous actions from Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world for which we are profoundly grateful. Their graciousness inspires us to continue working for the day when Christians speak up as boldly for the human rights of thousands Iraqis still detained illegally by the United States and United Kingdom.

Such an outpouring of action for justice and peace would be a fitting memorial for Tom. Let us all join our voices on behalf of those who continue to suffer under occupation, whose loved ones have been killed or are missing. In so doing, we may hasten the day when both those who are wrongly detained and those who bear arms will return safely to their homes. In such a peace we will find solace for our grief.

Despite the tragedy of this day, we remain committed to put into practice these words of Jim Loney: “With the waging of war, we will not comply. With the help of God’s grace, we will struggle for justice. With God’s abiding kindness, we will love even our enemies.” We continue in hope for Jim, Harmeet and Norman’s safe return home safe.

This is a great tragedy and my heart is broken again to read of more unnecessary violence and death in the wake of the US invasion.

Praise God for the life of Tom Fox and the work and witness of all those who are part of the Christian Peacemakers Team.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Amen.

Related Link: Tom Fox reflection: "Why are we here?" written the day before the abduction

Related Post: Pray For Four From Christian Peacemakers Team Held In Iraq


"O'Connor Decries Republican Attacks on Courts"

From NPR:

Newly retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor took on conservative Republican critics of the courts in a speech Thursday. She told an audience at Georgetown University that Republican proposals, and their sometimes uncivil tone, pose a danger to the independence of the judiciary, and the freedoms of all Americans.

O'Connor specifically took on remarks made by Tom Delay during one of the Justice Sunday events and statements made by Texas senator John Cornyn

Click here to listen to the NPR story.   


Democrats Exploited Fear, Racism In Port Controversy

It looks like the controversy over a Bush Administration plan to allow an Arab-owned company to manage American ports is coming to an end.  The company apparently plans to transfer operations to an American-run entity (though everyone seems a little unclear what that means). 

The debate over this issue has been heated and unfair. 

I've appreciated that the president has often since 9/11 reminded people that not all Muslims are to blame for the terrorist attacks.  His comments in this area are a rare bright spot in his otherwise lousily conduct as president. 

Unfortunately, this president has also stoked fears of terrorism and then exploited those fears for political gain at every opportunity.  Those fears came back to haunt him this month as Democrats and Republicans joined in claiming that allowing an Arab-run company to operate American ports would not be safe.

Senator Frank Lautenberg summed up the opposition to Bush's plans at a New Jersey rally:

"We wouldn't transfer the title to the devil, and we're not going to transfer it to Dubai."

Lautenberg has been a great senator but his comments smacked of racism toward Arabs.

All Democrats showed us on this issue was that they could be as exploitive as the president and campaign just as dirty.  Partisans will cheer the Democrats and congratulate themselves over defeating Bush.  But the cost of this victory was too high.  Lautenberg, at the very least, owes Arabs everywhere a clear apology.    

Related Link:  American Public Opinion About Islam and Muslims


Abu Ghraib

The US announced today that the Abu Ghraib prison - the site of human rights violations inflected against Iraqis by American soldiers - would be closed.  Before the US invasion the prison housed Iraqi citizens imprisoned and tortured by their government. 

What now?

The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, said in a statement that the next step should be the closure of the Guantanamo Bay retention camp in Cuba:

Abu Ghraib has become a dark icon of history, forever etched in our minds as a place of horror, torture and death. It is good that it is closing and we pray that it will soon be turned to rubble and dust. Unfortunately, the memories will not go away.

In recent years, both Iraqis and Americans abused and tortured prisoners at Abu Ghraib, both sides convinced that their heinous acts were necessary to preserve a regime or protect other lives. With the closing of Abu Ghraib, it's time to renew our resolve as a nation that torture and abuse must never be weapons for our defense. To declare that torture may be necessary to protect safety and freedom is illogical, immoral and profane. It's as chilling as an analogy from another era: that in order to save a village, it is necessary to destroy it. Our liberties will be left defenseless if we abandon our commitment to just and humane treatment, in war or in peace.

Recently the National Council of Churches also called for the closing of another dark icon, the Guantanamo Bay retention camp in Cuba. We endorsed a United Nations Report recommending that the U.S. refrain from "any practice amounting to torture" and to bring the detainees to trial or release them without further delay. This is the urgent call of civilized nations around the globe. This is the urgent call of Americans who love their country and all that it stands for.

The National Council of Churches also renews its request -- issued three times since 2003 -- that a small interfaith delegation be allowed to visit Guantanamo to assure the world -- and ourselves -- that our country is committed to the rule of law and humane justice.

The National Council of Churches has proclaimed a forthright policy on human rights since 1963, and as the U.S. government prepares to decide what it will do after the closing of Abu Ghraib, it seems important to quote it again:

"Christians believe that man is made in the image of God, that every person is of intrinsic worth before God, and that every individual has a right to the fullest possible opportunity for the development of life abundant and eternal. Denials of rights and freedoms that inhere in man's worth before God are not simply a crime against humanity; they are a sin against God."

Related Link:  The Road to Abu Ghraib from Human Rights Watch


"Bush Budget Leaves No Millionaire Behind as He Proposes Massive Cuts To Programs for Homeless and Low-Income People"

...just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. - Matthew 25:40 (NRSV)

If you listen to the budget spin coming out of the White House you would think that President Bush is a champion of programs designed to lift people out of homelessness. 

But the facts don't support the spin.  The president's budget proposals will in fact leave more people homeless in America - at the same time tax cuts are given to the richest Americans.

The National Coalition for the Homeless reports:

On February 6th, 2006, President Bush sent his proposed $2.77 trillion FY2007 budget to Congress.  His proposals would cut $600 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a 1.8% decrease from the FY06 appropriations; and funding for Health and Human Services (HHS) discretionary programs would decline by $1.6 billion.

While the President's proposed budget does increase funding in some areas, the Homeless Assistance Grants increased by $209 million and Housing for People with AIDS (HOPWA) saw a $14 million increase, it makes these increases by making reductions in other programs for low-income people, not by finding new resources.

HUD programs that are taking the largest reductions include the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which would loose $736 million in funding, which is a 20% decrease over FY 2006.  Section 202, housing for the elderly, takes a 26% decrease in funding ($190 million) and Section 811, housing for people with disabilities, takes a 50% cut of $118 million.  These two program cuts would significantly reduce housing assistance for some of our country's most vulnerable populations, including families, seniors and people with disabilities.

The Department of Health and Human Services Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) is being eliminated.  The Grants for the Benefits of Homeless Individuals (GBHI) lost $5 million in funding, the Mental Health Performance Partnership saw $1 million in lost funding and the PATH program saw no increase for FY 2007.

Sojourners Magazine now has a link available for those who want to write their member of Congress a note expressing opposition to the Bush budget proposals.  Please take the time to do so.    

Related Post:  "President's New Budget Morally Bankrupt"

Related Post:  The 2007 Bush Budget: Leaving Children Behind

Related Post:  President's Budget Would Cut Food For Over 420,000 Low-Income Seniors

Related Post:  Bush 2007 Budget Rejects Christians Values Of Hope And Justice


Ginny Burdick’s Climb Into The Gutter

The Oregonian reports today that Ginny Burdick, a candidate challenging Erik Sten for a seat on the Portland City Council, is using what amounts to push polls in her race.

If you haven’t fallen victim to a push poll before here is a pretty good definition:

A push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. Push polls are generally viewed as a form of negative campaigning.

Perhaps the most famous alleged use of push polls is in the 2000 United States Republican Party primaries, when it was alleged that George W. Bush's campaign used push polling to torpedo the campaign of Senator John McCain. Voters in South Carolina reportedly were asked "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?", an allegation that had no substance, but planted the idea of undisclosed allegations in the minds of thousands of primary voters[1]. McCain and his wife had in fact adopted a Bangladeshi girl.

Burdick was offered the support of the downtown business community if she would run for the council. The Portland Business Alliance and their allies oppose Sten’s re-election because of his support for homeless programs and campaign finance reform.

Burdick’s only hope in the race is to wage a negative campaign financed by the downtown groups who know they can own her vote and voice in a way they have never been able to own Sten’s.

Her campaign tactics are unworthy of Portland.

Related Post: Erik Sten for Portland City Council


"The India Bush Didn't See"

President Bush took a two-day trip to India last week.  The view of the nation that he got was undoubtedly different than the view I saw as part of a 2003 travel seminar sponsored by Eden Theological Seminary.  Our group spent over three weeks visiting urban and rural centers in southern India.  The prevailing view that economic globalization has been good for India is one that many disagree with - including many leading Indian Christians.  The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Sunday:

Among India's poor, survival is still won by acts of despair and cunning. It's a daily quest whose reward is a plate of rice or a simple medication.

Farmers in Maharasthra hang banners offering their kidneys for sale; overworked medics in Gorakhpur fashion tubes from paper to deliver oxygen to the diseased; hungry parents in the barren fields of Orissa sell their children for the price of a bag of grain.

Millions roam the country in pursuit of work, trading the want of the village for the indignity of bonded labor. At outdoor kilns dotting the scorched terrain of Andhra Pradesh, parents and children toil side by side mixing and molding bricks from dawn till midnight. By doing this, a family of six earns about $5.50 per week, enough for one evening meal of unripe tomatoes and broken rice, reject kernels used normally as chicken feed.

The workers bathe in the stagnant mud pits used to mix the bricks and sleep in mattress-size hovels no taller than a man's belly button, which contain their entire estate: some tattered clothes, a hand broom, a few dinged-up pots.

"We were born in the mud, we've spent our lives in the mud, and we'll die in the mud," says Bansi Dhar Bag, 43, his skin blackened by a lifetime of kiln work. "We have to lead our lives like this. We suffer a lot, but we have to survive. We have to suffer."

Such is the burden of poverty for more than a quarter of India's 1.1 billion people. It's the nation with the largest number of poor people in the world. Although their ragged slums cram the roadsides and river banks of capital New Delhi, they almost certainly did not cross the gaze of President Bush, who arrived here Wednesday for a two-day visit during his first trip to India.

India has sought to portray a very different image to the outside world, one of a global leader. In conjunction with Bush's trip, the United States gave a nod of approval to that aim, inking a nuclear energy agreement that effectively normalizes India's furtive nuclear status. Many feel that a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council is inevitable.

India's rise to prominence began with domestic market reforms in 1991 that broke the dam of globalization and sent the country's economy soaring -- growing at an average of 6.8 percent since 1994. In just a decade, the land of lepers and snake charmers was supplanted by one of tech tycoons and MTV veejays.

Contrary to government claims however, the liberated economy -- commonly portrayed as an antidote to poverty among global financial institutions -- has done little for India's poor, say several leading economists, including Jean Dreze, Martin Ravallion and Raghbendra Jha. The most notable outcome of reforms, they say, has been to make inequality and even wider chasm.

Many Christians in India speak out against the negative effects of economic globalization and in support of those - particularly the Dalit people - who remained oppressed by economic factors and the caste system.

The Rev. Dr. Konrad Raiser, the then-secretary general of the World Council of Churches, said in a 2003 address at Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, that:

God's own Solidarity, with human beings is expressed in the reality of the servant Christ who humbled himself to take up human form, who was born into poverty, who accepted the path of rejection and who finally met his death on the cross. The vicarious suffering of Christ is the supreme manifestation of God's love. God in Christ took upon himself the whole burden of human sin and weakness. ... Suffering, however, is not the goal: beyond the cross is the resurrection. ... The victory of Christ therefore brings a tangible and deepened hope to those engaged in actual struggles against oppression and dominance. Moreover, his victory promises that the vicious circle in which injustice breeds more injustice and one form of oppression gives way to another form is being broken."

Dr. Raiser's views give voice to my own theological assumptions about what it means to be Christian in a world filled with poverty and suffering. 

Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, one of the seminaries my group spent a week studying at, has been a particularly important voice in efforts to address poverty in India. 

I wish the president had taken the opportunity to visit the people of Gurukul and to see some of the other sites that I witnessed while there.  Maybe his own faith and vision would have been challenged. 

A few pictures from my trip are in the posts below:

Related Post:  Before The Tidal Waves

Related Post:  India: AIDS Fueled by Abuses Against Children

Related Post:  Christians Face Struggles In India


Alabama Students Arrested In Church Fires That Conservatives Blamed On Gays, Liberals

Good news tonight from Alabama:  authorities have arrested three college students for the series of arsons that struck rural churches there.  Because the churches were all Baptist (though not all Southern Baptist) some conservatives (including a few that e-mailed me) wildly speculated that gays and / or political liberals might have been behind the attacks (MSNBC's conservative commentator Chris Matthews helped spread those vicious accusations).  Governor Bob Riley said today, however, that the fires did not appear to be "any type of conspiracy against organized religion."  In fact, the Alabama college students behind the fires maintain their acts were some sort of prank that got out of hand.  Whatever the reason their attacks caused terrible damage to the church families impacted and resulted in bigoted speculation by some conservatives against entire groups of people.  We should pray for healing for all involved.       

Related Post:  "John Thomas calls for prayer for burned Alabama churches"

Related Post:  Alabama Church Fires


"Mexico: Rape Victims Denied Legal Abortion"

Human Rights Watch has a new report out concerning the difficulties faced by rape victims in Mexico who seek to obtain an abortion:

Mexican officials actively prevent rape victims from gaining access to legal and safe abortion, and they fail to punish rape and sexual violence inside and outside the family, said Human Rights Watch in a report released today.

The 92-page report, "The Second Assault: Obstructing Access to Legal Abortion after Rape in Mexico," details the disrespect, suspicion and apathy that pregnant rape victims encounter from public prosecutors and health workers. The report also exposes continuing and pervasive impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in states throughout Mexico. 

"Pregnant rape victims are essentially assaulted twice," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "First by the perpetrators who raped them, and then by officials who ignore them, insult them and deny them a legal abortion." 

In Mexico, abortion in general is illegal, but rape victims have the legal right to a safe abortion under all state criminal codes. However, women and girls who approach the authorities to exercise this right face multiple obstacles, Human Rights Watch found.

Unfortunately, South Dakota - which just passed a law banning abortions even in the case of rape or incest - is trying to make Mexico's policies look progressive.

Related Post:  Can Christians Be Pro-Choice? Yes.


In The Portland Tribune

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Observant readers of The Portland Tribune might have noticed the above photo of Liz, Katherine and Frances in an article today about a partnership between the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and the Multnomah County library system to provide music and story telling for children.  Liz sometimes takes the twins to the "Symphony Storytimes" and happened to be there when The Trib was working on their story.  Can we help it if our kids were the cutest there?