The Progressive Faith Blog Con will be held Friday, July 14th - Sunday, July 16th at The Conference Center at Montclair State University outside of New York. I'm planning on attending if the funding comes through. Pastor Dan has more info on Street Prophets.

It now appears nearly certain that last fall United States Marines committed a massacre in the Iraqi city of Haditha and that a cover-up ensued. 

The Iraq Body Count project now estimates that between 38,059 and 42,434 civilians have died since US forces invaded Iraq three years ago - killed by both US military action and by the violence that has gripped the country since. 

President Bush's invasion of Iraq, a decision now opposed by most Americans, was initially opposed by the Vatican, World Council of Churches, and most mainline Protestant Christian groups in the United States (including the National Council of Churches USA).   

But what happened in Haditha?  The Washington Post reports:

The incident was touched off when a roadside bomb struck a Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment supply convoy. The explosion killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 20, of El Paso, who was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. Following in the footsteps of two Marine uncles and a Marine grandfather, Terrazas had planned to go to college when it was all done, his family said.

Insurgents planted the bomb on a side road off one of Haditha's main streets, placing it between two vacant lots to try to avoid killing -- and further alienating -- Haditha's civilians, residents said. It went off at 7:15 a.m. Terrazas was driving the Humvee, and he died instantly. Two other Marines in the convoy were wounded.

"Everybody agrees that this was the triggering event. The question is: What happened afterward?" said Paul Hackett, an attorney for a Marine officer with a slight connection to the case.

The descriptions of events provided to The Post by witnesses in Haditha could not be independently verified, although their accounts of the number of casualties and their identities were corroborated by death certificates.

In the first minutes after the shock of the blast, residents said, silence reigned on the street of walled courtyards, brick homes and tiny palm groves. Marines appeared stunned, or purposeful, as they moved around the burning Humvee, witnesses said.

Then one of the Marines took charge and began shouting, said Fahmi, who was watching from his roof. Fahmi said he saw the Marine direct other Marines into the house closest to the blast, about 50 yards away.

It was the home of 76-year-old Abdul Hamid Hassan Ali. Although he had used a wheelchair since diabetes forced a leg amputation years ago, Ali was always one of the first on his block to go out every morning, scattering scraps for his chickens and hosing the dust of the arid western town from his driveway, neighbors said.

In the house with Ali and his 66-year-old wife, Khamisa Tuma Ali, were three of the middle-aged male members of their family, at least one daughter-in-law and four children -- 4-year-old Abdullah, 8-year-old Iman, 5-year-old Abdul Rahman and 2-month-old Asia.

Marines entered shooting, witnesses recalled. Most of the shots -- in Ali's house and two others -- were fired at such close range that they went through the bodies of the family members and plowed into walls or the floor, physicians at Haditha's hospital said.

A daughter-in-law, identified as Hibbah, escaped with Asia, survivors and neighbors said. Iman and Abdul Rahman were shot but survived. Four-year-old Abdullah, Ali and the rest died.

Ali took nine rounds in the chest and abdomen, leaving his intestines spilling out of the exit wounds in his back, according to his death certificate.

The Marines moved to the house next door, Fahmi said.

Inside were 43-year-old Khafif, 41-year-old Aeda Yasin Ahmed, an 8-year-old son, five young daughters and a 1-year-old girl staying with the family, according to death certificates and neighbors.

The Marines shot them at close range and hurled grenades into the kitchen and bathroom, survivors and neighbors said later. Khafif's pleas could be heard across the neighborhood. Four of the girls died screaming.

Only 13-year-old Safa Younis lived -- saved, she said, by her mother's blood spilling onto her, making her look dead when she fell, limp, in a faint.

Townspeople led a Washington Post reporter this week to the girl they identified as Safa. Wearing a ponytail and tracksuit, the girl said her mother died trying to gather the girls. The girl burst into tears after a few words. The older couple caring for her apologized and asked the reporter to leave.

Moving to a third house in the row, Marines burst in on four brothers, Marwan, Qahtan, Chasib and Jamal Ahmed. Neighbors said the Marines killed them together.
Marine officials said later that one of the brothers had the only gun found among the three families, although there has been no known allegation that the weapon was fired.

Meanwhile, a separate group of Marines found at least one other house full of young men. The Marines led the men in that house outside, some still in their underwear, and away to detention.

The final victims of the day happened upon the scene inadvertently, witnesses said. Four male college students -- Khalid Ayada al-Zawi, Wajdi Ayada al-Zawi, Mohammed Battal Mahmoud and Akram Hamid Flayeh -- had left the Technical Institute in Saqlawiyah for the weekend to stay with one of their families on the street, said Fahmi, a friend of the young men.

A Haditha taxi driver, Ahmed Khidher, was bringing them home, Fahmi said.

According to Fahmi, the young men and their driver turned onto the street and saw the wrecked Humvee and the Marines. Khidher threw the car into reverse, trying to back away at full speed, Fahmi said, and the Marines opened fire from about 30 yards away, killing all the men inside the taxi.

What followed was surely a massive cover-up on the part of the United States.  These events - which occurred last fall - are only now coming to light.  How far up the chain of command did the cover-up go?  When did the president know?

And with the number of dead still growing how can anyone suggest that Iraq is stabilizing?   

Reprinted from United Church News:

Contributions are urged from UCC members and congregations following a deadly earthquake on May 27 in Java, Indonesia. The UCC has pledged support for its responding church partners in the region.

The UCC's Wider Church Ministries immediately issued the following International Disaster Alert:

Situation and Immediate Response

An earthquake that shook the area around the ancient royal city of Yogyakarta on Saturday killed more than 2,700, a government official said.  The death toll is expected to rise.  News reports indicate thousand of people injured and 70-80% of the building in Yogykarta flattened.

Yogyakarta is about 25 km (16 miles) north of the Indian Ocean coast and 440 km (275 miles) east of Jakarta.

The UCC has pledged support to partners in Indonesia who are responding as follows:

- Church World Service/Indonesia has sent three staff members to the affected area; two staff are doing assessments in Bantul and are preparing for the distribution of food and non-food items.

- YTBI – Disaster Response of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia has sent two staff members from Jakarta to coordinate the distribution of food and medicine.

- YEU – Christian Foundation for Public Health is evacuating injured children to Tegalyoso hospital in Klaten.

How you can help:

1.  Please pray for the people of Java affected by this earthquake and the emergency responders.

2. To help those affected by this disaster you may send gifts payable to your congregation marked "Java Earthquake", with the request they are sent through your Conference office on to Wider Church Ministries, or ...

3. Send gifts payable to Wider Church Ministries and marked in the memo portion "Java Earthquake", to Wider Church Ministries; 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115, or ...

4. Make a secure on-line donation now by clicking on the donation button on the UCC's disaster response webpage at http://www.ucc.org/disaster/ (Please type “Java Earthquake” in the Comments section to indicate your gift designation.)

The Republican Party-aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy sent out a press release today attacking Jim Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, for a speech he gave in March of this year critical of President Bush. IRD spokesman Mark Tooley (also a writer for conservative activist David Horowitz’s web site) claims that Winker confuses “partisan politics with the Gospel.” The irony is too great to ignore. Not only is Tooley using the very same words that I’ve used in public criticism of IRD but the IRD press release attacking Winker was sent out by – wait for it – 2004 Bush campaign worker John Lomperis. Lomperis routinely sends out attack pieces against progressive Christians who don’t conform to IRD’s own partisan political agenda without disclosing his own partisan political activities. Don’t be surprised. IRD is, after all, funded by some of the biggest financial backers of President Bush. Tooley, a former CIA employee, has called United Methodist bishops opposed to the Iraq war anti-American. Their goal, as I’ve stated before, is to silence mainline Christian voices critical of the conservative political policies advanced by this administration and their tactics include sowing division in mainline churches by making personal attacks against church leaders. Here they go again. IRD has proven time and time again that they’ll say or do nearly anything to advance the Republican agenda. They’ll even misrepresent the teachings of Jesus on issues of war, peace, justice and the environment if it furthers their agenda.

Related Link: Hardball tactics: The mainline and the IRD from The Christian Century

Kevin Hayden has a new blog: Wagon Tongues. The site reports on Oregon politics.

Danny Fisher, MDiv., is also back on the web. Check out The Blog of an American Buddhist Chaplain. Congratulations to Danny on his recent graduation from the Master of Divinity program at Naropa University.

Statement from the National Council of Churches:

New Orleans, Louisiana—May 25, 2006—With hurricane season a week away, a special commission of the National Council of Churches (NCC) promises to “speak truth to power” throughout the long and arduous rebuilding effort of this city and the entire Gulf Coast region.  Eight months ago hurricane damage and destruction “took off the mask” of poverty, race, class and gender in the United States.  The NCC’s Special Commission for the Just Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast [http://www.ncccusa.org/news/060523specialcommission.html] will be supporting local ecumenical and community groups “to advocate for justice in the distribution of resources and services for those impacted by the hurricanes, especially the poor.”

A report was presented this week to the NCC’s Governing Board by the Rev. Melvin G. Talbert, retired bishop in the United Methodist Church and chair of the Special Commission.

“We will speak with the moral authority of our member churches,” Bishop Talbert told the Governing Board.  “There are times when we will take the initiative to open the doors that need to be opened,” he said.  We will, says the report, “hold fast to our vision of restored communities of love and justice.”

As part of that vision the NCC has partnered with six denominations, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and the Every Church a Peace church movement to sponsor Churches Supporting Churches.  This program will help rebuild 36 destroyed or damaged churches in 12 predominantly African American neighborhoods of New Orleans.  CSC’s goal is to “restart, reopen, repair or rebuild the churches in order for them to be agents for community development and to recreate their community,” said Dr. C. T. Vivian, CSC chair and longtime activist in the civil rights movement.  Congregations across the country will be offered the opportunity to help get these churches up and running again.  A year-long training program in community development will equip pastors and lay leaders for their expanded work as community developers.

“CSC, concerned about the total hurricane devastation,” says Dr. Vivian, “sees this New Orleans project as a model for similar working in all areas of the Gulf Coast.”

As this city and the region are rebuilt, there is great concern that poor and low income citizens will be ignored or given little consideration as plans are put forward.  Churches have already begun planning affordable housing initiatives as well as community services such as daycare centers.  Displaced residents cannot return until schools, hospitals, child care and mental health services are open and operating.  Several church organizations can help get such services up and running.  The Special Commission will speak up and speak out when it will help local groups or congregations in doing the work on the ground.

Several board members yesterday toured the Lower 9th Ward and other neighborhoods hit hardest by the flooding.  Among them, the Rt. Rev. Christopher Epting, a bishop in the Episcopal Church, said little has been done to clean up and remove debris.  “The scale is simply enormous!”  Bishop Epting says the NCC’s interest is in the “systemic realities” of rebuilding the region.

“How can we make sure that people are justly compensated for their loss?,” writes Bishop Epting in a sermon prepared for tonight.  “How can we assure that those who wish to return home can do so safely and with security?  How can we stand against those landlords who are now charging 1,100 dollars a month in rent for shoddy apartments which used to go for 300 – because housing is so scarce?”

The Special Commission will employ a local coordinator to direct its work.  The staff presence in the region is seen as critical in keeping the voice of the church at the table in the civic dialogue about remaking a city and region that gives voice to the voiceless.  The commission will come back to the region in August for its next meeting one week prior to the first anniversary of Katrina.

In his report, Bishop Talbert said it is the “right of all displaced residents to return to a community that offers security, tranquility and stability of opportunity.”

The NCC’s Governing Board chose to meet in New Orleans to bring the witness of the church here as well as learn more about the role of the church in the rebuilding efforts.   A prayer vigil [http://www.ncccusa.org/news/060523nccmarchtomorial.html] and half-mile silent march was held Monday evening from Canal Street to the Ernest W. Morial Convention Center.  Hurricane victims had sought security and safety at the center.  Many found only humiliation.  Others spent their last moments on this earth at this site.

The NCC gathering was led in a prayer litany calling on God to hear the cries of the people, cries for justice and cries for an equitable rebuilding of this city.  Bishop Talbert told the vigil, “We come now as the church of Jesus Christ responding to this crisis.”

The Rev. John McCullough, executive director of Church World Service, NCC’s partner relief agency, said the gathering was “symbolic of God’s church” in this place witnessing for justice, speaking up for those who are waiting to return and those who lost their lives in this community.  “God is using the arms and hands and legs” of all of us in the work the church is doing to help rebuild this community and all those still ravaged all along the Gulf Coast, McCullough said.

The general secretary of the NCC, the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, called on the gathering to repeat, “We are the leaders we have been waiting for.”

The church leaders sang hymns as they walked back down Convention Center Blvd. to the hotel where they met.  “Amazing Grace” and “This Little Light of Mine” were heard amidst the sounds of rush hour traffic racing by the open-for-business casino, brew pub, and some of the other riverfront hotels that have managed to reopen.

“There’s no question that New Orleans will be rebuilt,” said Bishop Talbert, “the question is for whom will this city be rebuilt?”

The NCC is the ecumenical voice of 35 of America’s Protestant, Orthodox, Episcopal, historic black and peace churches with nearly 45 million members in 100,000 congregations.

I've signed on to the Clergy For Fairness letter to the United States Senate expressing opposition to the "Marriage Protection Amendment."  You can too:

As clergy from a broad spectrum of religious traditions we hold diverse views regarding marriage. However, we are united in our opposition to amending the U.S. Constitution to define marriage.

The Marriage Protection Amendment raises alarming constitutional concerns. We do not favor using the constitutional amendment process to resolve the divisive issues of the moment. Loading down the Constitution with such amendments weakens the enormous influence it holds as the key document that binds our nation together.

We are concerned that the Marriage Protection Amendment would mark the first time in history that an amendment to the Constitution would restrict the civil rights of an entire group of Americans. Misusing our nation’s most cherished document for this purpose would tarnish our proud tradition of expanding citizens’ rights by Constitutional amendment, a tradition long supported by America’s faith communities. These concerns alone merit rejection of the Marriage Protection Amendment.

We also share a serious concern that the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment would infringe on religious liberty.

Thoughtful people of faith can and do disagree on the issue of marriage. America’s many religious traditions reflect this diversity of opinion, as do we who sign this letter. But we respect the right of each religious group to decide, based on its own religious teachings, whether or not to sanction marriage of same-sex couples. It is surely not the federal government’s role to prefer one religious definition of marriage over another, much less to codify such a preference in the Constitution. To the contrary: the great contribution of our Constitution is to ensure religious liberty for all.

Some argue that a constitutional amendment is necessary to ensure that clergy and faith groups will never be forced to recognize marriages of same-sex couples against their will. This argument is unfounded. Such coercion is already expressly forbidden by the First Amendment’s “establishment” clause, its guarantee of the right to “free exercise” of religion, and the Supreme Court’s doctrine of religious autonomy that is rooted in both religion clauses. These, and only these, are all the protection of religious autonomy – and of religious marriage – our nation needs.

Our nation’s founders adopted the First Amendment precisely because they understood the dangers of allowing government to have control over religious doctrine and decisions. It is this commitment to religious freedom that has allowed religious practice and pluralism to flourish in America as nowhere else. If this freedom is to be maintained, we must respect the rights of faith communities to apply their own religious teachings and values to the issue of same-sex relationships. It is surely not the business of politicians to assert control over the doctrine and practice of our faith communities.

The Marriage Protection Amendment would dignify discrimination and undermine religious liberty. America’s religious communities do not support this amendment. As leaders of these communities, we urge you to vote against any attempt to pass this Amendment.

Don't let the Religious Right use our faith to divide America.

This post has been updated below

Portland Mayor Tom Potter issued an open letter to the people of Portland today concerning a bizarre overreach by the FBI. The Bush Administration is watching…..

An Open Letter to the Portland Community:

On Thursday, May 11, 2006, a Special Agent of the Portland Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation stopped a City employee and showed her a badge and ID. He asked if she knew any City Council members. He asked if she would be willing to pass information to him relating to people who work for the City of Portland . He said that while he had duties in other areas, the agency was always interested in information relating to white collar crime and other things.

One important and legitimate role of the FBI is to investigate public corruption within government entities. For example, recently the FBI arrested a member of Congress for public corruption. But federal officials have told me they know of no public corruption in our city. Federal officials say they are conducting no investigation of the City of Portland.

The only conclusion I can draw is that the agent in question was trying to place an informant inside the offices of Portland ’s elected officials and employees, in order to inform on City Council and others.

The actions of the FBI – even if they are the actions of one agent acting on his own - come at an uneasy time for many Americans. In the past few weeks, we have learned that our phone records are not private, and conversations are monitored without warrants. Journalists exposing these actions have been threatened with prosecution.

Even if this incident is nothing more than the work of one overzealous agent, it represents an unacceptable mindset within the agency. When there is no information to indicate ANY public corruption on the part of City Council members or employees, the FBI has no legitimate role in surreptitiously monitoring elected officials and city employees. As a city, we will continue to cooperate with the FBI on investigating criminal activities and terrorism, to ensure our community is as safe as possible.

But in the absence of any reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, I believe the FBI’s recent actions smack of "Big Brother." Spying on local government without justification or cause is not acceptable to me. I hope it is not acceptable to you, either.

Thank you,

Tom Potter

Our fundamental liberties are at risk in America.

Update:  I spoke with Daniel Nielsen in the Portland FBI office a few minutes ago and registered my distaste with the FBI's action in attempting to recruit an informer in City Hall.  He confirmed what the Mayor said in his statement: there is no criminal investigation of anyone in City Hall.  Mr. Nielsen told me the action was preemptive in nature.   

My twenty minutes on The John Carlson Show in Seattle turned into an hour long appearance after the FOX News radio station received a rush of phone calls from conservative listeners upset that someone would have the nerve to call James Dobson and his allies on the Religious Right what they are: disingenuous partisan hacks. Seattle mega pastor and prominent gay rights opponent (and former NFL player) Ken Hutcherson even called in to protest. He said he knew Dobson wasn’t a partisan political activist because Dobson told him so when they attended a Republican gala fund raiser together (you try and figure out that logic). The truth is that the Religious Right misuses their churches for partisan political gain and the Republicans are the beneficiaries. Hutcherson challenged me to a debate on the issues. My response: name the time and place.

Related Post:  Catch Me On The John Carlson Show

Related Post: Ken Hutcherson: Is He Preaching Jihad?

View the comments on this post from Street Prophets

This afternoon at 4:05 Pacific time I’m scheduled as a guest on The John Carslon Show to talk about the “religious left.” Carlson, the 2000 Republican nominee for governor in Washington State, broadcasts on Seattle’s 570 KVI. You can listen live on their website.

There are three kinds of patriots, two bad, one good.  The bad ones are the uncritical lovers and the loveless critics.  Good patriots carry on a lover's quarrel with their country, a reflection of God's lover's quarrel with all the world.- The Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr.

You might not think of this urban blue state guy as a country music fan but I've always been one.  Lyle Lovett is without question my favorite contemporary singer and on my IPod you'll find such country artists as Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Dierks Bentley, Big & Rick, and even the great Dolly Parton.

This week the Dixie Chicks are on the cover of TIME magazine - and not for their musical talent.  TIME labels the Nashville trio as the "Radical Chicks" because of the controversy which has followed them since the outbreak of the Iraq War when singer Natalie Maines and her band mates criticized George W. Bush for pursuing an unjustified military conflict.

Country radio stations - showing their support for First Amendment rights and the great American tradition of dissent - banned their records, the band received death threats, and some stations even had public burnings of their records. 

Now the Dixie Chicks are out with a new album and a hit single (at least where you can hear it) called Not Ready To Make Nice (if you cannot hear it on the radio you can at least download it on ITunes - or even hear it for free on their website... but you should buy it to show some support).

TIME reports that the Dixie Chicks have faced financial losses since coming out against the war and their new single speaks of some of the difficulties they have faced.

But is this group of moms radical?  30% or less of the American people now support the president.  When the Dixie Chicks first went public with their views the numbers were much higher.  The band clearly took a risk when they first became vocal. 

Sadly, their music is still banned by many radio stations and their new single is drawing some fire from those on the right.  A lot of conservatives like their women quiet and the Dixie Chicks are outspoken. 

It is simply not appropriate to ban musicians based on their politics from the airways.  Lyle Lovett (greatest singer of all time) performed at one of the Bush inaugural events and I didn't go out and burn his records (or send him death threats).   

If these singers can be labeled "radical" it speaks more about America than it does about the Dixie Chicks.  Not only were they right about the Iraq War - and the president - they were patriotic in speaking up when so many were silent.    

The publishers sent over a copy of Dan Wakefield’s The Hijacking Of Jesus a couple of weeks back and yesterday I finally had the chance read it. Wakefield, a journalist by vocation and lay member of the United Church of Christ, has written a good 195 page recap of how groups like the Republican Party aligned - Institute on Religion and Democracy and other Religious Right groups have misused the Bible to further their own partisan political campaigns. He calls in the book for renewed efforts on the part of mainline churches to engage in social activism. Unfortunately, Wakefield seems to blame scholarly groups such as the Jesus Seminar (a group of well regarded Biblical scholars who study the historical Jesus) for some of the problems faced by mainline churches. Study of the historical Jesus, he asserts, doesn’t leave room for more evangelical Christians that are needed for the mainline churches to survive. You’re not going to get me to blame scholars for the loss of membership in mainline churches. Wakefield doesn’t offer any solid research to back his claim (and you won’t find any). The truth is that writers like Marcus Borg and my own professor Stephen Paterson have helped bring many people back to the Christian faith by helping to open of the dialogue about what it means to be a Christian in the post-modern era.

One of the critical moral and political questions facing Christians today is the care of creation (or the environment).  Mainline Christians and some conservative evangelicals have called on the United States and other world bodies to do more to stop global warming (use these links to see how the Christian community is addressing these critical concerns).  But is anyone listening to that message?  They might after seeing Al Gore's new film.  An Inconvenient Truth opens soon in selected theatres:

Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.

If that sounds like a recipe for serious gloom and doom -- think again. From director Davis Guggenheim comes the Sundance Film Festival hit, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. In this eye-opening and poignant portrait of Gore and his "traveling global warming show," Gore also proves himself to be one of the most misunderstood characters in modern American public life. Here he is seen as never before in the media - funny, engaging, open and downright on fire about getting the surprisingly stirring truth about what he calls our "planetary emergency" out to ordinary citizens before it's too late.

With 2005, the worst storm season ever experienced in America just behind us, it seems we may be reaching a tipping point - and Gore pulls no punches in explaining the dire situation. Interspersed with the bracing facts and future predictions is the story of Gore's personal journey: from an idealistic college student who first saw a massive environmental crisis looming; to a young Senator facing a harrowing family tragedy that altered his perspective, to the man who almost became President but instead returned to the most important cause of his life - convinced that there is still time to make a difference.

How important is this film?  Big oil (friends of GWB) is running television advertising attacking the claims made in the film.  They reject that global warm is caused by human actions.  Scientist disagree and Gore's film provides a platform for their voice to be heard.

This is a film everyone should see.

Check out the film's blog for more.

This week Christian leaders once again called on Iran to renounce violent political activity and to recognize Israel.  Ekklesia reports: 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee has called on the government of Iran for a moratorium on its uranium enrichment programme, to recognize the state of Israel, and to support international efforts to end terrorism. Other countries should also contribute to global security, the committee said.

Urging the government of Iran to "fully comply and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Security Council directives and requests," the statement affirms that "a verifiable moratorium on all Iranian uranium enrichment and reprocessing efforts" is immediately required.

The statement evokes Iran's record of "clandestine nuclear research" and its "failure" to accomplish IAEA requirements, for which it has "lost the confidence of many in the international community". The moratorium is an "extraordinary" requirement that Iran must accept in order to regain "international trust", but which "does not deny in principle Iran's right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes".

Another issue mentioned by the WCC executive committee is "hateful and irresponsible statements" sometimes made "by the Iranian leadership against the Jewish people and the state of Israel".

According to the WCC statement, "Iran's acceptance and recognition of the state of Israel within the borders of 1967, and Iran's support for efforts by the international community to put an end to violence against unarmed and innocent civilians for political or religious aims," are among "commitments" needed "to begin to address broader security concerns".

Click here for the full article and click here for the WCC statement.

United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries Action Alert

Please join with our brothers and sisters across the hemisphere in a two-day special event: “Remembering the Victims and Rejoicing with the Peacemakers: Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia” on May 21 & 22, 2006

Thousands of churches and people of faith from the U.S. and Colombia are coming together to call for an end to the violence in Colombia. On Sunday, May 21, congregations across the country will stand in solidarity with our Colombian brothers and sisters who have endured so much suffering, remembering the victims of Colombia's brutal conflict and praying for a peaceful future in Colombia. Then on Monday, May 22, we will take collective action to ask that U.S. policy promote peace and justice in Colombia rather than military involvement and violence.

The war in Colombia is still going on, and the country is still home to massive internal displacement, human rights abuses by all armed actors, and the worst humanitarian crisis in our hemisphere. The 3 million internally displaced people in Colombia are exceeded in number only by those in Sudan. U.S. support for Colombia's military is only exacerbating the detrimental effect of the war on the civilian population. Congress should approve measures to increase rural alternative development programs and help the humanitarian crisis in Colombia.

In the House of Representatives, members are considering amendments to the foreign aid bill that transfer funds from Colombian military aid to economic and social aid.  Aid to rebuild the country and its people’s health is what Colombia needs, not more guns.  On Sunday, May 21, lift up prayers for peace in Colombia and compassionate wisdom for our lawmakers.  On Monday, May 22, call your representative and urge him or her to vote in favor of amendments to the foreign aid bill that transfer funds from military to humanitarian aid.

Visit http://www.peaceincolombia.org/ for more information on “Days of Prayer and Action,” or for more talking points for your call to Congress.

Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten has pushed past the 50% mark today in his re-election bid against a candidate backed by the downtown business community. Sten had been targeted by the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) for his support of campaign finance reform, efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities, and because of his attempt to have the City of Portland buy Enron’s PGE. PBA and their allies poured money into the race and Sten’s opponent waged a fiercely negative campaign. Ginny Burdick, a state senator with a once progressive record, will forever be remembered in Oregon politics for selling out her values in her failed attempt to oust Sten. Portland voters rejected the negativity, however, and have re-affirmed the city’s true progressive roots with a tremendous endorsement of Sten’s leadership and policies. Liz and I were glad to be able to join Erik and hundreds of supporters last night as it became clear that voters were supporting his re-election. Last night it looked like a run-off might be necessary. Additional votes changed the story and Burdick conceded this morning. Congratulations to Erik and to everyone who worked for this important victory.

Related Post: Erik Sten for City Council

We went to a few of the parties this evening and are fairly happy. One candidate whom Liz had been working for is not doing as well has we had hoped. But there are still votes to be counted.

We’re happiest over Erik Sten’s re-election campaign and by the decision made by the people of Multnomah County to elect Ted Wheeler as our new Chair of county government.

Everyone would have liked Erik to win this campaign outright but the flip side is that a fall campaign gives Erik the opportunity to talk to a wider audience abut his plans for the future.

There are plenty of people out there who know little to nothing about the issues involved with these races but who will tonight offer their great wisdom about what happens next.

I’m just going to go to bed now knowing that the chances that our City Council will continue to have strong progressive voices is stronger this evening than it was this morning before the votes came in.

And it is a new day at Multnomah County! Ted will do a great job.

More later....

Related Link:  Get Out and Vote for Sten, Chase, Saltzman, Kotek, Wheeler, and Hallman

Proving the Republicans and Democrats can be equally foolish the chairman of the Democratic National Committee made an appearance on Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network last week and pandered to the Religious Right. 

Dean mistakenly stated in the interview that the DNC platform opposed gay marriage (the platform apparently advocates the issue be left up to the states). 

Bruce Wilson correctly points out that Dean's misstatement (perhaps one that was calculated) wasn't the biggest sin.  By simply appearing on Robertson's show it helps to lend legitimacy to a figure that has recently called for the assassination of a foreign leader and blamed God for causing the stroke of Israel's prime minister.  Just this past week Robertson attacked a United Church of Christ minister (Dean is a member of the UCC).

There is nothing wrong with democrats like Dean reaching out and talking to religious conservatives.  We should encourage our political and religious leaders to reach across the aisle and talk to one another.  But this is different.  Dean didn't just reach across the aisle.  He sat down on a show run by someone who has a long history of opposing basic American values of democracy and pluralism and then surrendered the cause of equality on Robertson's alter.

Press Release from Air America's State of Belief

This Sunday, May 21, on the national radio show State of Belief, Rev. Welton Gaddy exposes the coordinated effort to undermine mainline Protestantism -- and render America's largest denomination incapable of standing up to right wing politics.

In conjunction with the website Talk to Action, State of Belief takes an unprecedented look into the takeover of America’s churches, revealing the ugly truths, personal experiences, and exhaustive research of (three) leaders:

Dr. Bruce Prescott, Executive Director of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists, is, like Welton, a veteran of the purges that marked the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention.  The strategy, says Prescott, is to keep mainstream denominations in turmoil over wedge issues such as gay marriage, so that conservative leaders can be free to achieve their political and religious goals.

Dr. John Dorhauer, minister for the St. Louis Association of the United Churches of Christ, has seen congregations around him descend into in-fighting, provoked by right-wing propaganda.  Dorhauer explains, “What the politically motivated achieve is the silence of the religious conscience voice that has historically led this country....If you take out the 45 million people that are represented by the National Council of Churches, you are going to hollow out one of the cores of our nation's democracy.”

Dr. Andrew Weaver, a United Methodist pastor and research psychologist, has traced the campaign against mainline Protestantism largely to the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a think-tank funded by uber-conservative industrialists such as Richard Mellon Scaife and the Adolph Coors family.  Weaver says that the IRD and so-called religious “renewal” groups are funneling money in "a systematic effort to undermine mainline churches that still have democratic, transparent processes."  The problem in countering these efforts, he says, is that "All of these traditions have niceness at the core; while we've been thinking it's touch football, they've been playing tackle."

Welton offers listeners a wake-up call:  "The Southern Baptist Convention was lost not because of those trying to take it over, but because of people arguing that it wasn't a big deal."

This issue has never before been discussed on national radio, and continues State of Belief’s focus on how religion is being manipulated for partisan political purposes. It may stun listeners – and it is sure to inspire Protestant congregations to reclaim their role as a positive and much needed healing force in our nation.  State of Belief: religion and radio, done differently.

State of Belief is heard nationwide on Air America Radio on Sundays from 5 to 6 PM EST.  Information about affiliates, listening live via the internet, or podcasting can be found at www.StateofBelief.com.

Much more information on this issue, including the research and writings of Welton’s three guests, can be found at the website Talk to Action.

Related Post:  Chuck Colson Defends Republican Party-aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy

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

Related Post:  State of Belief Podcast Now Online

Today is Election Day in Oregon.

We vote-by-mail in this state and if you haven't mailed-in your ballot don't do it now.  All ballots must be in by 8 pm tonight.

Click here for a list of places across Oregon where you can still drop-off your ballot.

Related Post:  Get Out and Vote for Sten, Chase, Saltzman, Kotek, Wheeler, and Hallman

Convicted Watergate felon and Religious Right leader Chuck Colson wrote a spirited defense of the Republican Party-aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy last week as part of a new attack on the United Church of Christ:

If you watch TV or read the papers, you may have noticed a vocal new movement among some religious liberals. Perhaps you've seen the television commercials where single mothers, gay couples, and others are literally ejected from their church pews by the push of a button. At the end of the ad, viewers are invited to visit a site called "Rejection Hurts" to share their own stories of being rejected by churches.

The ads are sponsored by the United Church of Christ (UCC). And it was the president of the UCC, John Thomas, who made a recent speech at Gettsyburg College that was even more divisive than the ad. Thomas blasted "religious groups seeking to use . . . political [means] to press their reform agendas." He singled out the Institute on Religion and Democracy--the IRD--a Washington organization whose mission is "to reform . . . churches' social witness in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad." Thomas charged the IRD with deliberately causing turmoil in mainline churches and giving them misleading information.

And that's not all. In a prominent article in the New York Times, some members of mainline congregations attacked the IRD's new president, Jim Tonkowich, for belonging to a small conservative denomination instead of a liberal church.

That's not accurate.

IRD has been criticized by mainline Christian leaders for pursuing a partisan political agenda in concert with leading contributors and activists in the most conservative corners of the Republican Party.  Their goal: to take over the mainline churches to bolster the political fortunes of their political allies.  IRD's supporters hope to silence the prophetic voice of Christians working to protect the environment, to oppose war, and to voice opposition to economic policies that benefit the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the least of these. 

As part of their campaign IRD leaders have launched ruthless campaigns attacking the leaders of World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches.  This year IRD even attacked a group of conservative evangelical leaders who broke with the Bush Administration over environmental policies.   

It has been appropriately pointed out that Tonkowich, appointed earlier this year to lead these efforts to attack mainline churches, is not even a member of a mainline church.  Tonkowich is part of a small group of Presbyterians opposed to the ordination of women.

You can read what Thomas actually said in his speech here and some of the initial IRD response here.

Colson continues:

So what's going on? Why the effort to drive conservatives out of the mainline church?

The New York Times explains it this way: "After years of turning the other cheek, the United Church of Christ, among the most liberal of the mainline Protestant denominations, has recently staked out a more pugnacious stance toward the Christian right." The Times speaks of "a growing impatience among the mainline denominations with their far-right brethren and an increasing willingness to take some of them on..."

Let's be perfectly clear about what's at issue here. The debate is not a political one. Rather, it goes to the very heart of what the Church is. The real issue is simply, do we follow the Bible and the orthodox teachings of Christianity, or do we rewrite our beliefs to be culturally relevant?

The UCC's answer to that question is clear--and what's also clear is that it's turning Christians away. If they want to be taken seriously again, they could start by listening to their own new slogan--"God doesn't reject people. Neither do we"--and then start by not rejecting people who happen to be Bible-believing Christians.

I'm a Bible-believing Christian and so are the people who make up the UCC.  What I'm not is someone who confuses political allegiance with the Gospel teachings. 

Colson, who became a "born again" Christian after serving time in prison for crimes committed against the people of the United States as an assistant to Richard Nixon, cannot see the difference between the message preached by Jesus and the Republican Party platform.  Prison didn't seem to shake his total allegiance to a ultra conservative political ideology.  He claims that the "debate is not a political one" but aligns himself with political advocacy groups like IRD. 

Jesus preached a message that transcends political labels and partisan campaigns.  Colson bears false witness against the United Church of Christ for suggesting that the people of our church - not to mention all other mainline Christians - are anything less than faithful followers.  He may have done the IRD proud (with a dishonest attack Nixon would have loved) but he once again has put his own political agenda ahead of his God.

Related Post:  Convicted Watergate Criminal And Religious Right Spokesperson Chuck Colson Blasts Calvin College Protest Against President

First Congregational United Church of Christ of Hillsboro, Oregon celebrates 140 of ministry today.  The Hillsboro Argus reports:

Diane Dulin has been the pastor at the First Congregational Church of Hillsboro for 14 years and has been active in organizing several community-wide inter-faith events, including a Thanksgiving service and a Martin Luther King Jr. service.

The church is a founding member and partner in the Family Bridge program and hosts homeless families participating in the program as well as offering service on the board, volunteers at the day center, and organizing a program that provides bicycles and helmets to family members.

The congregation also conducts After school Community Education (ACE) for homeless and at-risk children, which is a partnership with Community Action.

Senior youth at the church have created Home Plate, a collaboration with other congregations, Hillsboro School District, the Boys & Girls Aid Society, Hillsboro Police Department and Washington County Sheriffs office. Home Place provides a weekly dinner for youth ages 12-19 as well as recreational activities, showers and hygiene supplies, and information and resource referrals.

The congregation also is active in Stand for Children, Progressive Christians for Public Activism, a variety of mission and outreach programs, including the Family Resource Center, Oregon Food Bank, Brown Bag and fair trade coffees and teas.

A number of support groups, including AA, Weight Watchers, exercise groups, Beginning Congregations and Teen Parents, also are hosted there. Wonder World Preschool has been at the church for more than 20 years.

Worship is Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and Soul Spring, a contemplative worship, is Thursdays at 7 p.m.

The church's vision statement says, "Following Christ's teachings, we are working toward a vision of 'no longer strangers' in our communities. We are achieving this by seeing the strangers in our own lives, by offering them servant hospitality through Jesus Christ, and by creating ecumenical partnerships with other faith communities. We are honoring this vision by openly affirming God's love for all people. We explicitly welcome everyone into our Christian community, fellowship and worship, regardless of sexual orientation, ethnic identity, economic circumstance, physical or mental ability, or any other perceived differences."

I've had the chance to worship with this congregation and have always admired their witness.

When it was announced in March that John McCain would speak this month at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, I stated that McCain, clearly a presidential contender in 2008, was selling out to gain the support of the Religious Right. McCain had been critical of Falwell and others in the Religious Right during his failed 2000 presidential campaign against George W. Bush.

However, several people commented that I was being too harsh against McCain. What if the senator used the opportunity at Liberty to challenge the Religious Right and Falwell himself to ascend to higher standards of morality?

That didn't happen.

"The Arizona senator's speech was shorn of religious references and avoided controversial social issues. Instead, he focused on constitutional principles while touching on themes of humility, patriotism, respect for political opponents and forgiveness that may be relevant to his preparations to seek the Republican presidential nomination again," reports The Washington Post.

McCain proved this weekend that he is just another typical politician willing to abandon his principles to climb the ladder of power.

The Religious Right is dangerous and people like Falwell - who opposed integration and the civil rights movement in the 60s and opposes rights for women and gays now - don't have the same respect for American democracy and pluralism that ought to be required of those seeking the presidency.

McCain has gotten into bed with a bad group of people and everyone ought to remember that come 2008.

This morning I spoke at the community forum on homelessness at Pacific University that was organized by Forest Grove United Church of Christ to help prevent the closure of four area shelters. Click here to learn more about the issues involved.  Below are my remarks:   

Thank you for participating in this gathering sponsored by Forest Grove United Church of Christ.  It is important for all of us to be here and to both learn about this community's homelessness crisis and to act in an effort to solve it.

For twenty years I have been involved with the effort to end homelessness in Oregon and the nation and I believe that homelessness is both a political crisis and a spiritual crisis. 

The political crisis is obvious.  Starting with the Reagan Administration in 1981 the federal government has retreated in their responsibility to care for the most vulnerable in our society and a tax system has been created over the last six years in particular that is morally out of balance - it rewards the richest of the rich and leaves the least of these behind.

Taking care of those Jesus calls the "least of these" is a primary obligation of all Christians and it is fitting that Forest Grove UCC has answered that call by organizing an effort to save four area homeless shelters.  Without these shelters people will suffer. 

We read in Matthew 25:40 that Jesus says "just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."  If we leave people out on the streets without support it is the equivalent of abandoning God, Jesus tells us.  So our responsibility to both ourselves and the divine is clear.

Sadly, Washington County is not the only community facing the loss of shelter beds and affordable housing. 

The National Coalition for the Homeless reports that President Bush's proposed 2007 federal budget includes new cuts totaling nearly $2 billion in homeless assistance programs.  Cuts being considered include a 20% reduction in Community Development Block grants, a 26% cut in housing assistance for the elderly, and a 50% cut in housing assistance for people with disabilities. 

Programs to assist those with housing who suffer from mental illness will see additional cuts.  In addition, nearly $2 billion will be cut from critical children's programs and nearly half a million senior citizens will have their food assistance eliminated.  More people will be vulnerable to homelessness than ever before. 

The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes in their analysis of the federal budget that these massive cuts in services are being used to help pay for tax cuts which would benefit the wealthiest Americans. 

Unfortunately, Gordon Smith, one of Oregon's senators, voted just this week to make many of these tax cuts permanent.    

You can hear echoes of times like these in Scripture.  Just turn to Isaiah and read of God's frustration with the people of Judah when after God surveys the community and sees the rich getting richer while the poor starve God cries out "What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?" (Isaiah 3:15 NRSV).  God calls us to do better and to seek justice.

Think of this gathering this morning not as an end point but as a beginning.  Saving these four shelters will be a difficult task.  Each one of us will have to become an evangelist for a way of doing community that is counter-cultural and the lifting will be heavy.  We will need to speak with our neighbors, pressure our elected officials, organize in our sometimes complacent churches, fight to get our message heard, and work not just for but along side those who experience homelessness in our communities.  Our task is not just to save four shelters but to change the national conditions that make shelters necessary. 

Is there a reward for such work?

Again, turning to Isaiah, it is written:

10if you offer your food to the hungry
   and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
   and your gloom be like the noonday.
11The Lord will guide you continually,
   and satisfy your needs in parched places,
   and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
   like a spring of water,
   whose waters never fail.
12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
   you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
   the restorer of streets to live in.

- Isaiah 58:10-12 (NRSV)

Amen.

Related Link: Putting a Face on Homelessness from Russ Dondero

Action Alert from the United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries

Because the House leadership did not have enough votes to pass the FY 2007 budget resolution this week, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next week on the $2.7 trillion FY07 budget reconciliation agreement.  If UCC advocates and many others are successful in convincing members of the House to increase discretionary spending above the proposed budget cap of $873 billion, some of the worst of the projected cuts in education, health care and community development programs will be avoided.  If the House keeps the budget cap intact, Labor, Health, Human Services and Education programs will once again suffer cuts in congressional appropriations in addition to the massive cuts that were forced by last year’s budget cutting agreement.

A budget plan is simply a blueprint that instructs appropriators in Congress on how much money they have to spend in the coming months on government programs.  The plan currently under consideration in the House cuts domestic “discretionary” programs by $10.3 billion in fiscal year 2007 and $167 billion over five years. The plan would also reduce entitlement programs by $5.1 billion over five years.

The House plan makes the impact of the President’s budget request even worse by failing to include his proposed funding for a 2007 shortfall in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).  Current House guidelines fail to extend continuing Medicaid health care coverage for a year for poor families after they work their way off welfare.  Hundreds of thousands of low-income families and their children should not be penalized and thrown into the ranks of the uninsured simply because they secured employment and are now off public assistance.

Click http://www.ucctakeaction.org/budget2007 to send a message to your member of Congress asking him or her to preserve important social safety net programs that protect low-income people in the FY2007 budget.

Call your Representative at (800) 459-1887 and tell him or her to preserve the social safety net!

Click http://www.ucc.org/justice/pdfs/winners_losers_07.pdf to download Justice and Witness Ministries’ excellent study guide on the 2007 federal budget designed for churches.

It was earlier this winter that I finished the requirements for the Master of Divinity degree at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis. Commencement, however, is tonight. This makes it official. I’ve graduated (possibly making my mother a believer in miracles). Liz and I aren’t able to make it back to St. Louis for the big event but my deep love and appreciation goes out to my family and friends for all their support over the last three years. Liz should get some sort of award! Once again I’d like to thank the faculty, staff and contributors at Eden for their service to the church and for all they did for me (which is a lot). Finally, a special thanks to the people of Portland’s First United Methodist Church, Portland’s First Congregational United Church of Christ, St. John United Church of Christ of Manchester, MO, Grace United Methodist Church of St. Louis and the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ for their prayers and gifts. You can make a gift and support quality theological education by clicking here. (Photo: while in S. Carolina this past week my Uncle Rocky and Aunt Ruth held a surprise graduation dinner.  It was very touching.  Frances and Katherine enjoyed the cake!)

Americas United reports:

WASHINGTON - May 11 - TV preacher Pat Robertson’s bizarre attack on Americans United for Separation of Church and State is part of a troubling pattern of extremism, the Washington-based church-state watchdog group says.

On his Christian Broadcasting Network today, Robertson launched into a tirade against Americans United and its executive director, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn. After a “700 Club” segment on AU’s opposition to federal funding for prison ministries, the TV preacher said the American Civil Liberties Union and the Communist Internationale “pulled a secret takeover” of Americans United.

Added Robertson, “Barry Lynn is so extreme, he has said that if a church is burning down, the city shouldn’t bring the fire department and trucks to spray water on the church because that violates separation of church and state.”

AU’s Lynn said Robertson is not just factually wrong, but increasingly shrill and paranoid. Americans United, he said, has not been taken over by the ACLU, the Communist Internationale or any other organization, and AU remains committed to broad-based religious liberty for everyone.

“Americans United does not want to remove religion from the public square,” said Lynn, who is a United Church of Christ minister. “All we want is for the government to stay out of religion and let Americans make their own decisions about matters of faith. We defend the religious liberty rights of all people, including Robertson.

“Robertson has to conjure up imaginary villains in order to keep his followers and donors worked into a frenzy of fear and anger,” Lynn continued. “That may be good for Robertson’s bank account, but it’s bad for American democracy. For a Christian leader to behave this way is pathetic.

“And don’t worry, Pat, if your studio catches on fire, I’ll expect the Virginia Beach fire department to come and put it out,” Lynn concluded. “If they don’t, give me a call and we’ll sue them.”

The Robertson attack on Americans United is just the latest in an escalating string of shrill episodes. In recent months, Robertson has called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke was punishment from God for giving land to the Palestinians and threatened the town of Dover, Pa., with divine wrath for voting out a pro-creationism school board.

What makes this amazing is that the Religious Right continues to support Robertson, the grandfather of their campaign to reshape America in their image. 

People for the American Way reports:

The Senate Judiciary Committee just held a hearing on President Bush's nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the most powerful federal court other than the U.S. Supreme Court – often the last word on federal agency activities as the Supreme Court reviews so few lower court decisions. As Kavanaugh heads toward the Senate floor, let your senators know why the nomination should be rejected.

Visit Save Our Courts for more background on this nominee.

Kavanaugh is a right-wing political activist who does have have the experience to sit on a federal court  What does he have that makes his nomination so important?

Support from the Religious Right. 

Groups like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, two leading radical groups that support President Bush, have demanded that Kavanaugh be given a seat on the court.  These groups oppose allowing women to make their own health care decisions, fight against civil rights for minorities, and reject the Constitutional foundation of religious pluralism in favor of creating a theocracy.

Clearly, the Bush Administration is bringing this nomination forward now to energize their political base for a fight before the mid-term elections.

We have to do what we can to stop this process from moving forward.  Senate Democrats will need to filibuster this nomination if needed to keep Kavanaugh off the court.

People e-mail me all the time asking where they can find a progressive Christian church to worship at.  Click here for a United Church of Christ web site that can help you find a place to worship.

Time is running out if you want to vote in Oregon's primary election.  We'll all be happy to see the process come to an end.  We've had candidates over to our house, gone door-to-door for people we like, made telephone calls and even raised money (at least my wife has).  If you still have not mailed in your ballot and don't know which candidate to vote for here are my personal endorsements:

2/17:  Erik Sten has shown during his tenure at City Hall a determined effort to reflect the progressive values and spirit that have made Portland the great city it is. He has been a champion of the environmental cause, policies that help lift people out of homelessness, and a fighter for open government. Most politicians are timid leaders afraid of taking on big issues. You cannot say that about Erik. He has shown a willingness to make difficult decisions on behalf of the people of Portland no matter the political risk.

The downtown business community has their own candidate in this race: state senator Ginny Burdick. She was asked to run by groups associated with the Portland Business Alliance.  Burdick is already running a dishonest to the core campaign – and is facing charges of “double-dipping” into both state coffers and her campaign fund to pay her own car insurance and gas mileage (a practice that is legal but ethically questionable). The only reason she is in the race is because downtown business interests want to own a seat on the City Council and Ginny Burdick jumped at the chance to win their support.  She is backed by the same crowd that tried to overturn Portland's campaign finance law and that has worked to oppose city support for homeless programs.

I’ve known Erik since the first day he started working for then City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury. Erik Sten has the kind of integrity and character that Portland needs now more than ever on the City Council. I hope you’ll join me in supporting his campaign.

3/25:  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.       

4/18:  For readers of this blog outside Oregon there is a primary election coming up here in May. I’ve already noted that my vote will go to Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten in his re-election race and that I’m hoping that voters in state senate district 17 will select Sam Chase as the democratic nominee (there is no Republican candidate running in the fall so the primary will determine the next senator).

But there are a few other races that I’m particularly interested in.

Like Sten, Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman is also up for re-election. He is facing a strong challenger in political newcomer Amanda Fritz.

I’ll be voting to return Saltzman to City Hall. There is one basic reason: his leadership in creating the Children’s Investment Fund. The fund, approved by the voters, provides $8.5 million each year for children’s programs. His work on this issue has earned him the endorsement of Stand for Children and many community leaders. Mayor Tom Potter is among those in his camp. I’ve known Dan since he served as a Multnomah County commissioner and have found him to be hands-on and involved. By virtue of being elected to the county commission he had a seat on the Multnomah County Community Action Commission (which was then the county’s lead anti-poverty board) when I served as the chair. Most elected officials sent staff to meetings. Dan attended those meetings himself. Portland would benefit from having him serve another term.

City and county officials need to obtain over 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff in November. This will be most important in Sten’s race because of the number of candidates.

Another children’s advocate running for office this year is Tina Kotek. Tina is running for the Oregon House of Representatives in district 44. She is the public policy director of Children First for Oregon (the position Liz held before we left Portland for St. Louis and my stint in seminary). Tina worked at the Oregon Food Bank before taking the position at Children First and has been a champion for poverty issues in Salem for years as an advocate. Her voice is needed in Salem. Tina’s opponent in the democratic primary is Jim Robison. I’ve known Jim since high school. District 44 is fortunate to have good hearted candidates standing for election.

Multnomah County will be facing several leadership changes because of term limits. Chair Diane Linn is also up for re-election. Her challenger is Ted Wheeler and Wheeler will get my vote. I first meet him when I was serving as the executive director of the Goose Hollow Family Shelter at First United Methodist Church and he was a volunteer serving as an overnight host. He has been volunteering at the shelter for years. Wheeler is a very successful businessman with strong management skills. Multnomah County needs that. Linn has been a terrible disappointment. Rather than deal with issues she ducks them and chaos seems to follow her wherever she goes. The issue of family homelessness is one of the areas county government is charged with addressing. The county has failed mightily in this area under Linn’s administration. Linn had my vote the last go around but I won’t be fooled twice. Wheeler is also a newcomer to politics and a breath of fresh air. I hope he gets the chance to serve.

Finally, the Oregon Supreme Court needs a new justice and I’ll be voting for Gene Hallman. Hallman is a progressive attorney from Eastern Oregon who has the backing of groups like Planned Parenthood and the Oregon Education Association. Hallman is incredibly well respected across the state. He’ll be a fair minded jurist. Progressives can trust his judgment. My wife has been active on his campaign since the beginning of the year. Hallman is running against a former Republican statewide office holder and a sitting judge. The race is non-partisan. Court races don’t often get much attention but they matter and I hope you’ll join me in voting for Hallman.

Time hasn't run out for Southern Baptists to rejoin the Christian family.  RNS reports:

A gathering of about 30 Southern Baptist conservatives has drafted a declaration that repents of "triumphalism" within their ranks and says their denomination's unity is threatened by a "narrowing" of cooperation with fellow Christians.

The group issued "The Memphis Declaration" on May 3 after their Tennessee meeting and it appeared on a blog of one of the participants, Baptist news services reported.

"We publicly declare before all Southern Baptists that we believe the unity, mission, and witness of our denomination is seriously threatened by the introduction of the narrowing of cooperation through exclusionary theological and political agendas that corrupt the healthy and mutual fellowship we enjoy as Kingdom servants," the statement declares.

The document cites eight areas in which participants repent for past attitudes and behavior and pledge to recommit themselves to "institutional openness" and accountability within the nation's largest Protestant denomination.

"We publicly repent of triumphalism about Southern Baptist causes and narcissism about Southern Baptist ministries which have corrupted our integrity in assessing our denominational bureaucracy, our churches and our personal witness in light of the sobering exhortations of Scripture," the statement reads.

The group committed to better relate to Christians outside their denomination and within it.

Click here for the full story.

This coming Saturday, May 13th, I'll be speaking at the community forum on homelessness sponsored by Forest Grove United Church of Christ.  My task will be to place the issues faced by Washington County into a more global perspective.  There will be four other speakers from local homeless shelters in danger of loosing their county funding.  The morning kicks off at 10am and ends at 11:30 am at in Pacific's Taylor Auditorium.   Click here for more background and here for additional information written up by Dr. Russ Dondero, a member of Forest Grove UCC.

There is a profound difference between history and factory but there are moments that line is blurred and the two are confused. The Da Vinci Code, the best selling book and new feature film, is an example of such confusion. Twice in recent days people have explained to me that they’ve learned a lot about the history of Christianity through reading The Da Vinci Code. Let me say now that I’ve not read the book. But I know enough from reading the reviews and an assortment of commentaries that the book is a work of fiction and not history. It is my understanding the author doesn’t pretend otherwise. What to read some actual history? Check out The Story of Christianity: Volume 1 : Volume One: The Early Church to the Reformation and The Story of Christianity: Reformation to the Present Day by Justo L. Gonzalez for a good look at how the faith developed. History is always a matter of interpretation but taking fiction as fact distorts not only our understanding of history but our understanding of faith. I’m not saying not to read The Da Vinci Code (plenty of people have recommended it to me). Just know what you’re reading.

Reprinted from United Church News

Reprinted from UCC.org:

Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 7, 2006
John 10:11-18

FAMILY FARMERS

My father was a family farmer. Born into the hardships of farming life in Japan, he heard the siren’s call in the form of plantation owners’ promises of prosperity in work on the plantations in Hawaii. Like many an immigrant, my father and his five brothers accepted the offer to work on a pineapple plantation. Somehow he managed to save enough money to lease a small plot of land. He wrote home and asked his family to send a wife. They and my mother’s family arranged the marriage, and the resulting union lasted nearly fifty years and produced six children. Life was hard, and we were poor; but we managed. We always had food on the table, clothes to wear, and somehow managed to pay our bills. Today, the rich tradition of family farming continues globally. Here in the United States, family farms can often be thousands of acres–a lot larger than the two acres my family had, and much, much larger than the farms in developing countries. When I bring American family farmers together with their Philippine counterparts, it is remarkable to contrast the sizes of their farms. Still, they find they share some of the same challenges. All of them are finding it difficult to keep their vocation viable. On this Rural Life Sunday, even as we give thanks for the food that farmers produce, we must also ask some hard questions. Why is it that, while more food is produced in the United States than can feed the entire world, there are millions dying of hunger and hunger-related diseases? Why do we impose restrictions on farm subsidies for developing countries and still provide them for our own farmers? Why do our farmers in fact need government subsidies when they are producing more than ever before? And why is it that those who produce the food that graces our tables often find it difficult to put food on their own tables?

Rev. Wallace Ryan Kuroiwa
Justice and Witness Ministries
United Church of Christ

I'm with my family in South Carolina this week.  We're hoping to keep the twins happy with lots of running around and play time with their cousins.  I'll be watching Oregon and the rest of the globe as well and may blog a little this week.  But head over to Street Prophets for the best and most up-to-date info.

And if you haven't had time to read my post "Help Homeless Children in Portland Schools Succeed" the issues involved are critical and I invite you to read the post and to learn more about how we aren't doing enough in Portland to help homeless kids in our schools.  Check it out.

Action Alert from Save Darfur.org

Earlier today, the Sudanese government and two of the main Darfur rebel factions signed a peace agreement to end three years of fighting that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions from their homes.

This is only the first step toward ending the violence in Darfur and putting a stop to the tragic genocide.

You and others have sent over 800,000 Million Voices postcards to President Bush.  And just a day after over 50,000 rallied on the National Mall in Washington, and thousands joined rallies in cities across the country, President Bush dispatched Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick to the peace talks.

You helped make the issue of genocide in Darfur a top priority for the Bush Administration.

The momentum is building and we can make a difference!

Click here to tell your friends and family about our campaign.  And thank President Bush for his leadership so far - but let him know there is more work still to be done.

The peace agreement has been signed, but we must make sure that both sides live up to the terms.  The millions of men, women, and children who have been displaced or have had their lives rocked by violence will not know peace until the government and the rebels live up to theses agreed terms.

The Bush Administration must continue to play a leading role.

Related Post: Save Darfur Rallies

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a second hearing for Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the federal appeals court. Kavanaugh was nominated by George W. Bush and is supported by the Religious Right. He should not be confirmed and Senate Democrats should filibuster his nomination if a vote is set for the Senate floor.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights reports:

A review of Brett Kavanaugh's record reveals the strident workings of a political operative, not the legal experience and judgment necessary for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit.

Brett Kavanaugh's record raises numerous serious concerns, including:

Click here for more on this nomination.

Update:  Religious Right group Focus on the Family sent out a pro-Kavanaugh action alert this afternoon.

Reprinted from United Church News

Tragic cat-and-mouse game continues

By Rebecca Bowman Woods
Apr - May 06

TUCSON, Ariz. — Every day, thousands of men, women and children from Mexico and Central America attempt to cross the border into Arizona. They travel hundreds of miles, often on borrowed money. Some come with the promise of a job. Others come to rejoin family. Many are Christians, carrying with them religious symbols, Bibles, or pictures of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of the Americas. Like the ancient Israelites, they believe God is with them on this journey.

There is no Red Sea to cross, only the vast Sonoran desert. Out here, Baboquivari — the foreboding sacred mountain of the Tohono O'odham nation — towers over grasslands. Thorny scrub trees offer little shade, and gnarled cacti beckon with spiky arms and fingers. Rattlesnakes wait for the cooler night hours, when the coyotes raise their voices in an otherworldly howl. Coyotes of the human variety, part of the increasingly lucrative human smuggling business, lead groups of migrants through this terrain. Sometimes, these "coyotes" prey on their human cargo — stealing their money, raping the women and girls and abandoning the weak and injured who can't keep pace.

Migration through the Sonoran desert has increased rapidly since the late 1990s, when tough border enforcement measures at urban crossing points forced migrants into the outlands. Back then, the architects of the Border Patrol strategy predicted the hazardous terrain would be a deterrent. They couldn't have been more mistaken. And so began the cat-and-mouse game between law enforcement and those who cross the border illegally.

At makeshift shrines to the Virgin Mary, migrants stop to light candles and pray for safe passage. Rebecca Bowman Woods photo.

Sahuarita, Ariz., was once a quiet, family-oriented community about 35 miles north of the border. Now its streets are a daily battleground between Border Patrol, drug dealers, smugglers and migrants. "Down here, we're right in the middle of it," says the Rev. Randy Mayer, pastor of Good Shepherd UCC. One recent afternoon, as Mayer's children were boarding the school bus to go home, Border Patrol agents chased a man across school property as a helicopter hovered overhead.

In such frustrating circumstances, it would be easy to blame the problems on the migrants themselves. But Mayer doesn't see it that way.

"At some level you have to step back and say, 'Something caused this.' We have to go back to the cause. You can't just build a fence," Mayer says, referring to a proposal passed by the U.S. House of Representatives calling for the construction of a 700-mile wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

"This is an economic problem," Mayer explained. "We supposedly created free trade agreements. They must not be very fair if they are creating these desperate conditions," he said.

'People made poor'

The Rev. Delle McCormick, a UCC minister, has watched the situation develop from south of the border, having spent most of her vocational ministry among the people of southern Mexico.

McCormick served as a missionary in Chiapas for Global Ministries on behalf of the UCC and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) from 2000 through 2003. There, she brought healing to men and women who suffered the violence of crushing poverty as well as the "low-intensity" war in Chiapas. Before that, she was the director of an immersion program at a retreat center in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

It was a conversion experience on a reverse mission trip to that same retreat center, years earlier, that led McCormick from the wealth and comfort of upper west side Manhattan to selling produce at a farmer's market in Pennsylvania, then on to seminary and back to Mexico.

McCormick now lives in Tucson and is executive director of Borderlinks, a bi-national organization offering educational trips that include living with families in Mexican border towns. Like Mayer, she sees an unmistakable link between U.S. prosperity and the poverty to the south.

In speaking about the plight of the people of Central America and Mexico, McCormick uses the term "people made poor."

"They are made poor by people, not by God," McCormick explains. "I use that language to challenge people to think about the movement from one place to another — how they got there … and also, how we're complicit in their being made poor."

Our economy is based on what they call in Latin America gente desechable, or "disposable people" — a justice issue in and of itself, says McCormick.

The term "illegal alien" is another way of refusing the humanity of the migrant, say many border activists and human rights advocates.

"No human being can be illegal," says Liana Rowe, associate for Justice and Witness Ministries with the UCC's Southwest Conference. "This society would like to demonize these people to the point that they're not human any more."

Is humanitarian aid a crime?

Since 1999, the number of people dying in the desert has climbed steadily. Last year, 279 died in Arizona, not including those whose bodies were never found. Seventy-five deaths occurred in July alone.

"Morally, there is no way we can turn our heads," says Mayer. For the past five years, Good Shepherd UCC has maintained water stations for Humane Borders, a group that puts tanks of water in the desert. Three years ago, the church began holding border issues fairs to educate the community. This led to the formation of a Samaritan Patrol group to drive the desert roads looking for migrants in distress. They operate 4-5 days a week and usually include a medical professional and a Spanish speaker. They take along food, water, clothing and medical supplies, and often encounter migrants in need.

McCormick and Rowe are both firm advocates of faith-based efforts to stop the desert deaths.

Borderlinks trip participants may travel the desert with Humane Borders. Rowe is a longtime Humane Borders volunteer and helped found No More Deaths — a coalition of faith-based and human rights groups that maintain base camps in the desert from May through September, offering emergency first aid and sustenance to migrants in distress. Mayer's congregation supported one camp by bringing home-cooked meals weekly to volunteers.

As humanitarian efforts ramped up during the last six years, the groups communicated regularly with the Border Patrol. Each let the other do his or her job, and sometimes, Border Patrol agents would allow humanitarians to care for migrants rounded up for deportation. But when the Border Patrol got a new Tucson sector chief, the relationship deteriorated, Rowe said.

Last July, two No More Deaths volunteers were arrested for evacuating three migrant men in need of emergency medical attention. The volunteers followed the group's long-established protocol, which includes calling a volunteer nurse or doctor about whether to transport a person to a Tucson hospital.

The arrests are a misuse of laws intended to target human smugglers, Rowe says, and the goal is to make people afraid to help migrants. "People who would follow their Christian teachings and offer assistance are afraid to offer so much as a cup of water or food to anyone they encounter. If they find someone in a ditch at the side of the road, they are afraid to stop and help," Rowe says.

A trial is scheduled for April 25. The volunteers, Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss, are charged with two felony counts each, and could face up to 15 years in prison.

Mayer, McCormick and Rowe are concerned about the trial. "This is not about legal or political posturing over who can be in the desert and who can't," says Rowe. "This is a religious and ethical mandate to us to be out there helping people who are dying in a desert that's inhospitable."

Meanwhile, the desert gets hotter, and the people keep coming. While migrants were once mostly men, volunteers are now seeing more women, elderly people and even unaccompanied children, Mayer said.

Crossing the border is supposed to be a misdemeanor, based on the way the law is written, Rowe said. "But it effectively carries a death sentence."

Rebecca Bowman Woods is news editor for DisciplesWorld magazine.

A federal jury decided today not to put Zacarias Moussaoui to death and instead decided that the convicted 9/11 conspirator would spend the rest of his life in prison.  The decision will cause controversy but it was the moral choice.  First, the jury seemed not convinced by the government's argument that Moussaoui himself was involved directly with the 9/11 attacks (he was in jail during the time).  That, however, is not the major reason that I oppose the death penalty for Moussaoui.  I stand convinced that the death penalty is immoral and that by putting a person to death the state only continues different cycles of violence that threaten to consume us all. 

This past November a broad coalition of religious leaders once again called for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States:

Open Letter from Faith Leaders Opposing Capital Punishment

To Whom It May Concern:

We, the undersigned faith leaders, reflecting the rich diversity of faith traditions and spiritual practices observed in the United States, stand together in expressing our deep concern that nearly 1,000 executions have occurred in this country since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976.

We join with many Americans in questioning the need for the death penalty in our modern society and in challenging the effectiveness of this punishment, which has consistently been shown to be ineffective, unfair, and inaccurate.  The death penalty not only applies disproportionately to the poor and to people of color, but also continues to make fatal mistakes, with 122 people now freed from death rows across the country due to evidence of wrongful conviction.  As the number of executions increases, the likelihood that we have, or that we will, execute an innocent person becomes a near certainty.

Many organizations of victims' family members, such as Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights, are saying that the death penalty offers them nothing. With the prosecution of even a single capital case costing millions of dollars, the cost of executing 1,000 people has easily risen to billions of dollars.  In light of the serious economic challenges that our country faces today, the valuable resources that are expended to carry out death sentences would be better spent investing in programs that work to prevent crime, such as improving education, providing services to those with mental illness, and putting more law enforcement officers on our streets.  We should make sure that money is spent to improve life, not destroy it.

The United States continues to be one of the top executing nations in the world and is out of step with the majority of its global allies on this issue.  We would be a better society by joining the many nations that have already abolished the death penalty.

As people of faith, we take this opportunity to reaffirm our opposition to the death penalty and to express our belief in the sacredness of human life and in the human capacity for change.  We urge our elected officials at the federal and state levels to take a closer look at the reality of capital punishment in America and seek ways to achieve healing and restorative justice for all those who suffer because of violent crimes.

Sincerely,

[Institutional affiliation is for identification purposes only.  These signatures do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the named faith communities.]

National Organization Heads

Jim Winkler, General Secretary, The General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church
Rev. William G. Sinkford, President, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Rob Keithan, Director, Washington Office for Advocacy, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, Director of the Joint Commission on Social Action of the Union for Reform Judaism and Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Rev. Phil Jones, Director of the Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office
Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory, Director, Washington Office Presbyterian Church (USA)
David A. Robinson, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
Dr. Michael Kinnamon, Chairperson, Justice and Advocacy Commission, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Rev. Dr. John Edward Nuessle, Executive Secretary for Missionary Support Services, General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church
Rev. Sala W.J. Gonzalez-Nolan, Minister for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ
Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston, Director, Disciples Justice Action Network (Disciples of Christ), Coordinator, Disciples Center for Public Witness
Rev. James F. Schrag, Executive Director, Mennonite Church USA
J. Ron Byler, Associate Executive Director, Mennonite Church USA
Susan Mark Landis, Peace Advocate, Mennonite Church USA, Executive Leadership
Rev. J. Daryl Byler, Director, Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
Rolando L. Santiago, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
David Whettstone, Legislative Associate For Domestic Affairs, Mennonite Central Committee US Washington Office
Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary for the American Friends Service Committee
Pat Clark, Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Charles and Pauline Sullivan, Co-Directors, International-CURE
Frank and Ellen McNeirney, National Coordinators, Catholics Against Capital Punishment
T. Michael McNulty, SJ, Justice and Peace Director, Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Brother Brian Halderman, S.M., Society of Mary, Marianist Province of the United States
Very Rev. David B. Powers, Sch.P. Provincial, Piarist Fathers USA Province
The Rev. Dr. Paul H. Sherry, Coordinator, The National Council of Churches Anti-Poverty Program
Bob Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches

It would be easy - even understandable - for one to argue that the death penalty is justified for anyone even remotely involved with 9/11.  But it would have done nothing to bring any real justice to the event and would have only in the end reduced our national moral credibility further.

Related Link:  On Not Executing the Insane

Oregon’s primary election is less than two weeks away (ballots have already been mailed out) and the race for Portland City Council gets nastier by the day as candidate Ginny Burdick launches misleading attacks against incumbent Erik Sten.

Burdick, a candidate backed by the downtown business community, has targeted Sten’s support for public financing of campaigns. Portland, thanks in large part to Sten, provides public support for candidates running for City Council. This has made the business community furious. The Portland Business Association and their allies like to buy their candidates outright and public support for candidates gets in the way of that.

Burdick has charged that public financing is unwise and that the public money used to fund campaigns could go to other causes – like homeless problems. She doesn’t tell you that as a state senator she supported public financing of state races and that her campaign is telling supporters to use a tax credit for contributions they make to her campaign. Nor is Burdick regarded as a homeless advocate. Unlike Sten, Burdick has never used her public office as a platform for creating affordable housing. In all my years of working on homeless and housing issues there has never been one time or one cause that Burdick has been involved with.

Willamette Week endorsed Sten today and spoke the plain truth when they said:

Here's who doesn't want Sten re-elected: Portland General Electric, NW Natural, Qwest, Comcast, Schnitzer Steel, The Oregonian, property magnate Pete Mark, power broker Tom Imeson, the Portland Business Alliance and any number of other fat cats used to getting their way. See any trend there?

Sten, who was elected to City Council at age 29, is now the longest-serving member, with 10 years on the job. In that time, he's parlayed his interest in creating more public housing to help generate 10,000 new low-income units.

He has worked to get the homeless off the sidewalks, and although the problem may seem as bad as ever, nearly 700 street people found permanent residences last year thanks to his efforts.

Sten has provided leadership both this year and three years ago to help solve funding crises at Portland Public Schools.

So why do the monopoly utilities and entrenched downtown business interests ache to get rid of a guy who's doing good work on tough issues?

….it's Sten's pursuit of Portland General Electric that put the bull's-eye on his back. When he saw that Enron and its local subsidiary PGE were ripping off ratepayers to the tune of about $100 million annually, he, unlike other public officials, actually tried to do something about it by pushing (unsuccessfully) for a public purchase of the utility.

It's difficult to overestimate what his actions did to rattle a significant slice of Portland's business elite. For decades, PGE has been a comfortable and largely unregulated monopoly, one that charged virtually whatever it wanted in rates, became a cozy landing spot for political officials who had been kind to the utility, bought off high-profile progressives with well-placed contributions and sloshed ad dollars among local media.

Sten jeopardized all that when he suggested that Portland follow the lead of Los Angeles, Seattle, Orlando and scores of other cities that already own the electric utilities that serve them.

The utilities and their pals didn't like that. That's why PR king Brian Gard and Portland Business Alliance chief Sandra McDonough, acting as the utilities' proxy, recruited Sten's chief opponent, state Sen. Ginny Burdick (who happens to work for Gard).

We are aware that we are leveling serious allegations against the forces aligned against Sten.

But anybody who reads the list of Burdick's contributors or the name of those paying to kill publicly financed elections knows what we say is true.

You won’t find me often praising Willamette Week. But in this case: Preach, brothers!

For the record:  So today I make the rare move of praising WW.  But it wasn't because they mentioned my blog in their endorsement issue.  I just found out about that.  No Quid pro quo here.   

This post has been updated

Last year the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church ruled that a local pastor in the UMC could reject membership for gay and lesbian people based simply on their sexual orientation.  Today the Judicial Council reaffirmed their decision.

The United Methodist Bishops had asked the Judicial Council to reconsider this issue and groups such as Reconciling Ministries Network had called for the decision to be overturned. 

The outcome today was hailed today by the Republican Party - aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy.  "It is right that the Judicial Council affirmed once again a local pastor's right of discretion about who is ready for church membership," commented IRD spokesperson Mark Tooley, who sent out a press release commending the decision. 

IRD is in part an anti-gay activist group.  Last year the Klu Klux Klan thought so highly of IRD's anti-gay publications that the Klan reprinted them as a resource for their membership.

IRD is funded not by United Methodist Churches but by conservative political foundations and activists. They state their goal is to "reform mainline" churches but their president is not a member of any mainline church and was ordained in a denomination that does not allow women clergy. 

More reaction will be coming in the days ahead.  For additional background visit this post with The Rev. Dr. Joretta Marshall, president of the Reconciling Ministries Network, and hear her reaction to the case when it first broke.    

Update: Here is some additional reaction from leaders involved with Reconciling Ministries Network:

The Rev. Dr. Joretta Marshall, Reconciling Ministries Chair and Professor of Pastoral Care at Eden Theological Seminary:

It is a sad day and a day to lament when the simple act of opening doors to persons who want to join the United Methodist Church as members becomes a major battle. The heart and soul of the United Methodist Church -- the one that publicly proclaims that we have open hearts, open minds, and open doors -- is in perilous danger. We have lost our way as a body of Christ. It is difficult to work toward the transformation of people's lives and the world when these kinds of decisions destroy the very soul of the Church and wreak havoc on people's spiritual lives. Reconciling Ministries will continue to respond with care for persons of all orientations and gender identities, with a prophetic voice to the church, and with great clarity about our mission to move The United Methodist Church toward greater openness of heart, mind, and spirit. We can afford to do nothing less than be bold in our efforts to change each and every incompatibility statement in the Discipline at the 2008 General Conference.

The Rev. Troy Plummer, RMN Executive Director:

The majority of the Judicial Council, the highest court of the United Methodist Church in a 5-4 vote ignored the will of 80% of the Virginia annual conference clergy session, the unanimous Council of Bishop's letter and rejected the 2004 General Conference's affirmation to continue the vision of a church with Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.

With closed minds, the majority refused to even reconsider.

The Judicial Council's slippery slope nurturing prejudice against faithful United Methodists who are gay or lesbian while disregarding church polity reinforces that ¶304.3 must be abolished, along with all phrases asserting the "incompatibility" of homosexuality with Christian teaching.

God's Spirit lives, speaks, comforts and guides many people in many ways, and the church is most honest when it affirms Christian teachings, not a singular Christian teaching such as underlies ¶304.3. RMN regards that singular approach as logical fallacy, doctrinally inconsistent with Wesleyan tradition, and diminishing of the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit blesses lesbian and gay persons, their families, their children and calls, gifts and graces some for ordained ministry.

Reconciling United Methodists cannot rely upon or wait for the institution to correct this injustice. The power to correct this injustice now moves to General Conference 2008 in Ft. Worth, Texas. The power to correct this injustice lies in the grassroots movement of reconciling people, in you. Ft. Worth -- will you be there?

Related Link: http://www.wesleyblog.com/2006/05/todays_not_so_b.html

I’m nearly finished with Audrey Chapman’s Unprecedented Choices: Religious Ethics at the Frontiers of Genetic Science. Not being in seminary now for six months has slowed down my ability to read. When you’re in seminary you’re forced to read and read and read. Now I can read a chapter and then take a short 3 hour nap. The end result: I’m not reading as much as I’d like to be. But Chapman’s book has been useful. It is an overview of how different communities of faith have dealt with the issues raised by genetic technologies. It is worth a look if you have any interest in how faith groups have / are dealing with a subject so far removed from historical Christianity. I’m following-up Chapman’s book with Playing God?: Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom by Ted Peters. All this genetic / faith reading is related to my participation with Pacific University’s Faith Forum on Genetics. What else is on my desk to read? Borg and Crossan’s The Last Week, Dan Wakefield’s The Hijacking of Jesus, Michael Lerner’s The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right, and President Jimmy Carter’s Our Endangered Values : America's Moral Crisis. After I’m done with this stack of books I need to get away from religious books for awhile. Before going to seminary I read lots of biographies and loved them. There is a new account out about the life of William Jennings Bryan (a favorite American historical figure of mine) and I’ve got to add this book to my list. Anyone else have any suggestions for good non-fiction reading?

From the National Council of Churches USA:

Nearly 46 million Americans -- including more than 8 million children -- are living without health coverage. This May 1-7, thousands of activities will take place in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to tell Congress that health coverage for Americans must be their top priority. The Cover the Uninsured Week National Interfaith Advisory Board, chaired by the Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, NCC Deputy General Secretary, is urging congregations to take an active role in bringing the issue to the attention of the public. "A problem of this magnitude underscores the moral and ethical dimensions of this growing problem and the need to respond," the advisory board writes For more information on how you can help, see www.CoverTheUninsured.org.

Spineless Senate Democrats

Left out of the debate over how to fund Portland Public Schools (PPS) has been an entire group of vulnerable students: homeless children.

Recent studies by organizations such as the US Conference of Mayors – and confirmed by local tallies of people who are homeless in Portland – show that families with homeless children make up nearly half the homeless population. These numbers are reflected in our schools. A total of 1848 homeless students attended Portland public schools during the 2004-2005 school year.

Project Return, a federally funded PPS program, works diligently to help these students stay in school and succeed. Unfortunately, recent budget cuts cost Project Return nearly 70% of their funding. The money was used instead to run other programs. Volunteers and parents have sought to make up those cuts through private fund raising.

Almost everyone agrees that getting homeless students into public schools where they have the full range of educational opportunities as every other student is a key to their eventual success in life. Some communities, however, have sought to keep homeless students out of public schools over the years and set-up separate schools to serve homeless children. Separate, however, is never equal.

Federal law now states that the use of federal dollars on separate schools is illegal and advocates for the homeless – like the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth – believe that such schools violate the basic civil rights of homeless children. Separate schools do not offer the full range of services that public schools do. Bi-partisan leaders in Congress, education groups, and civil rights organizations all support making sure that homeless children have access to public schools.

Multnomah County, however, funds such a separate school instead of providing support for Project Return’s model of integrating homeless students into the public system. The Community Transitional School receives over $52,000 from Multnomah County each year. Students at this private facility are not subject to the same testing as public school students and the Multnomah County contract provides almost no real measurable outcomes for the program to achieve.

“We have learned over the years that model homeless education programs are those that keep children stable in their schools of origin, remove barriers to enrollment, attendance, and success, and afford homeless children and youth every opportunity to participate in school activities. We also have learned from those communities who had separate programs and then transitioned to an integrated model; these communities report being able to provide more comprehensive services to more children in an integrated setting,” says Barbara Duffield, public policy director for National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

No one is suggesting that the Community Transitional School and the people who support it through volunteer efforts and contributions are intentionally under serving the needs of homeless children. In fact, those volunteers should be applauded for trying to help a group of students many forget about. But their model for delivering services – putting homeless kids in a separate facility and away from other children – is outdated and flawed. Multnomah County’s support for this program makes no sense. The $52,000 being spent could go along way toward helping Project Return’s efforts to integrate homeless kids into the public schools succeed. We do not fund separate schools based on race or gender. Why do our elected leaders in Multnomah County believe homeless children should be served separately from other students?

Portland Public Schools serve fewer than 50,000 students each year and nearly 2,000 of those students are homeless. Those numbers should shock us all. But have you heard anything about the needs of homeless kids in public schools as the debates have raged this winter and spring how to best fund schools and which schools to close? Homeless children do not have a lot of allies in their corner.

Mayor Tom Potter and the Portland Public Schools – along with the newly elected leadership of Multnomah County - should call together a summit of stake holders on this issue after the May elections to develop a coordinated and integrated plan that has three primary goals: educating homeless children to the best of our ability, ending the duplication of services now created by Multnomah County’s support for a separate school, and providing new leadership and energy around the issue of ending family homelessness in our community. Homeless kids in Portland deserve the same as housed kids - our very best.

Download A Podcast version of this post.m4a 

(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Download Project Return's 2005 report.pdf

Download the Multnomah County contract with the Community Transitional School.pdf

Related Link: The 100 Most Frequently Asked Questions on the Education Rights of Children and Youth in Homeless Situations