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The issue of homosexuality continues to put pressure
on mainline Protestant denominations. Here is a brief recounting
of what has happened among some of those churches over recent months:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Delegates to ELCA’s 2005 national convention in August
angered homosexual activists in the 4.9-million-member denomination
when they rejected a proposal to allow the church, under certain
circumstances, to ordain gays or lesbians in long-term, committed
relationships.
The convention upset conservatives, however, by refusing to vote
for a resolution that would remove the ambiguity from the denomination’s
regulations regarding whether or not a minister could bless same-sex
unions.
Episcopal Church in USA (ECUSA)
The fallout from ECUSA’s 2003 consecration of openly-gay
Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire continues to roil
the denomination, home to 2.5 million of the worldwide Anglican
Communion’s 77 million members.
Six Episcopal congregations in Florida have asked Rowan Williams,
archbishop of Canterbury and figurehead leader for worldwide Anglicans,
to allow them to report to a new bishop.
The row was caused, the congregations said, because their current
bishop, John Howard, approved of Robinson’s consecration.
The parishes, with about 4,000 members, said Howard’s stand
caused a "serious theological dispute."
In Connecticut, 19 Episcopal lay leaders and clergy in Connecticut
have formally charged their bishop, Andrew Smith, under provisions
of canon law, according to the American Anglican Council (AAC).
The AAC is trying to help conservative Episcopal denominations
bring themselves under theologically orthodox bishops.
Smith is charged with breaking church laws when he took actions
against six conservative priests in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut,
after they objected to Smith’s stand in favor of Robinson’s
ordination.
Smith entered St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bristol and
announced his suspension of Rector Mark Hansen, one of the six,
and installed a pro-homosexual female priest in Hansen’s
place. Then Smith allegedly dismantled the church’s Web site,
hacked into its computers, and gained access to financial records.
United Methodist Church (UMC)
Rev. Edward Johnson, pastor of South Hill United Methodist
Church in Virginia, was placed on a year-long leave of absence
by his UMC district superintendent. His ecclesiastical crime?
He refused to allow a nonrepentant homosexual into church membership.
Johnson’s district superintendent, the Rev. William Layman,
had twice ordered Johnson to accept the homosexual man into membership.
Layman acted with approval from the head of the Virginia Annual
Conference, Bishop Charlene Kammerer.
When the pastor refused, he was removed from his position without
salary. Johnson, who has been in the pastorate for 24 years, had
pastored at South Hill for six years.
Meanwhile, the Rev. Irene Stroud, who had lost her credentials
last December following an ecclesiastical trial over her admission
that she was in a committed lesbian relationship, will have a
new day in court. In April, a UMC appellate court reinstated her
ministry credentials after overturning her conviction on an 8-1
vote.
That case will top the docket of the UMC’s supreme court,
according to United Methodist News Service.
Presbyterian Church (USA)
A special PCUSA panel recommended that next year’s General
Assembly not change a 1997 church law that limits clergy and lay
officeholders to sex within marriage.
The battle over the issue has grown heated in the PCUSA. Homosexual
activists continue to submit bills to repeal the rules. Meanwhile,
conservatives have been frustrated that congregations continue
to defy current church law and that the denomination allows ceremonies
to bless same-sex couples.
An example of such open defiance occurred in the Pittsburgh Presbytery,
where a female minister, Dr. Janet Edwards, performed a "marriage"
ceremony for two lesbians. The ceremony integrated the couple’s
Buddhist and Christian traditions.
Starbucks
serves up gay agenda
Some patrons got more than they bargained for with their recent
purchase of a cup of Starbucks coffee. On the cup they read a quote
advocating homosexual activity.
According to an article in Baptist Press, the quote appeared as
part of a series called, "The Way I See It." Starbucks
describes the series on its Web site as "a collection of thoughts,
opinions and expressions provided by notable figures," and
the company said it sought out people "who brought both diversity
and life experiences to the mix."
On the coffee cup "The Way I See It #43," customers read
this quote from homosexual author Armistead Maupin: "My only
regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered
my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there
loving someone. Don’t make that mistake yourself. Life’s
too [expletive deleted] short." (On the cup itself, the expletive
was unedited.)
The inclusion of Maupin’s quote in the Starbucks "The
Way I See It" series was first publicized by Concerned Women
for America.
AFA President Tim Wildmon recommended that customers contact the
company with their concerns. Starbucks welcomes feedback, and customers
can communicate with the company either at its Web site (www.starbucks.com)
or on comment forms at Starbucks stores.
www.bpnews.net, 8/12/05; www.worldnetdaily.com,
8/10/05
AFA/ACTIVISM
Christians
spotlight important issues
Fall is the time when numerous Christian issues and events claim
their date on the calendar for special observances. AFA Journal
urges individual citizens and churches to take the opportunity to
align with others to bring attention to some deserving issues in
our culture.
"Nobody deserves our respect and support more than our pastors,"
said Journal editor Randall Murphree. "Also, for years,
AFA has been promoting America’s Christian Heritage Week. And
anyone who knows AFA knows that pornography and pro-life concerns
are front-burner issues with us. We hope Christians will get on
board with these various opportunities."
Each sponsoring group or person below has a wide variety of resources
to offer or recommend, including planning kits, bulletin inserts,
information sources, statistics and more.
Clergy Appreciation Month — Focus on the Family
sponsors Clergy Appreciation Month in October. The ministry offers
many resources and creative ideas to help churches and individuals
plan special ways to honor pastors and pastoral staff members.
For ideas, call 1-800-AFAMILY or visit
www.family.org/pastor/cam.
Respect Life Sunday — Priests for Life, a national
Catholic group, is a voice for life in the Catholic church. October
2 is designated Respect Life Sunday, but the group urges parishes
and Protestant churches alike to select any Sunday in the fall
to draw attention to pro-life issues. More information and various
resources are available at 718-980-4400 or www.priestsforlife.org.
Pornography Awareness Week — In 1991, AFA designated
the last Sunday in October as the beginning of Porn Awareness
Week. Morality in Media continues to promote the observance with
varied resources and ideas, including the White Ribbon Campaign
against pornography. This year’s dates are October 30-November
6. Find more information at www.moralityinmedia.org
or call 212-870-3222.
America’s Christian Heritage Week — In 1992,
Bruce Barilla, a private citizen with no big organization behind
him, proposed the idea of observing America’s Christian heritage
each year during Thanksgiving week. Since then, many governors
and mayors have proclaimed ACHW in their cities and states, some
during that week and others at other times. Barilla’s Web
site, www.achw.org, carries
an invaluable list of resources supporting the concept, including
a planning guide and sample proclamations. He may be reached by
telephone at 304-536-9029.
CULTURE
Teens
pay price for ‘free sex’
Free sex. That’s what the sexual revolution promised
adults in the 1960s. Over the last 40 years, even teenagers have
been promised the same. But nothing is free, as the old saying goes,
especially sex — and teens are having to learn that
the hard way.
The free sex ideology certainly infects Hollywood, which continues
to promote to teens a sex-is-great message. "I’m not against
teenagers exploring their sexuality," said 17-year-old actress
Evan Rachel Wood, whose character in the recent film Pretty Persuasion
is "a sexually manipulative Beverly Hills teen," according
to a Plugged In review. "They should be able to find
how to use it in the right way and be responsible about it. …
[Ignoring sex and covering it up] just sends wrong messages and
makes kids more crazy about it. If the media and adults would just
deal with it, kids would realize it could be a beautiful thing."
But the repercussions for teens who follow such advice can be staggering,
especially when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
According to the Medical Institute for Sexual Health (MISH), approximately
50% of sexually-active teens are already infected with Human Papilloma
Virus (HPV) — an STD that is the cause of 99% of cervical cancer.
"This cancer is causing about as many deaths among women as
AIDS," said a recent MISH press release.
Moreover, the group said, approximately 10% of sexually active
adolescents are infected with chlamydia, a major cause of infertility,
while approximately 20% are infected with genital herpes, "a
life-long and disabling problem."
In addressing the sex education approach most favored by the medical
and mental health community — using condoms — MISH
raised the alarm. "For the infections that are most common
to adolescents (such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes) condoms, even
when used 100% of the time, only reduce the risk of infection by
approximately 50%," the group said. "For HPV, which is
the most common [STD] for adolescents, condoms provide no risk reduction
for infection."
www.pluggedinonline, 8/14/05; medinstitute.org,
7/7/05
High
school: 13% of girls pregnant
"Baby Boom!," it was called in the headline
of an article in WorldNetDaily. The tongue-in-cheek reference was
to the shocking revelation that 65 out of 490 girls at an Ohio high
school are currently pregnant.
Timken High School Principal Kim Redmond admitted that 13% of the
girls there were pregnant, a situation that she said had reached
"horrible proportions." Redmond said, "I wish I knew
the answer to why it’s happening."
The city of Canton, where the high school is located, seems literally
to have a "baby boom" among young people. WorldNetDaily
noted this year alone (through July), local health statistics showed
that out of 586 babies born to residents of Canton, 104 had mothers
between the ages of 11 and 19.
www.worldnetdaily, 8/23/05
EDUCATION
Parents
object to sex books in libraries
Arkansas parent Laurie Taylor has launched a campaign
to inform parents about objectionable sexual content in library
books in the Fayetteville School district in Northwest Arkansas.
In a July letter to the editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times,
Taylor cited examples, including a book titled Choke. Booklist
magazine described a character in Choke this way: "He
is a sex addict, engaging in shockingly lewd acts of physical gratification
in the bathroom across the hall from his Sexaholics Anonymous meeting."
Predictably, the New York-based National Coalition Against Censorship
(NCAC) jumped into the debate on what’s appropriate for Arkansas
students. NCAC sent school superintendent Bobby New a letter pressing
him to stand firm against the parents of his students.
Taylor has established an online petition for Fayetteville parents
to sign. Her campaign is complemented by that of retired teacher
Debbie Pelley who is also working to alert parents to the offenses
and perversions in the libraries’ reading material for students.
In Oklahoma, a similar campaign is growing by parents who want
objectionable books removed from school libraries statewide. Lynn
Rahman, a mother, says Tulsa school libraries include books with
gratuitous and offensive emphasis on homosexuality, sex, drugs and
profanity.
AgapePress, 8/4/05, 8/26/05
Booklets
clarify First Amendment issues
Two booklets about handling religion in public schools
are being distributed to some 50,000 teachers by the Alabama Education
Association.
The state teachers’ union is distributing the material to
dispel the notion that the Bible and prayer are not allowed in schools.
The booklets, The Bible and Public Schools and A Teacher’s
Guide to Religion in Public Schools, were produced by the First
Amendment Center.
The pamphlets advise an academic rather than a devotional approach
to religion. The former is perfectly legal, despite the misapprehensions
of many public school administrators.
According to the First Amendment Center, the booklets are based
on 1999 federal guidelines that were endorsed by civil liberties
and educational organizations and were sent by President Clinton
to every U.S. public school district.
Free copies of the two pamphlets are available to be downloaded
from the group’s Web site, www.freedomforum.org.
Agape Press, 8/25/05
ENTERTAINMENT
Video
games target Christian players
Believers might not intuitively link together the words
"Christian" and "video games," but for one organization,
it’s a good fit.
The Christian Game Developers Foundation (CGDF) was created to
address both the growing appetite within modern culture for video
games and the need for games that Christian parents can feel comfortable
purchasing for their children.
"Unfortunately, as the technology has improved, making video
games more and more realistic, the trend has been toward graphically
violent and sexually provocative games often with dark or occult
themes," the company said on it’s Web site.
The CGDF raises money to help develop Christian games and promote
companies that produce them.
"I think the majority of gamers out there just want to play
a great game, CGDF spokesman Ralph Bagley said. "They don’t
really necessarily need intestines hanging on a doorknob" in
violent games.
For more information on the CGDF or the Christian games available
from various companies, visit the foundation’s Web site, www.cgdf.org.
www.cgdf.org, 8/25/05; abcnews.go.com,
8/17/05
FAMILY
Single-parent
households boom
According to a recent U.S. census report, the traditional
model of a home headed by a mom and dad is no longer the norm.
The report, Examining American Household Composition: 1990 and
2000, revealed that single-parent households now outnumber all
other types of households.
After studying the report, Dr. Janice Crouse, senior fellow of
Concerned Women for America’s Beverly LaHaye Institute, said
single-parent households experienced a growth spurt a few years
ago. "The tipping point really came in the year 2000,"
Crouse explained. "That’s when single-adult households
reached 27 million, and that was up over five million from just
a decade earlier. And traditional families at the same time grew
only 400,000."
However, Crouse also said the Census Bureau may have misreported
the whole truth in its rush to claim the predominance of single-parent
households. "[T]hey did not include [among] the traditional
families widows, married couples who don’t have children, and
… people whose children are grown," she said. When those
numbers are added into the mix, Crouse said the number of traditional
family households doubles that of single-parent households.
AgapePress, 8/22/05, 8/25/05
GOVERNMENT
Constitution
center, homemakers promote America through film
The National Center for Constitutional Studies and Homemakers
For America (HFA) embarked on a summer campaign to provide the feature
film A More Perfect Union for schools and federal agencies.
In a special promotion focused on Constitution Week, September 17-23,
the groups offered the DVD with a complete resource kit for $10,
or the DVD alone for only $1.50 each in quantities of 10 or more.
The kit normally retails for $39.95. More than 350,000 copies had
been ordered by early September.
The film dramatizes the events of the Constitutional Convention
of 1787 and was made under direction of the Commission of the Bicentennial
of the U.S. Constitution. Kimberly Fletcher, president and founder
of HFA, says the campaign continues as the partnering groups are
now promoting the film to families.
"It could be especially valuable to homeschoolers," Fletcher
said. Also, she urges leaders in state government to purchase the
film for schools. The state of Arizona recently ordered 10,000 copies.
More information is available at www.nccs.net,
www.homemakersforamerica.com
or at 1-800-388-4512.
RELIGION
ELCA
OKs ‘gender-neutral’ hymnal
At its 2005 national convention, the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) approved the development of a new, more
gender-neutral hymnal, updating the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship.
The changes in song lyrics and liturgy will replace the "Father"
terminology and male pronouns used in reference to God. For example,
liturgical texts and prayers will refer to God and Jesus as "holy
eternal majesty" and "holy incarnate word," respectively,
instead of "Father" and "Son."
Some conservatives are concerned. Dr. Roy Harrisville, executive
director of Solid Rock Lutherans, a conservative group whose mission
is to call ELCA to "remain faithful to the Word of God according
to the Lutheran Confessions," believes the changes to the hymnal
are a misguided attempt to be more culturally relevant.
He said, "Relevance is a huge issue for many of [those who
pushed for the changes], and they think that if they acquiesce to
a particular ideology that is relevant in society, that therefore
they will be relevant and thus influential and thus, of course,
attract more folks to their churches. I don’t think it works
that way."
AgapePress, 8/19/05, 8/25/05
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