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The Newsletter of the Interfaith Working Group
February 1998
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Equal Partners in Faith Report
January 15 was a cold, wet day, Martin Luther King's
birthday, and the day of the
Promise Keepers
clergy conference at the Apollo of Temple in North
Philadelphia. Twenty people stood outside the Apollo
from 7:30 to 9:00 am and politely distributed almost
2,000 flyers to people entering the conference.
For the most part, they were accepted graciously.
Quite a few people rejected them, and some were rude.
A few folks came back outside to return them politely,
and at least two people came out to argue theology.
The noon press conference called by
Equal Partners in Faith (EPF)
featured United Methodist pastor Dave Heberling,
Pennsylvania NOW
President Barb DiTullio,
Assistant Director of the
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell, and
IWG supporters
Father Paul Washington and Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale,
all of whom did an excellent job of speaking
forcefully despite some hecklers. In general
the coverage was good, though Rabbi Elwell was not
shown in any of the broadcast stories, and her
comments about Promise Keepers mocking Judaism
went unreported in print as well. We were pleased
with the excellent 6:00 pm Channel 6 report, but the
PK leadership had apparently done a good job in
advance of convincing channels 3 and 10 that the
story was about the presence or absence of women, and
that women had in fact been invited. This was the
gist of the stories despite the fact that no one at
the press conference said anything about "exclusion
of women." This was also despite the fact that
there were only about a dozen women registered, two
of whom were with EPF, and while women had been
admitted, they weren't "invited" per se. It was notable
that some new terms were used by the media: in the
broadcast stories, Promise Keepers was described as
"controversial," and those at the press conference
were called "liberal clergy."
The story in the Philadelphia Daily News
focused on issues of racism, but the writer missed
the point by focusing on two pastors he found
who had become friends despite different racial
backgrounds. The racial questions raised by EPF and
other groups have to do with the policies of the
organizations with whom the Promise Keepers leaders
have been associated; the practice of forgiving people
for slavery; referring to slavery as "redemptive;"
and a concentration on "reconciliation" between races
instead of equality.
IWG Coordinators Profiled in the Daily News
Interfaith Working Group coordinators Chris and
Barbara Purdom were interviewed by Debbie Woodell
of the Philadelphia Daily News for her
January 20 column. Our thanks to Debbie for the
coverage and to all who make the IWG possible by
adding your names to the letterhead, sending material,
speaking out at press conferences, walking in the
Pride Parade and AIDS Walk, handing out leaflets on
cold, wet mornings, hosting events, revising the
letterhead, contributing money, and above all,
nurturing and running the kinds of organizations and
houses of worship we like to publicize, where progressive
people of faith can find a haven and a spiritual home.
Synod Rules in Milwaukee
The Presbytery of Milwaukee
passed a Covenant
of Dissent in response to Amendment B (effectively
banning anyone unmarried and non-celibate from
ordained office). The
Synod of the Lakes and Prairies
of the
Presbyterian Church (USA)
has approved the recommendations of a Special
Administrative Review Committee in response to the
Covenant. Recommendations included affirmation of
"the right of the Presbytery of Milwaukee to
corporately express its opinions, thoughts, and
feelings in a passionate way on issues that violate
their collective conscience and sense of integrity"
and affirmation that the phrase "we cannot agree
to abide by the recently passed amendment to G-6.0106
('Amendment B') without violating our informed
conscience, faith, and interpretation of our
obligations," is a reasoned conclusion permissible
within the limitations established by the Presbytery
of West Jersey, Synod of the Northeast, by a vote
of 205-15.
However, the closing paragraph of the Covenant was
ruled to be against the constitution, an irregularity,
and null and void: "We covenant together to elect,
ordain, and install as officers those members with
suitable gifts who are called to ministry, who are
persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and
love of Jesus Christ, and whose manner of life is a
demonstration of the Christian gospel in the church
and the world, without additional requirements or
restrictions."
The report warned that "it is the obligation of
ministers of Word and Sacrament and elders who
disagree with any such provision to seek to change
that provision through constitutional means. It
is also their obligation to honor their ordination
vow to 'be governed by our church's polity' and to
'abide by its discipline' [G-14.0405b(5)]. It is
imperative that everyone understand the potential
consequences of a failure to do so. The consequences
could be initiation of either administrative or
judicial action. Either course could result in the
transfer of presbytery responsibilities to another
governing body, while disciplinary action could result
in the censure of individuals. Such censure could be
as sever as removal from ordained office."
Marriage Update
We are still awaiting the Hawaii Supreme Court ruling
on same-gender marriage. The Vermont Supreme Court
has agreed to hear the marriage case filed by three
couples. The United States Supreme Court refused to
hear Robin Sharhar's appeal concerning her being
fired by Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers for
marrying another woman in a Jewish religious ceremony.
The Rev. Jimmy Creech's suspension from the
First United Methodist Church of Omaha
was extended, and the committee investigating the
charges has recommended a trial, which will probably
be scheduled in about two months. The IWG web site
has
Rev. Creech's response to the charges.
"In All Things Charity" (petition signed by 1300
United Methodist Ministers) was released to the press
as an act of support for Rev. Creech.
February 12 has been declared National Freedom to
Marry Day by the National Freedom to Marry Coalition.
That's One Way of Looking At It
We received a missive from the
Christian Family Network
entitled "Looking Ahead to 1998" which said:
"Two worldviews compete for the soul of America.
One puts man in the center; the other puts God at the
center. One is based on faith and the knowledge of
God's unchanging truth; the other is based on philosophy
and the belief that nothing is truly knowable. These
two views are absolutely irreconcilable. Those that
have deep Christian convictions will become more
focused on character; those what do not
will move steadily toward self-satisfaction. When
two irreconcilable views emerge, one is going to
dominate. Only one world-view will prevail. Either
by numbers or persuasion, one side of this polarized
culture will defeat the other in setting public
policy."
Mormon Book Wins Award
The American Historical Association
gave the Herber Feis Award for the year's best work by a public
historian or independent scholar to D. Michael Quinn's book
Same-Sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon
Perspective, in which he wrote that nineteenth-century Mormons
were sometimes tolerant of sexual same-gender relationships, in
a time when adults in platonic same-gender relationships shared beds
and held hands, kissed and exchanged passionate letters.
More Coverage of Religious Diversity of Opinion
January 10:
The Denver Post ran a profile of the Rev. Gilbert Caldwell,
African-American pastor of
Park Hill United Methodist Church,
the only United Methodist minister in Colorado to sign
"In All Things Charity."
January 19:
The Detroit News ran a story about the Rev. John Rohde of
First Congregational United Church of Christ in Ypsilanti
(an Open and Affirming church) and the Rev. Herb Lowe of
Amistad United Church of Christ,
both of whom support the inclusion of sexual orientation in the
Ypsilanti non-discrimination ordinance.
The Ministers Alliance of Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Vicinity
opposes the inclusion.
January 25:
The Philadelphia Inquirer's "Living Religion" section
featured excerpts from a highly theological debate over the
morality of abortion between a Catholic couple from King of
Prussia (who run a home for pregnant women and conduct spiritual
healing retreats for women who have had abortions), and
Frances Kissling (president of
Catholics for a Free Choice).
Some People are Hard to Classify
According to a story in the December 31 San Francisco Chronicle,
Religious Right organizations were horrified because Ward Connerly,
a heterosexual African American appointed by California Governor
Pete Wilson to end affirmative action at the University of California,
was largely responsible for passage of a domestic partnership
benefits package at the the university.
The Family Research Council's
Robert Knight said, "No true conservative would equate homosexual
households with marriage, because we believe that without marriage
and family as paramount values, hell will break loose." Lou Sheldon
(Traditional Values
Coalition), said Connerly and the other regents "believed the
big lie that homosexuality is equivalent to being black, Hispanic,
or Asian."
Connerly said the reaction to this was much more extreme than to the
vote on affirmative action: "People start talking about morals, the
Bible, degenerates, and before you know it you're off in a terrible
debate in which you just can't reason with people." In response
to a critic, he wrote, "I am part of an interracial marriage. When
my wife and I married, there were those who said that such unions
were immoral, unnatural, contrary to the Bible, and would lead
to the deterioration of civilization."
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