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The Newsletter of the Interfaith Working Group
June 1998
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Life Partnership Bills Pass
As you've probably heard, the Life Partnership bills
have been passed by Philadelphia's City Council and
have been signed into law by the mayor.
In spite of the overwhelming testimony from clergy and
laity supporting the bills (unreported by any media
outlet), Channel 29 consistently characterized supporters
as "gay activists" (not "gay rights activists") and
the opposition as "the religious community," showing
clips of Bill Devlin
(Urban
Family Council) saying that the definition
of family was now expanded to anyone who has ever
been on the Jerry Springer Show. The print
media reported that Devlin also announced his
intention of forming a PAC. The Inquirer
says that Council President John Street is
still considering trying to pass alternative
legislation.
The Bucks County Courier Times ran a front
page story speculating on whether the county would
ever offer domestic partnership benefits to its
employees; for the article they interviewed
IWG supporter
Rev. Al Krass. Meanwhile, national
attention has shifted to New York City were Mayor
Giuliani has proposed an extensive domestic
partnership program. The national
Christian Coalition
complained that the New York proposal would undermine
efforts by parents to teach traditional morality, and
Focus on the Family
issued a national alert complaining about the New
York and Philadelphia legislation in particular
and asking for help fighting all municipal
domestic partnership ordinances in court on the
grounds that they are somehow illegal. The
FOF alert incorrectly stated that the Philadelphia
ordinance required all employers in the city to
offer DP benefits.
Jimmy Creech Will Not Be Reappointed
Bishop Martinez has announced that Rev. Jimmy
Creech will not be reappointed as pastor of
First United Methodist Church of Omaha,
despite his acquittal. The
United Methodist Church
is still in a state of upheaval. The Bishops
issued a unanimous statement which attracted a
great deal of attention despite the fact that it
simply reiterated existing policies. Newspapers
are still rife with speculation over potential
schisms, especially the
California-Nevada Annual Conference.
Northwest American Baptists
The
American Baptist Churches
of the Northwest
passed a resolution on May 16 agreeing with the
national body that the "practice of homosexuality
is inconsistent with Christian teaching," and
directed the regional board to a) "Communicate
God's grace and forgiveness to sexually broken
people," including gays; b) Affirm "that
the fulfillment of sexual union is a monogamous,
life-long relationship between one man and one
woman;" c) "Make every effort...to call welcoming
and affirming Baptist churches in the Northwest to
a position on human sexuality that is consistent with
Christian teaching;" and d) "Refrain from inviting
persons who celebrate the practice of homosexuality,
bisexuality, or transexuality as Biblical expressions
of human sexuality to serve in Northwest Region
ministry leadership until they have adopted a
position on human sexuality that is consistent with
Christian teaching."
Delegates voted down a measure that would have allowed
for the dismissal of churches that abandoned
one or more beliefs and practices that are considered
distinctly Baptist or basic to Christianity. A
two-thirds majority was required, the vote was
165 yes to 107 no. Had that measure passed, it would
have been possible for the delegates to vote to dismiss
the two Welcoming and Affirming congregations in
Seattle:
Seattle First Baptist
and
University Baptist.
Such a measure had been proposed, but was withdrawn.
World Council of Churches
The Orlando Sentinel and Philadelphia
Inquirer published a story about
Protestants and Orthodox Christians fighting over
World Council of Churches
policies (ordination of women and acceptance of
sexual minorities) because the Orthodox churches
"think the group has already grown too diverse and
inclusive." No specific votes or approvals were
mentioned, and the only quote was from the
Rev. Hilarion Alfeyev of the
Russion Orthodox Church's
external relations department.
Civil Marriage Update
An Alaska state constitutional amendment limiting
marriage to mixed-gender couples will go to voters
in November. Twelve states, including Pennsylvania,
have filed briefs in the Vermont Supreme Court case
supporting Vermont's right to limit marriage. The
Hawaii case still sits with the Hawaii Supreme Court.
The Reggie White Saga Continues
Voters in Ypsilanti, MI decided to retain a
non-discrimination ordinance which includes sexual
orientation, despite appearances at a five-hundred
person rally against the ordinance by Reggie White,
gospel singers Debbie and Angie Winans, and Alveda
Celeste King. The Ann Arbor News reported
that two dozen members of African Americans for
No Discrimination protested the rally. Supporters
also announced that
Coretta Scott King endorsed
keeping the ordinance. Rev. White's positions
continue to be a source of controversy in
newspapers around the country. On Monday, May 18, the
Family Research Council
held a lunch in his honor in Washington DC to which
some members of Congress were invited.
Friendship Blessing Canceled at Catholic Church
According to articles in the Contra Costa Times,
the Deacon at
St. Augustine Church in Pleasonton, CA
was going to bless the friendship of two women until
"roughly 30 protesters" threatened to picket the
ceremony because it "amounted to a gay marriage" and
"condoned homosexuality." The Contra Costa Times
said the service was canceled by "church authorities,"
presumably in the
diocese of Oakland.
Christine Nusse of the
Conference for
Catholic Lesbians
was quoted: "I've never heard of this
[a friendship blessing] happening within the
Catholic Church. It's certainly not common in the
Catholic Church, and it's certainly not condoned
by the church hierarchy as a whole." The Times
said that the deacon indicated this would have been
the third such service he had performed, and that the
ceremony "was not even close to a gay wedding."
Congressional Values Action Team Formed
Congressional leaders have formed a "Values Action
Team" to meet weekly with Religious Right leaders.
According to a Lancaster Intelligencer Journal
story, the team will be headed by Lancaster
representative Joe Pitts. The New Haven Register
reported agreement on pushing legislation to restrict
abortions, encourage school prayer and block expansion
of gay rights, and reported that Lou Sheldon of the
Traditional
Values Coalition said "You're going to be seeing
a lot more of us." You might want to tell your
representative how you feel about this development.
Fred Phelps' Congregation Pickets Steve Sabin's
Fred Phelps'
Kansas Congregation was in Ames, IA the
weekend of May 10 to picket
Lord of Life Lutheran Church,
where Rev. Steve Sabin awaits a decision on
his appeal to maintain his ordination. There picketing
meant there was a larger turnout than usual for the
Sunday service. They also picketed the University
of Iowas graduation;
First Evangelical Free Church
and
Grand Avenue Baptist Church
(for suggesting that
their picketing would do more harm than good);
Collegiate Presbyterian
(they give space to PFLAG);
Cornerstone Church
(because of a close relationship
with Grand Avenue Baptist), and
St. John's Episcopal
(they usually picket Episcopalians).
Church and Kansas
According to Pitchweekly and the
Topeka Capital Journal, the Shawnee County, KS
treasurer cut off negotiations with a San Francisco
financial company to provide county phone bill-paying
services after learning the company gave domestic
partnership benefits (required by San Francisco law).
She used county stationary and postage to mail letters
to county residents who had complained about negotiations
breaking off. Along with a legal explanation, she
wrote, "In my opinion, written policies nor laws
enacted by man should overcome the Bible, which is
God's word. In that respect, please find enclosed
reasons to believe the Bible." Each envelope held
the tract "Why Should Anyone Believe the Bible."
Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall said the
treasurer's actions were a proper use of taxpayer
money.
Philadelphia Sex Ed Study
The Philadelphia Daily News reported on and
opined about a one-year study by Penn and Princeton
researchers of 6th- and 7th-grade African American
Philadelphians. A group received abstinence-only
sex education, another had training in condom use;
the control group had no sex ed. The condom group
had the lowest percentage of recently having had
sex (16.5%), followed by the abstinence (20%) and
control (23.1%) groups. The abstinence group had
a higher instance of unprotected sex than the condom
group. The editorial noted that Congress voted
$50 million/year for five years for abstinence only
education as part of welfare reform (pushed by the
religious right), and that the condom-availability
program in ten Philadelphia high schools is under
attack in federal appeals court and by Governor Ridge.
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