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The Newsletter of the Interfaith Working Group
October 1999
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Religious Conformity Amendment Reintroduced
Rep. Istook has reintroduced the Religious
Conformity Amendment (also known as the Religious
Freedom Amendment) in Congress, as
H.J.
Res. 66. This
constitutional amendment eliminates the First
Amendment's balance between the establishment and free
exercise clauses. It lost in the House the last time it was
voted on. Let your Representative know you like the
First Amendment the way it is.
United Methodist Church
The Rev. Jimmy Creech will again stand trial, this time for
blessing the relationship of Larry Ellis and James Raymer
on April 24. In response, Rev. Creech stated:
"The trial will be an act of violence against lesbian,
bisexual and gay persons, and a betrayal of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, and all who participate in it will be
complicit. It also will be a waste of resources (money,
time, energy and personnel) that should be used otherwise
in positive, helpful ministries to people in need in the
world. The celebration of love and commitment between
two people is a profound and particular embodiment of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. If I am found guilty by a trial
court, then The Order and Discipline of The United
Methodist Church is in conflict with this gospel. It is
arrogance on the part of the church to elevate some
people's relationship with God, while denigrating that of
others, on the basis of innate sexuality. This arrogance is
evil, comparable to racism. The consequences of this
arrogance are spiritual, psychological, social and physical
violence against gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, their
families and friends, and a profaned witness to the gospel
of Jesus Christ."
The Rev. Greg Dell's suspension for blessing the
relationship of a same-sex couple was shortened by a
church appeals court to one year. According to the
Chicago Tribune and other reports, he will be
reappointed to
Chicago's Broadway United Methodist
July 1, 2000. In a
statement following
the decision, Dell said:
"In a very fundamental way, the decision by the
Committee on Appeals is a loss for The United Methodist
Church and the overwhelming majority of its members
who are not supporters of mean-spirited legalism, bigotry
and exclusion. At the same time, I am clear that this
struggle is nowhere close to being resolved."
Focus On the Family Website Mentions Roundtable
The religious GLBT-rights movement has reached a
point where it can't be completely ignored by those who
object to its message. A recent search for the word
"Roundtable" on the
Focus on the Family website actually
turned up an
article
which begins: "Some church leaders
are trying to build support for the notion that
homosexuality is 'normal.'" This is a rare concession,
even if the article says "several of them" met in Colorado
Springs (several being about 30), and the bulk of the
263-word article is a seminary professor quoting
Leviticus 18 as a rebuttal, concluding that "people must
accept God's word in its entirety, not just some of it."
Georgia Baptist Convention
In November the Georgia Baptist Convention will
vote on a recommendation of its Executive Committee to
remove
Oakhurst Baptist Church
(in Decatur) from the
rolls because of the congregation's acceptance of gays
and lesbians. The Washington Post quoted Bill Merrell,
vice president of the
Southern Baptist Convention: "This
is not a move against homosexuals, but the SBC wants to
send a clear, ungarbled message. Churches should not
change the Scriptures and should not endorse sinful
behavior." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted Faye
Short of RENEW, the Women's Branch of the United
Methodist Good News: "We stand with them as they
stand for the biblical standard regarding homosexual
practice." According to the Journal-Constitution,
Oakhurst Baptist released a statement saying that in their
church "gay and lesbian Christians serve as Sunday
School teachers, choir members, deacons and preachers."
Although the members of Oakhurst are not
unanimous, the statement said, "we came to believe that the
biblical references to homosexual behaviors do not
address the Christian commitments and loving relationships
of our gay and lesbian members."
AFA McDonald's Alert
The
American Family Association wants you to
complain to McDonald's about their recent decision to add
sexual orientation to their corporate non-discrimination
policy. Their
alert
asserts that "McDonald's corporate
policy is damaging the good community image of the lo-
cal franchise owners across the nation," and asks that you
complain to your local McDonald's franchise owner and
to the McDonald's Corporation, Jack Greenberg,
Chairman, 1 Kroc Drive, Oak Brook, IL 60521, Phone:
630-623-3000. The AFA alert is likely to generate many
complaints; please write a letter of support.
Indianapolis Rally
A prayer rally for to promote fair and equal treatment
of GLBT people was held on the Indiana statehouse
steps. Congregations and religious organizations involved
included
Jesus MCC;
All Saints Episcopal;
Holy Eucharist Church;
Lutherans Concerned/Central Indiana;
New Life Community Church of Hope, Michigan City;
Northeast UCC;
REACH Group of St. Luke's UMC;
and Shalom UCC, Lafayette.
North Carolina Baptists
Wake Forest Baptist Church, which worships in the
Wake Forest University chapel, has been asked by the
University not to hold same-sex commitment ceremonies
there, according to ongoing reports in various North
Carolina newspapers. According to the Winston-Salem
Journal, the request by the University was welcomed by the
President of the Baptist State Convention of North
Carolina and the President of the
Southern Baptist Convention.
The University's report said, "Although there
remains division and uncertainty among the Wake Forest
Baptist Church's own membership about the position of
the church regarding the proposed ceremony, it is not the
intention of the university to restrict the practice of the
congregation, whatever its ultimate decision may be or to
interfere with the content of the church services. The
university does not, however, want to become an involuntary
participant or be perceived to have approved such
practice, by having its facilities used for this purpose."
Texas Religious Liberty Case
Briefs have been filed with the Texas Court of
Appeals, Second District, in a case in which a judge ruled
that a divorced lesbian mother could not take her child to
the Metropolitan Community Church because the
denomination is not "main line." A brief was filed by
Americans United
for Separation of Church and State,
the ACLU,
People for the American Way,
and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Another brief was filed by
The American Jewish Congress,
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA,
American Friends Service Committee
and
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches.
According to an Americans United press
release, their brief argues that: "A court-imposed ranking of
religions and determination as to which are sufficiently
'main line,' or orthodox, constitutes impermissible state
assessment of ecclesiastical matters and partiality
concerning religious denominations. The trial court's order
also violates the mother's free exercise rights because the
court made a determination concerning the mother's
visitation rights based on an evaluation of her religious
beliefs." The American Jewish Congress brief said: "the
position of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches regarding homosexuality, while
intensely controversial, is widely shared by other churches,
including some within the historic Protestant 'mainline.'
If its beliefs are immoral, the court below will have cut
out a wider swath of the mainline than it imagined."
TVC Concentrates on Hate Crimes Legislation
The Traditional Values Coalition
web page recently
featured Hate Crimes Legislation commentary, portraying
hate crime legislation and prevention programs as
anti-Christian, and including an illustration of a scale with a
cross on one side and a pink triangle on the other.
Brochures Available
"Religious Support for Equal Marriage Rights" is a
new Interfaith Working Group brochure available online
at
www.iwgonline.org/marriage or on paper. Sections
include Many Meanings of 'Marriage', Civil vs. Religious
Marriage, Religious Diversity, Entanglement and
Discrimination, and Religious Support for Equal Rights.
The online version has an extensive linked bibliography.
"Religious Liberty: an Introduction to the Issues"
covers organized school prayer, Ten Commandments
displays, religious displays on public land, marriage, school
vouchers, and voter guides and political endorsements. It
is online (www.iwgonline.org/liberty/) and on paper.
"The Interfaith Working Group Welcoming
Congregations Brochure" lists forty-nine congregations and
religious organizations in the Philadelphia area that welcome
participation by sexual minorities and allies. We plan
another printing during October. Please consider adding
your congregation! (Call us ASAP.) The online version
is www.iwgonline.org/welcoming/.
Call for copies.
Urban Family Council and Mission Media
The
Urban Family Council,
which unsuccessfully led
the opposition to Life Partnership bills in Philadelphia City Council
(and which had anti-gay activist Alveda Celeste King
speaking at their recent annual banquet) is the parent
organization of Mission Media.
The Mission Media web site
says they have a church referral service with a
toll-free phone number and radio ads, and over
onehundred member churches from twenty-five Christian
denominations (but it doesn't actually list any).
National Church/State Conference in Philadelphia
On Friday, October 22, there will be a conference
about the intersection of religion and government at the
University of Pennsylvania Law School, 3400 Sansom
Street, Phila., sponsored by the
Anti-Defamation League
and the Law School. Conference Fee is $35, including
meals and materials. A limited number of scholarships are
available. Confirmed speakers include: Elizabeth
Coleman, Anti-Defamation League; Nathan Diament,
Orthodox Union;
Barry Lynn, Americans United for Separation
of Church and State; Elliot Mincberg,
People for the
American Way; Rev. Eugene Rivers; Melissa Rogers,
Baptist Joint Committee;
Rabbi David Saperstein,
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism;
and Nadine Strossen,
American Civil Liberties Union.
Issues addressed include: the role of religious
institutions in providing social services and an exploration of the
constitutionality/feasibility of "Charitable Choice;" how
Government can best support the vitality of religious
institutions; whether vouchers violate the Establishment
Clause and are good public policy; and how
Establishment Clause jurisprudence has changed over the last
decade, and whether it is going in the right direction.
Letterhead News
Congratulations to Rev. Jim Littrell, now Rector at St.
Mary's-Hamilton Village, and Rev. Susan Minasian, now
pastor at Disciples United Community Church, a new
Open and Affirming United Church of Christ/Disciples of
Christ congregation in Lancaster. We still have room for
more religious organizations, congregations and clergy in
PA, NJ, and DE. Call if you're interested in being listed.
Speaking Out
IWG Cocoordinator Chris Purdom recently spoke on
"The Religious Gay Rights Movement" at the King of
Prussia Men's Social Club, and will be on a panel at the
SPARC
conference in State College on Saturday,
October 9, and reporting on the National Religious Leadership
Roundtable on October 10 after the 11:00 am service at
Tabernacle United Church
in Philadelphia. If you would
like one or both of the the coordinators to speak to your
group, please call.
Unborn Victims of Violence Act
The U.S. House passed (254-172)
the
Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which defines an unborn child as "a
member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of
development, who is carried in the womb." An alternative
bill to "increase the criminal penalties for certain acts of
violence against pregnant women" was defeated. The
Justice Department called the bill "constitutionally
suspect and unprecedented as a matter of federal statute."
Rev. Carlton Veazey, of the
Religious Coaltion for
Reproductive Choice, said it "could put the woman and
fetus in conflict and could place the health, worth and
dignity of women on a lower level."
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