This page lists reports and commentary from August, 2004.

Does this sound familiar? New issue (Israel), old tactic

We have taken note of the stream of criticisms of the actions of the 216^th General Assembly in relation to Israel's actions against Palestine, and have posted some of the criticisms and some responses defending the GA actions.

The latest twist is another call for a special session of General Assembly, reminiscent of that launched two years with charges of a "constitutional crisis" in the Presbyterian Church, revolving around the ordination of LGBT persons.

The latest call is for the special session to "re-examine the Biblical implications of [the 216^th Assembly's] divestment actions and re-consider them in a fair and balanced forum by immediately calling a Special Session."

This petition has been initiated by Larry Rued, an elder in First Presbyterian Church, Bradenton, Florida.

The Rev. Don Beisswenger is currently serving a six-month term in federal prison for the "crime" of protesting against the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA.

Peacemaking in Time of Terror, Violence, and War: A National Colloquium

September 27-29 (noon to noon)
Stony Point Center, Stony Point, New York

Amid all the allegations of anti-Semitism being hurled at the Presbyterian Church as if it is the only group urging reason and restraint for peace in Israel/Palestine, we hear a joint call for peace from Jews, Muslims and Christians. They recognize how violence is connected in Iraq, Israel/Palestine, terrorist groups, and more - and call for a "Nonviolent Coalition" that will welcome all to their tent as Abraham did, "to share his food and water with travelers from anywhere."

Pastor Younan Shiba, ecumenical delegate at the 2004 General Assembly from the Assyrian Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Iraq, was asked directly in a plenary session whether Iraq is better off today than before the American invasion. His stunningly simple answer: "No, we are worse off."

It's interesting to hear confirmation of this view from Iraq's soccer coach at the Olympics. He said his team should not be used as a symbol of freedom, since it is still torn by daily violence, and is still under foreign occupation.

With these words he took issue with a campaign commercial for President George W. Bush, in which the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan appear, and a narrator says: "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations -- and two fewer terrorist regimes."

Coach Adnan Hamad, whose team has surprised observers by reaching the soccer semifinals, added: "You cannot speak about a team that represents freedom. We do not have freedom in Iraq, we have an occupying force. This is one of our most miserable times. ... Freedom is just a word for the media. We are living in hard times, under occupation."

The August 15 referendum on the presidency of Hugo Chávez appears to be a crucial victory for a president who has sided with the poor majority of his people over against the wealthy and the US powers that have stood with them.

Advocacy Days - March 2005

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Sojourners is planning to place messages in the New York Times and other media outlets, to remind Americans that "God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat." This is a response to the claims by Jerry Falwell and others that "God has taken a side in this election," while the Bush-Cheney campaign urges church members to make their church directories available for use by the campaign.

Sojourners asks: "How has the love of Jesus, the Prince of Peace - and his good news to the poor - been distorted by the pro-war, pro-rich political agenda of the Religious Right? Our faith has been hijacked, and it's time to take it back!"

Click here to sign the Sojourners petition and send a message to America that God is not a Republican or a Democrat, and that the Religious Right does not speak for you.  Remind America that Jesus taught us to be peacemakers, advocates for the poor, and defenders of justice.

Use it to fight mercury pollution.

Greenpeace and TrueMajority would like you to share some of your hair. They are collecting hair samples to be tested for mercury exposure, as a way of creating awareness and providing scientific data to support stronger public health protections in place of the weaker ones proposed by the Bush administration.

John Shuck, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Billings, MT, recently sent this note:

On August 7th history was made at the First Presbyterian Church in Billings, Montana. In the sanctuary, before a congregation of about 150, two members of our congregation celebrated their 15th anniversary during a commitment ceremony. I am proud of our congregation for going through the dialogue and education process to approve this ceremony and especially to my friends, Mike and Tony, for their courageous witness to live open loving and celebratory lives.

Click here for an article that appeared in the Billings Gazette the same day.

There's an unusual church in Orange County, California - with no name, no building, no set meeting time. It's one example of the new trend toward "emerging churches" growing out of evangelical Christianity, with small, informal, socially active groups focusing on what they can do for the world, rather than their own life as a community of faith.

The LA Times tells the story.

What do you think of this approach as a possibility for progressive congregations in what some are calling this "post-denominational" era?

They describe their work thus: "Our engaging and highly interactive course materials will be incorporated into social studies, art, English, mathematics, and science courses. Teachers in public and private schools as well as faith-based educators will be able to incorporate our course materials and activities into their lesson plans for a single lesson, a week, or up to a full semester."

Jewish Voice for Peace declares that "working to end the Israeli occupation is the best way to help the Jewish people build a future free from terror and anti-Semitism."

We recently posted a link to a call by some of the country's most respected members of the legal community, who have signed on to a strong, bipartisan statement addressing the Bush Administration's preparation of memos related to torture. "The lawyers who prepared and signed these memoranda," reads the statement, "have not met their high obligation to defend the Constitution."

The Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church concluded its meeting in Dallas on August 6, after focusing at last on the issue of ordination of lgbt Presbyterians, without saying anything publicly about its thinking on the question which led to its creation.

Leslie Scanlon reports in Presbyterian Outlook that the group plans to issue a pastoral letter aimed in part to dampen expectations that the final report will somehow provide a "magic pill" to resolve the differences over ordination and other issues.

Rather, the letter may offer suggestions for processes by which dialogue can move forward among people who differ. And that process is seen is a long-term project.

As was evident in their presentation at the pre-Assembly conference on the work of the Task Force, the group believes presbyteries must encourage various forms of conversation among their own members, while the Task Force continues to seek ways of spiritual discernment in fulfilling its own mandate.

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Negative views from the Layman

Meanwhile, Parker Williamson (chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and editor in chief of its publications) proclaims that the Task Force is merely putting on a hollow show of unity, while failing to deal with the real issues that divide the church.

Williamson blames the show of unity partly on "a heavy dose of interest-group scrutiny." And just what group might that be, we wonder.

And John Adams of the Layman takes note of the concern expressed by the Rev. Gary Demarest, one of the Task Force members and former pastor of a Confessing Church congregation, that the Task Force has not begun to gather feedback from churches and presbyteries.

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Outsourcing Prayers

Moving Ideas: The electronic policy network, offers a quick look at lots of material - news items, analysis, opinion. This is a project of The American Prospect magazine, and like the magazine it reflects a responsible, progressive approach to current issues.

Currently the home page lists links to various articles dealing with "Hot Issues," including

We received this note on August 6, which begins:  "Hooray for the Presbyterians!!! Now I can FINALLY hold my head up as a Christian, knowing my religious leaders have at long last taken a stand against the gross human rights violations and atrocities the 'civilized' world has allowed to go on and on and on in Bleeding Palestine."

Scroll down that page for earlier reports and comments, or click here for helpful links to various General Assembly actions on the PCUSA website.

Added later:

We've received one very strong objection to this letter as "horribly anti-Semitic," and we can certainly see the author's point.  Please click here to read Viola Larson's letter, and see what you think. 

It's not news that war is hell. But the human costs of the present war in Iraq seem to get lost in the triumphalist reporting of US progress in "liberating" the people of Iraq, or in arguments against the war as imperialist adventurism.

But here's a look at the costs of the war for American service people as they receive treatment at the Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany. The pain being endured by those injured on the battlefield in Iraq - already over 12,000 - seems to be matched by the "compassion fatigue" appearing among the medical personnel who care for them.

More realistic reflections on "staying together" in the PCUSA

We recently received a note from a pastor in Minnesota, expressing appreciation for the venture toward dialogue, and sober realism about the chances for achieving real community when we have become a "pseudo-community," in which "poisonous hatred and dehumanizing toxins" may make real change impossible "without radically altering the PCUSA."

He has now added to his thoughts -- and it's worth reading.

Click here to start at the beginning of the conversation.

An Iraqi Catholic priest on Muslim-Christian relations in Iraq--and how fundamentalist groups are targeting churches.

At the recent General Assembly the Rev. Younan Shiba, ecumenical delegate from the Assyrian Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Iraq, was asked whether his country is better or worse off than before the US invasion.  He answered simply -- and powerfully -- "We were better off before."

How can the church be engaged without overstepping the legal limits on political activities by tax exempt organizations?  Here are some helpful guidelines.

Seminarians for Change, a progressive theological students' organization in New York, is planning an interfaith service of worship on Sunday, August 29, in New York City. The service will include "include future religious leaders from many faith traditions ... gathering in the spirit of prayer, meditation and change."

The service will take place at St. Paul & St. Andrew's United Methodist Church on West 86^th Street and West End Avenue in NYC at 9:30 am on Sunday, August 29, 2004. After the service, participants will be invited to join in the United for Peace and Justice march and rally.

Click here for a flier you might want to share with friends.

Other interfaith events are also planned for Republican National Convention

Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, told delegates to the alliance's general council meeting in Accra, Ghana, that while members have different views of homosexuality, all Christians can agree that it is wrong to violate human rights because of sexual orientation.

Stories from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches about the 24th General Council may be found on the WARC Website.

Another contribution to the conversation ... about possibilities for staying together in the PC(USA)

We received this note from a pastor in Minnesota, expressing appreciation for the venture toward dialogue, and sober realism about the chances for achieving real community when we have become a "pseudo-community," in which "poisonous hatred and dehumanizing toxins" may make real change impossible "without radically altering the PCUSA."

Click here to start at the beginning of the conversation.

So, says Kirkpatrick, "as it turns out ... the threat of schism has been, as Mark Twain said of obituaries announcing his death, greatly exaggerated."

The author is the Ellsworth Morton Tracy Lecturer and a professor of religion at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He is a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

Witherspoon Issues Analyst wrote an article back in January, considering what the Episcopal Church experience might mean for the Presbyterian Church.

In response to the invitation to conversation from "Keklamenos," we're received two more thoughtful comments, both welcoming the chance for dialogue. One writer, from California, notes that our Presbyterian Church has always acknowledged the legitimacy of other Christians churches with which we may have great differences of theology and practice, and have also affirmed diversity within our own community. The second writer, from Michigan comments that change has always occurred in our church, and with it has come tension - but that we have also affirmed the possibility of coming to new understandings of Scripture.

Also, Gene TeSelle has added more thoughts to his earlier responses to Keklamenos' call for dialogue - affirming, as has Arthur Fullerton - our historic appreciation for diversity.

A recent op-ed piece in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, by a self-professed "very conservative Christian" who believes in the Bible "as the inspired word of God," suggests that such beliefs don't necessary lead to total support of the Republican Party. He can understand by conservative Christians might support the Republican Party on issues such as abortion. But, he asks, "what of Christian virtues such as love, mercy, peace making, compassion for the weak and poor, considering others as more important than yourself and personal service? In what way does the GOP support those concepts? And this whole idea of cutting taxes to keep more of 'my money' (something of an oxymoron to a Christian)? In what way is this not a form of selfishness? Especially when those tax cuts remove services from poor children, education and support for the mentally ill?"

The media have reported widely on the "success" of WTO trade talks in Geneva, which came to some agreements: The US, the European Union and Japan agreed to reduce the subsidies to farmers which have been harmful to agricultural producers in developing nations. In exchange, developing nations have agreed to cut the tariffs that many of them impose on agricultural and industrial imports, thus offering more market opportunities for exporters from the wealthier nations.  One such report, for example, was in the Washington Post.

The Mennonite Central Committee has a beautifully simple program to collect basic school supplies (regular and colored pencils, notebooks, rulers, erasers) to be distributed in orphanages, children's shelters, schools for children with disabilities and refugee camps around the world. Kits will also be distributed to children in some of the most impoverished communities in the U.S.

Click here for more information.