News Briefs

Episcopal News Service. February 18, 2003 [2003-035-1]

Episcopalians Join Mideast Interfaith Peace-builders Delegation

(ENS) Six Episcopalians, who joined a Mideast Interfaith Peace-builders Delegation, returned from their two-week trip "deeply sobered by what we have heard and seen."

The trip, co-sponsored by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship and The Witness Magazine, was coordinated by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The delegation visited Palestine/Israel, Jordan and Lebanon January 25-February 8. "We have listened to representatives from dozens of Palestinian and Israeli organizations working nonviolently for a just peace in the Middle East, and have heard the stories and opinions of countless individuals whose views on the conflict span the political spectrum," they said in a statement.

The statement described encounters with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon with no rights, refugees who "have entered a second half-century of existence as a forgotten people. Crowded refugee camps, bursting at two to three times their intended capacities, house refugees whose rights to work, own property, and travel are severely restricted, and whose access to education and health care are minimal."

In Jordan, the delegation was told that "the nation's economic, environmental and political" situation has suffered critically over the last two years and that Jordan was feeling isolated by the U.S. government because it is being accused of not securing its borders with Iraq.

In a meeting with Anglican Bishop Riah Abu el-Assal in Jerusalem, he told the group of the missile attack at St. Philip's Church adjacent to the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, supported by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, two days before their arrival. "No one who is sane could claim that this was a mistake--it was a huge guided missile," he said. The bishop repeated an assertion the delegation heard from many in the region: "The root of this problem is the occupation."

Members of the delegation even ventured into Hebron, a Palestinian city with a nearby Israeli settlement that has been a flashpoint of violence in the last few years. They were told by Israeli settlers that Palestinian parents are encouraging their children to be suicide bombers. They stayed with Palestinian and Jewish families, "ordinary people who yearn for peace and security in this land, many of whom have given up hope of living alongside former neighbors."

In its statement the delegation said that health care workers spoke of "the traumatic effects on young and old alike and heard concerns expressed that the current state of violence will grow much worse if war begins in Iraq." In a meeting with U.S. embassy officials, they were told that "our government is committed to the creation of a 'sovereign and viable' Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel." They also saw the first stages of a wall being built by the Israelis to separate the two sides in the conflict.

(Episcopalians on the delegation included Michael Battle, Peter Churchill, Ethan Flad, Elisha Harig-Blaine, Christopher Pottle, Terry Rogers and Winnie Varghese. Individual trip reports and the final statement are available at www.forusa.org.)

Archbishop of Canterbury reflective on eve of enthronement

(ACNS) On the eve of his enthronement as the 104th archbishop of Canterbury on February 27, Rowan Williams reflected on his spiritual journey in a wide-ranging interview with the Daily Telegraph.

He spoke of his childhood with fond memories, describing early impressions of the Anglican tradition and how the whole Christian enterprise seemed to hang together in an imaginative and intellectual way. Originally a member of the Presbyterian Church of Wales, he recalled how the "discovery of liturgical life was tremendously engaging" and served as a grand narrative. "It is a story of what the world is like, and within that how different aspects of how we see God knit together," he told Charles Moore, editor of the paper. "I'm very interested in what can be done, what I can do, in promoting good, imaginative and solid liturgy."

Regarding the looming possibility of war with Iraq, Williams congratulated Prime Minister Tony Blair for his commitment to a moral vision of international affairs and a very strong belief that it is possible to intervene successfully. The archbishop's two greatest fears, however, are "the needs and the problems of Christians [and other minorities] in the region and the precedents set by preemptive military action."

While indicating his respect for President George Bush and his attempts to fight terrorism and avoid a repeat of the devastating events of September 11, 2001, Williams expressed concern about any one country taking on the role of global policeman.

Underscoring the eagerness of most people in Muslim communities to distance themselves from the rhetoric of the terrorists, Williams said that Islam is "a religion whose primary focus and interest is about unity--the unity of God and the unity of the faithful community under God. It is one community under God. That is what has given Islam its moral power and passion through the centuries. Whereas Christianity has, I think, been more inclined to ironies and paradox, which has made the Muslims very impatient with us."

Touching on a topic that has stirred considerable controversy following his appointment, Williams said, "On homosexuality in general my worry is that, while we talk about particular bits of sexual ethics, we as Christians are in danger of losing the big cultural argument about sexuality, that it is a gift of God to be exercised in a way that shows God's faithfulness and commitment." He added that in the way the debates are drawn "we are not looking at what the real heart of Christian teaching is in sexual ethics."

Lutherans showing reluctance to discuss sexuality issues

(ELCA) Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) told a meeting of the church's Studies on Sexuality Task Force at a February 7-9 meeting that, during his travels around the church, he senses a reluctance among Lutherans to discuss sexuality issues.

Hanson encouraged the task force to return the topic of sexuality to "the culture of faith" and to "take the moment, as uncomfortable as it is." The task force has assembled two panels of consultants as it prepares study materials to encourage church members to talk about blessing same-gender relationships and accepting clergy living in such relationships. One purpose of the study is to shape recommendations for the 2005 Churchwide Assembly to set policies and to develop a social statement on sexuality to be considered in 2007.

"We are very much still in a process of listening and studying and learning," said Bishop Margaret G. Payne of the New England Synod, chair of the task force. "This spring is a particularly intense time as we meet with various groups." At April meetings the task force will hear from a panel of theologians and members of the scientific community. "We're wrestling very much with how to encourage the whole church to engage more fully" in the study, she said.

"Human sexuality is broken all over the place," said Bishop Peter Strommen of the Northeastern Synod and a member of the task force. He questioned whether blessing same-gender relationships could bring healing in much the same way that marriage does. Some on the panel said that the church would be "condoning " or "endorsing" homosexuality if it blessed same-gender relationships. Others urged the church to concentrate on what the Bible says about sexual relationships.

Following panel presentations from both sides on the issues, Payne said that she believed that "what was helpful for us was to have those positions embodied in people and have them speak individually about their thoughts, their pastoral experiences and their views of Scripture," said Payne. "Each task force meeting we have gives us a chance to move deeper into the studies. Each group we meet with and talk with helps us to understand more of the complexities of the issue."

(Information on the study is available at http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney.)

Census shows that most Brits still identify with Christianity

(ENI) Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of those surveyed in England and Wales still report that they belong to the Christian religion, despite falling church attendance. "These figures prove as a lie claims that England is no longer a Christian country," said Bishop Keith Sutton of Litchfield.

The finding emerged as a result of the 2001 national census, the first to ask the 52 million who participated about their religious affiliations. The results showed that 37.3 million declared their adherence to Christianity, even though less than 10 percent go to church weekly.

"It is a wake-up call to the churches when so many people identify as Christian but don't feel strongly enough to be part of a church," said David Goodburn, general secretary of Churches Together in Britain.

The second-largest faith in England and Wales is Islam with about 3 percent, or 1.5 million people, identifying themselves as Muslim, followed by Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism.

Among the surprises from the survey, 390,000 identified themselves as followers of Jedi, inspired by the warriors from the Star Wars movies. An Internet campaign urged people to answer "Jedi Knight" to the census question on religion. About 15 percent, or 7.7 million people, declared they had no religion and another 8 percent declined to answer the question.

"Churches haven't lost the ground they thought they had," said Prof. Leslie Francis of the University of Wales in Bangor, chair of the interfaith group dealing with census authorities. "Non-practicing Christianity has real implications for how people live their lives and churches shouldn't give the impression that, if you don't practice Christianity, you're not part of us."

New study questions policies on clergy salaries

(ENS/Duke) Rather than relying on competitive free-market forces to determine clergy salaries, churches should provide all pastors with sufficient compensation to enable them to live out their call in relative comfort, according to a new study by Pulpit and Pew Research Project at Duke University.

"How much should we pay the pastor? A fresh look at clergy salaries in the 21st century" was written by Becky McMillan, associate director of the project, and Matthew J. Price, director of analytical research at the Episcopal Church's Pension Group.

In their report, the authors compare Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy salaries in "an effort to illustrate and highlight the differences and underlying rationales between free market and more centralized, collective decision-making approaches to setting salaries for pastoral leadership," according to the news release from Duke.

The research examined clergy salaries among Protestants as set by church policy, as determined how much autonomy individual parishes have in setting salaries. Churches with so-called "connectional" polities--Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Episcopalians--have little autonomy over salaries and are subject to some degree of centralization--guidelines or requirements to pay pension and health care benefits, for example.

For those parishes with more "congregational" polities--Baptists, Pentecostals, United Church of Christ and others--more freedom is available in determining clergy compensation and therefore they represent a more market-driven approach.

"Generally, in all but the very largest churches, salaries for clergy in Connectional polities are higher than those paid to clergy in Congregational polities, even when controlling for pastor education, experience and congregational wealth," according to the Duke release. "Regardless of polity, only a small percentage of pastors earn what most Americans would consider a professional level salary."

The report also highlights the fact that, while regional differences in salaries are not large, clergy salaries across the country have split between small and medium-sized churches that struggle to pay clergy even a modest stipend and larger churches that pay high, competitive salaries. The smaller churches are increasingly forced to move toward part-time clergy or those with less education and experience. "The report raises particular concern over the state of salaries for African-American clergy, the restricted upward mobility of women clergy, and the growing burden of debt incurred by clergy to fund their theological education," the release said.

In the second half of their report, the authors explore the impact of compensation on the sense of call and commitment, arguing that low salaries make it difficult for clergy to be true to their call, forcing some to consider other professions or forms of ministry.

The Episcopal Church was represented on the project by William Craddock, director of CREDO Institute, and Bishop Clay Matthews of the Office of Pastoral Development.

(Full text of the report is available at http://www.pulpitandpew.duke.edu/salary.html.)

Workshop on writing icons offered this summer in Lexington

(ENS) A "Six Days of Creation" Icon Writing Workshop will be offered this summer in Lexington, Kentucky, organized by St. Andrew Orthodox Church, exploring the dynamics of icon writing and the place of icons in Christian worship and the history of art. The July 27-August 2 workshop will be on the campus of Lexington Theological Seminary.

In addition to St. Andrew and the seminary, the workshop is also sponsored by the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts and the Gaines Center for the Humanities. Besides the intensive instruction by master iconographer, Xenia Pokrovsky, the worship offers a five-part lecture series by the Rev. Thomas Hopko, dean emeritus of St. Vladimir Theological Seminary in New York, and four scholars from the University of Kentucky which will host an exhibition of icons at its art museum.

Although icons have always occupied a central place in the devotional life of Eastern Christians, both Orthodox and Roman Catholic, there has been a recent surge of interest in icons among western Christians. Icon-makers inherit and transmit a millennia-old tradition where individual expression yields to a prescribed canon of palette and forms, according to background information for the workshop.

During the workshop each student will complete an icon which will be displayed at the reception for the Six Days of Creation Icon Exhibition at the university museum on August 1.

Pokrovsky began learning iconography in the 1960s when it was a dangerous endeavor in her native Russia still under the atheistic yoke of communism. Yet she sought to fulfill her spiritual father's prophesy that she would become a leader in recovering and teaching icon writing throughout the world. She laments that, in the United States, the sacred art of icon writing is being turned into a commercial enterprise.

For more information call workshop director Mary Lowell at 502-868-5461 or visit the web site at http://www.standrewlexington.org.