c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Following is a collection of domestic religion stories compiled from RNS staff, wire and denominational reports).

Study finds high number of clergy fired or forced to resign during career

(RNS)-A national survey of Protestant clergy has found that an unusually high number-22.8 percent-say they have either been fired or forced to resign their pastorates at some point during their career.

The survey, conducted among a random sample of clergy readers of three evangelical magazines-Christianity Today, Leadership, and Your Church-also found that one in four of the dismissed or forced-out pastors said they had had the experience more than once. The survey’s return rate was 64 percent and the margin of error was plus or minus 3.8 percent.

The survey did not indicate what, if any, percentage of the firings or forced resignations were for clergy wrong-doing.

According to the survey, reported in the Winter 1996 issue of Leadership, clergy said conflicting visions for the congregation between themselves and members was the top reason given as to why they were terminated.

David L. Goetz, the associate editor of Leadership who conducted the study,said the survey also revealed what he called”repeat offender”congregations.

According to the survey, 62 percent of the forced-out pastors said that the congregation had driven out at least one previous pastor.

Forty-one percent of forced-out pastors reported that the congregation that expelled them had forced out pastors more than twice in the past.”The conclusion seems self-evident: churches that force out their pastors are likely to do it again,”Goetz wrote.

Goetz said”repeat-offender”churches are often driven by a small faction within the congregation. He said 43 percent of the fired or forced-out pastors indicated that a”faction”pushed them out, and 71 percent indicated the faction numbered 10 or less.”Perhaps what’s most troubling is the inability or unwillingness of denominations to identify and work with the repeat-offender church,”Goetz wrote. In many instances, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, denominational leaders have little influence on congregations.”With no real clout, denominational leaders often stand by and watch a percentage of their churches destroy pastor after pastor,”Goetz wrote.

Bishop installed for Coptic church in the United States

(RNS)-After more than 10 years of waiting, the small but growing Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States has a resident bishop-the first bishop of the Egyptian-based Christian denomination to be installed in North America.

Bishop Serapion, enthroned in a ceremony just before Christmas in Los Angeles, will oversee a growing diocese that covers Southern California and Hawaii, with a population of about 10,000 Coptic Christians.

The church traces its origins to Egypt in the first century after the birth of Jesus. Tradition says the church was founded by the evangelist Mark, credited with writing one of the four gospels.

Coptic Christianity is part of the family of Oriental Orthodox churches historically related to the Eastern Orthodox tradition that includes such churches as the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches.

Pope Shenouda III, the patriarch of the Cairo-based church, has said he will appoint another five bishops for the growing Coptic presence in North America.

In Los Angeles, for example, the denomination has grown from three congregations in 1980 to 13 today. There are another 14 congregations in the New York-New Jersey area. Nationwide, it is estimated that there are 150,000 to 200,000 Copts.

Bishop Serapion said that in coming years he plans to visit every home of the 10,000 Copts in his diocese for prayer and conversation.

Bishop Serapion, a former ecumenical officer of the church and a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, said he plans to establish relationships with other church and community groups in the diocese, and help make the denomination more visible in the Los Angeles area.

Reform Judaism women’s group takes on fight against media sex and violence

(RNS)-The Women of Reform Judaism, representing more than 600 Reform Jewish congregational sisterhoods, wants its members to join organized efforts to protest sex and violence in the media.

In a resolution adopted by the 100,000-member organization on Dec. 28, the women’s group criticized television for broadcasting”a deluge of crime and brutality”and for using”gratuitously sexual images”in programs readily available to children.”Media executives argue that there is no proven causative relationship between TV violence and anti-social behavior,”said Judith Rosenkrantz of Tampa, Fla., president of the group.”Nevertheless, they try to convince their advertisers that TV ads affect viewer behavior by boosting sales.” She was especially critical of so-called”gansta rap,”a form of popular music that has come under sharp criticism for its violent images and strong language. Rosenkrantz accused the music of being”racist, pornographic and brutal,”and said it glorifies”the abuse of women, especially African-American women.” The resolution called on members of the group to join or organize advocacy campaigns”to convey their distress with entertainment media to the highest corporate levels,”and urged support for laws aimed at reducing violence and pornography on TV and in other entertainment media viewed or heard by children.

Joint prayer service for Christians and Jews published

(RNS)-An informal prayer liturgy, designed for Christians and Jews to use together in settings ranging from living rooms to a church or synagogue, has been published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

The prayer book was written by Rabbi Leon Klenicki, director of interfaith affairs of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, and the Rev. Bruce Robbins, general secretary of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity.

The read-aloud format includes an opening dialogue, presentations from Jewish and Christian participants, and a concluding joint prayer designed to increase interreligious understanding at the local and small group-level, especially in settings in which group prayer would be appropriate.

Robbins and Klenicki said they did not dilute the beliefs of their respective faiths or minimize the differences between Christianity and Judaism.”The whole purpose is to hear each other as they are and provide a foundation of understanding and conversation,”Robbins said.

MJP END