c. 1996 Religion News Service

Presbyterians reject General Council Assembly executive director

(RNS) In a sign of grassroots discontent with denominational leadership, the executive director of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s General Assembly Council has lost his bid for a second four-year term.

In a surprise vote Thursday (July 4) in what was expected to be a rubber-stamp vote, delegates to the denomination’s General Assembly refused to confirm the Rev. James D. Brown as the leader of the council, which represents the church body outside of the annual meetings.

The vote _ 222 in favor and 258 opposed _ means, in effect, that Brown will be out of a job when his term expires in September. The council will then search for a replacement.”There is just kind of an air of general discontent and a feeling of disconnection out in the church, a sense that things just aren’t being run well in Louisville,”said Jerry Van Marter, news director for the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is headquartered in Louisville, Ky.

Van Marter listed a variety of reasons for discontent, among them a perceived lack of firm leadership at the council; dissatisfaction with the denomination’s continuing debate over ordaining homosexuals; and fallout from the controversial”Re-imagining”feminist theology conference in 1993, in which some Presbyterian staff members were involved.

A total of 568 delegates, known as commissioners, are attending the annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M.

In other action, the delegates voted Thursday to give”commissioned lay pastors”greater responsibilities. Lay pastors have been allowed to preach and administer communion. Now, they may also conduct baptisms, perform some weddings, moderate governing board meetings of local congregations and vote at meetings of regional Presbyterian groups.

Van Marter said the policy change on lay pastors, who are trained but not seminary-educated, will be particularly helpful for rural and immigrant congregations.”It opens up a lot of places for a fuller ministry by lay persons,”Van Marter said.

On Wednesday (July 3), the commissioners also rejected a proposal to change the pattern of General Assembly meetings. A proposal had been made to change assemblies in odd-numbered years so that they would feature less formal business and more worship and theological discussion.

AME church delegates discuss affirmative action, election

(RNS) Delegates to the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s General Conference wrapped up their quadrennial meeting this week after ratifying position papers on voter participation and affirmative action.

Three new bishops who will serve the AME Church in Africa also were elected. The Louisville meeting, which was attended by 1,800 delegates and thousands of visitors, ended Wednesday (July 3).

A strongly-worded position paper urged black Christians to be politically active.”When we look back at the history of our people and consider the discrimination and injustices our foreparents had to endure for our people today to make it possible for us to vote, non-participation in the election process is unconscionable,”the paper begins.

Mike McKinney, a spokesman for the general conference, said legislative attempts to roll back affirmative action and cut welfare make it important for African-Americans to be involved in the political process.”If we don’t get involved and let people know how we feel _ particularly the politicians _ our voice will be lost,”he said.

The position paper on affirmative action spoke of its”significant benefit to women and minorities in education, employment and contracting,”but also agreed that some programs could be modified to make them more effective.”There are countless people _ and black people in particular _ that may have gotten a position because of affirmative action, but the reason why they stay is because they do the job,”said McKinney.”We don’t want a handout because we are black. We just want an opportunity to be at the table.” Other position papers were ratified on topics such as supporting health care for the elderly, individuals with AIDS, fathers and the fatherless, Liberia, homeless people and economic development. A position paper on sexuality and spirituality opposed premarital sex and said”homosexual practices violate both biological design and God’s intent.” The new bishops are Bishop William DeVeaux, former pastor of Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, D.C.; Bishop T. Larry Kirkland, former pastor of Brookins Community AME Church in Los Angeles; and Bishop Adam J. Richardson, former pastor of Bethel AME Church in Tallahassee, Fla. All of the new bishops will begin their administrative duties in AME districts in Africa.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church has 3.5 million members worldwide, 1.5 million of whom are in the United States.

NSA to Berrigan: Sorry, not this time

(RNS) Philip Berrigan, the former Roman Catholic priest turned peace activist, has been arrested dozens of times for participating in antiwar protests that have included dumping blood on government property, banging on bombers and painting”Auschwitz”on a nuclear submarine hull.

But on the Fourth of July, Berrigan couldn’t get himself arrested-despite goading guards for two hours at the supersecret National Security Agency facilty at Fort Meade, Md.

Berrigan and some two-dozen other peace activists entered a restricted area at the NSA site on Thursday to protest the military-related activities that are conducted there.

NSA officials declined to arrest the group, however.”Thank you very much, we appreciate all your efforts,”NSA spokesman Stephen McAnallen told the protesters, according to the Associated Press.”We’ll do our best to bring your concerns to the attention of the proper authorities.” In response, Berrigan said:”They just waited us out. Very efficient. Very sterile. Just like the NSA itself. Nice and neat on the outside, while they’re dealing death to the world on the inside.”

First woman named secretary general of German church council

(RNS) For the first time, a woman has been named secretary general of the Council of Christian Churches in Germany. She is the Rev. Barbel Wartenberg-Potter, a member of Germany’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Wartenberg-Potter will assume her new post for a five-year term beginning June 1, 1997. Since 1991, she has been a pastor in Stuttgart. Her husband is Philip Potter, former general secretary of the World Council of Churches, for which she has also worked as director of its division of women in church and society.

Wartenberg-Potter comes to the post at a”crucial time for Germany’s churches,”noted a report on her appointment by Ecumenical News International, a World Council of Churches-sponsored news service.”Falling church membership, financial pressures and continuing divisions between east and west Germany … have in recent years prompted widespread soul-searching in Germany’s major churches,”the report said.

The German church council was founded in 1948 and has 13 members, including the Evangelical Church and the Roman Catholic Church, the nation’s two largest denominations. Wartenberg-Potter will replace the Rev. Martin Lange, a Methodist pastor.

Quote of the day: Thich Nhat Hanh; Vietnamese Buddhist monk and poet

(RNS) In his new book”The Long Road Turns to Joy”(Parallax Press), Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh, writes about walking meditation, a practice in which the walker attempts to focus consciousness on the action and environment at hand.

He says:”At the entrance of the walking meditation path of a Zen temple in Vietnam, a large stone is carved with these words: `With each step, a breeze will rise.’ The breeze is the peace and the joy that blow away the heat of sorrow. When you walk this way, you do it for yourself and for all beings.” JC END RNS