c. 1996 Religion News Service

World Council of Churches faces severe financial crisis

(RNS) The World Council of Churches (WCC) is facing severe financial difficulties and only”drastic action”on the part of the international ecumenical agency’s 330 member churches can end the crisis, the Rev. Konrad Raiser, WCC general secretary, has told members.”By the end of this year, despite strict expenditure control and savings, the general funds and reserves available will have been used up,”Raiser said in a July 1 letter to WCC member churches.”Income is no longer sufficient to pay for the present activities in which the Council is engaged,”he said.

Raiser said that a year ago, the council thought it was in”one of those periodic fluctuations, which would correct itself before long. We believed that our reserves were sufficient to tide us over the difficulty.”You will see from the enclosed report that such a belief was over-optimistic, the decline in income has been greater and lasted longer than anticipated, and shows no sign of improvement,”he said.

In response to the financial woes, Raiser said a 16 percent reduction in WCC staff is planned. The reduction will cut 42 members from the current staff of 276 through layoffs, retirements and the elimination of some currently vacant posts. Raiser said it will cost about $1.6 million to provide a”just and adequate separation package”for those whose jobs are being eliminated.

Raiser said the new round of reductions leaves the Geneva-based agency’s staff size a third smaller than it was in 1991.

The 1995 Financial Report of the WCC, released along with Raiser’s letter, showed that the agency had an income of about $64.3 million last year, down $7.4 million from 1994. Its expenditures in 1995 were about $81 million, compared with $91 million in 1994.

The council’s income comes from a variety of sources, including member church dues and contributions, investments and grants.

A major problem for the council is the lack of contributions by its members. According to council figures, only 156 of the 330 churches paid any membership dues to the WCC last year, despite a decision by the council’s Central Committee to set a minimum contribution of $800 for each church.

It also has been hard hit by lower currency exchange rates. The council operates with Swiss francs.

Interfaith Alliance to seek”civility”pledges from candidates

(RNS) The Interfaith Alliance, a coalition of mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic church officials, said Monday (July 15) it will ask local, state and federal political candidates across the country to sign a”pledge of civility”promising to repudiate”the use of religion as a weapon”in the public arena.

The coalition, formed two years ago to do battle with politically active religious conservatives, also said it would ask voters to sign a pledge to support policies”which strengthen our families, ensure equal opportunity for all our citizens, and honor the freedom that comes from meaningful political participation.” The two pledges were unveiled at a Washington news conference at Foundry United Methodist Church, the congregation most often attended by President Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton. The Rev. J. Philip Wogaman, the church’s pastor, is the alliance’s first vice president.

At the news conference, the group, which claims 30,000 members in 109 local chapters, announced a”Road to Renewal”campaign of voter education and mobilization aimed at challenging what it called”religious political extremists.” Terry Anderson, a former journalist who was held for seven years as a hostage by Muslim radicals in Lebanon, said at the news conference that he is a Christian but also”a political progressive”and”those people (Christian conservatives) do not represent me, neither in faith nor in politics. And they do not represent millions of other people of faith in this country _ Christians, Jews, Muslims and others.”Like those conservatives in the Christian Coalition, our religious beliefs lead directly to our political beliefs,”Anderson said.”But they lead us in an entirely different direction.” The”civility pledge”urges candidates to repudiate the use of religion”to demonize those whose religious or political beliefs are different from mine”and to”challenge anyone or any organization asserting that a particular candidate is sanctioned by God.” It also asks the candidate to promise to refuse campaign contributions”from organizations or individuals who practice or advocate exclusion or intolerance.”

U.S. church leaders urge shift from military to anti-poverty spending

(RNS) A group of 29 Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic church leaders are calling on the Senate to increase the U.S. commitment to fighting global poverty by shifting money from military spending to foreign economic aid.”The growing separation between those who have plenty and those who have almost nothing is both a sign of moral collapse and a profound threat to the world’s peace and security,”the religious leaders said in a statement released Monday (July 15).

The statement comes as the Senate is expected to begin debate on the foreign aid appropriation bill. It also criticized the Senate-passed $265.5 billion version of the defense appropriation bill.

The statement said modest reductions in defense spending would”likely enhance the actual security of Americans by helping lift the burden of poverty that continues to make much of the world desperate and therefore dangerous.” The religious leaders also urged lawmakers to”rethink the levels and distribution of (foreign economic) aid to the Middle East.”Last year, Egypt and Israel, the two largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid funds, received about $5.2 billion.”The burdens of peace are now borne by others (besides Israel and Egypt) in the region as well, and aid must reflect that,”the letter said.

Signers of the letter included leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; American Baptist Churches; American Friends Service Committee; Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Church of the Brethren; Episcopal Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Greek Orthodox Church of North and South America; Leadership Conference of Women Religious; Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers; Maryknoll Mission of the Faithful; Moravian Church in America and the Mennonite Central Committee.

Also, the National Council of Churches; Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends; Polish National Catholic Church; Presbyterian Church (USA); Progressive National Baptist Convention; Reformed Church in America; Conference of the Major Superiors of Men’s Institutes; Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA; Swedenborgian Church; Syrian Orthodox Church; Unitarian Universalist Service Committee; United Methodist Church; and United Church of Christ.

Church of England survey reveals opposition to gay clergy

(RNS) A survey of lay and clergy delegates to the general synod of the Church of England has found that a substantial majority of them oppose ordaining gays to the priesthood and an even bigger percentage oppose the church blessing same-sex marriages.

The survey was conducted by the Guardian newspaper, which said the response rate by the synod’s House of Bishops was too low to include. The survey was released prior to the start of the synod’s annual summer meeting in York Sunday (July 14).

According to the survey, 62.1 percent of the lay and clergy synod members opposed the church ordaining practicing homosexuals to the ministry and 52.5 percent said they believed homosexuality was incompatible with Christianity.

Asked if the clergy should be allowed to bless homosexual relationships, nearly three-quarters _ 73.9 percent _ said they should not.

Although the church does not now allow ordination of gays or the blessing of same-sex marriages, more than half of those polled said they knew clergy who were practicing homosexuals and two-thirds said they found the church’s position”not coherent.”

Law enforcement agencies fear violence at GOP convention abortion protests

(RNS) Law enforcement officials preparing the security for the Republican National Convention next month in San Diego, Calif., are warning doctors who perform abortions that they might want to close down or”go on vacation”during the GOP presidential nominating session.

A joint task force made up of the FBI, the Secret Service, and the local sheriff and police departments are working together to provide security for the convention and a number of planned anti-abortion demonstrations scheduled to take place before and after the Aug. 12-15 meeting, the Associated Press reported Monday (July 15).”Of course we’re concerned and have suggested they (abortion clinics) might close or go on vacation if they think they might have problems,”the AP quoted Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Leatherman as saying.

Sylvia Sullivan of San Diego’s Operation Rescue and the Republican Coalition for Life said the demonstrations, set to begin Aug. 3, will take place at clinics and at the homes of doctors who perform abortions despite a San Diego law that bars protesters from targeting physician’s neighborhoods or homes.

Representatives of area clinics said they will continue to keep their doors open.”We absolutely will not be bullied into closing our centers,”said Mary Ellen Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood.

The quote of the day is from Arkansas”acting governor”Mike Huckabee on the Bible.

(RNS) On Monday (July 15), Mike Huckabee became”acting governor”of Arkansas. Huckabee, a Republican, replaces Jim Guy Tucker, who stepped aside but refused to resign in the wake of his conviction on charges stemming from his role in the Whitewater real estate development scandal. Huckabee, in an interview with World magazine, spoke about his Bible reading habits:”I have long depended on Scripture not only as a refuge but also for direction. Since I was 18 I’ve read a chapter in Proverbs every morning, getting through the whole book each month. For me, that’s a source of daily inspiration and guidance. I really believe most good, sound management decisions can be gleaned from principles you’ll find in the book of Proverbs and in other passages, such as the Sermon on the Mount.”

MJP END RNS