c. 1999 Religion News Service

Gospel artists bring home Grammys in six categories

(RNS) Gospel artists ranging from rock singer Ashley Cleveland to contemporary soul musician Kirk Franklin won Grammy Awards during the 41st annual ceremony Wednesday (Feb. 24).

Although the awards in the gospel categories were distributed before the televised portion of the awards ceremony, religion and music shared the stage a couple of times later in the star-studded evening.

When hip-hop celebrity Lauryn Hill won the Grammy for best new artist, she walked to the stage with her Bible in her hand.”This might be a little different for the Grammys,”she said, as she opened the volume to Psalm 40 and began to read.

The psalm includes the verse,”He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to my God.” When she finished reciting a few verses, Hill, who has been described as a lifelong Methodist, said,”I want to say thanks to God for honoring me with this huge responsibility.” The live show also featured a performance by Franklin of”Lean on Me”from his”The Nu Nation Project”album. He appeared on a stage filled with artists, including Mary K. Blige, Bono and Crystal Lewis.

Host Rosie O’Donnell noted that profits from the song have raised $250,000 for a fund helping burned black churches.

The winners of the gospel music categories are as follows:

Best Rock Gospel Album:”You are There”by Ashley Cleveland.

Best Pop Contemporary Gospel Album:”This is My Song”by Deniece Williams.

Best Southern Gospel, Country Gospel or Bluegrass Gospel Album:”The Apostle: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture”by various artists.

Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album:”He Leadeth Me,”by Cissy Houston.

Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album:”The Nu Nation Project”by Kirk Franklin.

Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album:”Reflections”by The Associates, O’Landa Draper, choir director.

Rochester priest excommunicated after refusing to stop leading worship

(RNS) The Rev. James Callen, suspended as pastor of his church in December for allowing a women a prominent role at the altar during the Eucharist, inviting Protestants to participate in the communion and blessing same-sex marriages, has been excommunicated, the Diocese of Rochester said Wednesday (Feb. 24).”Father Callen has effectively excommunicated himself,”the diocese said in a statement.”Catholics who have joined the new church are not in full communion with the (Roman Catholic) Church and incurred the same penalty.” After being suspended, Callen continued to celebrate Mass and some 1,000 members of his former parish, Corpus Christi Church, followed him to the alternative services at various Protestant churches.

Callen was pastor at Corpus Christi for 22 years and during that time built a dynamic parish active in the community and in various social justice movements.”I’m not worried about excommunication or de-frocking or whatever they want to do,”the Associated Press reported the priest as saying.”I know who I am _ I’m still a Catholic priest and I will continue to do these things that I’m excited about,”he said.

Callen’s excommunication, which can be lifted if he regularizes himself with the church, means that he cannot participate in any of the sacraments of the church.

Connecticut Presbyterian church to stand trial on gay ordination

(RNS) First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, Conn., will go on trial in a church court Friday (Feb. 26) on charges it violated church law by ordaining an openly gay man as an elder.

In May, a complaint was filed against the church, a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), after it elected Wayne Osborne to serve on the church’s session, or governing board.

The case is being watched as a test of a recent amendment to the denomination’s Constitution that bars sexually active homosexuals from being ordained or serving on sessions.

If the church rules against First Presbyterian, Osborne’s election will be declared void and a new election will be held.

Two members of the church filed the complaint, saying Osborne’s”lifestyle”violated church doctrine.

At issue is how the court will interpret the recently adopted amendment which requires church officials to”live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.”

Quakers nominate Catholic anti-death penalty advocate for Nobel prize

(RNS) The American Friends Service Committee has nominated Sister Helen Prejean, the Roman Catholic nun noted for her anti-death penalty crusade, for the 1999 Nobel Peace prize.”Sister Prejean has for many years been a religious voice of great clarity _ and challenge _ on the inhumanity of state-sponsored executions,”the AFSC said in announcing the nomination Thursday (Feb. 25).”She has tirelessly worked on behalf of the families of both the victims and the perpetrators of capital crimes to bring a message of reconciliation, forgiveness and the opportunity for redemption,”the Quaker-related group said.

The AFSC shares the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize for the humanitarian work of members of the Religious Society of Friends in Europe following World War II. As a Nobel laureate, the group has the privilege of making nominations to the Nobel committee of the government of Norway.

Prejean is best known as the author of”Dead Man Walking,”the personal story of her efforts on behalf of Louisiana death row inmate Patrick Sonnier.

She has also testified before the United Commission on Human Rights in favor of a moratorium on executions.

The winner of the prize is announced in October.

British church leaders hail report on police racism

(RNS) The whole of British society needs to purge itself of racism, Anglican Bishop Tom Butler of the Diocese of Southwark said Wednesday in the first comments by a senior Church of England prelate in response to the report on the police handling of the high visibility case of the death of a young black man.

Stephen Lawrence, a black 18-year-old, was stabbed to death at a bus stop in South London in April 1993. No one has been convicted of the killing.

The case has received the same kind of publicity and debate in England as the hate killing of James Byrd Jr., in Texas, and the police shooting of unarmed Amadou Diallo in New York.

In a report published Wednesday, a special panel headed by Sir William Macpherson found that the police investigation”was marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism, and a failure of leadership by senior officers.””I meet black people from our South London churches almost every day, and I know from what they tell me that the Stephen Lawrence tragedy was not an unfortunate isolated incident,”Butler said.”Like Doreen Lawrence (the boy’s mother), many black people today feel that at present they cannot get justice from the British legal system. Racism may exist in other institutions of our society, but it is particularly serious when present in the police service because of the power of individual police officers to put their prejudices into practice.” The wide public concern aroused by the Lawrence murder has given police the opportunity to make a”radically new approach”to addressing racism, Butler said.

Later, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said the Macpherson report raised major questions about institutional racism and its impact on the work of the police.”Racism, wherever it exists, is an evil to which the church and the Christian message are totally opposed,”he said.”It is also an evil which we are pledged to counter. Racism among those in positions of power and authority is especially offensive, as it threatens the principles of both equality and justice.” On Thursday, the Roman Catholic bishops’ committee for community relations said”it is terrible that an innocent teenager can be murdered on the streets of London because he is black. It compounds the deep sense of injustice when those responsible go unpunished.””It (the MacPherson report) represents an opportunity to take a significant step forward. That opportunity must not be missed. We encourage Catholics and all men and women of good will to reflect on the report and to make this tragedy into a time for a change of heart and for substantial reform.”

Former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president dies

(RNS) Robert E. Naylor, who served as the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1958 to 1978, has died. He was 90.

Naylor died of Lou Gehrig’s disease on Sunday (Feb. 21) in Fort Worth, Texas, the Associated Press reported.

Naylor presided over the seminary in Fort Worth during a time of tremendous growth. The enrollment rose from 2,300 to 4,000; the faculty increased from 53 to 125 and the annual budget climbed from $1.3 million to $6.3 million.

A medical center, student center and fitness center were built during his presidency. A children’s center constructed during that time bears the name of Naylor and his wife, Goldia, reported Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.”He was a man who wanted to build for the future and not just for the present,”said James Leo Garrett, distinguished professor emeritus of theology.”He realized the importance of doing it right for the long haul.” Naylor, a Southwestern alumnus, served as a pastor of churches in Arkansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina before becoming president of the seminary. After his retirement, he preached across the country and around the globe on more than 1,000 occasions.

Quote of the day: James Dobson, radio psychologist and religious right activist

(RNS)”Our job is to engage the culture on behalf of the family, and if that brings us criticism, then so be it.” _ James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, whose sometimes controversial views on gays, human sexuality and family issues have a knack for generating equally strong reactions, quoted by Christianity Today in its March 1 issue.

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