c. 1999 Religion News Service

United Methodist clergy prepare to defy church law on same-sex marriages

(RNS) A group of some 80 United Methodist clergy will join in challenging the denomination’s ban on same-sex wedding ceremonies this weekend by jointly officiating at a union service for two lesbians in Sacramento, Calif.

The pastors, from the California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference will be supported by another 65 to 70 clergy from outside the conference who signed on to”officiate in absentia”and whose names will appear in the bulletin for the service.

The Rev. Don Fado of St. Marks United Methodist Church in Sacramento will lead the Jan. 16 service for Jeanne Barnett and Ellie Charlton at the Sacramento Convention Center Theater.

Charlton is a member of the Board of Trustees of the California-Nevada conference and Barnett was a member of a committee established by the denomination’s General Conference in 1988 that studied the issue of homosexuality for four years. The 1992 General Conference _ the church’s highest legislative body _ rejected a proposal to remove negative language about homosexuality from the church’s Book of Discipline.”All are welcome to the table where Christ is the host,”Fado told United Methodist News Service, the denomination’s official news agency in explaining why he is performing the service.”We will conduct a service of holy union in the spirit in which Martin Luther King Jr. made his witness to the truth he found in God’s love,”Fado added. The slain civil rights leader’s birthday is Jan. 15.

In 1996, the General Conference added language to the church’s Social Principles barring United Methodist clergy from conducting same-sex marriages _ a ban the denomination’s Judicial Council ruled carried the weight of church law.”We believe that we are acting in the way in which Jesus Christ would act,”the California-Nevada clergy said in a statement explaining their defiance of church rules.”In order to be obedient to our calling as ministers of Jesus Christ … we believe that we are called to bless loving committed relationships between Christian people, regardless of their sexual orientation.” In a letter to clergy and lay members of the conference, Bishop Melvin Talbert said he would not speculate on what would happen after the ceremony but pledged he and other conference officials would uphold church rules.”We shall await the outcome of the planned event and and respond accordingly,”he said.

Talbert personally does not support the church’s ban on same-sex unions.”So, while I am obliged to uphold church law, I will also continue as a strong advocate to change the position of our church to be more consistent with the teachings and compassion of Jesus,”he said in his letter.

Gospel music industry sees increases in album, video sales

(RNS) The gospel music industry saw a slight increase in album sales and a big jump in video sales in 1998.

Sales figures for contemporary Christian and gospel music rose by 1.4 percent, from 43.9 million units sold in 1997 to 44.6 million units sold in 1998, based on sales reported by SoundScan, a computerized network that collects sales data from cash registers in thousands of retail stores.

The sales increase is much smaller than record sales increases of 32 percent in 1997 and 30 percent in 1996. The significant drop in the increase in record sales did not come as a surprise to industry officials.”We really don’t want a boom, but we want a slow, steady growth,”said Frank Breeden, president of the Gospel Music Association and executive director of the Christian Music Trade Association.”This appears to have delivered to us a modest plateau from which we can build further.” Breeden attributed the drop in the sales increase to the fact that major artists did not release as many projects in 1998.”We know that there were not as many of the major releases that had advantage of a full year of exposure as in 1997,”Breeden told Religion News Service Thursday (Jan. 14).”In 1997, we had a full year of LeAnn Rimes and (Bob Carlisle’s) `Butterfly Kisses’ and we went into the fourth quarter of 1998 thinking we might see a decrease.” Christian music videos, on the other hand, showed a growth of 68.1 percent in 1998, an increase from 281,800 units sold in 1997 to 473,700 units sold in 1998. The majority of the growth is attributed to Bill Gaither’s”Homecoming”series and two children’s video series, Cedarmott Kids and Big Idea Productions’ Veggie Tales.”It is one of the phenomenons of the home video world that we have just excelled at,”said Breeden.”These aren’t primarily artist videos that are selling. These are concept videos that people are buying because they enjoy them.” The top-selling gospel albums from 1998 include a range of Christian music. LeAnn Rimes'”You Light Up My Life”ranked No. 1, with more than 1 million sold. Following that country artist’s inspirational album, the rest of the top five are, in order, Kirk Franklin’s”Nu Nation Project,”the”Touched by an Angel”soundtrack, the”Prince of Egypt”soundtrack and dc Talk’s”Supernatural.” Christian retailers last year regained control of the majority of gospel music sales in the marketplace, with 54 percent of overall Christian music sales. Revenues at Christian chains and independent outlets increased 6.1 percent and 8.3 percent respectively over 1997 amounts. Christian music sales at mainstream outlets dropped 4.8 percent in the same period.

In the overall music industry, Christian music sales represented 6.3 percent of the 711 million records sold. According to SoundScan data, Christian music ranks fifth in size behind R&B, rap, country and soundtracks and ahead of metal, jazz, classical Latin and New Age.

Abortion-rights group says”anti-choice”laws increasing at rapid rate

(RNS) A prominent abortion-rights organization reports that laws it considers to be”anti-choice”are being enacted at a rapid rate.

Such laws have more than quadrupled in the past three years and the number of states where the governor and the majorities of both houses of the legislature are abortion opponents is also on the increase.

The data was released Thursday (Jan. 14) by the Washington-based National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, or NARAL.

NARAL President Kate Michelman said the report shows that U.S. women have fewer reproductive rights today than were available in 1973, the year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women had a constitutional right to an abortion.”There is a disturbing disconnect in our nation between the legal right to choose abortion and access to abortion services,”said Michelman.”Although the majority of Americans support a woman’s right to choose, anti-choice lawmakers have been intense in their efforts to restrict that freedom. Across the nation, women are burdened by onerous restrictions that impede access to abortion.” Restrictions range from bans on counseling that prevent state-funded doctors from discussing abortion as an option to waiting periods and parental consent laws, NARAL said.

The eighth edition of”Who Decides? A State-by-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights,”reported that five states _ California, Connecticut,Oregon, Vermont and Washington _ and the District of Columbia have legislation that is most favorable to the abortion-rights position. It views Louisiana and Washington state as the states that least and most favor abortion rights, respectively.

The report also found that 62 states enacted new anti-abortion laws in 1998 compared with 55 in 1997, a 13 percent increase. Twenty-two laws supporting abortion rights were enacted in 1998. It also found that 16 states have a governor and majorities of both the Senate and House who oppose abortion.

Suspension of a non-celibate priest stirs row in Peru

(RNS) A dispute has erupted in Peru between a Roman Catholic bishop and local parishioners over the bishop’s suspension of their non-celibate priest.”The people of Morrope still want me because ever since I arrived I have respected their customs and traditions,”said the Rev. Jorge Arbanil, the suspended priest.”They think that if a new priest arrives he won’t do the same.” Morrope is a desert town of about 3,500 people in northern Peru about 435 miles northwest of Lima in the diocese of Chiclayo. Late last year, Bishop Labarate Jesus Moline suspended Arbanil for violating his vow of celibacy and, in a Jan. 6 statement, accused the priest of celebrating Mass between six and 10 times a day, whereas local priests are allowed to say Mass only twice a day during the week and three times on Sundays.

Local residents have blocked a new priest appointed by the bishop from taking possession of the parish and harassed him until he left.

The bishop also said that until the new priest is allowed to take possession of the church, the church and the parish office would be closed and all aid from Caritas, the Catholic charity, would be halted, Ecumenical News International reported.

The Associated Press, meanwhile, reported that priests in Peru’s Andes mountains and provincial cities have a long tradition of noncelibacy, with an estimated 50-to-80 percent of them having children.

Experts attribute the high rate of noncelibacy in Peru to pressure put on priests working in Indian communities which often see a man without a family as not being an adult and thus don’t accept him socially.

Sierra Leone archbishop seized; cease fire could set him free

(RNS) Sierra Leone rebels have abducted a Roman Catholic archbishop, the fourth church official recently taken prisoner during civil strife in the African nation.

The rebels said they would release Archbishop Joseph Henry Ganda in exchange for a cease-fire agreement, and the Associated Press reported Thursday (Jan. 14) that a cease-fire agreement had been agreed upon and would commence Saturday (Jan. 16).

Ganda, a Sierra Leone native and archbishop of Freetown, the nation’s capital, was abducted Tuesday or Wednesday, most likely while at home, the Italian Catholic missionary news service MINSA reported Thursday.

Sierra Leone has been wracked by civil war, with rebels fighting the government and a west African intervention force led by Nigeria. As the situation has worsened, the rebels, who have been accused by foreign aid workers of mass atrocities against civilians, have resorted to taking Catholic officials hostage.

One missionary priest, the Rev. Mario Guerra, also remains in custody. Two others, the Revs. Maurizio Boa and Giuliano Pini, who were taken into custody by the rebels after they tried to contact Guerra, have been rescued.

There was no word whether the rebels would also release Guerra once the cease-fire takes effect.

Ramadan ends with new moon sighting

(RNS) Ramadan, the Islamic holy month when Muslims fast during daylight hours, will end next week with the sighting of the new moon, expected Tuesday (Jan. 19).

The month ends with the celebration of the Eid ul-Fitr (“The Feast of Breaking the Fast”), one of two major Muslim holidays. Eid ul-Fitr is marked by gift-giving, family visits, giving charity and a special prayer performed in a congregational setting.

Eid ul-Fitr lasts for three days.

Quote of the day: Patriarch Alexii II of the Russian Orthodox Church

(RNS)”Every year I call on the dean and heads of parish councils to initiate charitable activities at the parish level. But unfortunately not everyone hears my words.” _ Patriarch Alexii II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, appealing for church members to do more to help the needy in the midst of Russia economic crisis as quoted by Ecumenical News International.

DEA END RNS