c. 2003 Religion News Service
Episcopal Leader Says Oversight to Come From U.S. Bishops
(RNS) The top leader of the Episcopal Church said American bishops _ not leaders of the Anglican Communion or conservative overseas prelates _ will provide special “pastoral care” for disgruntled U.S. conservatives.
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold said parishioners who oppose church policies on homosexuality and want guidance from like-minded bishops should not expect “direct intervention” from their allies in Africa or Asia.
That is the understanding shared by the leader of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Griswold said. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion.
“I have been in consultation with the Archbishop and … he made it clear that the responsibility for working out a form of extended episcopal ministry lies within our province,” Griswold said in a Dec. 5 letter.
He said the arrangement, which flowed from an emergency summit of Anglican leaders in London in October, “does not involve some kind of direct intervention” from Canterbury.
Griswold’s plan got the approval of his Council of Advice, comprised of nine bishops from across the country. Seven of the nine bishops voted to confirm the election of openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson last summer.
Conservatives, however, say Williams supports their plans for a “realignment” of the U.S. church. An emerging “network” of dioceses and parishes, overseen by Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, is “being formed at the recommendation of the Archbishop of Canterbury,” said the Rev. David Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council.
The U.S. bishops, at their March meeting, will consider a draft plan to provide “pastoral care” _ but not authority or oversight _ to conservatives.
In a related development, the Anglican Primate of Australia, Archbishop Peter Carnley of Perth, was named Griswold’s replacement on dialogue with Roman Catholics. Griswold resigned after coming under fire for his support of Robinson’s election.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
NonProfit Times Names Habitat President `2003 Executive of the Year’
(RNS) The NonProfit Times has named Habitat for Humanity International President Millard Fuller as its “2003 Executive of the Year.”
Fuller co-founded the Americus, Ga.-based organization with his wife, Linda, in 1976 to work to eliminate poverty housing. The Christian ministry has built more than 150,000 homes around the world.
“At a time when charities nationwide are struggling to make ends meet, Fuller’s innovation and success with such a vast and necessary movement is noteworthy,” the semimonthly publication for nonprofit management wrote in its Dec. 1 issue.
“His progressive ideas and marketing know-how keep the 27-year-old movement relevant.”
The publication said one of Fuller’s more recent ventures is the Global Village and Discovery Center in Americus, an attraction that gives visitors a sense of ghettos abroad and models of Habitat homes built in those regions.
It also recognized Fuller for his promotional prowess, evidenced by Habitat’s use of the terms “sweat equity” for hard work and “theology of the hammer” to emphasize action.
The ministry’s total revenue has almost doubled since 1996 to $747.9 million in 2002, the publication reported. Public support jumped from about $196.8 million to $416.6 million in the same period.
“I am extremely grateful and honored by this recognition from The NonProfit Times,” Fuller said in a statement. “Habitat for Humanity and the many dedicated people involved in this movement are leading the way to make homeownership a reality for more and more families in need of a simple, decent place to call home.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Pakistanis Return College to Presbyterians
(RNS) A Pakistani college that had been under control of the Islamic government has been given back to the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf oversaw the handover of Forman Christian College in Lahore during a ceremony on Dec. 6. Musharraf is a graduate of the school, founded by Presbyterian missionaries in 1864.
A 1972 policy nationalized all schools and colleges in Pakistan, a decision that Musharraf called “bad public policy,” according to Presbyterian News Service.
“The nationalized institutions have done a disservice to the cause of education in Pakistan,” he said. “One must not interfere in the working of institutions that are delivering and doing well. Rather, such institutions should be allowed to flourish.”
The Louisville, Ky.-based denomination has one other college in Pakistan _ Gordon College in Rawalpindi _ that it hopes to take back soon. Peter Armacost, president emeritus of church-affiliated Eckerd College in Florida, will serve as Forman’s principal.
“All in all, it was a very good day for the college,” Armacost said.
Last year, at least two Presbyterian missionary schools were attacked by gunmen, although students survived unharmed. Several Pakistanis were killed in the attacks.
Musharraf said the overwhelming Muslim nation must not be afraid of Western schools and values. “Is our faith and religion so weak that we cannot face people of other religions?” he said.
“We have our own history, culture, values and traditions. We must learn our own language, but at the same time we must know that learning English is essential for attaining proficiency in communication and dealing with other nations.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Graham’s Music Director Gives Collection to Southern Seminary
(RNS) Cliff Barrows, the longtime music director for Billy Graham’s evangelistic team, has donated his collection of hymnals and music books to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Barrows, 80, has served beside Graham since 1945 and has collected hymnals from the countries the Graham crusades visited, reported Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
When he moved from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C., this fall, he decided to relocate his collection at that time.
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to use all those hymnals,” Barrows said. “I wanted to give them to a library that will allow people to continue to use them.”
In November, he donated his 298 hymnals and 13 other music-related volumes to the Boyce Centennial Library at the seminary in Louisville, Ky. That library also houses a collection of materials from the early years of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
The books include songbooks from Graham crusades, solo and duet songbooks used by the ministry and compilations by Barrows.
“We believe that the crusade compilations in particular will quickly become important for research as both the generations that sang those songs and the songs themselves fade from memory,” said Bruce L. Keisling, the seminary’s librarian.
“The collection will provide insight into the role and use of music in the Graham crusades, and very importantly, complements the existing collection of Graham materials in Boyce Library.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Japanese Cardinal Calls for Vatican Council, Autonomy for Local Churches
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A ranking Vatican official called Wednesday (Dec.
10) for a new Vatican Council to discuss “greater automony” for the local churches in how they go about evangelizing and conducting their pastoral work.
Japanese Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, issued the call in an interview with La Famiglia Cristiana, Italy’s largest selling weekly magazine.
“We of the Roman Curia must pay more attention to and have more respect for the local churches,” he said. “The Roman Curia is used to instructing, teaching and correcting. I would like that, conscious that we carry out a service to the pope and to the church, we might be more inclined to listen, aid and encourage.”
Hamao, 73, a convert to Christianity who became a cardinal at the Consistory held in October, has previously spoken out for decentralization within the Catholic Church, but this was the first time he has gone so far as to publicly advocate a Third Vatican Council of bishops.
The cardinal said the synods of bishops held regularly at the Vatican could not meet the need for major changes in the church because they are consultative and lack the authority to impose their recommendations.
Of the 21 so-called ecumenical councils in church history, only the last two met in the Vatican. Vatican I, held 1869-70, issued the proclamation of papal infallibility as church dogma, while Vatican II, 1962-65, dealt with renewal and modernization of the church and with ecumenism.
“I hold a new council necessary above all to discuss the necessity for greater autonomy for the local churches. For this, synods are not enough: they are only consultative and often repetitive,” Hamao said. “The local churches, which are not made up of children, must have more authority to plan evangelization and carry out pastoral work among their peoples.”
Hamao cited a complaint often made by pastoral bishops that officials of the Roman Curia, the church’s administrative bodies, exercise too much authority over liturgical translations, often without knowing the local language.
“Why translations of liturgical texts must be approved by Rome is not understood,” he said. “No one knows Japanese here, but before being used, a text in this language must be evaluated by the Roman Curia.
“Observations like this have been made many times in the synods. Uselessly. I am convinced that the local churches must have greater decision-making power,” the cardinal said. He urged the application of the principle of subsidiarity, which holds that what can be done at a lower level should not be done at a higher level.
Hamao said that other subjects for a council could be bioethics, changes in forms of matrimony and the family and a new way to plan pastoral activity.
“For centuries the motor of pastoral work has been the parish,” he said. “Today with people’s growing mobility we must think of a pastorate on two wheels: the parish, certainly, but to be renewed and another form adopted to accompany those who don’t” relate to the parish.
Hamao’s council deals with such groups as migrant workers, students and circus troupes and recently started a ministry to America’s Cup contenders and others involved in sailing competitions.
_ Peggy Polk
Quote of the Day: Outgoing Promise Keepers President Bill McCartney
(RNS) “It is significant that God chose a black man to take the mantle of leadership for this organization. This move of the spirit of God being handed to an African-American is no small thing, as men of color need to be embraced and challenged and know they are valued in the body of Christ.”
_ Outgoing Promise Keepers President Bill McCartney, speaking at a farewell dinner in Denver as he handed the leadership of his evangelical men’s ministry over to Tom S. Fortson.
DEA END RNS
