c. 2003 Religion News Service
ADL: Anti-Jewish Incidents Up 25 Percent on Campuses
(RNS) The number of anti-Jewish incidents in the United States increased slightly from 2001 to 2002 but similar incidents reported on campuses rose 25 percent in 2002, the Anti-Defamation League reported in its annual audit.
The total of anti-Jewish incidents reported against Jews and Jewish institutions rose from 1,432 in 2001 to 1,559 in 2002, reports the ADL’s Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, issued Wednesday (March 26).
“We are deeply concerned that despite the strides we have made over the years, anti-Semitic incidents continue to be carried out in large numbers,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director.
“While we can take comfort that this year’s numbers have not increased substantially, it is unsettling that we are still experiencing anti-Semitism at an average rate of four incidents per day.”
The incidents cited in the report include physical and verbal assaults, property defacement and vandalism, hateful e-mail messages and harassment. Some of the most serious occurrences were three arsons, three attempted arsons, one attempted bombing, six bomb threats and seven cemetery desecrations.
The number of anti-Semitic incidents on campus increased for the third straight year. There were 106 incidents reported in 2002, compared to 85 in 2001.
States reporting the largest number of incidents were New York: 302 (down from 408 in 2001); California: 223 (up from 122); New Jersey: 171 (down from 192); Massachusetts: 129 (up from 126); Pennsylvania: 101 (up from 61); and Florida: 93 (down from 115).
Editors: Following material suitable for graphic
Anti-Semitic Incidents
Total
2002: 1,559
2001: 1,432
On Campus
2002: 106
2001: 85
Source: Anti-Defamation League
Adelle M. Banks
Palau Breaks U.S. Ministry Record With 300,000 at Beachfest in Florida
(RNS) Evangelist Luis Palau preached to about 300,000 people last weekend (March 22-23), breaking U.S. records for his ministry, during Beachfest, a two-day evangelistic spring break gathering in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Police estimated the crowd was 200,000 on Saturday and 100,000 on Sunday, ministry officials said.
“Determining crowd size at this level is difficult, but it’s exciting for us as a team to know we had our first and second largest crowds in the U.S. back-to-back this weekend,” said Andrew Palau, Beachfest director and son of the Argentinian evangelist.
During the gathering, Palau led a prayer for the nation in a time of war.
“This is something none of us want, but we know we can trust you,” Palau prayed, including requests for protection for the troops and thoughts of their families, President Bush and innocent Iraqi residents.
Ministry officials estimated that more than 1 million people heard the prayer because the event was linked via satellite to more than 300 locations in North America and aired live on more than 1,500 radio stations across the United States.
The event featured sports and musical activities, including performances by Christian artists such as tobyMac, Mary Mary and Avalon. It involved 1,100 churches and had sponsors ranging from Pepsi to the Miami Dolphins.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Report Says Lutheran Pastors Are Underpaid
(RNS) It’s no secret that clergy don’t enter their jobs for the money, but a new report shows that more than half of Lutheran pastors aren’t being paid enough according to church guidelines.
A survey of pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America found that 20 percent of pastors earned salaries that were at least $10,000 below standards set by their regional synods.
The survey was based on a sample of 10 percent of the church’s 65 synods. Pastors’ salaries are paid by individual congregations and vary by region. The average salary for an ELCA pastor in 2000 was $45,838.
The low pay is creating problems for retiring clergy, according to the church’s Board of Pensions. Because a portion of a pastor’s salary is designated for his or her retirement, low salaries mean low pensions.
One solution would be for the church to boost retirement benefits for underpaid clergy, at a cost of at least $4.4 million. The report called this option “far less effective” and said it would not address the larger problem of low salaries.
“We can’t create money,” said T. Van Matthews, a Board of Pensions trustee, according to a church news release. “The Board of Pensions is very good, but we aren’t magicians.”
A special fund for low-income retirees that was started 10 years ago has only $2 million in the bank. The salary report will be considered by the ELCA’s Church Council when it meets in Chicago April 4-7.
A recent study by Duke University’s Pulpit and Pew Project found that clergy salaries continue to deter potential pastors and cramp ministers’ callings. The report said churches should abandon free-market approaches that determine salaries and narrow the gap between what large and small congregations can pay their pastors.
The Duke study found that Lutherans, like other so-called “connectional” denominations that set standards for salaries, face a huge gap between small and large churches. In small churches _ which make up more than half of all congregations _ the median salary was $36,000. In large churches _ just 6 percent of all congregations _ it was $66,000.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Bibles, Other Religious Book Sales High in January
(RNS) Preparation for war may have boosted sales of Bibles and other religious books in America, the Financial Times reported.
U.S. publishers collected almost $15 million in religious book revenues in January.
“Is this a result of the war? … A fear of the unknown? Could be,” said Mark Rice, a spokesman for Zondervan, a leading Bible publisher.
Revenues from the company’s Bible sales in January were 10 percent higher than the year before _ and the earlier sales had been influenced by the Sept. 11 attacks.
In other religious book sales developments, Publishers Weekly’s Religion Bookline reported that religion titles continued to fare well in 2002, though they did not top the magazine’s annual fiction or nonfiction lists as they did in 2001.
“The Remnant,” the 10th book in the “Left Behind” series, ranked third among all fiction titles, with sales of more than 1.8 million.
The top 15 nonfiction titles included five books released by evangelical Christian publishers, with each selling more than 600,000 copies.
“A Life God Rewards” by Bruce Wilkinson was in the No. 2 spot, with sales of more than 1,186,000. It was followed by “Let’s Roll” by Lisa Beamer with Ken Abraham, ranking third with more than 958,000 in sales.
Quote of the Day: Jim Wallis, executive director and editor of Sojourners magazine
(RNS) “Nobody should be surprised that a vastly superior American fighting force will vanquish a vastly inferior Iraqi army. But one of America’s worst characteristics is hoping that success wipes away all the moral questions. In the long run, it won’t. War is always ugly and this one will be too.”
_ Jim Wallis, executive director and editor of Sojourners magazine, writing on “The Lessons of War.”
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