c. 2005 Religion News Service
Christian Group’s Ads Target Senate Majority Leader on Stem Cells
WASHINGTON (RNS) A conservative Christian group is launching ads in the crucial presidential proving grounds of Iowa to pressure Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to change his new position on embryonic stem cell research.
The Center for Reclaiming America, part of the Rev. D. James Kennedy’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ministry, will run television, radio and print ads in Iowa that say Frist supports research “that destroys human life.”
In July, Frist broke with President Bush and endorsed federal funding for embryo research, a switch that has angered many conservative groups. Frist, a heart surgeon, had previously opposed the research.
Frist, a Republican, has said he plans to leave the Senate next year and is widely thought to be mulling a race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
“Sen. Frist has made a tragic and grave error in endorsing public funding of research that destroys human life,” said Gary Cass, director of the Center for Reclaiming America. “Sen. Frist’s current position … abandons the principle that every innocent life is sacred.”
Conservative groups oppose the research because embryos _ which many consider to be nascent human life _ must be destroyed to harvest the stem cells that scientists say could hold cures for a host of diseases.
The ads urge people to call Frist’s office and urge him to “stand with President Bush” in opposing efforts to expand federal funding. A Frist spokesman was unavailable Thursday.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Churches Urged to Toll Bells for Military Killed in Iraq
(RNS) Churches across the country are being asked to ring their bells Sunday (Aug. 28) to extend the “profoundly spiritual tone” of anti-war protests outside President Bush’s Texas ranch and to mourn U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq.
The request from Faithful America, a progressive online advocacy group started by the National Council of Churches, also asks churches to toll a bell each Sunday for every soldier who died the previous week.
But the bells are also meant to show solidarity with Cindy Sheehan, Celeste Zappala and the mothers who founded Gold Star Families for Peace. Sheehan is camped outside Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, waiting for a meeting with the president.
“Let us all pause to remember their sacrifice, to remember their families as we seek God’s help in sharing the burden of Cindy Sheehan, Celeste Zappala and the other Gold Star families,” said Vince Isner, the director of FaithfulAmerica.org.
The head of the NCC, the Rev. Bob Edgar, has participated in the protest with Sheehan and Zappala. Edgar, an outspoken opponent of the war, said he got the idea for tolling bells from former presidential candidate Ralph Nader.
Isner said the bells are meant to keep “attention focused on the well-being of our heroic men and women in uniform and the families who worry about them every day.”
The NCC is an umbrella group for 35 mainline Protestant, Orthodox and historically black churches.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Israel’s Supreme Court Approves Destruction of Synagogues
JERUSALEM (RNS) Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday (Aug. 23) that all synagogues in the now-vacated Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank should be destroyed, but that everything portable must be relocated to Israel.
The court was responding to a petition by Jewish settlers who objected to the government’s plan to destroy all Jewish religious institutions _ 30 synagogues as well as eight yeshivas and seminaries _ in Gaza. The destruction would be part of the government’s withdrawal of residents and troops from 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the northern West Bank.
Israel’s military is in the process of leveling all homes, schools and other buildings in the once-thriving settlements as part of its Disengagement Plan, which began Aug. 15. The territory is expected to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority within weeks.
The Palestinians plan to build several high-rise apartment buildings to ease some of the overcrowding in Gaza, which is home to 1.3 million Arabs. About 8,000 Jews lived nearby prior to the evacuation.
Israel’s Defense Ministry told the court that fully relocating the synagogues was not possible logistically, but that the army would do everything in its power to remove all religious objects and furniture prior to the demolitions.
The court ordered the military to transport stained-glass windows, memorial plaques and all other objects from the synagogues’ interiors, and whenever possible to do the same with exterior building stones.
The settlements’ synagogues were the center of religious and communal life in the communities, where the vast majority of residents were Orthodox Jews. Many took refuge in the houses of worship when Israeli soldiers arrived to evict them, and refused to leave voluntarily. Although some clashed violently with security forces, most left the synagogues in tears, wearing prayer shawls and carrying Torah scrolls.
An Israeli army spokesperson said that the demolitions “are a better option than the alternative: the desecration of the synagogues by Palestinians.”
_ Michele Chabin
At Border, Religious Leaders to Protest U.S. Immigration Policies
(RNS) Religious leaders will gather at the border between Mexico and Arizona on Monday (Aug. 29) to call for U.S. immigration reform due to the hazardous conditions facing migrants.
This has been one of the deadliest years for migrants, with some 358 deaths this U.S. fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, said the Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches.
“The deaths are continuing as a result of a broken legal immigration system,” he said.
The interfaith mission of Christians and Jews will re-enact a migrant’s trail, walking from Nogales, Mexico, to Nogales, Ariz., to see for themselves the trials of crossing the desert to reach America. Afterward, they will hold a “Witness for Life” service and press conference in Tucson, Ariz.
“Criminal immigrant-smuggling gangs, vigilante violence and the exploitation of undocumented migrants have made our borders dangerously unsafe,” said David Elcott, director of interrreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee. “This country’s historic role as a safe haven for those coming to its shores is being seriously compromised.”
Currently, there are two bills before Congress for comprehensive immigration reform, Elcott said.
The coalition is not endorsing either one, but is calling for certain principles such as the humanitarian responsibility to protect life, the end of vigilantism and the right of migrants to legally work and earn citizenship, he said.
“The legislation would improve national security through enhanced border security and effective enforcement, while protecting those most vulnerable in our society through earned legalization and increased worker protections,” Elcott said.
Religious leaders expected to participate in the mission include Elder Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA; Gideon Aronoff, vice president of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society; and the Rev. Lori Sauder of the executive council of the United Church of Christ.
_ Rachel Pomerance
Christian Publishing Company Names New Chief Executive
(RNS) The Christian publishing company Thomas Nelson has named Michael S. Hyatt as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sam Moore, who will remain as chairman of the board.
“This change is part of the management succession process designed to ensure that our company will continue to grow well into the future,” Moore said in a statement released Aug. 18 by the Nashville, Tenn.-based company.
In 2004, Hyatt succeeded Moore as president and also became the company’s chief operating officer.
“We are thrilled that Sam Moore has agreed to serve in a capacity that will allow the company to continue to benefit from the depth of his wisdom and breadth of his experience,” Hyatt said in a statement. “He is a true pioneer in the field of Bible and inspirational publishing.”
Hyatt, 50, joined Thomas Nelson for the second time in 1998 as vice president and associate publisher for the Nelson Books division. He was vice president of marketing for Thomas Nelson in the mid-’80s, then started Wolgemuth & Hyatt, his own publishing company, in 1986; it was acquired by Word Publishing in 1992. The author of four books, he was a literary agent from 1992 to 1998.
Moore, who sold Bibles door-to-door early in his career, has shaped Thomas Nelson into one of the largest Christian publishing companies, producing the New King James Version of the Bible and other inspirational items.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Day: Taize community leader Alois Leser
(RNS) “With Christ on the cross we say to you, Father, forgive her, she does not know what she did.”
_ The Rev. Alois Leser, the new leader of the Taize ecumenical community in France, praying during the funeral of slain Taize founder Brother Roger Schutz. Schutz was stabbed by a Romanian woman, Luminita Solcan, during a Taize prayer service. Leser prayed that Solcan would be forgiven for the murder. He was quoted by The New York Times.
MO/PH END RNS
