c. 2006 Religion News Service
Presbyterian Church (USA) Cuts 75 National Staff Positions
(RNS) The Presbyterian Church (USA) announced Monday (May 1) that 75 national staff jobs will be cut at its Louisville, Ky., headquarters, along with 55 positions in its overseas missionary force.
The reductions amount to “the most radical restructuring” of the mainline Protestant denomination’s mission program since 1993, Presbyterian News Service reported.
Most of the 75 national staff cuts were effective immediately, while others will occur by October.
The church’s General Assembly Council, which functions as its board of directors, determined that the cuts were necessary to reduce the mission budget by $9.15 million.
The changes will eliminate three churchwide divisions: Congregational Ministries, National Ministries and Worldwide Ministries. The senior executives of those divisions will be among those whose jobs will be eliminated Oct. 1.
“The senior staff felt that our witness would be strengthened by realizing the significant savings that would come from reorganizing the senior leadership level to also focus on the objectives rather than programs,” said the Rev. John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly Council.
Among programs that will be eliminated are those related to criminal justice, environmental justice and older-adult ministries.
Programs related to small and rural churches, racial and ethnic caucuses and staffing in a Washington office will be scaled back.
Detterick said the new “Mission Work Plan” realizes a goal to increase support of ministries of congregations and presbyteries, the regional groupings of Presbyterian churches.
“We didn’t do this just to cut a budget,” he said. “In moving to an objective-based structure, we will be in a stronger position to facilitate the mission activities of the presbyteries and congregations of the PC(USA).”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Gallup Analysis: Southerners Have Highest Church Attendance Rate
(RNS) Americans living in Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina are most likely to attend church on a regular basis, a new analysis by the Gallup Organization shows.
Fifty-eight percent of people polled in each of those Southern states said they attended church weekly or almost weekly, according to data released April 27. Utah, a predominantly Mormon state, was not far behind, with 55 percent reporting similar attendance.
Analysts for the Princeton, N.J.-based research organization looked at more than 68,000 interviews conducted in the past two years to determine which states have the highest and lowest church attendance.
Overall, 42 percent of Americans say they attend church or synagogue once a week or almost every week while 43 percent say they seldom or never attend worship services.
The New England states of New Hampshire (24 percent), Vermont (24 percent) and Rhode Island (28 percent) were among the states where people reported the lowest levels of regular attendance.
Western states, most notably Nevada (27 percent), also reported low levels of regular attendance. Thirty-two percent of respondents in each of three other Western states _ Washington, California and Oregon _ reported attending church weekly or almost weekly.
Residents of some Midwestern states reported high church attendance, most notably Nebraska (53 percent).
The breakdown for weekly and almost weekly attendance in some states follows:
Alabama: 58 percent
Louisiana: 58 percent
South Carolina: 58 percent
Mississippi: 57 percent
Nebraska: 53 percent
California: 32 percent
Rhode Island: 28 percent
Nevada: 27 percent
Vermont: 24 percent
New Hampshire: 24 percent
_ Adelle M. Banks
Alzheimer’s Foundation Reaches Out to Religious Communities
(RNS) More than 200 houses of worship around the country will take part in a national education initiative run by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.
The May 5-6 event will offer materials about Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses, caregiving and community resources. Some organizations will also hold workshops or memory screenings.
Eric J. Hall, chief executive officer of the foundation, said the “Memory Care Connection” program hopes to “remove some of the stigma that surrounds this disease and encourage people to reach out for help.”
May is Older Americans Month, and Alzheimer’s affects one in 10 Americans age 65 and over, and nearly half those age 85 and over. According to the foundation, the incidence of the disease is expected to triple by mid-century.
The campaign seeks to use religious communities to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s, but researchers say spirituality can also play a role in treatment.
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for instance, recommends caregivers help patients to continue to practice their faith since it may help revive childhood memories and provides an opportunity for the patient to interact with loved ones.
Religious groups have taken notice and are beginning to offer more Alzheimer’s-related ministry, from support groups to prayer books meant to be used by caregivers and patients.
Scientists have found other uses for religious communities as they pursue understanding of the disease. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is currently conducting a study of more than 1,000 Catholic priests, nuns and brothers to track the progression of Alzheimer’s and identify possible risk factors. Researchers say members of religious communities are ideal subjects for this type of study because they tend to have relatively uniform lifestyles.
_ Anne Pessala
Schiavo Family Joins Fight Over Mass. Girl in Vegetative State
WESTFIELD, Mass. (RNS) The family of Terri Schiavo has lent its support to the case of a 12-year-old Massachusetts girl whom state officials sought to have removed from life support.
In a recent letter to Gov. W. Mitt Romney, family members cite the case of Haleigh Poutre, who, much like Schiavo, looms large in the nation’s right-to-life debate. The family said Haleigh’s case highlights the need for reform in the way the state handles end-of-life cases.
Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman, died in March 2005 amid much uproar and controversy, after her husband fought her parents to remove her feeding tube.
Schiavo’s father, Robert S. Schindler, said Friday (April 28) this marks the family’s first major public support of another end-of-life case.
“The parallel is the evaluation of human life,” Schindler said. “They made a quick diagnosis of this girl without doing it in the proper manner.”
Haleigh, deemed by her doctors last September to be in a “persistent vegetative state,” made headlines this year when the state Department of Social Services sought a “do not resuscitate order” and the removal of her feeding tube and ventilator.
Haleigh _ battered, emaciated and in a vegetative state _ was hospitalized Sept. 11. The state took custody of Haleigh after her adoptive mother and stepfather were charged with severely beating her.
The state Supreme Judicial Court issued a Jan. 17 decision approving the removal of life support, but the court had not been aware that the girl was showing signs of improvement the week before.
The order was never carried out. Haleigh, now eating, breathing and communicating on her own, continues to recuperate at Boston Rehabilitation Hospital, officials have said.
The letter, sent by the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation Inc., makes a number of recommendations to Romney, including giving public access to court proceedings involving the removal of life-prolonging medical treatment or food or water from children in juvenile care protection situations.
“Haleigh’s shocking story demonstrates that much more needs to be done to protect the sick and disabled from harm, including harm imposed by courts,” the letter states.
The letter also calls for increasing the standard of evidence required to remove life support. “It’s subjective because it’s a one-way ticket,” Schindler said of a persistent vegetative state diagnosis. “If they label you with PVS, it’s a fast track to premature death.”
_ George Graham
Quote of the Day: Terry Delph, Co-founder of a Home-school Football League
“You can be a Christian, hit really hard on the football field and still glorify God.”
_ Terry Delph, co-founder of the Central Maryland Christian Crusaders, a football team for home-schooled children, quoted in the Washington Times.
KRE/PH END RNS
