c. 2006 Religion News Service

Gay Bishop `Disappointed but Not Devastated’ After Convention

COLUMBUS, Ohio (RNS) As he sat back to reflect on his church’s nine-day General Convention meeting, Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire said he was “disappointed but not devastated.”

For Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, the gathering held astonishing highs, such as the election of the church’s first female presiding bishop, and dampening lows, such as the approval of a de facto halt to any more gay or lesbian bishops.

“This church knows what the right thing is,” Robinson said, “it’s just not quite ready to stand up for it.”

The convention, which ended Wednesday (June 21), brought Episcopalians together to try to hammer out a compromise on sexuality issues; that included a promise to “exercise restraint” when considering gay bishops.

“We heard from the presiding bishop-elect (Katharine Jefferts Schori) that she is absolutely committed to the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church,” Robinson said.

But Episcopal leaders feared that if their 2.2 million-member church did not respond to other Anglican leaders’ demands for a moratorium on the election of gay bishops, it would essentially cut itself out of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

“If this is what we had to do to stay in conversation” with the rest of the Anglican Communion, “then we did it,” Robinson said. “In some sense their bluff has been called.”

In an extraordinary move, Jefferts Schori addressed lay and ordained delegates in the House of Deputies and urged them to pass the resolution.

Though Robinson said he was surprised by Jefferts Schori’s push, he also said that the church had elected a leader, and it was clear that she could be effective.

“She turned that house around,” he said. “I hope it’s worth it.”

_ Daniel Burke

Muslims Cheer Bush Move to Close Gitmo

(RNS) Muslim Americans are welcoming President Bush’s announcement Wednesday (June 21) that he wants to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, where the U.S. is holding some 400 Muslim prisoners.

“I think it’s a very good first step forward. The president and this administration are beginning to recognize that Guantanamo is really a stain on our system of justice and undermines our claims that America upholds democratic values,” said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, an organization of Muslim lawyers in North America.

“I’d like to end Guantanamo, I’d like it to be over with,” Bush told European leaders gathered in Vienna to discuss the war on terror, Iran’s nuclear program and trade. “One of the things we will do is send people back to their home countries,” Bush added, without setting a time frame.

The White House has come under considerable criticism from European allies, Muslim leaders and human rights group for maintaining the Guantanamo prison, where hundreds of Muslim prisoners have been held without charge, some for almost five years. Most were captured in Afghanistan on suspicion that they belonged to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Long-running allegations by human rights groups that U.S. soldiers have tortured and abused prisoners have further damaged America’s reputation and undermined its foreign policy efforts. On June 10, three Guantanamo prisoners were found dead from suicides, while other prisoners there have also tried to kill themselves.

“It’s obviously long overdue,” Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations, said of Bush’s announcement. “The existence of Guantanamo Bay and the allegations of abuse are harming our nation’s image in Muslim countries and in other countries.”

Khera said it will take more than closing Guantanamo to improve America’s image. The administration should also shut down secret prisons that it has been accused of running in Europe, and improve conditions in prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq, where prisoners have also reportedly been abused.

“It’s not just Muslims who are concerned about Guantanamo. Many Americans are concerned about Guantanamo because we believe the fight against terror is really a battle of ideals. And if we promote justice and equality, then we have to practice what we preach. That’s what is so troubling to Muslims and so many others,” Khera said.

_ Omar Sacirbey

Churches Blast `Immoral’ Minimum Wage as Senate Defeats Proposed Boost

WASHINGTON (RNS) The Senate shot down two proposals to raise the minimum wage Wednesday (June 21), a setback for a coalition of churches and community groups that had lobbied to increase what it called an immorally low hourly pay.

The group, Let Justice Roll, which includes the American Baptist Churches USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church and dozens of state religious groups, had endorsed an amendment by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that would have raised the nationwide minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $9.25 over three years.

The Senate voted 52-46 in favor of Kennedy’s proposal, but a parliamentary procedure required 60 votes for the measure to pass. A competing proposal by Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., that would have raised the minimum wage to $7.25 in three years and provide tax cuts for some businesses also was defeated, 45-53.

“We will continue to work very hard both at the federal level and at the state level,” said the Rev. Paul Sherry, a former president of the United Church of Christ who heads up Let Justice Roll.

Sherry counted as victories three states’ moves to raise minimum wages later this year. “This particular issue is an issue which cuts across many, many ideological lines and faith-based lines,” he said.

Many Republicans have opposed increasing the minimum wage, arguing that doing so would raise inflation and squeeze small businesses, which would be unable to pay higher wages.

The federal minimum wage has not been changed since 1997, though 18 states and the District of Columbia have raised their own minimum wages in recent years. Michigan, West Virginia and Arkansas recently passed their own increases as well, though they have not yet gone into effect.

Without overtime or any other compensation, the federal wage amounts to about $11,000 annually for one person, while the official poverty line for one person living alone was about $9,600 last year. For a family of four, the poverty line was $19,350 that same year.

“This isn’t for us a political issue _ it’s a moral issue,” Sherry said. “It’s immoral that the minimum wage keeps people in poverty instead of out of poverty.”

_ Peter Sachs

Methodist Membership Drops Below 8 Million for First Time in 80 Years

(RNS) A United Methodist Church report says church membership dipped to a new low last year, dropping to under 8 million in the United States for the first time in nearly 80 years.

The church’s General Council on Finance and Administration estimated U.S. membership at 7.98 million members in 2005. The church’s global membership is estimated at about 9.86 million.

Membership among the Methodists _ like most mainline Protestant churches _ has been dropping slowly but steadily since the formation of the denomination in 1968.

In addition to fewer members, church attendance dropped 1.63 percent from 2004 to 2005, to about 3.34 million each week, according to United Methodist News Service.

The trend of declining membership, however, is exclusive to the United States; regions of the church in Africa, Asia and Europe have increased membership more than 68 percent between 1995 and 2004.

At a convocation next year, bishops and other ministers plan “to focus on how we can make disciples of Jesus Christ and improve our efforts at strengthening local congregations,” said Bishop Scott Jones of Wichita, Kan.

That plan includes new congregations in the United States and outreach to Hispanics and immigrant groups.

_ J. Edward Mendez

Quote of the Day: Humorist Art Buchwald

(RNS) “I believe there is a God, but he’s not the one all the religions claim. The Christian religion, the Jewish religion, the Muslim religion _ if you believe in their God, other people will say you’re an infidel. There’s a God out there, but not the one that causes all the trouble in the world.”

_ Humorist Art Buchwald, in an interview with Time magazine.

KRE/PH END RNS