c. 2008 Religion News ServiceFocus on the Family cuts 200 jobs(RNS) The Colorado-based Focus on the Family will reduce its staff by about 200 positions, citing economic conditions.“There’s still a great demand for the resources we offer,” said Focus spokesman Gary Schneeberger on Tuesday (Nov. 18). “It’s simply a fact that the economy is affecting our donors and, therefore, affecting us.”The staff reductions, which will decrease the number of employees from about 1,150 to about 950, include 149 people whose positions will be eliminated, and 53 vacant positions that will be cut. The ministry founded by religious broadcaster James Dobson also will stop publishing four of its eight magazines.The Colorado Springs, Colo.-based ministry encountered a $5 million shortfall on its $151 million budget in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, Schneeberger said. Donations provide 95 percent of the ministry’s income.The print edition of “Plugged In,” an entertainment review guide for parents, will continue through its online version, Schneeberger said. Three other publications, Breakaway, Brio, and Brio and Beyond, which were aimed at teenagers, will be revamped into online content.“The content that was found in those publications will still be available online, but it will be targeted not at teens but at parents,” he said.One of the four remaining magazines, Citizen, will be reduced from 12 issues to 10 issues a year. Earlier this fall, the ministry cut 46 other staff positions by outsourcing the department that filled orders and distributed books.All of the current changes are related to Focus on the Family, Schneeberger said, and not its political arm, Focus on the Family Action._ Adelle M. BanksCalif. fires destroy hilltop monasteryLOS ANGELES (RNS) The wildfires that have burned approximately 40,000 acres and hundreds of homes in Southern California have also destroyed a historic Episcopal monastery set on a hill in Santa Barbara.Nancy Bullock, guesthouse director for the Mount Calvary Monastery and Guesthouse, said because the 20,000-square-foot Spanish-style home was situated on a hill, residents could see the fire coming before it reached the monastery early Friday (Nov. 14) morning.“We did not wait for a call from the fire department,” she said. “We evacuated before that.”The 22 guests of the monastery were told to leave before the seven resident monks packed up the essentials. Bullock said the only painting saved was a portrait of the Virgin of Guadalupe that hung in the monastery’s chapel. Flames destroyed an antique gold altar from South America and a 17th-century painting depicting Jesus healing a paralytic, along with nearly everything else.Brother Robert Sevensky, superior of the Order of the Holy Cross, the religious community to which the monastery belongs, is flying to the region to access the situation.“We have had a lot of messages of love and support … but they haven’t discerned whether or not to rebuild,” Bullock said.The monastery’s Web site, however, which now features an image of raging flames instead of the monastery itself, quotes Sevenksy as vowing, “We will rebuild.”The monks are temporarily staying at St. Mary’s Retreat House, an Episcopal women’s religious community also located in Santa Barbara. Penny Hurt, retreat coordinator for St. Mary’s, said the monks have been forced to go out and shop for clothes because they have nearly nothing left.Mount Calvary has been in operation since 1948 and is one of four monastic communities belonging to the Order of the Holy Cross. The U.S. and Canada are home to 23 distinct Anglican religious orders in all.Making hospitality one of its principal ministries, Mount Calvary played host to more than 2,000 visitors each year.“When I was in a significant personal crisis, the brothers `adopted’ me, giving me a community at a time when I felt lost,” writes Diana Butler Bass, an expert on American religion and a visitor to the monastery. “They have now lost their home.”_ Lilly Fowler FBI says white powder sent to Mormons is harmlessWASHINGTON (RNS) The FBI said that powdery substances found Thursday (Nov. 13) at buildings owned by two religious groups that supported the gay marriage ban in California were harmless.The bureau is continuing its investigation of the white powder delivered to buildings owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles and a Knights of Columbus building in Connecticut.“The connection is obviously being investigated,” said Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles. “There are similarities that exist with each incident but we have not concluded a link either way at this point.”Both religious organizations strongly supported the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which banned same-sex marriages. The Knights donated about $1.25 million to support the ban, Mormons donated $22 million.Juan Becerra, a spokesman for the FBI in Salt Lake City, said the substance was found in a manila envelope that was delivered to an annex building next to the city’s landmark Mormon temple. A worker there touched the material but “that individual has been fine,” he said.The Salt Lake City temple never closed but the Mormon temple in Los Angeles was closed for several hours.Patrick Korten, spokesman for the Knights of Columbus, said several people were exposed to a white powdery substance in a mailroom that’s located a block away from the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Conn. The office reopened Monday.Michael Otterson, spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the delivery of powder in manila envelopes to church sites was unusual. “I don’t recall anything like this,” he said.But he said he was concerned about the broader attacks and criticisms that have occurred at religious sites across the country since the passage of Proposition 8, including attacks on Mormon missionaries and harassment of other religious people.“This is about a broad attack on religious faiths, not just ours, on people of faith who … cast their vote in a free election,” he said. “This is not America. This is not how we do things in America.”_ Adelle M. BanksFeds say hunger rose in 2007WASHINGTON (RNS) Food insecurity in America continued to rise last year, and participation in the food stamp program is approaching record highs, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday (Nov. 17).In 2007, 11.1 percent of U.S. households reported food insecurity _ what used to be labeled as “hunger” _ up from 10.9 percent in 2006. About 4 percent of households were severely food insecure, meaning one or more adults had to adjust their eating habits because the household lacked resources for food.The food stamp program now has more than 30 million people enrolled, an increase of 9.5 percent from 2006, and half of all babies receive supplemental nutrition from the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, according to the report.“Even before this year’s severe economic downturn, more households were struggling to put food on the table,” said the Rev. David Beckmann, president of the anti-hunger group Bread for the World. “As the crisis continues, federal nutrition programs are working overtime to keep up with the need.”The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) launched an anti-poverty campaign last year that urges local, state and national leaders to pass legislation to end hunger and poverty. They are looking to President-elect Barack Obama to keep campaign promises cut poverty and end child, they said.“We look forward to working in a bipartisan way with a new Congress and administration to realize these goals so that in 10 years from now we are no longer talking about the dramatic increases in hunger and poverty in a nation of plenty,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of JCPA._ Ashley GipsonClergy rally in D.C. for homeowner protectionsWASHINGTON (RNS) Clergy and congregants from more than 40 states gathered in front of the Department of Treasury on Tuesday (Nov. 18) to pray for Secretary Henry Paulson and members of Congress to put an end to the home foreclosure crisis.PICO, a network of faith-based community organizations that helps provide affordable housing, is demanding that the Treasury require all banks receiving a chunk of the federal bailout package to adopt systematic loan modifications that could keep 2 million people from losing their homes, they said.“We want them to look at the bigger picture. Don’t just look at Wall Street, look at Main Street. Look at the man next door who is working hard and really paying taxes,” said Marvin Webb, the assistant pastor of Peniel Full Gospel Baptist Church in El Sobrante, Calif. “We are asking the secretary and Congress to keep people in their homes.”Representatives from cities where the foreclosure crisis has hit the hardest held signs displaying the number of people facing foreclosures, while people who have lost their homes gave their personal accounts. Webb prayed between each testimony.“Remove the veil between the people of this nation and the people in authority. Pierce the veil of Secretary Paulson and Congress and move in their hearts today,” Webb prayed, while the crowd shouted, “Wake up! Wake up, Secretary Paulson!”In the coming weeks, PICO will hold public negotiations with officials in cities where foreclosure numbers are high. They plan to meet with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Senior Obama transition officials to ask for their help in keeping people in their homes.Demonstrators delivered a letter signed by more than 500 clergy to Paulson, asking him to end the foreclosure crisis. “We want them to see the faces of people who are distressed. We want them to take the power they have and adjust loans and mortgages so people can stay in their houses” Webb said._ Ashley GipsonQuote of the Day: Virginia pastor Star R. Scott(RNS) “Deuteronomy says if your kid doesn’t follow your God, kill ’em. That’s what we do, but not physically. To us, you’re dead if you’re not serving our God.”_ Star R. Scott, pastor of Calvary Temple in Loudoun County, Va., which has encouraged some members to shun children who resist its teachings. He was quoted by The Washington Post.KRE END RNS