c. 2003 Religion News Service

Greek Monk Killed During Standoff at Monastery

(RNS) A 25-year-old monk was killed when he accidentally drove off a cliff while trying to avoid a police barricade of a controversial Greek monastery.

The death of the monk, Tryfonas, is thought to be the first death in the ongoing standoff between the 117 monks at Esphigmenou monastery on Mount Athos, and the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, who has ordered the monks evicted.

According to the Associated Press, the monk died early Saturday (Feb. 8) when he tried to retrieve a tractor outside the monastery grounds. He accidentally drove off the cliff trying to avoid a police blockade.

The Esphigmenou monks were ordered out of the 1,000-year-old monastery after Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew called them “schismatic” last year. The monks disagree with Bartholomew’s relationships with the Vatican.

When the monks refused to leave, Bartholomew ordered all food shipments cut off and Greek police surrounded the monastery, with orders to expel anyone who leaves it. The police have said they will not storm the monastery, and the monks say they have enough supplies to last two years.

Supporters accuse Bartholomew of starving the monks in pursuit of their scenic seaside property. On Feb. 1, hundreds of supporters carrying “Orthodoxy or Death” banners rallied outside the monastery to protest the eviction order.

Esphigmenou is one of Orthodoxy’s oldest monasteries, located on a peninsula with 20 other monasteries. Women and female livestock are banned from the grounds.

John Rigas, a Boston church member and a supporter of the Esphigmenou monks, said the one American among the monks has left the monastery and is back in the United States.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Methodists, Brethren Say Giving Is Down for 2002

(RNS) An already-bleak financial picture for the mainline Protestant churches got worse when the United Methodists and Church of the Brethren reported that giving was down for 2002.

Giving from local congregations to the United Methodist Church fell more than $1.5 million last year, to a total of about $113 million. The money, which is funneled through regional conferences, represented 88.5 percent of budget targets set in 2000; last year, the church received 90.1 percent of its budget goals.

Sandra Lackore, the church’s treasurer, said local conferences had been hit hard by the sagging stock market, rising unemployment, drought in some areas and higher health insurance costs.

Lackore said that 33 local conferences met or exceeded their promised giving, but eight conferences who could not meet their budget goals “significantly impacted” the 2002 budget, according to United Methodist News Service.

Officials at the Church of the Brethren are expecting a deficit of $709,330 from 2002 once audits are completed. Church officials said the $3.2 million given by local congregations was down $41,000 from 2001.

Brethren officials also blamed stock market losses and lower bequests for some of the declines. Church leaders underspent the budget by $184,000 last year, but still project a shortfall of $400,000 in 2003 that will grow to $500,000 in 2004 because expenses are growing faster than income.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Churches Uniting In Christ Sees, Fosters Local Ecumenism

(RNS) A year after its inauguration, the Churches Uniting in Christ, a new ecumenical effort, is taking shape with occasional gatherings across denominational lines and hopes for many more.

The Rev. Bertrice Wood, the director of the collaboration, said she’s received calls and e-mails about local gatherings that fulfill the CUIC’s goals of bringing together 10 Protestant denominations to foster understanding and work on racial justice.

“I just got an e-mail message about a celebration that had taken place in Sarasota, Fla.,” she said. “I’ve received three or four calls about helping places do something for Pentecost.”

She said Pentecost Sunday, observed in June when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, is the “perfect opportunity to talk about the diversity of the church coming together.”

The inaugural activities for the new movement occurred in Memphis, Tenn., in January 2002, when the Consultation on Church Union ended and the CUIC began. On that occasion, there was talk of small gatherings, such as ice cream socials to start joint efforts by local churches of the participating denominations.

“We hope that nobody has ice cream and stops,” said Wood, a United Church of Christ minister. “We’ve made commitments around … celebration of worship, celebrating the sacraments together.”

Beyond the local work on joint activities and racial justice, CUIC leaders have set a 2007 date for recognition and reconciliation of the ministries of its member denominations. A draft document to help move toward that goal is being developed.

“Obviously we’re dealing with a long history of separation among churches and we’ve all developed theologically and culturally different patterns of ministry,” said Wood.

But she added: “I’m convinced that all of the churches have the will to do it.”

Bishop Melvin Talbert, president of CUIC, said the individual denominations will have to promote the goals of CUIC in order for them to be accomplished on the local level.

“I believe that shifting away from structural conversations to relational conversations, that’s the best way to go,” said Talbert, chief ecumenical officer of the United Methodist Church. “And I believe that we will see more fruitful results from that because we’re talking about simple, practical things that churches and people can intentionally do together.”

The members of Churches Uniting in Christ are the African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church, International Council of Community Churches, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a “partner in mission and dialogue” with CUIC.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Muslim Charity Head in Plea Bargain with Prosecutors

CHICAGO (RNS) Enaam Arnaout, executive director of the Benevolence International Foundation, an Islamic charity, pled guilty today to one count of racketeering conspiracy for diverting charitable donations to Muslim rebels in Chechnya and to troops in Bosnia.

The funds were used to purchase boots for Chechan rebels as well as tents, uniforms and an ambulance for use in Bosnia.

In a plea bargain, Arnaout, 41, of Justice, Ill., admitted “that for approximately a decade, the Benevolence International Foundation was defrauding donors by leading them to believe that all donations were strictly being used for peaceful, humanitarian, purposes while a material amount of the funds were diverted to fighters overseas.”

The plea bargain was announced on the same morning that jury selection was to begin in Arnaout’s trial on charges of diverting funds to terrorist groups and of supporting Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network. The charges related to al-Qaida were dropped as part of the plea bargain.

Arnaout also agreed to cooperate with the government in its continuing investigation of links between terrorists and Islamic charities in the United States.

Arnaout faces up to 25 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. He has been in federal custody since April 30, when he was arrested on the conspiracy charges. Benevolence International’s assets have been frozen since Dec. 14, 2001, after a federal raid on the charity’s Palos Hills, Ill., office. The charity filed suit in January 2002, seeking the return of its assets. That lawsuit included a statement from Arnaout that the charity “has never provided aid or support to people or organizations known to be engaged in violence, terrorist activities, or military operations of any kind.” He was charged with perjury in connection with that statement, although those charges were later dismissed.

In a written statement, U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, said the plea bargain “vindicates the government’s claim that Arnaout and (Benevolence International) were victimizing well-intentioned donors.”

“Many of the donors were law-abiding Muslims who were obligated by Islamic principles to donate to charity,” he said.

The plea bargain came as somewhat of a surprise. On Feb. 3, a federal judge had ruled a key piece of government evidence _ a 101-page document that allegedly linked Arnaout to al-Qaida _ was not admissible in court.

Joseph J. Duffy, Arnaout’s attorney told the Chicago Tribune his client felt his decision to accept the plea bargain “is in the best interest of his family, the charity and the American Muslim community.”

He also told the Tribune, “One has to question whether a fair and impartial jury could be found anywhere in America today that could sit in judgment of an Arab-American in a case involving allegations of terrorism.”

_ Bob Smietana

Texas Debris Searchers Remember Shuttle Astronauts

LUFKIN, Texas (RNS) At 8 a.m. CST on Feb. 8, a week from the time NASA officials lost contact with the Columbia space shuttle, hundreds of federal, state and local officials took a break from shuttle debris recovery to remember the crew lost in the breakup of STS-107.

Grief seemed to bridge the distance between science and Scripture in the hourlong service at First Baptist Church, a block away from the recovery command center in this East Texas town.

During the service, NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe thanked the recovery workers and the community for what he deemed their “extraordinary sacrifice.” O’Keefe said all had taken to heart the parable of the Good Samaritan. “You have made this nation proud,” he said.

“At this exact moment, at this exact hour, the Columbia 7 were due back,” O’Keefe said. “May God bless the crew of STS-107.” Then at 8:16 a.m., the time the Columbia was scheduled to land, O’Keefe asked for a moment of silence in the auditorium after which seven chimes were sounded. O’Keefe said the astronauts represented the very best of the human spirit.

NASA astronaut Jeff Ashby shared personal anecdotes about the crew. He spoke of Columbia Commander Rick Husband’s “enviable faith” and the Israeli astronaut Ilian Ramon’s dream that “the quiet of space could come to his country.”

Local pastor Rick Williams of Carpenters Way Church told the workers and NASA officials working to piece together the cause of the shuttle disaster, “We pray that God will give you keen eyesight and great insight.”

“The service helps us punctuate the reason why we’re here,” Dave Passey, public affairs officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency _ the agency coordinating the recovery efforts with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) _ told RNS. “It’s not just a disaster. There are people involved.”

_ Marcia Davis

Quote of the Day: George Washington University Student Nikki Finch

(RNS) “A lot of people believe Christians do not think things through and they do not question. But if you are not allowed to question and find your own answers, what faith do you have?”

_ Nikki Finch, a graduate student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who attended the first of a series of Christian discussions sponsored by the Capitol Hill Baptist Church at a nearby Starbucks coffee shop. She was quoted by The Washington Times.

DEA END RNS