c. 2007 Religion News Service
Judge Says California Parishes Belong to Episcopal Church
(RNS) Three California parishes that have left the Episcopal Church cannot keep church buildings or other property, a California appeals court ruled Monday (June 25).
A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s rulings and found that the Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church essentially own the buildings and property.
“I believe this is a conclusive statement that the property will come back to us,” Los Angeles Bishop J. Jon Bruno said in a statement.
“Now we can get about the business of healing and about the business of being a church. It’s been a long ordeal,” he said.
The three breakaway parishes _ St. James Church of Newport Beach, All Saints Church of Long Beach and St. David’s Church of North Hollywood _ left the Episcopal Church in 2004 and sought to place themselves within the Anglican Church of Uganda.
As the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church deals with fallout from its controversial decision to consecrate an openly gay bishop in 2004, battles over the often valuable church property assume increasing importance.
On June 18, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego filed property suits against three parishes that have split from the Episcopal Church.
The Episcopal Church maintains that each of its 7,400-odd parishes holds its property and buildings in trust for the local diocese and the national church.
The courts have generally taken a hands-off approach to property disputes in hierarchical denominations such as the Episcopal Church, letting church rules hold sway over secular law.
In Monday’s decision, Justice David G. Sills of the appeals court wrote that “the right of the general church in this case to enforce a trust on the local parish property is clear.”
Sills said that “readers will look in vain in this opinion for any indication of what religious controversy may have prompted the disaffiliation. … That controversy is irrelevant to this action.”
A lawyer for the churches told the Los Angeles Times they may soon decide whether to appeal the decision.
_ Daniel Burke
Protesters Defend Portrait of Jesus in Louisiana Courthouse
SLIDELL, La. (RNS) Standing in the shadow of the Slidell City Court, a swarm of protesters gathered Tuesday (June 26) to denounce the American Civil Liberties Union and show unconditional support for a portrait of Jesus hanging on the wall just inside the courthouse.
More than 250 residents gathered outside the courthouse to pray, cheer and hear speeches from several pastors and state Rep. A.G. Crowe, a Republican, who organized the event.
Crowe berated the ACLU, which has challenged the portrait as a violation of the separation of church and state. The group says the picture advances a religious message using a public building.
“The people of Slidell are not going to sit back and take the stuff that got dished out,” Crowe said, eliciting a roar of applause from the crowd.
The picture, which shows Jesus holding an open book of Scripture, was identified by a local priest as a 16th century Russian Orthodox icon. The Scripture, written in Russian, includes a biblical quotation about judging correctly and wisely.
Beneath the portrait, a sign says: “To know peace, obey these laws.”
Attorneys with the ACLU believe that the display gives the impression that only those who believe in the law of Jesus Christ will receive justice in city court.
But protesters claimed that the portrait, which has been on display since the building opened in 1997, has never posed a problem and fairly represents the majority of residents in their largely Christian community.
“You know, (the ACLU) is picking on a small community,” said Randy Lee, 60, of Slidell. A self-described Christian fundamentalist, he gripped a hand-lettered sign that read “In God We Trust.” “Christians are seen as very passive. It’s time for Christian people to stand up and say, `Hey!”’
The rendering of Jesus, posted high on a wall in the court’s lobby, has been the topic of fierce debate since attorneys with the ACLU contacted city court officials about it.
Originally, the ACLU gave court officials one week to remove the display, threatening to sue if they did not comply.
The conflict has since cooled after attorneys with the ACLU agreed to a two-week extension before filing suit, allowing the court to seek further counsel from a team of independent legal experts.
_ Jenny Hurwitz
Evangelical Covenant Church Passes `Creation-Care’ Resolution
(RNS) Members of the Evangelical Covenant Church have added their voices to those of other evangelicals who have addressed the issue of environmental protection.
A “resolution on creation-care” was passed during the annual meeting of the small, Chicago-based evangelical denomination in Portland, Ore. The meeting ended Sunday (June 24).
“There is an urgency for improvement and change in how we practice creation-care for the air we breathe, the oceans we fish, the land we cultivate, and the water we drink,” reads the statement. “So that we and the generations to come might live in sustainable and productive relationships with all of creation and fulfill our call to be good stewards.”
Pastor Adam Rohler, a delegate to the meeting from a New York City congregation, proposed the statement on behalf of a small group called the Young Pietists, which he said promotes a “holistic biblical commitment to justice.”
He hopes the statement will serve as a way to communicate with people outside the denomination who are concerned about environmental issues.
“I now have a document that says not only do I think that faith and Scripture have something to say but also there may be a denomination (that) may be willing to think it through with you,” Rohler said.
The statement notes that church President Glenn Palmberg co-authored an article earlier this year that called for “a financial commitment from the wealthiest nations to combat global warming.”
The resolution urges members of the Evangelical Covenant Church to practice recycling, carpooling and “advocacy for God’s creation” in churches, workplaces and governments.
Delegates to the meeting also passed resolutions calling for denominational agencies to divest from companies doing business in Sudan and urging church members to share resources that aid in the “prevention, healing, and deliverance from pornography.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Humanitas Awards Honor TV, Film Scripts
LOS ANGELES (RNS) Hollywood’s top cash prize for nine spiritually uplifting film and TV scripts doled out a combined $170,000 at its Tuesday (June 26) awards luncheon, where Larry Gelbart, the writer/producer of “MASH,” was given a lifetime “Kieser” achievement award.
Two scripts shared the feature film honor, with one Humanitas going to “Freedom Writers,” the Hilary Swank movie about a teacher inspiring poor students, and the other awarded to the Peter O’Toole movie “Venus,” a screenplay about dignity while growing old.
For TV scripts, the 60-minute honor again went to NBC’s “ER” for an episode about the Darfur genocide. The 30-minute TV script prize went to the CBS sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” while the 90-minute script honor went to the HBO English period drama “Longford.”
Though Humanitas awards are non-partisan, Hollywood’s liberal leanings are evident. Former Vice President Al Gore’s 2006 environmental documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” was given a special Humanitas prize last year.
In comparing the Korean War of “MASH” to the Middle East today, Gelbart _ whose top-rated 1970s sitcom still runs on the Hallmark Channel _ was quoted in The Hollywood Reporter as calling the Iraq war “a questionable war decreed by a questionable president … an endless stream of `MASH’ reruns.”
The 33-year-old Humanitas prizes were created by the late Catholic priest and TV producer Father Ellwood “Bud” Kieser to honor film and TV scripts with spiritually uplifting themes. Humanitas has given about $2.8 million in awards money over three decades to stories which, according to Humanitas, “affirm the dignity of the human person … probe the meaning of life … enlighten the use of human freedom … (and) reveal to each person the common humanity of every other person.”
Other Humanitas winners included the independent film script “Where God Left His Shoes,” about a poor family struggling to get a roof over their heads.
_ David Finnigan
Quote of the Day: U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.
(RNS) “People aren’t boats and the economy isn’t an ocean. And if you can’t afford a boat, the rising tide goes up to your nose.”
_ U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., speaking at the United Church of Christ’s General Synod in Hartford, Conn., about his dislike of the metaphor “a rising tide lifts all boats.” He was quoted by the UCC’s news service.
KRE/PH END RNS
Eds: Glenn in 7th graf of 3rd item is CQ
Eds: Insert asterisks between letters of `MASH’ throughout 4th item
