c. 2006 Religion News Service

Presbyterian Benefactor Beset by Money Woes, Newspaper Says

(RNS) The Denver man who pledged $150 million to help the Presbyterian Church (USA) start new churches has a house in foreclosure and mountains of debt and legal bills, according to a Denver Post investigation.

Stanley W. Anderson made the pledge _ the church’s largest one-time gift ever _ to the church’s new Loaves and Fishes Church Growth Fund to help start new churches, reinvigorate existing ones and expand multicultural ministries.

Anderson told the Post that the $150 million would come from his Trinity Foundation, and would be paid by “off-shore investments” that he and business partner Edwin A. Smith “have been working on for quite a period of time.”

But public records examined by the Post reveal a history of financial problems for Anderson and his companies, including a suit that charges he failed to repay a $100,000 loan; unpaid rent payments; an outstanding dentist’s bill for almost $1,200; a back tax bill of $54,069 that was eventually settled; and liens against his house from his local homeowners association.

Anderson, who founded a commercial credit card processing company, said all businessmen face “challenges” and “trials and tribulations,” but he was confident he could meet his pledge.

“With my long passion for the church, I would not have (promised the donation) if I didn’t believe I could deliver,” said Anderson, a member of Denver’s Central Presbyterian Church. “I just simply could not.”

Church officials also expressed confidence that Anderson would be able to keep his pledge, although they said they never investigated his financial background.

“If he says he will deliver it, he will deliver it,” John Detterick, executive director of the church’s General Assembly Council, told the Post. “I … have complete faith in his integrity.”

_ Kevin Eckstrom

St. Vincent’s Not Blaming Incident on God

BAYONNE, N.J. (RNS) It could have been a scene out of “The Omen” on Sunday (June 18) at St. Vincent de Paul Church, when congregants making the sign of the cross saw their clothes stained where they had placed their fingers to their chests.

But it wasn’t the wrath of God _ it was bleach in the holy water.

The Rev. Camilo Lopez, the church’s associate pastor, said several parishioners who had dipped their fingers in holy water ended up with stained clothes after crossing themselves.

The Rev. James Manos, the church’s pastor, said he didn’t think it was a deliberate fouling of the holy water, but rather a worker had inadvertently left a mixture of bleach and water in the font after cleaning it.

_ Steven Lemongello

Faith Communities Partner with Mental Health Organizations

(RNS) The American Psychiatric Foundation has partnered with Pathways to Promise, an interfaith resource center, to help people with mental illness and their families.

Posters featuring art by the mentally ill, information sheets, and bulletin inserts will be distributed along with packets that have information on the effectiveness and availability of psychiatric treatment, places for support for the family, and instructions for developing a more caring congregation.

Approximately 26,000 congregations nationwide will participate, representing nine religious traditions, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, Roman Catholic Dioceses, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Union for Reform Judaism.

Douglas M. Ronsheim, executive director of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, said the “utilization of faith communities as an access point for information, education and treatment resources is extremely important and timely” because the program has the potential to reach 10 million people.

The Foundation has pledged an $87,900 grant to the campaign.

Pathways to Promise was created in 1988 to improve the quality of life of people with mental illnesses within faith communities.

The American Psychiatric Foundation, the educational and philanthropic arm of the American Psychiatric Association, hopes to advance the public’s understanding of mental illnesses by promoting treatment effectiveness, early detection and intervention, and access to care.

_ Preetom Bhattacharya

Billy Graham Honored As `Hero of the Faith’ By American Bible Society

(RNS) Evangelist Billy Graham has been honored with the American Bible Society’s first “Heroes of the Faith Lifetime Achievement Award.”

“Dr. Graham, you have anchored your life and ministry in the Scriptures,” said the Rev. Paul G. Irwin, society president, at a recent ceremony in Montreat, N.C.

“With your Bible held high, you would pronounce, `the Bible says,’ establishing the authority with which you spoke and unleashing your intensity of conviction,” he said.

Graham, 87, expressed his appreciation for the award.

“I am honored and overwhelmed, and I feel hope that not long from now I can present this to Jesus,” he said. “It is his Spirit that takes that word and applies it to our hearts.”

The evangelist, who preached across the globe for more than five decades, was given a Steuben crystal sculpture showing hands holding an open Bible. The glass is etched with a biblical verse: “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” That verse, from the book of Habakkuk, was quoted when the society was founded in 1816.

Graham’s ministry and the Bible society have cooperated since 1957. Some of the society’s biblical texts have been distributed at his crusades.

The evangelist previously received the American Bible Society Award in 1995, which honored him for furthering the work of the society “and the Bible cause generally.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

(RNS) “I believe that God creates us with different gifts. Each one of us comes into this world with a different collection of things that challenge us and things that give us joy and allow us to bless the world around us. Some people come into this world with affections ordered toward other people of the same gender, and some people come into this world with affections directed at people of the other gender.”

_ Episcopal Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori, responding to a question on CNN about whether it is a sin to be gay.

KRE/PH END RNS