Archive
From May, 2005:
May 28, 2005
SHUT UP! God's Still Speaking...
A new group has formed
within the United Church of Christ to be a moderating voice within
the denomination. From
UCCunity.org:
| |
We believe that the
United Church of Christ has left its primary commission, to
serve as the first fruits of Christ's prayer "that they may
all be one." And we confess our own participation in this
sin and pray for our own transformation.
We believe the opportunity exists to embody the unity we
proclaim and bear witness to the radical inclusivity of
Christ by returning this unity to the center of our mission
and renewing our commitment to its full expression. |
What's it all mean?
More...
| |
Though a fuller explanation
follows, we would outline what this means and does not mean
-
-
We do not ask for
individual members or congregations of the United Church
of Christ to relinquish personal opinions, convictions,
or commitments. We rejoice in a Church whose members are
ever at liberty to act as they choose, as they believe
the Spirit guides them, as they understand the will of
God and the example of Christ.
-
We do ask that Synod,
Conferences, Associations and their agencies refrain
from actions or statements, especially those that occur
by vote in gathered meetings or appear as proclamations
by official representatives. Though we have much in our
history of which to be proud, public statements and
actions have sometimes been perceived to lack broad
input or consultation, alienating rather than uniting
congregations and members.
-
In this day of divisions,
Christ calls us out of the hubris of our opinions,
frames, worldviews, and secularized understandings and
into the diaconate of His ever-broadening table
fellowship, as our first priority.
-
In recent months our
denomination has proclaimed that "God is still
speaking." We believe this is true, and we believe it is
time for us to listen, to have the courage of silence -
a silence born not of fear but of faith, a silence that
sets aside the preoccupation with self in compassionate
regard for one's neighbor.
|
Sometimes the easiest solution is the
right one. With the
recent concern over gay marriage resolutions coming up at
General Synod, this movement could be exactly what our denomination
needs.
Sign on your
support here.
_______________
May 28, 2005
'Christian Churches Together' Formed
Yet another Christian
group, "Christian Churches Together" has formed to add their
collective religious voice to the world. From their
website, the
purpose is:
| |
To enable churches and
national Christian organizations to grow closer in Christ in
order to strengthen our Christian witness in the world. |
Translation: The
National Council of Churches has pretty much run itself into the
ground and is unable to get anyone to hear them... so
they help create a new group. Yawn.
_______________
May 26, 2005
John Thomas - friend of the Jews?
J. Shawn Landres blog,
Religion & Society, sums up Thomas'
innane comments about the Middle-east crisis beautifully:
_______________
May 23, 2005
Jerusalem Post: "Protestant
divestment campaign losing steam among US congregants"
From The Jerusalem Post:
| |
The Protestant campaign of
divestment, meant to punish Israel for its "occupation," is
weakening.
The announcement by Massachusetts Episcopal Bishop M. Thomas
Shaw – a staunch pro-Palestinian advocate – that he would
oppose divestment efforts from within his church was the
latest in a string of similar declarations by small member
communities of America's large liberal-leaning churches.
Across the country, Protestants are reevaluating the wisdom,
and even the justice, of the high-profile divestment
campaign their leaders began a few years ago. |
Complete article at The
Jerusalem Post
_______________
May 21, 2005
Episcopal leader opposes divestment
"During this period of hope for peace
between Israel and Palestine, divestment would be especially
inappropriate. Because the economies of Israel and Palestine are so
closely intertwined, divestment is actually counterproductive for
the Palestinian people."
-Bishop M.
Thomas Shaw
Episcopal
Diocese of Massachusetts
Complete article at The Washington
Jewish Week
_______________
May 12, 2005
Putting divestment into perspective
With the
UCC
divestment proposals looming over the General Synod in July, it
might be worth the time to put the issue into context with the other
investments of the United Church of Christ's Pension Boards. While
one proposal claims "that it is not anti-Semitic to criticize the
Palestinian policy of Israeli governments," the three proposals fail
to recognize the responsibilities of both parties to contribute to
the peace process and it's this disproportionate response that makes
both proposals anti-Semitic. The lack of any proposed divestment
from other companies that have a clear conflict with the public
witness of the UCC also makes these anti-Israeli divestment
proposals all the more suspicious.
For instance, the conscience of the
proposal writers doesn't seem disturbed by the
pension boards investments into Iraq War contractor Halliburton
which accounts for nearly 1.5 million dollars. They also don't seem
to be as disturbed by investments into defense contractors Raytheon,
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman which account for almost $10
million dollars. This doesn't include the numerous oil and
pharmaceutical companies that the pension boards also invest in.
So, what gives? Where
does action against Israel fit into the priorities of the church?
In context to the other investments of the pension board that appear
to conflict with the priorities of the denomination, divestment looks extreme and
anti-Semitic.
_______________
May 8, 2005
And the award for best conspiracy
theory goes to...
Bob Chase, director of communication
for the UCC, for his melodramatic indignation because ABC wouldn't show
our denomination's television ad but did run a "Focus on the Family"
ad that promoted a parenting web site. From the
New York Times Art section
yesterday:
| |
Olivia
Cohen-Cutler, senior vice president for
broadcast standards and policy at ABC, said
in a statement, "The ABC Television Network
does not accept ads from organizations which
present religious doctrine." The network
said it accepts ads from religious
organizations, including the Salvation Army,
as long as the commercials do not
proselytize.
The Focus on
the Family ad said, "We'll be there with
parenting advice, and a faith-based
perspective that can make all the
difference."
The Rev.
Robert Chase, director of communication for
the United Church of Christ, said in an
interview, "It seems that somebody is
deciding that one religious expression is
O.K. for viewers to see and others are not."
|
That's right... the media is
controlled by bible-thumping conservatives... the same people that
put Desperate Housewives on the air.
_______________
May 5, 2005
Divestment Update
"We have never stopped thinking about
Israel as the very center of our faith, but the Christians don't
understand it. To them, our attachment to Israel is 19th-century
colonialism."
-Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor,
director of interfaith affairs for the
Anti-Defamation League
Jewish Times
_______________
May 3, 2005
God's Mute Church
Commentary by Dexter Van Zile (from
The Washington Dispatch)
For a denomination that bills itself as "The God is Still Speaking
Church," the United Church of Christ, headquartered in Cleveland,
Ohio, has been oddly reluctant to reveal what God has to say about
the struggle of Christians in Lebanon against the Syrian occupation
of their homeland. The UCC's failure to speak out is especially odd
given that its leaders routinely weigh in on various political
subjects such as the Iraq War, gay marriage and most recently,
problems with the Bush Administration's proposed federal budget. Why
then the silence on the Christians of Lebanon?
Complete article at The Washington Dispatch
_______________
Issue Dynamics under scrutiny...
again
Telco lobbying firm Issue Dynamics is
profiled in a new article by
CNET News describing the firm's "astroturf" lobbying
tactics. Issue Dynamics unethical relationship to the United Church
of Christ has been well documented on this site
and in the
Washington Post. In spite of the coverage, the UCC continues to
work with Issue Dynamics.
Interactive graphic
Scroll over the different areas and
click for more information
_______________
May 2, 2005
New ad controversy
Now ABC is part of the conspiracy.
Anyone who fell for the shrewd
publicity stunt the first time around will have a field day with
the spin on this new "controversy".
Media Matters
_______________
Conspiracy Theory
"This may be the darkest time in our
history. The religious right have been systematically working at
this for 40 years."
-Bob Edgar, general secretary of National
Council of Churches
"I'm uncomfortable when I hear people
of sincere religious faith described as religious political
extremists. What does that term mean? It's a term of derision that
says we're good and they're bad. There is no content... The
Democrats do just as much name-calling as the right. It's great for
fundraising. [But] it's a heck of a way of building a social
progressive movement."
-Chip Berlet of the human rights watchdog
Political Research Associates
Washington Times
_______________
Another novel idea without
substance
"The goal of a
Department of Peace would be fourfold: to decrease violence by
understanding its root causes; to address those issues at their
core; to teach peace tools so that all become experts at conflict
resolution; and to make peace principles the fabric of our
institutions at all levels of society."
-Juli Kring
UC News
Just wondering what a "Department of Peace" would do if
terrorists ran a few planes into buildings...
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