This page lists reports and commentary from June, 2005

A bright vision with dark shadows

by Doug King, your WebWeaver

I appreciated the chance to be at the New Wineskins Convocation about ten days ago. I have tried to offer some reports on what I saw and heard there, and now it’s time to reflect a little more on the event as a whole, and what it might mean for the Presbyterian Church.

I’ll offer my own thoughts under three headings, and then a few questions I’d like to put to the organizers of New Wineskins, in the hope that all of us might understand better their vision and their plans.

Jim Atwood seeks support for petition urging Japan to maintain its constitutional rejection of war  

From Len Bjorkman, co-moderator of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship:

The Rev. Jim Atwood, who served in Japan from 1965 to 1974, will go to Japan as part of a Fellowship of Reconciliation delegation marking the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a member of the National Committee of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, he will represent us, as a peace fellowship affiliated with the FOR.

Below is the letter that he has sent to our National Committee, giving information about the trip and asking people to sign a petition to maintain Japan's Constitutional rejection of war.

In response to the rising number of disciplinary accusations that have been filed in recent years, often by persons who have not been directly affected by the alleged offenses, the overture would amend D-10.0102 so that the accusation(s) must involve some claim of personal harm, and must be brought by a person with standing in the governing body which receives the complaint. 

Jim Wallis of Sojourners writes:

For the first time the world has the knowledge, information, technology, and resources to end extreme poverty as we know it, but what is still lacking is the moral and political will to do so. We believe that generating such moral will is the vocation of the religious community. And today, we believe that God is acting on the issue of poverty.

More >> 

The Live 8 concert is one way to get involved in supporting the G8 summit through popular culture.  Click the graphic for more information >>>

Act Now to Stop CAFTA!

As we prepare to listen this evening to President Bush’s latest effort to justify the US war in Iraq, and to regain some support from the American people, here are two other takes on the war.

Sen. John Kerry, in an op-ed piece in this morning’s New York Times, says the President should immediately make clear that the US will not maintain a long-term military presence in Iraq; must press the Iraq interim government toward a more inclusive political process and toward finish work on their constitution; must speed up training and funding of Iraqi troops; must get Iraq’s neighbors involved; and must set forth a clear plan for the transfer of military and police responsibilities to Iraqis after the December elections.

Read this in the New York Times, or on TruthOut.org

Robert Dreyfuss, writing for TomPaine.com, ponders the parallels between America’s current predicament in Iraq, with our situation in Vietnam over 30 years ago. He says:

It is perfectly clear what the United States has to do. It must abandon its deformed offspring in Baghdad, the hapless regime of Shiite fanatics and Kurdish warlords, and pray that it can establish direct talks with the people it is fighting.

There is no other exit strategy.

His article >>

The Draft Constitution which was presented to the New Wineskins convocation, and approved with a few changes, has now been posted for public access. 

Our earlier reports:

Day 1 -- New Wineskins – for old wine?

Day 2 -- "The time has come!"  Exploring the possibilities for something new

Day 3 -- Evangelism in the Post-Modern World: New world, same message

Day 4 -- New Wineskins looks ahead ... to a creative new future or just another split? 

(including links to reports from Presbyterian News Service and The Layman Online, and to the New Wineskins own web sites)

I’ve learned that wearing red is part of a children’s song, that wearing red (but not much of it) can be used to sell stuff, but perhaps most important, that wearing red can give a team a winning edge in sports. (Ask the Red Sox about that.)

Thanks to your efforts, Democrats and Republicans banded together to overwhelmingly restore $100 million in funding to the CPB by a vote of 284 to 140.

While this will undoubtedly help secure the financial future of independent public broadcasting, its political future is still very much in doubt. Ken Tomlinson, head of the CPB, continues his efforts to turn it into a mouthpiece of the Republican Party. And today his right wing agenda advanced one step further when he succeeded in getting Patricia Harrison, formerly a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, named as president and chief executive of the CPB.

While saving the financial future of public broadcasting is important, it is even more important that we protect the independence and integrity of its programming. That is why we ask you to join us by signing a petition calling on President Bush to fire Ken Tomlinson and replace him with someone who respects the vital role that independent public broadcasting plays in our society.

Lay Committee Responds to Theological Task Force and Calls for Dialogue

Just in time for distribution at the New Wineskins Convocation, the Presbyterian Lay Committee released a publication entitled "Can Two Faiths Embrace One Future?"

It contends that "pluralist" or "inclusivist" approaches to denominational unity, which it associates with the Theological Task Force and the Office of the General Assembly, are "both irrational and unfaithful." That's why "plural" really means "two" — the right way and the wrong way. That's also why the question of "schism" is raised, though it is not fully answered.

Gene TeSelle reviews the booklet's argument, and offers some historical reflections on the meaning of schism -- a separation in the church.

That important event is going on this week at Ghost Ranch.

We wish we could be there, but we’ll offer the next best thing: reports from Presbyterian News Service, and other sources as we find them – and from you who are there, if you’ll send us your reports, observations, anything else. (Just send a note!)

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A world of woes

The church should take a more active role in addressing the needs of the world, General Assembly Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase told 400 participants in a Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference at Ghost Ranch this week. He suggested a policy of "civil initiative," a term coined by the late Jim Corbett, co-founder of the Sanctuary movement that sheltered Central American refugees in the 1980s.

Ufford-Chase said civil initiative "maintains and extends the rule of law … unlike civil disobedience, which breaks it, and civil obedience, which lets the government break it. The heart of a societal order guided by the rule of law is the principle that non-violent protection of basic rights is never illegal.

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Truth telling

Some 150 people gathered at Silver Bay, on Lake George, NY, for the fifth national Eco-Justice Conference of Presbyterians for Restoring Creation. From June 9 - 12, they focused on the connection between "water issues" and faith, exploring such subjects as pollution, privatization of water resources, water scarcity and water consumption.

Presbyterian News Service reports on the conference

PNS also offers a look at PRC’s 10-year birthday celebration and annual meeting, which were part of the four-day conference.

Your WebWeaver recently grumbled about the pressure on Senator Durbin to apologize for speaking the truth about America’s use of torture. If you’d like something a little livelier, check out the full-scale rant by Vietnam veteran John Cory, who opens with the elegant line, "Sometimes I get so angry I could just spit."

But he offers three things the hapless Democrats might do to regain his trust and support – and that of many others. And he closes with a somewhat irreverent but very relevant version of the Lord’s Prayer.

Summertime, And The T-Shirts Are Tasteless...


Here’s a gem provided by an outfit called AuthenticGOP

Thanks to TomPaine

The House Appropriations committee is proposing more than $220 million in funding cuts for public broadcasting, effectively a 46 percent reduction of public broadcasting's federal financial support.

To preserve the programs you know and trust, the shows that teach our children and the services that support our educators, PBS is urgently asking all Americans who value public broadcasting to call, fax, or e-mail Congress.

So who’s apologizing?

OK, let’s get this straight. The United States, through various agencies including the armed forces, the FBI, and various intelligence agencies, has for a year or two used torture on many of the people it has detained for alleged involvement in terrorism. U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, of Illinois, has had the gall – or the guts – to say that’s what we’ve been doing. And he has been pressured to apologize. Even many of his Democratic colleagues have joined in the cry for an apology.   Details >>

And the administration that has concealed, condoned, justified, and quite possibly encouraged the torture ... Apologies? Not likely. Indeed, their technique seems to work just fine: When you’re accused of something serious, blame the accuser – for rudeness if nothing worse. The focus shifts to the faults of the accuser, and you’re clear once again.

The ancient Hebrews had a similar technique for dealing with sins: Find a goat, place the burden of all your sin and guilt on the goat, and slaughter it. The scapegoat. Many Jewish teachers, including Jesus, said that wasn’t a sufficient way to deal with sin. There had to be repentance and change on the part of the sinner. Of course many followers of Jesus got tired of that, and started placing Jesus himself in the role of scapegoat, who "died for our sins."

Robert Fisk has written: "We are all complicit in these vile acts of torture - but what can we do about it? If our government uses information drained out of these creatures, it is we who are holding the whips."

Dear Doug:

Excellent coverage of the New Wineskins event. I admit, I read your site regularly scanning for bias, but you're winning me over.

Nice work.

Really.

Noel Anderson (<--of New Wineskins)

A little-noticed clause in the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act requires high schools to hand over students' names, addresses and telephone numbers to military recruiters as a condition of receiving federal aid. But some school districts – often urged by parents – are challenging the military's interpretation of the law, arguing that they are obliged to protect the privacy rights of their students.

Recruiting is a tough battle right now, and the recruiters are resorting to some dubious tactics. Some non-compliant school districts are also being threatened.

The Washington Post carried this report >>

Spiritual Activism Conferences –

Goals: Begin the process of creating the strategy and program for The Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP), which will:

1. Challenge the misuse of God and religion by the Religious Right.

2. Challenge the ethos of selfishness and materialism of the advanced industrial societies (first and foremost in the U.S. and Canada), and replace it with a NEW BOTTOM LINE (so that institutions are judged efficient, rational and productive not only to the extent that they maximize money and power, but also to the extent that they maximize love and caring, ethical and ecological consciousness, and to the extent that they maximize our capacities to respond to the universe with awe and wonder).

3. Build an alliance between secular, religious and "spiritual but not religious" progressives--in part by challenging the anti-religious biases in parts of the liberal culture (while acknowledging the legitimacy of anger against those parts of the religious world that have embodied authoritarian, racist, sexist, homophobic or xenophobic practices and attitudes).

More >>

We urge you to consider attending one of these events – even with all the other good conferences and seminars going on this summer!

Your WebWeaver plans to be at the Berkeley conference. If you (or a friend) plan to be there, let's try to get together!   Just send a note and let me know.

New Wineskins looks ahead ... to a creative new future or just another split? 

On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, June 17-18, 2005, about 190 participants in the convocation, who had been delegated by their congregations represent them at the event, discussed and sometimes debated the draft constitution that had been the center of platform presentations, workshops, and conversation for the past three days.

Your WebWeaver is happy to report on some of the preliminaries to the "delegates' meeting," but he had to leave before that really got going.  So you can read my report at the top of the "Day 4" page, and for "the rest of the story" (to coin a phrase) we suggest you look at the final report by Jerry Van Marter of Presbyterian News Service. We also provide links to his earlier reports, to reports from The Layman Online, and to the two websites of New Wineskins itself.

What would you like to add?
We'd like to hear your perceptions of the conference if you were there,
or your comments.
Just send a note
to be shared here.

Check out comments on the New Wineskins convocation.

Earlier reports:

Day 3 Evangelism in the Post-Modern World: New world, same message

Day 2  "The time has come!"
Exploring the possibilities for something new

Day 1  New Wineskins – for old wine?

Gordon Shull writes about the way his grandson can delight in his two uncles, who are partners.

John C. Danforth, an Episcopal minister and former Republican senator from Missouri, writes in the New York Times, that "It is important for those of us who are sometimes called moderates to make the case that we, too, have strongly held Christian convictions, that we speak from the depths of our beliefs, and that our approach to politics is at least as faithful as that of those who are more conservative."

He concludes: "For us [moderates], religion should be inclusive, and it should seek to bridge the differences that separate people. We do not exclude from worship those whose opinions differ from ours. Following a Lord who sat at the table with tax collectors and sinners, we welcome to the Lord's table all who would come. Following a Lord who cited love of God and love of neighbor as encompassing all the commandments, we reject a political agenda that displaces that love. Christians who hold these convictions ought to add their clear voice of moderation to the debate on religion in politics."

Evangelism in the Post-Modern World
New world, same message

Friday began for the New Wineskins convocation with worship – some praise singing followed by a sermon from the Rev. Dr. David Githii, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, and one of the favorite church leaders of Parker Williamson of The Layman.

Following worship, workshops were held on "Changing Realities for Church Renewal and Evangelism" and on "Global Witness and Mission in a Changed World." The panel on evangelism included (from left to right, if you will – in their seating, not necessarily their theology) Clark Cowden, Executive Presbyter of San Joaquin Presbytery; Carmen Fowler, who has served as executive director of the Presbyterian Coalition, Jin S. Kim, pastor of Church of All Nations in Minneapolis and former president of Presbyterians for Renewal; and Kristen Johnson, the new director of One by One.

"The time has come!"
Exploring the possibilities for something new
[6-16-05]

The second day of the New Wineskins Convocation has seen more detailed discussions of the Draft Constitution, which will be discussed further and perhaps acted on in some way during sessions on Friday and Saturday.

Some themes are emerging in the discussions, and so are some modest differences among participants.

More reports and reflections >>

Support Bill to Begin Withdrawal from Iraq

Published by the Stewardship of Public Life (SPL) advocacy program of the Washington Office, Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, (202) 543-1126,www.pcusa.org/washington. For more information about the content of this article, please e-mail Catherine Gordon, at cgordon@ctr.pcusa.org.

A first report from the New Wineskins Convocation 

Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase reports on the gathering of Presbyterians for Restoring Creation

The Presbyterian Washington Office provides very helpful information on the current, critical situation in Colombia, beginning ... 

Plan Colombia is set to expire at the end of this year. Originally a six-year U.S. aid package — approved by Congress in 2000 — to reduce production of drugs and to improve the rule of law in Colombia, the plan has achieved none of its goals, despite spending $4 billion on mostly military aid to this Andean nation amidst its decades-old civil conflict.

The military focus of the assistance is especially troubling, as 80 percent of the aid has gone to Colombian security forces, implicated in numerous human rights violations.

Congress will debate and vote on renewing Plan Colombia at the end of June. You have an opportunity to ask your representative to change course.

The event is described as "a time of preaching and teaching, prayer and worship, workshops and networking -- and the hard work of implementing a Christ-centered and Biblically-based direction for the PCUSA."  The meeting will include a meeting of appointed delegates from supportive congregations, to consider a draft constitution which includes proposed "essential tenets of our Reformed faith" and "a declaration of ethical imperatives" (which includes a rejection of idolatry, sexual immorality, and bloodshed).

"Things are getting worse by the day."

This is a periodic email from Dahr Jamail, an Iraqi-American living in Alaska. He has been working in Iraq as a reporter, writing for such journals as the Inter Press Service, The Asia Times and many other outlets. His reports have also been published with The Nation, The Sunday Herald, Islam Online, and the Guardian.

This report, dated May 31, begins:

The mayhem continues in Iraq, with today at least 40 people dead, including five US soldiers in Diyala province as the meltdown of the failed US-led occupation continues.

A New Church Development pastor raises a good question: Where’s our coverage of the "emerging church" movement? His note:

Your advocacy of a progressive social justice agenda for Presbyterians in today's social/cultural debates is a welcome voice. At the same time, I find myself increasingly yearning for a regular point of view in your pages on the larger dynamic of prophetic evangelism in a church that is largely disengaged from generations who find church boring and irrelevant. I would encourage you to feature some postings on the emerging church and missional church church movements that are gaining energy and creating interest among many of us. The tired old divide between evangelism and social justice continues to undermine the hope we all share for a vital witness in today's world. What do you think?

The author adds: I am Hart Edmonds and along with Cheryl (my wife) we are doing new church development for the PCUSA and Missouri River Valley Presbytery. Our church is called The Oasis. See our web site at www.oasischurchomaha.com

If you have thoughts about how progressives might think about (and act in) the new "emerging church" movement, please send a note to be shared here.

Read one comment questioning this suggestion >>

Growing Problem for Military Recruiters: Parents

The New York Times reports that "Two years into the war in Iraq, as the Army and Marines struggle to refill their ranks, parents have become boulders of opposition that recruiters cannot move." No Child Left Behind, which requires schools to turn over students' home phone numbers and addresses to recruiters unless parents opt out, often serves as "the spark that ignites parental resistance."

Parents are organizing to opt out for their children from the schools’ providing of personal information to the military. In some cases they are pressing school districts to do that for all their students, though they then face the loss of significant federal aid. And they are helping their children to understand the deceptive recruiting ploys that are being used, and to understand the reasons why the parents themselves oppose the whole idea of this war, and of war in general.

and how difficult resisting can be ...

When Marine recruiters get out of hand

Washington, D.C. – In an unprecedented gathering, more than 1,000 people of various religious affiliations joined leaders of more than 40 faith communities for an interfaith convocation at Washington National Cathedral June 6 united in a common conviction that no one should go hungry.

Hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., the event formed part of the One Table, Many Voices conference, a mobilization organized by two advocacy groups, Bread for the World and Call to Renewal, to highlight issues of domestic and international hunger and to call on President Bush and the United States Congress to commit to eradicating poverty worldwide.

The full report >>

We recently shared Eric Mason's report on this 5 weeks in Colombia as part of the PC(USA) effort to accompany sisters and brothers in Colombia whose lives are threatened because of their work for peace and human rights.  We also posted a report from Presbyterian News Service about the next group preparing for their 2-month time there.

Two days ago we posted some reflections under the title "It's time to say No to torture"

We've heard words of appreciation from a number of people, one of whom said "Thank you for your great column against torture!  I have been frustrated with the church's silence and your voice is a powerful one.  May others join in opposing torture in our names."

But even better, people have offered their own contributions -- resources and ideas for action in resisting the growing US use of torture.

Please add your own
 -- resources, actions, opinions --
just send a note to be shared here!

Re: "Vets for Peace and Jimmy Carter on depleted uranium" and the response in an article "A military man disputes the concern about US use of depleted uranium ammunition" from Earl H. Tilford, Jr., PhD, Professor of History, Grove City College.

The print version should be in the mail shortly, but in the meantime you can read it here.

Naomi Klein, who reported from Iraq for Harper's, comments in the LA Times that torture is an inevitable part of the kind of war we're fighting in Iraq.  She is the author of No Logo (Picador, 2002) and is writing a book on the ways capitalism exploits disaster.

Klein begins: "Brace yourself for a flood of gruesome new torture snapshots. Last week, a federal judge ordered the Defense Department to release dozens of additional photographs and videotapes depicting prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. The photographs will elicit what has become a predictable response: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will claim to be shocked and will assure us that action is already being taken to prevent such abuses from happening again."

She notes that the French learned during their occupation of Algeria that "there are only two ways to govern: with consent or with fear." And since most Iraqis do not consent to the American occupation of their land, fear seems to be the only way. And torture is the means to instill fear.

But it could be different ...

Read the full article in the LA Times >>
Also on CommonDreams >>

Sunday, June 12 -- Chicago, IL - 2:00 PM event, 4:00 PM rally and bus tour sendoff
Monday, June 13 -- Indianapolis, IN - 11:30 AM rally; Lexington, KY - 6:30 PM rally
Tuesday, June 14 -- Columbus, OH - 11:30 AM rally; Pittsburgh, PA - 7:00 PM rally
Wednesday, June 15 -- Cleveland, OH - 4:30 PM rally

Possible and invited speakers include: Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Barack Obama, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, U.S. Representative Ben Chandler, Lexington Mayor Theresa Isaac, Kentucky State Representative Kathy Stein, Dr. Glenn Hinson, and Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell.

You're encouraged to contact the group through their website, let people know what's happening in your area, and get people there!

Back in December, during an earlier round of revelations about the US use of torture at Guantánamo and various other places of detention, the Rev. Bruce Gillette sent this note:

In the name of Jesus Christ Almighty, why are people representing our government, paid by us, writing filth on the Korans of helpless prisoners? Is this American? Is it Christian? What are our moral values? Where are the [clergy] on this?

Your WebWeaver has been pondering this painful question, with prods from a couple members of his church.  So he offers some thoughts on the problem of torture, and its use as a weapon of terror by the United States today.

It seems it's time to resist -- and 'way past time.  But how??

Our web hosting service is upgrading their facilities, so we may be unavailable on the night of June 3, or rather the morning of Saturday, June from 12:00 a.m. CDT to 5:00 a.m. CDT.

Faithful America warns:

The killing and starvation in Darfur is worsening

We wish that were all, but it isn’t. The violence has driven people from their farms, livestock and crops have been destroyed, created a massive famine. Those who have not been killed by the government-sponsored Janjaweed militia are in danger of dying of starvation and disease. Most of them are children.

Please go HERE (www.faithfulamerica.kintera.org/leadondarfur ) to send a letter to the President of the United States urging him to take action on this human rights issue. Every day we fail to act brings millions closer to the brink of starvation and death. We have made it easy for you to take action and will continue to monitor this situation and provide opportunities for further action as necessary.

To learn more on this crisis, go to our briefing room at Faithfulamerica.org. If you are part of a faith group you will find lots of resources to share with your fellow congregants. We also invite you to offer a prayer for the Sudanese people in the FaithfulAmerica prayer room at www.faithfulamerica.org .

Together let’s remember our brothers and sisters who are living this nightmare. We can move our elected officials to act if we work together.

Deep blessings to you as we join hands and hearts for our neighbors in Sudan.

A new book edited by Ann Fagan Ginger, Executive Director of Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute, provides a listing of the US administration’s breaches of our laws since Sept. 11. Ginger presents reports of 180 alleged violations, in 30 categories, by the White House; the Pentagon; the Departments of State, Justice, and Labor; the FBI; the Attorney General; immigration officials; and state and local police against people in the United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, and elsewhere. Each report includes the sources for the allegation, and each section lists the specific US and international laws allegedly violated.

Challenging US Human Rights Violations Since 9/11
Ann Fagan Ginger, ed., Prometheus Books, 2005, 574 pp.

The Rev. David Oliver-Holder, of Hartland, WI, calls our attention to a petition which has come to his church’s e-mail address. The subject line read: "Help Rescind the PCUSA General Assembly Divestment Resolution."

The text follows:

I ask you to join more than 2,000 Presbyterians who have already signed a petition calling on the 216th General Assembly to return in special session to debate fully last summer's Israel Divestment Resolution. You can do this by adding your name to the petition at www.PcusaPetition.org.

Please inform your leaders and congregation about this opportunity to sign the petition! A PCUSA survey found 61% of our membership unaware the General Assembly had voted to initiate a divestment from corporations doing business in Israel.

The strongest proponents for these anti-Israeli policies proclaimed their actions "prophetic." This is their way of justifying why they adopted these policies without the fair and balanced debate traditionally a part of our Church's historic sense of decency and orderliness. Please support a fair debate by adding your name to the petition and asking others to do the same.

Thank you,
Larry Rued
Petition Manager and an elder at
First Presbyterian Church
Bradenton, FL

Have you received a similar petition?
If you know anything more about it, or have been involved in discussions of it,
we’d like to hear from you.
Just send a note,
to be shared here for the enlightenment of others.

Amy Ukena has sent a note listing the 21 paradoxes that are analyzed in Judson Edwards’ book, The Leadership Labyrinth: Negotiating the Paradoxes of Ministry. You may find them helpful or not, but they’re pretty funny. Here’s a sampling:

1. The Leadership Paradox: The harder you try to control a group, the less control you will have.
2. The Calendar Paradox: The busier you are, the less you will accomplish.
4. The Anxiety Paradox: The less you worry about the church, the better it will do.
9. The Power Paradox: The weakest people in the church tend to wield the most power.
13. The Controversy Paradox: The issue you are arguing about is not the issue at all.
16. The Ministry Paradox: The more you try to help people, the more helpless people become.
21. The Attitude Paradox: Only pastors who are having fun can seriously proclaim the Gospel.

For more on the book from the publisher >>