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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune RELIGION Saturday, May 31, 1997 B2 WORLD VIEW Retirements Mean Changes for Utah Methodists Compiled by PegayFletcher Stack CODE OF OMENS? A new bookclaims thata secret code embeddedin the Hebrew version of the Old Testament foretold the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, plus predicted World WarIl, Watergate and the Oklahoma City bombing. While attempts to find hidden odist Church, a several-thousand-member church. ray of predictions. The pur- ported code was discovered by. stringing together all the letters in the Hebrew language edition of the Old Testament and then using a computerto scan the text for words arrangedin a crossword puzzlelike arrangement in accordance with mathematical formulas, The author claims the Bible codealso foretells a major earthquake in Los Angeles early in the next century and a possible nuclear war, perhaps within a decade, trig- But turnaboutis fair play. The Rev. Philip Covert, the executive minister at the 6,000-member First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, is coming to Utah went on sale in the United States Thursday , and Warner Bros. already has purchased the movie rights. — Religion News Service Oo FAIR WEATHER FEE At the Bali Four Seasonsresort, Balians, Hindu priests- /shamans are contracted for $100 fee to prevent rain during large outdoor events. The “rainstopper,” as the Western hotelexecutives call him, must return the fee in the the event of rain. So far the hotel has never had to ask for a refund. “When someoneis planning a $10,000 event,” said the hotel manager, “they don’t worry aboutan extra $100 to guarantee them good weather.” — Hinduism Today oO ANTI-SECT RULING A seven-week-long court case in Russia has been resolved in a landmark decision that an “anti-sect” brochure did not libel new religious groups in the nation. In a case that has been depicted as freedom ofreligion vs, freedom of information, a Moscow judge ruled Friday in favor of Alex- ander Dvorkin of the Russian Orthodox Church's education department. The case centered on a brochure produced by Dvorkin which warns against the dangers of such “‘totalitarian sects” as the Church of Scientology, the, Unification Church (Moonies), Jehovah's Witnesses and the Hare Krishna organization. The judge said, “The brochure expressed an opinion, and the sources that (Dvorkin) used gave him the right to speak those words.” — Ecumenical News a BOWLING ALLEY MASS Until they get their own building, members of the newest Roman Catholic Churchin Charlotte, Virg., will be gathering at a bowlingalley. So many Catholics have been rolling into north Mecklenburg County that the diocese of Charlotte didn’t have time to spare before launching a new parish. So the 900 or so families in the St. Mark congregation will gather for Mass every Sunday morning at Northcross Lanes at the Lake, a bowling center in’ Huntersville that doesn’t open to keglers before 1pm. “The people themselves are the church,” the Rev. Joseph Kerin said. “We can use any building and makeit sacred for God.” — The Associated Press 0 VOTERS IGNORE CHURCH Leaders of Poland's minority churches have welcomed the results of the May 25 referendum by which Polish voters narrowly approved a new ¢constitution, which had been vigorously ope by the Roman Catholic “Although the [low] turnout was a shock for everyone,this should not compromise its le‘itimacy,” said Bishop Jan Sarek, the Lutheran head of the Polish Ecumenical Council, Just 42 percent of Poland's 28 million eligible voters turned out. Catholic church leaders campai, the constitution fede: it “dethroned God" and because it failed to poacncty anti-abortion. But be said the constitution ea promote “democratic activities and procedures,” A spokesman for the couni enoee ae tution recognizes that “ le think differently.” 6 = peop! 1 News Churchin Thornton, Colo. “It's sad to see Paul leave,” said Tammy Thompson, a church member whoserves as Trinity’s secretary. “We thought we had some stability.” But she has hope that Heim will providesimilar stability. “We specified what we wanted in a minister and they [the Denver-based Rocky Monte Conference] matched him up with us,” Thompsonsai Pastoral appointments in thetUnited Methodist Church to replace Mountas minister of the Park City church. “These moves have been necessitated in part by the large number of retirements in the [Rocky Mountain] conference,” said the Rev. Ron Hodges, senior minister of Salt Lake City’s Christ United Methodist Church. The conference includes Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.“Usually we CTR Rings Went Way ——————_—__ "We've even got a glow-in-the-” darkring for those late nights. Mike Leatham Beyond Mission On Special CTR rings fe @ Continued from B-1 ring’s 27-year history that large numbers of Mormonchildren retain a fondness for the rings as adults. And they are willing to pay dearly for far-fancier versions madeofsterling silver or 14-karat gold by companies that pay the church a royalty for use of its CTR trademark, Mike Leatham and Randy Edmunds are co-owners of Ring MastersInc., a 10-yeat-old Ogden firm thatlast year madeInc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastestgrowing companies, largely on the crest of the CTR ring craze. With $2.5 million in sales last year, nearly half of Ring Masters’ business is CTR-related, Ed- mundssaid. In addition to the almost 400,000 rings a year it has manufacturedin the Philippines for the Primary, Ring Masters offers a commercial line of CTR rings in nearly 40 languages, from Hebrew to Hmong — nifty tapping etdLadnee Mormon missionary oxger CTR signet ring, the “Sampson,” is the company’s most expensive at $449.95. But custom-made CTRrings, like one Leatham had mounted with a half-karat diamond for a Primary teacher in Colorado, can cost more. “We've even got a glow-in-thedark ring for those late nights,” quipped Leatham, who believes most adults wear CTR rings less as a behavior modifier than as “a show of commitment”to thefaith. There are exceptions, though, that prove the rings sufficiently popular to be parodied. For example, Leatham has sold CTR rings to bikers, one of whom told him CTR stands for “Corrupt The Righteous.” Another customer’s definition: ‘Catholics Totally Rule.” And among somegays in Utah, the current campis a CTR ring on the left pinky. Karen Kilpatrick, a junior at Utah State University ans to serve a Mormon mission, has worn a sterling silver CTR ring for five years simply because “it looks good on my hand.” She and other Utah coeds say the rings are notfoolproofidentifiers, however. That's because some non-Mormon males wear them for easier entry into the college dating scene. Kilpatrick's mother, Nancy, would never have worn a CT! a church mission to Ukraine. “Tt meanta lot to me because I was missing him,’” she said. “It waskindof tie. Whatever the basis of their popularity, CTR rings fit a pattern commonto much of the material culture of American religion, said Colleen McDannell, whoholds the Sterling McMurrin Chair of Religious Studies at the University of Utah. “It's like Halloween. Things start out for kids and they become coopted by adults,” she said. For McDannell, CTR rings are akin to the cross given emphasis by many Christian churches, a material reminder of religious commitment that can also double as “a fashion item.” Such tangibles play an importantrolein religious life, shesaid. “Cl use goods... to tell themselves and the world around them who they are,” McDannell wrote in her 1995 book, Material Christianity, published by Yale University Press. “While some Christians accomplish the same thing through the exchange ofideas, many prefer to interact with visual and sensual symbols.” That idea was behind the original CTR ring, which came from a Primary curriculum committee chaired by Mrs. Nichols, now 87. “I felt that one of the visual aids should be som to remind each child to always rememberto choose the right,”’ she said, Mrs. Clinger,83, also served on the committee and is thrilled by all the CTR rings she sees. “In fact, it’s given as an engage- mentring,” she said. “Can you think of anything more appropriate for an sneseesent ring than ‘Choose The Right’?’ When hergrandchildren turn 8, Mrs.Clinger gives them a gold or silver CTR ring to replace their silver-coated copper Primary issue. Two years ago, she said, one of those gifts graced the finger of Melody Clinger, a red-haired Miss Sacramento competing in the Miss California pageant. “The chairmanof the [pageant] committee looked at that ring and asked her, ‘What does C-T-R stand for?’” Mrs, Clinger’s granddaughter didn't hesitate. “It stands for Choose The Redhead.” Pioneer of Charismatic Movement In Utah, Rev. James Powers, Dies The Rev. James H. Powers, a pioneerof the charismatic Christian movementin Salt LakeCity, died Thursday of congestive heart failure at his home. He was 66. Born and reared in Hazzard, Ky. (where the television series, “The Dukes of Hazzard”originated), Powers regaled listeners with tales of his four brothers and three cousins living in a tiny mountain cabin with his “moonshining” father and his Christian mother. After a stint in the army, Powers married Joycelyn Deal and in 1959 the couple moved to Salt Lake City where he worked as a brick layer and fire fighter, He always said he was convert- ed to Christianity on Palm Sunday after his wife was miraculously healed of a severe spine abnormality, In 1966 Powers founded Utah's first chapter of the Full Gospel Businessman’s Fellowship International and served as its president for eight years. In 1984 he created the Holy Spirit Renewal in Utah, which brought together §2 pastors and more than 3,000 eryrs: ina le conference. to friends and paridonee ministry Mainin Salt Lake City. La eee LUTHERAN “The cabinet, the bishop and the district superintendent nominate a person whois presented to the local church’s staff-parish committee. If it accepts the person, the bishop eeoe appointment.” other pastoral changes, the Rey. Bill McCreary of Salt Lake City’s Centenary United Methodist Church no longer will handle pastoral duties at Jordan United Methool Church. The West Jordan congregation will getits minister,the Rev. Blair Lerner, who has been serving atWoodlands United Methodist Church in Houston, Last month, the Rev. Khan McClellan left as associate minister at Salt Lake’s Christ United Methodist Church to accept a call as director of new church development for ‘ Utah, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. His new position is under the direction of the Rocky 2Mountain Conference's Bishop Mary Ann Swenson. Hobson is confident the school . can achieve accreditationinafew years. ‘ the president, turned toa handful of LDS multimillionaires. Ferrel asked for the men to send or wire $100,000 immediate- @ Continued from B-1 ly so the college could meetits threatened to close, the community of Buena Vista was worried. It relied heavily on the school for jobs and prestige; more than 90 people were employedthere. Most people were thrilled with the buyout by Mormons, with their assurances of its continuing nonsectarian nature, says James Jefferies, who was BuenaVista’s mayoratthe time. inent Mormons such as Ardeth Capp, former leader of the church's Young Women’s association, and Elder Marlin Jensen of the First Quorum of Seventy. The school’s president, David Ferrel, is an Area Authority Seventy. It has established LDS student wards (congregations) and an LDS Institute of Religion adjacent to campus. Though the school cannot distribute promotional literature in church buildings,it has sponsored “firesides,” evening speeches by LDS members. This summer several LDS Education Weekactivities will be held on campus. “We know a lot of kids who can’t get into BYU and Ricks [an LDS-owned juniorcollege in Rexburg, Idaho], who might have an interest,’ Hobson says. One deterrent, however, might be the price tag. Yearly tuition at Southern Nas ginia is $9,000, compared wit $2,600 a year for Mormons a BYU($3,#60 for non-Mormons). BYU tuition is subsidized by church tithes. Southern Virginia is a pretty good deal, however, when compared with other liberal-;ae S Jeges such as Lee, which gen $15,000a year. And Hobson says financial assistance is available, such as student jobs and $1,000-a-year scholarships to returned LDS missionaries. The schoolis hoping for an enrollmentof 200 to 250 in the next few years. To date, it has about 165 applicants for the 1997-98 school year, but will accept stu- Bible Maker Won’t Alter New Edition @ Continued from B-1 many of the “gender-accurate” passages that would havebeen incorporated into the edition planned for the United States. Johnsonsaid that whentranslators deal with gender — grammatical masculine, feminine or neuter categories of words — linguistic precisionis the goal, not a bow to feminist pressures. Some U.S. evangelicals have confused linguistic aceuracy with feminist revisionism, he added. “They view it as pandering to the feminist agenda, and they don’t view it as the linguistics issue thatit really is,” he said, precisely the charge leveled by Mohler. “The main issue was the fact that we would see translators use modern political correctness emerging outof the feminist agenda to come out with a version of Scripture, a translation, to be more acceptable to the was mor Bible Center, 2820South BULLETIN BOARD Compiled Powers’ marked by miraculous hea! A memorial service will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Full Ar- a desire for a ‘ “Kither Eifines aa o church or a atsyr ae can move,” Christ Usinited Methodist Church’s Hodges said. dents through August. In the dead of winter, the school hadtrouble meeting allits one with cyrillic letters just as her eldest son, Don, was departing on contain elements of both hierarchy and collegiality. While bishops formally as, the ministers, the appointments follow a process thatit largely is based on the LDS School Hopes to Be ‘BYU of East’ ring before a friend bought her gered by a case of nuclearterrorism againstIsrael. The book Just as there was a post-World War II baby boom in the United States, there was a ministerial boom after the war. Churches were thriving through the 1950s, Hodges said, and many peoplefelt a call to the ministry. “The e most significant number of people going into the ministry came between 1946 and 1965,” he said. “I’m at the tail end ofit. Andthis is true of almost all mainline Protestant churches.” The Rev. Paul Tapey, who has been pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Kearns for the past four years, is retiring. The 63-year-old Tapeywill be succeeded by the Rev. Bob Heim, pastor of Thornton United Methodist United Methodist Church,is leaving for the 2,000-member First United Methodist Church in Fort Collins, Colo. Andthe Rev. Darrell Mount, pastor of Park City Community Church,is going to Denver's Trinity United Meth- messagesin the Bible are as old as the text itself, The Bible Code relies upon computers to discern what author Michael Drosninclaims is a startling ar- have aroundeight a year, but this year we've had 23.” BY PETER SCARLET THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Thanks mostly to a post-World WarII clergy boom,several Salt Lake area United Methodist Churches are gaining new pastors this year, two because the churches’ ministers have acceptedcalls to large Colorado congregations. The Rev. Jim Cowell, senior pastor of Sandy’s Hillside Protestant denomination in the United States, with 15.7 million members, are the top purchasers of the NIV, The NIV is the trans- financial obligations, so Ferrel, February payrolls and accounts payable, according to an article in The Rockbridge Advocate,a local news weekly. Hobsondeclined to say whether any of them had complied, butin- sists that the school’s fund-raising efforts “will be very successful very soon.” “We wouldn’t be operating if we hadn’t been successful,” he says, Theschool’s board of trustees has approached alumni, private donors and foundations.It has established a nonprofit foundation, Pioneer Educational Foundation, and launched a $50 million national development campaign. The other pressing issue is ac- creditation, a two-step process. First the school was given license to enroll students by the Virginia State Council of Higher Education. A group from this committee visited in April, and Hobson says the school anticipates the committee’s approval to grant degrees by July. The secondphase is gaining acereditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools pert a much more difficult be process also has twosteps, says Ann Chard of SACS. The school submits an extensive application, with full descriptions of curriculum, faculty credentials andfinancial plans.If the application is sufficient, SACS makes a “candidacy visit” to determineif an institution meets the standards of candidacy. After that, an institution must completea self-study. The whole process can be completed in three to four years or take up to six years, Chard says. Though Southern Virginia has not yet submitted an application, lation of choice for the Baptist Sunday School Board in its commentaries and study manuals, Overall Bible sales in the United States are estimated at $500 million annually. The NIV holds a 45 percentmarket share andis especially favored by evangelicals, whouse it nearly as often as the traditional King James Version. Sinceits introduction in 1978 and subsequent revision in 1983, more than 100 million copies have been sold, according to Zondervan and IBSofficials. ie Rey. James Walters, senior pastorof First Baptist Church in Mobile, Ala., said good modern translations help makethe Bible more accessible to the public. “Tt sounds to me like they are just trying to upgrade the language to be compatible with the times and makeit a bit more accurate,” Walters said. The debate peetranslationsi laced, said professor of New Testament Greek at New Orleans Theological Seminary> “This is not a gender matter, it's a language matter,” Duke said. “In moving from one lane to another, there's always — interpretation you have to Duke said he preferred more discussion on the accuracy and literalness of translations, rather than whetherto use terms such as “We probably would spend our timebetter if wetried to deal with communicate to followers who could not read or write. Zion Lutheran Church new program developed for summer Sundays with 4 focus on the earth. “Living in God's Cre- United Methodist Church camp! facility 24, at 9:30 to 10:45 a.m, inc unde a devo tional time with storytelling from seri Salt Lake City, presents a special worship ture and experiences through the paraloeon te Medieval 502-2821 Sunday at 9:30 am,eeratne based on Christ's weaching Ly The school’s new owners have . done much to foster goodwill . among the community, contribut- ° ing hours ofservice, allowing Lion’s Club receptions and high school proms on campus andparticipating in localfestivities. As it becomes more entrenched in Mormonism, however; some are expressing concern. “With the new school, welost a lot of our constituents,” says Dicken, the former employee. “The alumni were not very supportive of the new direction.” As a women’s college, “itwasa . vibrant school,” says Thelma Lomax, who ran the alumni office . for the school underits previous administration. “It was likea sisterhood,” The new incarnation “may be Southern Virginia, butit certainly is not Southern Seminary,” Lo- |. max says,“It’s like comparing apples and oranges.” Lomax is withholding judgment until she sees what direction the new owners will take the school. Jefferies, on the other hand, says he has notheard single derogatory comment. [ “We look forward to working with them and having them a part of the community,” he says. Forhis part, Hobson says, “We ° are counting on being here for as far in the future as we can see.” een er “We had a balanceto strike between serving the evangelical church in the world and the evangelical phate in the United States, and often those two halves see things from different cultural standpoints,” Steven Johnson On a gender-neutral Bible SS the languageas straightforwardly as we can instead of wo: rrying about being politically correct,” he added. TBS' Johnson said the issue arises from translation of words that in the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic are grammatically neutral, such as the Greek “anthropos,” That word,used in 1 Corinthians 11:28,is a ‘third person,all inclusive” word. “The singular inclusive pronouns don’tex- . ist in English and they do in Greek, so they don't translate straight across. Johnson said the decision to scrap the new translationis irrevocable. “We have shelved all plans to ever discuss this,” Johnson said. the North American evangelical church ever wanted to discuss oeaccuracy, I <n gel if we' again, but any case, that would be well down the road, probably after you and I are long gone,” designed oa the day. An adult study will also be offered. For further information, contact the church at » | i % | iediy Delt mingts concert will be held at 7:30 p.m at Hilltop Methodist 985 E. 10600 South, Sandy. oO a bootwill feature music a the Tongan U.M.C, NON-DENOMINATIONAL BB ome port Gi ld their mont meeting and Children's ir in addition to 1-80 to Coalville, turn left onto Main Street bandbell choirs from other churches, For information call Margarie eeoa aren at 263-8501or Dick Dotson at 2! : (TSG) will Wednesday at 730 pmoe 7: toledcsion My ot memorable Mormon experience” andit will be held at‘the First Unitarian Church, 569 8, 1300 East, Salt Lake City. K | — “We are elated with the fact | open house today from 10 a.m to 3 p,m, —G Pinecliff) above Coalville olds an ‘ - that these gentlemen have formulated a plan to continue the , school,” Jefferies says. “We feel it is a real asset to the communi- Church that used storytel ling techniques to ation” will begin Sunday, June 8 through Aug. Zion Lutheran Church, 1070 Foothill Drive, When Southern Virginia - 7 |