OCR Text |
Show > D3 The Salt Lake Tribune RELIGION Saturday, May27, 1995 A. JAMES RUDIN Thank Moses For Your Need to Toe the Line RELIGION NEWSSERVICE Onecriticism commonly hurled at religionis thatits teachings are simply beyond the reach of mere humanbeings. Every memberofthe clergy has heard this excuse from those who resist or reject religious obligations: “Becausetheideals ofreligion are so exalted and sublime, they are notof this world,” people say. “We can never live up to them.They truly belong in heaven in a perfect society and not here onEarth.” It’s a captivating sentiment but totally wrong, and the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, observed June 4 and5, tells us why. Shavuot, from the Hebrew word meaning ‘‘weeks,”’ falls 50 days (seven weeksand a day)after Passover, whenthe ancientIsraelites escaped from Egyptian slavery. Shavuot celebrates the extraordinary momentin the bleak desert wilderness when God gave the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, to the Jewish people. God’s receiving agent was the lonely Moses standing on the lonely MountSinai. Because of its Jewish roots, Church Marks 125th Anniversary @ Continued from D-1 lasted a year. Since then, she has taught Sunday school, been a Scout leader and a memberof United Methodist Women. “T want to be there every Sunday,” said Waldburger. “When I'm ill and can’t go, I feel like I missed something.” The church draws newer members aseasily asit retainsits veterans, even though many could find United Methodist congregations closer to home. “T travel to town to attend First Churchbecauseofthe diversity of its congregation,’ said David Money, wholives in the Holladay area and heads the church’'s administrative council. “It’s a church that isn’t filled with people that look andtalk justlike my wife and I, white and middle class.” Church members come from Anglo, African-American, Tongan, Samoan and American Indian backgrounds. There even are some members from Pakistan Christianity incorporated the 50day theme of Shavuotinto its own liturgical calendar and gave the festival a Greek name, ‘‘Pentecost.” It made this Jewish holiday into the birthday of the Church, the moment whenthe Holy Spirit came down uponthedisciples of Jesus. In the Jewish rabbinic tradition, there is an extended debate whether the Bible’s high-minded teachings must reside only in heaven and not operate on Earth. According to the rabbis, the angels were angry that Moses was permitted to receive the Torah: “Why, O God, do You give your greatest gift to mere flesh and blood? What are human beings that You even care about them? The sacred Torahis so preciousit must remain forever in heaven with us.” As the argument ensued, God asked Moses to answer. Afterall, God,being God, couldeasily overwhelm the angels in a response. But it would be better, God reasoned,if Moses himself explained whythe Torah was urgently needed on Earth. Like a good attorney, Moses went after the angels with a brilliant line of attack. He rebutted the accusers’ charges by reciting the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord your God who brought you outof the land of Egypt, the house of bondage,” he began. “You shall have noother gods before Me.” Moses rhetorically asked the angels whether they had ever been slaves to Pharaoh and whetherthey had ever worshiped other gods. Of course, the angels had to answer “No.” Mosespressed forward and inquired whether angels ever engaged in business dealings that might lead to swearing a false oath: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” He then asked the angels whetherthey do the kind of work that requires them to rest on the Sabbath each week: “Remember the Sabbath day to keepit holy.” Again, the angels had to answer “No.” But Moseswasnotfinished with the arrogant angels who wanted the Torah to stay in heaven. “The Torah commands us to honor your father and mother. But do you, O majestic angels, even have a father or a mother? Of course not.” “And because you are angels, and not human beings, you have no rivalries among you. You have no impulses to do evil as we earthlings do. So you do not need the strict Commandments against murder, adultery, stealing, and false witness. And because you are angels, and not humanbeings, you certainly do not need the Commandment against coveting, lusting after what your neighbor has.” Moses concluded his slashing cross-examination of the angels by explaining that the Torah was desperately needed on Earth if human beings were to live in peace andjustice with one another. According to Jewish tradition, even though God always intended to give the Torah to the world at Mount Sinai, the Creator was nonetheless immensely pleased with the eloquent response of Moses. And even the angels had to acknowledge the sheerbrilliance of Moses. They conceded the need for the Torahto becomeoperative among the entire human family With the angels’ objections overcome, the tradition says, the majestic events of Shavuot commenced on Mount Sinai and, indeed, the laws of God permanently moved from heaven to Earth, from angels to humans, from ethereal safekeeping to the nitty-gritty details of everyday life. Sorry folks, there is no escaping the Commandments of a just and wise God. Shavuotis an annualreminder why the Torah is within us, and not in heaven. David and Jana Moneyarerelatively, but notentirely, new to the church. They joined four years ago, after a 15-year sojourn away from organizedreligion and their weddingin First United. “When we decided to start focusing on the spiritual aspects of life, this was a logical starting point for us,” he said. David Money, for one, had no desire to go church shopping. “Thereis a real feeling of spirituality and mutual support,” he said. “Thereis a joy aboutbeing a part of a congregation in service to God, where people are not hung up on the mechanies, the practical side, of congregational life. Like the Moneys, Marva Booth of Sandy could find a Methodist churchcloser to homebutprefers to travel downtown to worship at First United. “I’m not a longtime member, but a devoted one,” she said. “WhenI first went to the church in 1987, it felt like I had found a homeaway from home. | am single, don’t have children and was looking for a church whereI fit it. I felt right at home at First Church andstill do.” Booth, who works downtown, walked past the church often. Whenshedecidedto find her own church, she checkedit out and has been thereeversince. “I knowpeople in most of the Rabbi Rudin is the National Interreligious Affairs Director of the American Jewish Committee. churchesin town and all are wonderful people,” she said. “But in terms of a church home,it’s First United Methdodist Church for me.” The Rev. Robert R. Sewell, pastor for the pastfive years, said the congregation's historic social conscience continues. In the mid-1970s, the church helped Tongan Methodists start Salt Lake City’s Tongan United Methodist Church. In 1992, the church hada consecration service for the Urdu Speaking United Methodist Worshiping Communi- NEWS FROM THE PEWS BAPTIST Provo's First Baptist Church, 1144 W. Columbia Lane, will observe “Carnival Day” June 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Eventsinclude games, stories and a chance to register for the church’s vacation Bible school, a program for preschoolers and youthsthat runs June 4 through 9 from6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. each night donation per familyis suggested roots power of the Christian Coalition and other groups played an importantrole in the Republican takeover of Congress Russell said in an interviewthat Packwood should be removed as Finance Committee chairman if the ethics panel recommendssuch action. The panelonly can make a recommendation; it is up to Senate Republicans to remove him. “The issue at that point becomes giving a nod of approvalto this kind of behavior, and that is something the Senate just can't afford to do,” Russell said The comments come in the wake of blunt and graphic charges madepublic last week by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. The panel charged Packwood with 18 instances of forcefully kissing, fondling and holding womenagainst their will. It also accused him of asking lobbyists to hire his ex-wife, Georgie, in hopes of reducing his alimony payments and ofaltering his diaries to hide evidence from the committeeasit was about to them. = stre you dined of IC PLAYING CHURCH?” gious orderis June4 at the church, 1793 Orehard Drive. ion at 900 S. 700 East, Salt LakeCity. Summerquarterclassesat the Utah Institute for Bibli- cal Studies are June 9 through 12 with a feature class on “Christian Prayer: Its Traditions and Practices.” Visiting scholar James Houston, professorof spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, will teach it. Call 581-1900 for information. @ Pastor Tim and Vicki Henderson will speak June 3 at a 9:30 a.m. breakfast meeting of Salt Lake Daytime Aglow Fellowship at the Holiday Inn, 999 S. Main, Salt Lake City Tim Henderson recentlyorganized a newcongregation, Integrity Christian Fellowship, in Layton, and Vicki Henderson servesas president of Ogden Aglow. Cost is $7.50. Call 967-5328, 963-6260, or 277-8041 for reservations. observing it Sunday. The Sunday observance will be the secondin a five-year plan to see if a Sunday observance enables morefaithful to participate in the rite. QO JEWISH “Shalome on the Range,” the Salt Lake City Jewish Community Center’s annual fund-raising dinner and auction, will be held June 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the center, 2416 E. 1700 South. Cost is $30 a person. For information, call 581-0098. Qo LATTER-DAY SAINTS The Mormon Tabernacle Choirwill give four concerts in the nation’s capital and in New York City this summer as. part of events marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World WarII. The 320-voice choir will perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Aug. 4 and 5, and at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York Aug. 8 and 9. The concert will feature a national premiere of “An American Requiem” by James DeMars, a work commissioned by the Art Renaissance Foundation of Phoenix. DeMarsis on the faculty at Arizona State University. @ This year’s Castle Valley Pageant, a program that commemorates Mormon settlement of the Castle Valley area, will be held July 27, 28, 29 and Aug. 1 through 5. The event, free to the public, begins at dusk each evening and takes place on a hill overlooking Emery County about seven miles north of Castle Dale. A lamb fry — $5 for adults or $20 for families — takes place each day of the pageant beginning at 4:30 p.m.attheCastle Dale City Pavilion @ TheRey. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries. ix, will discuss his book, The King James Only Con- Sunday during KTKK Radio's Religion on the Line program at 8 p.m. Thestation is at 630 on the AMdial. @ Ruth E. Brasher, director of Brigham Young University’s Honor Code Office, will speak Tuesdayat an 11 a.m devotional assembly in BYU's de Jong Concert Hall. o METHODIST United Methodist Women of Christ United Methodist Church, 2375 E. 3300 South, Salt Lake County, are sponsoring a noon buffet luncheon Thursdayfor Salt Lake area United Methodist women. The program includes a panel o ORTHODOX ‘Annual Memorial Dayservices will be held Sunday at 11:45 a.m. at the Hellenic Memorial Monument outside Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 279 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City. Keynote speakerwill be Deacon Peter Alex of Layton, who serves at Ogden's Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church. Soprano Billie Loukas Poulos, a member of Salt Lake’s Greek Orthodox community, will sing “Songs of Remembrance.” The service honors 35 GreekAmerican soldierswho lost their lives in World War I, World WarII and the Korean War, and also 200 Greeks who werekilled in Utah industrial accidents. Oo UNITARIAN-UNIVERSALIST Sunday’s 4 p.m. worshipservice at South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, 6876 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake, will have a Memorial Day motif. Speakers Mac Lund and Antoinette Rahmanwill discuss preparing for death and being a support person for the dying. Congregation mem- berswill be invited to place an object on the altar in remembranceof a loved one who hasdied. ® ‘Creation Stories: Past, Present & Personal.’’ will be the subject of a workshop June 3 at 10 a.m. at First Unitarian Church, 569 S. 1300 East, Salt Lake City. Speakers are Ewa Wasilewska, an anthropologist and archaeologist who teaches at the University of Utah, and Cathy A. Malchiodi, a licensed art therapist and counselor who teaches at Southwestern College in Santa Fe. N.M., and Lesley Col- lege in Cambridge, Mass. Cost of the workshopis $30, Call 583-0468 or 596-3005 for more information. —Compiled by Peter Scarlet ATTEND THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 370 S. 300 E. 363-5559 CHURCH OF RELIGIOUSSCIENCE) ‘am 5448 South 900 East 265-8601 \ ‘QS “MONEY CAN BE FUN!” Bettie Bogarte ‘The Place for Singles Every Friday at 7 p.m. Sunday Program: 9:30 am Bible Study, 10:40 am Worship, Thurs. 7:00 PM - Praise & Fellowship Night FIRST CHURCH 352 & THIRD SO. SUN. SCHOOL & SERVICE 11 AM. WED.7 P.M. SECOND CHURCH 1165 FOOTHILL OR. TROCPENDENT NEW THOUGHT CENTER q “LIVING MEMORIES” Vintage Square, 1780 So. 1100 E. 487-0478 ‘SUNDAY SERVICES 10 am. Bey. Minister ty Uni Of salt Lake: IFY, SIMPLIFY,PSIMPL IFY” . Mike Fotheringham 6876 So, Highta De“ac 84124 281-2400 [Awsles heSpe GAT FIRST UNITARIAN 582-8687 CHURCH569 So. 13th East ineroeneaionl shgioun Slosohon & Nrsery Core 10:30- 11:45 am Celebration Service: 11:00 a.m. itation ne te an 24 br. Dial-A-Pray New Thought Book & on ce mas ETS.obo ase ties, ay [ini Sunday 9:45 ASEIntercesion "AM. Praise 1030 & TheMinistry 1030 AN AM Worship Chilaen’s Tuesday 630 PM. Youth (8 to 18) fT Friday 630 PM, Paraciete Ministry SUM. SCHOOL & SERVICE 10:30 AM. WED. 730 PM. «THIRD CHURCH 20610sm SERVICE AM. UK WED.smn 7:30.5) «I ECKANKAR Religion ofthe Light & Sound ofGod Wenhip Service ot 10:00 am. Public We »fok Piowsiir SUNDAY. comers & Guests Invited Searsot at 10:00 a: For more info,call ECK Cortes 494. Meeting in, Midvale at 110 Allen St Call 572.3126 for information Orthodoxy: A Using Connection with the Entire Past Pxpericace of the Christian Churc 1507 6.1700 So. Suite A, Si i Pyae Seee eaeRR Me Lee “IN OUR FATHER'S Be a food Shepherd Latheran Charch, ELCA '5 South 700 \S Boop UT 80rd Mt (801) 255-8181 “Tht al wiht 80 Jems, and grow aad seve Hs love* ‘SUMMER FALL Rev. Robert B, Coates, Ph.D. Worship Services 10:30 am Sunday School 10:30 am Nursery Provided * Free * Liberal _* Democratic 7:00 pam Pastor and Mi ee Richard of LIVE FELLOWSHIP Ueeg BCRnm Me Ska) The Richards are graduates of Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, OK. Service times ore: Sun. 10:30 a.m. UNITED METHODIST pT UNITED 203 S. 200 E. - 328-8726 “A LASTING MEMORIAL” @ sce ee Rev. Robert R. Sewell ed Care Frowsed ‘CHRIST. Se 2375 E, 3300 So, - 486-473 who labor Our Lord Jesus poy ae tenesto me, all 1 will aise you rest.”’ and are heavy laden, Hodges, THE UPPER ROOM 1737 So. Redwood Rd., Salt Lake City that dayat 3 p.m. in Liberty Park'snortheast corner pavil- cese as well as others in the western United States are BURNED OUT ON RELIGION? not fund-raising Relationship . . . not religion Growth of the believer . . . not just the body Farm activity barn, 6351 S. 900 East, Murray, and later @Utah Roman Catholics will observe Ascension Day Sundayin their local parishes. Normally, the event that marks Jesus Christ’s ascension 40 days after his resurrection, would have been observed Thursday, but Utah’s dio- SUING ABOVE THE CRCUMSTANCES” Visit THE UPPER ROOM and experience the principles of first century Christianity W Author and speaker Ray Comfortwill speak June 3-4 as the guest of Wasatch Christian Fellowship, a congregation that meets for worship at Wheeler Farm. Comfort. a popular outdoor preacher and author of Hell’s Best Kept Secret, will speak June 3 at 7 p.m. at the Courtyard Marriott, on the southeast corner of the I-15 exit at 10600 South in Sandy. He will speak June 4 at 10 a.m. at the Wheeler Daughtersof Charity for 35 yearsof service in the Bountiful parish and school. All parishioners, current and former students, parents and others are encouraged to attend a 11:15 a.m. Mass recognizing the work of nuns of the reli- Religious Right: Don’t Give Packwood Any Breaks RELIGION NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON — Influential conservative Christian groups this week warned that Senate Republican leaders will be held accountableif they block serious action in the ethics case against Sen. Bob Packwood. Representatives for three politically powerful groups said they expect Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole to ensure that charges of sexual misconduct, evidence tamperingandinfluence peddling against Packwood are considered ontheir merits and not on the political interests of Senate Republicans. The groupssaid public hearings should be held, unless the women who have accused Packwood of unwanted sexual advances object, and Packwood should be expelled from the Senateor stripped of his chairmanship of the Finance Committee if charges are upheld. roe are serious charges, and this requires nothing less than full disclosure to the American people,” said Mike Russell, @ spokesman for the Christian Coalition, Packwood has been at odds with religious conservatives over issues such as abortion. This is the first time, however, such groups have weighed in on his ethics problems. Their concerns probably will be taken seriously in the Senate, where Dole and Texas Republican Sen. Phil Gramm, combatants for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination, are vying for the religious right’s support. The grass- Road. Theevent runs from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. A $3 a tory creates a “keen responsibil- ity to ensureit has an inviting appearance.” NONDENOMINATIONAL, Music groups fromeight Salt Lake area churcheswill perform during a coffee-houseconcert Fridayat Salt Lake City’s Vineyard Christian Fellowship, 1945 S. Redwood CATHOLIC St. Olaf’s Catholic Church and School will honor the ty — many of them First Church members — who meet in the church for worship in the Urdu language of Pakistan. In the past 18 months, the church started a series of free monthly community concerts to showcase instrumental and vocal artists from Utah. Moreover, Sewell said the churchcontinues as a state center for UNICEF — the United Nations’ children’s organization — and remains a longtime supporter of Crossroads Urban Center, a Salt Lake City-based advocacy and or ion for the needy. Nordoesthe church neglectits building, believing its age and his- discussion about the United Methodist Church’s Charter for Racial Justice and the status of racial justice in theSalt Lake area. Call 486-5487 for moreinformation First United Methodist Church youthswill hold a yard sale June 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the downtownSalt Lake City church’s parkinglot, 203 S. 200 East Pereoe more int ion please cont at 969-6115 of 269-3618. ee Plthaele ce) WASATCH PRESBYTERIAN 1700 South 1700 East 487-7576 “MOTIVATING 2MEMORIES” wentsoveneoan A A Henry David A. Henry David C. Lee Horace M_ McMullen Visual roa Ga earn oie (Church School 9:30 Chit care provided: HILLTOP UNITED METHODIST 985 E. 10600 So. - 571-5777 “THE GREATEST TEACHINGS OF JESUS: Kingdom of God” Rey. Jim Cowelt Worship Seevicns: 8:30 & 1:00am NURSERY-CHILDREN'S CHURCH 6:30 & 1100 ‘Adult/ Chikdren Sundy Schoo! at 9:90 an Worthip Service tt om School 45 am hey Wesley Nordman and Rev Clyde Boker, pastor Malt) “DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED?” Rev. Devid Butter 8:30, #30 & 11:00 am Worship Services Sunday Schoo! 9:30 TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 4200 Wet S415 South, Kearns 980-6007 Sunday momings at 10:30 beginning June 4 eee er COME BACK TO YOUR FIRST LOVE Worsip Servos et 836on & 1100 5 Tongan Worship 2:00 pm Youth Group $:00 orm 2018 Newoxntie Drive (8850 So) Worship Service 930 am 943-4043 PASTOR: DAVID GILBERT Bil Cottonsond Presbyterian we 10:00 om Holleday Areo ‘Smet (6X00 South) Southeast Christian Church 1881 E. Vine St. se (6100 So, & Ven |