OCR Text |
Show E3 The Salt Lake Tribune RELIGION Saturday, December 30,1995 Millennium Celebration Will Be No Roman Holiday for Pilgrims By Steven Heilbronner RELIGION NEWSSERVICE VATICAN CITY — As ancient Romeprepares for the third Christian millennium, one thingis already clear. The celebration will be no Roman holiday — ‘not for the guests and notfor the hosts. WhenPope John PaulII, the putative master of were a hermeneutical[interpretive] key of my pontificate,” John Paul wrote in an apostolic letter on the jubilee. Butpreparing for the crush of people who gather at or near the Vatican to mark the beginning of the third millennium maybeas challenging as the pope's “time has a fundamental importance,” he clearly quest for Christian unity. The problem with Romeis perhapsbest summed up by fictional character, Alessandro Giuliani, the wasn’t referring to the city inhabited by most of his protagonistin ‘A Soldierof the Great War” by Mark 261 predecessors. Helprin. “Romewas not meant to move, but to be beautiful,” he said. “It’s an enormoustask of coordination,” said Mon- ceremonies, recently observed that in Christianity i; Living up to their well-earned reputations, the cit- izens of eternally late Rome have already massagec. or missed deadlines they set to accommodate the influx in 2000 of some 40 million pilgrims for the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus. That's about eight times the numberoftourists that visit Romeeachyear. Across the Tiber River in the Vatican, the pope is intensely focused on the “Great Jubilee,” saying it has becomethecoreofhis ministry. The church observes jubilees, or holy years, every 25 years, a custom that Christians adopted from Jewish law in the 14th century. Popes observe the year by granting special benefits, known as indulgences, for pilgrims who come to Rome and perform other religiousacts. John Paul has called on Catholics to reflect on Christianity’s past andits future, urging them to repentfor their sins and renew theirfaith. The pontiff has invited local churchesto carry out special events, including synods, to markthehistoric date. The Vatican will convenean International Eucharistic Congress in 2000 in a continuing effort to reconcile the splintered Christian churches. He has expressed a desire to visit the “places on the road takenby the people of Godof the Old Covenant,” including Egypt, Israel and Syria. “Preparing for the year 2000 has becomeasif it COMMENTARY FREDERICA MATHEWES-GREEN Unlike Other6, Gluttony Is A Cute Sin As the new year cracksits pale light upon us and thoughts of better behavior dance in our heads,it’s a good timeto look at a sin that besets most ofus this time ofyear: gluttony. Gluttony is, of course, one of the ancient cohort of seven deadly sins; its companions are sloth, anger, lust, envy, greed, a.d pride, It seems outof place in such grim company, Gluttony, we think, isn’t one of the really badsins, like adultery or stealing. All it does is make you soft and huggable.It’s the cute sin. Yet previous generations knew that over-eating was a symptom ofa life out of syne with God. Over-indulgence in food didn’t just lead to thickened waistlines and arteries; it led to spiritual disaster. These words from a 19th-century Russian monk, Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, build to an alarming crescendo: “Wise temperance of the stomachis a doortoall the virtues. Restrain the stomach, and you will enter Paradise. But if you please and pamper your stomach, you will hurl yourself overthe precipice of bodily impurity, into the fire of wrath and fury, you will coarsen and darken your mind, and in this way you will ruin your powers of attention and self-control, yoursobriety and vigilance.” Hopeless? If that doesn’t make you take a second look at your second helpings, nothing will. Anyone whohastried to diet knowsthatthe willto eat indulgently is surprisingly strong and unruly. Plansto eat reasonably and with an eye to good health maylook veryattractive on Sundaynight About 3 p.m. on Monday, signor Sergio Sebastiani, secretary general of the Vatican Central Jubilee Committee. Sebastiani’s two most challenging problemsare housing pilgrims and transporting them. The church is planning to house up to 200,000 visitors at its convents, colleges and seminaries, mostly outside Rome.It will rely on the central government to make good onits promise of improving train service on lines from Naples in the south to Florence and Venice in the north. There are about 66,000 hotel beds for rent in Rome and an additional 80,000 within an hourof the city by train or bus. Sebastiani said he expects that manyItalians will rent rooms in their homes to visitors, bringing the total accommodation figure to about 1 million. But fewer hotels than originally envisaged will be constructed outside Rome, Sebastiani said. Why? MonsignorLiberio Andreatta provided a practical answer: “What would we do withall these buildings after the pilgrims leave? Close them down?” Andreatta, who runs the Catholic Church's two main travel ageucies charged with transportingpilgrims, said manyvisitors would stay in small towns however,it’s a different story. The stomach that was placid and amiable has become a bucking,rebellious pony, with a defiance that was never evidentuntil it was made to wear a bridle. Of course, food is pleasurable; but while some pleasures can be relinquished with a melancholy pang, the attempt to discipline food sins prompts a ferocious resistance.The over- Teen’s Parents Sue Minister Over Sex SCRIPPS-MCCLATCHY WESTERN SERVICE and out of control. The classic confession is: “I have no will- SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The parents of a teen-ager have sued a West Sacramento church, its ministers and its parent organization for $10 million after a minister admitted having a sexualrelationship with the girl The parents and their child, identified only as Father Roe, Mother Roe and Daughter Roe in a complaint filed in Yolo County power.” Far from establishing Superior Court last week, claim eateris likely to feel ashamed the glutton as a master, it exposes him as a slave, Roaring lion? This is not just a matter of deficient selfcontrol, but of slipping under another's control. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someoneto devour,” writes Peter in one of his epistles. C.S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, has the senior devil write to his nephew: “To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorptionofits will into ours. But the obedience which the Enemy (God, the Father) demandsof menis quite a different thing. ... We want cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons. We are empty and would befilled; He is full and flows over.” Indulging in gluttony seems like a private vice, a “cute sin,’ a matter between only the tempted diner and the eclair. But undisciplined indulgence in the pleasureof food costs us more than we dream:It coarsens and darkens our minds,it ruins our powers of attention and self-control, of sobriety and vigilance. It hobbles and confuses us. But Jesus, the one who invites us to his marriage supper, will not devour us. In fact, he promises to feed us. But there is more: He does not feed us only with the good things he has made, he feedsushis veryself. It is this other bread we must learnto eat, the “breadoflife,” the word of God himself. At the Communiontablethis becomes, not just theory, but a true encounter — a feast that binds hungrysinners together, and links us to the one who alone can feed our souls. Frederica Mathewes-Green is a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. churchofficials knew of the relationship yet refused to remove the minister. Instead, the suit says, the officials attempted to silence the girl and herfamily. The suit names as defendants the WordofLife Assembly of God church of West Sacramento, ministers Donald Wisdom and Geneva Lee, and the Assemblies of God Northern California and Nevada District Council, Inc In a criminalcase involving the same circumstances, Wisdom pleadedno contest on Noy. 9 to 11 counts of having sex with a minor. He hasbeenin the Yolo County Jail since Nov. 15, serving a oneyear sentence. “The unusual thing about this case to meis that the people in the church knew that it was happening and didn’t stop it,” said John P. Panneton, lawyer for the girl and herparents. Telephonesat the church and at thedistrict council office went unanswered on Tuesday. According to the complaint, Wisdom induced the girl, 15 at the time, to begin a sexual relationship with him in October 1994 and to continue until the parents learnedofit on July 6 Somefour days later, according to the complaint, the girl and her mother complained of Wisdom to district council officials. Later the same day, the complaint charges, the father was ordered from a church function by Wisdom and Lee, with Wisdom telling church membersthat the district council had ordered the family expelled from the church. The complaint seeks $10 million in punitive damagesplus general and special damagesfor battery, sexual battery, sexual harassment, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, slander and invasion of privacy. Has Architect Found Ark of Covenant Location? By Adelle M. Banks RELIGION NEWS SERVICE One of the great mysteries for biblical scholars and believers is exactly where the Ark of the Covenant stood in the temple King Solomonbuilt in Jerusalem nearly 3,000 years ago. The Ark of the Covenantitself —- the woodenchest used to store the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments are believed to have been written — has beenlost in the dust of history. But an archaeological architect in England claims the place of honorthe ark once occupiedis visible today on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, inside the Muslimshrine known as the Dome of the Rock In Biblical Archaeology Re- view, Leen Ritmeyer writes how he used measurements, Bible texts and rabbinical commentary to deduce that the ark stood in a rectangular depression carved in the rocky outcropping below the dome. The nicly — 2 feet, 7 inch es by 4 feet, 4 inches — can be seen by worshipers and tourists whovisit the site. “For me, it’s the cherry on the cake of my research,” Ritmeyer said from Harrogate, England. Ritmeyer, an architect known for his reconstructive drawings of numerous archaeological sites in Israel, previously had published an article in Biblical Archaeological Review describing the location of the original Temple Mount, the platform on which Solomon's Temple was built. His latest findings are a continuation of that research “The research has directed us to the very spot wherethe Ark of the Covenant stood within the Holyof Holies,”’ he writes. There has been much archaeological speculation about the ex act site of Solomon's Temple and the location of the Holyof Hollies, the chamberin which the ark w: placed. Fewresearchers have pointgd the original location of the ark. And while Ritmeyer says his research proves the truth of certain Bible verses, Biblical Archaeology Review Editor Hershel Shanksviews his workin a differentlight. “It bringsuscloserto that biblical world in a very tangible way,” Shankssaid. The ark, ancient Israel's most sacred ritual possession, accompanied the wanderingtribesofIsrael through the centuries until King David brought it to Jerusa- lem andhis son, Solomon, erected the temple. The ark wasinstalled in an enclosure knownas the Holy of Holies, which was entered only on the Dayof Atonement THE SALT LAKE BIBLE DISCOUNT BIBLES & ACCESSORIES T-SHIRTS © MUSIC @ GIFTS SPECIAL ORDERS WELCOME (Between Main & West Temple On 3300 So) 483-2320 60 West 3300 South However, the metro project has not yet begun. up and downthecoast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which separates the Italian peninsula from the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. Tourists could make day trips to the city by bus ortrain. While new heusing maybe hard to comeby, new churches won't be. Rome boasts more than 400 churches andan additional 50 churchesare expected Likewise, other construction expansion plans have not been acted upon. Those include a pedestrian area from St. Peter’s Square to the Tiber River and an expansion of an underground tunnel for vehicles paralleling the river. The work would have to be completed in three years to benefit the millions of people whowill descend on Rome in the beginning of to be erectedoutside the city. Many existing houses 1999 of worship are awaiting restoration. Historie structures, such as the Colosseum, are targeted for renovation. Trajan’s Markets, built in the first century,is in the midst of a facelift that is due to be complete in January 1997. Andreatta is not optimistic “I'm sure that the metro will be done but I'm not sure about the other things.” he said, following a meeting with the pope. The pontiff, he added ‘asked about howthings are going andreiterated the importance he places on this event. But he doesn’t The Roman Forum alsois receiving somestructural reinforcement. In addition, archaeological excavations get into the details of what we do.” throughout the city — on the Palatine Hill, in the Andreatta blamedItaly’s entrenched bureaucracy for the delays andinefficiency that already plague Roman Forum andin the Baths of Caracalla —are to be stepped up in the coming years. But manylarge-scale modernization and construction projects have not materialized. “Moreorless nothing has been done,” said Giuseppe Roma, director of the Censis Foundation, a think tank that monitors public institutions and the economy. “Atthis point, I think there’s a necessity to concentrate on a few works that could possibly be projects Nicola Sealzini, chief of the Italian government's jubilee projects, agreed, saying tasks are too widely dispersed But adapting acity that began to take shape 2.700 years ago to modernneeds is “terribly difficult,” Scalzini said. “There's only so much room to grow.’ Sebastiani is plainly moreinterested in thespiritual andreligious dimensions of the jubilee than mov- finished by 1999.” Romasaid the municipalandItalian governments had set an overly ambitious goal of completing 40 projects by 1999 — everything from state of the art telecommunicationsservices to expanded roadw ing traffic. “The year 2000 for us is a great emotional and spiritual occasion.” he said, ‘an event in which we must reflect on the fact that Jesus Christ was born 2.000 years ago. Andwe have to ask ourselves, what have we donewith his message? What does he mean But only a handful of the major infrastructure jects, he said,are likely to be completed bythen. Expansion plansat both Romeairports to accommodate more passengersare likely to be finished And Roma expects the city will complete a third undergroundrail line that links the Vatican with a station in the southern part of the city to ease gridlock in the center of Rome. to us? As fortheanticipated lack of accommodations and difficulty of maneuvering this already crampedcity he said, “This is above all a spiritual event. It’s not like [pilgrims] are going on holiday.” Woman Healed by Faith 12 Years Ago Draws Respectin the 1990s A fewyears ago. Cann’s encounter with spontaneous healing would have been met largely with ByBill Roberts THEIDAHO STATESMAN skepticism froma public whoconsideredit little Joyce Cannhadtried everything for the bumps that ached andbled in her throat She had them burned and scraped. Whenthe pain gottoo severe, she had them numbed Thinking thatdiet could help, she drank gallonsof cranberryjuice Still, her throat deteriorated Surgerywas out of the question. The bumps — called lymph growths — had destroyedhertissue She would bleed to death One Sunday, Cann, then an organist at a Methodist Church in Oregon, found herself at her church, where people laid hands on her and prayed she'd be healed. She attended another healing service the following Tuesday. ‘That night — whichis vivid in her mind — she felt pain and intense body heat. The next morning, the bumps were gone “My God,” said Cann, nowa Methodist minister in Jordan Valley, Ore., as she inspected her once growth-infested throat. “It’s pink. It's all pink I've been healed.” morethanreligious mumbo-jumbo Eventoday — 12 years later — she doesn't talk much aboutit But, in 1995, she'dlikely find a moreaccepting audience. In this era defined by cynicism, the notion that a power greater than humanity can enter lives and heal peopleis catching on The International Order ofSt. Luke, a non-denominational organization in North and South America that believes prayers can bring emotional and physical healing, is gaining renewed interest Andinterest in faith healing is growing, from a fascination with spiritu y surging across the country and doubt that science and technology will solve all of humanity’s ills Healing prayer ministries are embeddedin the belief that God wants people whole, says Thomas Bigelow. an Episcopal priest in Washington state and a member of the Orderof St. Luke ATTEND THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE SOUTH VAL NITARIAN UNIV RSALIST “RING OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW” Rey, Bill & Barbara Hamilton-Holway Service at 4 pry Religious Education all ages/nursery re i BRR Ma as mate) Me eeCLAth NEW THOUGHTCENTER e Vintage Square, 1760 So. 1100 €. 467-9478 ‘SUNDAY SERVICES 10 cm. Rev. Patricia Robbins Minister CHURCHOF RELIGIOUS SCIENCE) ‘am 5448 Scuth 900 es wap “IT'S A NEW YE A_NEW LIFE” Jan Ewing, Practitioner Celebration Service: 11:00 a.m. Meditation Service: 10:30 a.m. 1-5006 24 hr,DalAPrayer:46 q i “UNWRAPPED GIFTS” ee ORRRMe Rev. Robert B. Coates, Ph.D. Worship Services 10:30 am Sunday School 10:30 am Nursery Care Provided * Free * Liberal_* Democratic of Centenar, Great Harvest foane ot ana Bl Chch Tas, OR Family Church COME AND CELEBRATE JESUS WITH US! LOCATED AT CENTER SQUARE PLAZA, ( 4 FIRST UNITARIAN 5x2.687 CHURCH 569 so. 13th East Worship Service at 10am “A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS” Rev. Tom Goldsmith & Silvia Behrend UNITED METHODIST CHURCHES FIRST UNITED METHODIST 203 S. 200 E. - 328-8726 “TRAVELING AT CHRISTMAS” seers tee Rev. weil CHAIST UNITED METHODIST ‘2378 E. 3300 So. 486-5473 “THREE MEN AND A BABY” Rev. Ron Hodges Worship Services: 930 & 1100 GhurehSchool 8208:00, Chicare. pe Ron Hodges, Khan Mot HILLTOP UNITED METHODIST 985 E. 10600 So. - 571-5777 “GOD MISSES YOU” Rev. Jim Coweit Worship Servos: 815, 930 & 1100 AM NURSERY-CHLDREN'S Adut/Ghidron Sundy CHURCH8:90 Schoo! at 930 & 6 110¢ W. James C : JORDAN 2686 West UNITED 9000 So. METHODIST 586-4272 (in the Matt) Rev. Bill McCreary FetiowshipSunday 9:00, School Worship1045 Service 9:30 TRINITY UNITED 4290 Went £415 METHODIST Keema CHURCH 969-8601 “FINAL EXAM QUESTION - WHEN DID WE SEE YOU?" Rey. Paul Tapey ‘ ‘School For All Ages 0:45 AM Tongan WAbhip 2:00 pm Youth Group 6:00 pm ie = ' Sunday Celebration Service | 9:30 & 11:04 Mike Fotheringham, Minister 2 (Unity “ON YOUR MARK, “Cer Man ofsatt Lake” Rey. Mike Fotheringham 76 So. Highland Or SLC 84124 Worship & Sunday Schoo! Hours -11 AM Nursery Care Available Rev.Bill McCreary, Pastor Come experience the joy & peace — Al (2/10 Mile West of State St. on 7720 South) NURSERY & CHLOREN SERVICES PROVIDED FOR ALL SERVICE TIMES SUNDAY: Morning Worship 10 a.m. NO EVENING SERVICE CHRISTMAS EVE & NEW YEARS EVE] Wed. “HOUR OF POWER” & Youth Service 7:30 p.m. Pastors James & Becky Knight Preaching Grace & Mercy through Jesus Christ For more information - 255-2901 NON-DENOMINATIONAL @ FULL GOSPEL ia C ECKANKAR Religion of the Light & Sound of God Public Welcome CLOSED MID) Pearmele UE WASATCH PRESBYTERIAN 1700 South 1700 East 487-7576 “17 IS JUST THE BEGINNING” Or. David Henry WorshipServices 8:30 & 11:00 AM Sunday School 9:30 AM &@ Child Caro Provided: David A Henry David Clee Horace M. McMullen WESTVALE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 3640 South 4400 West, WVC 968-7992 507 E. 1700 So. Suite A.SLC__ 484-0220 FIRST CHURCH 352 E THIRDSO. SUN, SCHOOL & SERVICE TAM. WED.7RM SECOND CHURCH1165 FOOTHILL DR SUN. SCHOOL & SERVICE 10:30 AM. WED, 7:30 9M THIRD CHURCH 1306 E. SPRING 1N. (5000 S SUM. SCHOOL & SERVICE 10 AM. WED. 7:30 PLM. ah, eo First Presbyterian E. So. Ten le at “C Street 388i “DREAM ON” Worship Service {fam Sunday School 9:45am (Nursery available Rev. Wesley Nordman and Rev. Clyde Baker, pastor JAPANESE CHURCH OF CHRIST 268 West 100 South SLC 363-3251 “GOD'S MERCY Worship Service 11:00 Japenese Language Bible Study Rev. Kent Ikeda & Dr Henabere Bi-Linguol Japanese English a Pastor and Mrs. Williard Richard of > 4 PASTOR: DAVI Cottonwood Presbyterian Church « ‘otonweod ‘Holladay Aree 1580 ee Vine Street (6100 South) 278. 519 Rev. Dovid Crockett__| Tom Taylor WORSHIP SERVICES 8:30 & 11:00 AM CHURCH SCHOOL. (a 9:45 AM. sample parking at Chase 400 € | Manhattan SouthBldg.Termple) Lae Child Care Provided > D> j } WORD ALIVE FELLOWSHIP invite you to worship ‘with us Their churchis noxdenominational and ‘it located at 4090 W. i 5415 So. in Kearns, Nursery Provided The Richards are graduates of Rhemo Bible Training Center in Tulsa, OK. Service times ore: Sun. 10:30 a.m. Sun. 6:30 p.m. Midweekis: Wed. 7:30 p.m. For more information pleose contoct them at a 6115 oF 999-3618 |