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Show RELIGION EDITOR: ERIC D SNIDER THE DAILY HERALD (www.HarkTheHerald.com) 0 SATURDAY. DECEMBER 30. 2000 dfi IFDcflinniai'&3aiini MATTER UNORGANIZED BYU offers a course based on statement issued by LDS leaders By AMY K. STEWART The Daily Herald Marden J. Clark Celebrate the Child during Christmas For the tin soldier strapped to one of three flagpoles at the City Center of Family City, U.S.A. to the flaghe where stands pole, Instead of a creche for holidays, he salutes the symbols of the entities he serves: flag of the republic for which he stands at attention, us on the walk below on parade, at either hand the poles of city and state. High-wire- d These flagpoles serve as trunks of abstract trees wired like the soldier to shine in the dark. No axe laid to the root to harvest them. Outlined like arrowheads by strings of bulbs, emblems of a bull market, they are ghosts of fir trees bearing gifts, flanking a toy. Clad in the red coat of a defeated king, beneath a full moon he inspects the cars and stripes, an U.S. 89 before him. Bent on our joyous errands, if we spare a glance for a steadfast toy, it's but to note that no religion's been established here. Under a flag he never served, the redcoat salutes Check City across the street, where PROVO BYU's first-eve- r class on the proclamation of the family, a statement issued by LDS leaders, has been deemed a success. But not only is the course a hit, it looks like the textbook will be highly sought after as well. "I think it's the best book next to the scriptures," said Diana Kimber, 50, a senior from Orem, majoring in marriage, family and human development. Keep in mind this isn't some used physical science textbook highlighted to death and thrown into a backpack to be forgotten. This book is a deep BYU blue with gold scroll lettering, complete with a matching silk ribbon bookmark. And though it serves as a textbook, LDS families may begin adding it to their home libraries to use as a reference to aid with church talks and lessons, or to use as a resource for questions or problems, said David C. Dollahite, the marriage, family and human development professor who edited dog-eare- d, the book. "Strengthening Our Families: Look at the ProclaAn mation of the Family," is available at BYU and LDS bookstores and is also out in mainstream stores In-dep- th for about $40. All revenues from book sales will go toward a Proclamation scholarship fund that's being set up. A total of 101 authors, including 80 BYU professors, instructors and graduate students from 30 disciplines, worked on the volume.' But the book doesn't solely focus on the stereotypically perfect "Happy Valley" family. Chapter topics range from abuse to divorce and even address issues of the world such as same-sex marriage. "We really felt like we kept in mind the student and the general LDS reader," Dollahite said. "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" statement was issued on Sept. 23, 1995, at the general Relief Society meeting of the church. Basically it summarizes the church's stance on family relationships and also gives direction on strengthening families. Most LDS members revere the Proclamation and frequently hang framed copies on their living room walls. But Dollahite and others had a different idea besides just memorizing a document and letting it gather dust on the wall. How about a textbook and a class that would examine the meaning of the statement as well as offer advice on how to live by it? Dollahite said he believes the Proclamation is much like the Declaration of Independence or the Articles of Faith. "They are short documents worthy of thorough treatment and exploration," Dollahite said. After years of work, this dream has become a reality: The Proclamation class is packed and students are clamoring for more. It's mostly attended by students majoring in marriage, family and human development, but any BYU student can sign up. For winter semester 2001, 10 classes will be offered to accommodate about 500 students and there are about 150 anxious students on standby. School of Family Life leaders are hoping to make the course available as a general education elective that would count toward i v ' . 10 L ;, graduation. Laura Novak, 21, a junior from Shelton, Conn., majoring in marriage, family and human development, hopes it happens. i, i "We need to be prepared," said Novak, who just finished the class. "The family is the basis of the LDS Church." Alan Hawkins, associate director of the School of Family Life, is sorting through the student input now that the first semester is over "A number of students are saying it's their favorite class," Hawkins said. Teachers also are raving about Family value's: BYU professor Davifi Dollahite teaches a clason "The; j Family: A Proclamation td'the' World." He edited a book for the course Look at the Proclamation entitled "Strengthening. Our Fam.iliesf An of the Family." "I wish I had known these things when I was their age," said class offers. it. Shirley Klein. She is a BYU associate professor of marriage, family and human development who ' KEVIN l.t.F. The Daily Herald ; taught one of the classes this fall semester. Klein said with family values on the decline in today's society, she likes the ammunition the "In a world where marriage and family are devalued or undermined by singleness, gay lifestyles and cohabitation, it's good to have ideas to counter all that," she said. "Those minority voices are really loud," Klein said. Amy K. Stewart can be reached at or 344-255- 2 astewartheraldextra.com. we'd get nothing for his tunic, even if we should dice with other soldiers for it, & throw in the bearskin hat & first fruits of spring subverting winter beneath the twinkling snow. By Marden Clark is a professor emeritus of .English at Brigham Young University. reiurn Paul Tripp's genealogy column will not run today. It will return next week. church." JOHN BIEMER Following the lead of who Pope John Paul II Associated Press Writer BALTIMORE This poem by my son Dennis catches another side of our Christmas celebration. It bites. But under the bite is a strong sense of what both the soldier and our celebration should be doing: celebrating the Child, not the world we've made in his name. To Catholic hierarchy asEts forgiveness for past sins in March asked forgiveness from God for wrongs committed by the Catholic Church over the centuries, including those inflicted on Jews, women and minorichurch leaders ties around the world have been delivering messages of regret and reconciliation The cardinal himself stood before the racially diverse congregation to make a confession. "Among the sad facts of our own early history is that religious communities, Catholic laity and even our first bishop had slaves," Cardinal William Keeler said from the pulpit of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "The slave of Bishop (John) Carroll was set free in the end, but the Catholic slaves and free blacks were required, when they came to the Basilica in the early days, to take their places in the galleries in the rear of the church." Keeler asked forgiveness from fellow Catholics for the church's legacy of slavery and segregation, calling racism "a spiritual malady that gnawed at the moral fiber of our nation, our community and our this year. It's all part of the church's observance of a Jubilee year, meant to coincide with the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Christ. Taken from a Jewish tradition, jubilee years were marked by acts of grace such as forgiving debts and releasing prisoners. John Paul built on that tradition with his apology and calls to renew faith, reduce Third World debt and abolish capital punishment. At what he called an "extraordinary service," Keeler tailored his message to the history of Maryland's church, specifically its imperfect record on race relations. Baltimore was the first Catholic archdiocese in the United States. Earlier, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles and Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston apologized on the church's behalf for sexual abuse, racism, and mistreatment of women and homosexuals. "We turn to God and acknowledge our sins, the sins which obscure the holiness of the church today and the sins which have obscured that holiness in years past," Law said in July at Encuentro 2000, a national gathering of Catholics in Los Angeles. Bishops in Colorado and Oakland, Calif, similarly apologized and Santa Fe, N.M., Archbishop Michael Sheehan sought pardon from American Indians, among others, for the chu. . i's uneven record as missionaries during anti-Semitis- m ', Even three orders of nuns in Bardstown, Ky., apologized for the use of slave labor by their predecessors. "What I see is, in each setting, there is a different set of problems, a different set of challenges," Keeler said before his service. "We're responding to the challenges in this setting." In the past, the church has deflected responsibility by simply acknowledging that its members are sinners, said the Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of America, a weekly magazine published by the Jesuits. "In church terms, it's a pretty big deal," Reese said. "What's different this year is we're doing this as a community, as an institution, and that's something that's hard for institutions ' to do." The church itself has long been a minority in America. Government leaders and the elite rarely were Catholics, so the church here "couldn't do as much damage," Reese said. Still, the church admits it did not lead the way in social justice at times when slavery, segregation and gender inequality were sanctioned by the government, he said. "When you go to confession, you confess your sins. You- don't try to make excuses," Reese said. Lawrence Cunningham, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, said such apologies are uncommon throughout history. Yet popes and, more typically, saints in the Middle Ages "would talk about faults in the church and the need to correct them," he said. The cultivating of and ecumenical relationships" in the 20th century paved the way for the collective introspection that has helped the church confront its historical legacy, Cunningham said. "I think there has arisen in the church, at the intellectual and hierarchical levels, a greater historical conscience," he said. - - "inter-religio- , RELIGION BRIEFING flew year's concert The SALT LAKE CITY annual New Year's Eve Concert is 8 p.m. Sunday at Cathedral Church of St. Mark, Episcopal. The concert will include "Gloria" of Antonio Vivaldi, sung by the Salt Lake Choral Artists conducted by Dr. Harry Cross and accompanied by Dr. Rulon Chris- - tiansen. Also included will be solo organ, vibraharp and saxophone compositions by J.S. Bach, Louis Vierne and others. The concert is free to the public and part of the annual First Night festivities. A free-wioffering will be taken. The church is at 231 E. 100 South, Salt Lake City. ll Gift of Christ Pastor Rhett Dur-fe- e preaches on the gift of Jesus Christ at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church. Sunday PROVO school is also at 10:30 a.m. with Hispanic services at 3:45 p.m. Church membership provided Christmas gifts and food for several families through the Angel Tree effort. The church is at 1144 W. Columbia Lane, Provo. Call for more information. 374-848- 9 Pledge celebration PROVO Supply Priest Pete Winder is speaking at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. eucharists Sunday at St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Sunday school and nursery are at 10:15 a.m. Sunday is Jan. 14, which celebrates the completion of. the pledge drive. Nominations for vestry members and convention delegates are being accepted by Steve Dodworth, senior warden; The church is at 50 W. 200 for North, Provo. Call more information. 373-309- 0 4-- 1 ..1 |