Show STANDARD-EXAMINE- R LDS Church Statement respects school club’s policy but calls ruling ‘discriminatory’ By KIRSTEN SORENSON Utah's adult representative of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes said he is disappointed that the Tennessee chapter of the national organization denied an outstanding athlete award to a student because he is a Mormon “That totally destroys what they are trying to do - reach people through Christ” Kevin Maddock said The LDS Church this week responded to the award denial saying it appears to be “an unfortunate case of exclusion by definition “There are many Christian churches all differing doctrinally to some degree The fellowship responds to denial of FCA award of all Christians should unite not separate them in their common commitment to the Savior Jesus Christ” a statement from the church read Tennessee staff SanOard-Examin- student Aaron Walker was voted athlete of the year by his peers at Page High School He has participated in FCA activities for the past two years and is a member of his school’s basketball and tennis teams But he was told about three weeks ago he could not receive FCA’s outstanding athlete award because he is a member of the LDS Church The church’s statement said it respects the right of the FCA to establish its policies “however discriminatory they may be “But that shouldn’t detract from the fact that Aaron has been a valuable member and officer of the fellowship during his high school years was nominated by his peers for an award and that he is in fact an outstanding young Christian” The Tennessee FCA although it has apologized for the way it handled the case said it stands by its decision “The guidelines for the nomination were not communicated clearly on the front end” an FCA statement said “We have learned from this experience and will carefully spell out the guide- lines at the beginning of our nomination process in the future Under FCA which has 500000 members nationwide student athletes meet weekly to pray and discuss within the context of the Bible such issues as sex before marriage or drug use Steve Robinson Tennessee’s state director of the FCA said there are differences in Mormon-is- m and traditional Christianity and the organization had to “take a stand and not compromise on what our convictions are” Maddock said he thought differences stem from FCA’s contention that the Bible is the ele- to encourage them to do the right thing and be involved should be Maddock said he has never heard that the FCA does not consider Mormons to be Christians although Kevin Harlan national FCA senior vice president for programs at the organization’s Kansas City headquarters said the policy is nationwide mental word of God and there would be no other revelation “One of the last verses in book of Revelations says not to add or take away from this book” Maddock said “Either the Bible is wholly inspired by God or it’s not Since we believe it is then the Bible should be enough” Maddock said the Mormons’ belief in more scripture in the form of the Book of Mormon goes against the tenets of the FCA But he said that difference doesn’t warrant excluding Mormons from the organization and welcomes any members of the faith to join FCA He said when it comes to students anything that can be done “While there are many simi- larities between the beliefs of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Mormon Church there are fundamental differences in our beliefs that led to this decision” the FCA’s statement said It said the FCA believes that “there is only one God eternally existent in three persons: Father Son and Holy Spirit The statement said the LDS Church differs in that it believes in a "polytheistic view of God meaning See FCA8A The Associated Press - most tradition-boun- d With institutions - OGDEN The Rev Bradley F Skinner of Salt Lake City will preach at the 10:30 am worship service Sunday at United Church of Christ Congregational 3350 Harrison Blvd Skinner minister emeritus of the three-stat- Skinner e Rocky Mountain Conference wifl speak on “What is ‘Good?’ Who is ‘Christian?’ He will bring National Prayer week to the " -- ‘) service ' -Skinner now a member of “ the Holladay United Church of Christ was principal creator of '’the Rock Mountain Conference in 1974 a union of the Colorado Conference and the Intermountain Conference He then served the Rocky Mountain Conference and was recently given the honored title of conference minister emeritus Skinner has served in the ‘ Christian ministry for 57 years ' has been regional and national leader in the United Church of Christ and leader statewide in Shared Ministry in Utah He was a recent moderator of the Utah Association Church of j Christ and has served on the ’ board of Westminster College Crossroad Urban Center and Choir traveling aboard the ultracontemporary Internet last year But now the pope’s solemn to San Francisco The LDS Church has y announced that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will perform in San Francisco the first time in ” 30 years ' a cacophony of dissident Roman Catholic words mingle with voices including gay activists ’’ e The choir will perform on the evenings of July 29 and 30 in Davies Symphony vn 330-voic- leftist Latin American clerics and even a liberal French bishop punished by John Paul II himself The battle over the pope’s authority has flooded into cyberspace with all sides treasuring Hall The event will commemorate the voyage 1 50 years ago of the ship Brooklyn which carried 250 the belief that the Internet preaches right to the heart For dissidents it challenges the authority of Rome and allows fast circulation of information and coordination of efforts For conservatives it allows an end run around what many of them liberal-dominat- Skinner to preach In Ogden service Friendship Manor of the world’s - (he Vatican - jumped consider san administrations RELIGION UPDATE 5 " Cyberspace overflows with debate on authority as Vatican goes online ‘VATICAN CITY 7A used Catholics take faith to Internet mfich fanfare one May 4 1996 Saturday Mormons from New York around Cape Horn to Yerba Buena the Pacific Coast settlement that would be J renamed San Francisco ! Mormons in the Bay Area have organized a “Festival of I J History Week” July 27 to Aug 3 j ! around the event J The week is designed to i acquaint the local members of the church and others with the j in church's roots the community dioce- Hundreds of Catholic sites are on the Web - Irish women seeking the priesthood Jesuits in Australia a “married priests” page a support group for victims of clerical child abuse a page de- voted to the Virgin Mary plus scores of parishes national bishops conferences seminaries and Catholic schools The Holy See has seized on the Internet as another forum for this most pope to disseminate his message to the media-saw- y world The Vatican site began with the pope’s Christmas homily and in the two weeks that followed more than 2 million “hits” were recorded papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro said For now the site remains experimental containing a small summary of the pope’s activities and one or two of his homilies at a time But a new computer to furnish the Web site arrived at the Vatican on March 21 and the Vatican is considering using software by a group of Benedictine monks in the New Mexican desert I j i NHAT SHARED SPIRITUALITY: Dianne Bean holds her granddaughter Aubrey Little 5 during National Prayer Day in MEYERStandard-Examme- r the front of the Municipal Building on Thursday afternoon Local prayer day features flood of love Leaders suggest answers to personal spiritual ‘droughts’ By KIRSTEN SORENSON staff Standard-Examin- - The National Day of Prayer public service with people gathered in groups of four or five holding hands and heads bowed in prayer brought a different look to the Municipal GDEN Gardens Government and leaders youth family education media entertainment and churches and clergy all received prayers from 15 pastors and 150 people gathered Thursday night to celebrate the 45th-annu- observance al Pastor Charles Petty of the Second Baptist Church in Ogden said people endure all kinds of “droughts” - relationships financial marital mother to daughter husband to son He said the answer to these droughts is the power of prayer “When there is little prayer there is little power” he said “When there is much prayer there is much power When there is no prayer there is not power” Petty told the gathering to call upon the Lord in prayer “There is not AT&T MCI or telephone to do it” he said “All you do is call Him up” Crowder wearing a red white and blue tie emblazoned with the Statue of Liberty encouraged the crowd to thank the Lord for everything Proclamations from Mayor Glenn Mecham and Gov Mike Leavitt were read and explained some of the history of the National Day of Prayer which stretches back to its inception in 1775 by Congress and revival in 1952 It wasn’t until 1988 that the first Thursday in May became its permanent date The evening was sponsored by the Evangelical Pastors Fellowship of Northern Rev Myke Crowder of the First Assembly of God in Layton led his choir in the song “Proud to Be An American” Utah Other public prayer services were held in Brigham City and Salt Lake City United Methodists seek Christian Union in Denver “This is the single most significant ecumenical challenge before the United Methodist Church in a half century -since we voted to enter the National and World Council of Churches” said Bishop William Boyd Grove to the church’s recent Denver meeting United Methodists agreed by a 70 percent vote becoming the sixth - and largest - denomination to adopt a covenanting plan of the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) The major churches already aboard are the Presbyterian Church United Church of Christ and (USA) Church Christian (Disciples of Christ)' The African Methodist Episcopal and AME Zion churches will vote this summer Grove said the step creates a “spiritual covenantal union” not an brganizational or structural one Each church will retain its own name identity governing structure worship and its own pattern of ministerial training and placement To answer Jesus’ prayer the night before he died that his followers "may all be one even as you Father are in me and I in you that they may also be in us so that the world may believe you have sent me” the covenanting churches are taking steps to live as one in such basic areas as faith sacrament ministry and mission It will help us all - clergy and laity -to experience the church in a new and dynamic way” said Grove In a press conference he explained “Visualize a small town in Nebraska where there are four of nine covenanting communions who decide to have eucharist bimonthly together They may decide to have Baptisms together” Or a pastor might serve both a small Methodist and a Presbyterian church The COCU document also says “There will be no more ordinations carried out in denominational isolation from the other covenanting churches” Rather there will be a laying on of hands by as many “reconciled bishops” and other clergy as possi- bers The Disciples of Christ are half their former size United Methodists have fallen from 11 million to 86 million Will creation of “The Church of Christ Uniting” help? One negative sign is that a number of the Disciples of Christ churches have left their denomination since its 1995 vote to join COCU Rev Kevin Ray director of Disciple Renewal a conservative caucus-say- s the new ordination process infringes on their local churches who have always had the right to ordain A bigger issue is the United Church of Christ whose “gift” to COCU is that it ordains gays lesbians and bisexuals a practice forbidden by other COCU churches Conservatives ask how can they “recognize” practicing gay clergy when their churches forbid it United Methodists passed an amendment which would prevent any gay UCC clergy from transferring into the UM church That doesn't satisfy more conser- vative clergy who ask whether UM bishops would help ordain a UCC lesbian: “Will we elect not to send somebody or ble ‘go quietly and slowly begin to recognize One characteristic is common to the them ourselves?” Though the Presbyterian Church adopt uniting churches They are all losing mem ed COCU in 1993 its General Assembly sent the issue back to committee last year Some entire Presbyteries of conservative churches threatened to leave The Episcopal Church a COCU partner for years will not even consider joining at its 1997 meeting Instead it will debate establishing “full communion” with the Evangelical Lutheran Church “COCU appears to be a plan whereby already weakened denominations will join their weaknesses with occasional and sporadic strength to form an even weaker structure” says Rev Todd Wetzel of Episcopalians United “Healthy growing vibrant churches seldom look to union but to cooperative efforts Weak churches talk about union often as a survival strategy” On the other hand the very splintered 30-pl- nature of Christian denominations are likely to be a turnoff to the third of Americans who are outside of the church Denominations that set aside petty rivalries and act as if Paul were right that “There is one body and one Spirit” one hope “one Lord one faith one baptism one God” - may make them attractive to outsiders United Methodists believe it Episcopals quit Christian-onl- j group y - TORRINGTON Conn A local Episcopal church is not turning the other cheek but will instead quit the area Council of Churches after a vote by the council to limit membership to Christians only In a recent letter to the council the Rev Ellen Tillotson rector of Trinity Episcopal -j '1j Church said the decision was made after consulting members' of her church Catholics certify lay workers MENOMONEE FALLS Wis Officials seeking to forestall a leadership crisis in the Roman Catholic Church are certifying lay people to carry out office duties once solely performed by £ -C J -- rj J priests 4 A dwindling number of priests’ has created a growing need for ' administrators capable of fund raising and bean counting said Joseph Strazishar one of two administrators recently certified by the Milwaukee Archdiocese DID YOU KNOW? Church sponsors film review hot line I The Catholic Communication Campaign sponsors a movie Z review line to help families 1 choose quality movies and videos The US Catholic Conferencs-- J office for Film and Broadcasting y records reviews that include a synopsis of each movie and classifies each according to a Z Catholic rating system The phone number is - - staff and wire servca- Standard-Examine- r -- More details on -i STANDARD NET debate on hot issues in the Eye on Religion Follow local Forum ' |