Show r Commentary Church meetings far too political After five years of writing this column I’d like to register a stout objection to the way church denominations conduct their state and national meet-utI find them irrelevant from a pastoral perspective My prayer is that they might consider a New Year’s resolution to spend meeting time on a pastoral issue that now gets no time whatsoever — developing strategies to strengthen families and cut the divorce rate What task could be more needed or more Biblical? By contrast what happens in denominational meetings now? Mainline Protestant denominations those which are members of the National Council of Churches and Catholic bishops spend the bulk of their time thrashing out political stands It is not an edifying sight Endless resolutions on the most minute foreign policy or Congressional issues are debated with utmost seriousness as if Namibia or El Salvador or the House Ways and Means were breathlessly awaiting dvice from US Methodists ’resbyterians or Catholics In fact delegates and reporters are often expected to master Tundreds of pages of resolutions packaged in fat volumes that then are subjected to dozens of mostly inconsequential amendments suggested by nitpickers I find the process ineffably boring 98 percent of the time It is also sadly irrelevant to some real concerns of church members on which there are deep moral and religious issues ignored by church leaders Star-crosse- - v Jr some Catholic dioceses have answers — such as steps to improve the training of engaged couples for marriage: requiring a six month period of preparation psychological tests lay couple counseling Therefore why do bishops fail to call attention to innovations that might help other dioceses and denominations cut the divorce rate? There is an unconscionably low interest by the bishops in a pastoral issue ripping apart half of America’s families — and an excessive interest by them in having political influence The same goes for most Protestant denominational leaders who are also seduced by politics Yet is not the church supposed to have a greater interest and competence in moral and pastoral matters than in political issues? ing as many as 45000 voting Wrhat about evangelical Protdelegates — who slug it out in a estant denominations that are bitterly contested campaign each not associated with the National ’year for the SBC presidency Council of Churches? The basic issue was the “inerThe conventions I’ve attended of such denominations as the rancy of the Bible” FundamenNazarenes and Southern Baptists talists say that moderate SBC seminary professors aren’t teachplace a high priority on spoting Biblical truth lighting effective ways to evangeMy question for both sides is lize those lost to the secular where do you stand on these world However political concerns — such as abortion — are 'Scriptures: Malachi in Chapter 2: “I hate getting an increasing hunk of divorce” says the Lord time Matthew 19 quotes Jesus’ reNot one denomination that I know of gives any convention sponse about the legitimacy of time to help churches take steps divorce: “What God has joined to strengthen families or cut ditogether let no man put asunder Anyone who divorces his vorce rates wife except for marital unfaithmeetthe worst Undoubtedly fulness and marries another ings I attend are staged by the woman commits adultery” Southern Baptist Convention Denominational leaders must For eight years the fundamentalists have waged a fierce battle 'begin to address this moral issue with moderates to gain control Associated Press of the SBC They won by attract lovers find life 'has all worked out’ d News Ogden - Mike McManus What is relevant is the destruction of the American family In a decade the percentage of women bringing up children alone has doubled One estimate is that of the children born in wedlock in 1980 would experience a parental divorce before age 17 The statistics suggest that we are sentencing a significant proportion of the current generation of American children” to poverty says Harvard Professor Lenore Weitzman in a book of landmark importance “The Divorce Revolution” How does divorce equal poverty? Dr Weitzman writes: “Divorced women and their children suffer an immediate 73 percent drop in their standard of living while their husbands enjoy a 42 percent rise in theirs” Virtually all of the added millions of people in poverty over the last decade are mothers and their children Yet the Catholic bishops in their new Pastoral Letter on which they labored six years “Economic Justice for All" ignore the breakup of the American family as a cause of poverty They were quite willing to suggest such governmental solutions to poverty as welfare reform and guaranteed jobs But why were they unwilling to suggest steps to reduce divorce as a way to slash numbers of people in poverty? No other denomination flatly opposes divorce And After listening to my ads ice did they get married? Through the years I had been wondering Last month a Christmas carJ from Boston put an end to the suspense Lisa and Mark were young losers in 9M) when Lisa wrote to me Both were 18 Theirs was a relationship T he parents of both had objections isa's mother and father were not as strongly opposed as Mark’s parents But they were cool to the affair They felt the two young people were getting serious too soon In language they were afraid Lisa would get pregnant Mark and Lisa were ready to get married but Lisa’s parents felt they were too young With Mark’s parents the objections went deeper and were more emotional They not only were dead set against the romance they were in earnest about 12 Church t ! r George Plagenz breaking it up “The whole month of August" Lisa wrote to me “Mark wasn’t allowed to go away from his house He went to football practice — but under parental supervision He is not permitted to mention my name" One night Mark was hiding under the coscrs in bed with a flashlight writing Lisa a letter His parents caught him and took the letter away They conducted nightly bed checks They even threatened to mote to separate the pair The big problem was religion Mark was Catholic Lisa was Protestant At least Lisa thought the difference in religion was the reason for their opposition to the match “I’ve met Mark’s mother only once and have never met his father So it can’t be me they object to It must be that I’m not Catholic" In my reply to Lisa had more quesadvice: tions than straight-ou- t "Would it be better for both of you to ‘date around’ more before you seriously consider marriage? “Is it possible that the difference in your religions which does not bother either of you now will drive a wedge in your marriage later on? If Mark’s parents disown him (Mark had expressed this fear to Lisa) will he blame you for this if the time should come when he begins to miss his parents’ love and support? “There are enough happy mixed marriages these days so that I think Mark's parents may be wrong in insisting he marry a Catholic girl But your parents are nght that teenage marriages are risky The divorce statistics prove this There is a lot of appeal in the line from ‘South Pacific’ that goes ‘Once you have found him never let him go “But it is also true that young people often marry before they know what they want “Personally I think Mark’s parents are handling the matter poorly — sneaking in on him while he is writing a letter to you the bed checks etc But right or wrong the hostility is there and your marriage could suffer because of it" Lisa who would now be 24 is getting married in May Not to Mark She doesn’t mention him except to say “Mark is married and living in Denver" Lisa is still in Boston “It has all worked out" she says “Thanks" Thanks for what I wonder? Newspaper Enterprise February Assn 7 1987 j |