AP News, October 4th, 2007
The Southern Baptist Convention is reporting an increase in church giving to national and international mission programs in the last fiscal year.
Giving to the Cooperative Program rose by more than $5 million between Oct. 1, 2006, and Sept. 30, 2007, to $205.7 million, Baptist Press reported Monday.
Donations to the program have become a central issue in the 16.3 million-member Protestant group. Many smaller Southern Baptist churches see the Cooperative Program as a crucial collective effort for the denomination and the best way for them to carry out missionary and evangelistic work. Pressure has been building on larger Southern Baptist congregations _ and all churches _ to give more.
The money comes from individual donors, churches, state conventions and fellowships.
___
http://www.sbc.net/
___
NCC cuts jobs, anticipates deficit
NEW YORK (AP) _ The National Council of Churches, an ecumenical group with 35 Protestant and Orthodox denominational members, is cutting 14 staff positions.
The Governing Board of the New York-based group announced the staff cuts Sept. 27, as part of a reorganization that will include six new positions to streamline the group's work.
Clare Chapman, acting chief executive of the NCC, said that the council faced a deficit of more than $1 million in the 2007 fiscal year and that the shortfall was covered by financial reserves.
The NCC said in a news release that it also expected a budget deficit in 2008. The NCC has been struggling off and on with financial problems for years. NCC receives its income from member donations, foundation grants and royalties.
___
http://www.ncccusa.org/
___
Spokane Diocese makes first payment to sex abuse victims
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) _ The Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane has made its first payment into a special bankruptcy trust that will be distributed to victims of sexual abuse by priests.
The diocese and its 82 parishes wired $11.7 million into the trust on Monday to meet an initial deadline. So far, the trust has received $44 million of the $48 million promised in a settlement with victims. The rest is due by October 2009.
The victims can expect to receive payments next month.
"Compensation to victims of sexual abuse is just one small step toward healing for the victims," Bishop William Skylstad said in a press release announcing the payment. "I hope and pray that the entire community of Eastern Washington can continue to heal and reconcile."
Skylstad is head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and steered the diocese into bankruptcy in late 2004 to deal with scores of claims of sex abuse.
The settlement reached earlier this year prohibited disclosure of the number of victims and how much each received, and some other details.
But the reorganization plan said victims will get from $15,000 to $1.5 million each, depending on the severity of the molestation or rape. A former U.S. attorney will hear claims and decide how much each person receives.
Also Monday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Williams approved paying lawyers about $8.3 million, the last major conflict in closing the case. The lawyers reached an agreement last month to avoid a court fight over fees.
Four other U.S. dioceses had sought bankruptcy protection in the face of clergy abuse claims. They are San Diego; Davenport, Iowa; Portland, Ore.; and Tucson, Ariz.
___
Bakersfield trustees to consider "God" motto in schools
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) _ A trustee in the Kern High School District wants to tack up posters bearing the motto "In God We Trust" in all of the district's classrooms.
Trustee Chad Vegas, a pastor who founded the Bakersfield Christian church Sovereign Grace, said the posters were intended to inspire patriotism, not to promote religious beliefs.
In God We Trust America, Inc., a nonprofit run by Bakersfield City Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan, planned to donate the posters, which the group believes will not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.
"There are those that are trying to remove God from our public life, and I do not think that is right," said Sullivan.
Sullivan led a campaign to get the phrase "In God We Trust" posted in Bakersfield's city council chambers in 2002, and in 26 other cities in the state. But if the Kern High School District approves the measure, it will be the first in the state to do so, Sullivan said.
Vegas' opponents on the board said the proposal favored Christianity over other religions _ and over atheism.
"We don't need a personal agenda dealing with religion in the public education system," trustee Bob Hampton said.
___
Dolbee, Gorski honored by Religion Newswriters Association
SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ The Religion Newswriters Association has named Sandi Dolbee of The San Diego Union-Tribune as the 2007 Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year.
Eric Gorski was named Supple Religion Writer of the Year for his work with The Denver Post, in a Sept. 29 awards ceremony at the RNA annual meeting in Texas. Gorski is now a national religion writer with The Associated Press.
The Religion Newswriters Association is a nonprofit created in 1949 to advance professional standards of religion writing in the secular press and create a support network for religion reporters. It currently has 570 members and subscribers.
Among the other awards presented:
_ David O'Reilly of the Philadelphia Inquirer won the Templeton Story of the Year prize for a three-part series on the Roman Catholic Church worldwide.
_ Larissa Theodore-Dudkiewicz of the Beaver County (Pa.) Times received the Cassels Religion Reporter of the Year honor for newspapers with circulation of 50,000 or less.
_ G. Jeffrey McDonald of The Christian Science Monitor received the Cornell Award for top religion writing at a mid-sized newspaper.
_ The Mobile Press Register and The Salt Lake Tribune won awards for their religion sections.
_ Tina Shah of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism was named best student religion reporter
_ Maria Arita of CBS II in Dallas/Fort Worth won for her TV segment "Orbs of Light," and the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer was honored for a segment reflecting on the Sept. 11 attacks.
_ Rachael Martin of National Public Radio was honored for a report on Latina women converting to Islam.
___
http://www.rna.org/
___
Minneapolis charity gets gift of shoes from the Vatican
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Some of Minneapolis' homeless are now walking in the pope's shoes.
The boxes arrived from Rome after the Rev. Joseph Johnson, rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul gave some visiting friends from the Vatican a tour of Sharing and Caring Hands, a homeless mission in downtown Minneapolis.
Pope Benedict XVI received the shoes from an Italian shoemaker and asked that they be distributed to the poor.
When she opened the boxes, Sharing and Caring director Mary Jo Copeland found several dozen pairs of the handmade shoes, but didn't know who had donated them.
"Father (Johnson) says, 'That's from the pope.' I said, `What do you mean?,'" said Copeland.
Tasha Allen, who received a pair of the shoes, said, "It's a blessing for everybody. All the kids love them. The parents love them, too. I just can't stop smiling. Thank you, pope."
Copeland also received a note from the Vatican and a picture of the pope.
"The pope is praying for me," she said. "I know I'll keep going."
