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2001-358

News Briefs

Survey says Americans feel forgiven, but not forgiving

     (ENS) Americans seem to be very ready to accept God's forgiveness, 
but less eager to extend it to those they feel have wronged them.

     In a study conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for 
Social Research (ISR), nearly 60 percent of Americans surveyed have 
forgiven themselves for past wrongdoing, and nearly three-quarters 
feel they've been forgiven by God, but only 52 percent have forgiven 
others and 43 percent say they have actively sought forgiveness for 
harm they have done. 

     Middle-aged and older adults were more likely to forgive others 
than were younger adults, and forgiving others was linked with better 
self-reported mental and physical health. "The benefits of forgiveness 
seem to increase with age," said Loren Toussaint, a psychologist who 
is the first author of the study, published in the Journal of Adult 
Development. 

     Toussaint reported he was "slightly surprised" by the finding 
that older people were more likely than the young to feel forgiven 
by God, although all ages reported experiencing high levels of this 
type of forgiveness. "There's a remarkably high level of confidence 
across the country that God forgives us, compared to a much lower 
level of forgiveness of oneself and others," he said.

     The researchers also found that women were more forgiving than men, 
with 54 percent of women scoring high in forgiveness of others 
compared to 49 percent of men and 48 percent of women reporting 
that they had actively sought another's forgiveness, compared to 
just 37 percent of men. 

     Not all forgiveness is created equal. "High levels of 
'proactive forgiveness,' which involves asking forgiveness 
from someone you've hurt, asking God to forgive you, or praying 
to God to forgive someone who has hurt you, were strongly linked 
with high levels of psychological distress," reported Toussaint. 
"This is understandable, since asking forgiveness can be stressful. 
It involves admitting to yourself that you've done something really 
wrong. Also, you risk rejection from the other person." 

     To find out why certain forms of forgiveness are positively 
related to health, Toussaint and Williams plan to examine the 
extent to which forgiveness is important in dealing with the anger 
and trauma following September 11. "I suspect that forgiveness 
may prove to be a sort of psychological antidote to anger, which 
has already been shown to have a host of negative physical and 
mental health effects," said Toussaint. 

     Established in 1948, the Institute for Social Research (ISR) 
is among the world's oldest survey research organizations. Visit the ISR Web
site at << www.isr.umich.edu >> for more information. 

    

 Lieberman names Episcopal church as sacred place to save

     (ENS) On December 17, Connecticut senator Joseph Lieberman named 
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church in Galveston, Texas to Ten 
Sacred Places to Save 2001, a national list of historic houses of 
worship with major capital repair needs that are endangering their 
community outreach programs. The Ten to Save list was developed by 
Partners for Sacred Places, a national, non-profit organization.

      "In our nation's time of need, and in the midst of this very 
holy season, it should be clearer than ever what our churches, 
synagogues, mosques and temples mean to our communities. They 
are much more than houses of worship. They are anchoring centers 
of community service and moral leadership," said Lieberman, a 
leader of national efforts to support faith-based community 
services. Lieberman called for corporations, individuals and 
foundations to support community-serving houses of worship and 
committed himself to eliminating the bias against religious properties 
in federal preservation funding.

     From a modest, 1902 wood frame building, St. Augustine of 
Hippo reaches out to its neighborhood with a day care center, 
mentoring program, and drug awareness programs. The congregation 
wants to do more but can9t, because storm damage to program space 
has gone unrepaired for lack of funds. 

     Leaking roofs, bowing windows, and structural failure are 
common problems for older sacred places, but some face especially 
daunting repairs. The fragility of their buildings makes Ten to 
Save congregations particularly vulnerable to crises. 

     "Unless government, corporations and philanthropy can develop 
new sources of capital funding for these and other endangered 
sacred places, America will begin losing historic buildings as 
well as the vital social services they house," said A. Robert 
Jaeger, co-director of Partners for Sacred Places, an organization 
dedicated to the sound stewardship and active community use of 
America9s older religious properties. Partners9 1997 study, 
Sacred Places at Risk: New Evidence on How Endangered Older 
Churches and Synagogues Serve Communities showed that 91 percent 
of all surveyed congregations with older buildings open their 
doors to the larger community. The study, based on more than 
100 congregations in six cities, also found that 25 percent of 
congregations face major structural problems with their buildings. 

Churches petition online for Middle East peace

     (ENS) Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) has posted 
a petition, "A Christian Call for Peace," online at  www.cmep.org
The petition calls for the establishment of a "viable Palestinian state" 
and an end to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza; a 
shared Jerusalem; a negotiated agreement for Israeli-Palestinian-Arab 
peace; and the presence of international observers to discourage further 
violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

     CMEP is a Washington, D.C.-based program of the American 
Friends Service Committee; Catholic Conference of Major 
Superiors of Men's Institutes; Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); 
Church of the Brethren; Church World Service and Witness; 
Episcopal Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; 
Friends Committee on National Legislation; Maryknoll Fathers 
and Brothers; Mennonite Central Committee; National Council of 
Churches of Christ in the USA; Presbyterian Church (USA); 
Reformed Church in America; Unitarian Universalist Association; 
United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church; and the 
U.S. Catholic Conference (associate member). 

     According to the web site, CMEP's mandate is "to voice 
the churches' perspectives as timely and relevant to U.S. 
policy considerations by the Administration and Congress and 
to educate and activate church leaders and members in advocacy 
of just U.S. policies." CMEP produces newsletters with issue 
analysis and advocacy guidance and, through an e-mail network, 
advocacy alerts.

Anglican national office concludes sale of Toronto property, plans new
headquarters

     (ACC Canada) The General Synod of the Anglican Church of 
Canada announced the completion of the sale of its property 
in Toronto as part of a five-year plan, first announced in 1998, 
to provide new headquarters for the church's national offices. 

     The General Synod office site will be redeveloped by a 
Toronto-based property company into a mixed-use residential and 
office complex in two phases, with completion of Phase I, a 
17-storey tower, projected for Fall 2003. The national office 
of Canada's third-largest religious denomination will remain in 
its current building until the first phase is completed, after 
which the present three-storey brick building will be demolished 
and the offices moved to four floors of the adjacent new facility.

     "We are pleased to have this unique opportunity to bring our 
facilities up-to-date," said James Cullen, treasurer of General 
Synod. "Our existing property was acquired in 1922 and has been 
added to several times over the years. The last major upgrade was 
in 1962 and the property is now in need of major repairs. The 
renovations to bring the facilities to modern standards for 
nearly 100 employees would cost considerably more than to 
rebuild under this plan." 

     Earlier this year, church officials predicted the General 
Synod could run out of liquid assets and be forced to wind down 
by the end of 2001. This pessimistic scenario was based on the 
huge financial drain--so far nearing $5 million and continuing 
at a rate of more than $1 million a year--caused by residential 
schools litigation.

     Archdeacon Jim Boyles, General Secretary of Synod, said the 
forecast of insolvency for the Anglican national church has now been 
pushed back into 2002. The reason, he said, is a slowdown in the 
rate of payments required from earlier lawsuits and a small increase 
in voluntary donations to the church during the current year. The 
church now has enough cash flow--barring unexpected, new developments 
in the settlement of claims--to continue operations through 2002.