wfn.org | Episcopalians: News Briefs

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

April 30, 2002

2002-109

Episcopalians: News Briefs

$30 billion contributed to Protestant churches in 2000

(Chronicle of Philanthropy) American church members contributed 
nearly $30 billion to 65 Protestant denominations in 2000, 
according to a new report by the National Council of the 
Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

The 2002 edition of the Yearbook of American & Canadian 
Churches examines membership and financial data from 
Christian denominations in both countries. Most of the churches 
provided data for fiscal 2000. 

The $30 billion collected that year represents a $2.5 billion 
increase, a gain of 9 percent from 1999 when a similar group of 
62 denominations reported gifts. The latest report says that the 
difference in the number of churches reporting financial data 
accounts for some of the increase, but it gives most credit for 
the rise to the strength of the U.S. economy in 2000.

Each American church member gave an average of $599 in 2000, up 
from $549 in 1999. Of the 2000 total, each person gave an 
average of $110, up from $85, to help the needy, whether in the 
region where the church is located, around the country, or 
abroad.

The yearbook also identifies trends in church membership. The 
report says that more than 152 million Americans were members of 
176 Christian denominations in 2000, up slightly from 1999 but 
still below the peak of more than 159 million in 1996.

The Rev. Eileen W. Lindner, the yearbook's editor, says in the 
book's preface that data collected by other groups show an 
increase in church attendance since September 11. While the rise 
may be transitory, she says, "it will be some time before the 
full impact of these tragic events upon religious faith and 
practice can be measured."

Copies of the 2002 yearbook are available for $55 each, 
including shipping, from the NCC, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, 
N.Y. 10115; (212) 870-2031; fax (212) 870-2817; 
yearbook@ncccusa.org. For more information, see the council's 
Web site at http://www.ncccusa.org.

Canadian church pressures oil company on climate change

(ENI) A Canadian ecumenical campaign is targeting one of 
Canada's biggest oil companies which is opposed to a major 
United Nations agreement on climate change. 

Representatives of the campaign, including Lois Wilson, a former 
president of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and former 
moderator of the United Church of Canada (UCC), took part in the 
shareholders' meeting of Imperial Oil, one of Canada's biggest 
integrated petroleum companies. Imperial Oil opposes the Kyoto 
Protocol, a UN agreement under which Canada would have to reduce 
its greenhouse gas emissions by 6 per cent below 1990 levels. 

The ecumenical campaign spearheaded by Kairos, a social justice 
coalition formed by Canada's main churches, is calling on the 
Canadian government to ratify and implement the agreement. The 
Kyoto Protocol was agreed at Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997. To 
come into force it requires ratification by at least 55 
signatory states. Many key signatory states, including Canada, 
the United States and Japan, have still to ratify the agreement. 

An Imperial Oil spokesman said the Kyoto Protocol was "an 
unworkable and inappropriate public policy response to an 
important and complex issue, which if implemented would do 
little to reduce greenhouse gases yet do substantial economic 
harm to both developed and developing countries." 

Barring of Roman Catholic clerics from Russia feared part of 
'campaign' 

(ENI) In one of the latest events in a series described by the 
Roman Catholic Church in Russia as an "organized campaign" 
against it, a Roman Catholic bishop was turned back at Moscow's 
international airport as he was trying to return from Poland to 
his diocese in eastern Siberia. 

On April 19, border guards cancelled without explanation Roman 
Catholic bishop Jerzy Mazur's visa for Russia. Mazur, a Polish 
citizen, heads the Roman Catholic diocese based in Irkutsk, one 
of four Roman Catholic structures in Russia elevated by the 
Vatican in February to fully fledged dioceses, an action 
strongly criticized by Russia's dominant Orthodox Church. 

A fortnight before Mazur was barred from entering Russia, the 
authorities cancelled the visa of Stefano Caprio, a Roman 
Catholic priest from the town of Ivanovo, as he left Moscow for 
his native Milan. Caprio had served in Russia for 12 years. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry initially failed to give any reason 
for the cancellation of the two clerics' visas. Authorities 
pointed out that Russian law allows the state to deny visas 
without explanation. Unnamed officials, however, were quoted by 
the Interfax news agency as saying the priests were expelled for 
"activities incompatible with their status," a euphemism usually 
reserved for diplomats expelled for espionage. 

"What has been happening in the last couple of months shows that 
an organized campaign has been unleashed against the Catholic 
Church in Russia," Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, the leader 
of Russia's Roman Catholics, said in a statement on April 20. 

The Russian Orthodox Church--which has vocally protested against 
the recent boost in the status of the Roman Catholic Church in 
Russia--said it had nothing to do with the decision to cancel 
the visas. The Rev. Igor Kowalewsky, general secretary of the 
Conference of Catholic Bishops in Russia, told ENI the 
expulsions were "an unfortunate misunderstanding," addomg that 
"it complicates the situation of the Roman Catholic Church in 
Russia, but we hope for an improvement." The bishops' conference 
had formally requested an explanation from the Russian 
government about the expulsions, he said. 

The Roman Catholic Church in Russia claims about 600,000 
adherents out of a total population of 144 million. Two-thirds 
of Russians identify themselves as Orthodox. 

Criticism leads Canadian Jewish Congress to pull out of 
interfaith group

(ENI) Canada's most prominent Jewish organization has withdrawn 
its participation of 30 years from an interfaith consultation 
following the appearance of a website message critical of 
Israeli policy written by a church dialogue partner. 

The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) announced on April 10 that it 
was pulling out of the inter-religious Canadian Christian Jewish 
Consultation (CCJC). A message on the Anglican Church of 
Canada's website was "the straw that broke the camel's back," 
said Manuel Prutschi, the CJC's national director of community 
relations, who accused the Anglican Church and the United Church 
of Canada of being "one-sided." 

In the message, Archbishop Michael Peers, head of the Anglican 
Church of Canada, wrote: "The current violence in Palestine has 
deep roots, but Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory in 
defiance of United Nations resolutions is at its heart... When 
Israel withdraws from its illegal occupation of Palestine, when 
Palestinians are free to return in peace to their homeland, when 
civilians are no longer the targets of terror, either for 
suicide bombers or government tanks, then healing will begin." 

In announcing the Jewish Congress's decision to suspend 
relations with the church bodies, Keith Landy, CJC national 
president, described the Anglican statement as "blaming the 
plight of the Palestinian people and the current crisis solely 
on Israel's so-called 'illegal occupation' of the disputed 
territories. There is nothing in this message that holds the 
corrupt and despotic Palestinian Authority accountable for the 
misery of its own people." 

Jewish Congress officials also charged the churches with being 
silent in the face of recent attacks on Jewish property in 
Canada, including an arson attack on a synagogue in Saskatoon 
and the desecration of synagogues in Ottawa and Montreal. 

Peers expressed regret about the Jewish Congress's decision to 
withdraw from the interfaith consultation. He said the message 
that appeared on the church's website was rooted in policies and 
resolutions of the church's synod and in statements by governing 
bodies of the world-wide Anglican communion. It reflected the 
church's attempt "to stand with the church leaders in Jerusalem 
in particular," Peers said. "That's the principle that we have 
used in places like South Africa and other places around the 
world. That kind of solidarity is important." 

Members of the CCJC planned to meet within the next few months 
to discuss the implications of the CJC withdrawal. In addition 
to the Canadian Jewish Congress, and the Anglican and United 
churches, the CCJC includes the Presbyterian and Lutheran 
churches and Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Missionary societies call on churches to meet challenge of 
AIDS 

(ENI) The world's churches have "barely begun" to respond to the 
theological challenges of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, a meeting 
called by three mission organizations in association with the 
World Council of Churches (WCC) was told. 

"We need to treat HIV/AIDS as a world-wide disease that brings 
grief, pain and death not exclusively to Africa or the 'South,' 
Healing needs to come to us all. The church itself has 
HIV/AIDS," the consultation report declared. It added that 
churches have the power "to contribute to changing the prevalent 
attitudes of separation, exclusion, shame and stigma." 

The consultation on mission was held April 14-19 in London and 
was attended by more than 50 delegates and guests linked with 
the British-based Council for World Mission (CWM); United 
Evangelical Mission (UEM), headquartered in Germany; and 
Cevaa-Community of Churches in Mission, based in France, 
together with the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of 
the WCC, in Geneva. 

The consultation report acknowledged that the concept of God's 
role in physical healing had led to a crisis for many 
Christians. The idea was at odds with Western rationalist 
thinking. The report pointed out that, like Pentecostals, 
non-Western societies had never lost the dimension of God's 
involvement in healing. These approaches should be studied with 
appreciation, but "there is no compulsory correlation between 
faith and healing, sickness and sin, or prayer and healing," it 
added. "Wholeness means the restoration of relationships, but 
not necessarily a curing of all illness." 

The organizations themselves were encouraged to be "more 
prophetic in confronting the injustices of European governmental 
policies on immigration and speak out on the double standards of 
'open borders' in a global world economy." 

The borders in the North often remained closed, the report said, 
as seen in the restrictive procedures for visa applications. 

Clergy well-being a priority in Canada

(Anglican Journal) The enormous changes in Canadian society over 
the past several decades have put clergy under more physical and 
mental stress than ever and the church is seeking ways to 
improve and support clergy and staff well-being, according to a 
consultant working for the Anglican Church in Canada.

Women have moved into the working world and into the ranks of 
the ordained, so two-career couples among clergy are becoming 
more common, leaving clergy families to deal with childcare and 
time-management issues.

The same trend among parishioners means that the rector's hours 
aren't nine to five since many parish meetings must be held in 
the evening when people are off work. "In addition to finances, 
pastoral care and liturgy and some social work there is now 
screening of volunteers, consideration of legal issues and 
shifting demographics," said Eileen Scully, ministry and worship 
consultant with General Synod's faith, worship and ministry 
committee.

"Every profession has its stresses. Ordained ministry comes with 
particular stresses and there is increased stress on clergy from 
a variety of angles," she noted.

Last summer, General Synod identified clergy well-being as a top 
priority. Bishop Fred Hiltz, of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward 
Island, is leading a Council of General Synod (COGS) task force 
that is looking at ways to improve and support clergy and staff 
well-being.

General Synod's pension committee has told COGS several times 
that it is concerned about the number of long-term disability 
claims received in recent years. At the November 2001 COGS 
meeting, a report from the pension committee said that the 
number of claims in force as of September 30, 2001 is 59 and of 
that number 37 per cent "are of a psychological nature." (There 
are approximately 2,100 active members and 1,900 retired people 
covered by the pension plan.)

"Previous studies have shown that the first five years of 
ordained ministry are a critical time and that new clergy need 
mentoring and support," said Scully.

The committee also discussed the existing system. "We need to do 
some diagnosis of the state of health of the church and all who 
minister," Scully said. "What do we expect as a system of those 
who minister? Do we put too much stress on the clergy? Too much 
stress on the bishop?"

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