wfn.org | Gambling creates quandary for church in Mississippi

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Sept. 16, 1999	News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.    10-71B{472}

NOTE: This report is accompanied by a sidebar, UMNS story #473.

By Woody Woodrick*

How does a church that officially condemns gambling minister to those who
work in the industry, who gamble and who are indirectly affected? 

That has been the quandary for United  Methodists in Mississippi since
gambling was legalized in the state in 1992.  Reluctantly, most have
accepted the fact that gambling companies have made huge investments in the
state and are there to stay. 

The clergy's approach to the issue varies. Some openly preach against
gambling. Others prefer to deal with situations one at a time.

 "I'm at a loss to say how to deal with it," said the Rev. Frank Burton, in
his fifth year at First United Methodist Church in Biloxi. "It creates
needs, but getting a handle on it and providing ministry to the people in
the industry is difficult."

A dilemma is created for the church when people work in a questionable
business that is considered legal by the government, he said.

Burton said his tactic is to preach from a positive stance about the love of
God. "I like to preach the Gospel and God's love and God's grace as opposed
to preaching against something. That does not mean I'm not against it," he
said.

The Rev. Gus Shelly, in his first year as senior pastor at First United
Methodist Church in Gulfport, compares ministry to the gambling industry to
ministry provided those who are involved in divorce. "While the Bible speaks
against divorce, the reality of today's society is that it happens," he
said.

Gulfport is in one of the Mississippi Gulf Coast counties that approved
"dockside gambling" in 1992. Now nearly two dozen floating casinos line the
beaches in Gulfport and Biloxi. Before being appointed to Gulfport First,
Shelly served as district superintendent of the Senatobia District in north
Mississippi. That area includes Tunica County, which allows dockside
gambling on the Mississippi River.

Another Gulf Coast pastor is more direct in his opposition to gambling. The
Rev. Arthur Lewis serves St. Paul United Methodist Church in Biloxi. His
church sits across the street from the new Beau Rivage Resort, a huge hotel
and casino complex many call the most lavish on the Gulf Coast.

"Our church has felt the impact of gambling a great deal," Lewis said. "I'm
concerned about how the walls of evil are going up around us."

At least two churches in other denominations have sold their property to
casino companies and are relocating. One Catholic church on the Gulf Coast
has battled a casino over zoning laws and traffic problems.

United Methodist pastors in the region, none of whom favors gambling, face
an uphill battle. 

According to the Mississippi Gaming Commission, which oversees 29 casinos
and all charity bingo halls in Mississippi:
* 10 percent of the state budget is produced by the gambling industry, with
nearly $160 million derived from tax collections on gross gambling revenues
and $140 million coming from sales and income taxes;
* $38.6 billion was wagered in state-regulated casinos in 1998, with casinos
earning nearly $2.2 billion and patrons winning $36.4 billion;
* 38,000 jobs are provided by the industry, which has a statewide payroll of
more than $600 million each year; and
* 54,934,163 patrons visited Mississippi casinos in 1998, 31 percent of whom
were Mississippi residents.

How these statistics affect churches and ministries differs from
congregation to congregation. Burton and Shelly, whose church members tend
to be in middle- to upper-middle income categories, say few are directly
employed by the gambling industry. Those who do work for casinos are good
church members, they add.

Lewis, whose church is less affluent, said the economic boon of casinos
hasn't reached "the other side of the tracks."

Shelly and Burton said their churches haven't had to make big adjustments to
casinos, particularly in the area of service times or social service
offerings. Burton said he has a discretionary fund to assist those in need.
He meets with those seeking aid, determines their needs and then does what
he can.

Lewis said he sees more direct, detrimental impact on his parishioners. "We
used to buy bus tickets for stranded people, but we had to cut it out
because it was so expensive. Since 1981, we would pay half of the cost of a
ticket and the bus company would pay the other half. Since the casinos came
in, we had so many people who lost their money we just couldn't afford it,"
Lewis said.

He also cited an increase in people using pawn shops to obtain money. 

Lewis said he's searching for ways to minister to those involved in the
gambling industry. "We're trying to revise our standards. We're figuring out
how to re-invent ourselves. We have people who are working on Sundays in
casinos," he said.

Do the economic benefits to the community overcome human costs in family
suffering over lost paychecks, compulsive gambling and other problems? No
one seems to have a concrete answer. The Mississippi Conference, however, is
seeking a way to deal with gambling. In response to a resolution passed at
annual conference in June, Bishop Jack Meadors has appointed a task force to
examine how the United Methodist church in Mississippi will address
gambling. The task force, chaired by Dr. Lamar Weems of Jackson, plans to
issue a report before the state legislature convenes in January.

Along the Mississippi River, the situation is different. Casinos operate in
Tunica County, Greenville, Vicksburg and Natchez. The gambling in Vicksburg,
Greenville and Natchez is on a much smaller scale than the Gulf Coast or
Tunica County. The cities combine for only about six or seven casinos.
However, several are located at Robinsonville in Tunica County, less than an
hour from Memphis and its metropolitan population of more than 1 million.

The Rev. Doug Hardin, pastor at First United Methodist Church in Tunica, is
hard pressed to find many glaring negatives about the casinos that operate
in his county. In fact, Shelly speculated that the demand for social
services in Tunica County has probably dropped since casinos opened. 

At one time, Tunica County was the poorest county in the nation. Simply
having jobs, even those at the lower ends of the gambling industry, reduces
the need for social services, Shelly said.
Tunica County's revenues have increased from $3.5 million in 1992 to a
projected $35.8 million in fiscal 1998, according to the Gaming Commission.
The county's general fund in 1989 was less than $1 million, and during
fiscal 1997 the county spent $63.8 million.

Hardin said that for the first couple of years when casinos were legal, he
had numerous people come by the church who had obviously lost in the
casinos. However, that number has dropped, he said, in part because the
casinos moved slightly farther north closer to Memphis.

Hardin points out that for the first time in years, the county school system
has the money to build new schools and renovate old ones. The recreation
department has a new state-of-the-art facility that gives teens a place to
go. 

"People here would not have any opportunity for the kind of paying jobs like
they have now," said Hardin. "It feels a lot like 'just a job.' We have to
recognize that benefit. Just about anybody now has a shot at an entry-level
job. It's not a wonderful job, but it's better than they might have."

However, Hardin said the overall atmosphere of the gambling industry can't
be good. "There has got to be a detrimental effect. It's hard to pin down,"
Hardin said. "The whole philosophy appeals to people's greed, they can
finally hit it big. That all contributes to an unholy spirit in the
community. I don't see any way it can't affect the environment. It appeals
to something unholy."

Hardin said the only casino employees in his church are seniors working
part-time in gift shops. He hasn't had to deal with gearing ministries
toward casinos, their patrons and employees, but he did accept an invitation
to lead a devotional service for casino employees, he said.

He expressed concern about what the growth in gambling is doing in a society
where people are more comfortable sitting for hours in front of a machine
instead of spending that time in conversation with other people. 

"The people who go to casinos are looking to fill something in their lives
that is not there," he said. "The church should be doing that."

# # #

*Woodrick is editor of the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate.

______________
United Methodist News Service
http://www.umc.org/umns/
newsdesk@umcom.umc.org
(615)742-5472