wfn.org | Southeastern bishops condemn 'scourge' of gambling

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

Sept. 16, 1999	News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.    10-71B{473}

NOTE:  This story may used as a sidebar with UMNS story #472.

By United Methodist News Service

United Methodist bishops in nine Southeastern states have issued a statement
condemning the "scourge of gambling spreading like a plague" across the
region and throughout the nation.

"Casino gambling has grown in Mississippi like malignant tumors," the 13
bishops say in their Sept. 3 letter, sent to United Methodists throughout
the church's Southeastern Jurisdiction.

The bishops note that Georgia's lottery has become a "rallying point" for
other states and that South Carolina and Alabama citizens elected
pro-gambling governors. They also point to the presence of video poker in
truck stops and small businesses.

"The tragic consequences of gambling are devastating" they observe.
"Frequent stories are told of individuals and families who have lost their
businesses, their homes, and their inheritances as a result of gambling.
Individuals commit suicide because of gambling losses. High school and
college students get hooked betting on sports events. A 10-day-old child
dies in a sweltering car, windows closed, on a hot August day, while the
mother plays video poker - the 'crack cocaine' of gambling."

Declaring that gambling has reached "crisis proportions" in the region, the
bishops call on all United Methodists to uphold the official position of the
church.  

The Social Principles of the church describe gambling as a "menace to
society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and
spiritual life, and destructive to good government." 

Christians are asked to "abstain from gambling" as an act of faith and love.
At the same time, the Social Principles urge Christians to minister to those
victimized by gambling. "Where gambling has become addictive, the church
will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that
the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive
ends."

The principles urge churches to "promote standards and personal lifestyles
that would make unnecessary and undesirable the resort to commercial
gambling - including public lotteries - as a recreation, as an escape, or as
a means of producing revenue or funds for support of charities or
government." 

The bishops ask that United Methodists in the jurisdiction refrain from
gambling in any form and convey to national and state decision-makers the
church's opposition to gambling. Church members are encouraged to respond
pastorally to those who are "victims" of gambling and to work with
ecumenical and interfaith networks to combat gambling. 

Congregations are asked to send representatives to the sixth annual meeting
of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling and the National
Coalition Against Gambling Expansion.  The event will be held at the Hilton
Hotel and Conference Center in Jackson, Miss., Sept 24-26.  Theme of the
event is "Gambling with America's Future."

Signing the statement was William W. Morris, bishop of the Alabama-West
Florida Annual Conference and president of the Southeastern Jurisdiction
College of Bishops, and Marshall L. "Jack" Meadors Jr., bishop of the
Mississippi Annual Conference, secretary to the college.    

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