wfn.org | Church agencies produce guide on faith-based initiatives

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

June 7, 2001 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-21-71B{260}

By United Methodist News Service

Three United Methodist agencies have collaborated to produce a guide on
faith-based initiatives.

Entitled "Community Ministries and Government Funding," the document can be
found through the Board of Global Ministries Web site at
http://gbgm-umc.org/news/2001/june/faith.htm. Links also are available
through the other two agency Web sites: the General Council on Finance and
Administration, www.gcfa.org, and the Board of Church and Society,
www.umc-gbcs.org. 

Lynda Byrd, a Board of Global Ministries executive, said enough questions
were generated by President Bush's proposals for faith-based initiatives
that it was inevitable such a guide would be developed.

"Much of the work through (the Board of Global Ministries') community and
institutional ministries involves precisely the kinds of faith-based
ministry that the president's initiative targets," she explained. "Our
constituents look to us for explanation and interpretation."

Church and Society, which watches public policy, advocates on behalf of
people whose lives are impacted by the type of services faith-based
initiatives can offer, she added, while the GCFA is concerned about legal
issues related to such work.

"The partnership between these three boards and agencies was critical to
providing a balanced and inclusive response to this very vital issue and its
potential impact on the ministries on which so many depend," Byrd said.

James Winkler, Church and Society's chief executive, and Sandra Kelley
Lackore, GCFA's chief executive, agreed that the partnership provided an
important model for the church.

"We were thrilled to work on it as an inter-agency project," Lackore said.
"Our primary interest was to ensure that local churches have their financial
and legal interests protected."

The Rev. Randolph Nugent, chief executive for the Board of Global
Ministries, noted that the guide would be of assistance to those considering
government funding as faith-based groups. "It is important for all churches
to understand that this kind of 'partnership' is not to be entered into
lightly," he explained. "They will all need to engage in thought, study and
prayer to be prepared to respond in an appropriate and faithful manner if
the proposed legislation indeed is approved."

Winkler also hopes the document "will be helpful to the Congress and the
administration" as the legislation is considered.

One of the major objectives of President Bush's Faith-based and Community
Initiatives is to increase access by faith-based groups to government funds
earmarked for social services and community improvement among the poor. A
special White House office has been established, and related centers created
in five federal departments: Education, Health and Human Services, Housing
and Urban Development, Justice and Labor. The president also has requested
legislation to provide tax incentives to individuals and corporations that
make donations to faith-based and community groups working to overcome
poverty.

As the guide points out, the idea of "charitable choice" was introduced by
the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,
also known as the welfare reform act. Section 104 of that act basically
allows religious groups to compete for public funds without "forfeiting the
right to reflect their religious character in the style and content of their
services." The Board of Church and Society has joined other opponents who
consider charitable choice to be unconstitutional and in violation of the
church-state provisions of the First Amendment.

The agency's basic belief is "the government should be the government and
the church should be the church," Winkler said. If churches use government
funds to proselytize or limit whom they choose to assist, "we've moved down
a road that's going to cause serious legal and moral and ethical problems in
the future," he added.

He believes current safeguards, such as churches forming separate
corporations to handle any public funding, are necessary to prevent a
scenario such as government auditors seizing church financial documents for
inspection.

A few United Methodist congregations have received job training grants under
the charitable choice provision, according to the guide. Others have been
involved in ecumenical welfare-to-work mentoring projects, particularly in
California, Texas, Indiana and North Carolina.

"Far more common are job training and placement programs conducted by United
Methodist community centers under regular government contracts," the guide
says. "To date, charitable choice has been a moot point for these
institutions, which are themselves nonprofit corporations with long
histories of nonsectarian community service."

The United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's top legislative
body, has not directly addressed the issues of charitable choice or the Bush
initiative, although the 2000 General Conference did adopt a resolution with
guidelines for church use of government funds.

Six "minimum criteria" for church recipients of such funds are included in
the resolution. Their services should meet a genuine community need; avoid
serving a sectarian purpose or interest; be available to all without regard
to race, color, national origin, creed or political persuasion; and be
performed in accordance with accepted professional and administrative
standards. The church agency also should consider skill, competence and
integrity above religious affiliation when employing people and recognize
the right to collective bargaining.

The United Methodist guide to "Community Ministries and Government Funding"
details a number of questions that churches or related institutions should
consider regarding the use of those funds. The issues covered include
program goals, conditions imposed by the government, collaborative work with
other community groups, appropriate legal and operational structures, and
funding of religious activities.

Stories from six United Methodist programs that have partnerships with
government agencies provide examples of how those relationships can work.

Legal advice for "faith-based providers of government-sponsored social
services" from Andrews & Kurth law firm of Washington can be found at the
end of the guide, as well as a list of Web sites for more information.  
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United Methodist News Service
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