After Edmond L. Browning was elected last month as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, evangelicals in the denomination seemed to adopt a “wait and see” attitude.
“We’ve all been encouraged by hearing that [Browning] is a man of deep personal faith and piety,” said John Rodgers, dean of the evangelical Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. “I think it’s too soon to know what the bishop’s style of teaching and preaching the faith will be. I think there should be a desire on everyone’s part to wait and see how he will speak on issues of Scripture and renewal.…”
Browning was elected during the Episcopal Church’s general convention, which met in Anaheim, California. He has spent only 7 of his 31 years in ordained ministry within the continental United States. Widely known for his missionary experience and global involvement, the Texas native was a parish priest and bishop in Okinawa for 12 years, and most recently served as bishop of Hawaii. He has also served as bishop of the American Episcopal churches in Europe, and as the Episcopal Church’s executive for national and world mission in New York City.
In remarks made at the general convention, Browning supported liberal positions on several issues. He condemned the production and deployment of nuclear weapons as “incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ”; criticized President Reagan’s economic sanctions against South Africa by saying, “he did not go far enough”; and strongly supported the ordination of women.
At the same time, he praised the work of some of the denomination’s renewal movements—Cursillo, the charismatic movement, and Marriage Encounter. “In many ways there has been a serious spiritual renewal in the Episcopal Church …,” he said. “These movements have really been reaching out to meet the spiritual needs of people.”
During the general convention, the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops and House of Deputies acted on resolutions in legislative sessions. Among those actions:
• The convention narrowly defeated a resolution that would have specifically removed sexual orientation as an obstacle to ordination. The resolution stated that “no one shall be denied access to the selection process for ordination … solely because of race, color, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, or age.…”
The measure was approved in the House of Bishops. But inclusion of the words “sexual orientation” provoked lively debate in the House of Deputies, which is made up of both laity and clergy. The resolution was approved in the House of Deputies’ clerical order, but it was defeated in the lay order.
• The convention avoided taking sides on the abortion question. Instead, it called on parishes and dioceses to initiate “study and discussion of the personal, sociological, and theological implications of abortion.…” Several abortion resolutions, including one from the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life (NOEL), never cleared a committee to be voted on by the convention.
A NOEL press release indicated cautious optimism, however. “After nine years of ‘unequivocal opposition’ to any legislation that would restrict the right to abortion in the U.S., the General Convention … has decided to re-study its position …,” the news release stated. “It does open the way to dialogue and eventual return to a more responsible position.…”
• The convention voted to create a Joint Commission on Evangelism and Renewal. It also passed resolutions calling for evangelistic strategies designed for young adults and other groups that are underrepresented in the life of the church.
DAVID E. SUMNERin Anaheim
U.S. Senate Votes Against Helms’S School Prayer Measure
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared to go on trial in the U.S. Senate last month, as legislators debated a bill designed to permit spoken prayer in public schools. The measure was defeated in a 62-to-36 vote, falling short of previous Senate support for similar measures.
U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) introduced the legislation, which would have removed court cases involving prayer from the jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court. Instead, lower courts—and thus, local communities—could decide for themselves to allow prayer in school classrooms. Helms’s measure would have prevented the U.S. Supreme Court from overturning those decisions.
The U.S. Supreme Court in the early 1960s ruled in a New York State case against mandated spoken classroom prayer. Ever since, restoring prayer has been a goal of some conservative legislators, and it has become a rallying point for interest groups representing the New Right.
During floor debate in the Senate, Helms said, “The Supreme Court … has gotten this government involved in religion with a very unwise and unneeded decision.” He was referring to a second key high court decision of the 1960s involving atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her son, William, who has since converted to Christianity and endorsed school prayer.
Helms said he wanted “to take this matter out of the Federal Government and put it back … in the hands of the individual states.” U.S. Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.) said he supported the bill “as a signal of my strong disagreement—and that of my constituents—with the U.S. Supreme Court rulings which are moving us toward an increasingly secular society.”
Not all Senate Republicans agreed, however. “I am a little surprised that the Senator from North Carolina decided to outlaw the Supreme Court from our life …,” said Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.). “The Senate is beginning to get into areas now that are frankly none of our business.”
In its last term, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a silent-prayer law in Alabama. During its current term, it will rule on whether student-initiated religious meetings can be allowed in public high schools.
Is The Boycott Against The Upjohn Company Working?
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) claims that a renewed boycott effort against the Upjohn Company is hurting the drug manufacturer. Luke Wilson, of Right to Life of Michigan—which has spearheaded the boycott—said anonymous sources inside Upjohn “have informed us that the … boycott is having an important impact.”
In response, Upjohn representative Elizabeth Clark said, “We haven’t noticed any change in our sales or in our stock [market] prices.” Clark said that although the boycott is being portrayed as a recent development, NRLC first announced a boycott of the company in 1975. “Every six months or so they announce a boycott,” she said. “We’ve been receiving letters [of protest] for 10 years. We haven’t noticed an increase.”
Wilson explained that until last May, efforts to oppose Upjohn were sporadic and loosely coordinated. Right to Life of Michigan and the NRLC allege that Upjohn has pioneered in the effort to develop abortifacient (abortion-inducing) drugs designed for possible use at home during the first trimester of pregnancy. “Chemical abortion is the wave of the future,” Wilson said. “Whoever perfects it will be in control of a billion-dollar industry.”
Clark acknowledged that in the past Upjohn did attempt to develop a first-trimester abortifacient, but never for home use. She said efforts to develop such a drug were halted late last year, and that Upjohn’s fertility research unit was shut down in March.
Clark categorically denied that Upjohn has any plans to market a first-trimester abortifacient. She cited several reasons, including severe side effects and the likely difficulty in gaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Clark added that public sentiment against such a drug was a factor in the decision.
Wilson said the urgency of the boycott does not depend on whether Upjohn is pursuing an abortion product for home use. “Self-administration is just an extension of the evil,” he said. “The real evil is that a major drug manufacturer has been diverted from providing therapeutic products to producing products that destroy human life.”
Upjohn continues to supply hospitals with Prostin F2a, which is used to end some 10,000 second-trimester pregnancies annually.
NORTH AMERICAN SCENE
Gay Rights Lose In Providence
The Providence, Rhode Island, City Council has refused to ban discrimination against homosexuals. The council deleted a section dealing with homosexual rights from an antidiscrimination ordinance. According to Providence City Council President Nicholas Easton, the measure probably would have passed had it not been for the strong opposition of Roman Catholic Bishop Louis E. Gelineau.
Fetuses To Be Buried
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has decided to bury 16,500 aborted fetuses found at the home of a man who ran a medical laboratory. The three-year battle over what to do with the fetuses pitted antiabortion groups against a feminist group represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU argued in court that the fetuses were merely unwanted biological tissue, and as a result should be cremated. However, a judge ruled that the county could authorize burial of the fetuses as long as there was no religious ceremony.
Antipornography Law Ruled Unconstitutional
A federal appeals court has ruled unconstitutional an Indianapolis ordinance that defined pornography as a violation of the civil rights of women. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the ordinance violated the First Amendment guarantee to the right of free speech. In the opinion, Judge George Easterbrook said the Indianapolis ordinance defined pornography as considerably different from obscenity. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
Doctors On Abortion
A recent study indicates that views on abortion among obstetricians and gynecologists have not changed since 1971. A survey of 1,300 members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found 84 percent agreeing that abortions should be performed in some circumstances. Thirteen percent said abortions should never be performed, and 3 percent did not respond. In 1971, 83 percent of doctors surveyed said abortions were allowable at the patient’s request or upon a physician’s recommendation.
Group Plans To Sue U.S. Education Secretary
Americans United for Separation of Church and State plans to sue U.S. Education Secretary William J. Bennett. The organization alleges that Bennett has refused to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibits states and localities from sending public school teachers into parochial schools for specialized instruction.
Court Rules Against Health Club Owners
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled against owners of a health club who—on religious grounds—terminated the membership of a homosexual. The court concluded that Philip Blanding was denied membership in the health club based on his sexual preference and not because of his conduct, in violation of a Minneapolis antidiscrimination ordinance. The court said the health club owners could not use freedom of religion arguments as a defense for discrimination.
Adventists Fight For Property Tax Exemptions
The Indiana Association of Seventh-day Adventists is going to court to try to protect some of its property tax exemptions. The church filed suit against the state board of tax commissioners, which denied exemptions on church property assessed at $303,170. The property is used for private residences, farm land, an industrial building, a bookstore, and other purposes determined to be nonexempt by the tax commissioners. Tax exemptions were upheld on additional church property assessed at $212,830.
Moon Newspaper Closes
The New York City Tribune, founded in 1983 by Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon, has ceased publication. No reason was given for the closing. The newspaper’s management said it hoped to reopen the paper in the future.
