SANCTUARY MOVEMENT
Ins Reconsiders Asylum
The federal government, after a decade of efforts to deport undocumented Salvadorian and Guatemalan immigrants, has agreed to stop the deportations and adopt new procedures for granting political asylum. The agreement comes as settlement to a five-year-old class-action lawsuit brought by 80 religious and refugee organizations involved in the sanctuary movement. Known as the American Baptist Churches case, it accused the goverment of discrimination and violation of the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980, which bars ideological considerations in granting asylum. According to the suit, authorities routinely denied the asylum applications of refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala.
Marc Van Der Hout, lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the Religious News Service the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) will readjudicate all the cases of political asylum that have been denied over the past year. The agreement is expected to cover an estimated 500,000 illegal aliens from El Salvador and Guatemala.
PRESBYTERIANS
In Or Out?
As a December deadline came and went, six Presbyterian congregations had decided to remain in the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA), while six had chosen to leave. The votes were taken under provisions contained in the agreement governing the 1983 merger that created the PCUSA, which allowed congregations in the “southern” branch to withdraw with their property from the new denomination. Twelve more congregations were still in the decision-making process as the deadline passed.
Among the largest congregations to consider withdrawal, Highland Park Presbyterian in Dallas voted to stay in the PCUSA. Those voting to withdraw include Forest Hill Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; First Presbyterian Church in Homestead, Florida; and First Presbyterian Church in Meridian, Mississippi.
In the year immediately following the merger, most departing churches affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America. In recent years, many have joined the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
IN COURT
Liberty Loses
The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that a proposed $60 million tax-exempt bond issue for Liberty University is a violation of the establishment-of-religion clauses in the federal and state constitutions (CT, Feb. 19, 1990, p. 36). The unanimous ruling said the university’s “pervasively sectarian” aim is the “equipping of young people for evangelistic ministry in the local church.” The court noted that the university requires faculty and students to attend church and chapel and to subscribe to the college’s doctrinal statements.
Mark DeMoss, spokesman for Jerry Falwell, founder and chancellor of the university, said Liberty will not appeal the ruling because of the time and cost involved. In a statement, Falwell accused the court of endorsing “religious discrimination” in its decision.
PTL LEGACY
Cerullo Closes Deal
Televangelist Morris Cerullo completed arrangements with a federal bankruptcy court to purchase Heritage USA. After granting Cerullo two extensions and cutting the price for the former home of Jim Bakker’s PTL by one-third, court representatives accepted $42.5 million for the South Carolina property. The San Diego-based preacher made “confidential agreements” with two foreign companies, the M.U.I. Corporation of Malaysia and the Seraphim Corporation of Vancouver, to acquire the cash needed to close the deal. Cerullo said he hopes to reopen the resort as “The New Heritage USA” by July 4.
On the same day Cerullo’s purchase was approved, a civil court jury found Bakker liable for $129.7 million claimed by former contributors to his fallen ministry. The prosecuting attorney has conceded the money is virutally uncollectable from Bakker, who is serving a 45-year prison sectence.
PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Briefly Noted
Named: Philip Downer as the new president of the Christian Business Men’s Committee of USA. Downer, 43, was formerly a senior managing partner in the law firm of Hyatt and Rhoads, P.C., based in Atlanta. He succeeds Ted DeMoss, who had served as president since 1976.
Merged: The Reformed Journal, based in the Christian Reformed Church, and Perspectives, a theological journal of the Reformed Church in America (RCA). The new publication will initially carry both names on the cover, but the combined editorial staff hopes to come up with a new name within the year. In merging with Perspectives, the Reformed Journal is severing its ties with the Eerdmans Publishing Company. The new magazine will be partly funded by the RCA; it will accept some advertising and is seeking to raise $75,000 for a new financial base.
Dropped: A lawsuit that charged Trinity Broadcasting Network founder Paul Crouch with a “hostile takeover” of a Christian television station in New York. An agreement between Crouch and the plaintiff, Keith Houser, precludes any future litigation and bars the parties from discussing details of the settlement.
Died: William Sanford LaSor, professor emeritus of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He died January 11 at his home in Altadena, California, of complications following heart surgery, at the age of 79.
Less than a week after the December 26 death of Nancy Cruzan, another “right to die” battle began in the same medical facility, ending in another court decision allowing removal of food and water from a vegetative patient. The case has led many prolife activists to contend that the age of active euthanasia is just around the corner in the United States.
The latest battle involved Christine Busalacchi, a 20-year-old who, like Cruzan, was diagnosed as being in a “persistant vegetative state” following an automobile accident. Busalacchi’s family had requested that her food and water tube be removed as Cruzan’s was on December 14.
According to many prolifers, the stage is now being set for direct, or active, euthanasia. “We’ll see many more Nancy Cruzans, and eventually people will ask, ‘Why should Nancy Cruzan have to starve to death for 12 days? Wouldn’t it be more humane to give her an overdose of morphine or some drug to kill her,’ ” Glessner said. “That is the next ‘logical’ step.”
Cruzan was not the first American in a hospital to die after the removal of food and water, but she is the most famous. Her court battle reached all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In June, the high court refused Cruzan’s parents’ request that the tube be removed, but said states could sanction the removal if there was “clear and convincing evidence” that the patient would have wished it (CT, Aug. 20, 1990, p. 38). Cruzan’s family subsequently found other witnesses to testify that Nancy would not have wanted to be kept alive, and a judge decided the testimony met the Supreme Court’s test.
Busalacchi’s family admitted that they lacked evidence about Christine’s wishes in such a situation. The Missouri court, however, ruled in their favor.
“The cycle of killing, already moving at a brisk clip, is picking up incredible momentum,” said National Right to Life’s Dave Andrusko.
Thomas F. Zimmerman, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God for 26 years and a well-known leader in evangelical parachurch circles, died on January 2 at the age of 78. Zimmerman was one of the key forces behind building ties between the denomination and evangelical church groups.
The Assemblies of God was only 45 years old in 1959 when delegates to the Twenty-sixth General Council elected Zimmerman to the church’s top office, a post he held longer than any other person.
During his tenure, the denomination founded its only seminary, the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, and Maranatha Village, a health care/retirement complex and grew to a total of 15 million worshipers worldwide.
“Dr. Zimmerman’s years of leadership will be remembered for the growth, maturation of the church, and unifying of the fellowship,” said G. Raymond Carlson, the denomination’s current general superintendent.
In 1944, Zimmerman was one of the founders of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), which today has nearly 5,000 members. He was a member of the executive board of NRB at the time of his death. He was also active in the National Association of Evangelicals and continued to serve on its board as well.
Following his retirement as the Assemblies general superintendent in 1985, Zimmerman served as U.S. president of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. He stepped down from that post last year.
In 1986, the Religious Heritage of America presented Zimmerman its God and Country Medal award for his leadership in the religious community.
Talk of recession in late 1990 was hardly good news for anyone. And Christian organizations that depend on year-end giving to meet their budgets (some receive as much as 30 to 40 percent of their income in November and December) watched the economic headlines with particular concern.
But an informal survey of various Christian organizations conducted last month by CHRISTIANITY TODAY shows that most weathered the year-end slump, posting gains in the last months of 1990 as compared with the same period in 1989.
So Far, So Good
In the past, economic downturns have meant hard times for charities. And the uncertainty of the Persian Gulf crisis raised the possibility that Americans might be even more likely to hold on to their money at the end of last year. For some, however, world events have actually stimulated giving.
At International Bible Society (IBS), income for the last two months of 1990 was up 75 percent over year-end giving in 1989. “We’re really benefiting from what’s going on at this point in history,” says Debbie Provencher, IBS’s director of public relations. “With Eastern Europe opening up to the spread of the gospel, we are trying to let as many people as possible know about the needs there, and they’ve been responding.”
While few groups reported such a large increase, many saw steady growth in 1990. “We would have anticipated some effect by now, but we haven’t felt it,” says Craig Hammon, a vice-president for development at World Vision, where year-end income grew by 14 percent. “We believe that’s a fruit of our long-term relationships with donors.”
Likewise, Elvin Ridder, U.S. Ministries development director at Campus Crusade for Christ, says he has not been able to identify any impact of the recession on giving. “I sent out an insert in November with 150,000 receipts to donors asking people to contact us if they had any problems or questions, and letting people know we would take them off our mailing list if they were having hard times,” says Ridder. “Only five people wrote in.” Campus Crusade saw an 8 percent increase in year-end giving.
More Help Wanted
Other reports offer a variety of ups and downs. The Salvation Army, for instance, said their Christmas kettles took in about 7 percent more than last year. But requests for help were up more than 20 percent.
The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, which represents 254 charities, reported no growth in contributions as of mid-December.
Although World Relief reported an increase in year-end giving, spokesperson Teri Jacobs says that income would have been down had it not been for large gifts from some supporting denominations and a grant from a private foundation.
“People are affected by the recession, and they are distracted by the international situation and tensions in the Persian Gulf,” says Gordon Loux, president of International Students, Inc. (ISI). Loux admits he “panicked” when ISI’s November income dipped 30 percent. December income came back up, and the organization finished 1990 with healthy growth over last year.
But Loux, who serves on the board of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, believes there are other reasons for recent shifts in giving patterns.
“We are seeing a continuing fallout and rearrangement of priorities from the scandals a few years back,” he says. “People are much more careful and selective about what they do with their money. For newer donors, there’s not the brand loyalty that there has been in the past. More people are giving to organizations that are relevant and respond to the perceived needs of the moment.”
Taking Stock
The new economic climate has prompted some organizations to take a close look at future budgets. Focus on the Family, for example, whose budget grew from $12 million to $65 million per year in the past decade, is planning a 1991 budget identical to last year’s version.
“In 1990 and 1991, our year-end giving was approximately $15.7 million,” said vice-president Paul Hetrick. “This is a leveling out we had anticipated. We knew Focus would not grow exponentially forever.”
“Organizations that depend on foundations are concerned,” says World Vision’s Hammon. “Representatives of foundations are pulling back. Their stock portfolios are down, or they are concerned about the effect of the recession on their assets. And organizations are seeing that their large donors are hurting. Many large donors are entrepreneurs or real estate developers who are really hurt by the recession.
“On the other hand, one of the advantages of a recessionary environment is that people are forced to look at more creative alternatives to giving cash,” Hammon says, “such as property assets or investments.”
Offering plates are not overflowing in local churches, but many report increases, say denominational officials.
This does not surprise Ed Hales, executive director of the Christian Stewardship Association. His own church in South Daytona, Florida, recorded “an exceptional six weeks” before Christmas, he says, including the first “$10,000 Sunday” in its history. “It shows,” Hales says, “that typically during down cycles, church giving improves.”
By Steve Rabey.
