North American Scene from April 17, 1987

LUTHERANS

Merger Clears Another Hurdle

The congregations of the American Lutheran Church (ALC) have authorized the denomination to unite with two other Lutheran bodies to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

ALC congregations backed the merger by an 81 percent majority. During a six-month referendum ending last month, 3,752 congregations voted in favor of the merger; 863 opposed the plan; 45 abstained.

ALC presiding bishop David W. Preus predicted that no more than 50 of his church’s congregations will stay out of the merger. “Now, with the vote behind us,” he said, “I ask all congregations to close ranks and move forward in the mission that God has entrusted to the church.”

The Committee for the Formation of the Association of American Lutheran Churches had urged ALC congregations to vote against the merger. Committee leaders Duane Lindberg and James Minor said churches opposing the union are invited to join the movement, which might form an alternative denomination.

Later this month another partner in the merger, the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), will take a final vote on union. Then, at a constituting convention beginning April 30, the LCA, ALC, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches will form the 5.3 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The new church, to be headquartered in Chicago, will begin operating January 1.

NORTH AMERICA

Steady Seminary Enrollment

Seminary enrollment in the United States and Canada held steady last year, with a fall enrollment of 56,335, according to the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).

In its annual statistical breakdown, the Vandalia, Ohio-based association identified several trends. Full-time equivalent enrollment dropped by 1.7 percent, and enrollment of Hispanic students was down 10.8 percent. On the increase were enrollments of black students (7.6%); Pacific-Asian American students (16.6%); first-year students (1.0%); and women (2.2%).

Women now make up 26.4 percent of students in ATS-member schools. The number of women serving in full-time faculty positions also increased, with women filling 13.3 percent of the positions.

ST. LOUIS

Hard Liquor In Church

Archbishop John L. May has proposed a ban on the consumption of hard liquor in any Catholic parish hall or church facility in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. His proposal would also bar the sale of all alcoholic beverages in any parish or agency of the archdiocese.

However, the plan would allow “soft alcoholic beverages,” including wine, beer, and spiked punch, to be served in church halls at wedding receptions, anniversary celebrations, parish fund raisers, and church socials that include a full meal.

In response to May’s proposal, Richard J. Quirk, associate pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, indicated he would welcome the policy. “I think it would be an opportunity for all of us to look at the amount of alcohol we consume and reflect on that,” he said. “It’s important for the church to be a counter-witness to offset problems in society.”

Another priest, who asked not to be identified, said he expects strong opposition to May’s proposal. He said banning hard liquor would “butt heads with something that is fundamentally Catholic—that God made everything, and creation is basically a good thing.”

TRENDS

An Organization Is Born

The idea of linking opposition to abortion and nuclear arms appears to be taking root. Last year, the Just Life political action committee was formed to oppose abortion, nuclear arms, and poverty (CT, June 13, 1986, p. 36). And last month, a coalition of representatives from religious, prolife, peace, and social-justice organizations met in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to form the Seamless Garment Network.

The use of the term “seamless garment” to link opposition to abortion and nuclear arms was popularized by Catholic Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. However, the new network’s platform will be broader than these issues. According to its policy statement, the Seamless Garment Network is “committed to the protection of life, which is threatened in today’s world by war, abortion, poverty, the arms race, the death penalty, and euthanasia.”

The network will serve as a clearinghouse for audiovisual and print resources. Plans also call for a publication that will challenge readers to respond to issues that threaten human life.

The Chapel Hill conference was sponsored by ProLifers for Survival, which will now go out of existence. ProLifers for Survival, whose platform was limited to opposing abortion and nuclear arms, was founded eight years ago.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Briefly Noted

Appointed: As president of Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Edwin D. Roels. On August 1, Roels will succeed Dick L. Van Halsema, who has served as president since 1966. Roels is pastor of Unity Christian Reformed Church in Prinsburg, Minnesota. He previously served as Africa coordinator for the World Home Bible League.

Died: Edwin C. Clarke, 73, former president of Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania; February 17, following an extended illness. Clarke joined the Geneva College faculty in 1937 as an economics instructor. In the years that followed, he served as assistant professor of economics, chairman of the Department of Economics and Business Administration, and vice-president for development. He was named president in 1956, a post he held until he retired in 1980.

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