This page lists our postings from all of June, 2009

For an index to all our reports and analyses
on the 219th General Assembly

Earlier in August, 2010
July, 2010
June, 2010
May, 2010
April, 2010
March, 2010
February, 2010
January, 2010
December, 2009
November, 2009
October, 2009
September, 2009
August, 2009
July, 2009

The Spring 2009 issue of Network News is in the mail to Witherspoon members and other subscribers, and to current members of Voices of Sophia as well.

And it’s also right here online, in PDF format – both in high resolution (nicer to look at, slower to download) and normal resolution (faster to download, especially if you’re using a slow connection).

Click here to download the software you need to read PDF files.

Some of the features in this issue are:

This early report on the coup in Honduras, on Sunday morning, June 28, comes from School of the Americas Watch.

A military coup has taken place in Honduras this morning (Sunday, June 28), led by SOA graduate Romeo Vasquez. In the early hours of the day, members of the Honduran military surrounded the presidential palace and forced the democratically elected president, Manuel Zelaya, into custody. He was immediately flown to Costa Rica.

A national vote had been scheduled to take place today in Honduras to consult the electorate on a proposal of holding a Constitutional Assembly in November. General Vasquez had refused to comply with this vote and was deposed by the president, only to later be reinstated by the Congress and Supreme Court.

The Honduran state television was taken off the air. The electricity supply to the capital Tegucigalpa, as well telephone and cellphone lines were cut. Government institutions were taken over by the military. While the traditional political parties, Catholic church and military have not issued any statements, the people of Honduras are going into the streets, in spite of the fact that the streets are militarized. From Costa Rica, President Zelaya has called for a non-violent response from the people of Honduras, and for international solidarity for the Honduran democracy.

While the European Union and several Latin American governments just came out in support of President Zelaya and spoke out against the coup, a statement that was just issued by Barack Obama fell short of calling for the reinstatement of Zelaya as the legitimate president.

Call the State Department and the White House

Demand that they call for the immediate reinstatement of Honduran President Zelaya.

State Department: 202-647-4000 or 1-800-877-8339

White House: Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-1414

Click here to send a message to President Barack Obama.

Visit www.SOAW.org and www.SOAW.org/presente for articles and updated information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Campaign for Labor Rights added this information, and calls for action, later on Sunday

SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON DENOUNCES COUP – THE STRUGGLE IS NOT OVER – NEW DEMANDS

We just received a call from attendees at the emergency protest at the White House that Secretary of State Clinton has denounced the Honduran coup and expressed support for Pres. Zelaya.

Here is a short report, detailing new demands, from Alliance for Global Justice co-coordinator Chuck Kaufman:

We shouldn't relax though. The coup has not yet been reversed. The US needs to do more than issue a statement. They need to cut off all military aid until Zelaya is safely returned to Honduras.

They need to support bringing the coup plotters to justice. They need to replace the US ambassador who obviously knew what was going on. How fast they do that will indicate whether he told them about it in advance or not.

Call the State Department and the White House

Demand:

1) Cut off all military aid to Honduras until Pres. Zelaya and Chancellor Rodas are safely returned to office;

2) Support any international movements to bring the coup plotters to justice;

3) Replace the US ambassador to Honduras

State Department: 202-647-4000 or 1-800-877-8339

White House: Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-1414

Compiled from a variety of sources:

Visit our website at: http://www.clrlabor.org/wordpress/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For background and analysis:

For a sharp analysis of the background of the situation in Honduras, see Nikolas Kozloff’s article, “Obama's Real Message to Latin America?” He expresses concern that the coup may indicate a willingness on the part of the Obama administration to return to the old “interventionist U.S. foreign policy in Central America,” by sanctioning, or at least not opposing, a military coup against a democratically elected government.

Kozloff is the author of Revolution! South America and the Rise of the New Left (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2008). You can follow his blog at www.senorchichero.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since these earlier reports were written, it appears that the Obama administration is speaking and acting to oppose the coup. Here’s one brief report, from Sam Youngman, writing in The Hill:

It begins:

Saying the U.S. does "not want to go back to a dark past," President Obama said Monday that the military ouster of President Manuel Zelaya was "not legal."

Meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in the Oval Office, Obama said the two men has discussed the coup and "all of us have great concerns."

The president said the ouster should not be used as "a means of political transition," calling it a "terrible precedent" for the region.

"We do not want to go back to a dark past," he said. "We always want to stand with democracy."

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The Presbyterian Equality Project of More Light Presbyterians applauds the introduction on June 25 of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would protect against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The measure was introduced by House Representatives Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin and Jared Polis.

A news report on the recent Big Tent gathering in Atlanta highlights the remarks given by the Rev. Johnnie Monroe in accepting the John Park Lee Award which was presented to him by PHEWA (the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association).

We believe Monroe captured the state of the Presbyterian Church brilliantly in a loving and prophetic statement of our current reality in the light of God's call.

We're happy to share with you the full text of Monroe's remarks.  We invite you to read them and share your own thoughts in response.  Just send a note, to be shared here.

A sample of his comments:

Let me tell you what I see; I see a church that, like corporate companies, is seeking to balance its budget by calling out justice ministries and ministries that empower women and ministries with ‘marginalized people.’ When cuts are made we cut ministries that affect the ‘least of these.’ Is not that the way of the world? ...

In secular society we cut programs that feed the hungry and guarantee health insurance, while we spend billions of dollars perpetuating wars that we never should have been in and, as a result, babies suffer and people in this wealthy nation go to bed hungry every night. But I have come to tell us tonight that God is not pleased with the direction the denomination is moving, and we must get Back to the Business of Being the Church – we must lead the way as light to a dark wine and we must be salt to a world that has lost its taste for justice and righteousness.

But we hope you'll take time to read and ponder the whole thing.

Our Presbyterian General Assembly’s recent study, The Power to Change: U.S. Energy Policy and Global Warming, has been published and is also online.  The church report is timely reading with today’s news that Obama pushes for passage of global warming legislation.

Sue Spencer wrote last October about a helpful variation on Robert's Rules, which offers a less highly regulated approach to getting business done in a group. 

She has recently discovered a haiku written by a Youth Advisory Delegate at the 2008 General Assembly, which she appreciated as making just her point:

Robert and his rules
They make sense some of the time
But tonight they don't.

We have posted numerous items on the health care crisis over the past few years -- first a long analysis of  "Medicaid and the 2006 Budget," published by the Presbyterian Washington Office in 2005.  A newer page carries a variety of good material from 2006 up to earlier in 2009.

But it's clear that the situation has shifted from hand-wringing to proposals for action.  Here are some that we think you may find helpful.

The Board of the Witherspoon Society has acted to sign on to a letter from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, urging members of Congress to support the "Gun Show Background Check Act of 2009."  The Rev. Catherine Snyder, who is a member of our board, is a pastor in Blacksburg, VA, and has been deeply involved in pastoral care with students and others at Virginia Tech since the shootings in 2007. She urged the group strongly to sign the letter, and the rest of the group is glad to do just that.

Snyder reminds us that the Presbyterian Church General Assembly, in 2008, adopted a resolution calling for just this kind of action to move toward at least some progress in limiting the availability of guns. Click here for the report of the Assembly's action.

Congress to Vote on Amendment to Force the SOA/ WHINSEC to Release the Names of Graduates and Instructors.  

Click here to send an email and fax to your Representative. Start calling Congress NOW!

[From SOA Watch]

We received this note (slightly edited here) on June 21 from Dr. Grania Marcus of New York City. We believe it offers material for reflection – and stimulus for action – about the U.S. government’s continuing anti-immigrant policies, and their often anti-family consequences.

All for security??

I am a member of First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York and Co-chair of FPC's New Sanctuary Committee. I also served for 3 years as a Volunteer-in-Mission and staff member at Frontera de Cristo Presbyterian Border Ministry.

I would like you to post the following article, published by New American Media: "Deporting Fathers in the Name of Homeland Security."

The article was written by Joseph Nevins, a Professor at Vassar College and author of the book Dying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in an Age of Global Apartheid (City Lights Books).

Our congregation has been a member of the New York New Sanctuary Coalition since December 2007, which is part of the national New Sanctuary Movement. There are two other New York City Presbyterian churches that have also joined, and others are considering joining. The New Sanctuary family with whom we are partnering is that of Roxroy Salmon, who is a father and grandfather facing deportation after living in the US for 32 years. [Mr. Salmon is the main subject of the Nevins article.] Our congregation and other New Sanctuary congregations are supporting him in his fight to stay in the US with his wife, 4 children and grandchild, all of whom are US citizens.

This article is very timely, since Mr. Salmon's hearing in his immigration case is July 7, 2009, and the Obama administration is currently working on immigration legislation.

In Christ,

Dr. Grania Marcus
Co-Chair, New Sanctuary Committee
First Presbyterian Church NYC

In the aftermath of the killing of security guard Stephen T. Johns at the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, on June 10, many people and organizations have spoken out about the wider issues of the hatred that seems to be such a strong undercurrent in U.S. society, and about the reliance on guns as a primary means to expressing that hatred.

Click here for some of the pieces we have found most helpful for more long-term thinking and action about hatred and guns.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A glimmer of hope in an alternative!

We have reported recently on a church in Louisville that is holding a “bring your guns” rally on June 27. But now an interfaith coalition of peace activists is planning an alternative activity at the same time as the controversial gun celebration. The sponsoring groups include Catholic, Quaker, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Buddhist, Muslim and non-sectarian groups. The theme is "Bring Your Peaceful Heart ... Leave Your Gun at Home."

Peter Smith, religion reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal, reports this in his blog, “Faith and Works”

We regret that we were not able to be there for what was apparently a very impressive event – or rather a collection of many events, large and small.

But to see a listing of Presbyterian News Service reports from many of them, click here.

Here are a few of the highlights that might be of special interest to Witherspooners >>

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Information received from PICO National Network  and National People’s Action

World Mission asks Presbyterians to identify mission service candidates

from Presbyterian News Service

Presbyterian World Mission (PWM) leaders are asking Presbyterians across the country to help them find qualified candidates for international mission service.

Nineteen mission positions were available on June 9 and more openings are to be posted over the next several days, according to Nancy Cavalcante, mission service recruitment coordinator for Presbyterian World Mission.

Filling these positions is crucial if the church is to meet the General Assembly Council's (GAC) goal of increasing the number of mission co-workers for the first time in 50 years, she said.

"We want the whole church to help us identify called and committed people who have the skills and gifts that our global partners are requesting," said Hunter Farrell, director of Presbyterian World Mission.

The killing of Dr. George Tiller has led to the closing of his clinic in Kansas, according to an announcement by his family.

But wait ... Anti-abortion leader Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue, said today Wednesday that his group is considering trying to buy the building, and perhaps turning into a memorial museum, “a tribute to the babies.”

The conclusion? What else? “Terrorism works.”

So writes Tracy Clark-Flory, writing for Salon.com. She says:

A lesson in the effectiveness of terrorism: Dr. George Tiller's Kansas clinic is closing permanently, according to his family's lawyers. In a statement Tuesday, the family said: "We are proud of the service and courage shown by our husband and father and know that women's healthcare needs have been met because of his dedication and service." They will continue to honor his memory "through private charitable activities" – in other words, the type of activism that is less likely to get a person killed.

It's an entirely understandable response. It's also the exact one aimed for by extremists. Intimidation, harassment, threats and violence are the name of the game, and without a resolve on the part of the government and law enforcement to show that domestic terrorism doesn't work, it'll keep working. And is it ever: The Wichita area is now left with zero abortion providers, and the entire country has but two clinics that provide late-term abortions.

What have we lost?  A medical colleague pays tribute to Dr. Tiller.

Suzanne Poppema is board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health. She used to run a clinic near Seattle that provided abortions and reproductive healthcare. She begins her brief essay:

For the last 20 years, Dr. George Tiller and I were close colleagues and friends, members of a too-small community of physicians who say aloud that we perform abortions. Now he is gone, and I am furious.

But I refuse to let my anger become despair: We must turn George's terrifying end into the beginning of a new era when doctors can save lives without risking their own.

She also says:

Since I heard about George's murder, I've found myself staring at a coffee mug from his clinic. On it is this list: Kindness, Courtesy, Justice, Love, Respect. Despite the constant clamor outside his clinic, George delivered on that motto.

George had another motto too: "trust women." [Emphasis added.] As he once told an interviewer, "It is my fundamental philosophy that patients are emotionally, mentally, morally, spiritually and physically competent to struggle with complex health issues and come to decisions that are appropriate for them."

We can all pay tribute to George's legacy by treating abortion providers as physicians, not pariahs, and by explaining and openly supporting their work as doctors. He knew that abortion is an integral part of women's healthcare. When physicians are afraid to provide it, women die.

The rest of her article >>

We’ve all been hearing and seeing reports today of the shooting at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. For one recent report by the New York Times >>

The shooter, it now seems clear, was one James Von Brunn, an 88-year old who has long been active in white supremacist and anti-Semitic groups and anti-government activities. The rhetoric on his website is amazing in the virulence of its racism and anti-Semitism.

Here’s a brief report (and additional links) from the Washington Post >>

Isn’t it time to say NO to this kind of hatred, and the violence that flows from it?

But how? How can we, as people of faith who have heard God’s call to love without reserve, and who know also our own human recalcitrance in the face of that call, our fear of those who are different, our resentment of so many people for so many reasons – how can we offer some alternative to the cycle of resentment and hatred and violence, leading to more resentment and more violence?

Let’s talk about this.  And more – let’s act.

If you have ideas, comments, suggestions,
please send a note,
and let’s move toward some creative responses
to what seems to be the growing threats of hatred and death.

No, we’re not trying to follow the example of Rush Limbaugh and friends. But recent events, and comments by a few observers and pundits, remind me of an article we posted by Witherspoon Issues Analyst Gene TeSelle, back in November, 2008. He raised the concern that the appearance of an African American (with a Muslim-sounding name, no less) in the White House might unleash strong currents of fear and hatred -- and violence -- in many Americans.

TeSelle wrote:

To express fears of assassination is not to accuse everyone of wishing, advocating, or promoting it. It is to direct attention to an atmosphere of hostility not far below the surface. ...

It may be a good time to remind ourselves of T.S. Eliot's line that, between the ideal and the reality, "Falls the Shadow." Or God's caution to Cain, "Sin lies couching at the door" (Gen. 4:7). Or Langston Hughes' 1938 poem with its complex sequence: "Let America be America again"; "America never was America to me"; and "America will be!"

A further thought from Witherspoon:

'What gun would Jesus carry?'

A Louisville church is sponsoring an "Open Carry Church Service" in late June, encouraging people to wear unloaded guns in their holsters, enter a raffle to win a free handgun, hear patriotic music and listen to talks by operators of gun stores and firing ranges. Click here for the report in the Louisville Courier-Journal, by religion reporter Peter Smith.

In his blog, Smith reports that Roy Fuller, adjunct professor of religious studies at the University of Louisville, has commented on the church’s gun celebration on the EthicsDaily.com web site:

... But can we all, in the spirit of Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount, agree that promoting the carrying of guns to church is not anything to encourage, much less celebrate, inside a Christian church?

While asking the question 'What gun would Jesus carry?' might sound flip to some, the answer might just offer guidance to modern believers who confuse constitutional rights with the call of the one who says, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (Mark 8:35).'

What would you like to say
to the bloggers' conversation online,
come July 1?
Please send a note,
and share your thoughts here!

PC(USA)'s Parsons among leaders voicing grave concern over 'deteriorating situation in the Holy Land'

from Presbyterian News Service

A diverse group of American Christian leaders – including Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons – today praised President Obama for his speech in Cairo reaching out to the Muslim world and making Israeli-Palestinian peace a top priority of his administration.

In a letter to the president, the group also, however, expressed grave concern over the "deteriorating situation in the Holy Land" and urged the Obama administration to make real and concrete progress in achieving a just peace between Israel and the Palestinians.  The rest of the story >>

Their insightful, compassionate comments include this:

Many of us knew that a sign at Dr Tiller's clinic read: "Abortion is not a cerebral or a reproductive issue. Abortion is an issue of the heart. Until one understands the heart of a woman, nothing else about abortion makes any sense at all." With thanksgiving, we celebrate the life of Dr. Tiller and his commitment to the heart of a woman.

The Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has issued a statement in response to the killing of Dr. George Tiller.  

In addition, the three top officials of the church have issued a statement, saying “There is no place in debate for a murder such as Dr. Tiller’s.”

From the FAIRFOOD e-newsletter of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Two organic Florida growers have agreed to pass the penny per pound along to workers and adhere to strict labor standards!

Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms have reached agreements with Whole Foods Market to fully implement the principles of the Campaign for Fair Food, effectively breaking the stalemate established nearly two seasons ago when the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange threatened to fine any of its members that sold tomatoes under the terms of the CIW agreements. At that time, two Florida growers who had been passing on the penny-per-pound increase under the Taco Bell agreement ceased doing so.

PDA: 'Green construction' in disaster areas hampered by lack of clarity

Presbyterian News Service reports that the Obama administration's emphasis on "green jobs" and "green construction" tracks well with a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) energy policy statement approved by last summer's 218th General Assembly, one of the denomination's top disaster relief officials told the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) here recently.

But a lack of clarity over what newly emerging "green" standards entail makes it hard for agencies such as Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to promote the environmentally sound rebuilding practices, said the Rev. John Robinson, PDA's associate for U.S. disaster response.

"We're somewhat encouraged by the new administration and its green jobs initiative," Robinson told the committee on May 15. "But when disasters happen, we're not clear as a culture what the expectations of individuals and governments are for responding."

There is a growing concern in the U.S. that green construction happens, Robinson said, "but the standards and technologies are so new that there's no consensus on what green construction is."

We have received more comments on this matter than any one item I can recall over the past few years.  Here is a good example, from Elizabeth Sarfaty, of Malone, New York.  She also recommends an essay by the Wiccan teacher and theologian, Starhawk, who writes:

The murder of Dr. Tiller was an act of terror. Although its immediate victim was a man, it was aimed at women's hearts and minds, designed to shatter our oneness and assert control. And it is part of a larger campaign of terror ...  More >>

Within a few hours of our posting a Witherspoon Society/Voices of Sophia statement lamenting the killing of Dr. George Tiller, we received these messages of support and appreciation:

~~~~~~~~~

I am glad to see PC USA being clear and public about this action.

Jenny Stanton, Cincinnati, Ohio.

~~~~~~~~~

Doug, I am a CEO of a Planned parenthood affiliate as well as an ordained Presbyterian minister.

Thank you and others for your support.

This came to us from the Rev. Mark R. Pawlowski, CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan, and is posted with his permission.

~~~~~~~~~

The Rev. Eric Mount, emeritus professor of religion at Presbyterian-related Centre College in Kentucky, sent this note:

My thanks to the board for taking action, Doug.

Eric M.

~~~~~~~~~

Witherspoon board member Molly Casteel recommended a good article posted on the Religion Dispatches web site, by Frances Kissling, who is a visiting scholar at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania and former president of Catholics for a Free Choice. She traces the long trail of violence that has been a part of the anti-abortion movement for years, and notes how much of the rhetoric of the movement seems to incite such actions.

She concludes:

Let us hope that no one compares his murder to abortion. In fact, if there is one thing those in the religious community must do to prevent a return to the days when such comparisons were discussable in polite company, it is to make clear that the world's religions do not consider abortion murder.

Dr. Tiller saved women's lives; this is not a debatable point.

To read the article >>

~~~~~~~~~

Dean Lewis

We invite your comments and reflections,
to be shared here.
Please just send a note!

Presbyterian News Service reports on plans by the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA) – a voluntary membership organization encompassing 10 social welfare networks – for its biennial conference, which will be part of the Big Tent event June 11-13 in Atlanta. In addition to plenary activities and celebrations, each of PHEWA's 10 networks will hold meetings.

Participants in the PHEWA conference can expect to learn about how their congregations can be involved in ministry, justice and biblical initiatives. The conference will address a wide range of issues, including disabilities, mental illness, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, substance abuse, immigration, child welfare and health disparities.

The full article >>

Lamenting the murder of Dr. George Tiller ...

And reaffirming our Church’s stance on choice

The merged board of the Witherspoon Society and Voices of Sophia expresses our deep sadness over the slaying of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas, on May 31. We condemn the act of violence that took Dr. Tiller's life as he was worshiping with his family at Reformation Lutheran Church, and we repudiate violent solutions to disagreements over the practice and legality of abortion. We affirm the positions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) which support the right of women to make decisions about the termination of a pregnancy and stand against violence and threats of violence at all women's health clinics. We call on the church to reaffirm its commitment to reproductive rights and to remain diligent in prayers for Dr. Tiller's family and staff, and all who endure similar threats of violence.

This wording is taken directly from the 1992 policy and a 1995 statement on abortion violence, adopted by the Presbyterian Church (USA).

We also encourage you to read “The Murder of Dr. Tiller, a Foreshadowing,” an article posted on The Huffington Post, which offers stark warnings about the resurgent threats of violence against abortion providers, and more general attacks on those who stand for reproductive rights.

For an index to all our reports and analyses
on the 219th General Assembly

PVJ's Facebook page

Mitch Trigger, PVJ's Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive

Got more blogs to recommend?

Plan now for our 2010 Ghost Ranch Seminar!

GHOST RANCH SEMINAR

July 26-August 1, 2010

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