Clergy guarantee ends The United Methodist Church voted in May to end guaranteed clergy appointments. They had been guar- anteed since the 1950s, instituted to protect ministers from discrimination or arbitrary abuse, supporters say. But critics say those original goals have helped mediocre clergy retain their posts. A commission studying the appointments said a more “nimble” process was necessary. A Study of Mission Commission recommended the change in policy, as the UMC searches for ways to stanch a decades- long decline in U.S. membership.
Gay marriage opposition lowers
Opposition to gay marriage is signifi- cantly lower in 2012 compared to the previous two presidential campaigns, reports the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. For the first time, the level of strong support for gay marriage is equal to its opposi- tion. Twenty-two percent of Ameri- cans say they strongly favor permit- ting legal marriage for gays and lesbi- ans; an identical percentage said they strongly oppose it. In 2004, opposi- tion was more than three times higher than support, 36 percent to 11 percent.
Death penalty support shifts
Are Americans losing their taste for capital punishment? In April, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a bill repeal- ing the death penalty in Connecticut. And a proposal that qualified for the November ballot in California would shut down the largest death row in the country and convert sentences to life without parole. The National Research Council concluded that no reliable studies exist that show capi- tal punishment is a deterrent to homi- cide. That study follows a Gallup Poll last fall that found support for the death penalty had slipped to 61 percent nationally, the lowest level in 39 years.
Seminary breaks ground on museum T
he Lutheran Theological Semi- nary at Gettysburg, one of the leaders in the Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum, began a $13 mil- lion rehabilitation of Schmucker Hall April 25.
Built in 1832, the campus build- ing was the center of the Union lines and last ditch stand on July 1, 1863, as well as a field hospital for more than 600 soldiers. Archeological finds on the site have included let- ters to wounded soldiers, medicinal containers and 19th century semi- nary artifacts.
Considered by many to be the most important Civil War build- ing not in the public trust, the hall will open as a museum next spring, in time for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in July. The museum will help bring to life the battle, care for the wounded and human suffering, and moral, civic and spiritual debates of the Civil War era. The project also includes a historic walking path on the 52-acre campus.
Other partners on the museum project include the Adams County Historical Society and the Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foun- dation. Major funding comes from the Commonwealth of Pennsylva- nia, the Federal Highway Admin- istration, Commonwealth Corner- stone Group, PNC Bank and others.
Council makes history
For the first time in its 107-year history, the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches will be led by a woman and American Indian. Noya Woodrich, 41, currently is senior vice president and execu- tive director of the council’s Divi- sion of Indian Work. Effective July 3, she’ll lead the largest organiza-
Michael Cooper-White (right), presi- dent of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and Brandon James, Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod vice president and Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foundation trustee, hold a shovel on groundbreak- ing day, with a geothermal well-drilling rig and the chapel behind them.
MATT FUNKE/LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT PHILADELPHIA
tion of its kind in North America, with 700 congregations and 25,000 volunteers. Woodrich is an Athabas- can Indian and Alaska native who was adopted and grew up in a white Lutheran household in Wisconsin. She attended Augsburg College, Minneapolis, where she is also on the faculty.
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