Executive Council commends "A Catechism of Creation" for wide usage
ST&F Committee Co-chair, Dr. Robert Schneider, and Committee member, The Rev. Canon Johnnie Ross, met with two committees of the Executive Council during its meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, 13-16 June. They introduced "A Catechism of Creation" and answered questions about it. And on behalf of the ST&F Committee, they proposed a resolution commending the Catechism to the Episcopal Church for use in a variety of settings.
Resolution NAC 027/CIM 035, approved June 16, 2005, "commends to the Church the Catechism of Creation produced by the Committee on Science, Technology and Faith for study in parish education and faith formation classes, Episcopal schools, diocesan and parish workshops, vacation Bible programs, summer camps, retreats, and other programs."
The Catechism (English language) can be downloaded at www.episcopalchurch.org/19021_64322_ENG_HTM.htm . A Spanish translation is being prepared.
Network's first-ever "Genesis Award for Science & Religion" goes to priest-scientist John Keggi
[The following report, written on 4/18/05 by Phina Borgeson for Episcopal News Service, is reprinted by permission. Her entire report of the events at the 2005 Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology and the Church may be found at http://www.dfms.org/3577_61384_ENG_HTM.htm][ENS, Santa Fe, New Mexico] The Episcopal Network for Science, Technology and Faith honored the Rev. Dr. J. John Keggi when their steering committee met April 9 at Ghost Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The citation for the first Genesis Award for Science and Religion recognized Keggi, a priest of the Diocese of Maine now retired in Massachusetts, as a "prophet and pioneering leader" in the field.
Keggi, whose scientific background includes a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, had served as convener of the Episcopal Fellowship of Ordained Scientists and of the Episcopal delegation to the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology and the Church. He continues as co-convener of the North American Chapter of the Society of Ordained Scientists, an Anglican fellowship which meets annually in Britain, and assists with the newsletter and other communication ministries of the Network.
Reflecting on his service over the years, Keggi noted that the companionship of fellow theologian-scientists has been most important to his ministry.
[John Keggi can be seen in the ST&F group picture below, front row, second from the left.]
"What Makes a Building Sacred and Sustainable?" ENTREAT program at Sewanee, 6 September
The "Enter Now The Reflection, Education, Action Treatise" (ENTREAT) programs at Sewanee (The University of the South) School of Theology provide opportunities for theological and scientific dialogue. ENTREAT Co-chairs are Ms. Joyce Wilding and the Rev. Dr. Robert Hughes, Professor of Theology. Funded by the School of Theology and a Local Societies Initiative Grant from the Metanexus Institute, ENTREAT programs for 2005 reflect the theme, "Dominion, Domain & Stewardship."Fall 2005 events focus on "greening building and grounds." Leading off is a public lecture on Thursday evening, 8 September, by environmental engineer Jeff Ross-Bain, He will speak on the topic, "What Makes a Building Sacred and Sustainable?"
[For further details about this event and others in the ENTREAT program, please contact Joyce Wilding. Ms. Wilding is a member of the ST&F Network Steering Board. She introduces herself "In the Spotlight" in the Ash Wednesday 2004 issue of the Network Newsletter.]
National Episcopal Youth Event features frank discussion about creation
by the Rev'd Canon Johnnie Ross
What is science and what is religion? When we contemplate scientific
theory is it necessary to reject the theology of the Church? What does
it mean to be created in the image of God, while at the same time
contemplating the scientific evidence of the human existence that
appears in the fossil record? When it comes to matters of science and
religion must it be an either/or, rejecting one in favor of the other?
Or is it possible for a faithful Christian to consider a both/and
situation, a place where theory and theology can coexist without
diminishing one's faith or compromising the pursuit of scientific truth?
These are just a few of the question explored by bishops, priests,
deacons, youth and the adult lay leadership who attended the Episcopal Youth Event held at Berea College, July 26-31. It was my joy and pleasure to present this event, entitled "Theory
and Theology--Science and the Christian Faith," all the moreso, since I am a 1980 graduate of Berea College.
I used the story of my personal struggle to reconcile the
teachings of science with my personal faith. In three sessions, so as to limit attendance at each to 25, we had an overflow crowd each day. Everyone who attended was extremely open to discussing matters of
faith and science, offering more light than heat.
When I
introduced "A Catechism of Creation," someone asked me, "So, how do you
discuss these difficult issues of faith without losing your friends?"
"Now that's the rub," I responded, "but the best way I've found to do
this is to first convince people just how much they are genuinely loved,
because when people are assured of the other's love, disagreement doesn't have
to act as a wedge to drive you apart, but a glue to strengthen bonds
of affection that already exist."
I told them that some of my very best friends hold opinions different
from mine on a number of issues. My
wife and I don't always agree on everything, yet she and my good friends know of
the love I hold for them, and I know of the love they hold for me, and
this love allows us to disagree and yet continue in a
relationship.
At the end of the three-day event, I
received an email from a participant about the work of the ST&F Committee saying, "My first
reading [of the Catechism] suggests that the Church would be wise to
establish such a...position [that] reconciles the teachings of
Christianity with the scientific evidence...." This seemed to be the
feeling of those attending the workshop, and the Catechism was very well
received with many participants taking more than one copy back to their
home dioceses.
Report to the 2005 Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology & the Church, and plans for 2006
The 2005 Ecumenical Roundtable met last April at Ghost Ranch, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hosted by the Presbyterian Association for Science, Technology and the Christian Faith, the delegation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), reports from each delegation were received in the plenary session on 10 April. Highlights of the Episcopal Church delegation's report included the following:
- > report on the roll-out of "A Catechism of Creation"
> planning for the General Convention 2006, Columbus, Ohio
> Genesis Award given to John Keggi (see report above)
The Episcopal Church delegation will host the 2006 Roundtable at Emrich Center, Brighton, Michigan, the retreat center of the Diocese of Michigan. The dates are 28-30 April 2006. For further information on next year's Roundtable, contact Dr. Sandra Michael, ST&F Network Convener and member of the planning committee.
Above, the Episcopal delegation to the 2005 Ecumenical Roundtable, in the Ghost Ranch sculpture garden.
Front row, l to r: Susan Youmans (ST&F Cmte, Network Board), John Keggi (Genesis awardee, Ntwk Bd), Barbara Smith-Moran (ST&F Cmte, Ntwk Bd), Bob Schneider (ST&F Cmte), David Bailey (Ntwk Bd), Paul Julienne (ST&F Cmte).
Back row, l to r: Sandra Michael (ST&F Cmte, Network Convener), Bonnie Anderson (Executive Cmte), Norm Faramelli (ST&F Cmte), Phina Borgeson (Ntwk Bd), Tom Lindell (ST&F Cmte), Johnnie Ross (ST&F Cmte), Stephen Stray (ST&F Cmte), Nan Cobbey (Assoc. Ed., Episcopal Life), John Miers (ST&F Cmte), Jim Jordan (ST&F Cmte, Ntwk Bd).
Inset: The Rev. Sr. Claire Lofgren, O.S.H., S.O.Sc. (Ntwk Bd). Absent: Neil James (ST&F Cmte)
"The Science of Sexual Behavior in Humans and Other Animals: A Resource for the Churches," from the Dioc. of Massachusetts
The Ecumenical Working Group on Faith and Genetics, sponsored by the Diocese of Massachusetts, has published the findings of its year-long study of the science of sexual behavior.
Observing that churches in contemporary America continue to struggle with attitudes and mores concerning sexual behavior, particularly in humans and most especially in homosexual humans, the members of the Working Group felt that much of the difficulty results from resistance to augmenting traditional religious understandings of animal and human nature with modern scientific insights. In an effort to ease the struggle, the Working Group adopted the following mission statement:
- To study the natural science of sexual behavior in humankind and other species (for example, the biology of attraction and relationship formation), and to make recommendations about which scientific studies are best taken into account as the churches formulate their positions and policies touching upon human sexuality.
The brief report discusses the theological implications of seven key findings:
-
1. In higher animals, sex has many different functions.
2. Homosexual behavior is widespread throughout the animal kingdom.
3. Homosexual orientation is found in the human community with frequency in the range of 2% to 10% of the general population.
4. Research with nonhuman mammals shows that sexual behavior is guided in large part by the action of pheromones.
5. Initial findings from research on humans indicate that pair-formation is influenced by the action of pheromones.
6. Personal preference in humans' choice of sexual partners is complex.
7. The reactions of individuals and society to homosexuals and homosexual behavior, and the reasons for those reactions, are also complex and deserve scientific study.
The full report (with bibliography) in booklet form may be downloaded by clicking here.
Episcopal News Service expands ecology, science coverage with FEAST
[The following announcement, written on 3/14/05 for Episcopal News Service, is reprinted by permission.]
[ENS] Seeking to widen coverage of intersections of faith and the sciences, the Episcopal News Service today launches a new online forum titled "FEAST: Faith, Environment, Action, Science, Technology" which can be found at: FEAST.
The online forum will take initial shape throughout Eastertide 2005, with new packets of reporting posted every Monday through the upcoming liturgical season, and continue with breaking news and occasional features thereafter.
Central to the coverage will be the work of several Episcopal Church Center offices and committees/commissions of General Convention, as well as projects taken up by congregations, dioceses, and church provinces.
The coverage includes a call for people of faith to "grow in understanding," one of four themes currently guiding the work of the Episcopal Church's Office of Communication (see full complement).
Environmental protection and sustainability is further supported in numerous of the church's liturgical expressions, which will also be highlighted within the online forum. Underscoring the importance of individual and corporate responsibility for preserving the abundance of God's creation, the online forum will also echo the familiar liturgical response: "Therefore, let us keep the FEAST."
ID Watch: "Open Letter Concerning Religion & Science" seeks clergy endorsements
In the fall of 2004, Dr. Michael Zimmerman, Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, began working with clergy throughout Wisconsin to prepare a statement in support of teaching evolution. He was called to action by a series of anti-evolution policies passed by a local school board.The outpouring of support from clergy around the country encouraged him to make it into a nationwide project, the "Clergy Letter Project." The following is "An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science," copied with Dr. Zimmerman's permission:
-
Within the community of Christian believers there are areas of dispute and disagreement, including the proper way to interpret Holy Scripture. While virtually all Christians take the Bible seriously and hold it to be authoritative in matters of faith and practice, the overwhelming majority do not read the Bible literally, as they would a science textbook. Many of the beloved stories found in the Bible--the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark--convey timeless truths about God, human beings, and the proper relationship between Creator and creation expressed in the only form capable of transmitting these truths from generation to generation. Religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth. Its purpose is not to convey scientific information but to transform hearts.
We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as "one theory among others" is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children. We believe that among God's good gifts are human minds capable of critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the will of our Creator. To argue that God's loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris. We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge. We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth.
At "press time" for the Newsletter, more than 7200 clergy had signed. Clergy who would like to endorse this letter should visit the Open Letter Website and follow the directions.
In the Spotlight: Some Network members take a bow
For this feature, we invite our members to introduce themselves with short biographies. Please send your own bio-sketch to the Editor. We will include your email address unless you specify otherwise.
The Rev. Dr. Lee Barford, research computer scientist, Agilent Labs; vocational deacon, Trinity Cathedral, San Jose, California
I earned a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University in 1987. After a brief stint on the Cornell CS Department faculty, I became a researcher at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Palo Alto, California. When Hewlett-Packard spun off its measurement and instrumentation businesses in 2000 as Agilent Technologies, I elected to go with the spin-off. Currently I am a Master Scientist at Agilent Laboratories, Agilent's applied research arm.
My research focuses on creating algorithms for making automated decisions from physical measurements. Examples include:
automatically determining the causes of failure in a particular piece of electronics,
algorithms for determining manufacturing quality based on X-ray images, and
processing measurements from distributed, networked sensors for such applications as environmental monitoring.
From 2001 to May 2005, I was a student at the School for Deacons in Berkeley, CA. Since 2003, much of my field education work involved care for those who lost their jobs in the Silicon Valley technology business crash of 2001-2002. For example, I co-facilitated a support group for long-term Silicon Valley unemployed. (More about that ministry can be found in my diocesan newspaper, The Mission Bell (see page 3).
Now, I do more one-on-one pastoral care for the technology business unemployed. This is because mass layoffs have declined but technology companies continue steadily to move jobs from Silicon Valley to the Far East.
I was ordained deacon on June 17, 2005. I am serving at Trinity Cathedral in San Jose . There I coordinate the outreach programs and oversee the Lay Eucharistic Ministers.
My interests in Science, Technology, and Faith revolve around questions like: What are and will be the ethical dilemmas and social effects of emerging technologies? How can we formulate and put into action Christian responses to the dilemmas and the negative effects in a timely manner?
I can be reached via email at lee_barford@ieee.org.
Above, Lee Barford
Mr. John Miers, Senior Advisor for Disability Issues, National Institute of Mental Health
I have been at the National Institutes of Health since 1968, when I came as a Management Intern. I have worked as a grants management specialist, budget officer, administrative officer, management analyst, science policy specialist, and the Director of the Office of Diversity and Employee Advocacy Programs in the National Institute of Mental Health. Currently I am in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management as the Senior Advisor for Disability Issues.
I have served on the board of St. Luke's House, a halfway house in Montgomery County for persons with mental illness; and I was a member of the Montgomery County Commission for People with Disabilities for six years, including one year as Vice Chair. I now serve as the Chair of the Commission on Employees with Disabilities of the Department of Health and Human Services, and I convene the Task Force on Accessibility and Special Needs for the Diocese of Washington. I have published an essay for parents entitled "So Your Child Has Epilepsy Ð So Do I!" For the national church, I am a member of the Executive Council's Committee on Science, Technology and Faith. In my parish, I am a member of both the singing and the bell choirs.
I can be reached by email at Johngmiers@comcast.net.
- [John Miers can be seen in the ST&F group picture above, back row, second from the right.]
Downloadable Network fliers in both Spanish and English
Why not print out Science, Technology and Faith Network brochures for your parish or cathedral tract-rack. Help spread the word to those who wonder how Christian faith interacts with developments in science and technology. There is a real hunger among Episcopalians to be able to ask important questions about faithful living within contemporary society. The Network welcomes questioners.
The Network brochure is available both in Spanish and in
English versions, as pdf files (Acrobat Reader required).
Past issues of the Newsletter:
Vol. 1-1, All Saints 2001Vol. 1-2, Epiphany 2002
Vol. 1-3, Trinity 2002
Vol. 2-1, New Year 2003
Vol. 2-2, Sts Peter & Paul 2003
Vol. 2-3, Christmas 2003
Vol. 3-1, Ash Wednesday 2004
Vol. 3-2, St. Luke (18 Oct.) 2004
Vol. 4-1, Lent 5 (mid-March) 2005
All Network Newsletter materials may be reproduced with proper attribution.
Revised: 1 September 2005
Send comments and news items to the Network Newsletter editor, The Rev. Barbara Smith-Moran, S.O.Sc.
http://home.earthlink.net/~smithmoran/stfnewsletter4-2.html
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