GREENSBORO, N.C. – Southern Baptists elected a little-known South Carolina pastor Tuesday in an unusual three-way race for leadership of the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
Frank Page, the 53-year-old pastor of First Baptist Church of Taylors, S.C., was elected in the first day of the two-day annual meeting attended by about 11,000 messengers, or delegates.
Page squeaked by with a slim majority – 50.48 percent – of the vote, while his opponents, Ronnie Floyd of Springdale, Ark., and Jerry Sutton of Nashville, Tenn., split the remaining votes with about 24 percent each.
The election was a reflection of some of the divisions in the nation's largest Protestant denomination. In recent years, a contested presidential race has been unusual.
Religion News Service
Shambhala Buddhist leader weds
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the 43-year-old world spiritual leader of the Shambhala Buddhist movement, married his Indian dancer-bride, Semo Tseyang Palmo Ripa, Saturday in a color-splashed festival that drew more than 1,300 guests from around the globe.
The couple tied the knot on a specially transformed pier bedecked with red, white, blue and orange colors that snapped in the breeze.
The bridegroom, an author, poet, calligrapher, archer and marathon runner raised mainly in America, took over as leader from his father, Chogyam Trungpa, who founded the Shambhala movement and brought Tibetan Buddhism to the West. He fled Tibet after the 1959 Chinese invasion and led his disciples to Canada from the United States a few years before his death in 1987.
The bride wasn't just marrying into royalty – she's a princess in her own right. Her family heads another stream of Tibetan Buddhism called Ripa.
Among attendees was San Diego adherent Elizabeth van Edam. Van Edam used to live in Nova Scotia and is now part of the Shambhala Meditation Group of San Diego. She said the three-day event began with a purification ceremony last Thursday, followed Friday by traditional Tibetan ceremonies for longevity and prosperity. “It was really a moving tribute,” she said of the wedding.
Of an estimated 10,000 followers of Shambhala Buddhism around the globe, about 1,000 are in Nova Scotia; Halifax is home to the movement's headquarters.
Staff and wire reports
Iowa town feeling religious tension
POSTVILLE, Iowa – Faith leaders from northeast Iowa are urging the City Council to provide leadership to help the town overcome religious and ethnic divisions.
Postville has more than 2,300 residents representing more than 24 nationalities, many of whom came to the area to work at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant.
The trouble began when council member Jeff Reinhardt wrote a May 24 letter to the local newspaper that targeted Jewish and Hispanic residents without specifically identifying them.
Reinhardt said one group of residents “wants to isolate itself, by dressing a little differently, keeping their children out of our public schools and wanting a different day for the Sabbath.” And he said another group “sends money back to other foreign countries and brings with it a lack of respect for our laws and culture, which contributes to unwed mothers, trash in the streets, unpaid bills, drugs, forgery and other crimes.”
Two council members publicly called Reinhardt's letter bigoted. Mayor Robert Penrod issued a proclamation declaring the year beginning Monday as “a year of diversity appreciation and community tolerance” in Postville.
Associated Press
Female bishops seen as unity threat
LONDON – A Vatican cardinal warned the Church of England that any move to consecrate women as bishops would make it impossible for their churches to fully reunify.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, made the remarks at a private meeting of Church of England bishops, who are exploring the possibility of consecrating women bishops.
“Instead of moving towards one another, we would coexist alongside one another,” Kasper said.
Three Anglican provinces, including the U.S. Episcopal Church, already consecrate women bishops. The 77 million-member Anglican Communion, a loose association of churches that trace their roots to the Church of England, has been engaged in ecumenical talks with the Vatican for decades. But if the Church of England ordains female bishops, the goal of restoring full relations “would realistically no longer exist,” Kasper said.
Associated Press
Exiting bishop thanks Pennsylvanians
PITTSBURGH – Bishop Donald Wuerl thanked Roman Catholics throughout southwestern Pennsylvania for their support during a special farewell Mass Sunday before he departs to become archbishop of Washington, D.C.
Wuerl, a 65-year-old Pittsburgh native, was chosen last month by Pope Benedict XVI to replace retiring Cardinal Theodore McCarrick as one of the most visible leaders of the Catholic Church in the nation.
While the Archdiocese of Washington is smaller, with 560,000 members, the position will put Wuerl in contact with national leaders, including Roman Catholics who do not always publicly agree with church positions.
Wuerl has been described as a moderate conservative whose views closely adhere to those of the Vatican and his predecessor in Washington, Cardinal McCarrick. He is scheduled to be installed as the archdiocese's sixth bishop June 22.
Associated Press
Magazine names top Christian songs
DALLAS – What's the greatest song ever made in contemporary Christian music? CCM thinks it knows. The Christian music magazine has released a new book, “100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music.” The list is subjective, and the editor, Jay Swartzendruber, admits so.
But with the help of a group of music industry executives and 2,500 Christian music fans, he has whittled thousands of songs down to the top 100.
“Before we began sifting through thousands of potential nominees, we also had to clarify what made for one of Christian music's greatest songs,” Swartzendruber said. “In this case, did 'great' mean excellent, innovative, popular or influential? Actually, all of the above.”
Among the offerings: Amy Grant's “El Shaddai,” Rich Mullins' “Awesome God” and Michael W. Smith's “Friends.” The list also includes everything from music pioneers Keith Green and 2nd Chapter of Acts to current artists Mark Schultz and MercyMe. The top 10? We won't spoil the surprise.
Knight Ridder News Service
