Posted by
The Eagle's Quill on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 5:17:47 PM
"What Would Hoy Do?" was the title of the editorial I submitted to the Evansville Courier and Press on Monday August 14. And now, just over four weeks later, it has been finally published on the opinion page of that paper with the Courier and Press chosen title,
"What will move Hoy to take a real 'walk'?"I should not have had to write this editorial. Instead the Courier and Press should have over recent months:
1) Informed their readers that Hoy's denomination, the United Church of Christ, is happily accepting $100,000 from the state of Connecticut to cover the cost of the Hartford Civic Center for their purely sectarian biennial Synod in June 2007. More details can be found
here, and elsewhere at www.ucctruths.com
2) Followed up with Hoy as to how he felt about this governmental expenditure for a purely church expense given Hoy's expressed disdain for entanglement of church and state.
3) Indeed, the Courier and Press should have contrasted the absolute minimal and incidental cost to the state of Indiana for its legislative prayers (now in the middle of a court order, which, among other things, bans the use of the word "Jesus" in the prayers), and the $100,000 intentionally (not incidentally) going to a sectarian activity.
4) Informed their readers about some of the more bizarre pronouncements and activites of the United Church of Christ. Afterall, the Courier and Press is more than happy to print the rantings of
David Waters in which he frequently bashes evangelical conservatives.
5) Asked Hoy if there was anything that the UCC says or does that might prompt him to walk away,ever so briefly, from the denomination, or is it only when someone engages in a constitutionally protected expression of religious diversity that he walks out.
6) Covered the continuing bleeding of churches away from the United Church of Christ following the controversial 2005 Synod which endorsed same-sex marriage. The count is now up to 203 churches that have left since July 2005. A list of the churches can be found
here.
7)
Consider that if a Muslim imam is asked to pray in front of the IN legislature, then maybe Christian prayers that reflect an expressive form of Christianity that is quite common among millions worshipers in Indiana might likewise be appropriate as opening prayers for the legislature.
-posted by Glen Kissel