The Salt Lake Tribune from Salt Lake City, Utah • 32

D2 The Salt Lake Tribune RELIGION Saturdav March 22 1997 WORLD VIEW Compiled by Peggy Fletcher Stack Tim KellyThe Salt Lake Tribune The children of the Hebrew congregation Kol Ami take a bow after putting on a play about Purim a joyous Jewish holiday for the adults in the community Purim Holiday Celebrated With Jewish Merrymaking Part of the service will be the presentation of another Purimspiel or play featur- ing both children and adults It will have a lighthearted twist: females will play the male roles and males will play the female roles For example Richard Evans whose daughter Rachal played wife in last religious school play will be Esther On Sunday there will be a Purim carnival at the Jewish Community Center 2416 1700 South Salt Lake City from noon to 3:30 pm Chabad Lubavitch of Utah the Salt Lake City ministry of the New York City-based Lubavitcher movement will observe Purim with Megillah readings tonight at 8 pm and Sunday at 8:30 am Both services will be at Bais Menachem 1433 1100 East In addition Chabad Lubavitch will celebrate its fifth annual Family Purim Masquerade Party on Sunday at the Wyndham Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City Festivities start at 5:30 pm decai wins and becomes the new queen Ahasuerus gets more than a new queen He gets a new prime minister Haman too Haman much impressed with his new title and authority decrees that all people must bend knee before him Mordecai demures: Jews bow only to God The infuriated Haman decrees that all the Jews of Persia should be killed and casts lots purim to set the day of their destruction Mordecai tells Esther about this At a royal banquet she reveals plot to' kill the Jews and that his decree would apply to her because she is Jewish Ahasuerus outraged orders that Haman be hanged from the gallows on which he planned to hang Mordecai The king subsequently appoints Mordecai as his chief minister Purim this year will be celebrated Sunday At the Kol Ami synagogue there will be a 7:30 Purim Eve service tonight with a Megillah reading The Megillah is the scroll or book of Esther in the Bible vored is a happy holiday" said Matt Zalkind the fifth-grader who portrayed a sympathetically henpecked Haman in the play Haman finally killed and none of the Jews is Jake Arky the fifth-grader who played Mordecai offered an interior assessment of Purim a way kind of hiding something we want to talk he said "We're hiding the sadness that someone hated us so much and uncertain of what happened to cause Last Sunday's play offered a variation on the traditional Purim story Most noticeable is the presence of the devil a character that prompts an obviously insecure and jealous Haman into attacking the Jews The devil does not figure in the story in the Old Book of Esther In that story the Persian king Ahasuerus banishes the queen Vashti He holds a beauty contest to choose a successor and Esther urged on by her uncle Mor BY PETER SCARLET THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Purim is the kind of religious holiday that can make going to synagogue fun Just ask young people is when you block out name have a great festival and say when you hear Haman's said Jon Bauchman a fourth-grader in Congregation Kol Ami's religious school Jon played the Persian king Ahasuerus in a play about Purim presented last Sunday at the Kol Ami synagogue in Salt Lake City It is a holiday on which Jews are encouraged to wear costumes and the service is characterized by merrymaking Children and adults at the Purim service use noise-makers called graggors and boo and hiss whenever Haman's name is mentioned in the Purim story The festive holiday includes food and drink There are even little triangular cakes called after the three-cornered hat Haman reportedly fa SPRING PRAYER? As an estimated 500000 college students descend on Florida's Panama City Beach for the annual spring break trek this year some 3000 young Christians will be offering prayers and pancakes in a new evangelistic project Free pancake breakfasts are a key element of an evangelistic program sponsored by the Baptist Student Union and Campus Crusade for Christ not going to push God down their said Rachael Elrod 19 a sophomore at Campellsville University in Kentucky But when the opportunity comes up project participants will talk about Jesus and the Bible Beach Reach participants also are offering free rides to students sponsoring volleyball tournaments and evening worship sessions where students can gather to sing read the Bible and listen to Christian rock music The Associated Press MOCKING ARTWORK A Penn State artwork hanging in a university gallery has outraged some priests and politicians for what they call its mockery of the "sacred symbols of The artist Christine En-edy says the artwork a quilt entitled Years of Virginity a Self was meant to show the importance of Catholicism in her life It features 25 pairs of underwear with crimson crosses sewn in the crotches State Rep John Lawless of Montgomery has asked Gov Tom Ridge to demand that the artwork be removed from the Zoller Gallery Penn State administrators have said they will allow the work to remain on display The Associated Press CANCER SPREADS Retired Anglican op Desmond Tutu has an-' nounced that he has been told by his doctors in Cape Town South Africa that his prostate cancer had spread and that he will undergo radiation and hor- mone therapy in an effort to treat it Tutu who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the fight against apartheid said he will travel to the United States later this year to receive radiation therapy He will first undergo a three-month course of hormone treatment in Cape "7 Town Tutu 65 was diagnosed with prostate cancer in Janu- ary and saw doctors in the United States during a visit last week Religion News Service COMMUNION BOYCOTT Canon John Halliburton of St Paul's Cathedral in London recently criticized the appointment of the first woman priest as of the liberal agenda" and said he will boycott communion services whenever the Rev Lucy Winkett is presiding Halliburton said believe her to be a and that her ap- pointment brought "impaired into the heart of the cathedral have nothing against he added gender does not worry me at all She is a very sweet girl He based his objection on the question of authority Winkett appointment was defended by Cathedral Dean John Moses ho said are not playing gender politics We appointed her because she was the best candidate for the job Eptscofxil News Service BYU Student Poll: Ban Gay Students Utah Presbyterians to Vote On Gay-Ordination Ban clear Henry said Of the 172 districts reporting 88 are in favor and 60 against are a congregation with gay and lesbian persons in it and we will be hurt by he said The Rev William Alexander of First Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City on the other hand is in favor of the amendment the last 22 years our General Assembly has affirmed repeatedly that persons practicing an active homosexual lifestyle do not meet the biblical or confessional standards for ordination" Alexander said In addition to questions surrounding gay ordination the church has been confronted repeatedly in recent years by "inappropriate sexual behavior on the part of our heterosexual he said This amendment and equally calls for celibacy in singleness for both heterosexuals and homosexuals as a standard for ordination and it clearly affirms that married clergy are called to fidelity to their he said These are important issues for the Presbyterians said the Rev Marvin Groote executive presbyter of Utah vote that we will take in this presbytery represents the feelings of the Presbytery of Utah their concerns and desires" Groote said may be moot on a national level but it definitely is not on a local level Henry adds that Utah's Presbyterians hope to exemplify how people "can deal with controversial and divisive issues in ways that show the love of Jesus" can disagree passionately but without rancor or vitriolic body he said tensen said of 325 percent to 5 percent error margin claimed by the student pollsters Clayton said he and other interested students gay and straight simply want a more open discussion among students about the issue want them to acquaint themselves with the issue to not be scared to address it and understand there is a place in the church and the community for homosexually oriented he said Thirteen percent of those surveyed know someone same-sex oriented at BYU Clayton knows 40 such individuals Administrator Scharman has been meeting with Clayton and other students to discuss their concerns Anv groups or individuals who have concerns about anything related to their BYU experience are welcome to meet with she said Asked about the debate surrounding the question of altering sexuality Clayton said an overwhelming majority of people whether gay or straight or somewhere in the middle their orientation going to change But regardless of their orientation people can choose their Almost 80 percent of respondents would not live with a same-sex oriented roommate Clayton has told a total of 10 roommates about his orientation and have been no major he said Approaching each roommate individually Clayton savs tell them gay and I live the honor and ask them if they have a problem with that and if he does we talk about it No one has moved out because of While Clayton was being interviewed near a well-traveled sidewalk on campus a student overheard the conversation just wanted to tell you I think you guys are doing a great job" he said to Clayton so much ignorance on this campus Such a comment is typical Clayton says people I have contact with are open-minded They are eager to have an honest and open discussion about the issue The positive experiences had far outweigh the Indeed survey respondents who knew a same-sex oriented individual were more likely to be willing to live with a gay or lesbian roommate and agree that those who keep the honor code should be allowed to attend BYU Jon Hubbard a sophomore business major from Bonners Ferry Idaho says he knew several gays before attending BYU "If people have the desire to change that's he says for them to say gay and nothing I can do about is almost a slap in the face to BYU students and the school" Hubbard savs he understands a problem for but after choosing to attend BYU and live by its honor code he expects not to have to live with a gay roommate or have gay men in the locker rooms on campus Richard Bailey a senior in finance from Rome NY welcomes same-sex oriented people to BYU long as they acting on it are people here with various different problems or temptations" said Bailey adding that he has a good fnend who same-sex attraction" and is now engaged to be married Alecia Maher a senior from Mission Viejo Calif majoring in art spent her high school years living with her lesbian mother and her partner I first came to BYU I tell anyone but my very close friends" said Maher a heterosexual Since then she says she up a and became more comfortable discussing her background "People have been reatly positive and genuinely Maher calls for a group that can be publicized on campus where students whatever their orientation can discuss same-sex orientation openly to "help relieve the stigma" BY MICHAEL SMART SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE PROVO Brigham Young University students who surveyed campus attitudes towards homosexuals say 42 percent of the students questioned believe same-sex oriented students should not be allowed in school even if they obey its honor code which prohibits homosexual behavior School policy allows same-sex oriented people who follow its guidelines of behavior "BYU has a general policy that any student who has a current ecclesiastical endorsement good academic standing and is abiding by the honor code can attend the said Janet Scharman dean of students Church (of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) sets policy for As part of a project for their English class Sam Clayton Dale Franklin and Melanie Dinger conducted the school-approved survey to 420 students in randomly selected classes on campus Clayton a senior sociology major from Toppanish Wash said was not directed at changing any policies just clarifying and publicizing already-existing He feels the results show a substantial amount of intolerance and prejudice among students towards same-sex oriented people Clayton who says he is gay points to the 42 percent of students who are ignorant of or opposed to the school's policy He also said that while 91 percent of those surveyed said they were familiar with the stance only a third actually were Respondents had four choices to answer the question "What statement do you think best describes the church's stand?" Thirty-three percent chose in full fellowship homosexuallv oriented persons who live the law of Forty-one percent chose homosexuallv oriented persons as long as they change their sexual orientation?" Ten percent believe the LDS Church excommunicates homosexuals regardless of sexual activity and 10 percent marked "other" A 1991 directive from the church's First Presiden-cv details the policy relations are proper only between husband and wife appropriately expressed within the bonds of marriage Any other sexual contact including fornication adultery and homosexual and lesbian behavior is sinful is a distinction between immoral thoughts and feelings and participating in either immoral heterosexual or an homosexual behavior However such thoughts and feelings regardless of their causes can and should be overcome and sinful behavior should be eliminated" In a September 1995 speech to a General Relief Societv Meeting LDS Church President Gordon Hmckiey said hearts reach out to those who with feelings of affinity for the same gender We remember you before the Lord we sympathize with you we regard you as our brothers and sisters However we cannot condone immoral practices on your part any more than we can condone immoral practices on the part of others" BYU statistics professor Howard Christensen questioned the validity of the ability to accurately represent the entire student body Administering the questionnaire to randomly selected classes rather than randomly selected individuals Is called cluster sampling and raises the possibility that the same student could have been surveyed twice he said It also has a tendency for the results of particular classes to be more alike than they would be if taken separately "I doubt If they took Into account the cluster sampling when computing the margin of Chris BY PEGGY FLETCHER STACK THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE As Presbyterians are poised to vote on an amendment that would effectively block gays and lesbians from being ordained the amendment got enough votes from other presbyteries around the nation to pass feel like Hawaii on the national election for quipped the Rev David Henry of Wasatch Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City Nevertheless representatives half laity and half clergy of Utah's 24 Presbyterian congregations will meet today at Mt Olympus Presbyterian Church to discuss and vote on the proposed amendment No one knows how the vote will go talked a lot about the issue but not about how we are going to Henry said of us have mixed It is a vote to amend the Presbyterian Church Book of Order to include the statement that all deacons elders or ministers must either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in Although the Presbyterian General Assembly in 1993 affirmed past policies forbidding the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals the official rule book had not specifically addressed the issue of gay ordinations In the last six months the Wasatch congregation has sponsored a series of lectures and presentations on both sides of the issue governing board of elders opposes the amendment "We feel it is bad to put it into the constitution when there a Church Leaders Ask End to Racism Blight RELIGION NEWS SERVICE In a joint statement Friday four international Christian organizations called for an end to the continuing global "blight" of racism continuing existence of the blight of racism is an affront to the ministry of Jesus Christ said the statement The message was signed by World Council of Churches General Secretary Konrad Kaiser: Jean Fischer general secretary of the Conference of Furopean Churches Ishmael Noko general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation and Milan Opo-censky general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches BULLETIN BOARD Compiled by Leurene Sowby INDIAN PROTESTS Hundreds of Christians in India protested job and educa- tion discrimination in a march toward parliament Wednesday demanding job and education quotas Demonstrators most of them Indian Christians whose low-caste ancestors converted from Htndu- ism to Christianity clapped and sang Shall Qver- come" The government al ready sets aside positions in state-funded universities for low-caste Hindus who become Sikhs or Buddhists to escape from the caste system But low- caste Hindus who become Christians receive no such tertion Prime Minister Deve Gowda's 15-party coah- tmn government has promised to extend the quotas to Chris-? tians Christians make up 2 4 percent of India's 936 million population About 11 million are converts from low Hindu castes who are unable to receive educational or white-col-' lar job opportunities I Religion Negcs Service I 4 LUTHERAN Mount Tabor Lutheran Church 175 700 East Salt Lake City is offering a new member orientation following worship Sunday at noon A six-session new member rlass will then be offered during the 9 15 a education hour beginning April 6 Contact the church office for more Information at 328-0521 a MISCELLANEOUS Inner lught Institute 470 390Q South Salt Lake Cttv presents Institute classes to the Christ Consciousness" beginning Monday The classes will continue through to June 27 to lOp "Qabalah'' begin Thursday through Mav 29 7 to 10 For prayer call 27B-B'J75.