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Sister Simone Campbell, head of the social justice lobby Network and six members of the
network began their national tour to highlight the need for immigration reform in the United
States. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, symbols of the US' early history of openness
to immigration, were visible as the bus left New Jersey. While the "Nuns on the Bus" get
media coverage, they are also getting support from other Christian groups who are motivated
to support immigrants because the Bible tells them to "welcome the stranger."
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, who supports the nuns'
initiative, said: "God is so happy when God's children stand together for God and for good.
That's what we do here today." The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is also supporting the
nuns' 6,500-mile journey across the US, and Monsignor Kevin Sullivan from the Archdiocese
of New York said the nuns have: "widespread support" in their campaign for immigration
reform.
He added: "In this country we are a church of immigrants. To be perfectly honest, we
have to stand in solidarity with immigrants." While some more conservative members of the
Catholic Church disapprove of the nuns' activities, the support of the US Conference of Catholic
Bishops and Monsignor Sullivan is a marked contrast to the Vatican's attitude toward
the "Nuns on the Bus":
In the Spring of 2012, the Vatican announced it "was investigating the American sisters
on charges that they were too active on social justice issues and insufficiently orthodox
on doctrine."
When the Boy Scouts of America decided to reverse its ban on gay Scouts, churches in
the United States began to decide whether to protest the decision and ban Boy Scouts
of America. Although the Scout's policy reversal will not be effective until January 2014,
the Southern Baptists are already speaking out against the decision.
Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee, told ABC
News, "I think I can say with pretty strong accuracy that the vast majority of Southern
Baptists are very disappointed in the latest change in policy ... deeply disappointed."
The Baptist organization's executive board "will officially recommend that all Southern
Baptist churches pull their sponsorship from the Boy Scouts," during a special meeting
originally planned to take place in late June. While Southern Baptist Convention, America's
largest Protestant denomination appears set to make a group decision, other churches and
religious groups are accepting the decision or are, like the Roman Catholic Church, "considering"
their response.
Deron Smith, a spokesman for Boy Scouts of America, assures churches waiting to make
their decision about whether to ban the Boy Scouts, claims that "This policy reaffirms
that doing one's 'duty to God' is absolutely explicit and one of the fundamental principles
of Scouting and states that *** conduct by any Scout, heterosexual or homosexual,
is contrary to the virtues of Scouting,"
Smith goes on to assure the Scouts that, the organization will help troops that have lost
their church sponsors to find new homes. He said the new policy fits the beliefs of most
religious groups that sponsor troops. Meanwhile, north of the border, Scouts Canada, which
is co-ed, reaffirmed its stance on "inclusiveness." In March of this year, Kaylee Galipeau, national
youth commissioner and chair of the national youth network for Scouts Canada, said that
recent events offered a chance to reiterate that Scouts Canada is "open and inclusive
and always has been. We accept boys and girls, we accept LGBT members, we accept people of
all faiths."
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. However, it
is Oct. 22, 1844 that is most significant for the Adventists as it was the day of "Great
Disappointment" because the world didn't end as William Miller the leader of a 19th -century
doomsday sect had prophesized.
In the face of this "Great Disappointment," members of the sect formed the Seventh-day
Adventists in Battle Creek, Michigan. The name "Adventist" indicates the inevitable
return of Jesus Christ; "Seventh-day" refers to the biblical Sabbath, which is observed
on Saturday.
While they wait for the return of Jesus Christ, the Adventists focus on health not death:
health represents The Creation while healing is part of The Restoration. According to Michael
F. Cauley, president of the Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, "The idea of restoration
is what birthed the Adventists' emphasis on healthy living, wholeness, vitality and life
to the fullest."
Healthy living is part of the Adventist theology, and the emphasis on health means that Adventists
make a positive contribution to society through their not-for-profit hospitals clinics, fitness
centers, sanitariums and nursing homes. In a statement that praises the Adventists but
is not scientifically accurate, Brad Bloom, publisher of Faith & Fitness Magazine, says,
"It is part of their DNA not just to focus on the remediation, but about health living.
Everybody can see the logic behind that."
The emphasis on health was introduced to the Adventists by two brothers with a last name
that is recognizable in households across North America. The emphasis on exercise and
a vegetarian diet goes back to an Adventist named Dr. John Harvey Kellogg who, along with
his brother Will Keith Kellogg, invented the corn flake.