Church agencies produce guide on faith-based initiatives
6/7/2001 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York By United Methodist News Service Three United Methodist agencies have collaborated to produce a guide on faith-based initiatives.
Entitled "Community Ministries and Government Funding," the document can be found through the Board of Global Ministries Web site at http://gbgm-umc.org/news/2001/june/faith.htm. Links also are available through the other two agency Web sites: the General Council on Finance and Administration, www.gcfa.org, and the Board of Church and Society, www.umc-gbcs.org.
Lynda Byrd, a Board of Global Ministries executive, said enough questions were generated by President Bush's proposals for faith-based initiatives that it was inevitable such a guide would be developed.
"Much of the work through (the Board of Global Ministries') community and institutional ministries involves precisely the kinds of faith-based ministry that the president's initiative targets," she explained. "Our constituents look to us for explanation and interpretation."
Church and Society, which watches public policy, advocates on behalf of people whose lives are impacted by the type of services faith-based initiatives can offer, she added, while the GCFA is concerned about legal issues related to such work.
"The partnership between these three boards and agencies was critical to providing a balanced and inclusive response to this very vital issue and its potential impact on the ministries on which so many depend," Byrd said.
James Winkler, Church and Society's chief executive, and Sandra Kelley Lackore, GCFA's chief executive, agreed that the partnership provided an important model for the church.
"We were thrilled to work on it as an inter-agency project," Lackore said. "Our primary interest was to ensure that local churches have their financial and legal interests protected."
The Rev. Randolph Nugent, chief executive for the Board of Global Ministries, noted that the guide would be of assistance to those considering government funding as faith-based groups. "It is important for all churches to understand that this kind of 'partnership' is not to be entered into lightly," he explained. "They will all need to engage in thought, study and prayer to be prepared to respond in an appropriate and faithful manner if the proposed legislation indeed is approved."
Winkler also hopes the document "will be helpful to the Congress and the administration" as the legislation is considered.
One of the major objectives of President Bush's Faith-based and Community Initiatives is to increase access by faith-based groups to government funds earmarked for social services and community improvement among the poor. A special White House office has been established, and related centers created in five federal departments: Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice and Labor. The president also has requested legislation to provide tax incentives to individuals and corporations that make donations to faith-based and community groups working to overcome poverty.
As the guide points out, the idea of "charitable choice" was introduced by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, also known as the welfare reform act. Section 104 of that act basically allows religious groups to compete for public funds without "forfeiting the right to reflect their religious character in the style and content of their services." The Board of Church and Society has joined other opponents who consider charitable choice to be unconstitutional and in violation of the church-state provisions of the First Amendment.
The agency's basic belief is "the government should be the government and the church should be the church," Winkler said. If churches use government funds to proselytize or limit whom they choose to assist, "we've moved down a road that's going to cause serious legal and moral and ethical problems in the future," he added.
He believes current safeguards, such as churches forming separate corporations to handle any public funding, are necessary to prevent a scenario such as government auditors seizing church financial documents for inspection.
A few United Methodist congregations have received job training grants under the charitable choice provision, according to the guide. Others have been involved in ecumenical welfare-to-work mentoring projects, particularly in California, Texas, Indiana and North Carolina.
"Far more common are job training and placement programs conducted by United Methodist community centers under regular government contracts," the guide says. "To date, charitable choice has been a moot point for these institutions, which are themselves nonprofit corporations with long histories of nonsectarian community service."
The United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, has not directly addressed the issues of charitable choice or the Bush initiative, although the 2000 General Conference did adopt a resolution with guidelines for church use of government funds.
Six "minimum criteria" for church recipients of such funds are included in the resolution. Their services should meet a genuine community need; avoid serving a sectarian purpose or interest; be available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, creed or political persuasion; and be performed in accordance with accepted professional and administrative standards. The church agency also should consider skill, competence and integrity above religious affiliation when employing people and recognize the right to collective bargaining.
The United Methodist guide to "Community Ministries and Government Funding" details a number of questions that churches or related institutions should consider regarding the use of those funds. The issues covered include program goals, conditions imposed by the government, collaborative work with other community groups, appropriate legal and operational structures, and funding of religious activities.
Stories from six United Methodist programs that have partnerships with government agencies provide examples of how those relationships can work.
Legal advice for "faith-based providers of government-sponsored social services" from Andrews & Kurth law firm of Washington can be found at the end of the guide, as well as a list of Web sites for more information.
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