Episcopal Press and News

Search the Episcopal Press and News

Year

All 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962

Enter search query

Church Leaders Meet with President Clinton, Hail New Openness to Their Concerns

Episcopal News Service. April 1, 1993 [93055]

A group of the nation's top religious leaders met March 24 with President Bill Clinton and emerged from the hour-long meeting clearly buoyed by what they characterized as a new openness to the church's moral agenda.

"This president has made himself and his administration accessible to us and to others," said the Rev. Ben Chavis of the United Church of Christ's Commission for Racial Justice at a press conference following the meeting. Chavis, who was a member of Clinton's transition team, contended that church leaders have not had such broad access since the administration of President Lyndon Johnson.

Clinton told the church leaders they would find a welcome in every agency of his administration, asking the top officers of the 14 Protestant and five Orthodox bodies to "share your insights and tell me what you think is important." He said that, in addition to contributing to the moral and ethical dialogue of the nation, the churches possess experience both at home and abroad that the government needs. "He sees us as a resource," said the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC) and leader of the delegation.

After opening prayers, Clinton urged the 44 church leaders to support his economic stimulus package and then he turned to Campbell for an opening statement. Campbell asked several of the church leaders to address issues of special concern to their denominations.

Browning urges justice for Palestinians

Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning of the Episcopal Church spoke of his frequent trips to the Middle East and underscored the urgent need for peace talks that include justice for the Palestinians. "I told him that violence was hindering the peace process and that the voice of the moderate Palestinians was being lost, the delegation was being marginalized," Browning said later in an interview. "At this point the Palestinians have nothing to show for their involvement in the peace process."

Browning proposed an Eminent Persons Group under the sponsorship of the NCC that could travel to the area and report its findings directly to the president. Clinton acknowledged the delicacy of present negotiations and said he would consider the presiding bishop's proposal.

Belie Miller McMaster, director of the social justice and peacemaking unit of the Presbyterian Church (USA), also spoke of the global concerns of the churches -- especially the hopes for peace in the Middle East and the Balkans, justice for Central America and parts of Asia, and food for the hungry in Africa. Stressing the long-term commitment to partner churches overseas, she told Clinton that "our relationships are for decades." Therefore the churches would be good resources for the government as it shapes its international policies, she argued.

Metropolitan Theodosius, primate of the Orthodox Church in America with historical ties to Russia, delivered a personal letter from Patriarch Alexi of Moscow and All Russia expressing appreciation for U.S. support for democratic movements in Russia.

Partners for change

Bishop Melvin Talbert, secretary of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, recalled that the president had been elected on a platform of change. "For that change to take place, all of us will need to be involved. And we pledge the support of the churches, support that can play a significant ethical and moral role. Together we can rebuild our country," he said.

After the meeting, Talbert said the president was "a man of great integrity and spiritual strength," adding that he was convinced that the church leaders could use their persuasion to "create a climate for change."

In his concluding comments the president said that feeding and housing people, providing meaningful jobs and learning to accept diversity as a strength and not a weakness are not only domestic problems but world issues as well. "These are problems of the spirit," Clinton said, "that can best be met through a partnership between the churches and those of us in public service."

"This is a new day," said the Rev. Syngman Rhee, a Presbyterian mission official who is president of the NCC. He and other church leaders said that they left the White House convinced that the new administration, unlike many previous administrations, shared a common agenda and a common determination to "make our national life better," in the words of Campbell.