Bread for the World chief honored. The president of a Christian anti-hunger lobbying group won the premier award for fighting world hunger. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton awarded the World Food Prize to Bread for the World President David Beckmann at the State Department. Beckmann, an economist and ordained Lutheran minister, shared the $250,000 prize with Jo Luck, president of Heifer International. The World Food Prize Foundation recognizes individuals “who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world,” according to the foundation’s website. Bread for the World focuses its work on nutrition programs, development assistance and political advocacy. The organization works with Christian churches to advocate for hunger causes on Capitol Hill and within their congregations.
‘Hats off’ no courtesy to female bishop. Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was told not to wear her miter—a tall, triangular hat symbolizing her rank in church hierarchy—during church services in London recently. Lambeth Palace, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ London headquarters and home, issued instruction to Jefferts Schori not to wear her miter when she presided at a service at nearby Southwark Cathedral, Episcopal News Service reported. She also was pressured to provide evidence of her ordination—the “ecclesiastical equivalent of a background check,” quipped a church historian—before traveling to London, according to the denominational news service. Jefferts Schori is the first and only woman in the 500-year history of Anglicanism elected to lead a national church. A spokeswoman for the Episcopal Church said she had no comment on the matter. Williams has not commented publicly, either.
Muslims slam Supreme Court decision. Muslim and civil rights groups are criticizing a U.S. Supreme Court decision that upholds a federal law prohibiting “material support” for accused terrorist groups. The law, which the Supreme Court upheld in a 6-3 decision, prohibits not only providing cash and weapons to terrorist groups, but also training in how to hold elections and peacefully resolve conflict. Critics say the law—which exempts medicine and religious materials—is vague and has implications for Muslim charities and individual donors who want to fulfill their religious duty to aid the poor. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argued the law violated the First Amendment right of free speech. Government prosecutors say the law, adopted in 1996 and strengthened after 9/11 as part of the Patriot Act, has been vital in fighting terrorism, and has helped them convict more than 70 defendants for violating the “material support” provision. The case, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, drew interest from several religious organizations. Former President Jimmy Carter and the Chicago-based Christian Peacemakers Teams joined a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the plaintiffs, while the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Institute for National Security joined briefs supporting the government.
Compiled from Religion News Service