The Fort Hood shooter: Just how big a deal WAS his faith?

Much has been made over the role of Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan’s deep Muslim faith in the mass shooting at Fort Hood earlier this month, in which he opened fire at the massive Texas installation and killed 13 people. The day after the shooting, the Washington Post ran quite a long profile of Hasan, paying a great deal of attention to his faith and how it shaped his life and military service. More recently, NPR aired a story this week on a damning evaluation Hasan received from the Army in 2007, which made mention of his habit of proselytizing to patients — a habit that makes sense in light of a comment in the WaPo story that “his faith was the only outgoing thing about him” — among a laundry list of reasons why the evaluator felt he lacked professionalism and a work ethic. Several news outlets have wondered whether Hasan’s faith was the primary motive for his rampage; their claims are reinforced by eyewitness accounts that told of Hasan shouting, “Allahu akbar!” (“To God be the glory!”) as he opened fire with his personal handguns.

But, as with any situation, there is another side to consider. Shortly after the shooting, the Missourian’s Jeremy Essig wrote an analysis of news coverage of Fort Hood up to that point, questioning the validity of featuring Hasan’s faith so prominently in the news and adding, “Jason Rodriguez killed one person and injured five others in a mass shooting on Friday in Orlando, Fla. Who knows Rodriguez’s religion?” And the religion section of the La Canada (Calif.) Valley Sun assembled a panel of local clergy to debate whether too much had been made of the issue of Hasan’s faith.

But all of those are just others’ opinions. What do you think, dear reader? Should the media be focusing on and analyzing Hasan’s faith? Are they doing too much of it?

An early Thanksgiving at Paquin Tower

Last night, Thanksgiving came a week early for the residents at Paquin Tower, and the festive smorgasbord did not disappoint. Neither did the entertainment and good company. Yes, I said entertainment.

A trio of men from Karis Community Church, whose members provided the meal, played a lovely mix of songs on various stringed instruments. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a cover of Ryan Adams, my all-time favorite musician, mixed in with some Christmas songs and bluegrass medleys.

I had never been to Paquin and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know some new people. Since moving to Columbia this summer, I have been attending Karis and was happy to know this was the second year for the church to provide the holiday meal at Paquin. From what I was told, the City of Columbia used to provide the meal but withdrew its support due to budgetary constraints. Last year, Karis adopted the program.

What impressed me the most about the event was how everyone took the time to get to know each other. I spent most of the evening talking to a man who said he had lived in Paquin for about two years. I mentioned to him that I was from Memphis, and he said he had been there to see doctors at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He has sickle cell anemia and currently is without a job.  I was thankful to make a genuine connection with a complete stranger and learn more about his life, interests, struggles and joys.

I also met a man who has lived in Paquin for 20 year and said he is currently the longest-running resident. Later, I practiced a little of my Spanish with a resident who was originally from Colombia.

There was also handful of willing helpers from the Evangelical Free Church of Columbia, and I appreciated talking to a few of them. Needless to say, I left feeling thankful. Thankful for human connections. Thankful for the hands that prepared the wonderful meal. Thankful for a night of good music and new friends.

Bishops in Baltimore

Chicago Cardinal Francis George, far right, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, addresses the group's fall meeting Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, Baltimore. (AP Photo/Rob Carr) (h/t to Whispers in the Loggia)

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops held their fall general meeting in Baltimore this week. Among the hottest topics during the public portion, which adjourned yesterday:

• The pastoral letter (or religious white paper) Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan (opens as PDF).
• The newest U.S. English translation of the Roman Missal, or universal Catholic worship text, which has been hotly debated for 20 years and more. It was approved Tuesday, and Vatican approval is expected by April.

In his remarks, Francis Cardinal George, USCCB president and Chicago archbishop, emphasized the role of the priest and his relationship to his bishop, a nod to the Year of Priests theme Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed for 2009. However, he also touched on strengthening ties to Catholic media, universities, and other organizations. Could this be interpreted as a renewed effort to standardize or homogenize the various Catholic messages of these groups?

News outlets tied directly to the Catholic Church and granted access to the meeting used new media heavily to cover the meeting — some techniques innovative, others rapidly becoming part of the status quo for live news coverage. The USCCB tweeted the meeting and provided live streaming coverage via Catholic TV network Telecare. Catholic News Service, the news arm of the USCCB, live-blogged the first day of the meeting (but claimed unforeseen difficulties when they could not similarly cover the second day). And leading Catholic blogger Rocco Palmo’s Whispers in the Loggia offered CoverItLive streams, analysis, and embedded Telecare streaming (from which you can access on-demand video of the meeting).

Might seem like just another conference, but here, as with any conference of a religious group’s governing body, is where decisions are made that trickle down to the way Americans worship each week and live out their personal faith. Here, too, as with any conference, is where news outlets can experiment with new and fresh ways of covering events live.

Did the ‘prosperity gospel’ contribute to America’s current financial woes?

I recently read Hanna Rosin’s article in The Atlantic titled “Did Christianity Cause the Crash?” Needless to say, it got me thinking. Does the Bible really say that Christians will be blessed financially in this life? As a Christian, I believe that God will provide for my every need, but I’ve never taken that to mean He will provide me with a big house in a nice neighborhood and a fancy car. In contrast, I believe that I won’t experience the fullness of God’s blessing until heaven.

In what has been termed the ‘prosperity gospel,’ many churches across the nation preach that God’s people should expect great financial favor in their time on earth.

The article takes a closer look at Fernando Garay, the pastor of Casa del Padre in Charlottesville, Va., who drives a “dark-blue Mercedes Benz always freshly washed, the hubcaps polished enough to reflect his wingtips,” says Rosin.

Garay’s church is predominantly Latino and is made up of mostly first-generation immigrants. Rosin says that Garay often preaches about money. Rosin quotes Garay saying, “The blessing are looking for you! God will take care of you. God will not let you be without a house!”

The article cites a recent Pew survey, “Seventy-three percent of all religious Latinos in the United States agreed with the statement: ‘God will grant financial success to all believers who have enough faith.’”

What I found most interesting is the link that Rosin makes between churches that preach the ‘prosperity gospel’ and the collapse of the housing market:

“One other thing makes Garay’s church a compelling case study. From 2001 to 2007, while he was building his church, Garay was also a loan officer at two different mortgage companies. He was hired explicitly to reach out to the city’s growing Latino community, and Latinos, as it happened, were disproportionately likely to take out the sort of risky loans that later led to so many foreclosures. To many of his parishioners, Garay was not just a spiritual adviser, but a financial one as well.”

What responsibility do churches have in keeping their members financially satisfied? Have some churches, consciously or not, led their congregants into seeking a lifestyles that their incomes cannot support?

I am interested in what readers have to say about this topic.

Are faith communities adequately supporting families with disabled children?

I’m working on a story right now about a Columbia woman’s journey to find a church home that loves and accepts her as a single mother of two children, one of whom has autism. Her journey has been long and full of heartache, but she has found a congregation that is willing to learn how best to support children and adults with special needs.

Through open communication with her pastors and a willingness to educate her church members about autism, she has found the supportive faith community that she had long been seeking.

• Are there any readers out there who have faced similar struggles in finding a faith community that supports their family’s special needs?

• Are there any parents with disabled children who have avoided visiting a church, temple or synagogue for fear they would be misunderstood or even turned away?

• Is it such an effort for some parents to get their disabled children up and ready in time for church that they have given up due to lack of energy? Or lack of adequate transportation?

If you have asked yourself any of these or similar questions (or know someone who has), I’d love to hear your (or their) story.

I would love to know what, if anything, is keeping families with disabled children from attending worship services and other events in their faith communities.

If you have a story to share, please email me at cesf3f@mail.missouri.edu.

—Courtney Shove

One religious site spared in the movie “2012″

Yahoo recently published an article around the upcoming movie “2012″ that I found particularly interesting. The movie directed by Roland Emmerich is a disaster film about the end of the world in 2012, which is when the Mayan calendar ends.

Many famous landmarks are slated to be destroyed in this film, including many religious sites. One image from the trailer shows the dome of St. Peter’s at the Vatican rolling toward a crowd of worshippers.  The one religious site does not meet a tragic fate is the Ka’bah.  The Ka’bah is located in Mecca and the center of the Hajj – the largest pilgrimage in the Islamic faith.

The director wanted to include the destruction of the Ka’bah in the film but did not want to have a fatwa placed on his head. A fatwa is a ruling, or legal opinion, of Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. The term fatwa entered Western consciousness when Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death sentence in the form of a fatwa in 1989 to a British author, Salman Rushdie, for alleged blasphemies in his novel “The Satanic Verses.”

Upcoming church movie discussions

In October, I wrote a story for the Missourian about how Karis Community Church and International Community Church are using films to prompt spiritual discussions in Columbia. Since the story was published, I have come across a couple of other churches that are also hosting movie discussions.

The Crossing holds movie screenings and discussions every so often as a part of its “Talking Pictures” movie series. In October, the church hosted a viewing and discussion of “Doubt.”

“Few movies lend themselves so easily to further discussion as ‘Doubt,’” wrote pastor Nathan Tiemeyer on the church’s blog.

Once a month, First Christian Church also shows movies. Some flicks are offered just for fun, and others lend themselves to deeper discussion. On Wednesday, Oct. 14, the church hosted a viewing of “Citizen Kane.”

If you’d like to participate in these discussions, you’re welcome to attend any or all of the following events:

• At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, International Community Church will show and discuss “Not One Less,” a 1999 Chinese film about the educational challenges in rural China. Childcare will be available during the event.

• At 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, First Christian Church will show “Second Hand Lions,” a 2003 movie starring Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment and Kyra Sedgwick.

• Karis’s movie showings and discussions for November have yet to be decided; visit the “Movies and MindMaps” blog for more information.

• The Crossing’s next installment has yet to be decided; visit The Crossing Web site for the latest information about “Talking Pictures.”

Army makes an exception

The role of religion in the military has long been a touchy subject. For the sake of unity, there is a lot of regulation on how religion is practiced among troops. It is generally understood that everything in the military is uniform for a reason: cohesion. However, a recent article, “Army Allows a Sikh Doctor to Serve Wearing a Turban,” indicates that exceptions are sometimes made in the name of religious practice. Wearing a turban and leaving hair uncut are important to religious practice among Sikhs, and Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, a doctor, has been given permission to serve in the Army without compromising the requirements of his religion. The article says the Army looked at the following factors: unit cohesion, morale, discipline and safety and/or health when deciding whether Kalsi’s request should be granted.

The Army deems it acceptable and not at all inappropriate for Kalsi to practice wearing religious symbols, but you have to wonder whether his Army comrades will accept him. As a doctor, Kalsi will play a vital role in the health and safety of those who are sent to him, but will they accept him or treat him fairly and equally? In the United States, religious followers can wear anything from hijabs, to turbans, to cross necklaces, to yamakas as an expression of their faith, and while they are free to do so it doesn’t mean they aren’t judged. But can those in the military afford to be judged?

I don’t know the answer to this question. I do wish I could have more details on the reasoning behind this decision. The article notes that members of Congress wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Gates saying, “We do not believe that any American should have to choose between his religion and service to our country.” I understand this sentiment, and I believe it to be true. But there are rules, so why was Kalsi given an exception? What makes him uniquely qualified to keep his beard and long hair? While Sikhs are supposed to follow certain rules of dress, there is no obligation.

Recently, Sikhs were also given the right to leave turbans, uncut hair, beards, etc. intact if they are federal security guards. I understand that: the government should not discriminate based on religious identity. But people who join the military knowingly give up certain freedoms for the sake “uniformity” and “equality” among one another. Of course, there are exceptions: the Army Command Policy handbook says “religious jewelry, apparel of articles may be worn while in uniform if they are neat, conservative and discreet.”

This ruling surprises me, but I’m even more surprised the decision applies ONLY to Kalsi. If he is allowed to wear a turban and groom himself differently, so should all Sikhs in the military or entering the military. Given the uniformity of the Army, wouldn’t it make all its decisions apply to everyone? I hope that Capt. Tejeep Singh Rattan, another Sikh, is granted his request to practice his religion in the same way as Kalsi. It would show that all Sikhs, and people of all religions, will be treated equally.

What do you think? Should there be more freedom or religious expression in all the military, and more decisions like that of Kalsi and the Army? Or should strict regulations be upheld on grooming and uniform?

“Surviving the Holidays”

The Crossing Church is holding a special holiday event this year called “Surviving the Holidays” to help divorced and separated men and women deal with the holiday season. It’s open to the whole community. The program is designed to help bring comfort to those who are hurting during the holiday season.

The event is from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5 at The Crossing Church, 3615 Southland Dr. It costs $10, which includes brunch, childcare if needed, and a workbook. Scholarships are available upon request.

I think this is a neat idea. It’s a good outreach to the community, and there are probably many people who are looking for help during the holiday season. It’s a difficult and stressful time on anyone, especially if you are going through it alone. It’s a ministry that is needed now, due to more and more divorces occurring. It’s also a non-threatening way to invite people to the church and help them. These neutral events are a good way to attract people who might not otherwise come.

What do you think about the ministry? Is it an event that you think could be effective in the Columbia community? Have you ever attended something like this before?

For more information about the event, visit The Crossing Church’s Web site or email them at divorce.redemption@gmail.com

“Building for Christ’s Mission”

St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church is beginning a stewardship and capital campaign called “Building for Christ’s Mission.” This 2-part campaign is trying to help raise money to support St. Andrew’s growing ministry and also raise funds for renovations to the church building. The stewardship campaign asks members to continue tithing or to begin tithing. The capital campaign asks members to make a 3-year pledge to the church for the renovations.

Desired renovations to the church include:

• An expanded narthex and new front entry
• Relocation of the driveway to the apex of West Boulevard for safer entry
• Revitalization of the Centrum, including new entrances, new carpet, new lighting and new sound
• Expanding the restrooms and making them handicap accessible
• Replacing offices and consolidating staff offices
• Providing a prayer room
• basic maintenance: new room, replace heating and cooling systems, new flooring on high-traffic areas (existing narthex and fellowship hall)

The “Building for Christ’s Mission” campaign features a few important dates:

• Nov. 15 – Mission Focus gathering (an all-congregational worship and fellowship event)
• Dec. 5-6 – Commitment weekend

More information about both campaigns is available on the St. Andrew’s Web site. The Web site includes an informational brochure of the campaign and a video of the building plan.