Panel addresses federal faith-based initiatives

Six panelists discussing President George W. Bush's faith-based initiatives managed to agree on the controversial topic Wednesday during a meeting at the Bloomington Unitarian Universalist Church.\nAlthough strengths of the program were highlighted, panelists said they are concerned about compromising religious values and drawing closer government scrutiny. \nMichael Anderson, superintendent of the Bloomington district United Methodist churches, said he would warn his pastors to be cautious of their involvement in this kind of relationship.\n"I won't forbid it," Anderson said. "But I have been a victim as a pastor of how difficult it is to keep the faith and mission of the church separate from programming being funded by municipal dollars."\nAnderson said he has been involved in a housing program for senior citizens and other outreaches funded with federal money.\nHe said he expects First United Methodist Church in Bloomington to consider applying for funding for the Shalom Center, a day center for the homeless.\nKevin Armstrong of the Polis Center at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis said that while the panel might have leaned toward the negative aspects of accepting government money, church leaders nationwide share the sentiment. \n"It's not just the public policy issues. It's not just the economic issues," Armstrong said. "It's the theological issues. Suddenly we are confronted with the fact that the people who we expected to be on board are now the least likely."\nArmstrong said he was referring to evangelical Christian groups, which have rejected the program because they don't want to compromise their religious values.\nAnderson, who is black and has led predominantly black congregations, said black churches are more likely to join up, however, because they tend to focus more on the needs and survival of the people. \nBesides separating the federally funded mission from the rest of the church, churches receiving federal money also must be able to provide record-keeping information the government will require.\nArmstrong said that, for some churches, this means moving from the shoebox to the spreadsheet.\n"Most congregations keep their records in a shoebox, but the kind of requirements that are going to be necessary for the initiatives will require more sophisticated recordings, and that kind of training needs to be available," he said.\nB.J. Bischoff of FaithWorks Indiana said part of her organization's mission is to provide that kind of training. \n FaithWorks, founded in 1999 by Gov. Frank O'Bannon, teaches faith-based organizations to write grants and guides them in setting up nonprofit organizations. Bischoff said the groups are not required to establish nonprofits to provide social services, but it is encouraged so collection plate money is kept separate from government money.\n "We are not funding religious activities," Bischoff said. "No federal funds are allowed to be used at all for that. GED training is GED training."\n Bischoff said students and instructors are not allowed to pray while studying for the GED.\n John Krull, executive director for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, said by accepting federal money, faith-based organizations must accept greater government scrutiny to ensure tax dollars are spent responsibly.\n"When we talk about this issue of church-state separation, I think most of the dangers, almost inevitably, are on the church side," he said.