July 15, 2002
___ Lottie holds her own. Gifts to the 2001 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board increased slightly over the previous year. Total gifts of $113.71 million were $532,804 or 0.47 percent more than given to the 2000 offering. While the offering total represented a slight increase, it fell short of the $120 million goal. The IMB had budgeted the entire $120 million goal for 2002, said Vice President for Finance David Steverson. The board now will drop the $3 million capital needs portion of that budget and find ways to offset the remaining $3.3 million planned for its overseas operating budget, he said.
___ SBC gifts on rise. Three-quarters of the way through its fiscal year, the Southern Baptist Convention reports an increase of 3.92 percent in undesignated contributions to its Cooperative Program unified budget. From October through June, the SBC has received $138.5 million, up from $133.2 million in the same period last year. Designated gifts to SBC causes are up similarly, showing a 2.74 gain to reach $157.6 million.
___ Court ruling mentions BF&M. A written dissent in the June 27 Supreme Court ruling on school vouchers makes reference to the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith & Message as a potential source of societal discord likely to be advanced through vouchers. Justice David Souter's 34-page dissent from the majority's ruling allowing tax-funded vouchers to be used for parochial school education cites the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message's statement that wives should submit "graciously" to their husbands. Souter and three others joining his dissent said friction should be expected among religious groups contending for voucher money and from taxpayers "who take their liberty of conscience seriously. Religious teaching at taxpayer expense simply cannot be cordoned from taxpayer politics, and every major religion currently espouses social positions that provoke intense opposition." As an example, he noted not all taxpayers will be satisfied to "fund the espousal of a wife's obligation of obedience to her husband, presumably taught in any schools adopting the articles of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention."
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