Category: Faith

Lecture to discuss intermingling of theology and popular literature

Donnelly College will hold “Donnelly Talks,” an evening of thought-provoking conversation, on Wednesday, March 11.

The lecture led by Monsignor Stuart Swetland, Donnelly president, and Melissa Lenos, a faculty member, will focus on pop culture in a theological setting.

Titled, “From Harry Potter to the Hunger Games: Theological Perspectives on Popular Young Adult Literature,” the discussion is open to Donnelly students, faculty, staff and the public.

Donnelly Talks is free and open to the public, and will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Space is limited and reservations are required. Reservations may be made to Craig Doty, annual fund manager, at [email protected].

Faith leaders call for repeal of death penalty in Kansas

Faith leaders who asked legislators to repeal the death penalty included, left to right, Donna Schneweis, emcee; Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ecclesial Province of Kansas; Bishop Dean E. Wolfe, Ninth Bishop of Kansas, the Episcopal Diocese in Kansas; the Rev. Leonard Dale, director of evangelical mission for the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Rev. Peter Goerzen, Western District Conference of the Mennonite Church USA and Campus Pastor of Bethel College; the Rev/ Kay Scarbrough, Topeka district superintendent, Great Plains, United Methodist Church.
Faith leaders who asked legislators to repeal the death penalty included, left to right, Donna Schneweis, emcee; Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ecclesial Province of Kansas; Bishop Dean E. Wolfe, Ninth Bishop of Kansas, the Episcopal Diocese in Kansas; the Rev. Leonard Dale, director of evangelical mission for the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Rev. Peter Goerzen, Western District Conference of the Mennonite Church USA and Campus Pastor of Bethel College; the Rev/ Kay Scarbrough, Topeka district superintendent, Great Plains, United Methodist Church.

Five Kansas religious leaders representing nearly 700,000 Kansans of faith presented members of the Legislature with a call to end capital punishment.

A letter signed by more than 430 faith leaders asking for repeal of the death penalty was presented by:

• The Most Rev. Joseph F. Naumann, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ecclesial Province of Kansas;
• The Right Rev. Dean E. Wolfe, Ninth Bishop of Kansas, the Episcopal Diocese in Kansas;
• The Rev. Leonard Dale, director of evangelical mission for the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America;
• The Rev. Kay Scarbrough, Topeka district superintendent, Great Plains, United Methodist Church;
• The Rev. Peter Goerzen, Western District Conference of the Mennonite Church USA and campus pastor of Bethel College.

“We know capital punishment is wrong. Even our youngest children know it is wrong to take a human life,” said Bishop Wolfe. Wolfe said the Episcopal Church opposes the death penalty also because it is ineffective, prejudiced and unjust.

“Society in general, and the church in particular, has a responsibility to surround with compassion and support the families of murder victims,“ said Archbishop Naumann, whose father was murdered. And the high cost of the death penalty, three to four times as expensive as non-death penalty murder cases, diminishes the state’s ability to participate in that capacity. “These resources can be better used to assist the families of victims,” Naumann said.

“Human beings are fallible and the execution of an innocent person is a mistake that cannot be corrected,” said the Rev. Dale. There have been 150 people exonerated since 1973, overturning previous convictions that sent them to death row.

House Bill 2129, which would replace the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, gives the Legislature the opportunity to protect society without killing.

The death penalty only contributes to the culture of violence, the Rev. Goerzen said. “The death penalty cheapens justice by trading its noble claims for those with a much different desire: retribution. Justice puts an end to cycles of violence with restoration and healing while retribution merely continues the cycles of our murderous desire.”

Rep. Steven Becker, R-Buhler, who introduced the bill, received the letter saying, “Three weeks ago Kansas was called the most pro-life state in America. That cannot be true. That cannot be true as long as the death penalty is in the pages of our law books.”

Becker was joined on the podium by Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, and Rep. William Sutton, R-Gardner.

Haley called repeal “a call to action for common sense.” He echoed statements challenging the morality of the death penalty saying, “We are bigger than that. We are better than that … because Kansas first and foremost is a moral state.”

The Rev. Kay Scarbrough, Topeka district superintendent, Great Plains, United Methodist Church, said the death penalty “denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore and transform all human beings. All of us are diminished when our state punishes in this way.”

Legislators supporting a death penalty repeal included, left to right, Rep. Steven Becker, R-Buhler; Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick; Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, Kan.; and Rep. William Sutton, R-Gardner.
Legislators supporting a death penalty repeal included, left to right, Rep. Steven Becker, R-Buhler; Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick; Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, Kan.; and Rep. William Sutton, R-Gardner.

Faith news

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Christ the King Catholic School, 3027 N. 54th St., Kansas City, Kan., is planning its 12th annual auction and dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at the George Meyn Community Center, Wyandotte County Park, 126th and State Avenue. The dinner starts at 6 p.m. followed by the auction at 7:15 p.m. For more information, call 913-406-4505.

A community forum is planned Feb. 21 for the community to meet local law enforcement officers. The coffee and doughnuts hour is planned at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at the East Fellowship Hall, Mount Zion Baptist Church, 417 Richmond Ave., Kansas City, Kan. It is a joint effort of the Kansas City, Kan., Baptist Ministers Union and participating churches, with local law enforcement officers. Police Chief Terry R. Zeigler and Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash, with some of their officers, will be the guests at the meeting. The meeting will be from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. According to an announcement, the purpose of the coffee hour is to acquaint the public with the police and sheriff departments, in the hope of building the best possible relationship between the community and local law enforcement agencies. The Baptist Ministers Union Civic Committee includes the Rev. C.L. Bachus, the Rev. Jimmie L. Banks, the Rev. Rickey D. Turner and the Rev. Bobby Young, president.

A weekly Scripture Group with Bible Sharing and Reflection, Lectio and Journaling, is offered from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesdays at Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan. Heather Neds is a pastoral minister and leads the group at Keeler Women’s Center. Call 913-906-8990 to register.

Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, is planning a Sweetheart Banquet at 6 p.m. Feb. 14 at the George Meyn Center, Wyandotte County Park, 126th and State, Bonner Springs. Dinner, music and entertainment are planned. Tickets are $30 per couple. For information, call 913-314-3532. Open Door Christian School plans a chili supper and silent auction on Feb. 20. The event will raise funds that will be used for the computer technology and training program, and for a shade structure for the playground.

A Community Blood Center blood drive is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at Parkway Baptist Church, classroom area, 12320 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kan. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 816-753-4040 or visit www.savealifenow.org.

St. Mary – St. Anthony Church, 615 N. 7th St., will hold Sweetheart Bingo, an afternoon of bingo and fun, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, in Bishop Forst Hall. A $5 ticket admission will get a bingo card, free desserts, popcorn and coffee. Beer and soda will be available for purchase. For more information, contact Carol Shomin at 913-897-4833 or the parish office at 913-371-1408. Tickets may be purchased at the door the day of the event.

Members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th St., will attend a meeting of the Northeast Convocation of the Diocese of Kansas at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Leavenworth.

Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., is planning is StoreHouse for food and clothes distribution on Feb. 18.

A Community Blood Center blood drive is scheduled from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Wyandotte United Methodist Church, Fellowship Hall, 7901 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Kan. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 816-753-4040 or visit www.savealifenow.org.

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