Over the line
In the very best possible light, the incumbant candidate is trying to make an ecumenical appeal. Unfortunetly, he has not appreciated the feelings of many of the constituence and stepped over the line of good taste and snesitivity, and and wandered toward pandering. I would expect better from not only a member of our denomination, but a partner in ministry (though he seems to have stepped out of that role). We ahve all been taught to be better than this! I hope B’net will cover his response to the complaints. What makes this all the more ironic is that we are having our General Synod in his city in 2 years.

The mayor, according to this article is sending out postcards of different denominations of religion with people from each of these denominations endorsing his campaign. If I were to receive a postcard of such, I would assume that the endorsers were the ones voting for him not everyone in their denomination. Why wouldn’t they have a picture of the churches that the endorsing people go to on the card?

I get two things out of this story:
1. People who want to feel offended will find offense.
2. The religification of politics and the politicalization of religion is the single most unholy union in history. (And those who carry on this two-way micegenation have the brass b-lls to condemn same-sex unions as “unnatural.”)

I can see why Catholics might be concerned by this mailing. I am fortunate to have a number of friends in Grand Rapids and to have met Mayor Hartwell, so I can say with confidence that no offense was intended. Still, I have friends who were highly insulted when President Bush’s campaign put out an advertisement for his candidacy and the photo they chose was one of the president greeting the Holy Father in front with the crest of the Knights of Columbus clearly visible in the background. Was this intentional? Who’s to say, but I can see how some might take offense and I hope that they will appreciate the explanaition that was offered and come to see that at least in this case, the focus on specific religious constituencies in Grand Rapids was intended as respectful recognition that they their views matter in the political arena.

The post cards seem like good marketing to me. I would not have been offended.
Peace!

“It has long been the tradition of the Catholic church not to support or endorse an individual candidate.”
But they sure can oppose a candidate; ask John Kerry. Opposing the opponent is just as effective as endorsing the candidate.

The Catholic church did not oppose Kerry. They opposed his views on abortion and gay marriage amongst some of his other viewpoints.

Technically, I don’t think the Church ever officially said ANYTHING about Kerry…some bishops (note: not the Church) merely said that, because of his voting record, he was unfit to receive Communion. Technically, Bush would be unfit to receive Communion either, so it’s not like they were being unfair.
God bless.

No, to traditional Catholics, a bishop saying another Catholic is unfit to receive communion is surely the next thing to telling them to not vote for him. Otherwise why announce that publicly rather than sending Kerry a letter saying not to show up for communion in their churches? Acting that publicly means it was political.

I believe whole heartedly that if Jesus realized that the very ritual intended to bind people in a covenant is being used as a weapon, he would plotz! I think anyone who uses a scarament to exclude people needs to read and re-read the sections of the Bible, sepcifically prophesy that relates to God no caring about sacrifices and rituals, but relationships.
A loving parent does not refuse to feed their child simply because they are angry with each other. It may not be at the dinner table, but the child is not neglected because emotions flare and feelings are bruised. Just as we expect greater creativity and more caring from parents we should expect that at the very least from the clergy in any denomination.
Of course, this has nothing to do with the topic in the article, but to be honest it does not seem to be such a large problem in the relative scheme of life. The incumbent mayor acted insensitively and without thinking this all the way through. Let’s hope he learned a lesson.

No, to traditional Catholics, a bishop saying another Catholic is unfit to receive communion is surely the next thing to telling them to not vote for him. Otherwise why announce that publicly rather than sending Kerry a letter saying not to show up for communion in their churches? Acting that publicly means it was political.
Preach on.

Poor move on Heartwell’s part. Mixing politics and religion is a mistake done a lot these days! And he is ordained in the UCC? Guess he really wasn’t thinking when he approved the cards. No religious imagery should have been on the cards, much less the endorcements of the particular denomination’s leaders.

Mayor Heartwell is pro-abortion and shows contempt for much of Catholic teaching. So when he decided to use Catholic imagery – which is his right – it is no surprise that many were offended. It is also his critics’ right, however, to criticize him for such a disingenuous, blatantly political appropriation of Catholic imagery for his own personal gain.
Mayor Heartwell is a disgrace

The UCC is barely a Christian denomination. It is among the more liberal (non Bible-believing) denominations in the Christian realm. If pro-abortion, ordained by a denomination that backs JEDP, and politicizes the support of religious backers as described in this article, he has a lot to answer for before G-d. I pray for the man.

Rabbi B.
This man probably doesn’t represent ALL members of the UCC. And if I were to think about joining a Christian denomination, from what I have read, the UCC would be one of my top choices. What is wrong with liberal beliefs? How do you classify it as BARELY a Christian denomination?