A "faith-based charity" is just a politically neutral term for a missionary. And the problem with relying on missionaries to provide outreach to the marginalized is the missionary's assumption that the client's main problem is a lack of faith (specifically, that missionary's brand of faith).

I've seen Christian youth groups intervene in gay teen suicides, only to interpret the problems at home and school as a manifestation of the youths' sin; drug intervention groups who tell junkies that praying to Jesus will cure their addiction; AIDS programs that will not allow teaching safe sex as it would interfere with their god's message of abstinence.

The religiously funded organizations that have found successful ways of helping the marginalized have done so by secularizing their operations. They acknowledge that there are stable, self-reliant citizens who have different religious beliefs: The clients don't need the local brand of god; they need a safe place to sleep, or job training and placement, or health care, or just the support and practical advice of someone who's already dealt with the problems they face. In a word, what they need is compassion.

If an agency can't put the needs of our fellow citizens before the needs of its god, then it shouldn't be asking the public to underwrite what is really a campaign to build membership.

-- David Enos

Debra Dickerson reveals more of her own prejudices than the flaws in Bush's idea. She notes that the $8 billion represent 10 percent of the real surplus -- but fails to acknowledge that what she really wants -- an expansion of government-run programs -- will cost just as much, if not vastly more. She ignores the secular component of the program, concentrating on that she finds most objectionable, the religious part. Though Bush himself plays up the "faith-based" aspect of the program, we don't in fact know what the proportions of the groups that take part will be. She acknowledges that Bush says there will always be secular alternatives -- then complains about the treatment she received at a religious gathering. Non sequitur, anyone?

A better criticism is her question of the ability of these programs to expand to handle the load, and whether or not they can or should provide the core of social welfare in this country. But its clear from Bush's plan that the intent is to grow the new system gradually. The government welfare apparatus did not spring into full flower overnight, either.

-- Jimmy A. Roberts-Miller

Bravo for pointing out some of the problems associated with shifting government assistance programs to faith-based charities. I haven't heard one word from politicians about holding these groups accountable for the money they receive. I suppose that Gore and Bush believe that church-run charities are above such petty crimes as embezzlement. Yet even the best of us can be tempted into corruption, and working for a nonprofit religious group does not automatically make one a saint.

-- Nancy Ott
Pittsburgh

Gay marriage in the Methodist Church
BY SUZANNE MARMION
(07/29/99)

You mention our denomination's "comparable tolerance." The United Methodist Church has always worked to be an inclusive denomination. But those who have been trying to change the Methodist Church, the Bible, and 2,000 years of Church tradition, are frustrated that our tolerant denomination is not willing to say that homosexuality is a gift from God, and should be celebrated.

Rev. Fado says he wants gays and lesbians to be accepted in the Methodist Church. Your article demonstrates that they are accepted. Jeanne Barnett and Ellie Charlton, the Methodists whose "same-sex union service" Rev. Fado officiated, are both high-ranking lay leaders in the United Methodist Church. That means they have an active role in shaping the policies of our denomination. Gays and lesbians are welcome into full fellowship. They may actively seek to change the church's policy regarding "same-sex unions."

As members of Rev. Fado's parish, Jeanne Barnett and Ellie Charlton can receive his pastoral counseling to help them live out their commitment to Christ and each other. Unfortunately, Rev. Fado and some other Methodist ministers want to force their understanding of marriage on the rest of us. Who then is being intolerant?

-- Kevin O'Neill
Piscataway, N.J.

Having grown up in the church in Fresno of which Don Fado was pastor, I can assure you that he is a terrific leader in the cause for homosexual rights and freedoms. Unfortunately, those who oppose homosexuality take from the Bible only the words and phrases that they believe state that homosexuality is a sin.

When I traveled and lived in the southern United States, I was appalled by the fact that the religious right can tolerate "Gentlemen's Clubs" that promote themselves with sultry/seductive women on billboards. It is OK for a married man to go to this "club" for relaxing, rather than go home to his wife and kids, but not to have a gay wedding, and have the conservatives blast that love commitment. As a friend of Don's, I stand and applaud his effort to reform the Methodist church, and others.

-- Jeff Seibert
San Francisco

Scripture doesn't equivocate. Marriage is only spoken of, in both the old and new testaments of the Bible, as between a single man and a single woman. And sex outside of marriage is always considered to be a sin. In the main Christian denominations -- Roman Catholic, Southern Baptists, United Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian -- same-sex commitments are forbidden. These same denominations forbid the ordination of homosexuals as ministers.

Why do churches fly in the face of what seems to be the prevailing view in this country? Because churches are guided by scripture, not by the opinion of people. What man considers to be correct changes over time. God never changes and His word never changes. It doesn't matter whether Don Fado, Greg Dell and Jimmy Creech (all ministers of the United Methodist Church who have performed same-sex marriages) agree with the church's position or not. They are disobedient to the law of the church. If they don't agree with church law, they should leave the church.

We are a religion, not a social club or a political organization -- something that Don Fado has forgotten. When he was ordained a minister in the United Methodist Church, he took a vow to uphold the directives of the church. By breaking those vows, he has become an outlaw.

-- Don Spruill
Atlanta

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