Feb. 27, 2006

BUT FIRST, THIS:

The pope again has condemned religiously inspired violence. He can't do this often enough.

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AND THIS:

Saudi Arabia, Islam's epicenter, has discovered that by easing censorship rules, writers are flourishing. Are there some lessons in this for Islam itself, especially in light of the recent cartoon furor?

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For several years I've been attending the annual Mayors' (plural, with an apostrophe after the s) Prayer Breakfast in Kansas City.

At its best, the breakfast is a way to remind movers and shakers in town that we share some common values that should get worked out in good ethical and moral decisions that have community-wide implications.

I think it's always a little troublesome to do something that seems to put the stamp of elected officials on a religious practice, but at the very least, these breakfasts have been harmless and at their best they have offered up some worthwhile and even stirring talks by good community leaders.

Last year, however, the speaker, to many (including me), seemed to cross the line from appropriate comments about how and why to do good works in the community to political ideology. There was a flap about the speech, given by local civic and business leader Bill Dunn Sr. In fact, Mayor Kay Barnes of Kansas City, Mo., (pictured here) was so incensed by what she perceived as a hard-right political speech that she swore she wouldn't come back unless the rules were changed.

Last week, Kay was missing from the breakfast, having failed to convince the breakfast committee to change its rules in a way that would guarantee that a speech like BIll Dunn's in 2005 could not be repeated.

I admired her resolve but I think it's a bad model when people of faith (Kay and the committee qualify) are unable to resolve their differences in constructive and creative ways. It doesn't give us much hope for fixing even more difficult situations when such seemingly minor disputes can't be solved.

Anyway, this year the speaker was Kansas City native Gen. Richard B. Meyers, (pictured here) former chariman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He gave an engaging, though not remarkable, talk that seemed not to offend anyone.

Not surprisingly, Meyers, who served more than 40 years in the Air Force, had good things to say about the military. He said the rules his mother taught him and that he learned as a boy attending Countryside Christian Church in Merriam, Kan., a Kansas City suburb, were in sync with what he found in the military. The military culture, he said, was based on integrity, selfless service, no discrimination, high standards and commitment to serving something greater than us.

"I like that culture," he said.

He noted that what he learned as a boy from his family and from church is encapsulated in the Golden Rule, a version of which can be found in all major religions.

Well, more than 1,000 people attended the breakfast, and we all seemed to get along. But, for me, hanging over the hotel ballroom that morning was a shadow of unresolved debate. Maybe the only way Kay Barnes' objections to last year's event will get ironed out is if everyone prays about it, for starters. But then it's time for some adult supervision to get everyone on the same page.

Otherwise it looks as if the very people who advocate religious values of harmony don't believe what they preach.

To reach my latest Kansas City Star work, click here.

Comments

[Kansas Bob]

I don't think that these 'prayer' breakfasts are about praying together. Maybe they need to rename these events ... any suggestions ... how about "Bill Tammeus and Friends Talk Faith Breakfast"? :)

[Scott Quinn]

Typical country club "Christianity" babble. It's amazing how intolerant the tolerance-preachers become when when their values are called into question. Barnes' reaction to Dunn's appropriate comments is example # 4,762,189 of anti-Christian bias in this country. People like Tameus are merely collaborators, no better than the Quislings of thw WWII era. Why don't you ask the Dutch and the French what the consequences of secularism are these days.