Just in case I had any doubt about whether I should regret that my church, the Antiochian Orthodox, voted to leave the National Council of Churches, I checked the contents of their web page today, after getting a notification about it. Well, maybe not, really, "just in case." But I was curious.
Along with the usual topics, including two on Hiroshima (60th anniversary is coming up), about nine items down the page I found "Perserving and protecting Social Security--a New NCC curriculum for congregations." A congregational study on the Social Security deabte? Well, I suppose they are just presenting "the facts." They say:
The curriculum is free and can be downloaded as a pdf. file by clicking the picture. Also available for free download is a Social Security bulletin insert that summarizes the proposed changes in the system and offers principles to guide those changes; and a link to an entertaining video from the NCC's Faithful America depicting a latter-day Scrooge and an eerie journey to Social Security's future.
You'll see that the video, which opens with a headline, "Bush wants to privatize Social Security," is (fictionally, I asssume) produced by "greasypigproductions." Get it? In the video, Scrooge is visited by a sinister ghost who is pushing privatization, and the ghost is wearing cowboy boots with spurs. Get it?
I have no position on Social Security reform that I could either defend or wish to debate. I respect those who think any privatization of SS is a bad idea--maybe it is.
But the NCC seems to know more about Social Security than it does about marriage, so I am just fine with our official exit. And I hope we won't be the only ones to leave.
As a member of a GOA parish, I whole-heartedly argee with your last sentence.
Posted by: Michael R. | July 29, 2005 at 10:48 AM