Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Dec. 8, 2005, edition 1 / Page 13
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liiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiliiiiiiii 5B RELIGIONAEtt ClatUine ^oit Thursday, December 8, 2005 Mayor does not let job as minister influence politics THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW HAVEN, Ind.—Tferry McDonald is a man with two congregations. One is a church; the other is a city Tb effectively manage both, he keeps church and state as separate as possible in location and with his time. McDonald is the mayor of New Haven and also the minister at Monson Chapel United Methodist Churdi. But there is no fire and brimstone in his voice, nor does he constantly intertwine biblical verses or religious terms with his speech ‘Teople don’t like to be preached to. You have to be more of a teacher than a preacher,” he said. McDonald, 46, said there are several bad examples of politicians using faith publicly, including Pat Robertson calling for an assassi nation or President Clinton quoting Scripture while having an affair. He also said religious leaders involved in politics often "become more partisan than the partisans.” While the mayor contends he never hides his faith, he also said it is not necessary to be over bearing with it. “It’s not like when you’re talking to him, you’re talking to a pastor,” said Laura Mason, a New Haven deputy clerk. For most people, taking on one new job would be enough to fill their time, but in 1999 McDon ald decided to pursue two. He became pastor of Monson Chapel in Jime 1999. In July of that year, he announced he was running for mayor after working as a police officer for 14 years. “The Holy Spirit gave me lots and lots of strength,” he said. People fiom his congregation helped run his church and people fiom his community helped run his campaign. McDonald won the election over a three-term incumbent by less than 150 votes. What has made the relationship work between his dty and his chapel is their separa tion. Monson Chapel is at 11431 Lower Hunt ington Road near the General Motors plant, about 20 miles fiom New Haven. He said that distance is “wonderful” and acknowledges it would be difficult to be a minister in his home community He is already stopped almost every time at the grocery store with questions for him as mayor. It would likely be worse if he were also a minister in the community “I try to keep it as separate as I possibly can,” he said. He occasionally gets calls at his office fium parishioners, but he tries to keep them short. He also has city employees asking to discuss personal issues with him, and he said it would be “cold heai'ted” to turn them away FIRST MUSLIM SORORITY Sisters embrace Greek life carefully THE ASSOCIATED PRESS “I’m obviously Muslim, you know. I cover.” Imani Abdul-Haqq keeps her bri^t headscaif closely around her. But when she was out shopping not long ago, a clerk focused on her keychain instead, its three Greek letters stamped in classic green. “Oh, you’re in a sorority!” the clerk said. But not just that. America’s first Muslim sorority is Abdul-Haqq’s own. The senior at North Caroli- wants Gamma Gamma Chi to be on equal footing with offier sororities. Collins is the sorority’s president, Abdul- Haqq’s mother and the for mer president of Bennett Col lege in Greensboro. Like her daughter, she converted to Islam several years ago. Collins says Gamma Gamma Chi eventually will take pait in campus Rush Weeks and perhaps even join the National Pemhellenic Conference, an umbrella group of 26 women’s fi’atemi- ties and sororities. The Indiana-based NPC says it doesn’t keep member ship statistics based on reli gion. “Part of our purpose is visibility,” Collins says. ‘We want to show Muslim women as they really are.” RADIO 1370 AM 94.7 FM 1490 AM www.RejoiceNeTwork.com Frank & Emma Larry Anderson Time In For Our Live Broadcast Partners 4 * r New Hope Missionary Baptist Church 8:30-9:00 AM 4 * 'v St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church 9:00- 10:00 AM 4 \ r St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church 11:00 AM- 12:00 PM Tune In With Reeder Memorial From The Pulpit 12:00 - 1:00 PM To Partner, Call 803-329-2760 or Fax 803-329-3317 na’s Guilford College founded Gamma Gamma Chi this summer. She’d been looking for the full, fun college experi ence, but she found it haid to be a good Muslim in the stan dard Greek world. ‘Tb not be part of something because you’re Muslim just shouldn’t be,” she says. So her new group, based in AlKiandria, Va., mixes Greek accessories with its Islamic values. It has a secret cere mony and a special hand shake, even tank tops, tote bags and printed coffee mugs, all of Abdul-Haqq’s design. Now it just needs the girls. Gamma Gamma Chi inducted its first four mem bers this month. It also arrived on campus, making a formal presentation at the University of Kentucky for about a dozen girls. The sorority says, it has interest fix)m schools in 16 states, plus a couple of unlikely Greek supporters. T dearly hope the sorority will have a chapter of its own in Pakistan someday,” e-mails Hina Aman, a freshman at National University in Karachi. She heard about Gamma Gamma Chi online. “Tbo bad I can’t be a part of it,” she writes. “Sororities can, I believe, bring a big change in our society” Here in the U.S., the goals are more simple. ‘Maybe this will kill the stereotype of sororities,” says Kentucky fi^hman Naema Shalash ‘Tartying, drinking, you know. It sounds pretty interesting.” But Gamma Gamma Chi does plan to party in its own way No men and no alcohol allowed- The approach does get some criticism. Muslim men have written, ‘Why do you have to be like non-Muslims?” And some students say existing Muslim groups do just fine. My cHily question is, why?” says Jameelah Shukri, a business manager at the Al- Thalib studmt magazine at the University of California at Los Angeles. ‘We havfe our girl parties, we hang out, we live together. I personally don’t see the need to put Greek letters to it. But I guess if it’s increasing unity, more power to them” Althia Collins says she Save time and money with Free Checking and free Online Bill Pay. These days, no one can afford to waste time or money. That's why our Free Checking comes with free Online Bill Pay. You'll not only save money on fees, but you'll save time as well. With Bill Pay, you can pay bills quickly and easily-a few clicks and you're done. 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The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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