From: Interfaith Working Group Subject: IWG Iowa State Daily Sabin/ENDA/Church and State Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 23:30:21 -0500 (EST) The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 12 congregations and organizations and 54 clergy from 15 religious traditions. If you are in the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in other areas. February 6, 1998 The Iowa State Daily 108 Hamilton Hall Ames, IA 50011 Dear Editors: The February 5 story regarding local reaction to the defrocking of the Rev. Steve Sabin contained some incorrect statements. Employment and civil rights laws, including the proposed Employment Non- Discrimination Act (ENDA), typically carry religious exemptions. Opponents of ENDA who wish to engender opposition among religious conservatives have spread the false notion that ENDA could be used to regulate the hiring of clergy. It was especially confusing to see supporters of ENDA repeating this idea. There are many activists inside the Evangelical Lutheran Church and many other denominations who are working to change policies to allow for the ordination of sexual minorities, but those policies must be changed from within, not through government regulation, which would violate the free-exercise clause of the First Amendment. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators -- Interfaith Working Group Religious organizations, congregations iwg@libertynet.org and clergy supporting gay rights, http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/ reproductive freedom, and the 215-235-3050 separation of church and state.