European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 07, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday August 7, 1993 religion the stars and stripes Page 11 hunger pangs for  Denver priest fasted to protest gang violence Denver a a roman Catholic i 1 a " Roma priest who stopped eating for 30 Days to protest rising gang violence in Denver has ended his fast. The Rev. Marshall Gourley 44, said wednesday he decided to save his health. He expressed disappointment that his Effort did t Lead to a gang truce. Each and every one of us in the metropolitan area has to take it upon our selves of sharing the responsibility for ending violence Gourley said by Tele phone from Baltimore where he is at tending a Catholic  said he will not eat one Day a week As part of a continued protest. He refused to Label his Effort As a Success or failure saying he believes god heard his message. ,. About a dozen children have been killed or wounded in outbreaks of Vio Lence in the Denver area this year. Gourley says the fast was not an at tempt to draw the attention of Pope John Paul ii who is visiting aug. 12-15 for world youth Day. There is no Prophet in this area like him said the Rev. Jim Sunderland chaplain to five Denver area county jails. He tells people what they need to  upwards of a dozen other children have been killed in either accidental or gang shootings in recent months. On july 26, a 4-year-old boy was shot in the head and critically wounded As he and his fam ily were returning from a trip. Gourley had baptized the boy. We re All punished by the Scourge of the deadly combination of kids and guns kids who find their lives Are empty and hopeless and who Don t see the future having much of a future for them Gour Ley said last week. The fast was taking a toll. He walked slowly and slurred his words speaking barely above a whisper. He drank a lot of water and said he was a Little  it was the third major fast for Gourley a Vietnam War protester who converted to catholicism in 1972. He staged a two week hunger strike at St. Thomas sem Inary in Denver after the school hire two sex air Force Academy officials As top administrators. In 1987 he fasted 25 Days to protest a new immigration Law. In 1983, after Gourley had become a priest he and another priest were accused of trying to Block a train they thought was carrying nuclear weapons through Denver. The Rev. Marshall Gourley of Denver ended his fast wednesday a he said he found his inspiration for fasting in the lord s prayer which he says contains a calling to social activism. The phrase thy will be done on earths it is in heaven Speaks of the need to bring god s will to Earth he said an the key is doing something to stir people not just delivering another sunday ser Mon. Fasting and prayer Are As effective apolitical action he said. They Are ways to open ourselves up Togo s Grace and lower All the other Levels of interferences so god May speak to us More. Clearly he said. Gourley has been combating Urban violence since 1988, when he urged parishioners to turn in guns and sign pledges not to carry or buy them. Later he of. Of Rcd $100 for every gun turned  70 of them. Gourley had said he would t let the fast kill him he saw a doctor two or three times a week. He said he d resume eating when it seems the appropriate time to end organist shortage leaves sour notes in Church Kutztown a. A you still have a wide Choice of hymns. In fact you can take hymn hymn and hymn. Outdoing so with music is becoming a prob Lem for congregations across the nation because of an organist shortage. Organists cannot be grown  takes years of study to develop even moderate skill said Ina Slater Grapen thin an Organ instructor from Kutztown  is the director of the University s Academy for Church Organ studies held on Campus last month for 45 students from Canada and the unite states. Most weekends she hits the Road bringing music to churches. There Are so Many Little towns that Don t have any organists or any Organ instruction she  blames the shortage on several factors fewer people taking piano lessons and moving on to organs a Lack of a comfortable place to practice Many churches Are too hot or too cold during the week she said and a society that encourages Lazy entertain me attitudes. To. Help counter the shortage the american Guild of organists began hold ing summer institutes in 1988 to Sho Young keyboardists that Organ playing is a profession said Daniel Colburn the Guild s executive director. The shortage starts Back with the fac that fewer people Are going to Church fewer people Are exposed to Organ music to Start with and in general fewer Stu dents Are entering music Colburn said from Guild Headquarters in new York. Grapenthin s students ranged in age from 17 to the 60s and came from various Christian denominations. Seven electric organs sat Imp singly in the school auditorium and two others sat across from each other in a music room nearby. Grapenthin made the rounds to each standing Over shoulders counting out beats with a "1-2-3-4" and an occasional  when Grapenthin talked about the poor pay and the Long hours of practice 17-year-old Jason Barnsley did t flinch. My love for the Organ is More important than my need to make Money said Barnsley backup organist at the 450-Fanv ily Grace United Church of Canada of Lloydminster Saskatchewan. The key for churches is finding More people like Barnsley. I get one two maybe three requests a week for students who might be Able Tofit the Bill As an organist or music director said Mark Mecham director of the music school at Lebanon Valley College in Annville a which has a sacred music major. In the Kutztown program the organists also discussed their role in the Church. Is the organist leading the congregation or is he accompanying the congregation in my opinion he s leading the congregation said Christine Leonard from a Small nearby lutheran Church. Churches criticize Clinton stance from wire reports new York Church organizations have sharply criticized the Clinton administration s proposal for summary exclusion of refugees without safeguards for those fleeing political persecution. The new screening Standard raises the real possibility that refugees will be forcibly repatriated before All the facts of the Case Are made known said the executive director of the lutheran immigration and refugee service. Refugees and Asylum seekers Are among the most vulnerable people in the world added Ralston h. Diff Unbaugh or. They must be  the Rev. Richard Ryscavage of the . Catholic Bishops office of migration and refugee service also criticized reducing Legal safeguards of refugees. He said it s the worst Tim possible for the United states to renege on its International and moral leadership in refugee  Church world service the Relief Arm of the National Council of churches also criticized the supreme court s recent decision upholding the Clinton administration s policy of intercepting and returning haitian refugees without hearing their claims. Methodism boosted Durham . Initiators of a $600,000, three year research project into United methodism and the american culture say people cannot understand religion in the unite states unless they understand. Methodism. The project financed by the Lilly endowment is being co directed by the Rev. Dennis m. Campbell president of Duke University s divinity school and the Rev. Russell e. Richly  said methodism became the most popular and fastest growing religion in the new nation serving Asa creative and trend setting religious Force however that methodist influence on . Culture has gone largely unexplored by scholars the project officers said adding that this is a curious oversight since methodists make up the largest most geographically widespread socially diverse group of the country s mainline protestant bodies. Hurdle cleared Edinburgh Scotland the general Synod of the scottish episcopal Church has approved the first stage of legislation to allow ordination of women to the Priesthood. The Church of England Mother Church of the anglican communion of which the scottish Church is a part decided last fall to allow women into the Priesthood. So have Many of the28 National branches of anglicanism such As the . Episcopal Church. Temple helps victims Plantation Fla. A Reform jewish congregation Temple Kol Ami still recovering from damage it suffered from Hurricane Andrew last August has contributed $5,000 to the red Cross to help flood victims in the Midwest