DATE: Saturday, October 4, 1997             TAG: 9710040015

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: From staff and wire reports 

                                            LENGTH:   71 lines

NEWS AND NOTES

Norfolk church plans

workshop on conflict

First Presbyterian Church in Norfolk will host a workshop on ``Managing Conflict in the Parish'' Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 13 and 14.

The workshop will help pastors and leading laypeople understand conflict in congregations and how to deal with it, including when conflict is healthy and when it becomes dangerous to the church's health.

The workshop will be led by the Rev. Roy M. Oswald, a minister with years of experience with managing church conflict. It is sponsored by First Presbyterian, at 820 Colonial Avenue, and Tidewater Pastoral Counseling Services.

The two-day session costs $80. For registration and other information, call the counseling service at 623-2700.

Ocean View Baptist

marks its 90th year

Ocean View Baptist Church will celebrate its 90th anniversary Sunday with a service and a special historical presentation.

The church, at 9513 Wells Pkwy., originally met in a pool hall under the long-gone Ocean View Amusement Park roller coaster. It has grown to a congregation of 800, with its own child-care center and aerobics and other programs.

The celebration Sunday will begin with a worship service at 11 a.m. A meal will be served at noon, and the historical presentation, ``From the Pool Table to the Pulpit,'' will be at 2 p.m.

Lutherans, Episcopalians

regret failure of unity

Eight Virginia bishops have issued a joint letter expressing their disappointment over the recent defeat of a Lutheran-Episcopalian agreement that would have brought the two churches closer together.

The two Lutheran bishops and six Episcopalian bishops include Frank H. Vest Jr., bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia, and Richard F. Bansemer, bishop of the Virginia Synod of the Lutheran church.

In July, a general convention of Episcopalians voted overwhelmingly for the ``Concordat of Agreement,'' which would have permitted the two churches to exchange pastors and take other steps of cooperation short of full merger. But in August, the Lutherans' national assembly failed by six votes to approve the same agreement.

``While we are disappointed at this delay in our journey together, our commitment is clear,'' the letter said. ``We are determined to strengthen our joint witness and to live more deeply our unity in Christ.'' The bishops called on members of both churches to seek closer relationships. The measure cannot be voted on again by Lutherans until 1999.

Bansemer called the bishops' letter a ``mutual attempt to continue the conversation.''

Poll: U.S. Jews back

``timeout'' on building

About 80 percent of American Jews agree that Israel should at least temporarily stop building additional homes for Jews in the West Bank, according to a new poll.

The poll, released last week by the New York-based Israel Policy Forum, concluded that 57 percent of American Jews also have a favorable opinion of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite his vow to continue constructing West Bank housing.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has urged Israel to call a temporary ``timeout'' in the West Bank home building.

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