Ministry rethinks religious exclusion

A Jewish woman, the wife of a major corporate donor, is rejected for the Metropolitan Ministries board because of her faith.

By DAVID KARP and AMY SCHERZER
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 26, 2002

TAMPA -- Wanting to enlarge its board of directors last fall, the area's best-known charity for the needy, Metropolitan Ministries, turned to longtime corporate supporter TECO Energy for suggestions.

TECO executives thought they had the ideal candidate.

Linda Karson, the wife of a TECO senior vice president, had worked with the poor and with pregnant teenagers in Washington, D.C., before moving to Tampa a little more than a year ago.

But there was one glaring problem as far as Metropolitan Ministries officials were concerned.

Karson is Jewish.

She was told the ministries' bylaws prevented her from being considered for the board. To be eligible, the bylaws said, a candidate "must be a professed Christian."

"At first, I was astonished," Karson said. "It was real disbelief. It hurt. It (was) just hurtful."

TECO Energy, which had recently made a final payment to the charity on a $1-million pledge, told officials it would no longer donate unless the policy changed.

"We weren't aware of this policy when we supported them in the past," said TECO spokeswoman Laura Plumb. "We would not knowingly donate to an organization that practices discrimination.

"We seriously hope they will reconsider," Plumb said.

Metropolitan officials said Friday they have been reconsidering.

The nonprofit formed a special committee to study the issue, and it recommended the board eliminate the religious restrictions. This week, the board's executive committee approved the change with one dissenting vote. The full board votes on the issue Thursday.

"I think they were wrestling with it," said Monsignor Laurence Higgins of St. Lawrence Catholic Church, who was asked to serve on the special committee. "They were trying to find the right answer for them."

Opponents of the change were willing to go along with the majority vote, Higgins said.

Board chairman David Shobe said the ministries examined the policy because, "it was the right thing to do."

"Whether or not TECO contributes another dollar, that is not our principal motivation," Shobe said. "We want to do what is right for the organization and the community."

Founded in 1972 by 13 downtown churches, Metropolitan Ministries was created to feed the hungry and help the homeless. It wasn't a church, but the nonprofit was committed to helping the homeless "as an expression of the ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ," according to its mission statement.

President Morris Hintzman, an ordained minister, said he tries to go about his work "in a spirit as Jesus would do it."

"What is my motivation?" said Karleen Kos, executive vice president for program development. "My motivation is that is how Jesus did it, and that's why I do it this way."

Homeless people can attend Bible study classes, church services and get pastoral counseling. But the homeless don't have to attend religious programs to get help. And the nonprofit will find a rabbi or other spiritual leader if asked.

At the ministries' offices north of downtown, Scripture hangs from the walls, a Bible sits by the sofa in Hintzman's office, and the message on Kos' voice mail ends, "God Bless You."

In the 1970s, most of the ministries' support came from churches. Back then, the nonprofit had a $100,000 budget and a part-time staff director.

Today, much of the ministries' financial support comes from non-Christians.

Donations account for about 93 percent of the $5.8-million budget. More than 80 percent of donations come from individuals and companies; only 4 percent from congregations.

Although the board amended the bylaws in February 2001, no one paid any attention to the religious restriction. Hintzman said he didn't know how the requirement got placed into the bylaws to begin with. But given the ministries' history, it didn't seem unusual.

"It is something that has always been there," said Shobe, the board chairman.

He noted that other religious charities, including Jewish ones, maintain similar policies.

"It's a growing up thing," said Kos. "It is left over from a long time ago."

It took someone new to Tampa to point out the problem.

Karson, a Michigan native who marched at civil rights rallies with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., learned from an acquaintance that she would be rejected from the board because she was Jewish. She started making phone calls and discovered many of her Jewish friends knew about the policy, but had remained silent.

Karson, 50, couldn't keep quiet. "I could never look in the mirror," she said.

"I just think it takes one or two people to hold up a reflective glass and show people their errors and their ways, and not to be a coward," she said. "There are a lot of sheep. You just can't live like that."

By changing the policy, the nonprofit will strengthen its ability to help the homeless, she said.

"If you are trying to make the world a better place for the homeless, you can't just discriminate," she said. "To really serve the underserved, you need as many ideas and people at the table as you can get."

Metropolitan Ministries

PURPOSE: Care for homeless and poor.

BUDGET: $5.8-million.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: David C. Shobe, chair; C. Stan Harrell, chair elect; Marsha S. Otte, secretary; Joel M. Ellis, treasurer/VC finance & administration; George Adams Jr., VC program delivery; E. Miller Detrick, VC human resources; William O. "Bill" West, III, past chair; Carolyn Blace, LAMPLighter president; Thomas D. Arthur; Robert D. Basham; Richard E. Caines; Rev. John DeBevoise; Dr. Dennis P.H. Mihale; Rev. Jeffery L. Singletary; Carl Will; Enrique A. "Henry" Woodroffe.

-- Source: Metropolitan Ministries; 2000 annual report

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright