Bishops hope to create 'moral climate' favoring education

TOPEKA, Kan. - Led by Kansas bishops from three Protestant denominations, about 120 people gathered Saturday for a daylong education conference meant to make them politically active on behalf of public schools.

Participants had workshops dealing with student diversity, rural schools and applying values in the modern world. They also received a primer on finance issues and discussed religious faith and science education.

Sponsoring the event were Bishops Dean Wolfe, of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas; Scott Jones, of the Kansas Area United Methodist Church; and Gerald Mansholt, of the synod that covers Kansas and Missouri in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Participants gathered in a meeting hall of Grace Episcopal Cathedral, only a few blocks west of the Statehouse.

"We want to set a moral climate that says these are the concerns you ought to be bringing to bear on making these decisions," Jones said during a break in the conference. "In that sort of fundamental way of shaping the debate, we have a contribution to make."

The conference came the same day the House Select Committee on School Finance trimmed $65 million from a Senate-passed school finance plan, so the legislation would instead phase in a $401 million increase in aid to public schools over three years.

But the bishops said they're not advocating any particular bill, nor do they plan to get involved in legislative campaigns.

"What we do want people in our denominations to do is to vote, to be involved in the process, to run for election, to be active in school boards and the development of curriculum, to be as involved as possible," Wolfe said.

Last year clergy largely from more conservative denominations and churches led a successful effort to amend the Kansas Constitution to ban gay marriage. Some promised they would be more active in debates over abortion and how evolution is taught.

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