A plan by the United States president to pay churches directly for the provision of certain social services was the focus of a July 6 meeting between Seventh-day Adventist leaders and Professor Carl Esbeck, director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Justice. 

“We are pleased that we were able to set up a meeting with one of the principal players in the current debate over the faith-based initiative,” says James Standish, director of legislative affairs for the Adventist Church worldwide. “We had an ideal opportunity to hear first-hand what the Bush administration’s plans are on this sensitive issue.”  Standish says the discussion was “frank and productive.” 

“We intend to keep the lines of communication wide open between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Bush administration as this, and other similarly sensitive issues, are debated,” says Standish.

President George Bush’s plan has provoked widespread controversy over whether direct payments to churches would create an inappropriate relationship between church and state.  In January, Adventist leaders urged caution regarding the new initiative, saying the Adventist Church in North America has long advocated the principle of separation of church and state as the best way to ensure a healthy independence for religious groups and to prevent the possibility of religion-based discrimination in the distribution of state funds.

A less controversial aspect of the initiative is new tax provisions making it easier for individuals to claim tax deductions for their charitable donations.