Long Live the RevolutionIn our tradition, we are obligated to observe Independence Day and cannot help remembering how many foun-ders were members of our church. It is all too easy to forget that the Revolution was opposed by many Christians because the New Testament is clear about the duty owed to kings.

For many, the Revolution was a crisis of faith; rearranging their thinking not only about government but also about how God orders the world. In a sense, the Declaration is a theological document claiming that God is the author of human life and rights, that governments get their power from The People, and The People have the right to overthrow governments that do not appropriately provide for those rights.

Had I been alive then, I may have been torn, as so many were, when realizing that the secular culture was asking me to think differently about God and God’s relationship to the world. I hope I would have made the choice we now take for granted, that government is of, by and for the people.

The assumption that religion must always be the judge and teacher of culture and not also culture’s student and beneficiary seems strangely atheistic. It is quite scriptural to believe that “the spirit of the Lord fills the earth” and that nowhere and never is God “without witnesses,” whether they know it or not.

July's celebration of the Revolution is for religious people the reminder that “the world” is not necessarily the en-emy, but may be our teacher or, at the very least, may ask us important questions. Long live the Revolution.

— Bishop Paul

Amended Resolutions on Audits and Accounting Software Resolutions to amend the Canons on Audits and Accounting Software were approved October 2012 at the 141st Diocesan Convention. Canon XIV, Section (e) of the Canons of the Diocese of Bethlehem were amended to allow an audit by a committee of the parish following the guidelines in the Manual of Business Methods in Church Af-fairs. Any competent person who is not involved with the financial administration of the congregation or his or her relatives may undertake the audit procedure. An audit committee from another parish may also be used to conduct the audit. All accounts shall be audited annually by a Certified or Independent Public Accountant or Audit Committee. The reports shall be filed with the Diocese not later than 30 days following the date of such report for review by the Finance Committee of Diocesan Council, and in no event, not later than September 1st of each year, covering the finances of the previous year. If a parish fails to provide an acceptable audit to the Dio-cese in the timely manner required for two consecutive years, the clergy and lay delegates of that parish shall have seat and voice, but no vote, at the next Annual Convention of the Diocese.

Accounting software Canon XIV Section (d) now states that books of account, including a double-entry general ledger and balance sheet with assets and liabilities, shall be kept using professional accounting software as ap-proved in writing by the Controller. The current list includes Quickbooks, Church Windows and ACS. We con-tinue to review other software.

— R. Bruce Reiner, Controller & Cindy Bakos, Bookkeeper

THE DIOCESE OF BETHLEHEM333 Wyandotte St., Bethlehem, PA 18015610-691-5655www.diobeth.org

Vol. 1Iss. 8

June 26, 2013

Live God's love. Tell what you have seen and heard.