Briefly noted

Christian Century, May 3, 2000

* Hundreds of survivors and supporters commemorated the deaths of about 80 Branch Davidians at a church dedication service in Texas on April 19, the seventh anniversary of the Waco tragedy. The new Branch Davidian church is located ten miles west of Waco in Mount Carmel. After the church was dedicated, the names of those who died were read, and keys to the church were handed over to the Davidians. Eighty-one Branch Davidians died April 19, 1993, when a 51-day standoff between Davidian leader David Koresh and federal authorities ended in a fiery blaze at the group's complex near Waco. Relatives of those who died in the fire have filed a wrongful-death suit against the federal government, which contends that the Davidians brought about their own deaths. The case will go to trial on June 19.

* A religious liberty watchdog group says Oklahoma lawmakers are "inviting a lawsuit" by passing a bill that requires public school textbooks to say that there is "one God as the creator of human life in the universe." The state's House of Representatives passed the bill on April 5. The bill's sponsor, Republican State Representative Jim Reese, said the measure would send a message to publishers that "the public is not happy with their textbooks." Reese also said it would "boggle my mind" if a majority of his constituents did not agree with him on the issue. Reese said people who believe in creationism want equal time with evolution theory.

* Delegates to a worldwide meeting of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints voted April 7 to change the church's name to the Community of Christ. The change, which was approved by a vote of 1,979 in favor to 561 opposed, will begin sometime after January 1, 2001. Discussions about changing the name have gone on for years. Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints trace their beginnings to the start of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830. Members of the "reorganized" body began their own church in 1860 under the leadership of Joseph Smith III, the son of the founder of the Mormon church.

* Introducing a "no-action" motion that passed by a 22-18 vote, China successfully prevented the UN Human Rights Commission from discussing a U.S. motion to censure the country because of its human rights record. Twelve countries abstained and one was absent during the vote, which came April 18 during the commission's annual meeting in Geneva. "The credibility of the UN Commission has been seriously damaged by its unwillingness to censure China or even to discuss its rights performance," said Human Rights Watch representative Joanna Weschler. The U.S. has unsuccessfully attempted to censure China nine times in the past decade.

* The United Church of Christ has joined the American Civil Liberties Union in spearheading a move to allow people in the vicinity of Cleveland's Jacobs Field to protest the use of the Cleveland Indians name and its mascot, Chief Wahoo. Leaders of the 1.4-million-member church, which is based in Cleveland, say the team's name and mascot are offensive to Native Americans. ACLU officials, meanwhile, say team efforts to bar protesters around the park violate the First Amendment.