Court, cops, and synod punish church-goers

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CLAIRTON, Pa.—On Jan. 4, morning raids by 50 Allegheny County deputies, as well as Clairton and Pittsburgh police, temporarily resolved the confrontation between militant unemployed activists from the Clairton Trinity Lutheran Church and the "moderate" hierarchy of the Western PennsylvaniaWest Virginia synod of the Lutheran Church.

Not surprisingly, the forces of "law and order" intervened on the side of wealth and power. Eight supporters of the already imprisoned Rev. Douglas Roth, who had barricaded themselves in the church for nine days, were arrested. Four were sentenced to 60-day jail terms and ordered to pay $985 each to the synod for compensation. Four others were given 30day sentences.

The arrests climaxed a struggle by Lutheran Bishop Kenneth May to penalize the Rev. Roth and his supporters for their participation in the Denominational Ministry Strategy (DMS) and the Network to Save the Mon/Ohio Valley. These are two of the many unemployed groups that have sprung up in Western Pennsylvania to combat unemployment.

The suffering caused by the callousness of the steel companies is highlighted by the report of a sharp rise in suicides among the unemployed. The DMS and Network have hit back with controversial tactics: putting dead fish in safety-deposit boxes of Mellon bank, spraying skunk oil in Pittsburgh department stores, disrupting services in churches where corporate executives are members, and most recently confronting the hierarchies of the Lutheran and Catholic churches.

"Bishops have been corporatized"

Bishop May's decision to remove Roth, who is part of a group of Lutheran and Episcopal clergymen advocating these confrontational tactics, resulted in a court suit in which the judge ruled against Roth and his followers. Contempt citations and police action followed the refusal of DMS and Network activists to back down.

Charles Honeywell, the recognized leader of the DMS and the Network, has complained, "One hundred thousand people are starving, and all the bishops want to do is have fund drives and food banks.

"All the bishops have been corporatized, Honeywell insists. "They are not on the side of the oppressed at all. They only want to adapt to evil."

He promises the continued use of methods that have generated massive publicity and a storm of controversy.

The Rev. Roth has strongly defended these tactics, asserting that "To provoke evil, words alone are not adequate. It was for his tactics that the culture crucified Christ. He turned over tables, caused pigs to kill themselves, and he broke the Sabbath laws of the day."

Yet Roth has also criticized the news media because "They sensationalize story after story about the skunk scent and water ballooning but never deal with why such things are happening. Lots about skunk smells, but nothing about families being broken apart, losing everything because of deliberate corporate decisions."

"Starting chapter two"

We asked Trinity Lutheran Church member William Fosbrink if Roth supporters will continue to fight. He responded, "I think they will more so now because they had something taken away from them. They're saying you can't go to church, and that's a question of freedom of religion."

Trinity Lutheran Church has been boarded up by the authorities and is guarded by Allegheny County deputies. The synod intends to keep the church closed for as long as several months.

Fosbrink added, "From what I've heard people say, they will continue to fight for the unemployed. Doug Roth just called me on the phone and said, 'Now we've finished chapter one and we're starting chapter two! "

For the past two Sundays dozens of church members have gathered for outdoor services in front of Trinity Church under the watchful eyes of county deputies. Although the authorities have succeeded in wresting from them control of their own church, the condition which generated their anger continues to weigh down upon them. In this area further struggles and confrontations seem inevitable.

SOCIALIST ACTION FEBRUARY 1985 3