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Article published May 12, 2003
Session could go into overtime

JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press

COLUMBIA -- With the slow pace of budget deliberations in the Senate, taxpayers may have to swallow the cost of an extended legislative session.
"We're aware that that may happen," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston.
It's possible to finish work on the $5.2 billion budget before the June 5 adjournment, said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston. But that would leave no time to deal with possible vetoes.
"If the General Assembly wants to handle vetoes, we'll have to have some extended veto session in June," he said.
Spending about $25,000 a day on an extended session would come as other agencies are trying to find ways to cut their budgets to deal with current-year budget cuts of 8.7 percent since December.
Last year was the first time in seven years the House and Senate left Columbia on the first Thursday of June without having to come back for budget work.
When senators return to their desks Tuesday, they'll be far behind the pace set in recent years and still locked in a debate on funding education programs with a sales tax increase.
Since 1996, the budget has cleared the Senate after May 11 only once. In 2001, the Senate didn't finish its version of the bill until May 18. A final House-Senate conference bill wasn't completed until June 21 in an extended session.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman expects substantial progress on the $5.2 billion spending plan this week. Last week, he was frustrated by Senate Democrats' maneuvering to force commitments on education spending.
Deliberations also were delayed a week as senators took time to pass a redistricting plan.
House leaders have been on the sidelines watching. "We will move as quickly as humanly possible to deal with the bill," House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, said.
Usually the House simply amends the Senate's version of the bill back to the version it passed. Then the Senate and House appoint conference committees to work out a final spending plan, usually in a week
or two.
But this year promises to be different.
House Majority Leader Rick Quinn, R-Columbia, said he is trying to gain support for a sales tax plan tied to some type of tax relief. That plan would have to be debated when the Senate's version of the budget hits the House to become part of the conference committee's negotiations.
If the proposal surfaces in the conference committee, it would require a two-thirds vote to become part of the budget -- and that's a tall order for any type of tax measure.
Harrell thinks the conference committee may not take that long to meet.
"Republicans are majority party in both the House and Senate and I think we will work together to get the conference committee done quickly," he said. "The partisan difficulties made it hard to get compromises reached" in previous years.
But a conference committee, even with Republicans in control, takes time. For instance, last year's budget conference committee was appointed on June 9 and didn't deliver a bill until June 23.
McConnell said he's avoided bringing up an extended session resolution, fearing it would prolong the budget debate.
To extend the session, McConnell and Wilkins have to get two-thirds votes. Two years ago, that didn't happen and then-Gov. Jim Hodges had to call the Legislature back into session.
Also different this year is a new governor, who for now has to just watch the process. "There's not much the majority party can do if one or two senators want to conspire to slow down the process," Sanford spokesman Will Folks said.
By DEBRA G. LESTER
Staff Writer
When the pastor and congregation of Prince of Peace Church found themselves without a church to worship in, they looked to a fellow Southern Baptist church to share.
Rather than asking their brothers and sisters in Christ to use a room in their church and worship at a different time, the congregation of First Contemporary Baptist Church on Bryant Road opened their doors to them and the pastor shared his pulpit.
It didn't matter that the Prince of Peace congregation is black and First Contemporary's is white. After several weeks the blending of the two is working so well there is even talk of a merger. For now, separate offerings are being taken, but that's the only thing that's separate.
As the Rev. Barry Brown of Prince of Peace preached Sunday on "The Forgotten Side of Success," First Contemporary's the Rev. David Moore, wiped tears from his eyes and members of both congregations called out, "Amen!"
The pastors are listed as co-pastors in the church bulletin, which calls the church First Contemporary Baptist Church. If there is a merger, they said there likely will be a totally different name and, if someone donates land or enough money, a new location. Sunday there were few empty seats in the storefront church where frilly pageant dresses once were sold.
Bob Mosa, a member of First Contemporary, sees nothing but positives in the situation. "Attendance is up for both churches. Rev. Brown has a completely different style and David has kicked his sermons up, too. He doesn't realize it, but he has."
The pastors admitted that the first Sunday no one knew what would happen and each congregation sat on a different side of the room, but the next Sunday, there was some mingling.
Now, First Contemporary member Cindy McGill said, "The seating's getting more mixed."
Mosa agreed, "Some people warm up faster than others."
Prince of Peace member Bobby Hunter has found the joint services "a blessing. I think this is meant to be. It's been prosperous."
Hunter was one of the ushers Sunday, so he was able to note some members of each congregation putting money in both offering plates.
Both churches are members of the Spartanburg County Baptist Network and the Rev. Dr. James Goodroe said the two churches worshipping together is a good short-range plan because of the facilities.
"I think a merger would be doable," Goodroe said. "I'd be more surprised if it doesn't happen than if it does."
Prince of Peace had been wor-
shipping in a church they rented on Magnolia Street, but another church bought the building and they had to move earlier this year. Brown went to the Baptist Network his church had joined three years ago for help. Black churches are relatively new to the network, with a few joining the Southern Baptist association in the past five years.
Brown said he was relating his problems to the Rev. Rudy Gray, a former Spartanburg minister, while they were playing golf one day and Gray suggested contacting Moore.
"Some churches would rather die than merge and we'd been looking for a church to merge with," Moore said.
It was a perfect fit. Even the pastors' interests complement each other. After 37 years in the pulpit, Moore prefers to focus on social ministry. He's also good with administrative things. After 20 years as a minister, Brown knew he wanted to preach. "I love preaching. That's what I do better than anything."
He also loves music and Prince of Peace had something First Contemporary didn't: live musicians. It took some adjustment from First Contemporary members.
"We put some beat into their hymns," Brown admits. "I might be approaching 50 years old, but I don't have to act it. I'm just a shade-tree musician, but I know music."
Six weeks into the joint services Sunday it seemed now that both congregations have more difficulty with the slower hymns than the more rousing, handclapping ones.
Danielle English, 13, a member of Prince of Peace, said she thinks the blending of the congregations is good. "More people are learning. It's good having two preachers because you can see how different people think."
As Brown approached the pulpit, Alice Cooper, a member of First Contemporary, whispered, "He's a mess, but we love him."
Later Cooper said she most enjoys Brown's teaching. "Pastor Brown is a fantastic Bible teaching. I enjoy his teaching on Wednesday night so much."
The difference in skin color doesn't bother her. "We all came from Adam and Eve," she said simply.
Debra G. Lester can be reached at 562-7264, or debra.lester@shj.com.

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