Subj : [PUC chat] Digest Number 9 To : All From : Rachel L. Akers Date : Mon Feb 12 2001 09:16 pm Greetings All, An interesting tipbit in my inbox this afternoon... I've not changed the format or anything incase I change the meaning, so this is as I've received it... Still it's positive Rai ------------------------ The Akron Beacon Published Saturday, February 10, 2001, in the Akron Beacon Journal. Pagans are grateful for understanding They praise decision by Interfaith Council to move [scheduled] dinner rather than cut their [Pagan] group from program BY COLETTE M. JENKINS Beacon Journal religion writer ``We are who we are. That might make some people uncomfortable. But I think that discomfort stems from a lot of misperceptions about who we are,'' said [Crow] Welch, a retired priestess and outreach counselor for the Church of Spiral Oak of Akron, a Pagan group that meets once a week for discussion and ceremonies. That discomfort rose to a level earlier this week that forced the Akron Area Interfaith Council to change the location of tomorrow's annual award dinner from Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church on Brown Street. The 5 p.m. dinner to honor Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Akron for the group's work fostering understanding and cooperation among people of diverse faith backgrounds had been planned for months. But at the last minute, the council had to secure another caterer, change its dinner program and make sure the nearly 150 people who had reservations were notified of the change of venue. It started Monday when the Rev. Nancy Arnold, president of the Interfaith Council, received a letter from the Rev. Jerry Hall, the pastor at Annunciation [Greek Orthodox Church]. The letter said that if a musical group from the [Pagan] Church of Spiral Oak remained on the program, the Council could not have its dinner at Annunciation [Greek Orthodox Church]. It also said the musical group from the Orthodox community would not take part in a program that included the Pagan group. ``We have regulations that limit our participation with groups that would be involved with things like Paganism,'' [Rev.] Hall said. ``If we allowed this event at our church, with their [Pagan] participation, it would send a message to the community of our acceptance. ``As Orthodox Christians, we cannot accept their [Pagan] tenets and we cannot send a message that it [Paganism] is OK. Well, it's not OK. And we had to take a stand.'' In response to Hall's objection, [Rev. Nancy] Arnold convened a meeting of the [interfaith] council on Tuesday to discuss the two options: Stay at Annunciation and remove the [Pagan] Spiral Oak group from the program or keep the group and move the dinner. The [interfaith] council -- an outreach arm of the Akron Area Association of Churches -- chose the latter. The Rev. Jon Dainty, a member of the council and executive director of the Association of Churches, said he understands [Rev. Nancy] Hall's reaction. ``I'm still not 100 percent comfortable with it. But if we were meant to always be comfortable, then Jesus Christ was wrong,'' [Rev. Jon] Dainty said. ``He said, `I come to put a sword in the midst of you,' and I think we're finding out what that means.'' [Rev. Jon] Dainty said the mission of the council is to promote freedom of religion, equality and tolerance, and ``for us to do anything but what we did would have gone against everything we stand for.'' [Pagan representative Joe] Jerek, who attended Tuesday's meeting, said he initially was dismayed when he read [Rev. John] Hall's letter. But as the discussion progressed, the conflict quickly became a catalyst to bring the group closer together, he said. ``Part of (the Pagan) tradition is finding balance,'' he said. ``So, I said to the group, `It's probably easiest to ask us not to perform. But it's probably better to change venues.' I was so impressed and gratified with their decision. It showed that they don't just profess their mission, they actually live it.'' ``It's wonderful to have the support of the Interfaith Council. It's a lot of work to make changes for an event like this at the last minute, but their willingness to do that shows their commitment,'' [Witch Crow] Welch said. ``But this whole thing speaks to the fact that we are still struggling against misperceptions. And we expect that, but when it comes from religious leaders, it is very painful.'' ``We are just grateful to the Interfaith Council that they stood up for us and said we should be respected for who we are.'' Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or Contact us: Voice of the People: http://www.ohio.com/bj/editorial/vop.html Akron Beacon Journal 44 E. Exchange Street Akron, Ohio 44328 USA http://www.ohio.com/info/contact.html --- Msged/2 4.00 * Origin: Elfwhere - The POINTy eared POINT (3:640/531.2379) .