Council of Churches: Pray for peace while
picketers in town
EYANA ADAH MCMILLAN The
York Dispatch
Article
Last Updated: 02/06/2007 11:50:51 AM EST
Local
congregations are being asked to pray for peace this weekend, when the
"I hope that each church
will pray that everyone will be safe and protected as a human, that there will be
peace in
Yesterday, the
The session was sponsored by
the council, the York County Community Against Racism
and the York City Human Relations Commission.
Close to 20 people attended
the session to help them prepare for picketing activities by Topeka, Kan.-based
Westboro Baptist Church, which announced plans to picket York Suburban High
School on Saturday and six area churches Sunday to oppose the school's "The
Laramie Project," a drama presentation focusing on a community's reaction
to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Laramie, Wyo.
Pickets: The Topeka-based ministry
pickets against the homosexual lifestyle.
The church has picketed at about
25 different locations in
"Do not interact when
they are physically on the street," she said. "Also, do
not ignore their presence or their message or the impact on your town."
The commission finds that
churches are quicker to respond to hate group activities against ethnic groups
than to similar activities targeting homosexuals, Van Dyke said.
"We're not asking anyone
to take a stand for or against sexual orientation, but the stand for every
human being to be safe and respected," she said.
The community can show its
stand for tolerance by filling the auditorium for York Suburban's play, said
Mary Galiardi, whose son, A.J., a York Suburban junior, is participating in the
drama.
'Respond by showing up': "We don't want to be
confrontational, but we don't want to be silent," she said. "Let's
respond by showing up. Let's have the community show support for the
school."
Galiardi said she talked with
her son about the Westboro issue.
"I talk to my son about
hate groups and I teach my kids tolerance," she said. "I'm really
proud of him."
Alanna Berger, a member of
Harrisburg-based Silent Witness of Central Pennsylvania, said Westboro Baptist
has picketed their organization, which consists of members of
"We use great big
umbrellas and we open them up and lean them against our shoulders," she
said. "We'll be facing the school. We'll smile and welcome people who come
for the play. We stand as a spiritual firewall."
Like Van Dyke, Berger said
people should stay away from the Westboro group.
"They're really hard to
ignore, but you can't argue with them," Berger said. "People try to
reason with them and they get frustrated and then things escalate."
-- Reach Eyana Adah McMillan
at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com.
Places targeted for picketing
"The Laramie Project" drama presentation is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and
Saturday at
Besides the school, Topeka,
Kansas-based
--- St. Matthew Evangelical
Lutheran Church,
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