Raising our Voices for Mutual Respect, Tolerance and Faith
January 24, 2012

Directory of speakers:

Reverend Dr. Donald Anderson
Executive Minister,  Rhode Island State Council of Churches

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I want to begin by thanking the Rev. Leigh McCaffrey and the members of the Edgewood Congregation Church for their generous hospitality today.  We have come today to urge Cranston and all of Rhode Island to take advantage of a rare opportunity.  One of the most significant conversations of our time deals with religion in contemporary American life and the place of religion in the world.  Today we can model for our students how to have a reasoned and civil conversation about controversial issues.  Unfortunately, some folks are exhibiting some behaviors that make civil conversations impossible.  Name calling and insults are no way to bring about understanding.  Based on the e-mails I have received and the conversations I have had with Rhode Islanders I believe that most people want a civil conversation.  We are here to call for that conversation.

Of the 13 clergy who will briefly speak today, 8 have or now live in Cranston and/or served faith communities in Cranston.  Two of us were students at Cranston West in 1963.  Here is my senior yearbook from 1966.  We are not strangers coming from the outside.  We love Rhode Island and Cranston and believe that the majority of people in this fair city want the hateful speech to stop.

Clergy speaking today represent Christian faith from mainline protestant to evangelical churches, Reform and Conservative synagogues, Unitarian Universalist and Islam.  This is a very diverse group who have come together to proclaim a common message of tolerance and civility.

Closing Statement
Thank you again for coming today.  In addition to the clergy who spoke today, I want to thank those who came to stand and those who submitted written statements of support which are included in the press kit.  There are MANY other who would have liked to make comments today, but time does not allow for that.  And to Jessica, I am sorry for the unnecessary and hurtful things that have been said to you and about you.  Those were shameful comments and I hope someday the people responsible for them will apologize.  In the mean time, please know that many people of faith are open to and anxious to engage in meaningful conversation with all persons about what is important to us in life.

David M. Brown
Interim Executive Minister, American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island

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I’d like to challenge the premise of this press conference, that we should be tolerant of those who hold different opinions than we do. Those of us who are disciples of Jesus are obligated to follow the lifestyle and teachings of Jesus, and nowhere did Jesus say anything about tolerating those with whom we might disagree. What he did say is that we are to “love one another,” and that by our love, the world will know that we are his disciples (John 13:34-35). Jesus did not say that we will be known for our agreement on issues or our interpretation of Scripture or our conformity to doctrine. What unites us is not being right, but our love for one another, in spite of our disagreements. That is the only criterion Jesus provides for our unity. Love is a much higher call than merely tolerating the opinions of others within the Christian faith. Unfortunately, much of the “Christian” rhetoric surrounding the prayer banner has exhibited inter-Christian discourse that is far from loving.

Jesus also commanded us to “love our enemies” (Matthew 5:43-44) and “love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matthew 22:37-40). In so saying, he directs us to also love those who are outside the circle of Christian faith. That, too, changes everything about the way we should engage in social discourse—from being tolerant of others to actually loving them. Those of us who are following Jesus should be saying to Jessica, “We respect you. We appreciate your raising these important issues for us, and we honor your courage. Yes, some of us might vigorously (but gently) disagree with your ideas, but that will never, ever prompt us to stop loving you.” Our language and the way we treat those who don’t believe as we do must be guided by love.

In actuality, for us Christians, love must be the driving force behind our social discourse, and anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus and responds to pubic discussion in any other way than through loving conversation is not representing the Lord whom they claim to be following.    

Reverend Marie CarpenterDirector of Eldercare Ministries
American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island / Co-Vice President of the RI State Council of Churches    

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My colleagues have been so eloquent this afternoon.  For me, this issue is personal.  On the Wednesday after Labor Day in September of 1958 a group of 7th graders began their education at Cranston West.  I was one of them. 

It was a crazy time for faculty and students alike.  We began with no cafeteria, no gym, goodness, we had no desks or blackboards those first few weeks.  We maneuvered around construction the whole time we were at West. Watching, finally as the Auditorium, that is in the news right now, be completed.  Through it all we learned adaptability, tolerance and a love for one another.

It was a crazy time in our country as well between 1958 and 1964, with incidents like the Bay of Pigs.  In November of our Senior year we watched as the world mourned the assassination of President John Kennedy.

We were the first class to graduate in the auditorium.  The second Ideal Cranstonian award was presented that night.  An award that represents achievement and the ideals we had been taught those six years.

We took those lessons with us as some went off to the world of work, some to college, some became draft dodgers, others worked for government, and some went off to Viet Nam and never come home.

I urge the faculty, administration and students of West to take this opportunity to practice the lesson that have become part of the fabric of  a Cranston West education, adaptability, tolerance, and love of your fellow man.

Reverend Eugene Dyszlewski
Minister in the United Church of Christ & Cranston Resident

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As with many constitutional protections, the line separating church and state is unclear and can be somewhat ambiguous.  I may draw the line in one place and someone else in another place.  When the courts weigh in and I am wrong, it is distressing and embarrassing.   What I do know is that I don’t want to use any religious words or symbols to coerce anyone.  
There are many who are feeling a sense of loss at the prospect of removal of the banner.  There is something unfair about having the banner removed which for so many years was a part of daily school life.  For years there was no hint that it might be a problem.  But to some it is a problem.  And a court has ruled that the banner lies beyond that ambiguous line.     
Given what has already occurred, is keeping the controversy alive a prudent response?   Unfortunately, support for the banner has already resulted in unexpected and unintended negative consequences.  There has been little reasoned discourse and too much vituperation.  Clearly the school board does not intend any bullying or the hate speech to occur, let alone to continue.  
The banner’s removal does not diminish my religious convictions.   I will not cease living according to my faith.  I will simply accept that others may differ.  Perhaps this is a time for restraint.   

Reverend Betsy Aldrich Garland
 President, Rhode Island State Council of Churches 

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A banner hangs,
Crafted by students decades ago
Calling for kindness, friendship, moral conduct.

Framed as a prayer to a Christian God,
A cloth of the past, faded, forgotten,
An artifact of the way we wished things were. 

The earth turns.
Society becomes more pluralistic and diverse.
“We are here, too!” claim people of many faiths – and of no faith.

A student notices.
America is a land of many religions and freedom of religion;
Dare we say freedom from religion?

Crucify her!  Crucify her!
Cry those who fear the future and hold on to the past.
The closed-minded, the bullies, those who love to hate.

I am Jessica Ahlquist – and you, and you, and, yes, even you.
Today, we are all Jessica Ahlquist.  Who has never been teased or threatened or beaten
Because we are fat or schizophrenic or gay,
Because of our accent or the color of our skin,
Because of the pew we sit in or the creed we recite?

A pastor laments.
Is not the ultimate test of faith how we treat each other?  How we love each other?
Must we always kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to us?[1]

Let those of us in leadership – pastors, parents and public figures –
Be grounded in sacred texts that call for compassion, goodness, and wisdom,
And remember . . .  that a little child shall lead them . . ..[2]

[1] Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34
[2] Isaiah 11:6

Rabbi Amy Levin
Temple Torat Yisrael (Conservative), Cranston and East Greenwich
Vice-President, Rhode Island Board of Rabbis

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I am Rabbi Amy Levin of Temple Torat Yisrael, here in Cranston.  I also serve as the Vice-President of the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis.
     When Jessica's concerns about the prayer banner in the Cranston West High School auditorium were being discussed about a year and a half ago, i held a discussion with members of my congregation who grew up in Cranston and attended Cranston West in the1960s.  I asked them how they had felt as Jewish students sitting in the auditorium with the prayer banner on the walls.  They told me that they felt uncomfortable, that their parents felt uncomfortable with the prominently-displayed school prayer in the room in which the school assembled.  They told me that in the 1960s, their parents were afraid to speak about against the presence of that school prayer.  Fifty years later, Jessica  has given public voice to the discomfort of generations of students who came her.  She has voiced concerns that those parents were hesitant to raise fifty years ago.  She has been subjected to the treatment that others feared to bring upon themselves.
     For all that a religious declaration addressed to Our Father in Heaven does not belong on the walls of a public high school, I would suggest that anyone who has internalized the values expressed in that prayer would never verbally or physically attack or threaten to attack a person who does not identify with a statement addressed to God.  Walking the talk of that Cranston West prayer banner means discourse with mutual respect and honor for every human being created by God.
     As one of the clergy assembled today, I  have come to reassure every person of faith in our State that taking down this banner can never pose a threat to anyone's faith.  Your faith goes with you wherever you go . . . Faith needs no banner to live in our hearts.

Reverend Leigh G. McCaffrey
Edgewood Congregational Church, United Church of Christ

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Welcome to the Edgewood Congregational Church, United Church of Christ. Whoever you are, and wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.

We Congregationalists are the direct descendants of the Separatists who came across the Atlantic in search of religious and political freedom. Our forebears believed that differences of opinion could be settled by conversation, not coercion. In fact, the very early days of this very colony, on March 21, 1638, Joshua Verin was disenfranchised by a vote of Providence town members because he tried to coerce his wife into his version of Christianity.  

In our tradition, freedom of conscience is a core value. We believe that if we train ourselves and our children to think for themselves and act on their beliefs, we benefit the whole world. As the mother of two amazing daughters, I have worked hard to create a world where they can grow and learn freely, without worrying that they will be shut down for using their minds. As a pastor in this community, I want every child and teenager to be free to think for themselves. As adults, we need to model and insist on respectful dialogue around our differences. 

We are hosting this press conference because we believe that diversity is strength, and that young people should be encouraged to think for themselves, not coerced into silence. And to those who would threaten another human being for their ideas, let me remind you of our own Christian history. In the second century of the common era, a man named Polycarp was put to death by the Roman empire. He had been teaching about Jesus in public. And what did the angry crowds shout as he was led to his death?  “Away with the atheists!”

As the inheritors of a proud tradition of free thought and loving action, we are proud to stand with others in Cranston who desire that Jessica, and every young person, be encouraged to learn to talk about their differences in peace.

Rabbi Peter W. Stein
Temple Sinai (Reform), Cranston
President, Rhode Island 
Board of Rabbis

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In support of peaceful and constructive dialogue in our city
I am here today as a member of the clergy, a person of faith, and a citizen of Rhode Island.  I want to voice my support for Jessica Ahlquist and to lament the way that so many in the community have disagreed with her in such a destructive fashion.  I do agree with the judge’s decision, that the official school prayer banner is not appropriate.  Taking the banner down does not diminish the place of religion in our community.  Rather, it restores ritual acts of faith to their most appropriate place: in the home and in the houses of worship.  But, I am here today to urge all Rhode Islanders, whatever their opinions, to speak and to act in a positive and respectful manner.

This is not about agreement or disagreement on the issue…it’s about how we treat one another.  The diversity of our community is an incredible strength.  We must act to elevate and protect the freedom of expression that is so central to our country and community. 

My Jewish teaching has a series of ancient teachings about how to dispute.  It doesn’t discourage conflict: indeed, it actually holds up two bitter rivals as role models.  These rivals, Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai, disagreed on hundreds of issues, holding opposite opinions time and time again.  And yet, as they disagreed, they maintained respect for the other…they voiced their opinions in positive, constructive ways.  They acted to elevate the community and improve the community, never trying to tear down their opponent.

Jessica stood up for what she believed in…not to diminish her school and not to deny others the ability to express themselves.  Especially now that the democratic process has unfolded in a thoughtful and proper manner, we should show respect for the judicial process.  If there is continued disagreement, express it in a respectful manner, through the court system.  The personal attacks must stop.  They do nothing but hurt the people involved and diminish the great potential of our city.

I lament the personal attacks, threats, and insults that have taken place.  They need to stop.  Let us make our city and state a place where opinions are expressed freely but respectfully, where those with different viewpoints are respected, and where we celebrate the diversity that makes our community so strong.