Monday, July 24, 2006
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI WAR ZONE
A curious story was linked at NOR last week, about a fracus outside two churches in Jackson during the time when the congregations were gathering on Sunday morning for worship. Today Google brings up a Canadian independent news site where the story is being carried: Anti-Christian violence erupts in Mississippi.
While the story is being spun as "Anti-Christian," I thought it was curious which two congregations were involved--one a Unitarian Universalist, the other St. James Episcopal.
As the article describes it, no one was actually hurt, though a vehicle was destroyed by PVC pipe-weilding demonstrators. It is not possible to determine from the article which church was the scene of this violence. The police on the scene refused to get involved because "the rioters refused to identify themselves when asked" according to Rev. Benham who is quoted in the story.
Unitarian Universalism is noted for being open to anyone of any religion including Buddhism and Paganism. They are one of the most "tolerant" churches in America. Why would a story about voilence at the UU church be spun as "Anti-Christian"? Sounded odd. A group called Operation Save America was cited in the article. I did a little digging.
A July 16 article at another independent news source turned up Clinic Defense in Jackson, Mississippi.
This time the story is spun as "anti-racist action". It seems that this same UU church requested protection during their Sunday service from Operation Save America (formerly Operation Rescue) from a demonstration involving "10 foot signs of an aborted fetus" and messages sent over a loudspeaker from across the street. On this occasion, the car of a pro-lifer was demolished when it attempted to enter the church parking lot.
There is also a curious blog entry concerning St. James headlined: "What One Parish Went Through: St. James Episcopal Church in Jackson, Mississippi"
According to the story the congregation is split over the consecration of Gene Robinson, and what had been a thriving membership at standing-room-only services, dwindled significantly over this consecration, and funds dried up. The church had been in the "middle of a fund raising effort to refurbish part of the church plant, plus add new space, including a new parish hall, [and] was force [sic] to shut down these efforts and deal with its loss in membership and in financial giving."
It sounds like there is a war in Jackson, alright--one the police want no part of. On one side are Christians, and on the other side are Universalists who support abortion and homosexuality.
