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RELIGION/The Charlotte Post. Tuesday, December 24,1996 Couple fights town, church, music Continued from 11A began playing the music again an hour a day beginning Dec. 15. “We thought it was set tled. Twice, now. I think it’s become a personal vendetta with them now. “If it were a group of people, it would be different,” Leamon said. “But its just them. It doesn’t bother the people who live on either side of them. Or behind them. They want us to believe the music just drops down on their house.” The church's 400 or so parishioners and other sup porters said they can’t imder- stand why anyone would sue a church that is simply celebrat ing Christmas. “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous what they’re doing,” said Mary Ellen Crabbe, who lives on the same block as the Diehls. “It’s an enjo)rment to our little village to have the music playing.” Raechel Eggleston is the deputy village clerk. Her office is right across the street from the church. The music has never bothered her, she said. “They’re being unreasonable. The village bought new Christmas lights this year. Everybodsr’s trying to get into the spirit. People are sick of them,” Eggleston said. Plus, the Diehls’ stubborn ness has cost the village money in legal defense fees, she said. One of their lawsuits named the village, and accused it of not enforcing its noise ordinance. The Diehls have lived on their 1 1/2-acre parcel in Antwerp for 18 years. Mary Diehl was once on the village's board of trustees and both she and Stephen have long years of community involvement, including working with the church's youth group even though they weren't members. Diehl said the couple have supporters in the community, but they don't want to voice their feelings publicly for fear of making themselves targets of harassment. “They want to make it look like the whole village is against us,” he said. “I don’t want outsiders to think this is a bad village. It’s just a hard core group of misguided church members.” Diehl said he doesn’t seen an end in sight to the yuletide row. He knows he’s not giving up. “This is my home. I like Christmas music but I shovddn’t have to put up with it blasted into my livingroom,” Diehl said. “You can go into a mall and they’ve got Christmas music cranking along, but you always have the option of leaving. We don't have anyplace else to go.” Small group services grov»^ By Brian Sharp THE IOWA CITY PRESS CITIZEN IOWA CITY, Iowa -This Christmas season, Jeff Landes once again will stand in church with his family, singing praise and listening to his pastor preach the gospel. There will be no pews, no pipe organ echoing off the stained- glass windows and into the rafters. But again this season, Landes has comfort in know ing the one thing he’could never find in his youth. “I was always searching for God,” he said. That search has caused him and many other Americans to turn away from mainline reh- gion. Landes and 125 other local residents worship every week at Grace Fellowship, a charismatic church rising on 18 acres in south Iowa City. Mainline churches continue the struggle to hold onto their congregations in this chang ing, tumultuous society whose youth grow up quickly with a different, harsher reality than existed 10-20 years ago, said Diana Cates, associate profes sor of religion ’ at the University of Iowa. Technology and communica tions pull the far-reaches of the world into every living room, making it more and more difficult to accept that there can be one world view. People are asking the tough questions and rejecting the answers that don’t fit their lives, Cates said. “A lot of the churches have not done a good job adjusting,” she said. “People don’t have the patience to deal with all the complexities of religion. They want to get to the core of it and deal with the issue that is most pressing to them.” In Iowa City's Catholic com munity, there is some concern. But the Rev.' Ed Fitzpatrick emphasizes it's important, especially in this transient community where the Catholic community has held steady, not to overreact” he said. “We want to resource the moment ... and not cut and slash. We don’t want to address something too soon if it is not going to. be neces sary.” It’s called “prayerful discern ment” in the religious commu nity, viewed as planning for the future in the same cau tions and faithful way asked of parishioners. Parishes have begun to net work instead of going it alone, he said. That means greater resources and - for smaller communities where church survival has been well docu mented locally — loss of the church doesn't have to mean the loss of the congregation. Where once the people would find a new church and join individually, now they are encouraged to join in groups and maintain community gatherings, as well. Ministering isn’t just for the ordained, anymore. While leading the youth group this week, Grace Pastor Gary Miller talked about divorce, relationships, drug overdoses ... even whether cats go to heaven. Grace Fellowship grew out of a Bible-study group and orga nized in 1978. Miller admits that 20 years ago, there wouldn't have been a place for — much less acceptance of - his church. “I don’t think the church should just stick its head in the sand and not deal with the life that we are living,” Miller said. He describes the church as preaching a spirit-filled mes sage, seeking deeper relation ships with God and focusing on the family in all its varying forms and issues. “The role of the church is not changing,” Miller said. “It is continuing to develop to meet the needs of its congregation.” And then there are the tough issues: abortion is one. "But even more so is homosex uality, Cates said. It heavily divides society and thus con gregations along generational lines. Some churches have found the only way to deal with the issue is to not deal with it at all, she said. Cates said almost every church today is busied with surveys about how people can best use the church in their lives. Small groups - from parents’ groups to grieving groups - have become com mon. Monday night at Grace is “healing school.” Mega-churches have entered the scene recently, bringing technology and sometimes full bands to the Sunday service. It’s the personalization of God, Cates said. “That concerns churches a lot,” she said. “They really see themselves as trying to speak the truth, which really is a painful choice ... when they see the people really wanting to be entertained.” The Rev. James Vrba has led mass at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the near southside since July. The newcomer has a fresh perspective on iowa City, and transfers the mega church idea into every denom ination. “How big is too big?” he asks. “Is there a point that the local parish can have too many members? That people can't get to know each other? “Churches can become too huge. It becomes like filling stations instead of helping to build community and teach people to love one another.” So what does the future hold? More splintering, Cates send. New emd looser religious communities where everyone doesn’t agree on issues, but the core belief is shared. “People are going to find a way,” she said. “Most people want to find connection. “ Items for Church News should be submitted to 342- 2160 by 5 p.m. on Monday BEAT THE CLOCK SAVE W Oriental Rugs 50 Large Selection ^ \J off lOO'sto Choose from 6X9 *59 Hardwood Flooring ^ 6 Ifvd. dso r. Min.) 3 ROOMS n 40 Installed ^ Carpct/Labor/Paci up u> 3s .sm. ycIs. Berber '2P- Installed Commercial $ 99 Carpet -3 Previous Orders Excluded [ Carpet «fe Rug Outlet ] Free Financing 522-7787 Visa,MC, Dis. 4301 South Blvd. Charlotte Mon.-Sat. 10-6 Bethlehem’s tree stuck in customs By Gwen Ackerman THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JERUSALEM - A 40-foot- high Finnish fir and 100,000 lights should be putting a spe cial glow on Bethlehem’s Manger Square by now. Instead, they are stuck in an Israeli customs warehouse and may spend the Christmas holiday there. The Finnish tree and the lights imported from China were held up because they don't meet Israeli standards, said Idit Lev-Zerahia, spokes woman for the Customs Authority. She said she could only release the goods “in the neime of the Christmas spirit” if she got the go-ahead from the Israel Standards Institute or the Industry Ministry. Two weeks ago, U.S. evange list Jerry Falwell got involved in trying to help imtaftgle the red tape, said Bobby Brown, who serves as adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Christian affairs. Falwell plans to be in Bethlehem with 300 Christian pilgrims for the annual lighting of the Christmas tree. Brown said he asked Trade Minister Natan Sharansky to release the lights fi-om Ashdod port in southern Israel for shipping to Bethlehem, a Palestinian-controlled enclave in the West Bank. Sharansky agreed, said Brown, and all that is neces sary is for a Bethlehem official to go to customs, fill out some forms and pick up the lights from Ashdod port. The Finnish donors, mean while, bought a smaller, local tree and donated it to the cash-strapped Bethlehem municipality. The mimicipali- ty foimd another tree and dec orated it Thursday. Brown said he only found out about the Christmas tree on Friday and would also try to get it out of customs before Christmas. “We don’t want to be the Grinch that stole Christmas,” Brown said. Northeast loses prayer rug suit THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON - A former securi ty guard who claimed that a fellow worker desecrated his Muslim prayer rug was awarded $300,000 Monday for religious discrimination. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination said that Lule Said will receive the largest emotional distress award in the agency’s history. The award against Northeast Security Co. is for religious harassment and stress caused when Said was told he would be fired if he didn’t stop praying at work. “This case goes straight to the heart of religious discrimi nation and discrimination based on national origin,” MCAD Commissioner Charles E. Wedker Jr. told The Boston Globe. “We want to send the message that it will not be tol erated.” Northeast Security disputed the MCAD’s factual and legal findings. It said it would appeal to the full MCAD board and take the case to coiud;, if necessary. “We believe the decision is intended to punish Northeast Security without any basis for doing so,” the company said in a prepared statement. “The amount of damages awarded are grossly excessive and combined with the mandatory training required, which is unprecedented, are extremely burdensome for a firm of our tommiJbwukmuu $. 17 Cu. ft. New Magic Chef Refrigerator Only Designed for Energy Efficiency 5 ffebuUt Washer & Diyer Sets w/lYr. Warranty Used Sfwes $89.9S w/3&pay War/anty & pent Magic Cfiel Washer & Di^er 2^ tb. Super Capacity $69f4S Ajfplhnee S FumHui$ World 30 in, New Magic Chef Range 0nly$2^^-9S 381S Wilkinson Bli/d. • S94-S11S Where your patronage is truly appreciated. BIO LBA.GUB SPORTS ARB HBRB WHICH WILL COME FIRST? SUPERBOWL? N.B.A. CHAMPIONSHIP? CHARLOTTE HASN’T HAD EITHER ONE A WORLD CHAMPION KELVIN SEABROOKS, and ms CHIROPRACTOR DR. WATTS OF A & W CLimC. HELPS KEEP KELVIN'S BACK IN SHAPE IP YOUR BACK OR NKCK IS INJURKD KELVIN SEABROOKS COMMUNITY RELATIONS DIRECTOR DR. DENNIS WATTS, D.C. WITH 3 OFFICES ON: BEA'TTIES FORD. WILKINSON & THE PLAZA OUR STAFF WILL TREAT YOU LIKE A WORLD CHAMPION
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