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E-mail StoryPoster vote prompts pastor to quit interfaith group presidency
| Tuesday, Nov 6 2007 10:55 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Nov 6 2007 10:55 PM
The Rev. Chuck Cournyea resigned his position as president of the Interfaith Alliance of Kern County on Tuesday over frustration with the Kern High School District board’s decision to place “In God We Trust” posters in classrooms.
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“The trustees came to the meeting knowing how they were going to vote. That was evident by the looks on their faces as the speakers came forward to voice their various opinions,” he wrote in an e-mail to alliance members and friends. “It was a done deal before the meeting even started, as (trustee Chad) Vegas told the group at the start of the meeting that he and (trustee Bryan) Batey, the swing vote, met for lunch.”
But Cournyea, senior minister at Unity Church of Bakersfield, also said his resignation was prompted in part by what he called “the apathy of all other groups that did not show up to speak that were in opposition.” Cournyea spoke on behalf of the Interfaith Alliance, which was against the display of posters.
“It really caused me to wonder who does The Interfaith Alliance of Kern County really represent?” Cournyea wrote. He said “there were no speakers representing Islam, Hinduism, Baha’i, Jainism, Sikhism, or others I(’ve) seen at other symposiums over the years.”
Mohamed Mora, a spokesman for the Islamic Shoura Council of Bakersfield, explained why Islamic leaders did not get too involved.
“We don’t have anything against the motto because it agrees with our beliefs that we put our trust in God,” he said. But in light of the name change of winter and spring breaks to “Christmas” and “Easter” breaks last year by the district board, he said, “it seems that there is some activist doing this — someone more favorable to their own religion instead of everybody’s.”
Many in the local Muslim community feared what might come next after “In God We Trust” posters “because the same group who was behind this action this time might have some crosses in the classroom” next time, Mora said. “We (the Shoura Council) decided not to do anything,” he said, although there were individuals within the local Muslim community who did support the posters.
Several members of the Jewish community were at Monday’s meeting. Mike Miller of Temple Beth El said on Tuesday there were about 10 people from his synagogue present and at least five of them spoke to the board. “I’m very proud of how everyone in the community responded” to the debate, he said, whether they were for or against the proposal. “Most of the speakers were thoughtful.”
One of the recipients of Cournyea’s e-mail was Temple Beth El’s Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein, who is on an overseas trip with other rabbis.
“She definitely would have been at the meeting and she would have spoken against the adoption of the hanging of the poster, I’m sure,” said temple secretary Mark Hugo, who added that Rosenstein was “really upset” the date set for the vote coincided with her trip, which had been scheduled in advance.
The Monday night vote came only days after Cournyea’s church held an interfaith harvest festival to celebrate unity and goodwill among different faiths, the pastor said. The daylong event was so well attended that it had to end several hours early because organizers ran out of food.
“After looking at the two different experiences, I was in my element on Saturday, interacting with the other faith communities, looking at what connects us rather than what divides us,” Cournyea said, “whereas last night it was all about what divides us.”
Miller said something similar:
“Most of the people in Bakersfield, when they open their holy books, find reasons to love their neighbor rather than hate them,” he said, “and Chad Vegas put a little dent in that.”
In his e-mail, Cournyea wrote, “There are those in this community who have been elected to serve all its citizens, but have chosen to sell their souls for personal gain to the majority of voters who wish to have a particular ‘Christian’ agenda advanced in Kern County.
“This morning I awoke to the front page article on the meeting,” he wrote. “After reading the article I realized that I am not the person to head TIA-KC. I am not a politician. I am a spiritual leader.
“I would rather advance the interfaith community by spiritual means rather than political means,” he said.
The Interfaith Alliance of Kern County has existed since the beginning of the year, according to Cournyea. It is an emerging affiliate of the national Interfaith Alliance, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Currently there is no vice president in the organization to assume an interim role as president, Cournyea said.