c. 2008 Religion News Service

Unitarians rededicate church where gunman killed two

(RNS) Unitarian Univeralists in Knoxville, Tenn., reopened their doors on Sunday (Aug. 3), just one week after a gunman opened fire during a production of a church musical and left two people dead.

“This sanctuary, which has been defiled by violence, we rededicate to peace. This holy place, which has been desecrated by an act of hatred, we reconsecrate for love,” the Rev. Chris Buice told an overflow crowd at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.

Joined by two former ministers, Buice praised the congregation’s commitment to progressive social justice in the face of violence.

“(The gunman) came into this space with a desire to do an act of hatred. But he has unleashed unspeakable acts of love,” Buice said.

According to Knoxville police, Jim D. Adkisson, 58, opened fire during a July 27 performance of the musical, “Annie,” killing two and wounding seven. In a letter found in Adkisson’s car, the shooter blamed the church’s liberal teachings for his current unemployment.

Adkisson had no formal ties to the church, although The Associated Press reported that his ex-wife had been a former member.

“Last Sunday, a man walked into this sanctuary with the intention of inflicting terror. And he inspired quick and decisive acts of courage,” Buice said. “Reports tell us that he thought that liberals were soft on terror. He had a rude discovery.”

The FBI and Knoxville Police Department are currently investigating to determine whether Adkisson, who is currently in police custody, can be charged with hate crimes. The attack is the first of its kind on a Unitarian church.

“You could have returned the hatred that was directed at your community,” wrote the Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Boston-based Unitarian Universalist Association, in a letter to the congregation. “But instead you greeted hatred with love, and you created meaning from an unspeakably destructive act.”

_ Tim Murphy

Baha’i gardens named world heritage site in Israel

(RNS) The latest site in Israel to win designation from UNESCO as a World Heritage Site is Haifa’s Baha’i Gardens, a place sacred to what may be the least-known religion in the conflict-torn Holy Land.

The gardens, which climb from the base of Mount Carmel to its summit, include the Shrine of the Bab, a prominent Haifa landmark and a visual symbol of the Baha’i faith’s emphasis on worldwide religious unity.

The domed shrine, completed in 1953, contains the tomb of Siyyard Ali Muhammed, a Persian who was the chief precursor of the Baha’i religion. He was executed for heresy in 1850 by Muslim authorities. His remains were brought to Haifa in 1909 and remained hidden for years before the permanent memorial was built.

The Baha’i faith was an outgrowth of Muslim culture in much the same way that Christianity arose from Jewish traditions. Baha’is believe there is one God, and great world prophets including Moses, Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad are heavenly teachers with the same basic message.

Baha’u’llah, the latest of these messengers, was born in Iran in 1817 and laid the foundations for the modern Baha’i faith before his death in 1892. He taught the oneness of God, the oneness of the human family, and the oneness of religion _ views that led to his imprisonment and exile from his native Iran. Today the Baha’i faith has spread worldwide and counts about 6 million adherents in 200 countries.

In the late 1980s, followers marshalled the resources to complete the Baha’i “World Centre” in Haifa _ work that literally included moving and reshaping a mountain. The 19 meticulously landscaped terraces rising up Mount Carmel were officially opened in May of 2001.

The Baha’i Gardens already are the sixth or seventh most visited spot in Israel. They join eight other Israeli sites on the UNESCO list, including the oldest portions of Jerusalem and Acre and the tels of Beersheba and Hazor.

_ Valerie Sudol

Man who stormed popemobile sentenced to probation

VATICAN CITY (RNS) A German court has ordered four years’ probation, psychotherapy and medication for a 28-year-old man who last year jumped a barricade and briefly touched a vehicle carrying Pope Benedict XVI.

The German man, whose identity was not released, was also ordered “categorically” to abstain from alcohol and drug consumption _ monitored and verified by urine tests, The Associated Press reported.

In June 2007, the man was one of an estimated 40,000 people gathered for a papal audience in St. Peter’s Square.

As Benedict rode past him in the open-topped white vehicle known as the “popemobile,” the man jumped a wooden barrier holding back spectators and tried to mount the car. He managed to touch the popemobile briefly before bodyguards wrestled him to the ground.

At the time, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, referred to the man’s “clear signs of mental imbalance” and said that the case was “to be considered closed.”

Yet the incident revived concerns about security measures taken to protect the pope in the years since Mehmet Ali Agca shot and gravely wounded John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981.

The open-topped SUV used for such papal appearances is one of three vehicles interchangeably known as the “popemobile.”

Outside Vatican territory, the pope normally rides in one of two Mercedes-Benz ML430 off-road vehicles, which are fitted with raised tops made of bullet-proof plastic.

_ Francis X. Rocca

Quote of the Week: Geoff Tunnicliffe of the World Evangelical Alliance

(RNS) “Just as we promise to seek to move beyond the stereotyping of Muslims found in the media, can I ask you, my Muslim friends, to get to know us beyond what is reported in the newspapers and television programs?”

_ The Rev. Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the World Evangelical Alliance, speaking about the meeting of Muslim and Christian scholars that ended at Yale Divinity School on Thursday (July 31). He was quoted by Reuters.

KRE/RB END RNS