03-11-2007, 08:56 AM
Cross Returned to William and Mary Chapel
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Written By
The Cross at The College of William and Mary, which had been the cause of such controversy since officials ordered it removed, has been returned to historic Wren Chapel on the college’s campus.
Until recently, the policy regarding the Cross was to have it removed when those of other faiths used the chapel. But William and Mary president Gene R. Nichol reversed the policy late last year, ordering the Cross to be stored away because it was “unwelcoming.”
Considering the policy decision, it should come to no one’s surprise that Nichol formerly served as the ACLU Chapter President for north Florida, in addition to the ACLU Board of Directors in North Carolina and Colorado.
Alumni, donors, students, and Virginia residents alike condemned the removal, saying the Cross represented the unique history of the college. The uproar resulted in a petition drive to keep the Christian emblem in place, while one longtime donor had backed out of a $12 million pledge in response to the controversy.
Alas, a compromise has been reached that returns the Cross to its place in Wren Chapel, albeit now in a somewhat different form.
A William and Mary press release says that, “the William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University unanimously recommended a compromise practice on the display of the table cross in the Wren Chapel.’
The compromise reads as follows:
THE WREN CHAPEL CROSS SHALL BE RETURNED FOR PERMANENT DISPLAY IN THE CHAPEL IN A GLASS CASE. THE CASE SHALL BE LOCATED IN A PROMINENT, READILY VISIBLE PLACE, ACCOMPANIED BY A PLAQUE EXPLAINING THE COLLEGE'S ANGLICAN ROOTS AND ITS HISTORIC CONNECTION TO BRUTON PARISH CHURCH. THE WREN SACRISTY SHALL BE AVAILABLE TO HOUSE SACRED OBJECTS OF ANY RELIGIOUS TRADITION FOR USE IN WORSHIP AND DEVOTION BY MEMBERS OF THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
"Cross back on display in historic college chapel," One News Now, March 8, 2007.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/03/cross_..._histo.php
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Written By
The Cross at The College of William and Mary, which had been the cause of such controversy since officials ordered it removed, has been returned to historic Wren Chapel on the college’s campus.
Until recently, the policy regarding the Cross was to have it removed when those of other faiths used the chapel. But William and Mary president Gene R. Nichol reversed the policy late last year, ordering the Cross to be stored away because it was “unwelcoming.”
Considering the policy decision, it should come to no one’s surprise that Nichol formerly served as the ACLU Chapter President for north Florida, in addition to the ACLU Board of Directors in North Carolina and Colorado.
Alumni, donors, students, and Virginia residents alike condemned the removal, saying the Cross represented the unique history of the college. The uproar resulted in a petition drive to keep the Christian emblem in place, while one longtime donor had backed out of a $12 million pledge in response to the controversy.
Alas, a compromise has been reached that returns the Cross to its place in Wren Chapel, albeit now in a somewhat different form.
A William and Mary press release says that, “the William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University unanimously recommended a compromise practice on the display of the table cross in the Wren Chapel.’
The compromise reads as follows:
THE WREN CHAPEL CROSS SHALL BE RETURNED FOR PERMANENT DISPLAY IN THE CHAPEL IN A GLASS CASE. THE CASE SHALL BE LOCATED IN A PROMINENT, READILY VISIBLE PLACE, ACCOMPANIED BY A PLAQUE EXPLAINING THE COLLEGE'S ANGLICAN ROOTS AND ITS HISTORIC CONNECTION TO BRUTON PARISH CHURCH. THE WREN SACRISTY SHALL BE AVAILABLE TO HOUSE SACRED OBJECTS OF ANY RELIGIOUS TRADITION FOR USE IN WORSHIP AND DEVOTION BY MEMBERS OF THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
"Cross back on display in historic college chapel," One News Now, March 8, 2007.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/03/cross_..._histo.php