Posted on 11/06/2015 5:47:11 PM PST by Kaslin
Updated
Veterans group outraged by 'this slap in the face'
Veterans group outraged by ‘this slap in the face’
An evangelical university is removing the Pledge of Allegiance from its Veterans Day chapel service in response to complaints that patriotism has no place in worship.
The "presentation of the colors," in which a color guard presents or retires an American flag, has also been excised from the schedule.
In a Wednesday email to Seattle Pacific University faculty members who are military veterans, obtained by The College Fix, Chaplain Bo Lim said "some people mentioned to me that they would be uncomfortable doing [the Pledge of Allegiance] within a Christian worship service."
Lim, also a religion professor at SPU, made clear that this was not the overwhelming response at the university, however.
"For many, the focus of the service would turn into whether we ought or ought not to have the pledge in a Christian worship service,"Lim wrote. "I imagine our community is probably split on this one so I could lean in either direction, but I've finally decided to pull it."
If the point of the chapel service, for which attendance is optional, is "to help our community support military persons within our midst, I think by including the pledge it would be a distraction from this cause," Lim concluded.
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‘An uphill battle’ to get a Veterans Day service in the first place
Student Emma Wendt, who grew up in a military household, told The Fix she disagrees with Lim's view of these elements in a service.
"The Pledge of Allegiance and Presentation of the Colors was more than an iteration of patriotism, but a means by which everyone would pull together and honor the sacrifices of our community’s deployed spouses, parents, and children,†she said in an email.
According to the schedule of events for next week's chapel service, three minutes will be dedicated to exploring Veterans Day from the perspective of the United Kingdom.
"Surely if we have time to examine the United Kingdom's perspective of this holiday," said Wendt, "we have time to allow opportunity for those willing to say the Pledge of Allegiance.”
On its Facebook page, SPU's Military and Veteran Support Club said it was initially asked to "collaborate†with University Ministries on "the first Veterans Day Chapel in a long time.” Sarah Martin, president of the group, wrote that it was "an uphill battle to get to this point" at SPU, which has a pacifist streak.
But the club is incensed by the administration’s flip-flop on the honorific elements of the service. Martin asked students to "partner with us and speak out against this slap in the face of every soldier who has fought, sacrificed, and even died for our freedoms, which are represented by that flag."
She said veterans have told her that "their friends did not die for our country so that Americans could be ashamed of or made uncomfortable by their own flag." The post includes contact information for University Ministries.
Oh,, my God can’t have someone being uncomforable.
They should close all the mosques in the country ... because mosques make me, you know, uncomfortable.
Honorable people learn to pass through discomfort honorably and without dishonoring others.
Well said.
Is it possible to pledge allegiance to a nation and simultaneously be clear that you worship only God?
Yes.
Citizenship in Israel did not disqualify one as a believer in God. Also, Romans 13 affirms support of good nations with good citizenship.
Mosques and muslims make me uncomfortable do I also have a right?
Veterans and chapels are next to be purged.
...or just not attend the service in the first place. What kind of an individual attends a service in honor of veterans an opposes saying the pledge of allegiance.
{”because mosques make me, you know, uncomfortable.”}
Yes, and I get very very uncomfortable when I see a woman with headgear on.
If you’re uncomfortable, don’t go.
This is my stupid school. I can’t tell you how absolutely pissed off I am. I came to a “Christian” school hoping to escape this crap. I knew I should’ve gone to Hillsdale or Liberty. Now I’m stuck here with Godless wishy-washy morons.
“Oh,, my God can’t have someone being uncomfortable.”
Of course we could take the approach if they aren’t comfortable they shouldn’t attend or should leave the country.
What kind of military holiday has nothing to do with the military?
..... Nothing to see here folks ..... just the non-violent takeover of America.
Many of the students and alumni here are outraged. People are already pulling their donations to the school.
Simple, don’t attend, they will get the message— maybe, liberals have a blinder in their hearts and minds.
Ever since I was a child I would leave the “Indivisible” part out tho I doubt anyone ever noticed.
I pray the attendees will stand up at the appropriate moment and recite the pledge on their own.
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