Re “Finding Home in the Church” by Viv Taylor (CHN, Nov. 7, bit.ly/Uk1Xkw)

I identified with Ms. Taylor. She explained so well her spiritual journey and the doubts and questions she faced. When she went to the Bible and began to question and analyze, she took responsibility for her own growth in knowledge.

Christ said things which have me, after 86 years, still searching for His true meaning. However, when He said all the law was included in the two: to love God with all my faculties of mind, body and spirit and to love my neighbor as God loves me, then I realized that everyone fails, everyone needs forgiveness. The field is level. We are all the same. And that cleared the meaning of the passage that says, “if you are guilty of breaking one commandment, you are guilty of breaking them all.”

God’s forgiveness by the death and resurrection of His Son is available to every one who accepts it as their own. God is inclusive! “There is no condemnation in Christ.”

Like Ms Taylor, I found my peace by confronting the Scriptures myself. There are stories of terrible atrocities in the Bible. It reads like a racy novel sometimes. It is like the world in which we live. Their stories are my story. And, they made mistakes about who God truly is, just as she and I did in our search for “home.”

Everyone able to read should read the Bible for themselves. No one, not even the most able pastor, is able to explain all the questions you and I have in their short Sunday expositions.

Without questioning we limit our faith. I still question passages of Scripture that puzzle me. I look forward to Heaven when my mind will be fully satisfied by true union with the mind of God. In the meantime, it is wonderful to know that I am forgiven and loved by God Almighty.

Sybil Austin Skakle

Chapel Hill

Kicking the can

I just observed the embarrassing performance of the Town Council in addressing the controversial issue of political ads in Chapel Hill/Carrboro/UNC buses.

The council adopted a policy in June 2011 that did not allow political and religious ads. My understanding is that several months ago the town, in contravention of this policy, accepted ads from the Church of Reconciliation to ban U.S. military aid to Israel. It was discovered soon after that the policy required the source of the ads be included on the ads (but not that the ads were prohibited – per the adopted policy). The ads were replaced with ads that identified the church as the source. About a month ago seemingly in a pre-emptive action to prevent the posting of a rumored offensive ad, the staff discovered that the adopted policy did not allow acceptance of political or religious ads. As an admirer of the town staff for more than 25 years, I find this public explanation for the sequence of events troubling.

On Oct. 24 the mayor brought a petition, adopted 6-1, to kick the can down the road by allowing the church’s ad to remain but to ban all new ads and revisit the issue Nov. 5. On Nov. 5 the council met to consider several resolutions presented by the town attorney that included banning all ads, banning political and religious ads and removing the church’s ad, and allowing the buses to become public forums by allowing all ads. After public comments from a couple of dozen citizens, the council again decided to kick the can down the road to a future meeting.

So where are we? We have a policy that we are not implementing despite two meetings and dozens of public comments. Our bus system is now a de facto public forum bus system with only one political issue and only one side of that issue presented. It is hard to believe we will not become embroiled in expensive legal issues as the non-implementation of the town’s own policy drags on.

The town’s current actions fly in the face of the values of our community where students, faculty, and townspeople together fought the Speaker Ban Law almost 50 years ago. More recently, the town renamed the post office plaza the Peace and Justice Plaza to honor those who spoke out forcefully on a wide range of controversial issues.

What’s needed is leadership – not another decision to kick the can down the road to avoid making a decision.

Art Werner

Chapel Hill

Former Town Council member

Kerfuffle continued

The bus ad kerfuffle (I love that word) continued apace on Nov. 5 to a full Town Council Chambers on the pros and cons on the Church of Reconciliation’s bus ad to “End U.S. Military Aid to Israel.”

The council – absent the mayor and members Bell and Czajkowski – listened or acted like they were listening as, first, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos explained their options and then as over 20 citizens offered their points of view on the ad, free speech, the future of Israel, etc.

Chris Brooks from the N.C. ACLU affirmed that whatever gets said and done, legally the bus system is now a public forum.

Remember, apparently the real policy was set last year and the system has been operating on a wrong policy which allowed church’s ad.

This error was apparently discovered by the manager and attorney late last month. As a party involved in the controversial ad getting placed, I can affirm that the attorney directly affirmed the placing of the church’s now infamous bus ad, so he is a participant in this alleged error.

Then the council got to work and the kerfuffle got really serious. Jim Ward moved to approve the original policy for essentially commercial ads and Penny Rich seconded his motion. Lee Storrow and Lauren Easthom questioned whether the original policy was properly set, if at all, with public comment, and Ward got very aggressive and Mayor Pro Tem Ed Harrison and Ward had a ying yang – and the vote failed as a tie. The evening was over with nothing done but a lot of council heat generated.

The council agreed that they must allow action by UNC and Carrboro as they are a part of this triune and all religious ads including the bus ad remain calling for peace and justice in Palestine and Israel …for now.

Wow, what an evening of confusion

Wes Hare

Chapel Hill

Slow news day?

Must have been a slow news day (CHN, Nov. 11) – two odd front-page spots.

One on a man seeing a UFO. Seriously? I saw one too, I'll tell you about it some time.

And another on a matriarch deer. Mary Sonis has no more idea of who runs that pack then I do.

I suspect both of this people are suffering from confirmation bias – they are seeing what they want to see.

And The Chapel Hill News fell right in for it.

Rob Reece

Chapel Hill