THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510150089
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
Is there a way to hold a prayer breakfast that appeals to people of all faiths and doesn't offend anyone?
That's the issue facing organizers of the Neptune Festival's annual prayer breakfast, after this year's speaker, Orlando Magic General Manager Pat Williams, called upon his nearly 700 listeners to embrace Jesus Christ as savior.
Jewish and Christian listeners complained after the Sept. 19 event, and organizers are now planning a meeting to discuss ways to make the breakfast more inclusive.
``This is not simple. It touches the core of a community . . . the basic notion of respect for each other,'' said Rabbi Israel Zoberman of the Beth Chaverim congregation, who was seated on the dais that day. ``We need clear and specific assurances that what happened will not happen again. If it happened again, it would create a schism of major proportions.''
Some Christians in the audience said that Williams' unexpected proselytizing dealt a blow to the communitywide image of the breakfast, which is associated with the Neptune Festival but doesn't receive city funding.
``We had no idea that this fellow would give an evangelical message,'' said Fritz Stegemann, pastor at Open Door Chapel. ``I am a Christian and I will not speak against his message. It was a very good message. It was just in the wrong place.''
Apologies have gone around. A written one from the Neptune Festival's President, Nancy A. Creech, ran in the Oct. 6 edition of the Southeastern Virginia Jewish News, which devoted its editorial page to an article and letters about the incident.
``Please permit me to tell you how sorry we are that the presentation at the Prayer Breakfast this morning was offensive to the members of the Jewish community,'' Creech said. ``We can certainly understand that you would have been distressed.''
But some leaders say that while apologies are the beginning of healing, changes must be made to guarantee that the event is ecumenical.
``My goal is to create some dialogue,'' said Joel Rubin, chairman of the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. ``This may have created the opportunity for some dialogue where it hasn't existed before.''
It isn't the first time that the Neptune prayer breakfast faced questions over whether it is welcoming to people of all faiths. For many years, the breakfast was held at the Founders Inn, a hotel and conference center at religious broadcaster Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network.
Jewish leaders said they did not feel comfortable attending the gatherings at Founders Inn, because it hires only Christians.
The Neptune breakfast was moved to other venues, but ties to CBN have remained. Over at least the past five years - CBN officials say for as long as 17 years - well-known speakers at the Neptune breakfast have been supplied for free by Robertson's ministry.
Those speakers also appear as guests on Robertson's weekday show ``The 700 Club.'' The list has included the Rev. Robert Schuller, a televangelist who broadcasts from California; Dave Dravecky, former San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres pitcher; and David Robinson, all-star center for the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs.
``It's not that we're relying on `The 700 Club,' but it's a great source,'' said Ken Barefoot, chairman of the prayer breakfast committee. He says he also consults with other local groups, but Robertson's organization typically lands the national figures who can draw a big crowd.
This year's speaker, Williams, came through Robertson's organization. Williams began with tales of his sports career and home life with 18 children, then told of his decision to embrace Jesus Christ as his savior. By the conclusion, many listeners said, Williams was proselytizing in a style which some compared to preaching at a revival.
Jewish leaders in the audience - including Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, whose greeting praised the festival's community outreach - say they felt shut out.
``All of a sudden, I didn't feel like I was a first-class American citizen. I had been swept to the periphery,'' said Betsy Karotkin, human resource development director at the United Jewish Federation.
Zoberman, who had been invited to read a biblical passage as part of the event, said he was so distraught that he considered walking out in the middle of the speech. After the closing benediction, Zoberman said he immediately began talking to organizers. ``It was my moral obligation to let them know how I felt,'' he said.
Not all listeners shared his feelings. Barefoot said Williams' speech got a standing ovation.
Some changes in the breakfast were put in place that day. Zoberman was invited to serve on the breakfast planning committee. Organizers requested a meeting with Jewish leaders after the Jewish holidays in early October.
The meeting has not yet been scheduled, but some who will attend said they have some ideas for change, including increasing the diversity on the breakfast committee's roster. Barefoot said he is not sure about the religious background of the 10 volunteers on the committee, but said they are ``probably all Protestant.''
Rubin said he would like to have less reliance on Robertson's ministry funding the speakers, even if that means using less expensive guests who don't have a national reputation.
That suggestion shouldn't be taken as Jewish opposition to Robertson, he said, noting that the Jewish community and officials from Robertson's ministry are having ongoing dialogue. This week, an official from Robertson's legal group came by invitation to speak at a United Jewish Federation's Community Relations Council. Earlier this year, professors at Regent University, founded by Robertson, were invited to a Jewish Passover Seder at Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk.
While all parties say they are opposed to any guidelines that could censor speakers, most said that breakfast speakers can be made more aware of the ecumenical nature of the gathering. While inspiration and motivation are desired, a sectarian message is not, said Stegemann.
```The Neptune Festival is designed to bring people together,'' he said. ``This should be an embracing breakfast, where we can all pray to our God and ask for him to help us.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
by CNB