THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200452
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUE ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 34 lines
While some leaders went to the White House on Wednesday to talk about church arsons, other leaders - Arab and Jewish, black and white - filled an auditorium at the Jewish Community Center.
Several participants talked about a state of emergency, a state of fear. ``People feeling hate choose these opportunities to act out their hate,'' said Samuel K. Kaplan of the Virginia/North Carolina Anti-Defamation League.
``We are convinced that the most effective way to respond to these acts of violence is for people to stand together and say loudly that such crimes are unacceptable.''
They came together - organized by the ADL, Virginia Conference of the NAACP and the Jewish Federation of Richmond - for a seminar on ``Security for Religious Institutions.'' A similar session is tentatively planned for South Hampton Roads this summer.
Speakers talked about brighter lighting, sturdier locks, neighborhood watches, the safest place to park church buses and other practical matters.
But it appeared the greater benefit of the gathering was its showing of solidarity and sharing and support.
``You shouldn't have an armed camp around a church or a synagogue,'' said Morris Mahoney, one of the ministers at the 55-member Pentecostal Glorious Church of God in Christ in Richmond. That church is the only Virginia church on law enforcement's list of suspicious church fires.
``We have to deal with the root of the matter, which is hate. We have to open a dialogue,'' said Mahoney, who the day before had represented his church at a meeting in Atlanta called by the Christian Coalition.
KEYWORDS: RACISM NAACP ADL ARSON BLACK CHURCH FIRES by CNB