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Saturday, December 2, 2006

FAITH UNDER FIRE
Child-care center warned over 'loving Jesus' songs
Overzealous bureaucrat threatens loss of funding to moms, tots unless group becomes 'gay'-inclusive

Posted: December 2, 2006

A North London mother and toddlers' group is breathing easier– but still upset – after the local government council rebuked a bureaucrat who threatened to withhold funding unless songs about loving Jesus were dropped from daily activities and the organization changed its constitution to reflect greater inclusiveness towards gay families.

The drop-in center serves 250 families, mostly Polish immigrant women and their young children, offering the opportunity for newcomers to the UK to make friends and learn about nurseries and schools. In its short time in existence, the program has become so popular that regular attendees must take turns each week since Shannon's facility will only hold 40 people.

Children play with toys and participate in "circle time" where they sing nursery rhymes as well as traditional Polish Christian songs like "Our Jesus, We Love You." Many of the songs are provided by parents who bring in CDs of music their families sing at home.

"We sing Christian and non-Christian songs," said Shannon.

" We have Christian songs at home and families want their children to learn them. This is part of our inheritance and we want to be able to reflect our culture."

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The center operates with approximately $14,000 in annual funding from the UK's Sure Start program – similar to Head Start in the U.S. – and is designed to support pre-school children and their families in deprived areas. The funding is distributed through the Haringey Council.

Enter Debbie Biss, area manager for Haringey Sure Start program's Noel Park Children's Center.

In a letter, dated Dec. 1, Biss wrote to the group to complain about their singing Christian songs.

"We expect all our services to be inclusive and without religious content, so I was concerned to learn that Gosia [Shannon] leads the singing of a song about loving Jesus in every session," she wrote. "I asked Gosia to leave this song out in future, but Gosia has refused to do so."

Biss warned the center's committee that she would recommend funding be terminated at the end of the month unless it agreed that all future activities would be "strictly of a non-religious nature."

Further, the committee was told it must amend its constitution to reflect a greater inclusion of 'gay' families and that it should consider dropping "Christian" from the name of the group. It "implies that your activities are religious in nature" – an implication, Biss said, that could affect future funding.

"It's ridiculous and it's unacceptable. I don't understand this political correctness," she said.

"They're trying to impose their own policies on a community that has its own values. It's saying 'we can support the community without their values.' If we don't have the funds, I would have to stop running the group and people would have nowhere to go. But I am determined not to give up and will fight on."

Further, Shannon noted, she had welcomed the one lesbian couple who visited the center.

"We don't promote homosexuality but we welcome homosexuals. They are trying to impose their own culture on us, not the culture the community wants. Christianity is part of who we are," she told the London Times.

A day after Biss sent her letter, Shannon got a reprieve. The Haringey Council announced that the letter from Biss had been withdrawn.

"It was not appropriate for this officer to be writing such a letter linking funding with the issues mentioned in the letter," a spokesman said. "We have contacted this group asking them to disregard the letter and invited them to meet a senior officer to discuss the funding of their group."

Shannon's experience may be only the tip of the iceberg as new legislation outlawing discrimination goes into effect in 2007. Beginning in April, it will be illegal for religious groups to discriminate against homosexuals or transsexuals when providing goods and services.

Catholic and Anglican agencies have indicated they may be forced to close their adoption agencies, youth clubs and hospice, and Christian bed-and-breakfast owners say they would shut down before allowing homosexual couples to sleep together in their houses.

Conservative black church groups have had the strongest reaction, taking out a full page advertisement in the London Times in protest.

Alfred Williams, one of the pentecostal leaders behind the ad, said: "People think it is better to die than to sin against their God. There will be a spontaneous reaction. There will be civil disobedience."