The Wren Chapel - Will Board of Visitors allow the disgrace to stand?

Today, December 27, 2006, I spent part of the day in Colonial Williamsburg with my family. I asked that they go with me to the Wren Building at The College of William and Mary in Virginia. I had seen the removal of the Wren Cross from the altar of the Chapel where it had resided for 70 years. I had seen the young woman who had been given the "job" of removing the "most feared" cross from the altar. She did her job for posterity to protect one and all from the horrors that would be visited upon them if they entered a Christian Chapel and - mercy - were accosted by the sight of a - gasp - cross. But today, I asked my family to humor me and to go to the Wren Chapel with me. I earned a Master's Degree from The College. I am a Virginian. I am proud of The College, of our heritage, of the place of Christianity in our founding. Why is that? Because I am convinced that in no other nation could true freedom of religion exist but for the foundation of this nation in the tenets of Christianity - honor thy neighbor as thyself. An altar cloth is on the altar in the Wren Chapel. Two brass-toned candle holders stand a lonely vigil - separated from their Wren Cross. To see the removal of the Wren Cross through stills or through the YouTube pictures is one thing. To read of the gaining of the land in 1619, to read of the consecration of the Wren Chapel, to read of the founding of The College, and then to walk inside and to see the altar barren, sterile, defiled is another matter. The "interim" president of The College of William and Mary has defiled the heritage of this nation. He has defiled the heritage of The College and he had spit in the face of all who have entered there and all who have given their lives for the freedoms of this nation. As you may know, I enter posts in the Save the Wren Cross Blog and I will return here to enter additional information provided by a graduate who does not want the be identified. There is fear in attacking dhimmitude - submission to secularism. People fear for jobs, for the potential of jobs. Today, I sat in the Wren Chapel; I felt the emptiness. The Wren Chapel has been defiled. God has turned His face from the arrogance of the "interim" president. The act was vile and ugly. The act of the "interim" president was a shameful act of cowardice. I say "interim" to point to the fact that we are all "interim" and it is our job and our duty to perserve our heritage. No religion has been imposed upon students. It is a state college now but it was not founded as such. The Wren Chapel is a Christian Chapel. Removing the Wren Cross does not change that. But it is a Christian Chapel; it is not a denominational chapel with a religion foisted upon all who enter The College of William and Mary. Today, diversity is the "buzz word de jour" but diversity does not mean the exchange of ideas, the free and open discussion of ideas. Diversity is only skin deep. Diversity depends upon "conforming" ideas; diversity depends upon anatomy; diversity does not depend upon qualifications, merit, principle - it builds upon dividing people; it depends upon differences. The removal of the Wren Cross typifies intolerance and the arrogance of man; the arrogance that can enable one man to tramble upon the heritage and culture of The College and, by extension, the heritage of our nation. When you go to a temple in Japan you expect to see the symbols of the religion practiced there. When you go to Thailand, you expect to see the jade Buddha. When you enter a Christian Chapel - what do you expect to see? Today, in the United States of America, it is Christianity that is being discriminated against. I have calmed down a bit since sitting in the Wren Chapel today. But several years ago, my home was burglarized. Drawers were emptied; personal items were rifled through. That type of experience is a violation of self. The removal of the Wren Cross, the policy of making a grieving student have to request to have the Wren Cross placed upon the altar of a Christian Chapel is a sacrilege; the Wren Chapel has been violated and so are all who enter there. The Wren Chapel now is a cold and empty place; its soul has been ripped from its heart. The Wren Cross will regain its place upon the altar of the Wren Chapel but it will take a president and a Board of Visitors with character, with the spirit of The College, with respect for our heritage and with respect for us, for all of us. Remember the story of the Jewish people in Europe - when the Nazis came for one Jewish community, I did not stand up. When they came for me, there was no one left to stand for me... Who will stand for your chapel, for your church, when "they" come for your cross?