At least one unknown vandal in her sixties has been caught in the act of painting the rainbow bench in red. She ran to her red compact car and took off. The bench was subsequently painted rainbow by more volunteers, then attacked by the vandal(s) again, and so on. The church has plenty of paint and volunteers. Love will win over hate.
UCC administrator Mark C. Harris explained in a post to the church blog that the benches were painted rainbow this summer by volunteers and that they represent that, “We want everyone to feel welcome to use the park. This is in good keeping with our belief that all of God’s children are beloved, no matter who they are, or where they are on life’s journey. All are welcome, no matter their gender, age, race, ethnicity, economic status, sexual orientation, difference in abilities, religion or absence thereof.”
Speculation abounds as to the motivation of the vandal(s) – it’s easy to jump to a conclusion and say it’s someone with an anti-gay sentiment, but longtime readers of this blog will also recall the controversy back in 2009 when local entrepreneur Dorrie O’Meara launched her Mexican restaurant Pedraza’s. Some people around town were upset because O’Meara painted her building yellow! Certain grumpy people in this area seem to hate colors besides brick red and gray.
Take this, vandals!
Cornell said in an interview for Free Keene that he thinks the first time the the vandal(s) struck, the benches were fully painted red, but that since then the vandal(s) have only painted over the yellow part. He’s losing track of the amount of times the benches have been vandalized, but thinks it may have been at least six times, all since the beginning of August.
Smart move on the UCC’s part to make this into a hopefully-viral phenomenon. The vandals, whatever the hate they carry in their hearts, probably weren’t expecting these benches to turn into a movement!
The Shire Free Church is joining in solidarity with the UCC and all those who support love over hate, so I went out with Renee Kate and Jazzy the Studio Dog for a photo shoot this afternoon. Remember to tag your bench selfies with #onthebench on your social media posts.
There’s a new page on facebook called “Save NH – Keene Hates Heroin“. Surely the group’s creators have the best of intentions, but hate only hurts the hater. It won’t hurt heroin. Only love will solve the heroin problem. These folks should reconsider their beliefs.
Ending the war on drugs is a good first step to removing a major barrier (fear of arrest) to addicts getting help. Let’s start by treating addicts with compassion. Hatred is not helping.
Keene Native Jared Goodell Launching Morning Talk Show in Manchester
Keene independent newsman and local radio pro Jared Goodell has been given a major promotion – straight to morning talk radio in Manchester, NH, starting Tuesday 8/25. Saga Communications’ Manchester-based WFEA-AM 1370 flipped to talk radio earlier this year to provide some competition to iHeartMedia’s longtime market leader, WGIR. This summer, WFEA also signed onto translator 99.9 FM.
Goodell’s show will be the first local, longform weekday talk show on the station and it’s a major win for Goodell, a Keene native who cut his teeth in Keene music radio for years – he started at age 13 at WOOL-FM in Bellows Falls, VT. It’s a bold move for Saga to tap a young talk host like Jared to head up mornings. Good for them for taking the chance on the farm team rather than going the typical route of hiring some old politico or using a national morning show.
Goodell says of his new gig, “I hope to usher in a new era for talk radio. There is a lot of speculation as to the future of the format, some of which is not great. I love talk radio and want to see it live on for many more generations. Talk radio has always been the medium that the American people could use to amplify their voice and to hold their government accountable.”
He’s proven he’s got the chops for issues-oriented talk radio in his recent week-long fill-ins for longtime local morning man Dan Mitchell on WKBK here in Keene. I was grateful to be a guest on a recent episode to discuss the Shire Free Church:
Goodell’s new show will be 7a-9a to start, eventually expanding to 6a-9a after a syndication contract ends. While his show will not air in Keene at this time, you can still listen online via WFEA’s website.
Like with all new churches, there are many who are disrespectful to our freedom of religion. While our church may not be hundreds or thousands of years old, it’s still subject to the same constitutional protection as anyone’s. The issuance of this marriage certificage is more recognition of those rights by the people calling themselves the state. Thanks to the Registrar of Vital Records for officially recognizing our freedom of religion. They now join the NH State Police, who recognized my status as a Shire Free Church minister in a 2014 press release and Keene District Court judge Edward J Burke who recognized Shire Free Church: Monadnock’s nonprofit status by accepting our certification of a defendant’s community service hours, which Burke has also done for the Church of the Sword.
The Shire Free Church offers a sanctuary for those seeking an escape from state churches. We perform media and real-life outreach to spread god’s message of peace and love and awakening those to the evil state religion. As the state believers continue to force their beliefs on us, we will continue to use their system to accomplish our god-given mission. Please join us.
Members of a Keene activist group and self-proclaimed church plan to file an appeal in Cheshire County Superior Court after the Keene Board of Assessors again denied their request for tax-exempt status on a Leverett Street house.
The group’s members, ministers of the Shire Free Church: Monadnock, have hired Manchester Attorney Brandon L. Ross to represent them in their second attempt to prove that the duplex doubles as a parish house or parsonage.
Ian B. Freeman, Darryl W. Perry and Mark Edgington, all members of the board of Shire Free Church: Monadnock and members of a loosely organized group of Keene libertarian activists, first filed an application with the Board of Assessors for tax-exempt status in March 2014. (more…)
JP from Cop Block and Jessica, a Free State Project early mover were married this afternoon in the most recent activist wedding in the Monadnock region.
Church of the Invisible Hand minister Rich Paul donned his pastoral garb and performed the wedding ceremony in front of many attendees on the porch of the Shire Free Church‘s Monadnock Parish House, the Keene Activist Center.
Here’s video of the ceremony with some pictures at the end:
