Out in the Mountains

Vermont Cares

Continued from page 1

time, this incident has not been deemed a
hate crime, and police have no suspects.
Damage from the fire was estimated at over
$100,000. Vermont CARES, which stands
for Vermont Committee for AIDS
Resources, Education, and Service, supports
over 100 clients in Addison, Chittenden,
Rutland, and Washington counties.

Speaking at the interfaith service, Vermont
CARES Executive Director Kate Hill spoke
of how the arson attack has altered her
perspective on her work. “The events of the
past week have been overwhelming to us
all...I can only speak from my own personal
reaction, but I have known for some time
that there is anger, there is lack of
understanding, there is the potential for
violence always out there. It’s never here.
Well, this week it was here. I never actually
saw violence until I stood in the middle of
our offices this week and I ran my hand
along the charred woodwork...It has brought
me personally to a new level of
understanding about what’s really going
on.” She also said, however, that she was
encouraged by the wide—ranging support
that her organization has received since
news of the fire spread. She called this
positive response “absolutely unbelievable”,
and told the group of approximately 400
people at the service, “You’re being here
tonight, however, makes me know that what
we are doing is right, and it gives me hope
and encouragement to keep on doing what
we are doing.”

David Curtis, Chair of the Board of
Vermont CARES, while speaking at the
service, also made reference to the support
received over the week following the fire.
“We quickly learned that we are not alone,
and that the ignorance of the few is not

shared by the many....It tells us that you, and
the community as a whole, do support the
work that we do notwithstanding that noise
out there from a vocal few.”

As a show of support, Vermont legislators
pledged $25,000 in state funds to aid in the
reorganization of Vermont CARES as long
as the organization can raise $25,000 on their
own in private donations. As part of that
effort, volunteers sat by donation tables in
front of the former home of Vermont CARES
as well as on the Church Street Marketplace.
An offering plate was also passed around
during the interfaith service.

Another show of support came from
Burlington’s spiritual community the day
after the arson attack when members of the
clergy gathered outside the burnt building to
condemn the act of violence. Spiritual leaders
who spoke included Rabbi Joshua Chasen of
Ohavi Zedek Synagogue and Rev. Becky
Strader of Christ Church, Presbyterian. The
statement that surprised most, however, was
from Rev. Kenneth Angel], bishop of the
statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of
Burlington, who has been vocal in the past in
his opposition to the mission of Vermont
CARES. “We might not always agree,”
Angell stated, “But I tell you this, that I am
unalterably opposed to acts of violence. I am
shocked and dismayed someone would resort
to violence as a solution.” Perhaps in
response to Angell’s presence, Rev. John
Nutting of the United Church of Christ said,
“We as church people need to be very careful
who we call sinners in public discourse...The
danger is, a signal is sent that it is OK to
attack or do violence to these people because
there’s something wrong with them.”

During one of the more powerful moments
of the worship service, Rabbi Chasen
addressed issues of hatred and bigotry when
he said, “Until we recognize in the most
fundamental way the essential quality of our
being, until we come to know in the deepest

places of our souls that our physical and
cultural differences are wonderful, then we
will inhibit our personal fulfrllrnent and
condemn ourselves to watching the
breakdown of our society.” When speaking
specifically about the fire, Chasen continued,
“Whatever the personal motivation behind
the arson, the building was torched because
we have not challenged enough the habits of
blaming others for our own insecurities...We
have blamed people wifli HIV/AIDS for our
own fears of dying. We have bequeathed
these weaknesses to our children and
grandchildren with more intention than we
devote to teaching the better purposes of our
religious traditions.” He then received
laughter and applause when he said, “Don’t
you love it when we’re asked by people who
don’t know the difference between Genesis
and Deuteronomy, ‘What about that verse in
Leviticus?”’ He also sent a strong message
to the religious community and his
colleagues in spiritual leadership when he
proclaimed, “Every human being is created
in the image of God. Therefore, we are to
respect each other, accept and honor each
other’s being in each other’s terms...May we,
in this community’s religious congregations,
not shy away from the courage of our
convictions. We have a ways to go.”

In a separate interview, Terje Anderson,
co-founder of Vermont CARES, talked about
a community meeting that the Board asked
him to help organize. “What we’re hoping to
have come out of the meeting are a couple of
different things," Anderson said, “One is
certainly to give people a chance to talk about
what happened....I think a lot of people have
a lot to say and they need to give voice to
that. That’s the first step before moving on
with anything else, being able to talk about
the anger or the fear....The second part...is to
get real, solid, substantial infonnation out to
people about what did and didn’t happen.”
Anderson stated that some misinformation
has been circulating concerning issues such
as client files and their subsequent

Your Help

Vermont CARES Needs

Donations of money, furniture and
equipment are still needed. Please contact

1 Sylvia Racca, Director of Administration to
‘ discuss our most pressing needs.

Call (802) 863-2437 or 1-800-649-2437.

PO Box 220

H yde Park. Vermont 05655-0220

VALERIE WHITE
Humanist Minister
American Humanist Association

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