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Council won’t endorse ‘Season of Service’

City leaders say motion would have crossed 'separation' line

By Marcus Hathcock

The Sandy Post, Jun 18, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (4 Reader comments)

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At the Monday, June 16, Sandy City Council meeting, Councilor Bill Leslie put forward a motion to have the city of Sandy officially endorse the Season of Service, a Portland-area program designed to mobilize volunteers to tackle various community service projects.

Leslie and councilors Jeremy Pietzold and Phil Moyer voted in favor of the motion. Councilors Lois Coleman, Don Allen, David Nelson and Mayor Linda Malone voted against it, defeating the motion.

The opposition came from the fact that the Season of Service is fueled by the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association, a Christian organization that will put on a major festival at Portland’s Waterfront Park in August.

“We support it,” Malone said, “we just won’t commit staff time to it within the business day … it’s a separation of church and state.”

Councilor Allen said the community already gives churches and community groups the opportunity to serve in a variety of capacities, and that the Season of Service is just reinventing the wheel.

Supporters of the motion argued that the Season of Service is not evangelical in nature and welcomes volunteers of all faiths. They also noted that the cities of Gresham and Portland have officially endorsed the Season of Service.

Leslie wanted to have a city staffer contact the Palau organization to let them know the city’s needs.

The Sandy Ministerial Association — a group of many local pastors — already has united to begin working on how to implement the Season of Service in the Sandy area.

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Reader comments

Re: Council won’t endorse ‘Season of Service’

"Leslie wanted to have a city staffer contact the Palau organization to let them know the city’s needs."

So come, invest your time and money, to help us fix our problems, but just don't expect us to officially thank you doing so.

The city of Sandy should be ashamed.

"TC"

(email verified)

Thu, Jun 19, 2008 at 02:39 PM

Re: Council won’t endorse ‘Season of Service’

So our mayor and the other councilors are afraid to endorse something as innocent as this because it`s a matter of the "separation of church and state ". Huh ? I would like these people to study the constitution and tell me where the separation of church and state is stated. If they were real leaders, this wouldn`t be a problem but these people don`t want to be perceived as leaning to one way so they offend many because of the few. Moral cowardness is so easy. Do the right thing and follow the BRAVE leaders of Gresham and Portland. I don`t care if they allow it or not but don`t hide behind the church and state clause that doesn`t exist !!!

"Unbelievable !!!"

(email verified)

Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 08:30 AM

Re: Council won’t endorse ‘Season of Service’

"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion"

A phone call telling volunteers what the city’s needs are violates the constitution?

Can’t the city council just admit that they are religophobic?

They are clearly anti-diversity if they can’t bring themselves to make contact with a group because they personally don't agree with that group’s beliefs.

Is that how they hire too?

""

(email verified)

Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 12:13 PM

Re: Council won’t endorse ‘Season of Service’

oh great this town thanks to mayor Linda Malone is getting more and more liberal, GOD FORBID the City of Sandy affiliate with something as horrid at Season of Service, wow we dodged the train on that one! Way to go morons!