About two dozen people gathered near the Capital School and Terry Miller Legislative Office building on Saturday evening for a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
Attendees held candles and talked about the children who were killed on Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Among other topics, they also discussed the propensity for gun-related violence and the lifting of an assault weapons ban that occurred eight years ago.
Local organizer Larry West says he got the idea for the event from the website MoveOn.org which called for similar vigils around the country on Saturday.
Adam Lanza, 20, is believed to have shot twenty children and seven adults — including his mother — before turning the gun on himself as officers converged on the school on Friday.
The new flyers that are being handed out now include the phrase “Keeping Christ in Christmas.”
“There is some confusion,” says organizer Regis Andrews about Juneau Fest 2012, the six-night event taking place this week at Centennial Hall.
But it’s been perpetuated by the organizers themselves.
Since Juneau Fest posters went up around town a couple weeks ago, Juneau residents have been asking questions about it. Billed as a giveaway, fliers list more than $25,000 in sporting goods and recreation passes, electronics, toys, household items and gift cards, even cash, to be given as gifts and prizes to those who attend the nightly 7 p.m. event.
As KTOO reported last week, a number of Juneau businesses were asked to donate prizes, without being told the event is in part, a religious revival meeting.
Andrews and his wife Jody McLeod Andrews are members of the advance team from Revival Ministries International of Tampa, Florida. They were to appear on KTOO’s arts and event program Juneau Afternoon on Friday. After hearing that we had a story about Juneau Fest on Morning Edition that day, they asked Evangelist Eric Gonyon to call into the program from Tampa.
He told News Director Rosemarie Alexander there are actually two events each day this week, and the one in the morning is called the Great Awakening.
“You know it’s a church event; it’s where pastors and leaders come together in the morning,” Gonyon said.
They will hear from evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne of Revival Ministries. The event has not been advertised.
“The evening event, which is called Juneau Fest, is about the spirit of Christmas and about giving,” Gonyon said. “We personally have purchased thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts and prizes and it’s about keeping Christ in Christmas.”
But the words “keeping Christ in Christmas” did not appear in the advertising until late last week, after many questions to local Pastor Sam Dalin, of the River of Glory Church, and to the Tampa ministry.
Gonyon said Juneau Fest advertising did change last week, but said it was typical to modify an advertising message close to an event. Indeed, sometime on Friday, someone taped a Juneau Fest leaflet to my front door, which stated “Keeping Christ in Christmas,” and “God Bless America.”
During the interview, Gonyon – like others KTOO has interviewed about Juneau Fest – never answered why they hid the purpose of the event.
“I’d just like to ask one more time, why not put that wonderful message ‘Christ in Christmas’ on the poster and on the radio and out in the open so that people who are donating and people who think they would like to come to this, know exactly what it is?”
Newsletter from Christopher and Victoria McKaskle about the Juneau event. The newsletter has been removed from the McKaskles’ website.
Gonyon said the Christmas message will be told during Juneau Fest, “but it’s not going to be anything like a church event.”
Gonyon never described what each Juneau Fest evening will be like. He apologized to businesses that were not told what type of event they were contributing to, and said Revival Ministries International has purchased most of the giveaways.
“Where does the money come from for your ministry?” I asked.
“From donations, donations from people through our ministry and around the world,” Gonyon said.
Gonyon reiterated that Juneau Fest is free to those who attend, but they will be asked to register.
He says Revival Ministries has poured thousands and thousands of dollars into Juneau’s economy and is here to be a blessing to a community that is hurting.
“Can you imagine, we could have picked any city. Chaplin Sam, Pastor Sam is a good friend of the ministry. He told us of the needs in Juneau and what is happening, and he rented Centennial Hall out of his own money, out of his own ministry, and we said, ‘You know what, if you’re going to do this we want to come in and be a blessing.’”
Gonyon said most of the Great Awakening events staged across the country include a day of giveaways to a community. In Juneau’s case, it’s six nights.
Until mid-Friday afternoon, Revival.com listed Great Awakening Juneau with Drs. Rodney and Adonica Howard-Browne as Sunday through Friday beginning at 7 p.m. at Centennial Hall. That listing is no longer apparent, but a search of the website brings up a statement explaining the Great Awakening Tour in Juneau. It now notes that Howard-Browne will be teaching at morning services.
It calls the evening event an indoor outreach with big giveaways. The website states that many people will be materially and spiritually blessed.
Dr. Jody McLeod Andrews and her husband Regis were scheduled to be on Juneau Afternoon on Friday, Dec. 7, to talk about Juneau Fest 2012. News director KTOO Rosemarie Alexander contacted them prior to the program, to alert them to the story about Juneau Fest, which had aired on Friday’s Morning Edition. They said they looked forward to clarifying information about the event and confirmed they would be at the station for Juneau Afternoon. However, they did not appear for the interview, instead, Pastor Eric Gonyon with Revival Ministries International in Tampa, Florida, called into the station.
Original Story:
Juneau business operators say they weren’t told the whole story when asked to donate items for an event at Centennial Hall next week.
Juneau Fest 2012 promises free gifts and other prizes worth more than $25,000: electronics to sporting goods and household items, city recreational facility passes, and store gift cards. Firefighters could win a Remington rifle and police officers are eligible for a Glock handgun.
“And thank God for Walmart,” said Juneau Fest organizer Jody McLeod Andrews. “Walmart donated a $1000 grant to enable us to buy more Christmas toys.”
McLeod Andrews said they even have a car to give away.
Businesses have variously been told that it’s holiday celebration, party for kids, benefit for local charities, or an event to honor local police and firefighters. McLeod Andrews said school buses are being used to transport people to Centennial Hall from area schools. What businesses have not been told is that the prizes will be used to draw people to a six-day religious revival.
Camera store operator Art Sutch was approached to donate a camera and related gear, but he never committed. Still, Juneau Fest organizers used his business name in at least one radio interview touting the support of local businesses.
“In this day and age, you gotta watch what you’re doing,” Sutch said. “I was thankful the neighbors Googled them. Yeah, I don’t know what to say other than just beware.”
Photographer and gallery owner Daniel Buckscott said he donated two canvases worth about $300 each. They were pictures of a polar bear and a sunrise at Auke Lake.
“And right as she was about to leave,” Buckscott said, “she grabbed my shoulder and hand, and started praying. The intensity of her praying was a little intense. And then she left.”
Buckscott called the solicitation for donations “very deceptive.”
Other Juneau businesses surveyed by KTOO confirmed that they were either approached under false pretenses or not told the whole story.
The lower section of the alternative flyer that was recently distributed around town promises prizes apparently obtained from a variety of businesses. None of the flyers or advertisements specify what happens during the event or who is organizing it. Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO
Western Auto and Marine Manager John Weedman said Juneau Fest organizers were persistent in soliciting donated goods.
He said their pitch to “lift up everybody’s spirits during the holiday season” seemed “sketchy from the get-go.”
Fred Meyer cards are listed on the Juneau Fest posters as one of the giveaways. But local store director Ken Antcliff said he did not donate the cards.
Store policy includes contributing to local schools, children’s activities, or charities alleviating hunger, but avoiding political or religious causes. In this case, Antcliff said he traced the tax exempt identification number to a local church.
“It’s going to be an epic event,” said Sam Dalin, pastor of Juneau’s River of Glory Church.
“Just six nights of celebrating the spirit of Christmas and keeping Christ in Christmas, singing Christmas carols, (and) Christmas songs,” Dalin said.
“That’s what I believe spirit Christmas is. That’s what I share with people. And the thing just kind of exploded,” he said.
Screen capture of page at Revival.com website made at 5:50 a.m. Dec. 7 shows Juneau as a stop on Rodney Howard-Browne’s Great Awakening Tour.
Dalin has been promoting the event while identifying himself as chaplain for the Juneau Police Department and Capital City Fire and Rescue. Representatives for both agencies said they are not involved.
“I didn’t know it was a problem to anybody and anybody would think that I’m trying to do anything underneath the table or behind closed doors,” Dalin said. “I have two titles. I am a chaplain and I am a pastor.”
Dalin writes on his church website that he has been friends with Rodney Howard-Browne for more than twenty years. Howard-Browne runs Revival Ministries International, an evangelistic operation based in Tampa, Florida. Juneau Fest 2012 is labeled on the website Revival.com as just another stop on Howard-Browne’s Great Awakening Tour.
“We will draw the unsaved in using prizes and giveaways.Then, we will preach the gospel and see the power of God fall on the unsaved,” McKaskle’s write.
(The McKaskles took down the November newsletter from their website on Friday, but it can still be viewed by clicking here.)
The strategy, said Seattle Pacific University theology professor Priscilla Pope-Levison, skews the gospel message.
“So, the people don’t become Christians because they believe the message, but because they want whatever’s promised,” she said.
Pope-Levison said proselytizing, or presenting a message with a promised material reward, is often viewed as suspicious by the general public.
Screen capture of page made at 5:50 a.m. Dec. 7 shows a ‘page not found – 404 error’ when you click on the ‘Additional Information’ link in the itinerary page that’s shown above.
“There’s a power dynamic then that’s introduced. This has really come into play in mission theory where missionaries would go into foreign fields and they would promise something,” she said. “And the pejorative term that has arisen for this is ‘Rice Christians.’ ”
Pope-Levison is concerned that people coming to the event are not being told what it is. She also describes how the organizers have approached local businesses as “a sketchy and potentially damaging practice.”
“I think it’s wrong. I think it’s really dangerous. So much of society is skeptical of Christianity. And rightly so. Christians are considered hypocritical. I really do believe in the importance of evangelism,” said Pope-Levison, who is also an ordained Methodist minister.
“For me, it’s all about integrity and being as honest as one possibly can. I would never affirm a strategy that was not as transparent as possible,” she said.
Pope-Levison says the South African-born Rodney Howard-Browne has been associated with the “Holy Laughter” movement in which someone is seemingly over taken by the Holy Spirit.
“So what you are seeing and the people are seeing is an outpouring of the spirit of God into the hearts of people, causing an overflow of God’s joy, bringing refreshing, bringing restoration, healing broken hearts,” said Howard-Browne in response to a question by program host Sid Roth.
It is not known if Holy Laughter will be part of Juneau Fest 2012. During a recent interview, Sam Dalin seemed reluctant to explain everything happening at the event until he was asked about Howard-Browne’s potential appearance and pressed about misleading solicitations to local businesses for donated items.
“I can apologize if they feel they’ve been misled. If they want to take their items off the table, they’re more than welcome to,” Dalin said.
Juneau photographer and gallery owner Daniel Buckscott said he’s “definitely open to all walks of life and people’s beliefs,” but he doesn’t want to be tied to an organization that’s not upfront about its activities or standings on issues. He said Juneau Fest organizers’ lack of transparency is frustrating, especially during the holiday giving season.
“I definitely learned to pay a little bit more attention in the future,” Buckscott said, “which is unfortunate because there’s a lot of great organizations in town that I enjoy supporting. I’m always looking for new ways to help out the community.”
For now, Buckscott said, he’ll be asking for his pictures back.
Click here to see pictures from the Great Awakening Tour/Juneau Fest events that have been posted by Revival Ministries International.
Click here to view a copy of the Centennial Hall Convention Center Use Agreement that was obtained by a public records request. Pages that include copies of receipts issued by the CBJ and checks drawn on an account used by the River of Glory Church were omitted from our web posting because of privacy concerns.
Click here to see the November 2012 newsletter by evangelists Christopher and Victoria McKaskle that explains the new strategy for the Junea (sic) stop on the Great Awakening Tour (GAT). In the newsletter, the couple from Mango, Florida is also soliciting “love gifts” of $850 for airfare and $300 for special winter gear for each of them.
The memorial has been set for two Juneau brothers who died in a boating accident last weekend.
A Celebration of Life for 26-year-old Casey Newman and 23-year-old Kelly Newman will be at the Twisted Fish on Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. They are the sons of Nancy Davis and Joe Newman of Juneau.
They drowned when their 18-foot Lund skiff capsized Friday evening near Tenakee Springs. Twenty-six-year-old Jim Brown Jr. was able to swim to shore.
The men were returning to Tenakee from a day of hunting across the inlet.
Friends and family are asked to bring food and stories to share at the memorial.
In lieu of flowers, a Casey and Kelly Newman Memorial Fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank, to establish a scholarship at Eaglecrest.
Ten years ago a small group of local residents founded Juneau People for Peace and Justice. The war in Iraq had just started and people wanted a voice.
Since then, Juneau People for Peace and Justice has been a visible and vocal organization dedicated to cultivating the message of peace.
JPPJ will commemorate the decade on Saturday with a Celebration of Hope that peace really will be given a chance in this war-torn world.
It started in December 2002, when the group took out a newspaper advertisement in the Juneau Empire.
Founding member K.J. Metcalfe says it was signed by people of all political persuasions.
“Had over a thousand signatures of local people saying war was not the answer,” he says.
Many of those people later joined in a march across the Douglas Bridge that also swelled to more than a thousand people.
“So there was a fair amount of discussion going on in the community and some people would walk that walk and come out and not only talk about peace but also be on the streets,” Metcalf says.
Similar groups across the country had formed, and their messages were being heard. JPPJ got the ear of at least one member of the Alaska delegation, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who participated in a town meeting-type forum protesting the war.
It was held the day after Memorial Day. Rich Moniak was there.
“And she said that our event, with all that dissent about the war, was every bit as patriotic as the Memorial Day celebration she had seen the day before,” Moniak recalls.
JPPJ is holding a community Celebration of Hope from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Northern Light United Church. Bring a dish to share.
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Juneau business operators say they weren’t told the whole story when asked to donate items for an event at Centennial Hall next week.
