Date: Fri 10-May-1996

By KAAREN VALENTA

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Church-Women-Violence

Full Text:

w/photos: Examining The Underside Of Life's Fabric

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

When the Rev Kathleen Adams-Shepherd was the pastor of an Episcopal parish in

upstate New York, she watched the women of the church work together on a

beautiful, intricate quilt.

One day, examining the womens' handiwork, Pastor Kathie turned the quilted

fabric over. The back was chaos, - knots and threads running every which way,

crossing each other at random.

The fabric of life is like this - beautiful and serene on the surface but

often chaotic and even violent behind the scene, Rev Kathie told the

participants of the May Fellowship Day sponsored by the Church Women United in

Newtown on Friday, May 3.

"There are people in this community who are living in terror every single day.

We know them - we just don't they are living in terror," said Pastor Kathie's

husband, Richard Adams-Shepherd, a family therapist.

Mr Adams-Shepherd said statistics from the Women's Center of Greater Danbury,

which serves Newtown residents, recorded 1,979 reports of physical abuse

against women, a 16 percent increase, in the last fiscal year and 627 sexual

assaults, a 10 percent increase.

"We aren't getting safer in our houses," he said.

He urged the program particpants - ministers and lay representatives from St

John's Episcopal, United Methodist, St Rose of Lima, Trinity Episcopal, Christ

the King Lutheran and Newtown Congregational - to "ask, support, be aware of

what is going on."

Help a victim of domestic violence directly, he urged, or volunteer at the

Women's Center or for other groups that are involved with domestic violence.

"I do hope that some of you here will flip the quilt over," he said.

The service, "Loving Our Neighbor in a Broken World," was written by the Rev

June Fothergill of Collister United Methodist Church in Boise, Idaho. Darlene

Jackson was the chairman for the local celebration.

Doris Schoonmaker of St John's Episcopal Church, Margaret Frobell of the

Congregational Church and Barbara Gates of the United Methodist Church told

the stories of three women who had faced the challenges of social alienation

and violence.

Betty Williams told the biblical story of the Good Samaritan while Connie

Roberts, a pantomimist, performed the message. Then several of the individuals

mentioned in the Bible passages spoke: Pastor Edwin Corfey, lay minister from

the Congregational Church, represented the "man on the road"; the Rev Gordon

Vought, interval minister, was the Levite; Deacon Kenneth Stroud from St Rose

of Lima was the priest; the Rev Terry Pfeiffer, pastor of the United Methodist

Church, was the innkeeper, and the Rev Gregory Wismar, pastor of Christ the

King Lutheran Church, was the Samaritan.

Three other program participants brought the theme of the Good Samaritan into

their experiences in modern world: Jeane Roberts and the Rev Janice Toulokian,

associate minister of the Congregational Church, and Pat Stroud of St Rose of

Lima.

Delores Lussier of St Rose of Lima Church was the soloist; Sue Klein, music

director, United Methodist, was the organist. Catherine Richardson of St

Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Bethel, and Althea Benedict of St Thomas

Episcopal, Bethel, were ushers. Margaret Forbell and Jean Leety of Newtown

Congregational were greers.

The luncheon was prepared by Newtown Congregational's Women's Fellowship.

Donations by the participants were divided between the Displaced Homemaker's

Fund, administered by the Newtown Fund, and for the support of Church Women

United in Connecticut.

Church Women United is an ecumenical movement in the United States. It was

founded in Newtown by the late Margaret Winchester in 1958. Ms Winchester of

Newtown Congregational and the late Ruth Watkins of the United Methodist

Church were designated as CWU Valiant Women nationally.

Linda Walker of Newtown Congregational has been nominated by CWU in Newtown to

receive the "Outstanding Young Valiant Church Woman" Award at the CWU

gathering on May 25 in Norwich.

May Fellowship Day is one of three celebrations sponsored by CWU each year.

World Community Day is celebrated in November. World Day of Prayer is

celebrated in March.

Next HRRA Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Event Scheduled In Newtown

Genealogy Club's Next Program To Dig Into 'Dissecting A Civil War Pension Record'

Choral Society Planning ‘Voices Of America’ Performance

Newtown Earth Day Festival Was A Success

Local Fourth Grader To Host ‘Gaming For Change’ On May 16

The editorial took no position on the budget going up or down so you're reading things into the editorial that simply aren't there. The turnout is tied to the lack of passage, in that people who came out to vote last time did not this time, indicating a lack of support on their part. Perhaps it wasn't spelled out clearly enough, but that's what the editorial was driving at, people showing lack of support by not casting a vote. The editorial did address likely concerns among voters that may have led to lack of support and lack of turnout. This lower turnout also follows increasing turnout over the past four referendums in three years (meaning it is an aberration from that), and increased turnout is something that I do push for regularly in editorials. Any disappointment you might be seeing is at the break in that trend, not at whether the budget passed or not. I'd rather see more people come out and vote "no" then not vote at all.

Lower Turnout Results In Two Budget Defeats

Clearly, property owners no longer want to bear the burden of expenses while the state does not meet it’s responsibilities. Rising costs must be addressed by actions that do not include yearly increases of property owners’ taxes. The state of CT must meet its share of the educational costs, and other costs.

Town And School Budgets Fail At Referendum

This feels like an oddly misleading headline and narrative, particularly coming from the Editorial Board. The headline "Lower Turnout Results in Two Budget Defeats" pushes a misleading narrative regarding voter turnout, and then seeks to tie the outcome of the referendum to that misleading narrative. Sure, voter turn out for this year's referendum, 18%, was lower than last year's. However, last year's turnout, 25.4%, represented the highest turnout in the most recent 10 budget referendums. If you take the time to examine turnout percentages between 2017 and 2026 (2017: 19.9, 2018: 15.7, 2019: 17, 2020: 0, 2021: 8.98, 2022: 7.7, 2023: 8.8, 2024: 15.1/17.49, 2025: 25.4, 2026: 18), this year's turnout was actually the third highest in the past 10 cycles. Perhaps the headline of this article should say "Lower Voter Turnout Than Last Year", which is more accurate, rather than creating an impression that this year's turnout is some type of aberration - a narrative that the turnout numbers, in all their binary glory, simply do not support. Further, the headline of this article appears to tie the "lower turnout" to the defeated budgets. Sure, that could be true. But, perhaps, its more likely that Newtown residents are feeling the squeeze of multiple economic influences. In Newtown, we've experienced property revaluations and increased municipal spending. Eversource continues to raise rates. The state legislature gives PURA the authority to impose Public Benefit charges that benefit a tiny percentage of the public (and subsequently burdening the rest of us). At the national level, inflation has run rampant for years and many of those costs remain high to this day. In short, the data tells a far less dramatic—and far more honest—story than the headline suggests. This wasn’t an electorate vanishing in apathy; it was a fairly typical turnout delivering an verdict that, perhaps, some at the Editorial Board didn't like. At some point, it’s worth considering that residents aren’t confused, disengaged, or misled by turnout; they’re simply doing math at their kitchen tables and concluding that “no” is the only responsible answer left.

Enjoyed the forum which only confirmed my support for Brandon Moore as the Democratic candidate to run for the state representative position. Brandon Moore did not waiver about his duty to all the people, if elected, when an issue presents itself that requires that he voice a difference of opinion for the wellbeing of Newtown residents. If Michelle Ku’s 16 years have led to her loyalty being to other elected officials, as she implied, then Newtown is going to continue to witness actions that do not protect its residents. She could not unseat republican, Mitch Bolinsky, during a Blue Wave, and once again, will not do it now. Winning that seat is critical for all. That explains why her previous campaign committee now campaigns for Brandon Moore. It explains all the endorsements he has received from local elected democratic officials. It’s why we need Brandon Moore to be the democratic candidate to run for state representative.

Second Newtown DTC, League Of Women Voters Candidates Event Planned

Appreciated the opportunity to hear from both candidates as we were present for the College Dems forum but only heard from Brandon Moore. It was an opportunity to see who can unseat the Republican incumbent and there is no doubt that Brandon Moore should be the Democratic candidate. One concerned parent posed a question about discrimination unaddressed by the school district and interestingly enough, Michelle Ku, who proudly speaks of her Board membership years, said little, while Brandon Moore passionately addressed the issue along with his experience as an Apache Helicopter Commander. This family is supporting Brandon Moore. We need change and someone who is not afraid to disagree, especially about the rising costs of living in Newtown.

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Date: Fri 10-May-1996

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