Reading Pride Celebration

Westboro Baptist Church is planning on protesting two events in Reading at Albright College:

•April 30th – Judy Shepard
•May 1st – Laramie Project

WBC will be there both evenings from 7:15 till 8 pm. The Albright students have asked Silent Witness to be there. They are planning a silent demonstration in support of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community that is everything I believe a demonstration should be. However, word has gotten out via Facebook, and hundreds of students from all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey have indicated they want to come and help support them. If you are familiar with Facebook, this is the link - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=74211733268. As of this writing there are 311 confirmed attendees and 423 maybe attending. If all of these students were going to participate, they would practically fill all the empty space on campus.

Needless to say, this presents a challenge for Silent Witness, the biggest of which is the need to provide an outlet for young people who want to respond to spiritual violence – and the likelihood that the only response they’ve been given/taught in our society is anger and rage.

If you are available one or both nights, please let me know! I would ask that you try to meet us in the visitor’s parking lot at Albright between 6:00 and 6:30 either night. On this map, the visitor’s lot is the star right by building “16” - http://www.albright.edu/about/campustour/map.html.

Alanna Berger
Silent Witness