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| Occult Ceremony "Consecrates" Austin's New City Office AMERICAN-STATESMAN | January 14, 2005 It began in English, then continued in Japanese and, before long, Hebrew and Sanskrit. Robed in black, blue, white, yellow and brown, local religious leaders bowed their heads, folded their hands and raised their arms as they sang, chanted and prayed -- simul- taneously -- in the City Council Chambers on Thursday. How appropriate that the first meeting in the new City Hall would begin with a group of people who don't necessarily agree on everything talking at the same time. Representing 10 different world religions -- Wicca, Hinduism, Bahai among them -- and multiple Christian denominations, the religious leaders gathered to bless the chambers, the public showroom of the $56.7 million building. Natural light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the chambers. The room, with its stone block walls and copper ceiling accents, has theater seating for 156 and a sleek, curved wooden dais for the council. In a way, it almost looked like a church, or a synagogue, or a temple -- well, you get the picture. Mayor Will Wynn requested that the new chambers be blessed after attending a multifaith Thanksgiving service of the Austin Area Interreligious Ministries. The group comprises more than 130 congregations from different faiths as diverse as Buddhism, Christianity and Wicca. The variety of beliefs and voices, represented all at once by the members of the Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, was a little like the cacophony sometimes produced by the Austin City Council, though considerably less dissonant. And with any luck, higher powers of every faith will help the council keep city business harmonious. After all, Wynn said, the blessing is for the whole building; the City Council Chambers were chosen only for their symbolic value. "That is the specific space in the building where we attempt to conduct the business of the community," Wynn said. A hush fell over the room as Amy Prichard Tutt of United Christian Church (her husband, the Rev. Tim Tutt, organized the event) began to play the traditional Shaker tune "Simple Gifts" on the violin. The 21 religious leaders, dressed in their traditional religious vestments, filed down the aisles toward the council and then to the sides, encircling the chambers. On the east side of the cham- bers, Lauren Zachry-Reynolds, the music director from United Christian Church, started the blessing ceremony, singing a Christian prayer in a clear soprano voice. She was joined a few seconds later by Seirin Barbara Kohn Sensei of Austin Zen Center, who chanted a prayer in Japanese. Rabia Lyn Clark of the Sufi Order of Austin launched into her own prayers, adding yet more blessings to the mix. Wicca High Priestess Susan Pinsonneault of the Live Oak Local Council, Covenant of the Goddess, entered the fray, raising her arms and uttering a chant. But that wasn't the end of it. The strong baritone voice of Hazzan Neil Blumofe of the Jewish Congregation Agudis Akim answered from the west side of the room with a Hebrew prayer. And Swami Akhilanand of Barsana Dham Hindu Temple rounded out the chorus with a Hindu prayer, said in Sanskrit. When all the voices dropped off, Davidson Loehr of First Unitarian Universalist Church approached the podium to give the official word of blessing on behalf of the Austin religious community. "The religions of the world speak as one to remind you that when push comes to shove, we must not push our sometimes cantankerous freedoms out of reach, or shove higher values aside for political agendas designed to serve much lower aims," he said. Perhaps the City Council will take the message to heart. E-MAIL THIS LINK
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