By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
An event that combined ashes and glitter for the celebration of Ash Wednesday has sparked a backlash in the Hays community.
Fort Hays State University students or members of the public were able to be blessed with the traditional ashes or ashes mixed with glitter at the Memorial Union.
Organizers billed the event as a means to foster inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community.
More than 200 people commented on a Facebook posting on the event. Some comments were supportive.
However, other community members expressed outrage about the event calling it "disgusting," sacrilege" and "evil."
The event was sponsored by the FHSU group US4U. This is the fifth year that the group has hosted the event since 2017.
"There is a tradition of exclusion, and we don't feel it really reflects what Jesus was about," Cheryl Duffy, Us4U adviser, said. "Jesus was about love and inclusion, and we want to open up that tradition to everyone.
"Ash Wednesday is a meaningful, inflective day. We want everyone to be able to experience that."
The Us4U information cards given at the event said, "Glitter is a sign of hope, which does not despair. It signals our promise to repent, to show up, to witness, to work. Glitter never gives up — and neither do we. Glitter+Ash captures the relationship between death and new life."
Jaelyn Sutter, group president, said people of any orientation can be religious.
"I feel that community has felt left out and excluded from religion," she said. "It is important to make sure they feel safe and they have an opportunity like everyone else."
In response to the backlash, Sutter said, "We stand for love and supporting the community. We are not going to let that affect us or influence us or change us."
Anna Towns, group member, said, "We are continuing a tradition our religious practice has always done; adding the glitter is just an option. It's not the only thing. We also have traditional ashes people can get. This was not meant in any way to be a mockery of other religions."
In years past, the event, which lasted two hours, drew about 30 people split fairly evenly between people who wished to receive traditional ashes and the glitter ashes, Towns said.
You can learn more about US4U on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Us4U.fhsu.
Ben Houchen of the St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Hays delivered the ashes.
"This is a day that requires all of us to remember where we come from and where we end up," he said. "That is a thing that should bring us unity. We all experience that.
"Specifically being able to bring in the unity of the LGBTQ+ community that has so often been excluded from church spaces is a very important thing for us to be able to do."
Houchen suggested those who feel anger and offense would turn to scripture.
"Romans 12 is pretty clear that if someone offends them, you feed them and clothe them and you care for them. That's our response as Christians, regardless of how we feel about a situation. Our response has to be one of love."
Brenda Rodger, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, was also present as a supporter.
Troy Miller, a pastor at the United Methodist Church in Hays, was originally slated to participate in the event. However, he canceled.
He said on Facebook, "Please know that after this advertisement came out, which I had no part in producing, I respectfully withdrew my participation. Being a local United Methodist pastor, I was asked by this student group to join other local pastors to impose ashes at the Union. I was not expecting this."
Critics of the event not only had issues with the nature of the event, but also how it was publicized.
The event was announced over the daily calendar system for FHSU. See the full announcement below.
Some of the critics were offended about the tone of the announcement, including the phrase, "Get your ash on campus!"
Laura Cune said she did not condemn the LGBTQ+ community as whole but was upset by this event.
In a lengthy Facebook post, she said, "I felt like my faith was not important to someone else. Not just someone else, a lot of someone elses. In fact, I felt like my faith was a joke. The first two sentences of the announcement are alarming, yes. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of “getting ashes to-go” on Ash Wednesday, because, to me, Ash Wednesday is a holy day that is celebrated within a church. There is no drive-thru, no to-go — you attend mass/service and celebrate the beginning of the Lenten period leading up to Easter, the most important time within our faith."
Kamryn Summers said on Facebook, "This is so saddening. I pray for everyone’s souls. Let yourself be saved by Jesus. Do as Jesus did. He left us a book on how to worship him. As tomorrow we worship him with his ashes, not glitter."
Others took a harder line.
"God’s people better rise up. ... Not just here but across our nation and world. This is spiritual warfare and there is no other correct description. PERIOD!" said Ruby Goldman McGuill on Facebook.
Some also took aim directly at the university for allowing the club to announce the event on a university-wide system. Some community members even threatened to stop donating to the university.
President Tisa Mason made a statement about the posting of the event through the university calendar system on Facebook Wednesday morning.
"The inclusion of the university brand mark in the header is not intended to serve as an affirmed or implied endorsement of the beliefs and views held or expressed by any Student Organization," the statement said. "In the interest of ensuring that the First Amendment right of every individual is respected, FHSU remains viewpoint-neutral on this and other Student Organization-led events."
See her complete statement below:
The “Glitter + Ash” event scheduled for today (February 14) on campus is sponsored by Us4U and the United Methodist Campus Ministry. Both are recognized Student Organizations at Fort Hays State University, and both followed established protocols for creating, announcing, and holding this event. As with any Student Organization-led event, email communications about this event included an FHSU-branded header graphic. The inclusion of the university brand mark in the header is not intended to serve as an affirmed or implied endorsement of the beliefs and views held or expressed by any Student Organization. In the interest of ensuring that the First Amendment right of every individual is respected, FHSU remains viewpoint-neutral on this and other Student Organization-led events. We are in the process of updating our student organization event announcement procedures to clarify that these are announcements from the Student Organizations, not the university, and the content of the emails and the events themselves may not reflect the opinions/beliefs of the university or university leadership. The Kansas Board of Regents and Fort Hays State University are committed to the free expression of ideas and beliefs, and we are united in our commitment to full and open inquiry and discourse and the robust exchange of ideas and perspectives. The principles of freedom of speech and freedom of expression are fundamental rights guaranteed under the U.S. and Kansas Constitutions. To read the Kansas Board of Regents statement on freedom of expression, go to https://www.kansasregents.org/about/news-releases/2021-news-releases/797-regents-commit-to-safeguarding-the-rights-of-students-to-free-expression?fbclid=IwAR3pajpEXzce-Qin3zvmWw4QG-2k6c82GIrKggPOVySfax8G-NVXRB7IKPA.
For additional questions or comments, please contact Scott Cason at 785-628-4208 or [email protected].