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By Guy Page
Tune in all week at noon to Chronicle Conversations on WVMT AM 620, FM 101.3 and wvmtradio.com for the latest Vermont news, caller comments and questions, and interesting guests. Call in at 888-414-0303.
Today, Rob Roper will talk us through last week’s press conference at which Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas walked back her claim that “We do not have people who are registered to vote in this state who are non-citizens.” As it turns out, at least 900 non-citizens were registered. She blames DMV. You can read all about it in Rob’s column in VDC today.
On Tuesday, Burlington Daily News Editor Kolby LaMarche will dish on the story behind the press release about arrests aimed at cleaning up city hall park. Who are these people and what will happen to them now?
Wednesday, we’ll discuss the growing public outrage against Burlington’s rampant public crime and drug abuse with Charlie Smith, former Agency of Human Services Secretary and Burlington resident. His op-ed last week seeks more accountability for both lawbreakers and the city officials and nonprofits paid to reduce the problem.
Thursday, Author Katie Asher will discuss the request to blow up the Lord’s Prayer rock in Bristol as well as her book, Asheer is a writer, researcher, and mother whose memoir,The Book of Heaven: A Story of Hope for the Outcasts, the Broken, and Those Who Lost Faith – co-authored with her severely neurologically injured autistic son, Houston. This book has ignited international conversations about consciousness, spiritual perception, and the reality of the soul.
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Categories: Chronicle Conversations
The controversy over Bristol’s Lord’s Prayer Rock is about far more than a stone beside a road. It is a reflection of what we are becoming.
In 1891, Joseph C. Greene thought enough of his faith—and of future generations—to have the Lord’s Prayer carved into that rock. For approximately 135 years, it has stood there as generations of Vermonters have passed by. Think about that: the inscription predates the automobile, two World Wars, radio, television, and nearly everything we consider part of modern life. Yet now, after 135 years, we are told this historic landmark must go.
What, exactly, is so offensive about it?
The Lord’s Prayer condemns no political party, race, or class of people. It contains no hatred. It asks for our daily bread, for forgiveness, and for the strength to forgive others. It acknowledges our dependence upon God and asks to be delivered from evil. These are virtues we ought to be teaching our children, not chiseling out of our history.
Vermont is frequently described as one of the least religious states in America. Some apparently regard that as progress. I regard it as profoundly sad. A society does not become better by removing every reminder of God from public view, nor does a community improve itself by destroying its history simply because previous generations were more willing to publicly acknowledge their Creator.
This rock has survived approximately 135 Vermont winters. If there is a legitimate and demonstrable road-safety problem today, surely we are capable of finding a solution that preserves or relocates this historic monument rather than destroying it. Destruction should be the last alternative, not the first.
Perhaps instead of asking why the Lord’s Prayer is still carved on a rock in Bristol, we should ask ourselves why its presence bothers anyone at all.
Our nation could use more prayer, more forgiveness, more gratitude, more humility, and more acknowledgment of God—not less.
For 135 years, that rock has quietly carried a prayer. Destroying the rock will not erase God. It will only say something very sad about us. Let’s remember another passage from the Bible. 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways,; then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
If the Lords Prayer Rock is considered a safety hazard the simple solution is to move the road away from the rock. Google maps satellite view shows plenty of room to swing the road away from the rock.