Messiah Festival Cancelled

Ok........I'm terribly perturbed. Below is the email some of you have already seen.
What kind of a society do we live in when things like this get abandoned? Apparently the same society in which we go to war over faulty information and we refuse to take the necessary steps to provide for the welfare of our citizens and respect every human being. I'm nearly ready to say a collective F*CK YOU! to a pretty major portion of our society........


It is with heavy heart that I make this posting. More information about the festival can be viewed at www.cofchrist.org/messiah

Two years ago I was fortunate to encounter the Independence Messiah Festival as a guest soloist. This community endeavor brings in representatives of virtually every demographic. I quickly grew to care deeply for the choir, orchestra, and those donating so freely of their time and energies. However, it seems as though the exsistence of this Performance, now in its 89th year, has been dealt a death blow by the organization that formerly supported it.

This upcoming November's performance will be the choir's last.The leadership of Community of Christ, formerly RLDS, has made the tragic decision of ending this festival viewed by millions on PBS and heard by countless more on radio broadcasts across the globe. I am making this posting in the hopes that many of you will take a few moments to voice your concerns/objections/condolences.

Although I am certain that this was not an easy decision to make, I am thoroughly irritated that the Kansas City Community, the many others that travel from far away, and those having heard the choir in New York or by airwaves were not allowed to offer their assistance.You may express your thoughts about this tragic loss of an iconic performance of this wonderful work by writing/telephoning to

Stephen M. Veazy, e-mail sveazey@cofchrist.org, phone ext. 3021
Kenneth N. Robinson, e-mail krobinson@cofchrist.org, phone ext. 3005
Peter A. Judd, e-mail pjudd@cofchrist.org, phone ext. 3001

1001 W. Walnut St., Independence, MO 64050

You may alternatively make a posting here which I would be thrilled to then relay to the appropriate parties.