Posted on 06/20/2002 11:08:28 AM PDT by southern rock
(Uniondale, Long Island-AP, June 19, 2002) — An honors student at Kellenberg Memorial High School has been told not to come back for her senior year because she has refused to sing a medley of songs from the play Jesus Christ Superstar.
Megan Gaffey says she and her family consider the songs blasphemous.
As part of the spring concert, the school's chorus sang several selections from rock opera. But Gaffey, a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Franklin Square, said the medley was offensive. Gaffey says she asked to be excused during that medley or not to participate in the concert. Instead, she was removed from the chorus. James Gaffey says his daughter should have been excused from the concert for exercising a matter of conscience, or penalized in some other way for not participating.
Brother Kenneth Hoagland, principal of the Uniondale school, says the challenge to the songs only brought to a head almost three years of conflict with the family who "did not accept the school's notion of Christianity."
Hoagland says the parents showed they "had no confidence in the school's administration." He advised them to "seek a school more in line with their philosophy."
The Kellenberg School was founded by the Marist Brothers. It's 98 percent Catholic and all students must be Christian.
Gaffey wants to see his daughter graduate from Kellenberg next year. Otherwise, he said, she most likely will attend Amityville High School in the fall. She ranks among the top 15 in a class of approximately 340 students.
Gaffey attended a Christian day school from kindergarten through second grade and then was home schooled until she started as a freshman at Kellenberg.
Yes, yes. Judas double-deals behind Jesus' back, accepts blood money to betray him, rats him out, and then hangs himself from a tree. What a glorious, glorious depiction.
From your position, Lex, I expect it would be funny. Kind of like scatalogical humor is funny to little kids. To me it's just sad.
That said, I don't claim to be better. Just equally real.
Shalom.
I think it makes him out to be a whiny nutcase who is P.O.d at Christ because Christ is getting more attention than Judas is, especially from the ladies. Later he allows himself to be used by the Priests. When he finally wakes up he is overcome by his sorrow and runs off to commit suicide. I don't see anything glorius in that.
But, each can interpret it his own way.
Shalom.
Last time I checked, Orthodox Presbyterians think the whole Catholic religion is blasphemous. The young lady doesn't belong in a Catholic school, even one utterly faithful to Catholicism. Period.
If her parents object to sending her to public school, they should move somewhere where there is a "Christian" school they find acceptable.
IMO, Absolutely. Horrifically tasteless.
I was waiting for the eventual appearance of this one.
When she says she doesn't know how to love him, it's a metaphor for loving God. She was used to loving men, "in very many ways." This time, it's different. It's a spiritual love that she doesn't understand and is just awakening to.
-PJ
Thank you for the compliment. According to my wife, if you've already heard all of my jokes, I'm not that great.
Have you heard the story of Rinderceller?
Shalom.
Hmm...This must be some strange new usage of the word "glorifies" with which I was previously unacquainted...
In the stage production I saw in Boston (featuring Ted Neely and Carl Anderson), Jesus, on the cross, said the line and then was lifted up towards heaven (the rafters) as the curtain dropped. I am not an emotional guy, and I had to fight back tears. My girlfriend (now my wife) wept openly, and so did several other people in the audience.
Tasteless it may be. That's not the same as demeaning or blasphemous.
And I notice that nobody has responed once to my personal testimony as to the positive power of the musical.
I guess reaching people in Jesus' Name isn't nearly as important as making sure you do it in a denominationally blessed fashion.
Lex, I'm sorry you have to be watching this. Just remember, this is why He died.
Shalom.
The very first line of the show is Judas saying "My mind is clearer now." This means that Judas thinks he knows better -- that he has all the answers -- that he sees things that Jesus doesn't see.
Judas' last lines are "My mind is darker now. I've been used and you knew all along." This is when he realizes that he was wrong, but was fulfilling his destiny.
-PJ
That would have been cool.
You know what always makes me cry? It's the scene in Godspell where everyone is taking off their makeup during the last supper. I'm tearing up over that one even now.
It must have been so hard to say goodbye to Him. I really don't know how the disciples were able to stand the heartbreak.
Shalom.
The school has the right to sing what they want.So it looks like the young lady has to look for another school for next year.
I am reminded of the story of the church that refused to allow the child of a stripper to attend ..they were called cruel, and judgemental
I guess "cruel" and "narrow minded" only applies to protestants.
It ends with an instrumental interlude called "John 19:41" which, I believe, is about his burial.
-PJ
E-mail: info@kellenberg.org
You're good. I'd never noticed that before.
Except, IIRC, it's "My mind is in darkness now."
My sister and I used to sing the musical to each other during the long summer months. I still know over 80% of it by heart.
Shalom.
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