Subject: Tom, Spongebob Squarepants is Welcome Anytime at the UCC


UCC Office of Communication
Accessible Airwaves!
Dear Tom,


The Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and president of the UCC, welcomes
SpongeBob Squarepants to the UCC's national offices in Cleveland. [January 2005]
Randy Varcho/UCC Photo

Take a look at our latest blog entry at AccessibleAirwaves.org. Many other blogs
including the DailyKos.com, FaithForward and AMERICABlog have discussed the
story on their websites and we've received many supportive comments from people
like you. Here's the full story sent straight to you at AccessibleAirwaves.org

You can see photos from SpongeBob's visit to the UCC
here:http://accessibleairwaves.org/2005/01/no-matter-who-you-are-or-where-you-ar\
e.html

Please give your friends and family members a smile and let them know that an
alternative evangelical message of tolerance exists in America. Pass this
message on!

SPECIAL NOTE: Jan 31 -- Monday -- is the last day you can donate to a charitable
organization such as the UCC and still claim your contribution on your 2004 tax
return. We hope you will consider a gift to us of $25, if you can. We need your
support to continue our message of tolerance and diversity -- now more than
ever. Click here to give.

We also need your letters to the FCC to counter Dobson's terrible message of
intolerance. If you want to speak up for SpongeBob: Write today!




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Joining the animated fray, the United Church of Christ today (Jan. 24) said that
Jesus' message of extravagant welcome extends to all, including SpongeBob
Squarepants - the cartoon character that has come under fire for allegedly
holding hands with his friend Patrick, a starfish.

"Absolutely, the UCC extends an unequivocal welcome to SpongeBob," the Rev. John
H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, said, only partly in jest.
"Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."

For that matter, Thomas explained, the 1.3-million-member church, if given the
opportunity, would warmly receive Barney, Big Bird, Tinky-Winky, Clifford the
Big Red Dog or, for that matter, any who have experienced the Christian message
as a harsh word of judgment rather than Jesus' offering of grace.

The UCC's welcome comes in the wake of laughable accusations by James C. Dobson,
founder of Focus on the Family, that the popular SpongeBob and other well-known
cartoon characters are crossing "a moral line" by stressing tolerance in a
national We Are Family Foundation-sponsored video that will be distributed to
U.S. schools on March 11, 2005.

Later, an assistant to Dobson called SpongeBob's participation in the video
"insidious."

Thomas said, on the contrary, it is Dobson who is crossing the moral line for
sending the mistaken message that Christians do not value tolerance and
diversity as important religious values.

"While Dobson's silly accusation makes headlines, it's also one more concrete
example of how religion is misused over and over to promote intolerance over
inclusion," Thomas said. "This is why we believe it is so important that the UCC
speak the Gospel in an accent not often heard in our culture, because far too
many experience the cross only as judgment, never as embrace."

Dobson, despite his often-outrageous viewpoints, is arguably one of the most
oft-heard religious voices in popular culture today. Through his Focus on the
Family media empire, Dobson produces daily commentaries that appear widely on
television and radio stations across the United States, often times as "public
service announcements."

Meanwhile, the UCC's recently released 30-second paid television commercial -
produced to underscore the denomination's belief that Jesus didn't turn anyone
away - has been rejected by two major television networks for being "too
controversial."

"Resistance to our message is formidable," Thomas says, "because we're cutting
against the prevailing grain of a society that is afraid of the stranger,
suspicious of difference and easily seduced by narrowly defined theological
boundaries."

The 1.3-million-member United Church of Christ, with national offices in
Cleveland, has almost 6,000 local churches in the United States and Puerto Rico.
It was formed by the 1957 union of the Congregational Christian Churches and the
Evangelical and Reformed Church.







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P.S.: Please forward this message to your friends and family. Not only will you
pass on a little humor, you'll also let folks know that a lack of inclusion is
not an issue for some American churches. UCC represents tolerance, diversity and
reason at a time when these values are still needed more than ever. You, your
friends, your family, even SpongeBob and Patrick will always be welcome at the
UCC.
P.P.S.: Please consider making a donation. Just a reminder: January 31 -- Monday
-- is the last day you can donate to a charitable organization such as the UCC
and claim it on your 2004 tax return. Any donation you can make -- no matter the
size -- or letter to the FCC you can write at www.AccessibleAirwaves.org will
help us.

Thank you.

Sincerely,


Reverend Bob Chase

UCC Office of Communication


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