Airman, Author, Farmer, and Olympian to be Inducted into SHS Wall of Honor

Airman Donald Dorman, book by author James Benn, farmer Mark Ramsay, Olympian Austin Florian

This year marks the 20^th year of celebrating the Southington High School Wall of Honor, which honors Southington public school graduates who have done outstanding community service or humanitarian work, received significant awards or accumulated noteworthy lifetime or career accomplishments.

We are also inducting four new and amazing people this year. Because of this, we plan to hold a celebration gala at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville on Tuesday, December 8, with all past and present nominees and the public invited. This is a celebration of our town, our citizens and schools! Tickets will be available soon, and we are looking for donors to pay for plaques and dinners for inductees. 

The four new inductees include:

Donald Dorman, an airman who was shot down over Poland in WW II but not identified until recently;

Austin Florian, who participates in this past winter’s Olympic games as a skelton-racer and is outstanding inspirational speaker;

James Benn, who is the author of over 21 published novels that form part of the Billy Boyle WW II Mystery Series;

and local farmer Mark Ramsey, who not only raises crops and animals but is the driving force behind LEAF, the Leaf Educational Agriculture Farm.

Contact for more information about the Wall of Honor: Bob Brown (chopin7777@aol.com).

Letter: A New Year in the Fall

Rabbi Alana Wasserman GSJC PHOTO

New Year’s is often a time of reflection and renewal. We look back on the year that has passed, while, at the same time, looking forward to the year to come. Many people make New Year’s resolutions, in the hopes of a better future.

But I bet you are wondering why I would be talking about New Year’s now, when we haven’t even entered into the fall yet. Well, fall will be here soon, and when it arrives, so does a new school year for our children, and for the Jewish community, Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. Thus, I already have New Year’s on my mind.

At this time of year, the Jewish community is engaged in a period of self-reflection. We take an accounting of our souls, known in Hebrew as a cheshbon hanefesh. We think about the past year: all of our misdeeds and all of our accomplishments. We think of all the things we did well, and all the things we could have done differently or better. We seek forgiveness from those whom we have wronged, and forgive those who have wronged us, so that we may begin the new year with a clean slate. While this may seem like a lot of deep, introspective work, it is also extremely rewarding and hopeful.

If you are looking for a Jewish community for the High Holy Days, please join me at Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation in Southington. I invite you to call us at 860.276.9113 or visit our website for our schedule of services at www.gsjc.org.

For all those who observe a new year at this time, I wish you a Shanah Tovah, a Happy New Year!

Rabbi Alana Wasserman

A Reflection upon the Celebration of Our 250th Independence Day

Reverend Sharon R. Holt of First Baptist Church PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARON HOLT

On July 4^th we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which established the United States of America. It was comprised of the first 13 colonies established along the Eastern Seaboard in chronological order of their founding: Virginia (1607), Massachusetts (1620), New Hampshire (1623), Maryland (1634), Connecticut (1635), Rhode Island (1636), Delaware (1638), North Carolina (1653), South Carolina (1653), New York (1664), New Jersey (1664), Pennsylvania (1681), and Georgia (1733).

Thirteen years after the Declaration, James Madison wrote the “Bill of Rights;” the first ten articles of the United States. The first, and to many, the most important was the first amendment which established the separation of church and state. While the words “separation of church and state” are not directly contained in the first amendment, two clauses clearly established the principles of this separation. The first clause prohibits the government from establishing any official state religion or endorsing any one religion over another. The second clause protects the right of individuals to practice their faith, or hold no faith at all, without government interference.

The First Amendment, while written by Madison, was largely the result of the work of two prominent Colonial Baptists; John Leland of Virginia and Isaac Backus of Massachusetts. Both men urged Madison to include religious freedom as a prominent tenant based on their own personal and religious history. Both men were familiar with the precedent set in Massachusetts in 1638 when the “State” church banished Roger Williams for espousing Baptist beliefs. Williams established the first state in the union based on the concept of religious freedom – Rhode Island.

For Baptists and all Americans, it is crucial that we hold tight to the first amendment lest the government, local or national, compromise our right to worship, or not worship, as we each choose. It is also imperative that we not try to impose our religious beliefs on any other individual or group.

The freedoms that were worth fighting and dying for 250 years ago are no less important today. Let us continue to insist that the church and state are both of immense value, but they should never become the entwined.

Rev. Sharon R. Holt

The First Baptist Church of Southington