To: Jonathan D. Sweet, Grayson County Administrator
Grayson County: Permit the Peace Pentagon!
To the Supervisors of Grayson County: Freedom of religion is the cornerstone of our nation, and interfaith unity is the proper goal of all who profess to love God. On this solemn date – the 10th anniversary of 9/11 – help lessen the spiritual polarization in our world by approving the permit for The Oracle Institute’s interfaith and social justice center – the Peace Pentagon.
Why is this important?
The Peace Pentagon is a proposed interfaith and social justice center to be built by The Oracle Institute (a 501(c)(3) educational charity) in Independence, Virginia. The Grayson County Board of Supervisors denied Oracle’s permit due to intense opposition from local Evangelical churches. If built, the Peace Pentagon will be first and only interfaith center in this rural Appalachian community, which currently supports only Christian churches. Oracle filed a First Amendment lawsuit against Grayson County with the aid of The Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville (trial is set for November 16, 2011).