By Bill Baker, J.D.
Editor and Publisher, The San Bruno Beacon
Barry Marchessault, a San Bruno resident and Beacon reader, sent me a copy of a letter, addressed to him, that he received in the mail from Pastor Daniel Krajicek. Pastor Krajicek is the Pastor at the Crossroads Christian Center (an Assemblies of God Church).
According to the letter Barry received, Pastor Krajicek doesn't want the Buddhists to open a Buddhist Temple near the Crossroads Christian Center where Krajicek is the "Pastor".
In his letter, Pastor Krajicek uses the word "Regrettably" when referring to the Buddhist's plan to open their facilities to the public 24 hours per day every day for those who desire to pray, meditate, and chant. [I guess God only works the 9-5 shift and Sunday services so we can't have any 24x7 praying, meditation, or chanting]. The Pastor's letter also states that they (the Buddhists) plan to hold Temple services at the same time on Sunday mornings as his AOG Church and St. Bruno's Catholic Church and that this will cause a parking problem [I don't think Krajicek's "no parking, no Buddhists" argument will pass Constitutional muster].
Pastor Krajicek's letter also states, in part:
"...If you agree that allowing another religious institution in an already congested area is not in the best interest of our neighborhood, and don't want people freely coming and going throughout the night, you must let your concerns be heard."
In the part of his letter that appears in the previous paragraph, Pastor Krajicek is saying that his neighborhood isn't big enough for the Buddhists to share with the Catholics and Krajicek's Crossroads sect. In my opinion, Krajicek's statement is the same as posting "Buddhists not welcome signs" up and down the street where his Christian sect is located. Pastor Krajicek also states in his letter that he doesn't want "people freely coming and going [to the proposed Buddhist Temple] throughout the night". Really? And just how does Krajicek think he is going to stop people from going to their Temple throughout the night to practice their religion?
Pastor Krajicek's Assemblies of God USA (AOG) Church, a "Protestant fellowship", exists in part because it is protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution allowing the free exercise of religion. Does Krajicek not think that these same rights under the Constitution, that allow his Church to exist, apply to the Buddhists who want to open their Temple near his church?
If Pastor Krajicek doesn't think that different religions can exist in close proximity to each other, he should take a little trip to Brotherhood Way in San Francisco.
As far as other religions are concerned, the official position of Krajicek's Assemblies of God Church is that
So, at Assemblies of God churches, like Krajicek's Crossroads Christian Center, it appears that there is no toleration of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, etc. Oy vey
Let me conclude by saying that even if Pastor Krajicek and the Assemblies of God folks "disavow the toleration of worldviews that do not require entering the Kingdom of God through the narrow gate of the God-man, Jesus Christ"; there are other Christians, like me, who do believe in the toleration and understanding of all religions.
I hope that the AOGers will seek and find a path that will lead them to a higher level of compassion for and understanding of their fellow human beings with whom they share the world we all live in. A world in which bigotry, hate, violence, and other injustice carried out in the name of religion needs to disappear before it destroys us. 