Religious services scaled back at Disney
By Mark I. Pinsky and Robert Johnson
Sentinel Staff Writers
December 25, 2002
Walt Disney World doesn't advertise its theme parks as the holiest place on earth -- just the happiest.
Still, some religious leaders are dismayed and disappointed that, after today's popular Christmas services at the Contemporary Resort, the next organized Christian worship at the resort will not take place until Easter.
Citing space problems, and concerns about fairness, the giant resort has stopped the regular Sunday services for Protestant and Catholic visitors that had been held at the Polynesian Luau area since 1975. Christmas and Easter services will continue.
"It no longer seemed appropriate to only offer two options for worship to our guests," said Rena Callahan, a Disney spokeswoman.
"As our guest population has grown, so has the diversity of cultures that visit our theme parks," she said. "Places of worship that have grown up around our property are best suited to meet the wide array of spiritual needs of our guests."
But the Rev. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, had a different interpretation.
"This is just one further step away from what once was a core constituency of religiously motivated, 'family values' clientele," he said.
Disney's decision, he said, is "more a matter of indifference than hostility," reflecting "a lack of comprehension of how the real country lives and what's important to them."
Other conservative Christian groups, such as Colorado-based Focus on the Family and the Washington, D.C.-based Traditional Values Coalition, have also criticized Disney's decision to end the services.
No regular religious services are conducted at Disneyland in California, and there are no chapels on either of the Disney cruise ships, according to company officials, nor are there any generic church facades on Main Street, USA.
Disney World still had separate Christmas Day services scheduled for this morning. A Protestant service was set for 9 a.m. and a Catholic service was set for 10:15 a.m., both in the Contemporary Resort's Fantasia Ballroom.
But such services will now be rarities.
Because SeaWorld and Universal Orlando don't offer church services, that leaves the relatively tiny Holy Land Experience as the only local theme park with regular services. Holy Land offers free admission on Thursday nights to a nondenominational gathering. It also offers a special New Year's Eve service that includes a talk by the Rev. Marvin Rosenthal, the park's founder. "We wanted to have something spiritual for people who aren't partying," he said.
At Disney World, two Catholic Masses and one nondenominational Protestant service had been conducted every Sunday morning since 1975.
Last summer, however, a shortage of priests caused the Rev. Joseph Harte of Mary, Queen of the Universe Catholic Shrine, to reduce the number of Masses at Walt Disney World to one. When that happened, the single service at the Polynesian became too crowded, and some worshippers had to be turned away. That, in turn, led to a decision by Disney and the local Catholic diocese to end the Mass entirely and urge visiting Catholics to attend services at Mary, Queen of the Universe, which had been built in the meantime specifically to serve tourists.
The decision, said Harte, was entirely amicable.
"Disney's business is entertainment, and they're very good at it," said Carol Brinati, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Orlando. "The 'business' of the Catholic Church is to proclaim the word of God. It's up to us, as Christians, to find the appropriate services."
The Protestant services were conducted by a rotating group of six volunteer pastors, according to Robert Stuart of the Christian Service Center, a downtown social service agency that organized the services.
The Protestant services drew between 25 and 250 worshippers, he said. Donations from that service, which went to the Christian Service Center, averaged $15,000 a year.
Mark I. Pinsky can be reached at mpinsky@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5589. Robert Johnson can be reached at 407-420-5664 or rwjohnson@orlandosentinel.com.
Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...5,0,5200508.story?coll=orl-business-headlines
By Mark I. Pinsky and Robert Johnson
Sentinel Staff Writers
December 25, 2002
Walt Disney World doesn't advertise its theme parks as the holiest place on earth -- just the happiest.
Still, some religious leaders are dismayed and disappointed that, after today's popular Christmas services at the Contemporary Resort, the next organized Christian worship at the resort will not take place until Easter.
Citing space problems, and concerns about fairness, the giant resort has stopped the regular Sunday services for Protestant and Catholic visitors that had been held at the Polynesian Luau area since 1975. Christmas and Easter services will continue.
"It no longer seemed appropriate to only offer two options for worship to our guests," said Rena Callahan, a Disney spokeswoman.
"As our guest population has grown, so has the diversity of cultures that visit our theme parks," she said. "Places of worship that have grown up around our property are best suited to meet the wide array of spiritual needs of our guests."
But the Rev. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, had a different interpretation.
"This is just one further step away from what once was a core constituency of religiously motivated, 'family values' clientele," he said.
Disney's decision, he said, is "more a matter of indifference than hostility," reflecting "a lack of comprehension of how the real country lives and what's important to them."
Other conservative Christian groups, such as Colorado-based Focus on the Family and the Washington, D.C.-based Traditional Values Coalition, have also criticized Disney's decision to end the services.
No regular religious services are conducted at Disneyland in California, and there are no chapels on either of the Disney cruise ships, according to company officials, nor are there any generic church facades on Main Street, USA.
Disney World still had separate Christmas Day services scheduled for this morning. A Protestant service was set for 9 a.m. and a Catholic service was set for 10:15 a.m., both in the Contemporary Resort's Fantasia Ballroom.
But such services will now be rarities.
Because SeaWorld and Universal Orlando don't offer church services, that leaves the relatively tiny Holy Land Experience as the only local theme park with regular services. Holy Land offers free admission on Thursday nights to a nondenominational gathering. It also offers a special New Year's Eve service that includes a talk by the Rev. Marvin Rosenthal, the park's founder. "We wanted to have something spiritual for people who aren't partying," he said.
At Disney World, two Catholic Masses and one nondenominational Protestant service had been conducted every Sunday morning since 1975.
Last summer, however, a shortage of priests caused the Rev. Joseph Harte of Mary, Queen of the Universe Catholic Shrine, to reduce the number of Masses at Walt Disney World to one. When that happened, the single service at the Polynesian became too crowded, and some worshippers had to be turned away. That, in turn, led to a decision by Disney and the local Catholic diocese to end the Mass entirely and urge visiting Catholics to attend services at Mary, Queen of the Universe, which had been built in the meantime specifically to serve tourists.
The decision, said Harte, was entirely amicable.
"Disney's business is entertainment, and they're very good at it," said Carol Brinati, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Orlando. "The 'business' of the Catholic Church is to proclaim the word of God. It's up to us, as Christians, to find the appropriate services."
The Protestant services were conducted by a rotating group of six volunteer pastors, according to Robert Stuart of the Christian Service Center, a downtown social service agency that organized the services.
The Protestant services drew between 25 and 250 worshippers, he said. Donations from that service, which went to the Christian Service Center, averaged $15,000 a year.
Mark I. Pinsky can be reached at mpinsky@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5589. Robert Johnson can be reached at 407-420-5664 or rwjohnson@orlandosentinel.com.
Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...5,0,5200508.story?coll=orl-business-headlines
