Local leaders laud Falwell's devotion

By James Fuller

Be it moral issues, social evils or religious callings, the Rev. Jerry Falwell was never afraid to speak his mind.

For that reason alone, local watchers of Christian evangelism noted Falwell's death Tuesday as a landmark event.

Wheaton College Chaplain Stephen Kellough said Falwell's faith was something all evangelicals could agree with. Falwell's political positions and sometimes audacious comments on issues such as the civil rights movement and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were what pushed the gamut of evangelical belief, Kellough said.

“As far as Jerry Falwell spoke concerning the essential Gospel of Jesus Christ, he would be embraced by Evangelicals across the spectrum,” Kellough said. “But his participation in political issues is seen as especially controversial. He certainly represented one end of the spectrum there. He was not shy concerning his faith.”

Even those who counted Falwell as a personal friend, such as Willow Creek Community Church Founding Pastor Bill Hybels, felt the need to create some distance between the evangelist and the politician Tuesday.



Associated Press

“While we sometimes felt differently about how to approach many of the great challenges of our day, Dr. Falwell gave his life to his family, his church, his beloved university, and the country he sought to improve,” Hybels said in a written statement.

Falwell's political activity stood in stark contrast to Wheaton College alum Billy Graham, another evangelical icon of the same generation.

Graham has never treaded far into the political world, said David Neff, editor of Christianity Today, which Graham founded.

“With Jerry Falwell, he tried to attend to both a ministry, an educational institution and have a strong political influence,” Neff said. “It just may not be possible to do all of those things effectively at the same time. Dr. Falwell probably came as close as anyone could.”

Falwell's ministry efforts touched Chicago's suburbs, too. He planned, with the Southern Baptist Convention, to establish a church in Long Grove. It never materialized, but the failure was minor compared to Falwell's accomplishments.

Of those, Neff singled out Falwell's founding of the Moral Majority in 1979 as the successful mobilization of conservative Christian voters to the polls that no other religious leader before Falwell had achieved.

“Today there's a number of conservative Christian leaders who have a seat at the table, in the Republican Party in particular, and all of that can be traced to the influence of Jerry Falwell,” Neff said.

The question moving forward is who becomes the next charismatic evangelical leader to continue Falwell's religious and political dynasty.

Neff said the most influential person in that circle now is probably Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson. But Dobson also has had heart ailments as he's aged.

Kellough and Neff said an aging generation of evangelists will soon turn to a younger generation for leadership.

“When the next dominant personality for one reason or another is no longer able to exercise that type of leadership, we'll see a power vacuum,” Neff said. “It will be interesting to see what would happen then.”

Daily Herald staff writer Ashok Selvam contributed to this report.

Death of a theater

Theater takes last bow

Wrecking crews demolish 79-year-old movie house in Lombard

By James Fuller and Kathryn Grondin
Daily Herald Staff Writers


At 2:50 p.m. the DuPage Theatre looked like a sick a woman with no friends.

It was 10 minutes until a demolition crew was set to pull the plug on her 79 years of existence, and no one was there to see her off.

Fans worked frantically behind the scenes Thursday to get the Illinois Supreme Court to intervene or a circuit court to halt the process because of asbestos fears.

Both attempts failed.

“We had to exhaust all of our appeals,” said Deborah Dynako, president of the Friends of the DuPage Theatre. “We’ve done everything we possibly could’ve done.”

Lombard Village Manager William Lichter confirmed that asbestos fibers were embedded in the roof shingles, but he said they posed no health hazards as precautions would be taken.


At the site, an open door on the Parkside Avenue end of the theater cast little light into what seemed to be a lifeless building. Yet, the neon lights of the marquee hinted that a faint pulse remained.

Then they came. Most people came simply to gawk at the death of a once local giant. Others were there to either cheer or grieve. All told, about 75 people turned out to see the theater’s last breaths.

“It makes me sad,” said Paula Weisserth, a Lombard native. Weisserth had both her first date and her first kiss at the movie house.

“There’s not one person in this town who’s not connected to the theater,” she said. “It’s a shame they couldn’t find a solution.”

It wasn’t for lack of effort. The village negotiated for three years with a developer on a plan to save part of the theater.

As recently as February, a compromise to save the facade and part of the building won a recommendation from Lombard’s plan commission.

But some village trustees’ lingering concerns about the proposal outweighed the advisory panel’s recommendation. They rejected the plan in favor of demolition.

“It’s an elephant whose time has come and gone,” Trustee Richard Tross said. “We gave it chance after chance after chance.”

Those thoughts were echoed by frequent passers-by sounding their horns and shouting, “Yeah! Tear it down!” all afternoon.

Outgoing Trustee Steve Sebby took a front-row seat to watch something he’s waited a long time to see.

“It’s a sad day for Lombard, but it’s a good day for Lombard,” Sebby said. “The new trustees can start with a clean slate now. And really, what are we losing?”

By 3:45 p.m. the only piece of the remaining building to be saved was free. Construction crews loaded the ticket booth onto a truck to deliver to the Lombard Historical Society.

Then the massive metal claw came to life as water hoses doused the building.

At 4:35 p.m. the claw descended on the marquee, ripping the faded, red DuPage letters off and casting them to the ground. Some applauded. Others simply left in defeat.

By 5 p.m. the marquee was gone, and any life left in the building was extinguished as the claw tore off one of the spires on the facade.

Today the demolition crew will return to finish the job, but the DuPage Theatre is already gone.

Two prayer days, two messages

Photo by Daily Herald Photographer Tanit Jarusan

James Fuller
Daily Herald Staff Writer

DuPage County’s main observance of the National Day of Prayer on Thursday adhered to a conservative Christian tone that, like last year, upset at least one group of observers.

Last year, radio host and occasional Fox News contributor Sandy Rios upset local Muslims when she referred to Allah as “a God of vengeance.”

This year, an overt disdain for homosexuality sparked disappointment from at least one local church leader.

An exhibit by the Illinois Family Institute greeted the 150 or so participants as they walked to their seats for an hour of prayers at Danada House near Wheaton.

The display provided information booklets opposing medical marijuana, gambling and civil unions for homosexual couples.

It was a theme played out at the podium when Peter LaBarbera delivered his prayer for marriages.

“Marriage is under assault on so many fronts in this nation that began, miraculously, as a Christian nation,” said LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth.

“Homosexual activists, joined by liberal churches who stray far from your word, work night and day to radically redefine marriage seeking to bless as holy that which you call an abomination,” he said.

While there was little reaction from the crowd, LaBarbera’s remarks worry some church leaders who welcome homosexuals.

“It’s unfortunate that a day designated by our nation as one for prayer, ostensibly for all people of faith, would seem to be focused seemingly exclusively on Christian prayer,” said Rev. Greg Schneck-Skiba, pastor of Naperville’s First Congregational United Church of Christ.

Schneck-Skiba attended a different observance at Benedictine University in Lisle featuring the Rev. Martin Marty. He said the Lisle gathering was Christian — but not divisive.

“What’s even more unfortunate is that a particular prayer offered in that setting would exclude and denigrate those many Christians who are of homosexual and other orientations who are seeking to be faithful Christians in their loving relationships with each other and all of God’s creation,” Schneck-Skiba said.

“I recognize that this is denied by people who oppose homosexuality,” he said. “But even so, that seems inappropriate in a context of a day of prayer focused on a nation of which all of us are citizens.”

Not all prayers during the Danada observance had political undertones.

Retired U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde, a staunch conservative, simply spoke of the beauty of living in America.

Hyde’s voice sounded strong despite delivering his prayer from a wheelchair. He was unable to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

“Let us give thanks for the freedom we enjoy in America,” Hyde said. “And in giving thanks for freedom, let us resolve to live our freedom nobly remembering, Lord, that freedom is not a measure of doing what we like, but rather having the right to do what we ought.”