I want to make a simple request of those who read this piece. I am going to mention Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, but I will not offer an opinion on whether or not the Park 51 Community Center should be built. The debates on this subject are now generating more heat than light, I fear. Let’s not do that here.

I would be interested in comments from you about something else, though. Having been a clergyman for many years, I can’t help but watch the drama of Park 51 unfold with a different perspective. Because I know what it’s like to carry someone else’s reputation.

When I was a Baptist minister, I could never get comfortable with the fact that Fred Phelps was a colleague. Whenever the people from Westboro Baptist Church were on the news with their hateful signs, I knew that some of Fred’s reputation was going to rub off on me.

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