This page was exported from Quickening Spirit [ http://www.quickening-spirit.com ] Export date:Sat Aug 13 20:01:16 2016 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Toronto bans Christian music festival over the name of Jesus --------------------------------------------------- TORONTO, October 29, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- The City of Toronto is refusing to grant a Christian group a permit to use a prominent downtown square for its annual musical festival next year, because the city has decided that singing the name of Jesus in the public venue contravenes city policy against “proselytizing.” Voices of the Nations (VON) has been using city property since 2006 for an annual “multi denominational” event in which it celebrates Christianity through live music and dance. It has been using the Yonge-Dundas Square without issue for the past five years. This year's August 1 event attracted 19 different performance acts, including children's choirs and popular Christian bands, where well-known ‘praise-and-worship' songs such as “Days Of Elijah” are performed. When VON's Events Coordinator Leye Oyelani contacted the Square's Manager of Events Natalie Belman last week by phone to apply for next year's permit, he was told that a permit would not be issued and to look for a venue elsewhere. “I've already advised Peter [Paresh, Director of VON] that we're not going to be permitting you guys this year for next year because of the proselytizing on the square, and that's a big issue for us,” said Belman in a transcript of the October 23 conversation obtained by LifeSiteNews. A volunteer Board of Management appointed by Toronto City Council operates the Square. Taxpayers contribute about $400,000 of the Square's annual $2.3 million budget to help pay staff salaries and other costs. Read Full Article Voice of the Nations Face Book Page Photo Credit   --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2015-10-31 11:11:59 Post date GMT: 2015-10-31 18:11:59 Post modified date: 2015-11-07 19:39:49 Post modified date GMT: 2015-11-08 02:39:49 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com