ALISA JACOBSON | FOR THE TIMES EXPRESS

The Knights of Columbus Pius XII Council distributed food to families in need on Saturday. Bob Condrac, NickFiasco and John Yakim prepare to head out for deliveries.

SOURNOTE?

With five Hindu templesin the region, it’s fairlycommon for Indian culturalprograms to be staged inthe greater Pittsburgh area.

However, some localHindus say that a recentIndian music program wasa thinly veiled attempt bya Monroeville church toconvert members of theirfaith to Christianity.

On Friday, MonroevilleAssembly of God on OldWilliam Penn Highwayinvited the public to watchpeople of Indian descentperform traditional Indianmusic. Although Qawwalimusic traditionally fea-tures lyrics about man’sinner search for the divine,the performers — who aremembers of a nondenomi-national Christian church

HINDU · 12

Lending a hand

by KyLE LAWSON

50 centsSCAN CODETO VIEWSUBSCRIPTIONOFFERS

An edition of the TRIBUNE-REVIEWThursday, December 26, 2013CLASSIFIEDS

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MONROEVILLE · PITCAIRN BOROUGH

A Tradition Since 1893Volume 115, Issue 52www.yourmonroeville.com

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REAL ESTATE LISTINGSSee what homes, businesses andproperties are being sold throughoutthe area. Page 16.

FUN AND GAMESDo you puzzle over crosswords?Struggle with Sudoku? Keep ongaming. Page 24.

INDEXPOLICE BLOTTER...............................2OPINION...................................................10DISTRICT COURT............................... 11OBITUARIES..........................................12SPORTS...................................................27CLASSIFIEDS.........................................31

Stepping downAfter 28 years on PitcairnCouncil, Patsy Pizzuto steppeddown from local government.Page 6.

YMCA donationsOfficials with the EastSuburban YMCA are looking toleverage end-of-year donationsto unlock more money for anexpansion project. Page 4.

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‘HERE & NOW’The exhibit “Sharif Bey: Here &Now” is on display at ManchesterCraftsmen’s Guild. Page 19.

Hindus upset by church’sIndianmusic program

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CLASSIFIED DEATH NOTICES

John J. CatoneFORMERLY OF MONROEVILLE

John J. Catone, formerlyof Monroeville, passed awayWednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, inCoffeyville, Kan. John wasa teacher and coach at EastAllegheny School District.Please join the family ofJohn J. Catone for a memo-rial Mass at 11 a.m. Satur-day, in Madonna Del Cas-tello Church, Swissvale.

Eugenia (Tonet)GregowichMONROEVILLE

Eugenia “Dolly” (Tonet)Gregowich, 90, of Monroe-ville, died Friday, Dec. 20, 2013.She was the beloved wife ofthe late George; mother of thelate Lisa Poorman (survivinghusband ,Greg); sister of thelate Angelo (Anna), Sylvester,Rose, Vic (Julie), John (Es-ther) and Ernest (Josephine)Tonet, Josephine (Quinto) De-

Munari, Florence (Pasquale)Ruggiero and Edith (Charles)Kritzman; aunt of the late Fa-ther James Ruggiero. Dollyis survived by many lovingnieces and nephews; and hersister-in-law, Virginia Grego-wich. Dolly was a great cookand baker, and really lovedher family and her home.We would like to thank ourspecial friends of the familyfor their love and devotionto Dolly over the years, Bevand Josh Ohrman and Patty,Cyndi and Chrissy Costa.Friends were received atthe GENE H. CORL INC.FUNERAL CHAPEL ANDCREMATION SERVICESOF MONROEVILLE, 4335Northern Pike. A Mass ofChristian Burial was heldin St. Bernadette Church,with Father Tony Gargottaas celebrant. Intermentfollowed in Cross RoadsCemetery. Corl Family Di-rectors, 412-372-2100, www.

corlfuneralchapel.com.

Frances (Kavran)Mochan

MONROEVILLE

Frances (Kavran) Mochan,98, of Monroeville and Rock-ledge, Fla., died Wednesday,Dec. 18, 2013. She was a mem-ber of St. Jude the ApostleChurch in Wilmerding. Shewas a daughter of the lateJoseph and Clara (Sintic) Ka-vran; wife of the late JosephMochan; beloved mother ofRobert Mochan, Jean Kissel,Andrew Mochan and Gerald“Jerry” Mochan; dear sisterof Clara (Dominic) Parisi, thelate Catherine (Joseph) Vana,Anne (James) Schredl, Marga-ret (Carl) Reiss, Rose (Peter)Latch and William Kavran;and is also survived by nu-merous nieces and nephews.There will be no visitationALFIERI FUNERAL HOMEINC., Wilmerding, 412-824-4332.

Visit us online:yourmonroeville.com

in Maryland — insteadsang about Jesus Christ.

The show was organizedby Pastor Abraham Simon,who is of Indian descentand was hired this year tofill the position of “Indianpastor,” according to anonline Assembly of Godchurch bulletin.

Simon said he hoped toattract residents of Indiandescent, with both short-term and long-term goalsin mind.

“First and foremost, (thegoal) is to engage them, toknow them,” Simon said.“And in the long run, we’lltry to reach to them.

“One thing is very clear,if we try to make it too reli-gious from the outset, theymight shy away.”

Members of the HinduJain Temple in Monroe-

ville weren’t shy with theirreaction. They said they’refed up with Christians try-ing to convert members oftheir religion.

“This is the kind ofactivity that needs to bebanned,” said Harilal Patelof the Hindu Jain Temple.Patel represents the Hinducommunity on the Monroe-ville Interfaith Ministe-rium.

The news release for theshow welcomed anyone,“especially those of Indiandescent,” to attend.

“We’re not looking forpeople in the temples, like‘Oh leave there,’ ” said KayGardone, spokeswomanfor Monroeville Assemblyof God. “But we’re givingthem another choice, let-ting them know what elseis out there.”

On multiple occasionsover the last 30 years, mem-

Hindus upset by Assembly of God’s Indianmusic programHINDU · FROM 1

bers of some Christianchurches and Jehovah’sWitnesses have “harassed”Hindus both inside andoutside of their templeswith fliers, informationalCDs and unannouncedvisits at local temples,Patel said.

“They’ve found thatHindus are more gullible,”Patel said. “Tell them to go

to the (Islamic) mosque.”Patel said that Jehovah’s

Witnesses have waited out-side of temples, which areprivate property, to speakwith worshipers as theywalk to their cars. He saidthat both he and the priestat Hindu Jain receivedinformational CDs fromMonroeville Assembly ofGod in their mailbox last

summer.“This is the kind of

activity that needs to bebanned,” Patel said.

But the issue should beviewed from both sides,said Matthew Sayers, anassistant professor ofreligion at Lebanon ValleyCollege in Annville, Leba-non County.

“If we are generous, we

should assume that theChristians are motivatedby love and a true concernfor the immortal soulsof the Hindus,” Sayerssaid. “But we also need toconsider how a pluralisticsociety requires of us torespect others, especiallyif we disagree with them.”

Religion professor Deep-ak Saarma of Case West-ern Reserve University inCleveland said the issue isnot so black and white.

“The issue is an interest-ing one and has very com-plicated echoes in Indianhistory, where Christianswere stereotyped as con-verting low-caste Hindusthrough bribery,” Saarmasaid.

But the idea that Hindusdo not try convert othersis “largely a new one toldby contemporary Hindus,”he said. “There is a longhistory, for example, ofattempts by Hindus toconvert others throughthe use of intellectual andphilosophical debate.”

Lance Lecocq, headpastor of Monroeville

Indian Musical Night at the Monroeville Assembly of God featured traditional Indianmusic and dance on Friday.

LILLIAN DEDOMENIC | FOR THE TIMES EXPRESS

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