HTN: Pastor Demands Apology

A Buffalo pastor is demanding an apology for some allegedly racist e-mails. Reverend Darius Pridgen of the True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo says Lewiston-Porter School Board President Robert J. Weller regularly forwards what he considers "humorous" e-mail messages to a list of friends and fellow board members. Several of the board members have complained about the e-mails, calling them racist. Weller acknowledges the e-mails and says he did not mean to offend anyone and that he is not a racist.

Two Temples Set to Merge

Consolidation in the local Catholic diocese has been well documented, but it is also happening in other faiths. Tonight the final services will be held at Temple Beth El, on Eggert Road in Tonawanda, one of the oldest Jewish temples in Western New York. Temple Beth El was founded in downtown Buffalo 161 years ago, and for years had a building on Richmond Avenue before moving to the suburbs. Temple Beth El will be merging with another suburban synagogue, Temple Shaarey Zedek, in Amherst. The number of member families has been declining over the years.

Temples to Merge

It did not come as a surprise to Buffalo's Jewish community when two of the area's largest synagogues announced that they were going to officially merge. Temple Beth El in the Town of Tonawanda and Temple Shaarey Zedek in Amherst will combine under a new name. A "for sale" sign has been on the lawn at Temple Beth El for some time. Temple Shaarey Zedek itself was the result of the merger of two former city synagogues, Temple Emanuel and Temple Beth David Ner Israel.