Wild about Harry? So are they
Like Holston’s own Church Street UMC, this New York Catholic church is also attempting to reach children through best-selling books about a young wizard

By Jerry Rosen
The Syracuse Newspapers

BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. — From the halls of Hogwarts to the Quidditch fields, the wizardry of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books have cast a spell over young and old alike.

The first four books of a planned sevenbook series describing the coming of age and education of Potter, a young wizard, have sold well over 24 million copies. But some groups, primarily fundamental Christians, have protested their use in schools. They claim the books promote witchcraft and the occult over Christian values.

Madeline Loiacono, religious educator at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Baldwinsville, N.Y., doesn’t see that side of the books. What she sees are parallels between Harry Potter and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Beginning Monday, she will turn a good part of the church into a working replica of the Potter books’ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to help her teach the lessons of Christian religion.

During the week, teachers dressed like characters from the book will lead about 80 students in grades six through eight — about the same age as Potter — in discussion groups that will help the students draw connections between their hero’s attributes and the church’s precepts.

“There are so many tie-ins between the story and the church,” Loiacono said. One connection that stands out to her is the Parable of the Talents, whose moral supports the wise use of whatever gifts people receive.

“[Harry’s] a wonderful character,” Loiacono said. “He has a lot of strengths, and he’s using them to help himself, his friends and his school.”

The stories of Harry Potter’s exploits during the sometimes dangerous Quidditch matches have dragged many young people away from their computer screens and gotten them reading again.

Loiacono, who has been on the church’s teaching staff for two years, and a youth minister for more than five, said the idea for the program first came to her when she was reading an article in “Catechism” magazine that advocated using the popularity of the books to reach young people.

She left the magazine open to the story, and the words “Harry Potter” caught the attention of the eldest of her three children, Nicholas, 12. “He read the article and came running in and said, ‘Mom, you’ve GOT to do something with this,’” she said.

His enthusiasm started a round of brainstorming among her, Nicholas and her other children, Kimberly, 8, and Benjamin, 9. When she approached the church’s pastor, the Rev. John P. Wagner, he did some investigation before he approved the idea.

“I consulted with several teachers in [local] school districts who teach reading and English, and who teach Harry Potter,” he said. “By the time I was finished, I was convinced.”

While he declined to discuss the dissenters’ position, he said, “I have explicit confidence in my staff. It’s very difficult to teach religion to youth, and I think this is a very creative way to approach it.

“Before the week is over, the children in this program will be exposed to all of the significant and major teachings of Christ, and the events and miracles in his life.”

Reprinted with permission, The Syracuse Newspapers, Syracuse.com.


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