IMPORTANT NEWS CONCERNING THE FUTURE OF THE PARADOX!!!
volu...@theparadox.org
I want to start out by saying that I think working at The Paradox with
all of you has been the best expirience in my life. As you may have
noticed there has been a lot of confusion and drama surrounding The
Paradox due to some bad press and other issues. I believe some of that
was cleared up by the recent announcement by Liz and Alicia explaining
that they are leaving of their own volition and not being forced to
leave. I just wanted to let you all know that I am not leaving the
venue if I can help it. I have met with Mars Hill pastor Leif Moy who
purchased the original Paradox building with his own money to start the
venue and discovered that the church has decided to go on indefinite
hiatus and is considering closing the venue because they do not feel
like anyone wants to come to shows or volunteer. I have been doing my
best to let the church know that there are plenty of people who still
want to be involved with The Paradox. I have submitted a five page
letter to the church elders in charge of deciding The Paradox's fate
detailing why the venue is important and my plans for continuing it's
operation. If you have enjoyed going to shows and helping to make them
possible please sign up for this Saturday's show with Valella
Valella. Leif is going to come with a tape recorder and interview
volunteers who are still interested in being involved with The Paradox
and do not want it to close. Even if you can't help the entire night
it is very important that you at least come to talk to Leif if you want
The Paradox to keep running. Leif is going to submit the interviews
along with my letter to try and convince Mars Hill that The Paradox is
still a valuable asset to the community. Being on staff at The Paradox
and working with all of you has come to mean so much to me. I hope if
you feel as strongly as I do about the venue and think it should not
close that you will get in touch with me and come be interviewed!
I know that many of you did not know about the church's involvement
in the venue and that there are a lot of questions as to what that
means to you as a volunteer. Please believe that there will be no
changes as to the mission or purpose of The Paradox. The church started
the venue to fill a need in the community for kids to have a safe place
to see shows and it has never been their intention to use it as a means
to preach their doctrine. They do not expect anyone to agree with their
religious beliefs or be Christians. They purely wanted to serve the
community by putting on all ages shows because right before The Paradox
started there were no other all ages venues due to the Teen Dance
Ordinance which put unreasonable restrictions on the all ages scene.
The church found out it was able to get around the TDO because they are
a 501©3 (religious) nonprofit so they started The Paradox. Their
attitude towards the venue has not changed. There has always been
someone from the church involved with The Paradox since it's
inception in 1999. I have gone to Mars Hill Church since 2000 and have
been on staff at The Paradox since last winter. In the past several
months Alicia and Liz have been the primary people in charge of running
the venue and we are really going to miss them, it will be hard to pick
up the pieces once they have moved on to start their own production
company Make Believe.
I hope that you will contact me with any questions or concerns before
you decide to stop helping out with The Paradox. I will keep you posted
about the church's decisions and hopefully we can be up and running
soon. I do not want Liz and Alicia's last show on December 16th to be
our last show ever! I hope you agree with me. I would love to hear from
anyone interested in being on staff or staff run committees to help
with different aspects of running The Paradox. Now is your chance to be
more involved with the venue and learn how it is run. I am very sorry
to see the girls go but I know that if we pull together we can keep
putting on great shows and having a lot of fun.
Thanks for all of your hard work and support in the past. I hope I can
continue to count on you guys in the future. See you at the volunteer
party on December 16th!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Selle
Volunteer Coordinator
The Paradox
1401 NW Leary Way
Seattle, WA 98107
www.theparadox.org
volunteer at theparadox.org
(206)661-3989