A religious controversy has erupted among current and former staff members of the Catacombs coffee shop, 731 State St., on the UW-Madison campus.
In Spring of 2005, the Catacombs Board of Directors reviewed the non-profit, Christian-based coffee house's strategic plan and made changes to its kitchen staff. This has fueled an accusation that the Catacombs only hires staff members that follow its Christian values.
According to Bobette Rose, president of The Catacombs Board of Directors, this accusation is false. \Did we not hire someone because they weren't Christian enough? That was not an active part of the conversation,"" Rose said. ""We did have a discussion about the importance of our leadership being involved in the Church and being Christian.""
Former volunteer kitchen staff Charlie Hoyt, who is Jewish, said he left the Catacombs after volunteering for a year and a half because the staffing changes were religiously discriminatory. Three paid employees were fired because they did not practice the Christian values outlined in the strategic plan of the board of directors, Hoyt said.
Hoyt said these changes have altered the atmosphere of the Catacombs and that these changes are for the worse.
""It was a very tolerant, diverse space. It was welcoming to a lot of different kinds of people,"" Hoyt said. ""And its been turned into a place that's not welcoming to different kinds of people. It's not welcoming to people who don't share their religious beliefs.""
Former Madison resident Tim Collier is a frequent visitor to the Catacombs. Collier said he is drawn to the coffee shop because of the atmosphere, not necessarily for religious reasons.
""It has a genuinely cool atmosphere that a lot of coffee shops around here don't have,"" Collier said.
The Catacombs has suffered a loss in volunteer help recently. Hoyt said he used to serve between 150-200 lunches a day when he volunteered. The Catacombs is now closed for lunch.
However, Rose added religion does not play a factor in hiring volunteers.
""We welcome anybody who has a heart to just help,"" Rose said. ""That's always been our position, that continues to be our position.""
""We miss this tolerant space,"" Hoyt added. ""Lots of different religions and ideas were welcome down there and that's not the case anymore.\
