"Well, isn't that special?"
Posted on 12/03/2004 10:50:17 PM PST by ChristianDefender
In Battle Creek, Mich., 14 women of St. Thomas Episcopal Church – between ages 55 and 82 – actually bared their breasts to raise money for breast cancer research.
Calling themselves The Belles of St. Mary's, the women bared nearly all in an in-pew photo op at St. Thomas church for a calendar they hope will raise money for research.
But a mother of four, Helen Cook, who attends the parish, was outraged. Cook said she wrote to her rector, the Rev. Joy Rogers, and the parish's assistant, the Rev. Chris Yaw, saying they would not be returning to St. Thomas, and explaining why:
"I told them both that I found the calendar objectionable, inappropriate and that it ran counter to the morals I am attempting to instill into my children. 'Mother Joy', whose name takes on a whole new meaning to me now, never even bothered to answer me. No e-mail, no phone call, nothing. Father Chris answered very briefly, with the argument that there are two sides to everything and that if I reconsidered, to get in touch with him."
The national Episcopal Church magazine, Episcopal Life, reports religion writer David Virtue features this Playboy-style parish under the headline BARING (ALMOST ALL) FOR THE FAITH.
Additionally hilarious and comic nonsense news is in Baltimore.
Here, lawyers for the Tribune Company in Chicago, which own the Baltimore Sun, have charged the Republican governor of Maryland, Robert Ehrlich, with violating what they termed "free speech protections that guarantee equal treatment for members of the news media."
This was occasioned because Gov. Ehrlich, after two years of what he recalled as repeatedly hostile, inaccurate or made-up writing by Sun political reporter David Nitkin and columnist Michael Olesker, took action. He directed all of his administration's press officers to cut off all relations with Nitkin and Olesker (though not with other Sun reporters).
Ehrlich's press secretary, Greg Massoni, explained:
"This action in no way denies Olesker and Nitkin any freedom to write what they please. But there is no constitutional requirement that we help them!"
If the Tribune Company is so asinine as to sue the governor – and such lawsuit is not immediately hurled out of court in summary judgment – I believe that I should surely go to that same court and file suit against President George W. Bush. For four years he has only once recognized me for a question. (His answer evoked ridicule in Newsweek).
Moreover, when I attended last December's White House Christmas Party for White House correspondents, Mr. Bush welcomed me by saying:
"Here comes the troublemaker!"
The fact that I was secretly delighted, and the fact that his press secretary, Scott McClellan, always recognizes me for questions at his daily news briefings, I confess, would inhibit me from suing the president.
There is also my great desire not to resemble in any way this latest legal idiocy of the Tribune Company and its property in Baltimore.
Both the Sun and its fellow left-wing daily, the Washington Post, published furiously self-serving editorials "SHOOTING MESSENGERS" and "MR. EHRLICH'S GAG ORDER."
But Gov. Ehrlich admits, enthusiastically, that he no longer reads either of these papers – like a growing number of his constituents, as evidenced in their current circulation losses.
Instead, the governor regularly appears on talk radio, which, with the Internet, are the New Media, as distinct from the Old Big Media – which gives one 1 percent of its product to public expression, while we give 40 percent.
We are talking about a photo of women who claim to be representatives of God, a photo that is either shocking or titillating to many. If you don't think it will be, just take a look at some of the comments on this thread alone.
The Church is supposed to be above all this, the "pleasures" of the world. How can one who may be seeking take God and His Word seriously if he or she sees this? If I had seen this when I was seeking, I would have turn around in disgust and never bothered to look again, to my eternal damnation.
How so many in the Church cannot see how they contribute to the slippery slope of moral relavitism just blows my mind.
You mighy appreciate the relevant comments by A.W. Pink in his exposition of the LJC's cleansing of the Jewish temple:
This incident rebukes the present-day desecration of the house of prayer. If the holy anger of the Lord Jesus was stirred when He beheld the profanation of that House which was to be a "house of prayer," if the idolatrous commercialization of it caused Him to cleanse it in such a drastic manner, how must He now regard many of the edifices which have been consecrated to His name! How tragically does history repeat itself. The things which are now done in so many church-houses—the ice cream suppers, the bazaars, the moving picture shows and other forms of entertainment—what are these but idolatrous commercialization of these "houses of prayer." No wonder that such places are devoid of spirituality and strangers to the power of God. The Lord will not tolerate an unholy mixture of worldly things with spiritual.
as you insightfully wrote:
and the worst thing is...it was within the church...that's totally a blasphemy...
Didn't some church ladies over in England do this same thing to raise money to buy a sofa for a waiting room after one of the women's husband died? They made a movie about it called Calendar Girls. They were very successful in their efforts. They not only raised enough to buy a sofa but they raised a lot of money for cancer research.
"Well, isn't that special?"
You mighy appreciate the relevant comments by A.W. Pink in his exposition of the LJC's cleansing of the Jewish temple:
This incident rebukes the present-day desecration of the house of prayer. If the holy anger of the Lord Jesus was stirred when He beheld the profanation of that House which was to be a "house of prayer," if the idolatrous commercialization of it caused Him to cleanse it in such a drastic manner, how must He now regard many of the edifices which have been consecrated to His name! How tragically does history repeat itself. The things which are now done in so many church-houses—the ice cream suppers, the bazaars, the moving picture shows and other forms of entertainment—what are these but idolatrous commercialization of these "houses of prayer." No wonder that such places are devoid of spirituality and strangers to the power of God. The Lord will not tolerate an unholy mixture of worldly things with spiritual.
as you insightfully wrote:
and the worst thing is...it was within the church...that's totally a blasphemy...
"I think we're going to need bigger buns!" :)
LOL. Yep, that's the movie I am talking about.
If this isn't the awful horror in the temple, of which the prophet Daniel spoke, it's close enough.
At least they didn't pop their tops during an actual service. But now...that makes me wonder what type of "services" could be found at that church.
fawkes?
I hope they keep the church cold so things will appear to be as perky as possible.
LOL. (p.s., love your tag line)
'Do your ears hang low' ping.
If nothing else, read this for the injured eyeball comments! LOL
Was that movie based on a true story? LOL if it was I had *no* idea.
The only thing to be learned by studying this photo is that the Episcopalian Church is in urgent need of a new membership drive.
While I think there is an old hymn titled, "Bringing in the Sheaves" this crowd could be described as, "Sagging in the Pews".
Amen...and I suspect these geezers making fun of the women aren't anything to brag about when we look at them, either.
Which of God's standards have these women forsaken?
I most truly hate to say this, but:
Why am I not surprised that this happened at an Episcopal church?
Of course, after seeing them adapt a wiccan style liturgy for a woman's service there for awhile, little else surprises me...not to mention the druidical "not supposed to mean anything but a social honor" ceremony the Archbishop of Canterbury went through right before he was appointed.
I wonder what St. Augustine of Canterbury thinks about his religious descendants....
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