Methodist women to smash crockery

Telegraph (UK) ^ | 11/20/2001 | Victoria Combe

[dighton]

THE Methodist Church is inviting all women worshippers to smash crockery during next Sunday's service as a symbolic "act of violence".

The addition of plate-smashing to the liturgy is the Church's novel way of marking the International Day of Action against Violence on Women.

"We hope the act will provide a powerful image of the violence experienced in the home," said the Methodist Church's Women's Network which composed the service.

For health and safety reasons, women are asked to secure the crockery in a plastic bag before beating it with a hammer "to prevent flying debris harming participants".

The crockery smashing will happen during the Act of Confession and Reconciliation and worshippers will then make a cross out of the broken pieces.

The minister will lead a prayer, saying: "We stand in solidarity with women and all victims of violence who are piecing their lives together."

The order of service, called Soaring Wings and Strengthened Dreams, also includes the testimony of a Baptist minister's wife who was beaten after church for serving Angel Delight at Sunday lunch.

The Rev Frances Biseker, one of the authors of the order of service and a minister in Stourbridge, West Midlands, said the plate smashing was designed to "bring into the open something very hidden".

She added: "We chose crockery because it is a very domestic item and many women may have been hit by flying crockery. We want to help women to come forward and tell their stories."

Previous story: Guard dogs keep a flock at prayer

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2001.

[dighton]

OK. Does this apply to the USA, or just Great Britain?

Beats me. Wait a minute, that's an unfortunate choice of words.

[LarryLied]

This is a slippery-slope. First they smash crockery and before you know it, Methodist women are crashing 757's into skyscrapers.

[daves_brother]

That site is for the UK Methodist Church. I would not be surprised to find a US church/denomination doing a similar thing, though. Symbolism, sensical or otherwise, is seemingly an oft-used tool in every walk of life.

[tacticalogic]

Hey, it beats handling snakes and drinking rat poison!

[BunnySlippers]

Sounds like some sort of "primal scream" therapy. Creepy.

[Arkinsaw]

Miss Marple, we never heard anything about this stuff at our local church either. We never heard about lots of things. The reason is that they don't want you to know, they just want you to think whatever it is you think and continue to make donations to carry out policies that the vast majority of the church would disapprove of if they knew about them. Our church newsletter talked about bake sales and such but we never saw anything in our church newsletter like the following. My question is, do you support the following? Does your church? If so, why are you on FreeRepublic? If not....

WASHINGTON (UMNS) ? The top executive of the United Methodist Church's international public policy and advocacy agency has expressed disappointment in the withdrawal of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations conference against racism. The Bush administration withdrew its representatives Sept. 3 from the U.N. World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, scheduled for Aug. 31-Sept. 7, in Durban, South Africa.

"By doing so, the U.S. walked away from international efforts to eliminate racism," said Jim Winkler, staff head of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, in a statement issued Sept. 6.

"For too long, arrogance and self-righteousness have marked U.S. foreign policy," he said. "The [conference] is addressing a variety of issues on racism: the caste system in India, the treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers, the impact of racism on health care and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and disparities in law enforcement and systems of justice."


Concerns about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict provided the pretext for U.S. withdrawal from the conference, Winkler said.

"These are difficult issues," he commented. The United Methodist Church's highest legislative body, which is the only entity that can speak for the denomination, has declared: "United Methodists are committed to the objective of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement that would bring recognition and security to Israel and national and human rights to the Palestinians."

The church's General Conference, which met last year, noted that the most important issues have not been resolved. It listed those issues in a resolution: "Israel's claim to exclusive sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, the presence of existing Israeli settlements and the construction of new ones, the future of the Palestinian refugees in the diaspora, and Palestinian national rights."

Winkler noted that before the conference, its secretary, South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said nothing is beyond discussion. "That is the beginning of a tolerant society, when we can sit down and listen to one another."

As a faith community, the United Methodist Church is committed to continuing the struggle against racism in all its manifestations, hand in hand with other churches around the world, that all may be one, as Jesus mandated in John 17:21,Winkler said.

The United Methodist Church officially supports reparations for African Americans in a resolution first adopted in 1996 and reaffirmed by delegates at the 2000 General Conference

Representatives of United Methodist agencies and organizations are attending the conference as nonvoting delegates. They include:

Ann Marshall, an associate general secretary, churchwide Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, representing the National Council of Churches;

The Rev. John McCullough, executive director, Church World Service, the relief agency of the U.S. National Council of Churches;

Mee Sue Park, a director of the Women's Division, churchwide Board of Global Ministries;

Lois Dauway, an assistant general secretary, Board of Global Ministries;

Liz Calvin, executive secretary, women and children, Board of Global Ministries;

David Wildman, executive secretary, human rights and racial justice, Board of Global Ministries;

Suzanne Ife Williams, executive secretary for racial justice, Board of Global Ministries;

Darlene Dawes, a director of Women's Division, Board of Global Ministries;

Sebastine Ujereh, Board of Global Ministries missionary, Senegal;

Marthe Dansokho, Board of Global Ministries missionary, West Africa Region;

Rosangela Oliveira, Board of Global Ministries missionary, Latin American Region;

Ken Fealing, program director, economic justice, Board of Church and Society;

Gretchen Hakola, program director, communications, churchwide Board of Church and Society;

Liberato Bautista, assistant general secretary, United Nations office, Board of Church and Society;

Elena Taryor, governing member, Board of Church and Society;

Juanita Rasmus, co-pastor, St. John's United Methodist Church, Houston; and

The Rev. Chester Jones, general secretary, churchwide Commission on Religion and Race.

[daves_brother]

The minister will lead a prayer, saying: "We stand in solidarity with women and all victims of violence who are piecing their lives together."

Key buzzwords:

• solidarity
• victims
• others?

[Graewoulf]

Thank you for the detail in your reply.

I am concerned about facts, and thus your reply has revealed that it is a choice made at the local level, and that ALL Methodists are not pot smashers.

[daves_brother]

The order of service, called Soaring Wings and Strengthened Dreams, also includes the testimony of a Baptist minister's wife who was beaten after church for serving Angel Delight at Sunday lunch.

Violence against anyone in most circumstances is a serious concern, but I just couldn't help but think that I was glad, for this woman's sake, that she didn't serve Devil's Food Cake.

[Peter Libra]

I remember going away from the bombing in the London area in the war. I went to a tiny village in Yorkshire. I had to attend a Methodist chapel-it did me no harm. The sermon was pretty hard to get through and one could try to suck on sweet(candy) unobserved to kill the time. Then these farming area folk would sing with gusto their own favourite hymn -"We plow the fields and scatter, the good seed on the land....." My first prize for attendance was a boys book on war adventure. "A Captain of the Irregulars" by G.A. Henty. I can see these solid Yorkshire folk now,in memory.

O tempora O mores!

[Illbay]

Where is Jesus Christ in any of this?

[dighton]

I was glad, for this woman's sake, that she didn't serve Devil's Food Cake.

See #102

[dano1]

The blind leading the blind.

[Arkinsaw]

I am concerned about facts, and thus your reply has revealed that it is a choice made at the local level, and that ALL Methodists are not pot smashers.

You are correct, but still a portion of everything put into the collection plate at the local level heads to the top to fund things that those at the local level don't bother to find out what they are paying for. Ignorance is indeed an individual choice.

[Miss Marple]

No, I don't support that stuff, nor does my church. We tend to be very picky when it comes to where our money is going, and the board knows that people are watching.

The Methodist Church runs some excellent programs for the elderly and poor. If I do not stay and speak out and try to change, a once proud denomination will go the way of the Episopalians.

And that is why I am in my church. I do assume, however, that you didn't mean for there to be a religious tolerance test for being on Free Republic.

[Graewoulf]

VERY PC of you to notice that the obsolete expression "beats me" cannot be de-genderized, sanitized or otherwise revised to imply anything remotely similar to the warm fuzzies so strongly foisted upon us by the word police.

Afterall, this IS 2001!

[daves_brother]

that it is a choice made at the local level

Ah, but there's the rub!  Even though your local Methodist church may not support the expressions in post 26, I would assume if your church is United Methodist, then a portion of your local church's tithes and other offerings go to the conference and the larger United Methodist Church.  By extension, your local dollars are financing the views expressed in Arkinsaw's post.

On the other hand, you will probably not find a denomination whose public proclamations you agree with completely, so if the United Methodists are most closely aligned to your faith and worldview, then perhaps that where you should be.

[blackbart1]

Well...I thought one went to chruch to worship God. Little did I know.