The return of a great OCICBW... tradition.
Lord have mercy.
Friday, 6 August 2010
ROCK 'N' ROLL DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS
Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends and the first post of our brand new LOUD FRIDAY feature. It's all very simple. You just send in your suggestions of tracks that qualify for the description up there in the headline. You can go for the obvious, as I have done today. Or you can be obscure. However, if your choice is too esoteric you may have to send me the mp3 file by email. If you do that, format it at 112kbps, please.
Use the comment box below for your suggestions or email me. Your comments will not be published until your choice is posted.
Bear in mind I will be the final arbiter as to wether your suggestion rocks or not. For example, much as I love them, The Carpenters are not going to get in. There is no appeal.
Oh, and one last thing.
Don't forget to turn the volume switch up to 11.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
ANOTHER GOOD MAN DONE GONE
THE MADPRIEST BOBBY HEBB TRIBUTE
Blues and soul
singer and composer
26th. July, 1938 to
3rd. August, 2010
The dark days are gone
and the bright days are here
Robert Von Hebb was an African American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and recording of "Sunny".
Hebb's parents, William and Ovalla Hebb, were both blind musicians. Hebb and his older brother Harold performed as a song-and-dance team in Nashville, beginning when Bobby was three and Harold was nine. Hebb performed on a TV show hosted by country music record producer Owen Bradley, which earned him a place with Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff. Hebb played spoons and other instruments in Acuff's band. Harold later became a member of Johnny Bragg and the Marigolds.
On 23 November 1963, the day after John F. Kennedy's assassination, Harold Hebb was killed in a knife fight outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by both events and sought comfort in songwriting. Though many claim that the song he wrote after both tragedies was the optimistic "Sunny", Hebb himself stated otherwise.
"All my intentions were just to think of happier times – basically looking for a brighter day – because times were at a low tide. After I wrote it, I thought "Sunny" just might be a different approach to what Johnny Bragg was talking about in "Just Walkin' in the Rain".
After a recording gap of thirty five years, during which he wrestled with alcoholism, Hebb recorded a new album. "That's All I Wanna Know" was his first commercial release since Love Games for Epic Records in 1970. It was released in Europe in late 2005 by Tuition, a new pop indie label. New versions of "Sunny" were also issued (two duets: one with Astrid North, and one with Pat Appleton).
Hebb continued to live in his hometown of Nashville until his death from lung cancer at Centennial Medical Center on August 3, 2010. (WIKIPEDIA)
Rest in peace, Bobby. You done good
For JCF
BLOG NOTICE
I'm getting more than a bit annoyed at the way BLOGGER keeps double posting my stuff. I'm also peed off that they keep inserting extra italic instructions into the post html and creating gaps that shouldn't be there. If anyone knows how to stop this happening, please let me know (without any condescension in your tone, please).
THINGS NOT TO DO IN BED
From BIG NEWS NETWORK:
Katy Perry, who recently stripped down to her skivvies for Rolling Stone, has revealed that she takes her religion very seriously.
The singer thinks that mixing sex and religion makes 'bad things happen'.
COMMENT: Well, it could easily put you off your stroke, if nothing else.
Katy Perry, who recently stripped down to her skivvies for Rolling Stone, has revealed that she takes her religion very seriously.
The singer thinks that mixing sex and religion makes 'bad things happen'.
COMMENT: Well, it could easily put you off your stroke, if nothing else.
NEW WESTMINSTER TWINNED WITH KHARTOUM
From THE PROVINCE:
A picture of 17 year old Tory Inglis and two gay men appeared in a front-page story June 12 in New Westminster’s Royal City Record newspaper promoting the local Gay Pride parade. About a month later, the minister at First Prebyterian Church, which she had attended all her life, called and asked to meet to discuss her involvement in the Pride event.
Tory said she met the minister and a female member of the church the next day, and she was told how she was promoting an improper lifestyle.
“Basically, they told me that I wasn’t being a positive role model for the youth in the church and the younger children, and that I was promoting a sexual lifestyle,” Tory told The Province Wednesday.
“I was so upset. I was crying during points of the meeting,” she said. “I’ve gone there ever since I was born. I was baptized there. So it’s really hard to hear from this place where I was pretty raised that I was now different.”
“I was one of the leaders of the junior youth group, and it’s not like every week I went up in front of the youth and said, ‘All right, let’s talk about how I’m gay this week.’”
The minister told her the church would prefer if she withdraw from the group that organized the pride events, Tory said, but she refused and withdrew her membership from the church instead.
“Above all, I want to promote peace and love and acceptance,” Tory said. “I would much rather be in a place that accepts people for who they are than a place that condemns people for loving.”
COMMENT: Meetings, like the one Tory had to endure with her minister, are nothing less than a form of sexual abuse, and in Tory's case the sexual abuse of a minor. Even the thought of those two self righteous Peeping Toms lewdly enquiring about the young lady's sex life makes me feel dirty - not in a nice way.
For choosing death not life, Tory's former
"pastor" is our Phobe Of The Day.
For choosing life not death, Tory is our...
BRICK OF THE DAY
A picture of 17 year old Tory Inglis and two gay men appeared in a front-page story June 12 in New Westminster’s Royal City Record newspaper promoting the local Gay Pride parade. About a month later, the minister at First Prebyterian Church, which she had attended all her life, called and asked to meet to discuss her involvement in the Pride event.
Tory said she met the minister and a female member of the church the next day, and she was told how she was promoting an improper lifestyle.
“Basically, they told me that I wasn’t being a positive role model for the youth in the church and the younger children, and that I was promoting a sexual lifestyle,” Tory told The Province Wednesday.
“I was so upset. I was crying during points of the meeting,” she said. “I’ve gone there ever since I was born. I was baptized there. So it’s really hard to hear from this place where I was pretty raised that I was now different.”
“I was one of the leaders of the junior youth group, and it’s not like every week I went up in front of the youth and said, ‘All right, let’s talk about how I’m gay this week.’”
The minister told her the church would prefer if she withdraw from the group that organized the pride events, Tory said, but she refused and withdrew her membership from the church instead.
“Above all, I want to promote peace and love and acceptance,” Tory said. “I would much rather be in a place that accepts people for who they are than a place that condemns people for loving.”
COMMENT: Meetings, like the one Tory had to endure with her minister, are nothing less than a form of sexual abuse, and in Tory's case the sexual abuse of a minor. Even the thought of those two self righteous Peeping Toms lewdly enquiring about the young lady's sex life makes me feel dirty - not in a nice way.For choosing death not life, Tory's former
"pastor" is our Phobe Of The Day.
For choosing life not death, Tory is our...
BRICK OF THE DAY
PRE-USED BIBLE FOR SALE
A BARGAIN AT $1500000
From NPR:
The personal bible of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, has turned up for sale at a rare bookstore in Salt Lake City. This week, Utahns had a chance to look at the one-of-a-kind historical tome. Whoever buys the $1.5 million bible will also get genealogical notes about the Smith family not found anywhere else.
COMMENT:
If anyone wants to buy this bible I suggest they seal the deal quickly just in case the Angel Moroni breaks into the bookshop and clears off back to Kolob with it. It was quite convenient the last time he did something similar, but this time round it would be a bit disappointing.
The personal bible of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, has turned up for sale at a rare bookstore in Salt Lake City. This week, Utahns had a chance to look at the one-of-a-kind historical tome. Whoever buys the $1.5 million bible will also get genealogical notes about the Smith family not found anywhere else.
COMMENT:
If anyone wants to buy this bible I suggest they seal the deal quickly just in case the Angel Moroni breaks into the bookshop and clears off back to Kolob with it. It was quite convenient the last time he did something similar, but this time round it would be a bit disappointing.
MAY THEIR ACCUSERS ROT IN
WHATEVER HELL THEY BELIEVE IN!
From REUTERS:
A Sudanese court on Wednesday sentenced 19 young Muslim men to 30 lashes and a fine for breaking moral codes by wearing women's clothes and makeup.
Many of the defendants tried to hide their faces from the around 200 people who watched as they were lashed straight after their sentencing. The men had no lawyers present and said nothing in their own defense.
The trial judge said police had raided a party thrown by the 19 men and found them dancing "in a womanly fashion," wearing women's clothes and makeup.
Local newspapers reported that the party was held to celebrate a same-sex wedding, propelling it into a talking point all over Khartoum's conservative Muslim society.
One lawyer present, who declined to be named, said legal advocates would have been afraid to take on such a defense.
"These people did not get a chance for justice," he said. "Public opinion and the media prejudged them and lawyers were too scared to come and defend them."
COMMENT: To claim that the people who tortured these young men have just climbed down from the trees would be a racist lie. To claim that they are rapidly ascending the trees would, on the other hand, be pretty damn accurate.
A Sudanese court on Wednesday sentenced 19 young Muslim men to 30 lashes and a fine for breaking moral codes by wearing women's clothes and makeup.
Many of the defendants tried to hide their faces from the around 200 people who watched as they were lashed straight after their sentencing. The men had no lawyers present and said nothing in their own defense.
The trial judge said police had raided a party thrown by the 19 men and found them dancing "in a womanly fashion," wearing women's clothes and makeup.
Local newspapers reported that the party was held to celebrate a same-sex wedding, propelling it into a talking point all over Khartoum's conservative Muslim society.
One lawyer present, who declined to be named, said legal advocates would have been afraid to take on such a defense.
"These people did not get a chance for justice," he said. "Public opinion and the media prejudged them and lawyers were too scared to come and defend them."
COMMENT: To claim that the people who tortured these young men have just climbed down from the trees would be a racist lie. To claim that they are rapidly ascending the trees would, on the other hand, be pretty damn accurate.
IS IT TIME TO BAN SAME FAITH MARRIAGES?
From THE NEW YORK TIMES:
When Steven Cohn, a Chicago-area lawyer, looked at photographs of Marc Mezvinsky, outfitted with a yarmulke and a prayer shawl, and Chelsea Clinton, luminous in a strapless gown and a 100-watt smile, he recalled his own interfaith marriage 30 years ago to Loreli Fritz-Cohn, a Methodist, on her grandmother’s farm in Ohio. He, too, wore a prayer shawl — though he recalled how hard it had been to find a Reform rabbi to perform the ceremony.
“They shouldn’t look at it as a loss,” he added, referring to statements made in the past week by Jewish organizations and their leaders. “Although there is that risk, there’s also the possibility of gain, which it has been for us.”
Nonetheless, the seemingly incandescent wedding of Ms. Clinton and Mr. Mezvinsky has churned up ambivalent reactions among the nation’s almost six million Jews. There is a clannish pride that after a history of exclusion and prejudice, the grandson of a Jewish Iowa grocer could marry into what passes for political royalty in the United States.
But some Jews fear that the societal openness confirmed by high-profile intermarriages like that of Ms. Clinton and Mr. Mezvinsky, or Caroline Kennedy and Edwin A. Schlossberg in 1986, prod more Jews to marry out of their faith. That, they worry, could threaten the vitality of a group that represents no more than 2 percent of the American population.
COMMENT: Oh, for goodness sake, go for it Jewish people. Not only will you find that it will help cleanse you of your own ancient bigotry and arrogance, you may find it will stop a lot of the vile prejudice against you.
In my opinion, Jewish isolationism is well up there with stupid "killing Jesus" accusations when it comes to reasons why Jewish people have been treated so abdominally over the last two thousand years. And that goes for all the other groups that try to preserve the purity of their bloodline and includes the current obsession of black people in the US that their children should only marry other black people. As a defence strategy it is wrongheaded and will only backfire on them in the long run.
These are the words of an aging, mad hippie.
When Steven Cohn, a Chicago-area lawyer, looked at photographs of Marc Mezvinsky, outfitted with a yarmulke and a prayer shawl, and Chelsea Clinton, luminous in a strapless gown and a 100-watt smile, he recalled his own interfaith marriage 30 years ago to Loreli Fritz-Cohn, a Methodist, on her grandmother’s farm in Ohio. He, too, wore a prayer shawl — though he recalled how hard it had been to find a Reform rabbi to perform the ceremony.
“They shouldn’t look at it as a loss,” he added, referring to statements made in the past week by Jewish organizations and their leaders. “Although there is that risk, there’s also the possibility of gain, which it has been for us.”
Nonetheless, the seemingly incandescent wedding of Ms. Clinton and Mr. Mezvinsky has churned up ambivalent reactions among the nation’s almost six million Jews. There is a clannish pride that after a history of exclusion and prejudice, the grandson of a Jewish Iowa grocer could marry into what passes for political royalty in the United States.
But some Jews fear that the societal openness confirmed by high-profile intermarriages like that of Ms. Clinton and Mr. Mezvinsky, or Caroline Kennedy and Edwin A. Schlossberg in 1986, prod more Jews to marry out of their faith. That, they worry, could threaten the vitality of a group that represents no more than 2 percent of the American population.
COMMENT: Oh, for goodness sake, go for it Jewish people. Not only will you find that it will help cleanse you of your own ancient bigotry and arrogance, you may find it will stop a lot of the vile prejudice against you.
In my opinion, Jewish isolationism is well up there with stupid "killing Jesus" accusations when it comes to reasons why Jewish people have been treated so abdominally over the last two thousand years. And that goes for all the other groups that try to preserve the purity of their bloodline and includes the current obsession of black people in the US that their children should only marry other black people. As a defence strategy it is wrongheaded and will only backfire on them in the long run.
These are the words of an aging, mad hippie.
BANG TO RIGHTS!
From THE LOCAL (Germany):
Over the last six years a man in Germany's Harz region earned the dislike of his fellow residents by tattling to authorities about some 15,000 parking violations – but this week “parking ticket Horst” had to answer for a citation of his own. Horst-Werner Nilges was fined €10 (plus a €23.50 processing fee) for speeding 10 kilometres per hour over the limit in Pöhlde this March.
But the 56-year-old early pensioner didn’t want to pay, registering a protest instead. During two-and-a-half hours of proceedings at the Herzberg district court on Tuesday, the stickler for parking rules said he had not been driving too fast. Meanwhile his lawyer tried to convince the judge that speed camera photos should not be used as evidence.
But Judge Carsten Schindler rejected the appeal and told the tattletale to pay the fine.
COMMENT: I've always thought that priests should be given the authority to make arrests. Also we should be issued with our own glock pistols, for those occasions when perps try to resist arrest.
"It's a fair cop, bishop. You're parked on a double yellow line. So ask yourself, 'Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, bishop?..."
Over the last six years a man in Germany's Harz region earned the dislike of his fellow residents by tattling to authorities about some 15,000 parking violations – but this week “parking ticket Horst” had to answer for a citation of his own. Horst-Werner Nilges was fined €10 (plus a €23.50 processing fee) for speeding 10 kilometres per hour over the limit in Pöhlde this March.
But the 56-year-old early pensioner didn’t want to pay, registering a protest instead. During two-and-a-half hours of proceedings at the Herzberg district court on Tuesday, the stickler for parking rules said he had not been driving too fast. Meanwhile his lawyer tried to convince the judge that speed camera photos should not be used as evidence.
But Judge Carsten Schindler rejected the appeal and told the tattletale to pay the fine.
COMMENT: I've always thought that priests should be given the authority to make arrests. Also we should be issued with our own glock pistols, for those occasions when perps try to resist arrest.
"It's a fair cop, bishop. You're parked on a double yellow line. So ask yourself, 'Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, bishop?..."
DON'T BLAME MADPRIEST, BLAME MAD DAD
One day, a man went to an auction and bid on a parrot. He really wanted this bird, so he got caught up in the bidding. He kept on bidding but kept getting outbid, so he bid higher and higher and higher. Finally, after he bid way more than he intended, he won the bid. The parrot was his, at last!
As he was paying for the parrot, he said to the auctioneer: "I sure hope this parrot can talk. I would hate to have paid this much for it, only to find out that he can't talk!"
"Don't worry," said the auctioneer. "He can talk. Who do you think kept bidding against you?"
As he was paying for the parrot, he said to the auctioneer: "I sure hope this parrot can talk. I would hate to have paid this much for it, only to find out that he can't talk!"
"Don't worry," said the auctioneer. "He can talk. Who do you think kept bidding against you?"
DOING THE DIRTY THING FOR JESUS
Sexy Ministry is any pseudo good deed you do for show. Dirty Ministry is what you do everyday that might happen to be a good deed. Dirty Ministry is habitual, difficult, but the common work of service to the Lord.
Sexy Ministry says catch phrases and important sounding words that often confuse the listener so as not to disappoint the listener. Dirty Ministry speaks the truth even when the truth is not safe, even when you will be punished for the truth.
Go read the rest of this insightful post at DIRTY SEXY MINISTRY. It's the best "thought for the day" sort of thing I've read in ages.
I do love it when women priests talk dirty.
Sexy Ministry says catch phrases and important sounding words that often confuse the listener so as not to disappoint the listener. Dirty Ministry speaks the truth even when the truth is not safe, even when you will be punished for the truth.
Go read the rest of this insightful post at DIRTY SEXY MINISTRY. It's the best "thought for the day" sort of thing I've read in ages.
I do love it when women priests talk dirty.
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
THATCHER'S BACK
From THE MIRROR:
Council tenants will no longer have a "home for life" under a plan unveiled by David Cameron yesterday. The PM said fixed term contracts should be issued so that people can be evicted if they get a job or start earning more.
Eileen Short, of Defend Council Housing, said families and communities will be split up and ministers should be building more council houses to address the shortage instead of cutting funding. She said: "It is completely ill-conceived. Instead of creating communities it will create pockets of poverty and despair."
Mr Cameron already plans to slash housing benefit for poor families in private accommodation - in a move that will force thousands from their homes.
COMMENT: I love Americans but, boy, do I hate America. It sits their in its doomsday bomb protected smugness, one huge excuse for every tin pot, tory, wannabe Thatcher to screw the poor and working classes of their own countries.
I suppose it is inevitable that we will all become American one day. Unfortunately this terrible prospect is being thrust upon us far quicker than it should because it seems the first thing the English people chose to ape is the American working class's lemming like insistence on voting into power posh boys who they know full well are just going to make their lives even more miserable.
People are stupid.
Council tenants will no longer have a "home for life" under a plan unveiled by David Cameron yesterday. The PM said fixed term contracts should be issued so that people can be evicted if they get a job or start earning more.
Eileen Short, of Defend Council Housing, said families and communities will be split up and ministers should be building more council houses to address the shortage instead of cutting funding. She said: "It is completely ill-conceived. Instead of creating communities it will create pockets of poverty and despair."
Mr Cameron already plans to slash housing benefit for poor families in private accommodation - in a move that will force thousands from their homes.
COMMENT: I love Americans but, boy, do I hate America. It sits their in its doomsday bomb protected smugness, one huge excuse for every tin pot, tory, wannabe Thatcher to screw the poor and working classes of their own countries.
People are stupid.
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
From THE CHURCH TIMES (relating to rowan Williams' address to The Lutheran World Federation last week):
COMMENT: What on earth is going on?!!!
We've got a Russian Orthodox deacon running around London telling women to take their trousers off, and now the Grand Tufti is encouraging the Lutherans to turn their backs on the ancient and God given institution of marriage.
Ah! Perhaps this is a cunning plan. When all the Lutherans have shacked up together he can get same sex blessings through synod on the basis that marriage is so old hat that even the Germans don't bother with it anymore. (Yes, I know, there are just as many Scandinavian Lutherans as German ones, but "Swedish Lutheran Shacks Up With Partner" is not, what you would call, news).
COMMENT: What on earth is going on?!!!
We've got a Russian Orthodox deacon running around London telling women to take their trousers off, and now the Grand Tufti is encouraging the Lutherans to turn their backs on the ancient and God given institution of marriage.
Ah! Perhaps this is a cunning plan. When all the Lutherans have shacked up together he can get same sex blessings through synod on the basis that marriage is so old hat that even the Germans don't bother with it anymore. (Yes, I know, there are just as many Scandinavian Lutherans as German ones, but "Swedish Lutheran Shacks Up With Partner" is not, what you would call, news).
SOPPY SHEILA: THE MUSICAL
From SLOG NEWS AND ARTS:
Thanks to Ann for sending the link to this
bittersweet story into MadPriest Towers.
Thanks to Ann for sending the link to this
bittersweet story into MadPriest Towers.
MUSIC FOR YOUR LUNCHTIME
One of DOLLY PARTON'S, and also one of my, favourite performers is Our Lady J. As a classically trained pianist, who has performed with The American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and the MMDG (Mark Morris Dance Group) Music Ensemble, and a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter in her own right, she is not just one helluva woman (babelicious enough to walk out with DANIEL RADCLIFFE on more than one occasion), she is also one helluva talent.
To date she has been known for her cabaret performances of satirical and biting "post religious gospel music," but on her upcoming album, "The Gospel Electric," she has fused electro/pop with her "unorthodox uplifting soul-shaking sound." This new direction is perfect for her androgynous vocal sound and brings out the depth and emotion in the lyrics of the songs she sings (which are both her own and covers).
The debut single from the album is a cover of the Nine Inch Nails' song, "Hurt," which you can enjoy by clicking on the widget below. You can download this from Amazon and all the usual places, but I suggest you wait till the album is released and go for the full Lady J experience. If you want to hear the album before it's release you can check it out on Our Lady J's WEBSITE. If you live in, or near to, London, England, she is performing at THE LONDON AND SOHO THEATRE between the ninth and twenty first of August. She is also playing the ELECTRIC PICNIC FESTIVAL taking place in Stradbally, Ireland on the fourth and fifth of September. After that she's off to Seattle (give her my regards, KJ!).
GRANDMÈRE MIMI'S HANDYMAN
Mimi likes a man who is skilful with his hands, preferably one who possesses a roving tool. And boy, did she strike lucky bagging Tom (Grandpère) as her husband. And now Tom, who's getting on a bit in life, is passing his skills on to other young men who he hopes will keep the traditions alive.
For more on Tom's achievements, both in and out of the water, go to the WOUND UP BIRD blog.
Highly recommended.
For more on Tom's achievements, both in and out of the water, go to the WOUND UP BIRD blog.
Highly recommended.
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
I'D LIKE TO WISH ALL MY READERS
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
From THE MIRROR:
Outside the summer sun was beating down, but inside Selfridges was a winter wonderland as it decked its halls for Christmas - FIVE months early. The lower ground floor had been turned into a Santa's grotto, even though there are 145 days to go to December 25.
And on Saturday, Knightsbridge department store Harrods will open its Christmas shop on the second floor.
A Church of England spokesman said: "We should not forget the true meaning of Christmas which is to celebrate the birth of Christ."
COMMENT: Which is what he says every year. Personally I would go for something along the lines of, "May the blasphemers be thrown into hell, where the worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched." It's a more Christlike response.
And on Saturday, Knightsbridge department store Harrods will open its Christmas shop on the second floor.
A Church of England spokesman said: "We should not forget the true meaning of Christmas which is to celebrate the birth of Christ."
COMMENT: Which is what he says every year. Personally I would go for something along the lines of, "May the blasphemers be thrown into hell, where the worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched." It's a more Christlike response.
MadPRIEST'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
(SEE ALSO ARTICLE BELOW)
To say that clergy should work long hours because members of the laity give up their spare time to work for their church is like saying a bartender should not be paid because customers voluntarily come into the pub. Or, perhaps, more accurately (if you are English) like saying a working men's club steward should not be paid because the club committee members are all volunteers.
CONGREGATIONS KILL THEIR CLERGY
From THE NEW YORK TIMES:
The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.
Public health experts who have led the studies caution that there is no simple explanation of why so many members of a profession once associated with rosy-cheeked longevity have become so unhealthy and unhappy. But while research continues, a growing number of health care experts and religious leaders have settled on one simple remedy that has long been a touchy subject with many clerics: taking more time off.
As cellphones and social media expose the clergy to new dimensions of stress, and as health care costs soar, some of the country’s largest religious denominations have begun wellness campaigns that preach the virtues of getting away. It has been described by some health experts as a sort of slow-food movement for the clerical soul. In the United Methodist Church in recent months, some church administrators have been contacting ministers known to skip vacation to make sure they have scheduled their time.
The church, the nation’s largest mainline Protestant denomination, led the way with a 2006 directive that strongly urged ministers to take all the vacation they were entitled to — a practice then almost unheard of in some busy congregations.
“Time away can bring renewal,” the directive said, “and help prevent burnout.”
COMMENT: Of course, clergy should take regular vacations and, no doubt, doing so brings refreshment. However, such reinvigoration will not last long as the real problem is the amount of time clergy spend working each and every week that they are not on vacation.
In the Church of England the clergy are expected to work for 60 hours a week over 6 days. But most conscientious clergy will put in far more hours. For this they are paid about £23000 ($36000). Employed persons, in other occupations, would expect to work no more than between 35 and 40 hours a week for such a wage and, importantly, this would be over a 5 day week, giving them 2 full days off to recuperate and give time to their own concerns. Clergy have to shop, paint the spare room and take their kids to football practice like everyone else. Cramming such mundane things into just one day off a week leaves you permanently knackered and the lack of time available to spend with ones partner can lead to all sorts of relationship stress.
Basically, nobody else would accept such working conditions. Such long hours for such low wages have been regarded as unjust in England for well over 50 years.
Most congregations in England are made up of people who work between 35 and 40 hours a week, or who have retired from such jobs. Most congregation members, still at work, would strike if their employers insisted on paying them £23000 for a compulsory 60+ hours a week (with no overtime payments). Yet these people are the ones who sit on the PCCs and vestries of their churches and complain if the vicar takes the odd hour off to take his kids to school or similar. They are also the ones who donate a pittance each week to the church collection which is one of the main reasons clergy work conditions are so poor.
At almost every interview I have attended in my search for another post I have been grilled about how much time I spend on my blog. The answer is about 3 hours a day. When I am working I tend to spend about an hour on it before morning prayer and then more time in the evening and late at night (I'm not one for watching much TV and I don't have any other hobbies). In any other line of work you would not expect to be interrogated about the amount of time you spend on your hobbies during your own spare time.
The truth is that congregations do not allow their clergy any spare time. They expect them to devote every spare moment of their waking lives to them and assume the right to wake them up if they are sleeping. Of course, there are other occupations where this is also true to some extent, certain parts of the medical profession for example. But such jobs tend to be financially rewarded at a far higher level than clergy pay and usually last for a relatively short amount of time during the person's career.
Although clergy in the Church of England have always been poorly paid (at times, in the past, far more poorly paid than they are today), previously their ministry was not viewed by the congregations as a job, but as a way of life. Clergy would work their own land, study, pursue other interests, do academic work alongside their parish commitments, and in a relaxed manner. Unfortunately, the people of the church have now bought into the capitalist ethic and see their clergy as their employees whilst at the same time not buying into the fair wage for a fair day's work ethic. In this they are like the unenlightened mill owners of the early industrial revolution or Nike today.
Unless clergy hours are reduced to no more than 8 a day and their working week reduced to 5 days, clergy working in modern, Western, capitalist countries will continue to burn out, no matter if they take regular holidays or not. At the moment most congregations are killing their clergy and they don't appear to give a damn about that.
Thanks to Skittles for bringing the
NY Times article to my attention.
The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.
Public health experts who have led the studies caution that there is no simple explanation of why so many members of a profession once associated with rosy-cheeked longevity have become so unhealthy and unhappy. But while research continues, a growing number of health care experts and religious leaders have settled on one simple remedy that has long been a touchy subject with many clerics: taking more time off.
As cellphones and social media expose the clergy to new dimensions of stress, and as health care costs soar, some of the country’s largest religious denominations have begun wellness campaigns that preach the virtues of getting away. It has been described by some health experts as a sort of slow-food movement for the clerical soul. In the United Methodist Church in recent months, some church administrators have been contacting ministers known to skip vacation to make sure they have scheduled their time.
The church, the nation’s largest mainline Protestant denomination, led the way with a 2006 directive that strongly urged ministers to take all the vacation they were entitled to — a practice then almost unheard of in some busy congregations.
“Time away can bring renewal,” the directive said, “and help prevent burnout.”
COMMENT: Of course, clergy should take regular vacations and, no doubt, doing so brings refreshment. However, such reinvigoration will not last long as the real problem is the amount of time clergy spend working each and every week that they are not on vacation.
In the Church of England the clergy are expected to work for 60 hours a week over 6 days. But most conscientious clergy will put in far more hours. For this they are paid about £23000 ($36000). Employed persons, in other occupations, would expect to work no more than between 35 and 40 hours a week for such a wage and, importantly, this would be over a 5 day week, giving them 2 full days off to recuperate and give time to their own concerns. Clergy have to shop, paint the spare room and take their kids to football practice like everyone else. Cramming such mundane things into just one day off a week leaves you permanently knackered and the lack of time available to spend with ones partner can lead to all sorts of relationship stress.
Basically, nobody else would accept such working conditions. Such long hours for such low wages have been regarded as unjust in England for well over 50 years.
Most congregations in England are made up of people who work between 35 and 40 hours a week, or who have retired from such jobs. Most congregation members, still at work, would strike if their employers insisted on paying them £23000 for a compulsory 60+ hours a week (with no overtime payments). Yet these people are the ones who sit on the PCCs and vestries of their churches and complain if the vicar takes the odd hour off to take his kids to school or similar. They are also the ones who donate a pittance each week to the church collection which is one of the main reasons clergy work conditions are so poor.
At almost every interview I have attended in my search for another post I have been grilled about how much time I spend on my blog. The answer is about 3 hours a day. When I am working I tend to spend about an hour on it before morning prayer and then more time in the evening and late at night (I'm not one for watching much TV and I don't have any other hobbies). In any other line of work you would not expect to be interrogated about the amount of time you spend on your hobbies during your own spare time.
The truth is that congregations do not allow their clergy any spare time. They expect them to devote every spare moment of their waking lives to them and assume the right to wake them up if they are sleeping. Of course, there are other occupations where this is also true to some extent, certain parts of the medical profession for example. But such jobs tend to be financially rewarded at a far higher level than clergy pay and usually last for a relatively short amount of time during the person's career.
Although clergy in the Church of England have always been poorly paid (at times, in the past, far more poorly paid than they are today), previously their ministry was not viewed by the congregations as a job, but as a way of life. Clergy would work their own land, study, pursue other interests, do academic work alongside their parish commitments, and in a relaxed manner. Unfortunately, the people of the church have now bought into the capitalist ethic and see their clergy as their employees whilst at the same time not buying into the fair wage for a fair day's work ethic. In this they are like the unenlightened mill owners of the early industrial revolution or Nike today.
Unless clergy hours are reduced to no more than 8 a day and their working week reduced to 5 days, clergy working in modern, Western, capitalist countries will continue to burn out, no matter if they take regular holidays or not. At the moment most congregations are killing their clergy and they don't appear to give a damn about that.
Thanks to Skittles for bringing the
NY Times article to my attention.
A POSTHUMOUS BRICK OF THE DAY
All three dogs are our...
BRICKS OF THE DAY
... but for giving her life for her friends, Sasha will be forever remembered in the Outrunners' Hall Of Fame.
And all those people who contributed towards the cost of bringing Target and Rufus to the US should give themselves a huge pat on the back, as well.
And yes, I admit it, I blubbed like a girlie. But I tend to do that when the Kingdom of God briefly breaks through into our cynical world.
Monday, 2 August 2010
WHAT'S AFOOT?
Exactly twelve inches.
For further disambiguation check out CHIN WAG today.
Details of how to access CHIN WAG can be found in the
right hand side bar of this blog.
For further disambiguation check out CHIN WAG today.
Details of how to access CHIN WAG can be found in the
right hand side bar of this blog.
OCICBW... PHOTO SCOOP
From EPISCOPAL LIFE ONLINE:
Fortunately, an OCICBW... staff photographer was at the
ceremony and was able to send us this world exclusive:
Fortunately, an OCICBW... staff photographer was at the
ceremony and was able to send us this world exclusive:
COURT DIARY
The Bishop of Newcastle, the Right Reverend Martin Wharton, is taking a well earned break from laying off priests due to the financial problems of his diocese, on a visit to the diocese of Botswana. It is unlikely that he has taken his chauffeur with him (a perk of office courtesy of the Church Commissioners) who is more likely getting the bishop's garden all neat and tidy for him (a perk of office courtesy of the Church Commissioners), ready for his return.
SHOCK FINDING - POOR GIVE MORE
CLAIMS NEW REPORT
From JCONLINE:
COMMENT: Counterintuitive? Maybe.
A surprise to anyone except the rural dean of Ipswich?
Definitely not.
COMMENT: Counterintuitive? Maybe.
A surprise to anyone except the rural dean of Ipswich?
Definitely not.
MALE BISHOP, WHO HAD SEX WITH MAN,
OUTSIDE OF WEDLOCK, MAY GO TO ROME
Fifteen bishops have written to Church of England clergy voicing their concerns over the crisis in the Church of England.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
'God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will tell you the good and proper way.' (1 Samuel 12:23)
These are grave times in the Church of England especially for those of us unable in good conscience to accept that any particular church has the authority to admit women to the episcopate. While we certainly accept the good faith of those who wish to make this change believing it to be God's will, we cannot rejoice with them, not least because of the disastrous cost to Catholic unity.
Our concerns are not only about sacramental assurance though that is of profound importance. If the legislation now proposed passes, it will not provide room for our tradition to grow and flourish. We will be dependent on a Code of Practice yet to be written, and sadly our experience of the last almost twenty years must make us wonder whether even such an inadequate provision will be honoured in the long term.
Neither the Report of the Revision Committee nor the legislation itself shows a proper understanding of our reservations, however carefully these have been presented through the consultation process and in the College and House of bishops. It remains a deep disappointment to us that the Church at large did not engage with the excellent Rochester Report and paid scant attention to the Consecrated Women report sponsored by Forward in Faith.
We must now accept that a majority of the members of the Church of England believe it is right to proceed with the ordination of women as bishops, and that a significant percentage of those in authority will not encourage or embrace with enthusiasm the traditional integrity or vocations within it. Nor is it their intention or desire to create a structure which genuinely allows the possibility of a flourishing mission beyond this generation.
However, the closeness of the vote on the Archbishops' amendment for co ordinate jurisdiction, concerns though there are about its adequacy, suggest at least a measure of disquiet in the majority about proceeding without a provision acceptable to traditionalists. The Catholic group fought valiantly on the floor of synod and we are grateful for that, and while many in the Church and press are speaking as if the legislation is now passed, final synodical approval is still some way off.
Whatever happens in the Synod, there are some Anglo Catholics, including in our own number, who are already looking at, indeed are resolved to join the Ordinariate as the place where they can find a home in which to live and proclaim their Christian faith, in communion with the Holy Father, yet retaining something of the blessings they have known and experienced in the Anglican tradition. Of course the Ordinariate is a new thing, and not all of us are trailblazers or can imagine what it might be like. Some will undoubtedly want to wait and see how that initiative develops before making a decision.
Yet others will make their individual submission and find their future as Roman Catholics.
Were the present proposals not to be substantially amended or defeated, many more of us will need to consider seriously these options.
A number will remain, perhaps even reluctantly because of personal circumstances, family loyalties, even financial necessity, but with a deep sense of unease about the long term future, an unease that is surely well founded. There are faithful Catholic clergy and lay people, though deeply opposed to the likely Synodical decision who cannot currently imagine themselves being anywhere else but within the Church of England. They wonder how they can stay, yet cannot imagine leaving their much loved church and parish. They do not want to be forced out of the Church they love and will persevere where they are, whatever the theological or ecclesiological ambiguities, and seek God's blessing on all they do.
Those who are not actively seeking a home elsewhere must work to defeat the currently proposed legislation. It is essential that traditionalists engage in the debate and discussion in their diocese and are active in the election process for the next quinquennium of the General Synod when the two thirds majority in each House will be required if the legislation is to pass. Whatever our individual futures, and however disheartened we might feel, the Church of England needs strong catholic hearts and voices.
The text quoted at the beginning of this letter was the one used by John Keble in his famous Assize sermon, often regarded as the starting point of the Oxford Movement. It seems remarkably apposite, and gives a clue to an appropriate attitude of heart for this process: prayerful and gracious, but clear.
We are all bishops united in our belief that the Church of England is mistaken in its actions. However, we must be honest and say we are not united as to how we should respond to these developments.
Nevertheless we are clear that each of the possibilities we have outlined has its own integrity and is to be honoured. We are resolved to respect the decisions made by laity, bishops, priests and deacons of our integrity, and call on you to do the same. It would be a sad and destructive thing indeed if we allowed our happiness and wondering to drift into unguarded or uncharitable criticism of those who in good conscience take a different path from our own. We must assume the best motives in one another, and where there are partings let them be with tears and the best wishes of Godspeed.
You will we hope know of the meetings in both provinces to take place in late September when there will be opportunities for discussion and an exchange of views about the future. Be assured of our prayers as you reflect about how best to respond to the challenges which face us, and we ask your prayers for us too as we seek to be faithful to the Lord, and to the Faith once delivered.
Please share the contents of this letter with your people, and indeed with any who might be interested to know of it.
The Rt Revd John Hind, Bishop of Chichester
The Rt Revd Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop of Europe
The Rt Revd Nicholas Reade, Bishop of Blackburn
The Rt Revd Martyn Jarrett, Bishop of Beverley
The Rt Revd John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham
The Rt Revd Peter Wheatley, Bishop of Edmonton
The Rt Revd John Goddard, Bishop of Burnley
The Rt Revd Andrew Burnham, Bishop of Ebbsfleet
The Rt Revd Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough
The Rt Revd Tony Robinson, Bishop of Pontefract
The Rt Revd John Ford, Bishop of Plymouth
The Rt Revd Mark Sowerby, Bishop of Horsham
The Rt Revd Martin Warner, Bishop of Whitby
The Rt Revd Robert Ladds
The Rt Revd Lindsay Urwin OGS
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
'God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will tell you the good and proper way.' (1 Samuel 12:23)
These are grave times in the Church of England especially for those of us unable in good conscience to accept that any particular church has the authority to admit women to the episcopate. While we certainly accept the good faith of those who wish to make this change believing it to be God's will, we cannot rejoice with them, not least because of the disastrous cost to Catholic unity.
Our concerns are not only about sacramental assurance though that is of profound importance. If the legislation now proposed passes, it will not provide room for our tradition to grow and flourish. We will be dependent on a Code of Practice yet to be written, and sadly our experience of the last almost twenty years must make us wonder whether even such an inadequate provision will be honoured in the long term.
Neither the Report of the Revision Committee nor the legislation itself shows a proper understanding of our reservations, however carefully these have been presented through the consultation process and in the College and House of bishops. It remains a deep disappointment to us that the Church at large did not engage with the excellent Rochester Report and paid scant attention to the Consecrated Women report sponsored by Forward in Faith.
We must now accept that a majority of the members of the Church of England believe it is right to proceed with the ordination of women as bishops, and that a significant percentage of those in authority will not encourage or embrace with enthusiasm the traditional integrity or vocations within it. Nor is it their intention or desire to create a structure which genuinely allows the possibility of a flourishing mission beyond this generation.
However, the closeness of the vote on the Archbishops' amendment for co ordinate jurisdiction, concerns though there are about its adequacy, suggest at least a measure of disquiet in the majority about proceeding without a provision acceptable to traditionalists. The Catholic group fought valiantly on the floor of synod and we are grateful for that, and while many in the Church and press are speaking as if the legislation is now passed, final synodical approval is still some way off.
Whatever happens in the Synod, there are some Anglo Catholics, including in our own number, who are already looking at, indeed are resolved to join the Ordinariate as the place where they can find a home in which to live and proclaim their Christian faith, in communion with the Holy Father, yet retaining something of the blessings they have known and experienced in the Anglican tradition. Of course the Ordinariate is a new thing, and not all of us are trailblazers or can imagine what it might be like. Some will undoubtedly want to wait and see how that initiative develops before making a decision.
Yet others will make their individual submission and find their future as Roman Catholics.
Were the present proposals not to be substantially amended or defeated, many more of us will need to consider seriously these options.
A number will remain, perhaps even reluctantly because of personal circumstances, family loyalties, even financial necessity, but with a deep sense of unease about the long term future, an unease that is surely well founded. There are faithful Catholic clergy and lay people, though deeply opposed to the likely Synodical decision who cannot currently imagine themselves being anywhere else but within the Church of England. They wonder how they can stay, yet cannot imagine leaving their much loved church and parish. They do not want to be forced out of the Church they love and will persevere where they are, whatever the theological or ecclesiological ambiguities, and seek God's blessing on all they do.
Those who are not actively seeking a home elsewhere must work to defeat the currently proposed legislation. It is essential that traditionalists engage in the debate and discussion in their diocese and are active in the election process for the next quinquennium of the General Synod when the two thirds majority in each House will be required if the legislation is to pass. Whatever our individual futures, and however disheartened we might feel, the Church of England needs strong catholic hearts and voices.
The text quoted at the beginning of this letter was the one used by John Keble in his famous Assize sermon, often regarded as the starting point of the Oxford Movement. It seems remarkably apposite, and gives a clue to an appropriate attitude of heart for this process: prayerful and gracious, but clear.
We are all bishops united in our belief that the Church of England is mistaken in its actions. However, we must be honest and say we are not united as to how we should respond to these developments.
Nevertheless we are clear that each of the possibilities we have outlined has its own integrity and is to be honoured. We are resolved to respect the decisions made by laity, bishops, priests and deacons of our integrity, and call on you to do the same. It would be a sad and destructive thing indeed if we allowed our happiness and wondering to drift into unguarded or uncharitable criticism of those who in good conscience take a different path from our own. We must assume the best motives in one another, and where there are partings let them be with tears and the best wishes of Godspeed.
You will we hope know of the meetings in both provinces to take place in late September when there will be opportunities for discussion and an exchange of views about the future. Be assured of our prayers as you reflect about how best to respond to the challenges which face us, and we ask your prayers for us too as we seek to be faithful to the Lord, and to the Faith once delivered.
Please share the contents of this letter with your people, and indeed with any who might be interested to know of it.
The Rt Revd John Hind, Bishop of Chichester
The Rt Revd Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop of Europe
The Rt Revd Nicholas Reade, Bishop of Blackburn
The Rt Revd Martyn Jarrett, Bishop of Beverley
The Rt Revd John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham
The Rt Revd Peter Wheatley, Bishop of Edmonton
The Rt Revd John Goddard, Bishop of Burnley
The Rt Revd Andrew Burnham, Bishop of Ebbsfleet
The Rt Revd Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough
The Rt Revd Tony Robinson, Bishop of Pontefract
The Rt Revd John Ford, Bishop of Plymouth
The Rt Revd Mark Sowerby, Bishop of Horsham
The Rt Revd Martin Warner, Bishop of Whitby
The Rt Revd Robert Ladds
The Rt Revd Lindsay Urwin OGS
ANOTHER OIL SPILL - THE SAME OLD TRUTH
From THE BATTLE CREEK ENQUIRER:
Under the shade of trees along the Battle Creek River, Father Brian Coleman of St. Thomas Episcopal Church asked the people gathered there today to not only pray for victims of the oil spill, but to ask for forgiveness.
Coleman said the oil spill which has blackened the Kalamazoo River, is as much the fault of the people who drove to the vigil in gasoline powered vehicles as it is Enbridge Inc.'s ruptured pipeline.
"Certainly we need to hold accountable the people who are directly responsible," he said to about 40 people there. "But we also need to hold ourselves accountable."
The pastor recited an ancient proverb that says when the last fish is caught, only then will people realize they can't eat money.
He asked people to symbolically offer repentance into a bowl of water, which was poured into the Battle Creek River that flows to the Kalamazoo. One by one, people cupped their hands into the clean water and wetted their faces or made the sign of the cross.
Under the shade of trees along the Battle Creek River, Father Brian Coleman of St. Thomas Episcopal Church asked the people gathered there today to not only pray for victims of the oil spill, but to ask for forgiveness.
Coleman said the oil spill which has blackened the Kalamazoo River, is as much the fault of the people who drove to the vigil in gasoline powered vehicles as it is Enbridge Inc.'s ruptured pipeline.
"Certainly we need to hold accountable the people who are directly responsible," he said to about 40 people there. "But we also need to hold ourselves accountable."
The pastor recited an ancient proverb that says when the last fish is caught, only then will people realize they can't eat money.
He asked people to symbolically offer repentance into a bowl of water, which was poured into the Battle Creek River that flows to the Kalamazoo. One by one, people cupped their hands into the clean water and wetted their faces or made the sign of the cross.
WELL, B**GER ME SIDEWARDS!
PRIEST SAYS CHRISTIANS SHOULD SWEAR MORE
From THE SUN:
Church of England priest, Michael Land, has risked controversy by claiming Jesus regularly turned the air blue.
He said: "I'd have no problem using the F-word in a sermon if it meant I was connecting with people. The number attending services is falling and the church needs to modernise so it doesn't fall behind completely. If that means swearing I say, 'Why bloody not?' People place Jesus on a pedestal. They'd probably be shocked by his language. He was poor and lacked any real education."
Rev Land also told what happened recently, when a motorist cut him up. He said: "I wound my window down and said, 'Why don't you learn to f***ing drive'. The other motorist just walked away."
Rev Land now preaches at St Mary's in sleepy Burghill, Herefordshire. Yesterday a woman parishioner in her 80s said: "I'd feel uncomfortable if he started effing and blinding."
Church of England priest, Michael Land, has risked controversy by claiming Jesus regularly turned the air blue.
He said: "I'd have no problem using the F-word in a sermon if it meant I was connecting with people. The number attending services is falling and the church needs to modernise so it doesn't fall behind completely. If that means swearing I say, 'Why bloody not?' People place Jesus on a pedestal. They'd probably be shocked by his language. He was poor and lacked any real education."
Rev Land also told what happened recently, when a motorist cut him up. He said: "I wound my window down and said, 'Why don't you learn to f***ing drive'. The other motorist just walked away."
Rev Land now preaches at St Mary's in sleepy Burghill, Herefordshire. Yesterday a woman parishioner in her 80s said: "I'd feel uncomfortable if he started effing and blinding."
JEWISH ACADEMICS ACCUSED OF BIAS
- WHATEVER NEXT?!!!
From THE UNDERGROUND:
A woman professor from Oxford University filed charges recently against her former school. Dr. Tali Argov of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies told the Reading Employment Tribunal hearing that she was unfairly dismissed and discriminated against after she became an Anglican in 2008. She said she was bypassed for promotion, lost her privileges and was treated coldly by her peers at social gatherings. She said the staff wanted to check her lectures to ensure she does not criticize Israel. Eventually she was dismissed although she had offered to undertake new roles, the Telegraph said.
Argov said she and her husband, Eran, were raised as Jews and formerly lived in Israel. In 2000 they moved to England when Argov was offered a lector of modern Hebrew post at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies. At first she was well accepted by her peers, but when her husband converted to the Church of England in 2005, “All those kind, heart-warming gestures disappeared overnight.”
She was treated even worse when she also became an Anglican in 2008. She said she noted strange looks from some colleagues and hushed silence whenever she approached. She also said she felt humiliated as the only full-time staff who was not included in a photo shoot for a brochure. In due time her office was taken from her, as was her pigeonhole. A lesser title was placed on her University ID card, which meant loss of her email account and admission to the library.
In October, 2008, she was also told that she would henceforth be paid hourly because the Center was confronted with financial difficulties. However, she noted that new staff were still being accepted. She was later dismissed.
Dr. David Ariel, president of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, said the Center adheres to a policy of respect for the religious beliefs of all its employees.
COMMENT: I really don't understand the attitude of Mrs Argov's former colleagues. She may have converted to Christianity, but she obviously still believes she is in the right and everybody is out to get her. So, surely, for all intents and purposes, she's still an Israeli, at least.
A woman professor from Oxford University filed charges recently against her former school. Dr. Tali Argov of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies told the Reading Employment Tribunal hearing that she was unfairly dismissed and discriminated against after she became an Anglican in 2008. She said she was bypassed for promotion, lost her privileges and was treated coldly by her peers at social gatherings. She said the staff wanted to check her lectures to ensure she does not criticize Israel. Eventually she was dismissed although she had offered to undertake new roles, the Telegraph said.
Argov said she and her husband, Eran, were raised as Jews and formerly lived in Israel. In 2000 they moved to England when Argov was offered a lector of modern Hebrew post at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies. At first she was well accepted by her peers, but when her husband converted to the Church of England in 2005, “All those kind, heart-warming gestures disappeared overnight.”
She was treated even worse when she also became an Anglican in 2008. She said she noted strange looks from some colleagues and hushed silence whenever she approached. She also said she felt humiliated as the only full-time staff who was not included in a photo shoot for a brochure. In due time her office was taken from her, as was her pigeonhole. A lesser title was placed on her University ID card, which meant loss of her email account and admission to the library.
In October, 2008, she was also told that she would henceforth be paid hourly because the Center was confronted with financial difficulties. However, she noted that new staff were still being accepted. She was later dismissed.
Dr. David Ariel, president of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, said the Center adheres to a policy of respect for the religious beliefs of all its employees.
COMMENT: I really don't understand the attitude of Mrs Argov's former colleagues. She may have converted to Christianity, but she obviously still believes she is in the right and everybody is out to get her. So, surely, for all intents and purposes, she's still an Israeli, at least.
ARCHBISHOP BARRY HICKEY - KINGMAKER
From THE AUSTRALIAN:
Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey has suggested Julia Gillard's atheism could cost her votes, but Tony Abbott's "strong Christian faith" could benefit him.
The archbishop told The Australian he had not meant to imply people should not vote for the Prime Minister - a self-professed atheist - and was simply "sounding a caution" about the rise of secularism in politics.
"I had no intention of attacking Julia Gillard at all. My point was the future, not the present - that if the people who don't subscribe to any religion get stronger, we might have a repeat of what happened in Europe, where the church was sidelined," he is quoted as saying.
COMMENT: And back in Britain, people are still completely baffled as to why the upcoming visit by the pope is not being seen as the good thing the Roman Catholic hierarchy keeps telling us it is. The Vatican is even hinting that the UK media is actually trying to influence public opinion. That people with power and a captive audience should do such a thing is disgusting.
Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey has suggested Julia Gillard's atheism could cost her votes, but Tony Abbott's "strong Christian faith" could benefit him.
The archbishop told The Australian he had not meant to imply people should not vote for the Prime Minister - a self-professed atheist - and was simply "sounding a caution" about the rise of secularism in politics.
"I had no intention of attacking Julia Gillard at all. My point was the future, not the present - that if the people who don't subscribe to any religion get stronger, we might have a repeat of what happened in Europe, where the church was sidelined," he is quoted as saying.
COMMENT: And back in Britain, people are still completely baffled as to why the upcoming visit by the pope is not being seen as the good thing the Roman Catholic hierarchy keeps telling us it is. The Vatican is even hinting that the UK media is actually trying to influence public opinion. That people with power and a captive audience should do such a thing is disgusting.
THE SOPPY JANE R SELECTION
Today, the magnificent Maya, from ACTS OF HOPE, has popped in to remind us all what an inferior species us humans are.
MADPRIEST'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
People who excuse their actions by claiming that "the real world" is too complicated to always tell the truth or to always act with complete integrity, are the ones who make things complicated in the first place. The final questions we will all have to answer one day will be very simple, requiring only the reply, "yes" or "no."
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