Friday, 22 June 2012
Thursday, 21 June 2012
MONEY-GRUBBING BISHOPS
I don't earn any salary now but even when I was employed by the Church of England I was only earning about £22000 per year as I worked in one of the poorer paying dioceses.
So this story MAKES ME FECKING ANGRY!!!!
From THE INDEPENDENT:
Bishops are claiming up to £27,000 a year in fixed-rate allowances to attend sessions of the House of Lords on top of their travel costs. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Independent has found that some bishops are claiming up to the maximum fixed allowance for attending sessions in the second chamber while having full-time jobs in their dioceses.
From October 2010 to November 2011:
* The Bishop of Chester attended the House on 97 days, claiming £27,600 in attendance allowances and £7,309 in travel expenses.
* The Bishop of Liverpool attended on 60 days, claiming £15,600 for attendance and £4,220 in expenses.
* Other significant claimers included the Bishop of Exeter (£11,550), the Bishop of Leicester (£8,850) and the Bishop of Wakefield (£10,650).
In contrast, a number of bishops regularly attended the House but did not claim any attendance allowances at all. The Bishop of Birmingham attended the House of Lords on 22 occasions but claimed no money. The Archbishop of York attended on 16 occasions and claimed nothing. The Archbishop of Canterbury also made no charge. However, the Bishop of London claimed £3,750 for attending the Lords on 24 occasions.
So, the "oh so righteous" fundie Bishop of Chester's expenses claim is £5000 more than I ever earned per year in my life. He is claiming £21000 more than I now have each year to survive on.
It would also appear that, on the whole, evangelical bishops ask for more expenses than liberal bishops.
So this story MAKES ME FECKING ANGRY!!!!
From THE INDEPENDENT:
Bishops are claiming up to £27,000 a year in fixed-rate allowances to attend sessions of the House of Lords on top of their travel costs. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Independent has found that some bishops are claiming up to the maximum fixed allowance for attending sessions in the second chamber while having full-time jobs in their dioceses.
From October 2010 to November 2011:
* The Bishop of Chester attended the House on 97 days, claiming £27,600 in attendance allowances and £7,309 in travel expenses.
* The Bishop of Liverpool attended on 60 days, claiming £15,600 for attendance and £4,220 in expenses.
* Other significant claimers included the Bishop of Exeter (£11,550), the Bishop of Leicester (£8,850) and the Bishop of Wakefield (£10,650).
In contrast, a number of bishops regularly attended the House but did not claim any attendance allowances at all. The Bishop of Birmingham attended the House of Lords on 22 occasions but claimed no money. The Archbishop of York attended on 16 occasions and claimed nothing. The Archbishop of Canterbury also made no charge. However, the Bishop of London claimed £3,750 for attending the Lords on 24 occasions.
So, the "oh so righteous" fundie Bishop of Chester's expenses claim is £5000 more than I ever earned per year in my life. He is claiming £21000 more than I now have each year to survive on.
It would also appear that, on the whole, evangelical bishops ask for more expenses than liberal bishops.
MADPRIEST'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Wherever two or three Christians are gathered
together there will be three or more opinions.
With "proper" Anglicans it becomes when just
one is gathered together...
Thanks to David on Facebook for
the first part of this thought.
together there will be three or more opinions.
With "proper" Anglicans it becomes when just
one is gathered together...
Thanks to David on Facebook for
the first part of this thought.
THE INCONVENIENT TEMPLE
What should we do with the church buildings of England?
I think that, on the whole, our church buildings fall into four categories.
1. Beautiful buildings and/or places of special spiritual worth which contribute significantly to the mission of the church (evangelistic and social).
2. Beautiful buildings which cost their congregations and, often, the wider church a lot of money to maintain and which do not contribute enough to the mission of the church to warrant the expense of keeping them open.
3. Plain and ugly buildings with no "special" spiritual worth which contribute significantly to the mission of the church.
4. Plain and ugly buildings which cost their congregations and, often, the wider church a lot of money to maintain and which do not contribute enough to the mission of the church to warrant the expense of keeping them open.
I think the churches that fall into category four should be closed down and sold as soon as possible. Their congregations should rent worship and social space (if they can afford to) when needed and in places in their parishes that would be most advantageous to the mission of the church. Alternatively, the congregations could meet in the homes of their members and outdoors when the weather is clement.
I think churches in category two should should be given to the Churches Conservation Trust or English Heritage or the local council or whoever is happy to take them off our hands. Their congregations should follow my instructions above.
We should keep churches in category one. To get rid of them on a point of ideology whilst losing the missionary benefit of them would be bad stewardship.
The congregations of churches in the third category have to decide for themselves what they want to do. If they think keeping the church building is more advantageous to the mission of the church than getting rid of it and moving into a more adaptable style of church community then that's what they should do. But they would need help coming to their decision as people can get attached to even the most ugly of buildings for selfish and nostalgic reasons.
I think that, on the whole, our church buildings fall into four categories.
1. Beautiful buildings and/or places of special spiritual worth which contribute significantly to the mission of the church (evangelistic and social).
2. Beautiful buildings which cost their congregations and, often, the wider church a lot of money to maintain and which do not contribute enough to the mission of the church to warrant the expense of keeping them open.
3. Plain and ugly buildings with no "special" spiritual worth which contribute significantly to the mission of the church.
4. Plain and ugly buildings which cost their congregations and, often, the wider church a lot of money to maintain and which do not contribute enough to the mission of the church to warrant the expense of keeping them open.
I think the churches that fall into category four should be closed down and sold as soon as possible. Their congregations should rent worship and social space (if they can afford to) when needed and in places in their parishes that would be most advantageous to the mission of the church. Alternatively, the congregations could meet in the homes of their members and outdoors when the weather is clement.
I think churches in category two should should be given to the Churches Conservation Trust or English Heritage or the local council or whoever is happy to take them off our hands. Their congregations should follow my instructions above.
We should keep churches in category one. To get rid of them on a point of ideology whilst losing the missionary benefit of them would be bad stewardship.
The congregations of churches in the third category have to decide for themselves what they want to do. If they think keeping the church building is more advantageous to the mission of the church than getting rid of it and moving into a more adaptable style of church community then that's what they should do. But they would need help coming to their decision as people can get attached to even the most ugly of buildings for selfish and nostalgic reasons.
FOLLOWING THE THEME FOR TODAY
From Thomas via Facebook.
Thou who sent thine own Anointed
once for all the world to bless:
Should we make our windows pointed?
Should our deacons wear a dress?
Should our candles light the dark?
Lord, remain within the ark.
Should our priests be mild and matey?
Should our men be nervous types?
Should our women all be eighty?
Art thou fond of organ pipes?
Or dost thou, above the stars,
yearn for amplified guitars?
We shall sit around the fire, and
mumble of the Crucified,
preach his gospel to the choir, and
never mind the night outside,
where despite the rain and chill
winds are blowing where they will.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
SEE YOU LATER
Have a go at the Jehovah's Witnesses Day continues
with this fine submission from Janis.
with this fine submission from Janis.
JUNK JEHOVAH
Well, that would be nice, wouldn't it? Although I have a sneaking suspicion that the person who shoved this through my letter box this morning wakes up feeling extremely miserable due to the fact that the first thought that comes into his head every day is, "Oh, shit! I'm a Jehovah's Witness."
HAPPY WEST VIRGINIA DAY
This song has absolutely nothing to do with West Virginia but what the heck, it's a great record and today's anniversary is as good a reason as any to play it.
THE ONLY PURPOSE FOR BUYING THIS BOOK
IS TO MAKE RICK WARREN EVEN RICHER
From CHRISTIAN TODAY:
Pastor Rick Warren has teamed up with his book publisher and a crowd-sourced graphic design company to create a new cover for his bestseller The Purpose Driven Life. The 10th anniversary edition will also have a rearranged title in hopes of attracting readers from the millennial generation, says the book publishing company Zondervan.
Zondervan have also revealed that they commissioned the well known graphic designer, Sir William MadPriest, to design the new jacket.
A spokesperson for the publisher told OCICBW... that "we are not used to telling the truth in our books, let alone on the covers of them. But we like the colours. They're nice and bright, just right for our readership."
Pastor Rick Warren has teamed up with his book publisher and a crowd-sourced graphic design company to create a new cover for his bestseller The Purpose Driven Life. The 10th anniversary edition will also have a rearranged title in hopes of attracting readers from the millennial generation, says the book publishing company Zondervan.
Zondervan have also revealed that they commissioned the well known graphic designer, Sir William MadPriest, to design the new jacket.
A spokesperson for the publisher told OCICBW... that "we are not used to telling the truth in our books, let alone on the covers of them. But we like the colours. They're nice and bright, just right for our readership."
LET SWEET HOSANNAS RING!
And on the last day of my Birthday Appeal, the total has reached
£896
You have until midnight tonight to donate to this "good cause" (stuff for my internet ministry). After that I shall be going back to the normal "please feed me" scrounging at the beginning of each month.
G'wan! It is my birthday.
All monies raised from this appeal will go towards my online ministry.
None of it will be spent on me.
Full details of the appeal can be found HERE.
And here is the button you have to click on to make your donation.
If you really don't like using PayPal, then email me and I will suggest other ways of making a donation.
AND DON'T
FORGET
Everybody who sends in a donation receives a copy of
THE BEST OF MADPRIEST
2011
completely and absolutely FREE*
* Just send money.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
For an illuminating update on the Anglican Covenant thingy and the shenanigans that are going on behind closed doors in the high places of the Church of England, check out Paul Bagshaw's post "Something Strange in the Woodshed" on his NOT THE SAME STREAM blog.
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
JESUS IS A PUNK ROBBER
Now this is real treat for ageing punks and skank fans. I've mixed the
A side to the B side and added a dub version dub version, seamlessly, so you get over seventeen minutes of that gorgeous bass line. I am proud to own this single on vinyl from back in the day. So apologies for the crackles and clicks.
PRODUCT PLACEMENT, BRIBERY AND BLING
WHO WOULD JESUS TAKE A BUNG OFF?
Anyone who has read Simon Toyne's latest novel, "The Key", will, of course, know exactly what is going on in the Vatican Bank. Everybody else waits for the inevitable covering up of whatever the latest financial impropriety of the least regulated bank in the world may be and possibly to find out which one of its perpetrators will end up dangling from a rope off some London bridge or other. Nobody is surprised. God and mammon came together in the Church many centuries ago and Protestant Reformations and Roman Catholic Counter-Reformations have not changed this marriage of convenience in the slightest.
From THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER:
People are always lining up to give stuff to the Vatican, usually because they think it’s good PR. The latest case in point is an Italian company that bills itself as a leader in the "green economy" called NWG, which is donating an all-electric car, called “NWG Zero,” for the use of the Vatican Press Office.
On Wednesday, a media event will be staged just outside the Press Office to mark the occasion. The gift is motivated, according to a company officiay, by admiration for “the particular sensibility that Benedict XVI shows regarding the defense and safekeeping of the environment,” which he said is a “motive of great encouragement and a source of inspiration.”
One sure sign that the company knows how to attract reporters is that a press release today indicated that after a prayer of blessing, “a buffet will follow.”
Meanwhile in England, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the M.P., Tony Baldry, has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for "public and political" services.
Andrew Brown, Secretary to the Church Commissioners, said: “I am delighted that Tony Baldry has been awarded a knighthood. Sir Tony plays a vital role in the link between the Church and Parliament, regularly answering questions on Church matters in the House of Commons.
Now, Mr Baldry does do stuff like supporting hospices and speaking up for the Church of England in Parliament, but he gets paid for his job with church and there are hundreds of thousands of people in England who voluntarily help hospices and the like, who are not trying to get re-elected to the House of Commons. No, this knighthood, like knighthoods almost always are, is a bung, a reward for being part of the establishment of which the Church of England's top clerics and laity are most definitely a part.
I live in County Durham, "Land of the Prince Bishops" as our council likes to tell everyone on road signs as they enter their jurisdiction. These Prince Bishops were renowned for their love of worldly wealth and complete disregard for the poor. Back in the Middle Ages they battled the Scots, no doubt taking their (un)fair share of plunder. In the 15th. Century one of them even declared war on Belgium. As late as the 19th. Century they were throwing unemployed, starving coalminers into prison for looking for scraps of coal on their vast estates in order to save their kids from freezing to death. Their throne was in Durham Cathedral, that most spectacular statement of ecclesiastical wealth that dominates the Durham skyline. This cathedral is the final resting place of Saint Cuthbert and there can be nothing that demonstrates the decline of the English church into a cesspit of worldly greed for wealth and political influence more than this.
County Durham is surrounded by areas of extreme natural beauty on all sides. On the east we are bordered by the North Sea, to the south by the North York Moors. To the south west are the Yorkshire Dales, to the west, the North Pennines and to the north, the Northumbrian National Park. The Lake District is just an hour and a half drive from where I live. These are sparsely populated areas where you can still get away from the crowds if you are prepared to walk a little way from the main tourist hot spots. One of my favourite walking haunts is the Cheviot Hills at the northern end of the Pennine Way, straddling the England Scotland border. These are bleak, lonely hills, but as you walk across them you come across signs of past habitation, ruined farmhouses and ancient forts, that show that this land was once more heavily populated, very much a part of the Kingdom of Northumbria.
It was through these hills that the first missionaries from Iona walked, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and, very quickly, converting the king of Northumbria and his subjects to the faith. Chief among these missionaries was Aidan. Although he became a confidant of royalty he always remained an itinerant preacher walking the hills and plains of his adopted land. And he did walk. It is told that the king gave him a horse to ride. The first thing the saint did after receiving this generous and very useful gift, was to give it away to a passing peasant. Is this an apocryphal tale? I doubt it. We are talking about a Christian belonging to a church that followed the Desert Fathers in their commitment to poverty and asceticism. Saint Cuthbert spent most of his life alone on a small rock sticking out of the storm tossed North Sea and declined high office when offered it.
The north of England, although evangelised and officially Christian well before the Roman church claims it Christianised England, held out against the vanities and worldliness of Roman Christianity for longer than any other part of England.
I am particularly attracted to the simple worship places of the Saxons in my region.
Originally, villagers would gather round stone crosses outside to listen to wandering preachers. When the faith took hold in a village then sometimes a simple stone church was built.
Basically these churches were tall, thin, stone boxes, very basic spaces in which the only thing emphasised
was the altar on which the very body and blood of Christ was venerated.
These were the temples in which Saint Cuthbert would have worshipped. That he ended up in Durham Cathedral, that statement of Roman and Norman power and wealth, is both tragic and a useful, constant reminder to the Christians of North East England of what we once were and what we have become.
There was a time, not long ago, that I was an ardent supporter of the established church. I changed my mind on this when I discovered that I was becoming a better Christian and priest the further the established church pushed me out of its ranks. My initial fear of poverty has become an annoyance at it and, to be honest, a wonderful sop to my feelings of liberal guilt at being wealthier than so many other people. I don't know what my future holds but I would really love it to include a large dollop of that lowly, itinerant ministry enjoyed by the Celtic saints of the Cheviot Hills before Rome arrived in all its pomp and glory and blinged up the church of the carpenter's son to such an obscene level that we are still, collectively, in thrall to the wealth and honours of this life, a sin that has now, at last, led to the demise of the English church.
Sell the churches! Redeploy the bishops' chauffeurs and make those be-robed friends of mayors, politicians and CEOs walk to work. For God's sake, let's get this church back on the road!
From THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER:
People are always lining up to give stuff to the Vatican, usually because they think it’s good PR. The latest case in point is an Italian company that bills itself as a leader in the "green economy" called NWG, which is donating an all-electric car, called “NWG Zero,” for the use of the Vatican Press Office.
On Wednesday, a media event will be staged just outside the Press Office to mark the occasion. The gift is motivated, according to a company officiay, by admiration for “the particular sensibility that Benedict XVI shows regarding the defense and safekeeping of the environment,” which he said is a “motive of great encouragement and a source of inspiration.”
One sure sign that the company knows how to attract reporters is that a press release today indicated that after a prayer of blessing, “a buffet will follow.”
Meanwhile in England, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the M.P., Tony Baldry, has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for "public and political" services.
Andrew Brown, Secretary to the Church Commissioners, said: “I am delighted that Tony Baldry has been awarded a knighthood. Sir Tony plays a vital role in the link between the Church and Parliament, regularly answering questions on Church matters in the House of Commons.
Now, Mr Baldry does do stuff like supporting hospices and speaking up for the Church of England in Parliament, but he gets paid for his job with church and there are hundreds of thousands of people in England who voluntarily help hospices and the like, who are not trying to get re-elected to the House of Commons. No, this knighthood, like knighthoods almost always are, is a bung, a reward for being part of the establishment of which the Church of England's top clerics and laity are most definitely a part.
I live in County Durham, "Land of the Prince Bishops" as our council likes to tell everyone on road signs as they enter their jurisdiction. These Prince Bishops were renowned for their love of worldly wealth and complete disregard for the poor. Back in the Middle Ages they battled the Scots, no doubt taking their (un)fair share of plunder. In the 15th. Century one of them even declared war on Belgium. As late as the 19th. Century they were throwing unemployed, starving coalminers into prison for looking for scraps of coal on their vast estates in order to save their kids from freezing to death. Their throne was in Durham Cathedral, that most spectacular statement of ecclesiastical wealth that dominates the Durham skyline. This cathedral is the final resting place of Saint Cuthbert and there can be nothing that demonstrates the decline of the English church into a cesspit of worldly greed for wealth and political influence more than this.
County Durham is surrounded by areas of extreme natural beauty on all sides. On the east we are bordered by the North Sea, to the south by the North York Moors. To the south west are the Yorkshire Dales, to the west, the North Pennines and to the north, the Northumbrian National Park. The Lake District is just an hour and a half drive from where I live. These are sparsely populated areas where you can still get away from the crowds if you are prepared to walk a little way from the main tourist hot spots. One of my favourite walking haunts is the Cheviot Hills at the northern end of the Pennine Way, straddling the England Scotland border. These are bleak, lonely hills, but as you walk across them you come across signs of past habitation, ruined farmhouses and ancient forts, that show that this land was once more heavily populated, very much a part of the Kingdom of Northumbria.
It was through these hills that the first missionaries from Iona walked, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and, very quickly, converting the king of Northumbria and his subjects to the faith. Chief among these missionaries was Aidan. Although he became a confidant of royalty he always remained an itinerant preacher walking the hills and plains of his adopted land. And he did walk. It is told that the king gave him a horse to ride. The first thing the saint did after receiving this generous and very useful gift, was to give it away to a passing peasant. Is this an apocryphal tale? I doubt it. We are talking about a Christian belonging to a church that followed the Desert Fathers in their commitment to poverty and asceticism. Saint Cuthbert spent most of his life alone on a small rock sticking out of the storm tossed North Sea and declined high office when offered it.
The north of England, although evangelised and officially Christian well before the Roman church claims it Christianised England, held out against the vanities and worldliness of Roman Christianity for longer than any other part of England.
I am particularly attracted to the simple worship places of the Saxons in my region. Originally, villagers would gather round stone crosses outside to listen to wandering preachers. When the faith took hold in a village then sometimes a simple stone church was built.
Basically these churches were tall, thin, stone boxes, very basic spaces in which the only thing emphasised
was the altar on which the very body and blood of Christ was venerated.These were the temples in which Saint Cuthbert would have worshipped. That he ended up in Durham Cathedral, that statement of Roman and Norman power and wealth, is both tragic and a useful, constant reminder to the Christians of North East England of what we once were and what we have become.
Sell the churches! Redeploy the bishops' chauffeurs and make those be-robed friends of mayors, politicians and CEOs walk to work. For God's sake, let's get this church back on the road!
JESUS IS A PUNK ROCKER
OCICBW... luvs Pussy Riot.
St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin
Drive away! Drive away Putin!
(end chorus)
Black robe, golden epaulettes
All parishioners are crawling and bowing
The ghost of freedom is in heaven
Gay pride sent to Siberia in chains
The head of the KGB is their chief saint
Leads protesters to prison under escort
In order not to offend the Holy
Women have to give birth and to love
Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!
Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!
(Chorus)
St. Maria, Virgin, become a feminist
Become a feminist, Become a feminist
(end chorus)
Church praises the rotten dictators
The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
In school you are going to meet with a teacher-preacher
Go to class - bring him money!
Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
Bitch, you better believed in God
Belt of the Virgin is no substitute for mass-meetings
In protest of our Ever-Virgin Mary!
(Chorus)
St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin
Drive away! Drive away Putin!
(end chorus)
Pussy Riot languish on remand in a "Soviet" prison.
Putin is the new Stalin.
Video found at PLANETTRANSGENDER. Thanks, Kelly.
Support freedom for the dissidents at FREE PUSSY RIOT.
The KGB, the KGB,
The KGB are after me.
(MadPriest channeling Joey Ramone)
St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin
Drive away! Drive away Putin!
(end chorus)
Black robe, golden epaulettes
All parishioners are crawling and bowing
The ghost of freedom is in heaven
Gay pride sent to Siberia in chains
The head of the KGB is their chief saint
Leads protesters to prison under escort
In order not to offend the Holy
Women have to give birth and to love
Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!
Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!
(Chorus)
St. Maria, Virgin, become a feminist
Become a feminist, Become a feminist
(end chorus)
Church praises the rotten dictators
The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
In school you are going to meet with a teacher-preacher
Go to class - bring him money!
Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
Bitch, you better believed in God
Belt of the Virgin is no substitute for mass-meetings
In protest of our Ever-Virgin Mary!
(Chorus)
St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin
Drive away! Drive away Putin!
(end chorus)
Pussy Riot languish on remand in a "Soviet" prison.
Putin is the new Stalin.
Video found at PLANETTRANSGENDER. Thanks, Kelly.
Support freedom for the dissidents at FREE PUSSY RIOT.
The KGB, the KGB,
The KGB are after me.
(MadPriest channeling Joey Ramone)
Monday, 18 June 2012
NEW WORDS FOR JULY
The July issue of New Words for Holy Communion is now out. Details of how you can purchase this trendsetting liturgical resource can be found at the top of the left hand sidebar.
And if you need more encouragement to part with £2.49 of your hard earned cash, how about this endorsement from the soon to be Bishop of Rhode Island?
We have been using selections from New Words for Holy Communion here at Trinity Cathedral on Phoenix Arizona since they became available. We use them as supplemental texts for weekday and late Sunday liturgies.
The language and the imagery that is contained in each week’s text is faithful, scriptural and wonderfully fresh. By hearing the common themes of the week’s lections expressed consistently throughout the texts, we’ve had a chance to experience the wholeness of scripture and liturgy in a way that has been unique for us. I particularly commend the weekly prayers of the people texts.
I urge you to at least take a look as these texts and think about settings where their freshness and alternative imagery might be a powerful tool in helping people connect with their faith.
The Very Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely, SOSc
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
Phoenix Arizona USA
THE FINAL PUSH
One huge, big, massive, MadPriest THANK YOU to Anne, Susan, Renee, Ellie, Lou, Brian, Susan, Tim and Colin. Your extreme generosity over the last few days has pushed the running total of my Birthday Appeal to a magnificent...
£876
There's just two more days left for you to get this truly marvellous figure up to an even more marvellous one thousand pounds. Now that would be nice, wouldn't it? That would be an achievement and it really would help me get this show on the road with style.
All monies raised from this appeal will go towards my online ministry.
None of it will be spent on me.
Full details of the appeal can be found HERE.
And here is the button you have to click on to make your donation.
If you really don't like using PayPal, then email me and I will suggest other ways of making a donation.
* Just send money.
£876
There's just two more days left for you to get this truly marvellous figure up to an even more marvellous one thousand pounds. Now that would be nice, wouldn't it? That would be an achievement and it really would help me get this show on the road with style.
All monies raised from this appeal will go towards my online ministry.
None of it will be spent on me.
Full details of the appeal can be found HERE.
And here is the button you have to click on to make your donation.
If you really don't like using PayPal, then email me and I will suggest other ways of making a donation.
AND DON'T
FORGET
Everybody who sends in a donation receives a copy of
THE BEST OF MADPRIEST
2011
completely and absolutely FREE*
* Just send money.
Sunday, 17 June 2012
CANNIBALISTIC ENGLISH CHEF
COOKS ITINERANT ARABS
This is very disturbing. I thought the revolution in Morocco had got rid of the barbaric practice of stewing nomads.
SUPPORT YOUR INTERNATIONAL,
ITINERANT, INTERNET PRIEST
All monies raised from this appeal will go towards my online ministry.
None of it will be spent on me.
Full details of the appeal can be found HERE.
And here is the button you have to click on to make your donation.
If you really don't like using PayPal, then email me and I will suggest other ways of making a donation.
AND DON'T
FORGET
Everybody who sends in a donation receives a copy of
THE BEST OF MADPRIEST
2011
completely and absolutely FREE*
* Just send money.
SIGN THIS PETITION (IN YOUR OWN NAME)
Same sex marriage does not undermine heterosexual marriage; all forms of committed relationship enhance and strengthen society.
The Church's formal rejection of gay marriage:
* lacks the compassion of Jesus for all made in the image of God
* fosters an unjust and continuing discrimination (and in some cases abuse) of lgbt people in the name of Christ
*is in thrall to literal-minded understandings of scripture and tradition and lacks the energy and moral courage of Jesus who challenged unjust social structures and traditions
* further undermines the national credibility and relevance of the Church of England
If you agree with this statement and strongly disagree with unelected, behind closed doors, fear filled, hate spewing spin doctors talking their trash and claiming it's in your name that they are doing so, then please sign this petition HERE.
It's very rude to speak on behalf of other people when you don't have their explicit permission. Heck, I get it in the neck if I say something on behalf of Mrs MP without getting her permission first, and we sleep together.
The Church's formal rejection of gay marriage:
* lacks the compassion of Jesus for all made in the image of God
* fosters an unjust and continuing discrimination (and in some cases abuse) of lgbt people in the name of Christ
*is in thrall to literal-minded understandings of scripture and tradition and lacks the energy and moral courage of Jesus who challenged unjust social structures and traditions
* further undermines the national credibility and relevance of the Church of England
If you agree with this statement and strongly disagree with unelected, behind closed doors, fear filled, hate spewing spin doctors talking their trash and claiming it's in your name that they are doing so, then please sign this petition HERE.
It's very rude to speak on behalf of other people when you don't have their explicit permission. Heck, I get it in the neck if I say something on behalf of Mrs MP without getting her permission first, and we sleep together.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
From ROD ONLINE:
A New York City student will be allowed to deliver a speech about same-sex marriage after all. Queens fifth grader Kameron Slade worked on the award-winning speech with his mother and his teacher. On Wednesday, the principal said he should write another speech or be removed from the contest. She said that people have different opinions on it and that some parents may not want their children to learn about this type of topic. So, instead, he delivered a speech Friday about animal cruelty. "I thought my original speech was really gonna win. I was very confident in it," the student told CBS New York.
However, New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced that Kameron Slade will deliver his speech at a special assembly of fifth graders on Monday.
For giving us hope, for same "same gender" in stead of "same sex," for just getting it and for being able to say the word "orientation," so perfectly, at his young age, Kameron Slade (the second black president of the United States?) is OCICBW...'s
BRICK OF THE DAY
Thanks to Brian who sent this
spirit lifting story in to me.
A New York City student will be allowed to deliver a speech about same-sex marriage after all. Queens fifth grader Kameron Slade worked on the award-winning speech with his mother and his teacher. On Wednesday, the principal said he should write another speech or be removed from the contest. She said that people have different opinions on it and that some parents may not want their children to learn about this type of topic. So, instead, he delivered a speech Friday about animal cruelty. "I thought my original speech was really gonna win. I was very confident in it," the student told CBS New York.
However, New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced that Kameron Slade will deliver his speech at a special assembly of fifth graders on Monday.
For giving us hope, for same "same gender" in stead of "same sex," for just getting it and for being able to say the word "orientation," so perfectly, at his young age, Kameron Slade (the second black president of the United States?) is OCICBW...'s
BRICK OF THE DAY
Thanks to Brian who sent this
spirit lifting story in to me.
THE WORST JOKE IN THE WORLD EVER
COURTESY OF THAT WICKED, WICKED NUN
The actor Peter Fonda was in South Africa preparing for his role in a new film biography of Dr. Christian Barnard, the first surgeon to perform a heart transplant. On a tour of Dr. Barnard's medical facility, Fonda posed a question to the doctor who was showing him around: "Tell me," he asked, "when you transplant a heart from a child to an adult, the heart must be too small. How do you make it fit?"
"Oh," said the good doctor, "we give the patient some absinthe. You know, the French liqueur."
"Really?" asked Fonda incredulously.
"Of course," replied the doctor. "I thought everyone knew that absinthe makes the heart grow, Fonda!"
"Oh," said the good doctor, "we give the patient some absinthe. You know, the French liqueur."
"Really?" asked Fonda incredulously.
"Of course," replied the doctor. "I thought everyone knew that absinthe makes the heart grow, Fonda!"
WORSHIP AT SAINT LAIKA'S
A SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
All are welcome to join me in taking communion.
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