a wake up call?
this is a powerful video on the states of homelessness in saint john.
can you see this and not be compelled to action? a response?
Shawn C. Branch
Category: church
November 24, 2008
finally forgiven!
john lennon has been forgiven for a statement he made…42 years ago!
Semi-official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has run an article forgiving the late Beatle John Lennon for a controversial statement he made in 1966, when he claimed that his band were “more popular than Jesus“.
The article in the newspaper, which normally reports on the comings and goings of the Pope, said that Lennon had just been showing off and praised the band.
too bad lennon wasn’t alive to feel the relief.
see the full article here
October 23, 2008
sorry…not good enough?
i was at a service last sunday night, celebrating a new ministry appointment of a friend of mine. the service was a tradional anglican evensong services, complete with all the traditional music.
most of the service wasn’t that bad. we came to two points in the service where it is traditional to sing these prayers (which by the way, when you understand the significance and rationale to them, it is quite beautiful). we were invited to stand and listen to the choir sing these prayers. later in the service it was explained that in order for these prayers to truly sound the way they were intended, they can only be sung by a professionally trained choir. (my interpretation: your voices suck and would cause even God’s ears to bleed, so stop unless you are willing to spend hours practicing.)
i wondered if i was simply bitter, but the people i traveled with shared a similar opinion. i can understand a concert/recital or another type of performance where you want the trained people singing and the rest listening and enjoying. but in a service of worship – to suggest that our vocal chords have not received the same blessing and therefore cannot sing? with that type of reception, i’m not surprised that anglican church congregations are rapidly shrinking.
(truthfully, the choir didn’t sound that great either.)
June 8, 2008
stolen Jesus found
in case you were looking, jesus was found in a classified listen earlier this week.
An 8-foot statue of Jesus that was stolen from the cross at the Church of the Messiah on Detroit’s east side was found in an alley near the church.
The Rev. Barry Randolph said Patricia Bower, a woman who lives in the neighborhood, decided to take a shortcut home and found Jesus “in a bush, between two trees” Wednesday night.
Randolph and a church member went to pick up Jesus and found the green-hued, weather-beaten statue with only a hand missing.
“We are truly grateful,” Randolph said Thursday.
But in a twist, someone advertised the statue for sale on the classified ad Web site Craigslist on Wednesday. Then, presumably the same person called the church to try to sell it to back to the congregation for $1,000. Randolph said he declined. The statue had been found by then.
i wonder if the bush was burning…
