The Graduation Bucket List isn't going very well. Basically because we don't have money or time to do anything! I'm thinking it's probably going to all be done in May, after the dissertation has been handed in, and we've got money and not a lot of rent to pay. We have managed to watch a Basketball game, and sing at karaoke, so that's something! The Big Snowdon Climb has been scheduled for July...9th July to be exact, which is perfect because it's the biggest challenge of them all, and it's the weekend before graduation!
Graduation week is also the week the final Harry Potter film comes out. I think that is a clear, very sad, sign that it's finally time for us to grow up...
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| Image from Google! |
Anyway...The other thing I wanted to talk about is about a blog I've been following, by a woman who goes by the pseudonym of 'Cop's Wife'. You may have heard of her. Her blog is called 'Nerdy Apple Bottom.' Here's a link... http://nerdyapplebottom.com/
Anyway, in November she posted a blog about her son (not unusual, as most of her posts are about her kids), and his unusual choice of Halloween costume...Daphne from Scooby Doo. This child, 'Boo', is FIVE years old. Since then, Cop's wife has been posting updates about the reaction of their church to the event, and the blog she posted about it.
Basically, the pastor in her church, along with the elders, have punished her for sticking up for her kid. Here's her list of events:
10/29/10 Halloween party at preschool
11/02/10 Published blog post.
11/04/10 Blog picked up by national and international print, broadcast, and digital outlets. Goes viral
11/05/10 Call from Pastor at church
11/06/10 Pastor met with Elders from church to discuss my “spiritual care” and decided I had broken 8thCommandment by bearing false witness
11/08/10 Text from Pastor while we were in NYC for Today Show
11/09/10 Call from Pastor to schedule a meeting
11/10/10 Meeting in Pastor’s office, Squirt, my youngest, was present
2.5-month window with little to no contact
01/26/11 2nd and final meeting in Pastor’s office
11/02/10 Published blog post.
11/04/10 Blog picked up by national and international print, broadcast, and digital outlets. Goes viral
11/05/10 Call from Pastor at church
11/06/10 Pastor met with Elders from church to discuss my “spiritual care” and decided I had broken 8thCommandment by bearing false witness
11/08/10 Text from Pastor while we were in NYC for Today Show
11/09/10 Call from Pastor to schedule a meeting
11/10/10 Meeting in Pastor’s office, Squirt, my youngest, was present
2.5-month window with little to no contact
01/26/11 2nd and final meeting in Pastor’s office
(Nerdy Apple Bottom)
As a result of all of this, Boo has had to change schools. A five year old has had to change schools because he wanted to dress up as a female character from his favourite TV show. I'm shocked and seriously confused by this. I'm a Christian, I go to church. This isn't how real Christians act, in my opinion. That whole thing wasn't about religion, it was about control, and the pastor wanting power. Isn't God supposed to love us all unconditionally? Maybe the pastor should take a leaf out of His book, and stop trying to bully his (now ex-) church members.
Cop's Wife concluded that although she has given up on the church for now, she hasn't given up on God and her faith, which I think is a really promising end to the story. Obviously not as promising as everybody looking at a five year old in a Halloween costume and laughing about it, but the second best thing. Hopefully in time, she'll be able to go to a new church, with a less controlling pastor!
I'm also going to a new church when I move back to Manchester. It's got nothing to do with the people at the church I go to now, or the church itself. I love going there, especially with my mum and brother, when Cameron has a church parade, and hopefully I will still keep going to those. But the majority of the members are on the...older side! The church I've found is in Manchester city centre, and it's non-denominational, which is perfect for me because I can't get my head around all the different types of Christianity. We all believe in the same thing, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's just how I see it. It also caters for the younger members, with loads of different groups and events to get younger people involved and interested.
There's one thing they do in particular that I love about them. A lot of churches probably do similar things, but it just adds to the pros of this particular one. About four times a year, they have what they call 'VIP nights', where they invite homeless people into the church, give them new clothes, hair cuts, blankets etc, and provide meals and entertainment. I absolutely love the idea, and I really can't wait to get involved! My mum is also going to get involved, as 'volunteer at a soup kitchen/something similar' is on her 40th list!
Anyway...here's the website of the church, if anybody is interested!
That's enough from me for one day! Laterz!
