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Church Sofa Weekly Round Up

Welcome back to the weekly round up. A collection of random stuff I may not have got the chance to comment on during the week, or possibly something that went under the radar at the time. (After all, 2 years on we are all still arguing about Brexit).

Anyway…

Have you heard the one about Mormon “gay ‘cure’ therapist” who has come out as gay..? Actually its not funny, I’m not sure why I started the sentence like that…

According to Pink News…

David Matheson, a notorious Mormon practitioner of gay ‘cure’ therapy, is now “pursuing life as a gay man.” The therapist was one of the best-known Mormon practitioners of conversion therapy, setting up the Journey into Manhood program in line with church teachings that direct gay people to repress their feelings and marry someone of the opposite sex. But Matheson, who trained under Joseph Nicolosi of National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), has now admitted that he is gay.

Pink news.

The BBC are coming across a little more gentle with their online radio snippet with him.

On a different note… Chad Bird has taken a slight fantasy edge to baptism…

If we had eyes to see what really happens in baptisms, we’d treat them as R-rated acts of violence. Not only is a person about to be killed. Not only are we about to witness a drowning. Horrific monsters writhe in the water. Dragons of the sea lurk therein. And a bloody battle, with crushed heads and butchered bodies is about to go down. To treat baptism as cute or sentimental or symbolic is a lie. Abandon all such foolish notions. Every baptism is war.

In a sign that 2019, may make 2016 and 2018 look like a teddy bears picnic, it’s been confirmed that the Doomsday clock has been frozen. (In case you don’t click on the link – its a bad thing…)

And finally…

One could argue that not everyone is convinced by certain… opinions expressed by Mike Pence, the American VP. Someone who has come out to argue against him this week – Lady Gaga. Questionable language from the start…

Do you know of anything else that people should read? Leave a comment below…

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Alternative (Adult) Baptism Pool Activities

Adult Baptisms are joyous occasions of people making fantastic promises in front of their Church family. The thing is, due to not every church having a local dodgy river, a baptism pool can be needed for these events. Baptism pools needing a lot of work filling… and emptying…

Considering we live in an efficient, austerity ran society it feels wrong that so much effort is put in for a one time use single purpose pool.

So what else could a baptism pool be used for? We came up with the following:

  1. Mass footwashing – Before or after the baptism… infact why not both!
  2. Duck Races – May need a fan to help propel the ducks.
  3. Pooh stick races – Similar to the above, but can appeal to fans of the childrens book “Stick Man”… and “Winnie the Pooh”.
  4. Supersoakers
  5. A Game of Dare – Challenge people to see how far they can lean over it…!!!
  6. A practical demonstration of the parting of the Red Sea.
  7. Prayers for the changing of water into wine.
  8. Swimming races, might need a particularly large baptism pool for this.
  9. Stack up some cups, encourage people to help themselves to a cold cup of water after the service.
  10. Add a large amount of flour, and throw in the youth worker.

Any other ideas for alternative baptism pool uses?

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Baptism by Webcam?

It seems that distance is no longer an issue when it comes to Baptism Services:

An unusual baptism has been held at a West Yorkshire church, with one of the godparents taking part despite being thousands of miles away.

Yvonne Atkin was able to join in the service for her seven-month-old nephew, Matthew, at St Mark’s church in Utley, while sitting at home in New Zealand.

Miss Atkin made her promises as godparent using a webcam and a laptop.

Vicar Derek Walmsley said: “Technology is often used for bad things, but this is a good way to use it.”

Janet Wordley, who lives in Silsden with her husband Chris, wanted her sister Yvonne to be godparent even though she lived on the other side of the world.

BBC News

Now… I’m in two minds. As I’m sure you’ve guessed… we both have geekish leanings, and I personally think that the idea behind this is fantastic. After all, whats not to like about the church helping a family come together during an event like this?

But can it really replace being there?