[I]deas for alternative-style worship are part of an initiative launched by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to appeal to the younger generation.

They are set out in a new book compiled by the Church’s Fresh Expressions programme, which aims to boost church attendance with more relevant and exciting services. …

One Holy Communion service promoted in the book, called Ancient Faith, Future Mission, begins with the congregation being shown a video clip from the YouTube website about a United Nations anti-poverty campaign.

Worshippers are told that “our planet is messed up” and that “things are not right”.

You can say that again, Swilliams! It gets worse:

They are then asked to approach the altar and rub sea salt on their fingers to represent tears, before walking around and meditating at eight “prayer stations” representing themes such as “gender equality” and “environmental sustainability”.

A psalm is recited in “beat poetry” style to the accompaniment of African Djembe drums, and prayers are said “for the corporate world, for influential CEOs who oversee billion-dollar industries”.

It’s just not a proper church service without a little music from a moonbatty pop band:

Among the alternative services explored in the book … are so-called “U2charists”, services in which the congregation receives communion but sings the songs of the Irish rock band U2 instead of traditional hymns. …

The book also features Transcendence, an event held in York Minister in which traditional Latin chant is set by DJs to hip hop or ambient dance music and video images are projected onto the walls.

Here’s an idea: why doesn’t the church hold rave parties, with ecstasy and grape-flavored vodka for the Eucharist? The priest can strip down to his undies, smear himself with body paint, and crowd surf under pulsating disco lights.

Uh oh, here comes a party pooper. The prebendary at St Paul’s Cathedral Rev. David Houlding laments,

All this is tosh. It’s just a passing fad, irrelevant, shallow and pointless. There’s no depth to it and it’s embarrassing because it’ll make people think that we’re eccentric and silly.

As a result of Fresh Expressions, there are now churches for surfers, and priests have been commissioned to work in night clubs and skateboard parks. Eccentric? Silly? Who would think that?

Maybe the Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they proscribed an official state church.

On a tip from Viking04. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.

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EVAN THOMAS: Well, we were the good guys in 1984, it felt that way. It hasn’t felt that way in recent years. So Obama’s had, really, a different task We’re seen too often as the bad guys. And he – he has a very different job from – Reagan was all about America, and you talked about it. Obama is ‘we are above that now.’ We’re not just parochial, we’re not just chauvinistic, we’re not just provincial. We stand for something – I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God. He’s-
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
THOMAS: He’s going to bring all different sides together.

Obama is above it all. Don’t ask me what sorta god means. I’m sure it has something to do with how much the media are in the tank.

The Anchoress:

We are dominated by “nothings,” who run to to do the bidding of a man who does not respect them, can’t respect them, because who can respect a sycophant. Barack Obama is imperious Lady Catherine DeBurgh, and the press is the oafish, intellectually vapid, incurious Mr. Collins, bowing and agreeing, and silencing himself for the sake of her bare acceptance.

The geraniums and begonias we see above, contribute more to the world than our current press.

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Lamb should not be eaten because sheep belch, thus throwing the climate into chaos.

A government-sponsored study into greenhouse gases found that producing 2.2lb of lamb released the equivalent of 37lb of carbon dioxide.

A similar study, conducted in the Dark Ages, found that 42 angels could dance on the head of a pin.

Tomatoes stand condemned as the most “carbon-intensive” of vegetables, because they are often grown in greenhouses. Look for punitive taxes, to be followed by bans. Enjoy your ketchup and spaghetti sauce while you can.

Worse still, the high priests of envirofascism have alcohol in their sites:

Alcoholic drinks are another significant contributory factor, with the growing and processing of crops such as hops and malt into beer and whisky helping to generate 1.5% of the nation’s greenhouse gases.

If only a study would invent some percentage of greenhouse gases generated by power-mad bureaucrats.

On a tip from mega. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.

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Hailed as a completely self-sustaining building, the solar house at the Troy Community Center in Troy, Michigan was set to open for tours and community use this Summer. Unfortunately, the systems failed to work over the winter, pipes froze, and water burst through the uninhabited structure causing the floors to collapse. As a result, the building sits unused after the hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on it by government.

This is government waste and folly at it worst, but it is typical of the best government can do. Oh, it’s not the best because anything worked, it’s the best because failure is all one can expect from government when undertaking projects of this nature.

The model house was supposed to be an engineering marvel that would save the planet. But ended up being just a monstrous waste of the taxpayer’s money.

In April of last year, the news was all of the excitement.

A team of more than 40 Lawrence Tech students called ALOeTERRA (which means “to nourish the earth”) designed and built the house last year. Volunteers from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millrights also lent a hand creating a home that harnesses the sunlight into enough electricity to power the home’s utilities (along with some left over for a small electric vehicle).

But only a year later, it was all about the disappointment and finger pointing.

It was supposed to be a shining example of the green movement — a completely independent solar-powered house with no gas or electrical hookups.

Seven months ago, officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the $900,000 house owned by the city of Troy that was to be used as an educational tool and meeting spot.

But it never opened to the public. And it remains closed.

Oh, there are all sorts of reasons why this engineering marvel was an utter failure. There is finger pointing and head scratching all around. But the singular fact of the matter is that this project is a failure because it was not undertaken by business in a situation where success meant fulfilling a business plan to satisfy investors in order to obtain profit.

No, it was a dalliance by professors financed by government without any expectations or requirements for success. Further, everyone involved knew that any loss would be absorbed by the tax payers and would result in no consequences of blame for failure. No one had any reason to be precise. No one had any pressure to succeed.

So, once again We The People get fleeced by university professors and fraudulent government spending.

But, heck. They meant well, right? That is the salve for all wounds, after all.

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In yet another example of the absurd, even borderline blasphemous depictions of Barack Obama as if he were a religious figure, the L.A. Times foisted upon its customers an amazing specimen as a wrap around over its newsstand copies of the paper leading up to inaugural day last week.

Freeper “puffer” was so amazed at the audacity of this L.A. Times imagery, he had to scan the sheet and display it on FreeRepublic.com. The photograph is reminiscent of one of the most famous and iconic depictions of God in western art, the Sistine Chapel painting of God reaching out to Adam. But, instead of God, we have The Obammessiah reaching across the page as if straining to touch each of us with his healing hand. It’s quite disgusting, really, the way the Old Media has propagandized for Obama by replicating religious imagery or communist propaganda and this over-the-top image is a perfect example.

Now, compare this dubitable image to this close up of the image at the Sistine Chapel:

The L.A. Times image certainly recalls the image of God reaching out to man, does it not?

This is the sort of garbage that cannot help Obama in the long run. The more this man so short on experience is puffed up, the farther and harder he can fall. Instead of treating the man as if he were the second coming, a more realistic image of him should have been employed for once we begin to see the cracks in his ability to heal the sick and feed the masses from a few fishes and loaves, the disappointment will surely be galling to those who imagine that they will get free houses, money and jobs from this faux messiah.

There was a day when the Old Media proclaimed itself far too cynical, somehow too grown up to fall for such sycophancy. But that is no more. Now the media has en masse succumbed to a worship of this messianic figure, Obama.

I’d feel sorry for Barack Obama if he hadn’t encouraged such worship throughout the campaign by his empty “we are the ones” style of rhetorical flourish.

It is sure to be a hard fall.

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Honest mistake or divine intervention? Calm down California! Lets not start the riots yet!

Here is a video of the “politically correct” prayer to the god of our many understandings in case you missed it.

Maybe it would have gotten a little more coverage if not for the part where he blasphemes the name of the one by stating he is not a messiah!

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Think that $20 donation to MoveOn.org means you’re a die-hard Obama supporter? Think again. True Barack fans carry the new Prez not only in their hearts, but on their skin.

The crew at Fatty’s Custom Tattooz in Washington, D.C., is gearing up for the new administration with “Obamathon.” Starting Friday and running through Inauguration Day, patrons can get a free Obama ’08 tattoo with the purchase of another tat costing $200 or more. And if a chest piece featuring the First Family isn’t fanatical enough, Fatty’s is also offering an “Obama piercing.”

The Daily News has a few more examples of how you can be increase your Barking Obamanut ratio.

And more:

• Boston.com: The President-elect has literally made an imprint on Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, who has a tribute to Obama tattooed on the fingers on his left hand. The tattoo reads, “Change we believe in,” with one word on every finger except the thumb, a variation of Obama’s campaign slogan, “Change we can believe in.”
• Michigan Live: Saginaw’s Samantha R. Cook is willing to suffer for President-elect Barack Obama.The 29-year-old Verizon Wireless sales representative underwent 90 minutes of needle pricks Saturday to put a tattoo of the nation’s 44th, and first African American, president on her upper arm.
• Even overseas news reports the insanity. The Independent: In Fort Wayne, Indiana, Obama tattoo man, Ryan Hadley, was busy applying Obama tattoos on the waistlines of two teenage girls. Other customers wanted them on their legs, arms and waistlines. “The smallest costs $50 (£35) and one the size of a softball will set you back $600,” he said. “They can always be lasered away but so far they are loving them.”
• Fox5 In DC: Want to make sure you never forget this historic election and inauguration? One local man decided to put it in ink– on his leg. He got a tattoo of Barack Obama’s face, thanks to folks at Jinx Proof.
• NPR: Tattoo parlors in the D.C. area are capitalizing on the Inauguration Day hoopla. They’re hoping to bring business in the door by offering specials, including Barack Obama tattoos.

Of course, the tats are almost a minor blip on the radar in comparison to all the other money that Obamanuts have spent. Think of what that money could have meant to the economy? The donations to Left wing groups, to the Barry campaign, to the crazy merchandise the ‘Nuts’ are buying.

Barack Obama is for sale – on almost everything.

T-shirts, basketballs, calendars, stamps, coins, posters, golf balls, tote bags, money clips, even eyebrow-raising items from hot sauce to thong underwear.

“It’s an almost religious phenomenon,” marketing teacher Tomas Gomez-Arias of St. Mary’s College in Moraga said of the retail craze.

Reminds me of Jim Jones, as he led his people to die. Kool aid reference perfect.

But, don’t you dare call them un-patriotic, despite what they have done to the flag (Michelle Malkin.)

And just to make the day perfect, CNN tracked down a granddaughter of a former slave to tell us how she was “afraid for Obama, because someone might kill him.”

Just because a new presidential era is about to start, that doesn’t mean that the left wing loons will slowly regain their sanity.

Quick update: It gets even more Barrylicious! How about a Barry haircut? Going grey quickly not included.

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Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”

“I am very clear,” he said, “that this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that. The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred texts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is their prayer.”

Bishop Robinson said he might address the prayer to “the God of our many understandings,” language that he said he learned from the 12-step program he attended for his alcohol addiction.

Well, it’s a pretty predictable response from a non-Christian bishop’s clothing. My goodness how the flood doors are open!

Hat tip to the Other McCain and Hot Air

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A CAMPAIGN to rename fish as “sea kittens” in order to improve their image has been ridiculed by the Federal Opposition.

Outspoken animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is using the “sea kitten” name as part of its push to restrict fishing.

“Nobody would hurt a sea kitten!” the group says on its website.

“People don’t seem to like fish.

“We’re going to start by retiring the old name for good.

“When your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it’s time for a serious image makeover.”

The website features images of fish with cats’ whiskers and ears.

I’m not sure whether to laugh or rub my temples and get an aspirin. PETA’s sea kitten website here. You really have to go over and see it. You can even create your own sea kitten!

Oh, in other PETA news, they have found different ways to use blow up dolls. Yes, those types. I wonder how many Veggiemites raised their hands when asked if they had one?

Wandering the Interwebz, I see Captain Ed has a post up on the sea kittens subject, and he is prepared to call PETA a racist organization come January 21.

Update: Heh!

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And with the holiday that dare not speak its name almost upon us, nowhere is that phenomenon more noticeable, or more indefensible, than in the advertising sales circulars of the national retail chains that come by the dozen in newspapers, especially on Sundays.

A review of those sales brochures from the day after Thanksgiving – aka Black Friday – through this past Sunday, shows that among major retail chains, only Kohl’s and Rite-Aid have used the word “Christmas” regularly and prominently in their advertising.

Beginning with Black Friday, so named because it’s supposedly the day on which retailers finally make it into the black for the year, retailers’ sales brochures have been bedecked with Christmas iconography – red ribbons and bows, tree ornaments, strings of lights, mistletoe and holly, Santas and the like – but with few exceptions (given due credit below), none have had banner headlines proclaiming Christmas as the reason for the buying season they were so desperately encouraging.

Now, personally, I do not mind when people say “Happy Holidays!” and retailers use “holiday(s),” depending on their intent. It is the holiday season, and I remember growing up and people using those words and phrases as a way of denoting Thanksgiving, Hannukka, Christmas, and the New Year. Of course, growing up in NJ, people often said “Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas!” But, sometime over my 41 years, the intent, particularly from retailers, has changed. Now, they just do not want to offend anyone, as the article points out. Heck, you go in to many retailers and all you see are snowflakes and such, not even a Christmas wreath in evidence.

And because the companies are afraid to say “Christmas,” the people working there are often afraid to say. They have been conditioned not to. I know I rarely do at work, unless it is a customer I know, or the customer says it to me first. And, consider this: I went in to Party City yesterday for a gift box and a big gift bag. The bag said “Merry Christmas!” Obviously, I celebrate Christmas. Yet, as I was leaving, the clerk said “Happy Holidays!” It was like she was afraid to say “Merry Christmas” or the phrase had disappeared from her lexicon. Double heck, if you think about it, how many times have you even been greeted with “Happy Holidays!” when you are out shopping?

Another big phrase is “Season’s Greetings!” Like Happy Holidays, it was meant to denote all the holidays during this time of year, but, now it is used as a copout because the reason for the season must not be mentioned!

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