<$BlogRSDURL$>
Prison Pete

Google
 
Friday, May 26, 2006
  Did the Devil Go Down to Georgia?
I was reading the April 17, 2006 New York Times, and I came across two stories. While they are not directly related (one was in the National Section and one in the Metro Section) I found them to present an interesting dichotomy.

The National Section story, "People Stand, the Spirit Walks: Easter at the Georgia Dome." While the article is unclear as to the actual number of people that attended this four hour Easter service but the number is somewhere between 40,000 and 70,000.

There were people from all over the country at this service. The article noted one educator from Boston brought a youth group. The presiding pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Bishop Eddie L. Long, said he was unsure how many members the church had. The article quotes him, "After 25,000, I stopped counting."

The second article, "Bittersweet Easter as Parish Fights for Survival." This is the story of St. Paul's Roman Catholic parish in Staten Island (That is a borough in New York City).

The parish does not even have its own church building, it having been demolished in 1963. They have been meeting in the school's auditorium/gym. The parish school serves 190 pupils, and the parish serves around 400 families.

One comment in the article certainly struck me:

"'Look at this. There people of all colors,' said Michael T. McVey, president or the parish council, pointing at the winding Eucharist line with its black, white, Hispanic and Asian congregants. 'There are people of all colors. Isn't that what the church is supposed to be, a place that welcomes all? We are this kind of church, and that's why it's so hard to understand why they want to get rid of us.'"

There you have it, in Georgia a service that has over 40,000 attendees and a church membership of over 25,000. In New York City, a congregation of 400 plus families, and the church is on a hit list of churches to be closed by the New York Archdiocese.

Where is the devil now, one might ask?
 
Comments: Post a Comment
DIARY OF A PRISONER

View my profile
Contact Prison Pete
Contact the Editor
Blogroll Me!

ARCHIVES
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010

December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009

December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008

December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007

December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006

December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005

December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004

PETE'S BLOGROLL


Powered by Blogger




PETE'S FAVORITES

Authors
Emily Dickinson
Janet Evanovich
Ian Fleming
Jonathan Franzen
Robert Fulghum
Sue Grafton
Tami Hoag
Jean Shepherd

Musicians
Johann Sebastian Bach
Beatles
Beethoven
Virgil Fox
Benny Goodman
Vladimir Horowitz
Itzhak Perlman
David Russell
Lonnie Smith

Radio and TV Shows
All Things Considered
Capitol Steps
Fawlty Towers
Fresh Air
The Infinite Mind
Jazz After Hours
Jeeves and Wooster
Pipe Dreams
symphonyspace.org

Media, Publishers, Networks
Amazon
Augsberg Fortress Press
Hamilton Bookseller
hamiltonbook.com
NY Daily News
NY Newsday
NY Times
NPR
PBS
PC Magazine
WNED Buffalo, NY

Helpful Organizations
Kauffman.org
WKKF.org

Government
Federal Bureau of Prisons
NY State Court of Appeals
NY State Department of Corrections

Other
Typing with a Dvorak keyboard
Fastback Book Binding System
Who links to me?