Wait...let me turn it down...

As they took their seats on a cool Tuesday night, Councillors of Wellington Town Council took their seats for a nights work. Customary was the recital of The Lords Prayer before proceeding with official work. However, on this occasion, events would go down a different course. It is claimed by a Councillor that Mr Pat McCarthy was listening to his iPod while The Lords Prayer was recited. The melodic tunes of Bob Dylan were apparently heard coming from Mr McCarthy's direction have been described as 'disgusting' behaviour by his accuser. Never the less, this is not the start of the issue. A month earlier Mr McCarthy brought the issue up and wished to have the Prayer removed from proceedings. He considered it out-dated and nothing to do with governmental activities. It was however claimed by Rt Rev Mark Rylands last month that: "The saying of prayers before meetings is an integral part of the British system of government."

Frankly, the very existence of this issue is an embarrassment for Wellington Town Council and that of any other Council with has similarly proceedings. There should be no reason for any such conflict of interest. It is a well established and understood construct that religion and politics have no business being practiced in the same establishment. G_d has no place in the halls of power except in his own heavenly domain. Those offended by the actions of Mr McCarthy should not resend his right to abstain from events. His desire to be present at the beginning of proceedings demonstrates his commitment to his elected responsibility. Whether he was Atheist, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu or any other religious persuasion should not be ridiculed for his actions. In any case, Rt Rev Mark Rylands had no right to air criticism since he is judging without being judged himself. Whether it be an iPod, mobile or PC he was using, he acted within his own right as an individual outwith the control of an organised religion. Politics and Religion, two parts of the superstructure which should not be combined, has demonstrated here that they should never come together.

Tis The Season

As we descend into the British summer, then population readies itself for sun, sea, ice cream, and sunburned skin. There is promise of a period of glorious weather for all to enjoy. However, some are looking even further ahead. There are those who have seen past the summer, even past autumn. They have placed their sights on winter and the coming of Christmas.

One organisation by the name of ChurchAds (http://www.churchads.net/) are preparing themselves for the festive season...at the beginning of June. This has been organised around their latest poster campaign. For this they use an image of am ultrasound image of a foetus with a halo on its head. They have entitled it 'He's On His Way...Christmas starts with Christ'. The justification for this my ChurchAds is that only 12% of Adults in the United Kingdom are aware of the details of the Christmas Story. The 2010 campaign is a follow on from their 2009 efforts of similar intent. For that they used an image of the nativity scene set in a bus shelter. The reasoning however behind their latest venture is that many parents-to-be brandish images of ultrasound scans, which ChurchAds identifies as a celebration of a coming birth. In turn it has been associated with the celebration of the coming birth of Jesus Christ which is as many believe the purpose of Christmas. The Daily Telegraph quotes The Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Reading, as saying: ''For many parents pregnancy gets real when you see the image from the ultrasound scan. It tells you something is actually kicking off."

Christian posters can be seen in every niche of the nation. In the Scottish city of Perth posters encouraging others to follow the teaching of Christ can be found in various places. However, these pieces of propaganda are given credibility by their reference and quotation from The Bible. Such established scriptural authority should not be sniffed at, not even by the most sceptical of observer. Never the less, perhaps ChurchAds have taken this down the wrong path. Through their latest poster campaign, they are using an image which is close to our hearts. By this I am not referring to the idea of Jesus, but rather that of an unborn child. With all due respect, they are exploiting the love a parent has for their baby rather than a believers love of their saviour. They would succeed more through guilting the populous than truly winning them over. What is worse is that they have begun this campaign over six months before Christmas. This will distract many from their summer enjoyments and loose others to the throws of Yuletide fervour. Perhaps in October their efforts would be less in vein, however they feel that now is the time for action. Contrary to this, now is the time for relaxation and summer fun. The challenges of filling the churches for Christmas service can wait, for now is the time to celebrate the finer weather we have been blessed with. Jesus Christ has to wait for one truly meaningful day a year...I'm sure he can wait a little bit longer for you to stir up the mob.