The empowering of the Faith Based community

[AVID]

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/11/07/build/local/35-church-pool.inc

A new $4 million church and a new multi-million dollar baptism pool awaiting our community - built partially with faith based initiative public funds.

Youth group pool parties on Wed night - OK

Gay Student Alliance pool picnic on Saturday morning? uhh . . . maybe not

snip>
"There's been a sense by the general public that church is irrelevant," Streeter said. "We want Harvest to be a place where the most ardent critic of Christianity would be bummed if we ceased to exist"
" . . .four weeks after Harvest Church began - I simply sensed from the Lord that we need to do this," he said.

snip>
"It's very important people understand this is a Yellowstone County pool. This is a Montana pool," Streeter said. "It's not a church pool. You don't have to be baptized in it before you can swim in it.

"To put it at the edge of our property helps visually for people to understand this is accessible to all of us," he said. "We don't have to go through the church to get to the pool. … We are not going to make kids listen to a Bible story to go swimming."

snip>
Construction costs will be covered by a capital campaign within the church's 2,000-member congregation, charitable donations from the public and possibly federal funds available through President Bush's faith-based initiative program

[coloradodem2005]

1. This seems a little materialistic.

n/t

[AVID]

2. not only materialistic, but wasteful

Our outdoor swim season runs about four months, if we're lucky.

This is grandeur showboating - all about look at us and what we do for you

I play against these Harvest Churchers in a community co-ed soccer club - they have three teams and they are the most vile, cheating, vengeful teams in the league (they suck too . . . we always kick their ass)

[democratreformed]

3. Faith-based initiatives have been a sore spot with me from the

moment they were introduced.

Supposedly, they are supposed to make the churches better able to participate in their communities. Supposedly, they are supposed to make them better able to help those in need.

But, what I see happening is them using the money to enrich their own lives. Sure, they may do a few things for the community, but, in the process, they get new buildings for themselves, etc.

I still predict that four years from now, there will be a new church on every street corner. Citizens will not be able to get help with anything without first being a member of a church. People will be looking around wondering "How did the churches get control of all the money?"

[Nimrod]

4. "It's not a church pool"

It's not a "church" Halloween Party either. It's just a nice safe place for your urban kids to have fun on Halloween. If they just happen to get pressured into getting baptized before you come back to pick them up, that's totally unrelated.

Any trust I had for churches is pretty well shot.

[cornermouse]

5. Swimming pool, huh?

Whatever happened to feeding the hungry? Helping the homeless? Isn't that what the money was supposed to be used for?

[AVID]

6. Exactly! My LTTE has that exact sentiment nt

[coloradodem2005]

8. I guess.

But, the policy seems to be that Bush gives them a blank check and the churches do whatever they want with it.

[Kevin Spidel]

7. a good thread to discussing this topic

http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/index.php?showtopic=1082