Stunned by member's death, pastor orders men to see doctor

[The Straight Story]

Stunned by member's death, pastor orders men to see doctor


COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- All males in the congregation at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church must go see a doctor within the next month. Pastor's orders.

Pastor Keith Troy, stunned by the death of a 58-year-old church member a day after delivering Thanksgiving meals to the homeless, told every man in his congregation - estimated at 900 - to see a doctor within 30 days.

Roland K. Burks had died of complications from diabetes and high blood pressure. Troy delivered his message during a sermon last Sunday and said something good should come from Burks' death.

"If you don't have a doctor, we'll find you one," he told the congregation. "And if economics are an issue, we'll help you. But one way or another, every man in this church will be checked out."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OH_PASTORS_ORDERS_OHOL-?SITE=WBNSTV&SECTION=HOME

[knitter4democracy]

1. What about the women?

Will the church help with the women's annual exams, too? Heart disease is the biggest killer of women, so what about them?

[China_cat]

2. That's a rhetorical question, right?

[knitter4democracy]

5. No, not really.

I've known sexist pastors and unbelieveably feminist pastors, so I'm wondering if he'll realize that making the guys get checked but not the ladies is sexist.

[LoZoccolo]

7. If you read the article, it goes into that. n/t

[Fridays Child]

10. It does? Where?

[The Straight Story]

3. If he did, he would be called patriarchal by some

a lose lose :)

But for all I know, the pastor already has.

[knitter4democracy]

6. I hope so. That would be the right thing to do.

Churches should help with medical costs, I think, for their parishioners. My parish council doesn't listen to me on that, though. *sigh*

[progdonkey]

8. from the article...

One of the reasons they're focusing on the men is the whole issue with men being especially reluctant to go see the doctor. I don't know if that's true, or itself a stereotype, but it's not coming from the angle of "women don't matter." If anything, it's that men can't be trusted to go get themselves checked out, so they need to be ordered to do so by their pastor and report to the deacons to prove they've gotten checked up.

[clydefrand]

11. On the other hand, the wife or SO must do this

If anything, it's that men can't be trusted to go get themselves checked out, so they need to be ordered to do so by their pastor and report to the deacons to prove they've gotten checked up.


That's why we aggravating wives/SOs have to tell our husbands/SOs to get to a doctor. They are just too, too stubborn to go...not everyone, I'm sure. But I have one that is somewhat like that and I know of others who are even worse than he is.

[Fridays Child]

14. Sometimes, women take care of everyone else's health needs and neglect their own.

Maybe that's just another stereotype, too. In any case, while nothing in that article is overtly anti-female, it does seem to suggest, by default, that a higher value should be placed on men's health.

[hedgehog]

15. I think three men died within the past two weeks. nt

[knitter4democracy]

16. I can see that, since Hubby's told me stories, but I've also lost too many friends.

Cancer and heart disease both often have easy symptoms to ignore. The only reason I got the CT last year was to shut Hubby up. My symptoms just didn't seem important enough to deal with childcare and such. Turned out I had a huge kidney tumor no one knew about.

Men, in a terrible generalization, often put off going to the doctor because of time and other issues. Hubby's lost patients he could've helped if only they'd come in sooner, but that's true of women patients as well.

[ixion]

4. so the Pastor is covering the cost? Or is he just shilling?

it's a rhetorical thing. :evilgrin:

[rurallib]

9. Exactly - what if they don't have health care?

[kimmylavin]

12. From the article...

"Dr. Augustus Parker, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Mount Carmel East, listened last Sunday as his minister made the emotional plea.

'I thought it indicated to everyone there that the pastor was interested in more than just making sure you show up on Sunday and put money in the pot,' he said. 'As a physician, I knew immediately this would make a difference for many men - just knowing that someone cared.'"

Even the freaking ob-gyn can only focus on the men... you'd think that HE at least might bring up the women.

Having said that, if this offer was made to all the members of the church, I would think it was a pretty wonderful thing...

[uppityperson]

13. That's cool. It would be a good use of money collected/given also.