Methodist Madness

Recently, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in Alabama wisely decided they would not broadcast the children's cartoon "Arthur" and its episode, “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone”, which depicted a homosexual wedding.

The decision by Alabama PBS outraged the LGBTQ crowd, but never fear, First United Methodist Church - Birmingham is here and will put on a special show for the kiddies.

From their Facebook events page,

Join The Sidewalk Film Festival, Shout LGBTQ Film Festival & First Church Of Birmingham on Saturday, June 15th at 10am for a FREE celebration & screening of the Arthur episode "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" followed by two additional surprise cartoon episodes. There will be wedding cake, sparkling apple juice and surprises. This all ages screening and celebration is free and open to all. Please let us know if you plan to attend via this event. 

Event Run Time: Approximately 90 minutes 

Thank you to WGBH Boston for granting permission to screen the episode! 

First Church is located in downtown Birmingham at 518 19th Street North, BHM, AL 35203 

Kid Friendly

With friends like First United Methodist Church - Birmingham, who needs enemies.

Their Connections newsletter for June 2019 is ironically titled, "Celebrating Our Children", and another way they celebrate children is by exposing them to those often offensive and sexually explicit "Pride" parades.

As they proudly announced in the newsletter,

"This year will mark First Church’s third appearance in the Pride Parade and we want to go all out. We’ll be marching with all of the Reconciling congregations in Birmingham to show our love and support for the full inclusion of our LGBTQ community. The Parade will take place on Saturday, June 8 at 8:00pm and track along 7th Avenue South beginning at 32nd and continuing to Our Place just after 22nd Street South. We will meet a few hours before the parade begins to getorganized and decorate our float! Everyone must be checked in by 7:00pm..."

"...In addition to participating in the Parade, we will have a booth at Pridefest on Sunday, June 9which begins at 11:00am at Sloss Furnaces."

Instead of participating in such events, First United Methodist should be teaching their children and adults that at the center of "pride' is "I", and pride is one of the deadly sins.

Woe be it to the leaders of the congregation,

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away--it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea." -Matthew 18:6

Not all Methodist congregations are deviant, but there are enough in the United States to cause schism (see reports here). Unlike what happened to Episcopalians where conservative congregations were blamed for breaking up 815's Anglican monopoly, the Methodists who will be labelled schismatics may be the radical ones like First United of Birmingham.

Communion talks between the Episcopalians and the Methodists are likely to be put on hold because Episcopalians would not want to be in full communion with the conservative fraction of the Methodists.