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Posted on 08/29/2007 12:15:32 PM PDT by UKrepublican
Priest offers festival-goers the chance to confess their green sins
Forgotten to recycle any newspapers or tin cans recently? Feeling guilty because you neglected to carbon offset your flight to somewhere, anywhere, outside England this summer?
The Roman Catholic Church is at hand with a new line in “green confessions” to help eco-sinners to find forgiveness.
Dom Anthony Sutch, the Benedictine monk who resigned as head of Downside School to become a parish priest in Suffolk, will be at the county’s Waveney Greenpeace festival this weekend to hear eco-confessions in what is thought to be the first dedicated confessional booth of its kind.
Vested in a green chasuble-style garment made from recycled curtains, and in a booth constructed of recycled doors, he will hear the sins of of those who have not recycled the things they ought to have done and who have consumed the things they ought not to have done.
Father Sutch tries to practise what he preaches but has turned the heating down so low at his church of St Benet’s that at least one parishioner has fled to the warmer care of a neighbouring priest for winter services.
He told The Times: “It is not, I hope, blasphemous to do this. I do not think it is. It is just an attempt to make people conscious of the way they live. The Church is aware of green issues and of how aware we have to be of how we treat the environment.
“I know the Pope has now set up his own airline, but I am told the Vatican will be planting trees every time it flies. I do think the way we treat our environment is important.
“There is a huge amount of greed in the West. We have to be aware of the consequences of how we live.”
Father Sutch said that he tried “very hard” to live a green lifestyle but admitted that it was difficult. “I try not to turn on my heating but people come and stay with me and demand it. I get attacked for having a cold church. I have cut my electricity bill by 30 per cent.
"I try to grow my own vegetables and I buy my food from the local area. But when I travel to London I have to drive my car 30 miles to the station to catch the train because I cannot get a bus. My parish is spread out so I have to drive around it by car. It can be difficult to be green. I am hoping to find out about more that I can do at the fair this weekend.
“I’ve had one or two comments about abuse of the confessional. One or two people have said, ‘Father, is this quite right?’ Luckily, more people see it as an excellent idea. As with all these things, we have to look in the mirror and see what we could stop consuming ourselves.”
Being green has become the new “socially correct” form of behaviour for many, resulting in dishonesty as Western consumers exaggerate their eco-friendliness to keep up with their neighbours. A new poll for Norwich Union found that nine out of ten people tell “little green lies” about how much they recycle and how little they consume. More than half think that unethical living is as socially taboo as drink driving.
The Waveney Greenpeace confessional concept is based on the Earthly Sins booth which has appeared at the Glastonbury festival and in the lobby of theatre performancs by the comic Rob Newman. A secular construct, Earthly Sins asks penitents to sign a pledge that they will switch to renewable energy or ethical banking.
At Waveney, Rupert Read, a local Norwich Green councillor, and Steve Peck, a Suffolk actor, will be standing by to offer post-confessional advice. Mr Read told the Eastern Daily Press: “It is a bit of a laugh but there is a serious underlying point. By doing this we hope people will think a bit more about what they might be doing to make their world a better place.
“I imaging people will be confessing to things like, ‘I have bought a new car even though I didn't need one’, or ‘I flew to Australia last year’. I have come up with some penances, such as making a donation to a green charity or telling ten other people what you have done.”
Graham Elliott, the fair organiser, said: “We are not expecting people to change their lifestyles dramatically, having stepped into the booth. We think they will treat it in a light-hearted way. If people are concerned about certain aspects of their lifestyles there will be information on hand, whether it is reducing energy use, renewable energy, reducing your travel impact, or ways to grow your own produce.”
The annual fair is the country’s biggest fundraising event for Greenpeace, raising more than £15,000. The fair, run entirely by volunteers, is at Hulver Farm, St Michael South Elmham, near Bungay, from 11am to midnight on Sunday.
Attractions include three stages of music, one of which has a sound system powered by a member of the audience riding an exercise bike. There will also be organic food, biodegradable beer cups and composting toilets that work without chemicals. Those wanting to get into the spirit of it by leaving their car at home can take the train to Halesworth, from where there is a free bus service to the fair. Bus passengers also get a £1 discount on entry.
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A bit OTT don’t you think?
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A bit OTT don’t you think?
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A bit OTT don’t you think?
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I’m not reading that whole article. Just wondering, though, would it be a mortal or a venial sin?
Oh brother. We sure have come a long way from the seven deadly sins.
catholics already determined there were venal and mortal sins... you’re on your own here guys with the green sins ...
No fair posting this without a picture!
Does that include the sin of emission?...........
You think wrongly. It is blasphemous.
One more step into the abyss.
Sometimes I say, to my wife "They want to pick through my garbage? Let them pick trough this." Then I intentionally put dirty diapers in the recycle bins.
I often think lustfully of women in green lingerie.
Waaaaaay over the top imo.
more proof that global warming is becoming a religion.
Pull my finger.
Forgive me father,.....
Please don't flame me. ;-)
Personally, I don’t support color rasicm. I think my yellow and blue sins are as deserving of confession as much as my green ones.
I wonder how many carbon offsets you get for each aborted infant?
Penitant: Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.
Priest: What was the nature of your sin, my son?
Penitant: I doubted Global Warming.......B-B-But just for a few hours, or so!
Priest: You have sinned greatly against the Holy Mother Earth! Your penance will be to watch “An Inconvenient Truth” ten times and to use only one sheet of toilet paper each day for a week.................
I see no different. Basically paying to be forgiven for your transgression against mother earth instead of paying the church to clear your sins away.
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned: I just bought two new H1 Hummers, a gigantic RV with all the bells and whistles, a magnificent new mansion modeled on the spread that John and Elizabeth Edwards just built, a fancy new powerboat, etc. My question, Father, is do you think God really holds this against me? /s
OK, maybe it’s more sinful for the covetous, greedy pursuit of material goods, but I really don’t expect that the Almighty has bought into Albore’s propaganda scheme.
Forgive me father,.....
Only the penitant man will pass...
Green - the color of the puke I’m holding down.
Visions of Carol Burnet and her gown, complete with curtain rod, in the Went With The Wind skit.
"I saw it in the window and just couldn't resist."
LOL! And maybe sitting in something that looks kind of like an outhouse...
I searched all over for that pic and came up with zip.
I have fond memories of my sainted mother laughing herself breathless over Carol Burnett.
Every now and then I read the perfect reply to a post. This is one such reply. Too funny.
Or as Kermit the Frog says, "It's not easy being green."
Seriously, Greenpeace has committed violent and unlawful acts in pursuit of its agenda, and I am very dubious about members of the clergy cooperating with this organization. Perhaps it could even be considered a venial sin.
Pull my finger.
Forgive me father,.....
___________________
LOL. I’ll wait for warmer weather for that swim across the Tiber.
Are off-sets like indulgences?
Please don’t flame me. ;-)
______________________________
I’ve posted the same. Yes. They are incredibly similar.
I think John Edwards should partake.
Greenpeace, its disinformation campaigns, communist ties and cruelty to animals -
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1380895/posts
Father, forgive me for I have sinned. I throw recyclables in the garbage, I drive at excessive speed and quick acceleration; I run my house thermostat at 70 degrees year round and often leave the lights and TV on when I leave. I eat and drink using Styrofoam cups and plates more than regular dishes. I take hot water tank emptying long showers, consume red meat and help my brother collect and burn brush and tree cuttings on his property using gasoline to start the fires. I laugh at people driving hybrids and think anyone who believes that carbon credits will accomplish anything other than enriching those selling them, is a fool.
Second, in no sense is this a sacramental confession, which the reporter was too lazy even to mention.
Hey, I'm all for tree-planting. When a Green Goddessy acquaintance criticized me for wanting more than two kids, I said "You should want me to want even more. They're all going to plant trees."
If you’re going to indulge, please do it off-set.
[/schoolmarm mode
OK, class, resume the frivolity.
Which boils down to “give me money and all will be well”.
Give me a "Glory Be" and all will be well. +[[[:0)
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