Posted on 12/19/2007 5:12:59 PM PST by PAR35
Washington, DC—Fighting to keep its doors open, a struggling United Methodist congregation in Baltimore has partnered with a collective of radical anarchists in a space-sharing agreement.
The tiny St. John’s United Methodist Church, still not fully restored after a 1981 fire, now hosts meetings of Red Emma's collective, a self-described anarchist group. Payments from the anarchists have allowed the church to continue paying its utility bills. Red Emma’s speakers at the church have included a former Black Panther imprisoned for armed robbery and the Northeast Federation of Anarchists-Communists
St. John’s garnered attention earlier this year when its pastor, Ann Gordon, announced her change of gender identity from female to the male Drew Phoenix, sparking an ongoing controversy over transsexual pastors in the 7.9 million-member United Methodist Church.
(Excerpt) Read more at ird-renew.org ...
And for those who wonder, the motto of the church:
“This Ain’t Your Daddy’s Church”
http://www.stjohnsbaltimore.org/
By the way - the group referenced in the article may be on the moderate end of the scale. They also seem to host:
“2640 - 2640 is a noncommercial, cooperatively managed space for radical politics and grassroots culture, located at 2640 St. Paul St. in Baltimore’s Charles Village Neighborhood.”
http://www.stjohnsbaltimore.org/partners
still not fully restored after a 1981 fire
26 years? What's up with that? Take the insurance money and rebuild already.
Doesn't sound like it's God's church, either.
“Red Emma” is Emma Goldman(1869-1940). Communist, anarchist, abortionist, bank robber.
At the time of the fire, they had an average weekly attendance of about 50.
Two and a half decades of homosexual advocacy has caused them to grow to an average weekly attendance of 25. (source: http://archives.umc.org/Directory/ChurchDetails.asp?mid=222&FAC=20500 )
The insurance money apparently covered the structural elements and the cost of building out a small worship area to suit the congregation’s size. (Why use the money to finish out a 1000 seat or so sanctuary for a crowd of 50 or 25?)
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