…the SUV?
Pentecostal Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, who shared the sanctuary’s wide altar with three gleaming sport utility vehicles, closed his sermon by leading the choir and congregants in a boisterous rendition of the gospel singer Myrna Summers’s “We’re Gonna Make It” as hundreds of worshipers who work in the automotive industry—union assemblers, executives, car salesmen—gathered six deep around the altar to have their foreheads anointed with consecrated oil.
While Congress debated aid to the foundering Detroit automakers Sunday, many here whose future hinges on the decision turned to prayer.
Fundamentalist Christians don’t really read their Bibles, do they?
Don’t these people realize they’d be happier unemployed and hungry?
If Jesus were alive today, he’d bike or ride the bus, not unlike Mormon “Elders.”
@1 – I was just about to say that. Didn’t Jesus flip out and start knocking over tables in the temple for something much less than this?
This was on the front page of the NY Times this morning. The front page!!
Poor Michigan. It’s going down the crapper faster than the rest of us. Look to MI, America, to see our future!
@5 Michigan has been in the crapper since 2000. Michigan was one of the few states in the union had consistent increases in its unemployment rate over the past decade. Very few decreases.
…
The image of the SUVs on the pulpit is almost nothing new to anybody who has been in the ghettos of metro Detroit. Its where even the poorest neighborhoods are filled with gleaming SUVs…that are probably not paid for.
Isn’t this the whole purpose of religion? To provide comfort in times of uncertainty, when people are scared about their future? These people are potentially going to lose their jobs, and the ability to provide for their family… Who cares if it makes them feel a little better to pray to God/Jesus.
Sure, I think the whole thing is a bit crazy, but it’s not hurting anybody for them to pray for it to work out alright for them. As opposed to many of the other things that organized religion does (see homosexuality, birth control, the role of women) that actually are harmful and that I do get worked up about…
@6. Yes. I know. I lived in that crapper for 8 years, having left in May of this year.
Later that day parishioners realized they had had their foreheads smeared with Castrol 10-30W.
i suppose the point here is to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation…how could anyone be so stupid as to worship a god and pray to keep there jobs…and look at those suv’s, how pathetic…personally, this sort of finger waving is exactly what makes them hate us so much…and i vice versa. grow up dan.
Did they have to use SUVs? The one type of car that was losing popularity even before the gas crisis hit? Why not sedans or compacts? That is what has me shaking my head.
you cannot petition the lord with prayer.
“Consecrated oil.” 10W-40, I assume.
Sanity FAIL.
Golden cows, shiny SUVs.
Oh those wacky “Christians”. I don’t know why they don’t just put up a dollar bill portrait over their altars.
Just as long as they know praying doesn’t always work, they’ll be fine and think up a Plan B. Never hurts to have a backup, right? Look at all the people who tried so hard to keep Obama and abortion from happening on Nov 4th. Ooooops.
Last time I checked, Christ did not die for your greed.
Worshipping Mammon is always wrong.
African-style voodoo/Jeebus ritual ceremony.
@11 You’ve obviously never been to Detroit.
Hey, say what you will about Michigan, but cities all over our grand state are making it legal to keep chickens in the backyard. And no, it’s not because they’re chic, it’s because we’re all about to starve.
Yeah, but we can keep goats …
Everyone knows God drives a Prius.
Michigan never makes news, so reading this and realizing I know where these churches are is insane.
No one thinks the auto industry is doing a good job, but it’s like your heroin-addicted brother who needs money for food– you don’t agree with what he’s doing, but you’re not going to let him die.
There is video at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=f6buWoO_0m…
The SUVs were gas-electric hybrids.
These be thy gods, O Israel, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt with a mighty four-wheel drive into the suburbs of milk and honey!
Please Pray for financial miracle Blessing From Heaven … For Work & Good pay For each Family Live on Same road I Live on. I pray God will over flow Blessing from Heaven. For each familys. The Ones who are not saved In The Blood of Jesus will get save. I Pray For Peace, Love & Joy For each Family on same rode I live on. & Please Heal Each ones Health. Pray for Each Family Salvation. For each Familys In The Name Of Jesus Christ I Pray… Amen… I Do Pray for Anger Kids Will Reach to God Hands For Peace, Love, & Joy That Jesus Christ Can Give to Kids…. I Have Faith God will provide People For Jobs. Heaven is not in no depressing. Pray In The Name Of Jesus Christ. Seek Kingdom Of Heaven Micah 5:3-4 He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord, with the majesty of the name of his God. They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power to the ends of the land. He himself will be peace…. John 16:33
33 I… Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.