Sunday, December 21, 2008

FOX News Sunday Morning

On the off chance you're NOT in church at 11:35 Eastern time this morning (yes, that's like 20 minutes from now!) then tune into FOX News Sunday and you should be able to hear Bishop Harry Jackson and me having a little chat about life in general and Rick Warren in specific.

(See also: Never a dull moment in the Fields of the Lord!)

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1:15 p.m. Quick Update: It ended up being about a three minute segment ... Bishop Jackson led off by talking about how this showed how intolerant gays were of anyone who disagreed with them. I tried to counter by saying I applauded the selection of an evangelical for the role but Obama could have found one who didn't advocate assasinating the President of Iraq and that I had a problem with someone in the role of "America's pastor" who preaches family values and then practices discrmination against gay and lesbian families.

Will try to get a transcript up ... I did find the moderator "fair and balanced" but Oh My Dear, has my email inbox been filling up! As soon as I did the segment I ran off to do two services and an adult education hour and by the time I got back to my desk found 14 emails and 4 voicemails..

My favorite was some hate mail sent to my ex-husband (who lives in Kentucky) -- he forwarded it to me with the note, "This is the sort of mentality I have to put up with hereabouts. If you have a minute I would appreciate some enlightenment to send her way."

I sent him some talking points.

And now I'm closing up shop and going home to finish decking the halls and getting ready for guests this evening.

Happy End of Advent, Everybody! And Merry Almost Christmas!
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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Missed it, darn it.

Elizabeth Kaeton said...

I was stuck in the snow. I'm sure you were fabulous

Padre Mickey said...

Revda. Susan, I love you because you are willing to take on the, er, uh, poopy heads.
God bless you, sister!

Neil Houghton said...

Your poor "ex." I am sure that most of his neighbors are glued to Fox. Most of the folks we hang with watch MSNBC. Glad you took the plunge. Hope to see video!

IT said...

PRetty funny, the x-husband getting it. One does start to think these people are crawling out from dark places...

IT

seraph said...

Dear Susan:

As usual you were very articulate and quite off! Rick Warren is an Evangelical whose views, as far as gay marriage put him very in the mainstream of folks ... aparently even in California!

So...let me get this, you were okay, or at least silent, when it was revealed that Obama attended a church with a radical, bigotted preacher for 20 years, and now all of the sudden you find your voice to call this one, chosen to lead a simple prayer, unacceptable?

That is so funny!

Blessings to you and yours

Seraph

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

Actually, I think I noted at the time that Obama was well advised to distance himself from Wright ... but it seems to be there's a distinct difference between being a member of a church where the pastor sometimes preaches things you don't agree with (believe it or not, that even happens in MY parish! :) and elevating someone whose core values are antithetical to the ones you're trying to build your new administration on to the "bully pulpit" of giving the Inaugural Invocation.

JimB said...

One wonders how tolerant the bishop would have been if you or, say Bp. Robinson had been asked to offer the invocation? Better yet, how about two prayers with the bishop for 'fair and balanced' as the Fox addicted claim to be?

I actually would have preferred Rev. Wright to Warren.

FWIW
jimB

uffda51 said...

I’m with Jim. I would rather have Rev. Wright deliver the invocation than Rick Warren.

The “mainstream” in which Rick Warren resides in California is becoming narrower. The gay marriage issue in 2000 was decided by a 68-32 margin. In 2008, it was 52.3 to 47.7. 26 points versus 4.6 points.

I don’t find Rev. Wright to be particularly radical within the context of black prophetic churches. I don’t find Rev. Wright to be bigoted either. Sound bites taken out of context can paint a very different picture than the reality of the whole.

The comment about "America's chickens coming home to roost” was made by a white man, Ambassador Edward Peck, a veteran of 32 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, on a Fox News broadcast. Rev. Wright perhaps did become a little too fond of the spotlight for his own good – or anyone else’s.

Jesus was also a radical, was he not?

Merry Christmas to all!