Teddy Bear Service

[DeterminedJuliet]

No way near a fair comparison there is a saying about the Church of England "no god please we are C of E".

I've had my morning coffee, so I'm feeling more reasonable again. 

[OldGit]

Nobody can be reasonable without coffee.

[Stevil]

Nobody can be reasonable without coffee.

i never drink coffee, it is a foul brew.
But then again there are people who may think I am unreasonable.

[Sweetdeath]

Grumpy DJ is kind of fun though. 

[Sandra Craft]

Our village church is holding a teddy bear blessing on Sunday morning.  They are dedicating and blessing a new bear to be given to a children's hospice.  Also, villagers both old and young are encouraged to bring along their own teddies to be blessed.

Comments?

I have to admit I think it's both cute and harmless -- a blessed bear might perk up the people who believe in that sort of thing and it certainly won't harm the people who don't.  I can also see a lot of the kids who got their teddies blessed laughing at the silliness of it 10 or 15 years from now, and having a good time dining out on the story with more secularly raised friends.

Does make me wonder what other uses a blessed teddy can be put to.  I know some cops make a practice of carrying teddies in the trunks of their cars just in case their days work includes a little kid who needs something comforting.  It must get expensive buying all those bears on a cops salary, so what if a church asked for donations of teddies to be blessed and given to the local PD?  Rather more useful than one symbolic bear to a hospice, altho that's nice too.

[MadBomr101]

I have to admit I think it's both cute and harmless -- a blessed bear might perk up the people who believe in that sort of thing and it certainly won't harm the people who don't. 

Suuure.  That's just what they want you to think.  Start small with something inocuous like blessing teddy bears.  Before long they talk you into attending service, then you start believing in god and before you can even see it happening, you're tithing 10% of your income, telling people how they can be saved too if they just come to Christ and speaking in tongues.  Blessing the bears is just the seemingly harmless first step in their master plan to rule the world.

This would also make a great plot for a James Bond movie.

[Sandra Craft]

Suuure.  That's just what they want you to think.  Start small with something inocuous like blessing teddy bears.  Before long they talk you into attending service, then you start believing in god and before you can even see it happening, you're tithing 10% of your income, telling people how they can be saved too if they just come to Christ

Been there, done that, didn't stick.

This would also make a great plot for a James Bond movie.

While I have no problem imagining Daniel Craig and teddy bears, somehow I can't seem to work the Bond thing in there.

[OldGit]

The name's Bear - James Bear.

[Amicale]

Well, here's one project I can get behind: http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/1341453--church-knits-teddy-bears-for-children-in-need

A Toronto United (typically pretty liberal) church is doing a lot of sewing/knitting projects, and when this article was written, they were focused on knitting bears for children in need of them.

A few months ago, they put their knitting needles together for the Big Scarf Project, which saw almost 200 scarves donated to shelters and social service groups.

Now, the knitters are churning out knitted teddy bears, which will eventually be donated to Toronto Fire Services so firefighters can hand them out to frightened or traumatized children.

"I think it's a great idea. The whole church is community oriented and we do the best we can for the community," said Joe Bills, a member of the congregation.

"I think it's a wonderful thing if a fireman goes to a house and pulls a child out of a house and settles them down with a teddy bear."

I happen to think that this is pretty awesome. It's far more of a "blessing" to the kids to get something practical they can hold and cuddle that'll comfort them and help them feel a bit better. I wouldn't have even thought to donate teddy bears to a fire department, but it makes total sense - especially since if a child's pulled out of their own burning home, their toys may have been destroyed by fire. Good for these folks for doing something practical and helpful. I found this by Googling 'teddy bear blessing' and I'm glad I did.

[Sandra Craft]

Good for these folks for doing something practical and helpful. I found this by Googling 'teddy bear blessing' and I'm glad I did.

I second your "good for them" but I have to know, did you find a teddy bear blessing? 

[Amicale]

Good for these folks for doing something practical and helpful. I found this by Googling 'teddy bear blessing' and I'm glad I did.

I second your "good for them" but I have to know, did you find a teddy bear blessing? 

I did. A 'progressive' (liberal) church called St. Matthew's in New Zealand seems to have held a teddy bear blessing: http://www.stmatthews.org.nz/nav.php?sid=95

I noted, with some amusement, that aside from teddy bear blessings, they also offer same-sex/civil union blessings, too.

[Sandra Craft]

I did. A 'progressive' (liberal) church called St. Matthew's in New Zealand seems to have held a teddy bear blessing: http://www.stmatthews.org.nz/nav.php?sid=95

I noted, with some amusement, that aside from teddy bear blessings, they also offer same-sex/civil union blessings, too.

I think they're a cat of a different color in a number of ways.  I found this quote on another page:

If we are to believe that God deliberately sent his only son into the world to be brutally tortured and crucified, then I take that to be transcendental child abuse, and I will not have it. 
John Dominic Crossan

Crossan used to be a Catholic priest until he came to America (apparently we broke the man with our alluring women  ) but he's still a heavy hitter in the religious world.

[OldGit]

A friend in Yorkshire sent me this clipping from his local rag:



I know that animal services are nothing new, but they strike me as just as silly as teddy-bear ones.  Here I notice they don't state any purpose - such as a blessing - to bringing the animals in.

[Sandra Craft]

I know that animal services are nothing new, but they strike me as just as silly as teddy-bear ones.  Here I notice they don't state any purpose - such as a blessing - to bringing the animals in.

Isn't it something to do with St. Francis?  There's a big one at the church on Olvera St. every year -- people line up for hours.  Cops with a K-9 officer or rescue dog get to go to the front of the line, and I understand many of them take advantage of that.

[MadBomr101]

A friend in Yorkshire sent me this clipping from his local rag:



I know that animal services are nothing new, but they strike me as just as silly as teddy-bear ones.  Here I notice they don't state any purpose - such as a blessing - to bringing the animals in.

Because, as we know, the animals are incidental to the real purpose of getting the humans to show up for the sales pitch.  Also, it looks cute as a feel good piece on the 6:00 News.  If it were me, I'd offer to bless people's cars.  That'll get em' there.  "Bring your vehicle in to be cloaked in the divine insurance of God's Holy Blessing."  I guarantee I'd be blessing cars all day while simultaneously increasing my flock because I'd look like a caring and thoughtful religious leader concerned with the safety of you and your family even if you're not a member of my church...yet.

To me, it's like an auto dealership offering free pony rides for the kids.  What's the real purpose of the free pony rides?