With each story of clergy hypocrisy I collect a new picture. This is only small sample from my most recent posts. I intend to make a poster when I’ve put all the faces together.
oops – I had Tolkien in the mix. How did that happen?
Sunday, July 18, 2010
What kind of a man molests a child?
Pastor Bill Vandergraph is apparently that kind of man. He faced his first court appearance on charges he sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl.
Pastor Vandergraph has been the pastor at Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Alto Pass for almost 50 years.
"Any time there are accusations of moral failures against anyone, it's shocking," Pastor Steve McKeown said. "When that individual is a member of the clergy, it's even more shocking."
Moral failures? Hell yes, but lets call it by its real name. Pastor Vandergraph is an alleged pedophile. There are degrees to hypocrisy. Molesting a four-year-old… you can’t just call it moral failure and get on about your day.
Way to go Pastor Vandergraph. I’m sure your family and church are proud. Look at what you pissed away. I wonder if they will let you build giant pointless crosses in prison? Wait. 72 and a pedophile in prison… that does not bode well. I would not plan any big projects.
The iPhone 4 is Bam Bam
I recently switched from a Blackberry to a new iPhone 4. Contrary to the bad press, my phone works fine. I have a problem though, it’s too easy to buy music. I heard Bam Bam by Sister Nancy while eating dinner the other night. I used Shazam to identify the song and then bought it at the iTunes store. I listened to it in my truck a few minutes later. It’s addicting. My music spend will go through the roof if I don’t watch out.
For those of you who don’t know this reggae classic, listen and enjoy.
Rev. Patrick Umberger arrested
Patrick Umberger is a Catholic priest working at St. Patrick’s Parish in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Umberger is suspected of possessing child pornography and may have been stalking children.
A family and two Noah’s Ark Water Park employees reported seeing Umberger repeatedly follow boys into the bathroom near a children’s pool area, according to the Lake Delton police report.
Umberger was found standing next to a 10-year-old using a urinal, the report stated. Umberger denied intentionally following the boys and told an officer he had prostate problems and had to urinate often, according to the DOJ report.
And he’s a pedophile.
Umberger told a state agent Wednesday he is sexually attracted to boys and young men and searched the Internet for pictures of boys 12 to 15 years old, according to the complaint.
Of course, the faithful are shocked.
“Everyone I talked to that is a member there is shocked,” said a church member who asked not to be named. “I mean, he’s our priest.”
So, because he’s “our priest” that makes his somehow incapable of committing horrible crimes against children? Wake up sheeple.
Another can man
Over the years I’ve shot a dozen photos of people carrying their cans to the recycling center. I shot my first in Carson a few years ago. It seems to becoming more prevalent.
I shot this fellow in Garden Grove while was on a short photo-driving run. I did not see him pop in front of my truck. I came very close to hitting him. He was meandering along so slowly that he blended in with the background, and then he was suddenly in front of me. I shot this photo while yelling at him. Angry photos are the best kind.
Technorati Tags: Photography
Saturday, July 17, 2010
When you fail to live your values…
The Lutheran bishop of Hamburg, Maria Jespen, resigned because she failed to live her values. She is alleged to have known about abuse allegations concerning Gert Dietrich K, and took no action..
According to media reports, the bishop only began to investigate the case this year after the abused woman, now 46, contacted her directly in March.
Bishop Jepsen said she had not known about the case earlier, but the young woman signed an affidavit this week that she had informed the bishop through a local minister in 1999.
Well, you live or die by your values when you are in the public eye. Maria Jespen’s life work is forever tainted by the stain of neglecting her duties. I don’t know how she can bear it.
Almost a hole-in-one
My buddy Al and I played a round of disc golf at La Mirada regional park today. I picked up a rare birdie on hole 9. It’s the only hole on the course where I have a chance for a hole-in-one. I’ve bounced off the hole once, and landed past the hole a couple of times. Today I was short of the hole by 40 feet but nailed the birdie putt. I did the happy dance.
Al had a chance at a hole-in-one on 17. He came close enough that it looked like a real possibility. I’m proud of him. He overcame the yips to nail his 10 foot birdie putt.
I posted a 60, Al posted a 64 (Scorecard). It was not my best round, but much better than my last round.
We played at 6:45 am. When we finished at 8:00 am, it was already too hot to play again. It’s been brutal here the last few days, and much too hot to play in the afternoons. I’ll play again tomorrow morning though.
Technorati Tags: Disc Golf
I have bees
I’m not sure who I pissed off, but somebody gave me the gift of a bee swarm above my front door. Ok, perhaps nobody sent a curse my way, but bees? They’ve been camped in the same spot for 3 days. I plan to give them until Sunday, and then it’s the power washer with soap!
Technorati Tags: Photography,Bees
Goodbye Magic Jeff
Youth pastor Jeff Wasley was sentenced to 20-years in federal prison for videotaping children in public restrooms. Know as “Magic Jeff” because of his love for performance magic and his volunteer work at schools and hospitals, he opted for a plea instead of risking a much longer sentence. Let’s face it, who wants a magician/youth pastor chasing children around in the restroom. He would have went away for life. Magic Jeff is a freak.
Prosecutors said Wasley waited in the restrooms for children who came in without an adult and offered to help them.
When law enforcement agents searched his home, they found more than 17,000 images of child pornography on his computers, including six of boys using restrooms at four different stores -- either a Target or Walmart.
Magic Jeff worked at Calvary Jesus Church in Kennesaw. The church has removed its website. My guess is that will rise again under a new name and conveniently forget its past.
Previous posts
- Youth minister indicted on child porn (12/24/08)
- Youth pastor Jeff Wasley convicted (3/14/10)
Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Child Porn
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Pastor Delbert Thigpen arrested
Can you really be arrested for giving a teen a backrub? I think the answer is yes under certain conditions. There must be more to this story.
Police say a 15 year old girl claimed 76 year old Delbert Thigpen, touched her inappropriately. Thigpen is the pastor of St. George Pentecostal Holiness Church.
Pastor Thigpen admitted to the crime.
"After she massaged my back I figured I would massage her back. He told me that," she said. (She being an unnamed witness)
Pastor Thigpen is 76. I’m guessing his preaching days are over. He is the pastor for St. George Pentecostal Holiness Church. I wonder how long that will last?
Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Pentecostals
Pastor Kenneth Kleckner arrested
I love it when the cops pull a potential sexual predator off the streets. The get bonus points when it’s a pastor. Pastor Kenneth Kleckner of Ocala West United Methodist Church was arrested for soliciting a minor.
Pastor Kleckner should know not to use the internet to find underage sexual partners. There’s always a chance it’s going to be officer Fred posing as 14-year-old Sally. How many more pastors will fall to this temptation?
Investigators from SOS said Kleckner had an online relationship for the last month with a person he believed was a juvenile girl. That “girl” was actually an SOS detective.
"He stated that, I guess you could say, quote, that he got caught up in it. He started engaging in the chat and it just started to lead that way to him," said Detective Philip Graves, Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Pastor Kleckner has a wife and four kids. Did you hear that toilet flush? It was your life slipping into the sewer…
Monday, July 12, 2010
Introducing Praying to Pesci
My Please join me in welcoming the newest member of the Atheist Blogroll, Praying to Pesci
The goal for this site Praying to Pesci is to have a humorous look at the world of religion and disbelief from an atheist's perspective. Please take a gander - I think it is good for a laugh or two.
I was raised Catholic although we seemed to fall into the Christmas-Easter variety (we went to Church twice a year) I attended Sunday School through my first communion. While I was attending these brainwashing sessions I was told that my parents were at mass. On one fine Sunday class was cut short so I waited in the lobby for ma and pa. A couple of minutes later I see them getting out of their car in the parking lot. They had been at breakfast!. Well that was enough for me - I wasn't getting up early to sit through this crap if they weren't. The funny thing is that they were no different than all of the other church-goers that I knew - everyone just went through the motions without thinking about what they were really doing.
I muddled into my adult years without paying much attention to religion. I sometimes regarded myself as a Catholic even though I never, ever went to Church. I just regurgitated something that I had heard someone else say - I just assumed that while it wasn't for me that it kept a lot of people on the straight and narrow. Even though I wasn't religious I wasn't above spewing crap like that without thinking about what the words meant.
At some point in my late 20's I started a self-examination to find out who I was and what principles I believed in. I began to realize that there was a lot of BS in the world and rational thought was more or less an afterthought. That's the great thing about seeking truths without having any kind of bias or agenda - you let the facts point you in the right direction.
So why atheism? It has been said that nobody is ever converted to atheism - it is just something that you find on your own. I completely agree with that statement and I think it says a lot about a-theism. After all, nobody ever finds _______ (insert messiah) on their own. Someone has to introduce them. I wasn't out to be different nor did I even know any other professed atheists (although I did later find out that the unbelievers are all around us). Atheism was just another stop on the road of rational thought.
My goal in writing this blog is not just to stop the silly belief in superstition. I write it it to combat the evils that superstition brings on the world - slavery, misogyny, bigotry are the main offenders. You see the effects of religion all around us. For crying out loud, my kid can't even be a boy scout. My goal here is to promote humanity and liberty (and no, not that jingoistic patriotism that seems to be permeating our society). If I toss a deity or two under the bus while I'm at it, so be it. Who knows - if you believe this stuff, maybe the deity made me so that I could throw him under the bus. As Carlin said, it is all very confusing.
Are you interested in becoming a member? Visit the Atheist Blogroll resource blog for more information.
Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Pastor Kevin Gray arrested
Pastor Kevin Gray is a priest at Sacred Heart Church. He’s accused of stealing money from the church to pay for male prostitutes, hotel stays, restaurants, and clothing. Did I mention male prostitutes? WTF?
Police said when they confronted Gray, he told them he was unhappy with his church assignments and said, "He began taking money because he felt the church owed it to him."
Gray was suspended last month by the Archdiocese of Hartford from all of his priestly duties and can no longer function as a priest in Connecticut or anywhere in the country, according to officials.
I don’t have a problem with prostitution. I don’t have a problem with a person’s sexual preference. Heck, I don’t have a problem with gay men working as catholic priests. I have a problem with thieves, liars, and hypocrites. Quit telling me I’m unethical because I’m an atheist and I’ll quit making posts about hypocritical priests.
Introducing The Spiritual Life of An Atheist
Please join me in welcoming the newest member of the Atheist Blogroll, the The Spiritual Life of An Atheist
I started my blog, "The Spiritual Life of An Atheist," just a couple of months ago to explore deeply felt spirituality and commitment to transcendent values absent a belief in god. There is a culture war on, and we cannot concede the domain of values and meaning to religious fundamentalists. Awe, inspiration and aspiration are all possible within a secular, rationalist framework. Atheism is not a denial of the human spirit but a paradigm that can open one's eyes to its full measure.
Are you interested in becoming a member? Visit the Atheist Blogroll resource blog for more information.
Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll
Monday, July 05, 2010
More charges for pastor Settlemoir
Pastor Christopher Settlemoir, already facing charges for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy, now faces charges that he molested two other children.
According to today’s news release, Settlemoir was arraigned on the new charges after his preliminary examination on the original charges was adjourned. Police said he’ll be back in court July 22 for a preliminary examination on all of the charges.
Settlemoir remains in jail. His bail is set at one million dollars.
Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Baptists,Pedophiles
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)