Sherry Chandler

World Overcomers Outreach Ministries ?

World Overcomers?

Here’s a news item that’s been floating around for 24 hours or so. It’s among the NYTimes’s most blogged about articles.

MEMPHIS, July 4 — On Independence Day, Lady Liberty was born again.

As the congregation of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church looked on and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams, presided, a brown shroud much like a burqa was pulled away to reveal a giant statue of the Lady, but with the Ten Commandments under one arm and “Jehovah” inscribed on her crown.

And in place of a torch, she held aloft a large gold cross, as if to ward off the pawnshops, the car dealerships and the discount furniture outlets at the busy corner of Kirby Parkway and Winchester that is her home. A single tear graced her cheek.

…

The Statue of Liberation Through Christ, as she is called, stands 72 feet tall from the base of her pedestal to the tip of her cross. She was the idea of Mr. Williams, a very successful pastor whose church, World Overcomers, qualifies as mega: it has a school, a bowling alley, a roller rink, a bookstore and, he said, 12,000 members.

…

To critics who say there are better ways to spend $260,000, Mr. Williams responds that his church gives millions to the needy and says he views the statue as outreach: “I personally feel that the answer for the poor is Jesus Christ.”

For myself, I’d be inclined to dismiss this as a sort of herd-mentality Kitsch. But I may be foolish to look at this simply as a matter of taste
— though taste is important to a poet. The culture wars have had serious consequences for our country.

I am completely puzzled by this mega-church phenomenon. I suppose in a time when mega-corporations rule the world, mega-churches are an inevitable corollary. My notions of religion involve considerably less bling and aggression, but I’m old and obscure and who cares?

Is it also possible that the Times is looking down its urban nose a bit at the heartland, snickering a little bit?

I picked up this link at Bag News, one of my favorite sites. Considerable discussion there, but I’d like to hear what you all have to say about this. (Images at the Bag and the Times link.)

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From the Crossroads of the World

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