In April of this year the Philadelphia Church of God held a summer camp in the Philippines for PCG children.
While I am sure this was a fun time for many involved, as most summer camps are regardless of which church runs it, these kids got a special dose of what it is to be an Armstrongite.
They started the day of by watching a video of HWA at an old SEP camp that was made possible by millions of dollars in tithe money. The kids in the Philippines slept in tents.
They got to watch the white kids enjoying well groomed landscaping, dorms with heat and electricity, dining halls, commissaries, ski boats, canoes, rifle ranges, archery, canoe tips, etc. Did I mention these kids got tents?
Trying to relive the glory days with kids who have no idea who in the hell Herbert Armstrong was or why a 27 year old video is relevant in 2013 just shows how pathetic Flurryism is.
Upon arrival, two boy dorms set up their tents and two girl dorms laid their bags down in their air-conditioned tents. Camp director John Macdonald started the first day with an afternoon lecture in which he showed clips of the World Tomorrow program with Herbert W. Armstrong that included the Worldwide Church of God’s Summer Educational Program. The first day also included the “talking stick” activity, in which staff and campers introduce themselves. 2G camper Ma. Sylvia Estelle Ramos said that the exercise in public speaking challenged the nervous campers, especially the first-timers.
So what was the focus of this summer camp? It was PERFECTION! Be ye PERFECT!
Perfect men and boys are LEADERS and perfect women and girls are made to be wives who cook and do crafts - apparently girls and women who think and who might be leaders is not possible or godly.
Along with Mr. Macdonald, 17 other full-time and five part-time staff members emphasized the 2013 camp theme: “Focus on Perfection.” Campers were encouraged to think deeply and strive for God’s level of perfection. That training concept carried through classes on speech, vision and goal-setting, budgeting, health and nutrition, etiquette, and dance. Other classes included leadership and song-leading for boys and womanhood and baking and crafts for girls. (at least the girls got air conditioning along with this training!)
While I know that cultural differences between the Philippines and the U.S. is vast, it is still sad to see women in the COG treated like mindless chattel created to serve the LEADERS.
16 comments:
They're lucky.
I read at Ambassador those men that went to leadership classes had to go through a "screening process" just to learn how to give a sermonette.
Now they get leadership classes AND learn how to flap their arms like a chicken in 4/4 time?
I can tell you that in just a few words:
Hold out your hands with authority.
Side, side, up down.
Attempt to sing while doing
Side, side, up down.
Repeat.
Smile.
If you wanna be cool
DO IT WITH ONE HAND AND SMIRK!
if you wanna be cooler
ROTATE MEN ON ONE VERSE WITH LADIES ON THE NEXT!"
If you REALLY wanna be cool?
End the verse with a FLOURISH of the hands.
ALL TOGETHER.
Now if you REALLY wanna be cool, go to Joe's Ranch, send the horse into a gallop, sing, lead songs at the same time, while STAYING ON THE HORSE. Might get a free beer off of Joe ;) :D
There you go.
LOL I mean to say - Well, unless they're summer camp kids going to the ranch for song leader training. They get ROOT BEER. LOL
"...leadership and song leading for boys..."
I'm in tears, laughing so hard. What a circus PCG must be.
Truly unbelievable.
Yeah, I always felt like an idiot "leading songs" written by Dwight Armstrong about god was going to murder everyone else except for us in his righteous anger, while flapping my arms like a chicken. I just remember thinking that all that was needed was someone to play the piano, and everyone could follow that and sing along. But those hymns were so awful and we'd all sung them all so many times already. Hymns was one of the more painful parts of church, even moreso when I had to lead them. I just didn't understand why was any of that was necessary.
Still, the MOST painful part about church was listening to a guy drone on for 60 to 90 minutes about how we were all supposed to strive for the unquestionably unattainable goal of "being perfect as god is perfect." As though that helped anyone? And then come back and do it all again next week? Why was this necessary?
I never went to SEP, but I don't figure I missed out on anything. Also, the church has no clue about real, healthy leadership and has nothing to teach about it and never did. Treating half the population like idiots is not leadership.
Herbert Armstrong is a dead false prophet.
How do we go from that to perfection?
Herbert Armstrong is a dead false prophet.
How do we go from that to perfection?
Maybe he is perfectly dead?
If I did my math right, and I always do my math right, it was 18 full-time and 5 part-time staff members for 38 campers; thats not perfection, that's overbearing babysitting.
I admit that perhaps the one good thing about growing up in WCG is that I got to visit Alaska because of their SEP camp there. I probably never would have had the opportunity to make the trip there otherwise. Things were quite loosely structured when compared to the order-and-conformity routine that permeated every waking minute at Orr, and only a couple of the adult staff really behaved like authoritarian freaks. It was actually worth it to put up with them for a couple weeks to experience the amazing sights and experiences up there.
The fact that I was turning 18 and going away to college (not AC!) after that summer and knew that in just a month, I would be free from it all made it all the more exhilarating.
NEW! - LETTER HOME FROM PCG CAMP MANILLA!
Hello Mudda, hello Fadda,
Here I am at PCG Camp Manilla
Camp is very entertaining,
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.
I went hiking with Joey Spivy;
He developed poison ivy.
You remember Leonard Skinner;
He got salmonella poisoning last night after dinner.
All the counselors hate the waiters,
And the lake has alligators,
And the head coach wants no sissies,
So he reads to us from something called "Ulysses".
Now I don't want this should it scare ya,
But my bunk mate has malaria.
You remember Jeffrey Hardy,
They're about to organize a searching party.
(From the famous "Camp Granada" song)
Joe Moeller
Cody, WY
Flurry's telecast is the least watched program on television.
The Bible: it says get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich.
The Law: it says she gets the house, the alimony, the kids, and you get to work your ass off to pay for it all or go to jail.
The media: it says the law is respectable and for your good.
Oh yeah, you also have to fork over money for the kids from her first marriage.
So you slave away 60 hours a week for nothing.
But if she has to make you a sandwich, then you are considered a totalitarian jerk.
Any mention or rumors of Jesus? If not, this was all just a useless exercise in idolatry.
BB
If she hits you then lies to the cops you have to take anger management classes--just because she says so. But God forbid we expect the women to make us a sandwich. Who's controlling who?
Here's what a kid wrote from the UCG indoctrinaction camp---
Hello muddah, hello faddah
Playin' piana in Indiana
My bunk mate is a real puker,
But it gets licked up by Dennis Luker
My camp mates like licking toads,
That's advice of Melvin Rhodes
They all got lots of spanks,
Administered by one Jim Franks
We ate jerky we thought was turkey,
But it was just Clyde's hide
Made us all puke and then rebuke,
All their teachings we'd taken in stride
Hello Mudder, hello Fudder
Ask those cows who found anudder
Church to tithe to from your location
And see if next year it's a much better vacation
Anon:
Again, taking my stuff and trying to be funny.
Come up with something original on your own, and I may laugh with you, even if it is against UCG.
Your plagiarism is weak. I can enjoy original humor, but tagging off of mine, is pathetic. Well, I guess imitation is the highest form of compliment, so I give you a very reluctant thanks.
Joe Moeller
Cody , WY
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