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Gerald Flurry seems to be having some issues in finding a suitable estate in the UK to start a satellite version of his idolatrous Herbert W Armstrong "college" based in Edmond Oklahoma. Flurry originally had his sights set on buying parts of the old Bricket Wood campus that the Worldwide Church of God owned in the 1960's and 70's.
Most COG members never knew that Bricket Wood held some dark secrets that most would never have appraoved of in the church: nudism and wicca.
During the 1930s the area became popular with naturists after Charles Macaskie set up a naturist camp on the outskirts of the village. Naturists bought up plots of land on the edge of the village and built their own communities, which at first didn't have electricity or running water. The village also began to attract Wiccans after Gerald Gardner set up Bricket Wood coven.
Naturism
The village of Bricket Wood has been host to at least six naturist clubs: Fiveacres Country Club, Spielplatz, The Sun-Folk Society, Gardenia (originally named Silverbirch), Diogenes Sunlight Society (also known as The Phoenix Recreational Society), and The Suncampers. Of these, Gardenia has now closed and been built on, Diogenes became the Diogenes Sun Club when it moved to near Maple Cross. The Suncampers have gone but the three remaining clubs are all still open.
The clubs have been there for many years. Fiveacres Country Club was founded in 1927 off Oakwood Road and is the UK's oldest naturist club on the same site. Spielplatz was founded by the Mackaskies in 1929 after visiting Fiveacres and they purchased their own site in the village in Lye Lane , The Sun-Folk Society started in 1931.
Wicca
In 1954 Gerald Gardner published his book "Witchcraft Today" to advance his own practice of Wicca as a modern religion. He established his first coven at Bricket Wood. Gerald Gardner operated his coven from Fiveacre Country Club in Bricket Wood.[1]
14 comments:
Well, of course!
God's will is ALWAYS acquire NEW REAL ESTATE!
Remember, members in good standing of the One Right Church -- it doesn't matter about your hungry children or whether you electricity stays on, as long as . . .
By the way, who is the overly-diligent peon who digs up quotes - more than 40 years old!!! - that somehow fit in as justification for nonsense like this? The real equivalency being put forth here is not HWA College = Ambassador, it's Flurry = Herbert.
Gerald, have you imagined yourself, at the Wedding Supper, marching right up to the front and being hugged by old Herbert, and taking your seat at the table on the raised dais with Paul, Peter and company? I bet you have, and it's only a SHORT TIME away, isn't it? Just like you said 5 years ago. Just like you said 10 years ago. Just like you said 15 years ago. Just like you said . . .
But if it's so close (as we've often asked here), why are you looking into buying more real estate, which you'll have to reconstruct for use, you'll have to staff, you'll have to supply . . . . Oh, yes, I know!
It doesn't matter -- your "faithful" followers will get you the money somehow, right?
Jerry, you really do make me want to puke!
Perhaps Flurry knows what he wants...Babylon and The Garden of Eden wrapped up in one!
That's all a shrinking cult with declining income needs to do- buy a property and operate a college that is not needed and that will be underutilized. All to please the current cult leader's worship of the founder. I heard that the Auditorium in Edmond was still being payed for.
This move would probably not be fodder for critique if it were recognizable as a sound business decision. Had someone sat down and determined that such a college was necessary to serve a burgeoning membership in Europe, or had they produced graphs indicating that the proposed college would generate X number of new members in Europe, then nearly anyone could see the logic.
PCG's pattern, as exhibited in the past, has been not to study what HWA did and to examine details critically to determine what errors were made, and how to do it better based on a changing world, but to simply imitate HWA. As an example, there were problems which ultimately made the original Ambassador Auditorium an expensive "white elephant". The one most often mentioned is that its size made it non viable commercially even for the fund raising concerts hosted there. It is possible, with what is known today, to have a larger hall with nearly perfect acoustics, sizing it more for viability.
In the present case, one would wonder whether Flurry carefully considered the financial advantages of areas of the UK other than Bricket Wood. There would be a precedent in that, obviously, in the early stage of his U.S. ministry, he chose Edmond rather than a cookie cutter in Pasadena. Why Bricket Wood? Just as Saddam Hussein was restoring Babylon, it appears that Flurry is attempting to restore an empire that he feels was destroyed and plundered by an enemy.
Because of the pick and choose/proof texting mentality behind their theology, I am sure they are able to build a wall of similar "logic" to support their efforts to imitate HWA, even when it makes no sense at all in the face of contemporary conditions. Never mind the fact that HWA was often informed by good business logic, practices, and procedures, advised by people in his employ such as Stan Rader. HWA probably acquired Bricket Wood for pennies on the dollar, just as he did "Millionaire's Row" in the late 1940s. I seriously doubt that he knew anything of the grounds' history of Wicca activities, considering the church's views on the apparent permanency of paganism. Back in the day, a church member would have been reprimanded for such a minor infraction as wearing a tie with a fleur d'elis pattern!
BB
Spending more money usually lifts the depressive to the manic state.
Think of it as self-prescribed treatment for alcoholic bipolar disease.
Again Flurry is trying to be just like Armstrong. We make fun of Flurry but isn't every church that preaches Armstrongism trying to be like Armstrong.
Even UCG. They seem to have a more democratic government but these men are part of the old guard of Armstrongism. The same abusive religion founded by HWA continues even in the UCG.
"Gerald Flurry Still Looking To Establish A 'College' In An Area Known For Nudism and Wicca"
The nudists and Wiccans probably won't like anything as evil as a Satan-sent, Satan-directed false prophet like Gerald Flurry moving in and ruining the neighborhood. Can you blame them if this upsets them?
Look out!
Houses in Edmund = $70k
Houses in B'Woods= $1m
"Evangelist Stephen Flurry."
Oh, brother.
a naturist resort would be a fantstic feast site...and I find it difficult to believe that the work of God cannot continue unless men buy buildings and open colleges....but since he quoted HWA no one will question it.
I wonder what is next for Flurry. Will he purchase an expensive personal jet and travel the world as an ambassador for peace like HWA? Spending millions of his tithe-slaves money.
I hope Gerry wanders to the edge of the property and gets poked in the eye by a big black gay penis!
Perhaps the au natural camping at Bricket Woods is the original reason for HWA being there in the first place.
Hey, the background is totally consistent with his Irish dancing obsession. Ancient Druidic or Celtic influences.
BB
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