Philadelphia Church of God Irish Dancing in the UK??
Tonight I had an accidental run in with an American evangelical cult.
My MIL booked tickets to (what we thought was) a fairly normal Irish dancing show because tickets were half-price. I live in England and Irish dancing productions are fairly common here because Riverdance was so popular in the past.
It was on in a 14k seat arena, pretty big for the UK, and the largest venue in this city. But I noticed quickly that ticket sales were very low. We get in and maybe a quarter of the arena is filled (if that). The show starts and an American guy (the producer?) gets up and starts talking about the show. Says they're from Oklahoma and the entire show is teenagers and children. He also makes a very weird comment about how the kids love meeting people after the show and "if anyone wants to hug a sweaty teenager, come say hi". He also says that anyone there can get a free ticket for their show in London (Apollo theatre).
The show starts and it's about a character from Irish legend, Ollom Fotla (who they call Ollav Fola). Except they've added a very odd bit about him supposedly saving the lineage of a king of Jerusalem and bringing them to Ireland. Bit weird, we thought, but it still didn't click. There was quite a bit of Christian reference and I just assumed they all go to the same church or something.
Then, towards the end, they show a montage that includes pictures of a random old white dude in Israel, then an archaeological dig, then some kids in a classroom reading the Bible, then a series of what looked like gaudy mansions.
Afterwards, we leave (without hugging any sweaty teenagers) and I do some googling. It was the fucking Philadelphia Church of God, the WCG offshoot. Turns out the lead dancer is the grandson of their leader/prophet/king Gerald Flurry and he took a liking to Irish Dance so they decided to fund these projects, under the guise of spreading the gospel.
The old white dude in Israel is Gerald, the archaeological dig is from their The Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology that promotes a literal biblical interpretation and the mansions were the church headquarters and Flurry's mansion (I assume). They've also just done several shows in Israel. Ironically, none in Ireland š
These guys are nuts. Among other things, they believe that Gerald will be crowned the true king of England and that Anglo-Saxons are descended from the 10 lost tribes of Israel (explains the weird storyline).
The production was OK but it wasn't "send hundreds of kids abroad to perform in very large venues across 5 cities in the UK" level good. It seemed to me like they were definitely losing money (especially because tickets were £15 each).
I guess I just can't believe that there's been no pushback from local media, or that the arena accommodated them. I watch a lot of fundie documentaries and this felt like I was sitting in a clip of one.
The show itself was exactly how I would imagine Irish dancing done by an evangelist megachurch to be.
7 comments:
I will be glad when Judd comes out of the closet and is his authentic self. He would have a promising career if he left the cult.
Maybe he can star a dancing school over there, call it Bricket Wood.
I hope it becomes widely known who is supporting and financing this despicable group. And it hits pcog hard in the pocket. Incredibly sad to see those who are caught up in it’s terrible embrace.
Money talks. If this is hemorrhaging red ink for the PCG, sooner or later they will be forced to retreat.
I also wonder if the guy who wrote the expose knew more about the PCG than he let on. Good on him for getting this published and wide attention, but I have a difficult time believing that this was some innocent and organic discovery on his part. Could be a former member.
I know a few young people who are certain Jude should come out of the closet. But, why should he have a promising career which has only been afforded him because he is the grandson of the prophet and king Gerald? Many young people have not been able to follow their dreams because they were too busy being told to focus on Jude and the other dancers’ dreams.
Maybe an ex member . Doesn’t matter even if it is . You don’t think the PCG also don’t have their own people writing reviews pretending they are people in the audience. If someone forces a microphone in your face and asks you to say something, most people will search to say something complimentary.
PCG is definitely losing money. Many high paying tithe payers have left especially over the last 5 or 6 years and of course many before them. Many I know of have been suspended and choosing not to go back after having some time to reflect on the toxic environment and ridiculous teachings. So many are suspended over nothing. It’s just a power play and it’s just sit down and shut up. I have heard many disturbing stories each time someone leaves or is put out. It’s the same old story. Ministers are not servants, but unloving tyrants who use their position to threaten, put down and belittle the members. No natural affection. You realise that when you are on the other side. Just hope more will come to see it.
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