PCG Spending 1.15 Million To Build Dance Hall For Flurry Grandkids

As income declines in the PCG and members are forced to send in more and more money as they mortgage homes, businesses and cash in retirement accounts, the church is dropping over a million dollars on a new facility so that the grandkids of Gerald Flurry and practice their Irish Dance and the Malones can have new offices.

EDMOND—The reverberations of percussion instruments can be heard on the campus of Herbert W. Armstrong College this week as metal erectors and other tradesmen finish constructing the exterior shell of the campus’s new music and dance building. The noises of drills, grinders, punches, cutting torches, arc welders and impact wrenches are sounding across campus as workers dry-in the structure in preparation for its next phases of construction. 

Facilities manager Roger Brandon said that with the majority of the structural red iron and the exterior sheet metal in place, the focus of the project is the roof. 

“Once that’s in place, then we can turn loose the interior trades,” he said. This process will include dozens of light-gauge metal framers, plumbers, electricians, flooring installers, heating and air conditioning mechanics, cabinetmakers, painters and other contractors building out 10,170 square feet across 17 rooms on the one-story, $1.15 million structure.

Mr. Brandon said the building will include three large spaces, including a lecture room for approximately 150 occupants that contains tiered seating and a raised stage. The space will be built to accommodate music classes, forums and assemblies, youth camp orientation and similar activities. An orchestra room will allow for music students to leave their larger instruments set up permanently, will contain a humidity-controlled instrument storage room, and will offer nearby access to two other rehearsal rooms plus the lecture room. A dance studio with a sprung floor similar to the one installed in the Barbara Flurry Memorial Hall will accommodate dancers with ballet bars, mirrors and built-in cabinets for costumes and other storage. 

Turgeon dares to compare the cult compound school to those on the outside.  Of course money will flow in to minion the dance studio for the Flurry grand kids and to provide a n office for Malone.

Mr. Turgeon said the building will benefit grade school and college music students as well as adults and is a priority because “we have a strong emphasis in the Church on music and dance when such programs are being cut from many public schools, mostly due to lack of funding but also lack of appreciation for culture.” He said that it will also open up space at the memorial hall for possible additional classroom or student residential space.

pcg music director Ryan Malone, who will office in the new building, said it is important because it devotes more dedicated space to music classes and also consolidates the department’s activities so that instructors and students don’t have to meet in separate buildings. He said the result will be more flexible rehearsal schedules, less wear and tear on instruments, and a more efficient use of class time. 

This is code for the higher brass of PCG keeping the unwashed masses from using the Armstrong auditorium stage and dressing rooms.  Just like  Pasadena, church members were not allowed dot use the facility other than to be begrudgingly let in on Friday nights and Saturdays.

Mr. Malone says the building’s name is the Dwight Armstrong Performing Arts Conservatory. Mr. Turgeon says the goal is to complete construction by mid-August if possible, in time for the academic school year. At that point, when the noises of construction fall silent, dance music, winds, strings and percussion instruments of a different kind will begin to play.

See:  Construction on Performing Arts Building Continues 

A Day in the Life of an Unaccredited Church of God "college" Student

The Philadelphia Church of God posted an article that tells loyal followers of Gerald Flurry what a privileged life students lead at their little "college" in England.  Its a rather pathetic exposé of a church cult that demonstrates how spiritually bankrupt they really are.

This is how the morning starts out for one of the guys at Edstone mansion:

Up at 5 a.m. Down two flights of stairs to the fitness center for a 20-minute workout. Up two flights to the men’s dorm to shower. Down a flight to the kitchen for freshly ground and brewed Ethiopian roast. TheTrumpet.com for morning headlines over sips of coffee. Malachi’s Message for Bible study, followed by prayer. Fifteen minutes to get ready: just enough time to meet the other students in the cafeteria for a quick breakfast. Then it’s 8 a.m., and the day really begins. 

Welcome to a day in the life of a student at Herbert W. Armstrong College–Edstone. 

Notice what the focus is? A plagiarized book, news headlines for the PCG indoctrination page instead of London and European papers, and the exquisite life of a privilege white kid.

Then its down the hall to "college" classes. PCG's interpretation of  HWA's interpretation of prophecy.  The focus upon comparing Gerald and Stephen Flurry to Jeremiah.  Since Stephen is the only legitimate heir to the Flurry empire and his fathers rapidly becoming mental state, it is important to demonstrate that the Bible tells of the coming Stephen's amazing work. Given that there is no comparison whatsoever between these two and Jeremiah; its nothing more than indoctrination class.

This particular day is Wednesday. Armed with Tuesday night’s preparations, Hochstetler is ready for the first class of the day, Bible Prophecy. Fellow senior Samuel Livingston plays the lecture, which was recorded by instructor Wik Heerma two days prior at the college’s home campus in Edmond, Oklahoma. Mr. Heerma opened the second semester of the course with a comparison between the commission and work of the Prophet Jeremiah and that of the Philadelphia Church of God in the 21st century.

Then its down the hall to another classroom and a live instruction of God's prophet Stephen Flurry on PCG doctrine.

The next class is Doctrines of the Philadelphia Church of God, taught by Armstrong College President Stephen Flurry. 

Then its around the corner to another room for a "live" video presentation from Jerusalem by a PCG student and working on the dig PCG has in Israel. A student that is presently digging.  No archeology  degree, no advanced studies, no work in other projects around the world, nothing other the a couple summers worth of work.


Then there is the glamorous information about hard working Brad McDonald.  Students are privilege to see him walking around in his wells looking at his sheep.

On the other side of the property, from the mail department window, volunteer mail packers see UK-Europe Regional Director Brad Macdonald walking out to check on the landscapers’ work. Wearing his “wellies” he walks off the pavement of the circular drive and between the newly planted rows of yew hedging. He looks over his shoulder, past the circular flowerbed and the Union Jack flagpole, to wave as Mrs. Amy Flurry beeps her car horn and drives out the gate to do errands in Stratford, about seven miles down Birmingham Road. Mr. Macdonald continues on to check how Hochstetler and the other workers are progressing on their current project: moving a shed. 

What a humble righteous man.

Then its a shining example of how the PCG dumbs down its women and relegates them to the kitchen.  Men are sooooo much more intelligent and godly than the those with "ladies recipes."

While the male students are developing public-speaking skills, the female students attend Meal Management class. Wednesdays are lab days, so Hochstetler and the guys stop by after Homiletics to taste-test the ladies’ recipes, which vary from naturally sweetened chocolate cake to curry-spiced amaranth and millet dishes. Hochstetler, who admits he has a sweet tooth, says his favorite dish has been the brandy snap baskets filled with whipped cream.

Not once is Jesus ever mentioned in the daily journey of a PCG student.  Just like it's magazines, sermons, videos and publications. Jesus is nowhere to be found.

You can read this yourself here: Day in the Life: An Edstone Student

The Good News

If A Reporter Asked You to Prioritize the Beliefs of the Church, What Would You Say?

There is a comment on the Silenced blog in regards to the Withering Branches of the Church of God. It poses a great question in wondering how we would prioritize the beliefs of the church if we were asked by a reporter.

I remember the reporting following the tragic shooting at LCG by Terry Ratzmann. The news team was interviewing people outside to find out the basic facts, both about the situation, and about the group. When asked about their beliefs, one woman said, "We believe in keeping the sabbath." 

That got me to thinking at the time about the beliefs that I had been raised in. If I had to pick just one representative religious belief as an Armstrongite to tell a news reporter that I held, what would it be? And what would that answer say about me? 

What do Armstrongites believe, in order of priority? I think Armstrongite's beliefs are prioritized very tribally, according to what differentiates them from others. What is interesting about this is how these priorities differ from what arguably should have a high priority. 

Ask any Armstrongite, especially a minister, to list his beliefs in order of priority, and I guarantee you, you'll get sabbaths, holy days, tithing, clean and unclean meats, prayer and bible study. All physical rituals intended to symbolically communicate to god what an eager suck-up you are. 

Not in the Top Ten? Becoming christlike, overcoming, looking out for "the least." "Oh," they might say, "that goes without saying." Sure it does. It also goes without anything else. These aren't Armstrongite values. If you corner them, they'll pay lipservice to them, but that's about the beginning and the end of an Armstrongite's thoughts about these things. And not without good reason, since these things were not on ol' Herbert's list of priorities at all. But probably the vast majority of his followers are better folks than he was. Still, as a normal, decent human being, you only have a limited amount of time, energy, and attention, and the things at the top of your list of priorites will crowd out all the things further down. 

One thing Armstrongite doctrines arguably do not do is curry favor with the deities. Even if the god of the bible did exist, there's biblical reasons, as well as common sense ones, suggesting that his priorities would be very different from Armstrongite priorities anyway. If these rituals aren't appeasing any deities, then they aren't doing the members any good, and they certainly don't do anyone else who isn't a member any good. There's only one set of people who derive any tangible benefit from these doctrines. 

Yes, that's right, the "trunk" of the Armstrongite "tree" is a set empty rituals that don't do anyone who isn't a minister any good. These rituals have long served to reinforce tribal allegiances while keeping the cash flowing into church coffers. So the COG twigs have not fallen far from the "trunk" in this regard. The doctrines are the business model.
Guys like Vic Kubik, who are eager to keep their pension's nest feathered, are desperately trying to solve the problem of how to get more people to feed cash into their system. Maybe if they had a church that had a more practical set of doctrines as the "trunk" of its "tree," they would be able to succeed at this. However, we know they're between a rock and hard place in that respect. And that's what keeps the twigs so close. That proximity is also what ensures they'll keep withering. 

I was raised to believe in "keeping the sabbath." And I did keep it back then. But when I thought about it, if I had to say I believed something, keeping the sabbath, or any other ritual that I performed for the sole reason of trying to appease a deity, well, it just wouldn't be on any sincere list.

Dennis can't help noting...An Uncomfortable Truth Of Critical Scholarship Demolishes Prophecy and Personality Based COG Split, Splinter and RCG Sliver Foolishness

Dennis can't help noting...

An Uncomfortable Truth Of Critical Scholarship Demolishes Prophecy and Personality Based  COG Split, Splinter and RCG Sliver Foolishness

Why the Book of Daniel Seems So Darn Accurate

"The impression that predictions made in the distant past were fulfilled accurately is due to the fact that the apocalypses were written after these events had already taken place, but their predictions are presented as though they were made prior to their predicted events."

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/o/old-testament-of-the-bible/summary-and-analysis/daniel