BEYOND LAODICEA: Pastor Of The Vine At Grace Cathedral Church Holds Blasphemous ‘Beyoncé Mass’ And Calls Mary Magdalene A ‘Nasty Woman’

The pastor of a San Francisco progressive Episcopal church is defending his support for holding the first-ever ‘Beyoncé Mass’.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3,4 (KJV)

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Episcopal denomination is an offshoot of the Catholic church, and certainly not Christian in any doctrinal sense of the word biblically. But since they are ‘professing” Christians, we are taking a look at the blasphemous nonsense that happened over in California just recently. The pastor conducted a ‘mass’ whose central theme was the life and thoughts of Beyonce. Yes, Beyonce. The very same person who has bragged about being possessed by a demon named ‘Sasha Fierce‘, and who with her husband is a proud member of the satanic cult known as OTO. Notable other highlights of the ‘mass’ included calling Mary Magdalene a ‘nasty woman’ who, if she were alive today, would be wearing a pink ‘vagina hat‘ and campaign as a supporter of Hillary Clinton! Nearly 1,000 people packed out the service, and sat in rapt attention as this theological garbage was dished out to them. Want to know what it looks like when you mix satanism and Laodicean ‘christianity’? This is it. 

No kidding – a ‘Beyoncé Mass.’

“I know there are people who will say using Beyoncé is just a cheap way of trying to get people in the church,” said Jude Harmon, the founding pastor of the Vine, a ministry of Grace Cathedral Church. “But Jesus used very provocative images in the stories he would tell to incite people to ask hard questions about their own religious assumptions. He regularly provoked. We’re following in the way of Jesus.”

The event was part of a series the church called “Speaking Truth: The Power of Story in Community,” which it said would tell stories of those traditionally marginalized in Christianity, such as women and people of color. You know, women like Beyoncé.

The series began with a program on Mary Magdalene called “The Original Nasty Woman.” The ministry equated Mary Magdalene to Hillary Clinton saying “strong, smart women being insulted and marginalized by agents of patriarchy is as old as time.” The church claims that if Mary Magdalene were here today, she would be “wearing a pink hat and marching with all who wear that epithet, ‘nasty woman,’ as a badge of honor.”

No explanation was offered as to why the devoted follower of Jesus was seen in such a light.

So, what was the ‘Beyoncé Mass’ like?

More than 900 people came to the celebration of the “traditional” service using the music and social philosophy of the pop star. Normal evening services draw about 50. There was purple lighting, a Beyoncé soundtrack playing as the worshipers took their seats and a screen counting down the minutes until the “Mass.”

There were readings from Luke and the Psalms, followed by the Beyoncé songs “Freedom” and “Flaws and All.” The music was right out of the canon of Beyoncé and her former group Destiny’s Child, starting with the girl group’s hit “Survivor.”

There was a sermon by the Rev. Yolanda Norton of the San Francisco Theological Seminary from her current course, ‘Beyoncé and the Hebrew Bible.’

“Empire never falls lightly,” Norton said in her sermon. “Sometimes we call it racism; we call it empire. You call it homophobia; we call it heterosexual aggression; and tonight, we call it empire.”

The service featured a sermon about liberation struggle, readings from a speech by civil rights leader Ella Baker, scripture readings by black women and a communion service.

In the days leading up to the event, Harmon said that although the “majority of responses from members have been overwhelmingly positive,” some objections to the service had been raised via phone calls, email and social media.

In case you’ve been out of the world of pop music for awhile, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is one of the world’s best-selling musical artists, with over 100 million records sold and 22 Grammy awards. Her 2016 album “Lemonade,” launched with a Super Bowl half-time performance of “Formation” at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, was her most critically praised and was considered one of the year’s best records. Its release was accompanied by an hour long film with themes of African American history, revenge, female empowerment, love and forgiveness.

“It’s all about finding the appropriate context,” explained Harmon. “Everything Beyoncé has said and produced isn’t appropriate for every venue. But Beyoncé has 20 years of work. Of course you can find things that fit the context of the Mass.”

But was it Beyoncé worship?

Norton rejects that claim: “Our goal is to have a worship experience that honors the fact that we’re all created in the image of God.” She suggested of critics, “You might want to remind them that God is in all the world and that Beyoncé is made in God’s image. The church has not treated women of color fairly and it is time to face this truth.”

“I’ve been asked time and time again, ‘Why Beyoncé?’” Norton told parishioners, “I believe in Beyoncé because she reminds us you have to do things your way.”

She added: “When we talk about womanist biblical interpretation, Beyoncé felt like a natural fit. If we look at the trajectory of her person and her relationships, we can see so many issues black women face and how it can affect how we interpret the text.” source

***************************

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last days before the rapture of the church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our GoFundMe page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the building of the recording studio, but it also goes to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. Even all the way to South Africa. We even restarted our weekly radio Bible study on Sunday nights again, thanks to your generous donations.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. If every one of the 12,621 people on our daily mailing list gave $4.50, we would reach our goal immediately. If every one of our 151,781 followers on Facebook gave $1.00 each, we would reach 300% of our goal. The same goes for our 13,600 followers on Twitter. But sadly, many will not give, so we need the ones who can and who will give to be generous. As generous as possible.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJV)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our GoFundMe page

The post BEYOND LAODICEA: Pastor Of The Vine At Grace Cathedral Church Holds Blasphemous ‘Beyoncé Mass’ And Calls Mary Magdalene A ‘Nasty Woman’ appeared first on Now The End Begins.