City of Atlanta's
Board of Astrology!?
by Chuck Chepherd
source: AP wirecopy
April 27, 1992
Among the information that came to light as a result of Atlanta's new government officials' financial disclosure law was the existence the city's not-well-known "Board of Astrology." The Associated Press could find no records of the board at City Hall but concluded after interviewing its three smoked-out members that the board administers tests to, and licenses, prospective astrologers.
Vicar Unfrocks a Ferret
London Daily Telegraph
May 3, 1996
A vicar continued praying when a ferret disappeared up his cassock during a communion service.
The Rev Stephen Grey, of St Michael's Church, Bamford, near Rochdale, Greater Manchester, was alerted to the interloper when a woman worshipper screamed and jumped upon a pew.
"I looked up and there it was, staring at me," he said yesterday. "It went three times around my cassock and then stuck its head underneath."
Eventually, the ferret -- believed to be a pet -- was ejected from the church after biting a parishioner's thumb.
"I was trained to carry on regardless, but I must admit the prayers speeded up a bit towards the end," Mr Grey said.
Beijing's Oldest
Buddha Statue Swiped
by Cliff Walker
from wire reports
March 30, 1998
Beijing -- Thieves stole the oldest known statue of Buddha, a 1,500 year-old treasure, reported the Xinhua news agency Sunday. The five-foot, four-inch-high statue was torn from its base with crowbars Tuesday night, or early Wednesday morning.
Carved in C.E. 499, it had stood ever since in the same stone house in the village of Dong'erying in the western part of Beijing. The family which has looked after it for four generations immediately raised the alarm.
Police had urged the family to take better precautions after they opened the house to the pubic, Xinhua said.
Seventh-Day Adventists
Couldn't Walk On Water
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: Orlando Sentinel
October, 1993
In May; ten Tanzanian Seventh-Day Adventists drowned trying to walk on water as a test of faith near Dar Es Salaam.
Hindu Worshipers Drown
Returning From Pilgrimage
by Chuck
Shepherd
sources: New York Times, Reuters
January 16, 1994
More than 100 drowned near Calcutta as two boats returning from a Hindu pilgrimage collided.
Minister Electrocuted
in Baptismal
by Chuck
Shepherd
sources: Wilmington Morning Star, New York Times
Regional Newspapers
February 23, 1994
A 45-year-old minister was electrocuted at the Christian Fellowship Church in Larose, Louisiana, as he was standing in a pool about to baptize a dozen people. According to the coroner's office, the cause was either the microphone he was holding or a faulty pool heater.
Three Drown
in Baptism Accident
by Chuck
Shepherd
August, 1992
A pastor and two members of his Zion Christian Church near Johannesburg, South Africa, drowned in a baptism accident. The pastor and his subject slipped during a dunking, and the third man died trying to rescue them.
Kentucky Rivers
Unfit for Baptisms
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: Knoxville News-Sentinel
June 26, 1994
According to two officials of Kentucky Baptist organizations, a recent trend to move baptisms indoors was caused primarily by the increasing pollution of creeks and rivers. Said Pastor Dick Verhoose, "You've got dead animals, you've got open sewers" that make such baptisms unsafe. Said Rev. James Kelly Caudill, "There's [no nearby river] fit to baptize a dog in, to be honest with you."
Holy Water Infects Child
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: Globe & Mail
December 18, 1992
Two doctors, writing in a December 1992 issue of the British Medical Journal, reported that a teenager, hospitalized after a fall from an apartment building, came down with a severe bacterial infection. The doctors traced the infection to holy water sprinkled on him by his aunt, who was trying to help him survive the injuries from his fall.
Virgin Idol Kills Child
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: The Globe and Mail
May 27, 1993
A 4-year-old boy, visiting his grandmother at work at a spiritual retreat near Baltimore was killed when a statue of the Virgin Mary fell on his head.
Boy Crushed To Death
At Bible School
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: Chattanooga Times, AP
August 8, 1996
A 9-year-old boy was crushed to death when a granite tombstone fell over on him at a Bible school in Summerville, Georgia.
Shrine Kills 300 Worshippers
by Chuck
Shepherd
sources: New York Times, Reuters
July 4, 1993
A floating shrine in the Bocaue River in The Philippines capsized in July, drowning more than 300 worshipers who had boarded it in prayer as part of the annual nine-day religious festival in the town of Bocaue.
Hindu Worshipers Trampled
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: Tuscaloosa News, AP
July 16, 1996
In July, 58 worshipers, seeking divine protection on an astrologically unlucky day, were crushed to death by other stampeding worshipers at two Hindu shrines in the cities of Haridwar and Ujjain, India.
Muslim Worshipers Trampled
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: New York Times, AP
May 25, 1994
At least 250 Muslims were trampled to death while inching toward a cave for the symbolic stoning of the devil during the annual pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Roman Catholic
Worshipers Trampled
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: Boston Globe, Reuters
August 14, 1994
In Brazzaville, Congo, 142 Roman Catholics died in stampedes when 50,000 showed up to meet a priest who supposedly performed miracles.
Palm Sunday Tornadoes
Kill 19 Worshipers
by Chuck
Shepherd
sources: Chicago Sun-Times, AP
March 28, 1994
Three churches were destroyed and 19 worshipers killed during Palm Sunday services when tornadoes struck in Piedmont, Alabama.
Ship Overturns; Pilgrims Drown
by Chuck
Shepherd
November, 1995
At least 25 religious pilgrims drowned in November when an overcrowded ship sank in the Acara River in northern Brazil; the boat was headed to the town of Acara to celebrate the Virgin of Nazareth.
Nude pilgrims die en route
to worship god's phallus
by Chuck
Shepherd
August, 1996
At least 113 Hindu pilgrims, nude and smeared with ash, died in a snowstorm in the Himalayas as they were en route to worship a stalagmite believed to be the phallus of the god Shiva.
Holy Ghost Causes Injury;
Woman Files Suit
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: Baton Rouge Morning Advocate
November 18, 1995
Loresa Goodly filed a lawsuit in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, for injuries she incurred just after she had received the Holy Ghost at a tent revival meeting and passed out on the floor. Moments later, another woman received the Holy Ghost and fell on top of Goodly before ushers could catch her, breaking three of Goodly's ribs.
Man, Sons Die
Going To Church
by Chuck
Shepherd
sources: St. Petersburg Times, AP
November 21, 1994
In Los Angeles, a man and his two sons were asphyxiated by exhaust fumes after he started to warm up his van in the garage preparing for Sunday church services.
Man Hacks Arm
Thinking Jesus
Would Replace It
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: Tampa Tribune
July 20, 1994
In Riviera Beach, Florida, police gunned down Gustavus Jody Francis, 22, who lunged at them with a knife because they tried to stop him from hacking his arm off in an exercise to prove that Jesus would replace it if he did.
Family Prayer
Triggers Family Fighting
by Chuck
Shepherd
source: USA Today
October 18, 1994
In Provo, Utah, Scott Hone, 23, was charged with attempted murder of his wife in a fight that started during a family prayer.
Elephant Ritual Backfires
by Chuck
Shepherd
January, 1997
In Bangkok, Thailand, Wien Sudpleum, eight months' pregnant, crawled under the belly of an elephant three times, which is supposed to bring good luck in her delivery.
However, the third time she was gored.
The owner agreed to pay her about $240 compensation, but it was not reported whether the baby survived.
Carbon Monoxide Intoxication
At Christmas Mass
by Cliff Walker
December 28, 1998
Saverdun, France -- Defying the notion that the gods of religion protect the faithful, a faulty heating system spewed deadly carbon monoxide into a church where 300 worshippers celebrated Christmas Mass. Forty people suffered carbon monoxide poisoning at midnight mass in the small southwest France village of Saverdun on Christmas Eve. About 15 people were kept in hospital for further treatment.
Bingo Bust Nets
Five In Church
from the Associated Press
(reprinted verbatim to show biased journalism and
just plain bad writing)
May 14, 1998
New York (AP) -- A lesson to those thinking about placing illegal bets at church-run bingo games: God wins. And he tells the cops.
Or at least he points church officials in the right direction. Such was the case with St. Christopher's Roman Catholic Church on Staten Island. Like many churches, it has bingo games to help raise money. This is legal.
What is illegal is making side bets on which bingo line would win, according to Sgt. David Felix of the Staten Island vice squad.
"These people were working the crowd, taking cash bets," Felix said. "Small wagers, usually $10 to $25, were placed."
Church officials called the cops, and undercover officers began playing bingo. Ultimately, five people were arrested and charged with possession of gambling records and promoting gambling.
Michael Hoblock, chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, most gambling is illegal in New York, but not games of chance, raffles, bell jars and bingo conducted by nonprofit or charitable organizations.
But Hoblock said illegal betting at bingo games is common: "I can't even begin to tell you how rampant it is."
Children Injured At
Religious Celebration
by Chuck
Shepherd
May, 1998
Every year at Easter, a few egg hunts get out of hand, usually from older kids' or even parents' crashing the parties.
This year's worst was probably the one at the World Harvest Church in Daytona Beach, Florida, in which thousands of plastic eggs containing candy and Bible verses were placed in a pile. As children approached with their baskets, parents rushed ahead, ostensibly to make sure their own kids got their fair share, trampling many of the kids, causing minor injuries.
Said an observer, "This isn't an Easter egg hunt; it's an Easter egg massacre."
50 Die in India Temple Fire
by Cliff Walker
from wire reports
June 7, 1997
At least 50 Hindu worshippers were killed and more than 100 injured today when fire tore through an 11th century temple in southern India on the eve of major religious ceremony, police said. It started when holy fire used for prayer set alight a thatched structure inside the famous Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur about 200 miles southwest of the capital of Tamil Nadu state, Madras.
Police suspect many worshippers burned to death while others died in a stampede to escape the flames and smoke. The Press Trust of India said rituals were underway in the temple ahead of the culmination of the Hindu ceremony Kumbabhishekam tomorrow.
Kentucky Preachers
Get Arms Permits
by Chuck
Shepherd
April, 1998
The Kentucky legislature approved a bill to permit preachers to carry concealed weapons in church.
Some ministers had claimed they needed protection when transporting their offering-plate proceeds.
The executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches said she was "appalled" by the legislature's decision.
New Crucifix Actually Protects
by Chuck
Shepherd
May, 1998
Avon Silversmiths of London introduced a $280 crucifix containing a built-in screeching alarm, designed for clergy who are apprehensive about violence at work.
A recent survey revealed one in three British clergy have at some point been attacked on church grounds.
Don't Mess With These Nuns
July 26, 1999
Bogota (Reuters) -- Two Roman Catholic nuns shot and killed a thief who broke into their sanctuary in central Colombia, authorities say.
The sharp-shooting nuns, who have not been named, blasted the intruder in the head with a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver after they heard strange noises in the corridors of the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Miracles, the patron saint of aviators.
Police said the fatal shooting occurred Wednesday night at the cloister in the city of Tunja but only gave details Saturday after releasing the two nuns on bail.
A police spokesman in Tunja said nuns at the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Miracles began night-time patrols early this year following seven previous break-ins during which chickens and some religious relics were stolen.
Local military commanders had given the nuns the revolver, together with the relevant gun license, so that they could protect themselves from potential attack.