St Matthew's drops Mary billboard
Taonga Sources
| 20 Dec 2009
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The St Matthew's billboard after a protestor took a paint brush to it.
Auckland's St Matthew in the City church has given up on its controversial Mary and Joseph billboard after it was attacked for the third time.
An elderly woman slashed the poster with a knife, just hours after it was repaired following a paint attack.
The vicar of St Matthew in the City, Archdeacon Glynn Cardy, says the decision to forgo the billboard was prompted by worries that someone would end up injured in further attacks.
The billboard, featuring a dejected Joseph and a quizzical Mary in bed, with the message, ''Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow'' , went up on Thursday morning. It was covered in paint about six hours later and then went missing overnight.
A replacement was knifed on Friday evening.
Archdeacon Cardy told the Sydney Morning Herald : ''[The billboard was] attacked by a knife-wielding protestor who was then apprehended by a group of homeless people who care about our church. Later in the evening, another group of fanatics ripped it down.
''When knives are wielded in the name of God, I have two responses. One is to act to ensure the safety of the public and parishioners … My second response is one of deep sadness at those in the Christian church who don't want to offend any faith position, even the most literalistic view of a male god.
"By having unity as their priority, they inadvertently feed fanaticism.''
Bishop disappointed
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Auckland, the Rt Rev John Paterson, is disappointed that St Matthew's persisted with the billboard in the face of public offence.
In a prepared statement he said:
“Discussion of theological perspectives and diversity is encouraged in a respectful way, but this approach is insensitive to communities across the Anglican Church as well as other denominations.”
Bishop Paterson said there were a multitude of issues for a city and the wider church to focus on in the season of Christmas other than a billboard.
“The season and story of Christmas is one that celebrates the life that is brought by Christ, and that is the spirit of Christmas I seek for the Diocese and the city of Auckland.” Bishop Paterson said.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland also takes a dim view of the billboard. Spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer described the image as disrespectful, offensive, and also inaccurate.
“Our Christian tradition of 2000 years is that Mary remains a virgin,” she told the London Times .
But Archdeacon Cardy remains unrepentant: ''We are glad that discussion about Santa, food, and present-buying was momentarily usurped by a discussion about Jesus," he said.
“The idea was to lampoon and ridicule the idea of a male God in the sky who somehow impregnated Mary. We would question the virgin birth in any literal sense. We would question the maleness of God in any literal sense.”
He claims to have received hundreds of messages of support from around the world, and thanks those who have offered support and encouragement.
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