Just to give you an idea:
My in-laws attended the same Assemblies of God church for thirty years.
My MIL has worked there since my SIL left home fifteen years ago. My SIL was married there. They tithed 15% every year of their membership.
Why did they leave and go to this new wackadoo fucking church?
Because during the lockdown, the new, younger head pastor decided to follow social distancing protocol and suspend in person services unless the weather was nice and then he required everyone to be six feet apart. He instituted online services too.
Well, a few assholes hated that this guy was asking “WWJD?” and actually doing it, and my in-laws are far right conservative morons, so they followed suit.
And those assholes started their own church literally in the woods with no facilities or buildings. Just standing in the middle of the trees off the side of the road.
As if that isn’t dumb enough, my FIL’s Parkinson’s was already really bad by that point so yes, my MIL stupidly dragged him out to the middle of nowhere without a bathroom or a place to sit just so they could attend “church.”
There are proper buildings now but every time I think about this I’m like:
“this is one of those horrifyingly clear moments in history when you immediately know everything has changed but you can’t see how yet”
—Olivia Ruth Messer
Right now, we live in a country
where people on both ends of the political spectrum and everywhere inbetween think guns are an acceptable answer to any question regarding security, safety, and personal freedom.
So when people are Surprised Pikachu Face that something like what happened yesterday goes down, I just have to be like, My brother/sister in Christ …
—emily duchaine
Flommist Emily Duchaine lives in the Pacific Northwest. She likes to drink mead, learn about sharks, and listen to the Talking Heads. She pretends to be a professional businesswoman most days. Copyright © 2024 Emily Duchaine. Up top: Gustav Klimt, Birch Forest (detail), 1903.
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