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Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Leviticus 18:22
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:24-32
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. II Timothy 3:1-5
According to the Anglican Church of Canada's own report from 2019, the church will be dead by 2040. The death will be self-inflicted and well-deserved, evidence of which includes the following, as reported by John Longhurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, December 20, 2023 (updated December 21, 2023) (photos in original):
Messiah Queered — that’s the title of a reimagining of Handel’s classic oratorio performed through an LGBTTQ+ lens.
The oratorio, a staple at Christmas time for many people, will be performed by the Rainbow Harmony Project choir, together with soloists and a 16-piece orchestra made up of professional and amateur players at Holy Trinity Anglican Church Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The idea for the performance came up during a conversation between Nathan Poole, a local violin and piano teacher, and Sandra Bender, music director at Holy Trinity Church.
Bender, who is bisexual and the soprano soloist in the performance, thought it would be a great oratorio for LGBTTQ+ people.
“It’s the story of a transient who hung out with marginalized people, who offered love and self-sacrifice and who experienced rejection and betrayal — something LGBTTQ+ people understand in all too real a way,” she said.
Kathleen Murphy, a student and choir director for Rainbow Harmony Project and the mezzo-soprano in the performance, said doing the Messiah through an LGBTTQ+ lens is “a way to push back expectations.”
That includes who does the solos. In a traditional performance of Messiah, a bass sings the aria, “Why do the nations so furiously rage,” but Murphy is singing the part this time.
“It’s fun to sing such a powerful aria,” Murphy, who is non-binary and a soloist at Young United Church, said.
Bender, meanwhile, will sing The Trumpet Shall Sound, which is also usually a bass part, while tenor Kyle Briscoe will sing Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion, traditionally sung by a soprano.
“Nothing musically is altered, but we’re swapping gender roles, subverting them,” said Poole, who is gay and conducting the concert.
For Bender, The Messiah can be seen as “a trans anthem, with its lyrics about people “being changed at the sound of the last trumpet when we will be revealed in our best and truest form. I’m happy to be the one who conveys that message in the concert.”
While singing it, “We can be our full authentic selves, be unapologetic about our queerness,” she said.
The three noted the church at 256 Smith St., which is donating use of the sanctuary for the performance, is a welcoming, safe space for members of the LGBTTQ+ community. That’s important for those who might be cautious about going into a church because of the way they have been treated in the past.
Along with listening to the concert, audience members are invited to bring a score and sing along, said Poole.
“It’s not every day people get to sing with an orchestra,” he said, noting audience members are encouraged to dress in drag if they want.
Tickets for the concert, which is sponsored by the Manitoba Arts Council, can be purchased at the Rainbow Harmony Project site at wfp.to/j44 or with cash at the door. The cost is $25 per person, with all proceeds being donated to Sunshine House, a community drop-in and resource centre focusing on harm reduction and social inclusion.
The reader will note that these agents of Satan can't write their own oratorio, but have to resort to mangling a traditional masterpiece. Some of the perverts of the past were at least capable of producing good music and art, but with present-day perverts, their whole lives seem to revolve around celebrating and promoting their abominations.
Here's an example of a proper performance of Handel's Messiah that you can wash your ears out with:
December 28, 2023 update: If you're wondering why Holy Trinity Anglican Church was hosting this abomination, the following may explain, as reported by Mr. Longhurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, December 27, 2023 (photo in original):
It was a bittersweet Christmas Day for Andrew Rampton, rector at Holy Trinity Anglican Church.I don't know if there are any normal male clergymen left in the Anglican Church of Canada, but there won't be any clergy of any kind in that "church" anymore, the way it's going.
On the one hand, he was looking forward to preaching on that special day in the downtown church’s calendar. But since it was his last sermon as rector at the historic 139-year-old church, it was a sad occasion.
Rampton, 41, and his husband, Adam Dobson, an architectural technologist, will head to Hamilton, where Dobson has new work opportunities, on Jan. 2. Rampton will be taking up a new job as rector at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church.
Rampton, who was born and raised in Morden, arrived at Holy Trinity in 2020 via a circuitous route.
Although he grew up in a family that notionally claimed to belong to the United Church of Canada, “We went to church very seldom,” he said, adding “I grew up largely neutral or negative when it came to religion.”
While religion wasn’t his thing, he realized in his early teens that he was gay.
Being a gay person in a small town was a challenge, but so was moving to Winnipeg to study at the University of Manitoba in the early 2000s.
“There wasn’t the same kind of LGBTTQ+ community back then like there is now,” he said. “There were gay clubs, but they were private. There was a sense of danger, an underground feeling about it. And most churches weren’t accepting of gay people.”
Going to church wasn’t on his mind until a music teacher told him about an opening in the choir at Holy Trinity Church. Rampton, who had been taking piano and singing lessons, took it — not because he was religious, but because it was a chance to sing and earn a small honorarium.
“It paid half my rent,” he said.
At first, nobody at the church made an issue of his sexuality, but when a new rector arrived things changed.
Rampton admits he was full of opinions about how the church was being run and not afraid to share them — something that didn’t endear him to the new rector. When the rector fired him, “there was no gentle correction or discussion,” he remembered.
“The speculation is it was less about my critique and more about me being gay” he said. “It was a proxy for the real issue.”
His involvement with church didn’t end, though. Almost immediately, St. Luke’s Anglican Church asked him to join them as a singer and organist. Later, he went to St. Paul’s Anglican and then to St. Michael’s and All Angels. where he served as organist and choir master. That is also where he joined the church and fell in love with liturgy.
“The way they did liturgy there really worked for me,” Rampton said. “It was a good place to be. It was a fertile soil for my spiritual soul to grow in.”
Feeling a call to ministry, he left for seminary in Ontario in 2014 where he developed a deep appreciation for the rituals, ceremonies and traditions of the church.
“I’m happy to wear miles of lace, swing incense and sing Gregorian chants” he said.
After graduation, he landed at Holy Trinity, not expecting it would be such a short stay.
One thing he’s loved about being at the church is its ministries, such as the Lunchroom, which serves 250 meals once a week to downtown residents.
“It’s one of the very few food programs downtown where unhoused or precariously housed people can get a meal right away,” he said.
He said he hopes the church, which has between 50 and 60 people in the pews on a Sunday morning, can stay viable and be an active presence downtown.
“The church needs to be here,” he said. “It needs a safe place where people can just be. There aren’t many other places where people can go for free, where nobody wants anything from you.”
As for being a gay priest, his sexuality has “never been an impediment,” to his ministry, Rampton said, but acknowledges not all are comfortable with him being in that role; he’s been called a false teacher and “living in sin.”
He has appreciated the support of Geoff Woodcroft, the Bishop of Rupert’s Land, who has permitted individual Anglican churches to decide for themselves how welcoming and affirming of LGBTTQ+ people they will be.
“Some have never met a gay priest,” he said, of the message his role sends to LGBTTQ+ people who have been hurt by Christianity. Some tell him “If the church accepts you, then I must be OK in God’s eyes, too.”
Rampton’s departure makes Woodcroft sad. But he is grateful for his service.
“His contributions have been outstanding,” Woodcroft said. “He has a rich theology of how to be a priest in the world today.”
He praised Rampton’s work on behalf of downtown residents.
“He knows many of them on a first-name basis,” he said, adding his work as a liturgist has resulted in “solid and alive worship.”
“He is intelligent and gifted, and we are going to miss him,” he said.
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