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The Atheist Savior

Saving souls at the sinners convenience.

The Atheist Savior Presents: 

"The Search for the Holy Male"

Join me on my adventures seeking out the elusive Jesus Christ (a.k.a. the 'Holy Male'). I will be attending a different church in The Greater Cincinnati area every other Sunday. Since 80% of Americans believe in this guy, I figured I must make some effort in trying to 'find' him myself. I have a list of questions and concerns I will be asking the minister, pastor, reverend, etc... of each congregation. With over 1000 churches in the Greater Cincinnati area, it will take me more than 20 years to attend each of them once. Of course, my quest will end once I find Christ. Will I find him?

If you're a minister, pastor, reverend etc... of a local church (Cincinnati, Oh) and would like to invite me to your congregation, please feel free to contact me. If you would like to join me on my quest, click the MeetUp logo:


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"Search for the Holy Male" Crusade

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March 2009  

April 2009

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Copyright © 2005 by AtheistSavior.com. All rights reserved.
Revised: Friday, May 01, 2009 06:28:55 AM -0500 .

 

 

 

 


February 12, 2006  (back to calendar)
First Baptist Church of Amelia Pastor Dr. Rick Kelly
85 West Main Street, Amelia, OH 45102
(513) 753-5761
phone | map 
http://www.fbcamelia.org/

Our first adventure takes us to the First Baptist Church of Amelia. My sister goes to church here so I thought it would be a good place to start since she is so devoted to Christ. The church itself was nice. Plenty of room. The sound system was more than adequate (Bose© makes a great speaker) and they even had a PowerPoint projector which broadcast on the wall. Very cool! Service lasted about 2 hours, kinda lengthy for a first timer, but I did not fall asleep. The members were very friendly (I think I shook about 40 hands). There weren't too many expensive cars in the parking lot which I thought was very Christ-like (WWJD? -What Would Jesus Drive?) I only rated this church 3 nails for a few reasons. I did not feel the minister was very receptive to me. I introduced myself as an atheist and the brother of a member. He said it was nice that I came and would like me to come back. I was expecting a little more since I stood before him, a condemned man to hell in his eyes, and he did not want to give me any more of his time. Oh well. His loss not mine. Also, his sermon I felt was somewhat lacking. None the less, I did not witness or observe any events that would suggest Jesus Christ was present, except for the Pastor's ghost-like, pale complexion. May I suggest a little more time under the sun, instead of under the Son. If Jesus does exist in spirit somewhere, he wasn't here this Sunday. I did leave my contact info on a welcome card, but it is too early to get a response.

Minutes:
  • Said a prayer
  • Sang two songs
  • Made announcements: Printer is broke, Softball sign up, volleyball sign up, spoke about Marriage Enrichment Classes (gays, homosexuals need not apply)
  • Passed around basket with money in it
  • Sang another song
  • Sermon about marriage (Ephesians 5:22)  *note to self: if you can't find the passage before the sermon is over, you may go to hell)
  • Said another prayer
  • Went forward with my sister to pastor

My synopsis on sermon

As with most, if not all, sermons, I just had questions popping up in my head and was unable to ask them. The passage (Ephesians 5:22-23) just seemed rather sexist. If I were a woman, I would be rather offended by this passage. Basically it seems that the woman is the mans servant, having to submit to him as a Christian would submit to Christ. Also, the preacher kept speaking of marriage and relationships between a man and a woman. What if someone were gay? How does this church view homosexuals? Not very kindly. And speaking of servants, I just happened to notice the next chapter (Ephesians 6) talked about Slaves/Servants and Masters. I wonder, why do pastors never speak about these passages? Could the preacher make a sermon about slaves, the treatment of slaves, how slaves should be punished, and so on? Why does the Holy Babble not condemn slavery? Instead it says that it's ok to own slaves as long as you treat them properly.

Bottom line, I do not feel you need the Holy Babble to teach you to love your wife. If you are having marriage problems you should seek a professional counselor, not a minister. A marriage counselor can give you in depth advice, analyze the problems and find real solutions. The Holy Babble just says "Husbands, love your wives..." -Ephesians 5:25. If problems were only that easy to fix. Real life problems require real life solutions.


Ephesians 5 (New International Version - UK)
Wives and Husbands
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour.
Ephesians 6 (New International Version - UK)
Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
6 Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,
8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favouritism with him.

February 19, 2006  (back to calendar)

Unfortunately, I was extremely sick this Sunday and was unable to make it out. Maybe we'll have a double header next Sunday.


February 26, 2006  (back to calendar)
St Mary's Church Old Pope John Paul II
123 East 13th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 721-2988
Rev. Lawrense Juarez
Parochial Vicar
Most. Rev. Daniel E. Pilarczyk
Archbishop of Cincinnati
His Holiness
Pope Benedict XVI
phone | map 
Website  http://www.oldstmarys.org

All I can say is WOW!! WOW to the absolute beauty of this place.  WOW to the constant and utter confusion I was in. WOW to the way I was treated here. The only thing that stands out is when a fellow named Patrick, who had his 4 sons with him, approached me and told me to leave. This man screamed at the top of his lungs. It was very embarrassing. Below is a letter I wrote to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Reverend Daniel Pilarczyk and his response.

Intro to the Church Interview with Josh after being thrown out

Letter to Archdiocese Daniel Pilarczyk

March 23, 2006

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

100 East 8th Street

Cincinnati, OH 45202

Dear Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk,

I am writing you regarding an incident that happened at Old Saint Mary’s Church on February 26, 2006. I attended the 12:30 mass with a Catholic friend of mine. I myself am not Catholic, however I was interested in learning more about the faith. Being my first time at a Catholic mass, I was a bit confused about all what was going on. My friend that accompanied me explained the different rituals and motions that were going on. Although I did stand when everyone else stood, I did not kneel down, pray, take communion I believe it’s called, or participate in anything. Towards the end of the mass, I was approached by a man named Patrick. All I know about him is that he had four sons with him. He was sitting about 3 rows ahead of me. He and another guy asked me what I was doing here since I obviously was not Catholic. I told him I was curious about the Catholic faith and was here observing. He got extremely offended and rude with me and told me to leave. I asked him if this is how all non-Catholics are treated in ‘his’ church and at that point he literally screamed at the top of his lungs, "Get out!" There were 100-150 people in the church at the time including Bishop Juarez. Everyone got very quite and looked towards us. He, Patrick, yelled 3 or 4 times for me to leave until I stood up and walked out. Anyone who was there that day would definitely remember for his voice filled the entire church.

I was extremely embarrassed and shocked to say the least. I was more upset that Bishop Juarez did not do anything about this matter since it was so blatant. When I exited the church, a young man named Josh approached me and apologized for what happened. He said the way I was treated was not right and that I should file some type of complaint, which is what I am doing now.

I am 32 years old and have been to dozens of churches in my life. Most recently I attended my sister’s church, Amelia Baptist, and felt like family there, even though I am not a very religious man. The members their made me feel welcomed. Not only did I not feel welcomed at Old Saint Mary’s, but I left there very upset and embarrassed. I feel almost like I should apologize for not being Catholic. If I am not welcome at a Catholic church, as Patrick told me, then let me know. But please be aware of the conduct of some of your worshippers. I do not feel it’s fare for a guy like Patrick to come between my personal search for Jesus Christ.

ScoT Singleton


Response from Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk


March 26, 2006  (back to calendar)

Cherry Grove United Methodist Church

1428 Eight Mile Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45255     
Phone: 513-474-1428   Fax: 513-474-2892
http://www.cherrygrove-umc.com/     MAP

Pastor Kurt King

J.C. Power and Disciples' Rating =

Click here for more details on this visit and to find out how to participate in future visits.

On our way Arrived Synopsis
This visit was much more pleasant than our trip to Old Saint Mary's, but very, very boring. We didn't have services in the traditional room with the pews. Instead it was downstairs in a civic center looking room with folding metal chairs. The sheeple there were very friendly. The cars in the parking lot were not expensive (we should know, we carpet bombed the parking lot with flyers). The service lasted one hour. The sermon had me kind of lost. We watched a clip from 'Lord of the Rings' for about 10 minutes which the minister was using to tie into his speech of 'rings'. One thing I did note is that the money basket was passed around at the beginning of service as opposed to the middle or end. That's like a waiter asking for a tip right when you sit at his table as opposed to after you provided your service. Although I did not feel or find the presence of Jesus there, I did receive two 'golden' rings from the service. I will be putting them on eBay to try and retrieve some of the $5 I donated to the basket.  Below are some of the materials from the service.

 Flyers past out on cars in parking lot

Rings received at service

Materials from service

   

April 16,  2006  (back to calendar)

Church Christ Cathedral

The Very Reverend James Diamond (He likes to be called  Dean Diamond)

318 East Fourth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
MAP
 phone: (513) 621-1817
www.christchurchcincinnati.org
This Sunday will take us to an Episcopal church for the first time. We missed last week because of daylight savings. The Episcopal Church is also known as Catholic Lite. Apparently it's a less hardcore version of Catholicism. It has half the guilt, a  third of the salt with no trans fats.
This Sunday we successfully managed to not get thrown out of another Catholic  church. I completely forgot about it being Easter Sunday. Needless to say, it was standing room only. We managed to find a couple of seats in the last row of pews. This was actually a rather pleasant experience. There were well over 300 sheeple in attendance. The choir sounded great. We had an itinerary of events and everything flowed flawlessly. Since this church is located downtown with on street parking, I couldn't gauge with any accuracy the types of cars that were driven (WWJD-What Would Jesus Drive?) Being Easter Sunday, the attendance was way out of proportion as well. The sermon was about some girl named Mary Magdalene and Reverend James Dean Diamond was a bit too dramatic with his delivery. Why are preachers like that any way? I know they don't speak like that all the time in their daily lives. Why must they insist on getting on stage and acting. He reminded me of someone trying to land a part in movie or play. This ain't Broadway sir. It's church. Leave the acting to Hollywood. My advice Mr. Diamond, try BEING YOURSELF!!  

I only rated this church 3 nails because there was too much theatrical bullshit and not enough Jesus Juice flowing. There were kites flying all over, wind socks, huge golden staffs. Also, being Easter Sunday, there were too many damn people. Not a very intimate morning with Christ.


May 28,  2006  (back to calendar)

Philippus United Church of Christ

106 West McMicken Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45210
MAP
 phone: (513) 241-5244
Website: www.philippus.org
Email: philippusucc@fuse.net
Synopsis of visit

J.C. Power and Disciples' Rating =

 1/2

Call to Philippus                       Call back from Reverend David

This Sunday will take us to the Philippus United Church of Christ. I did a little research on this style of church. It came into being in 1957 when two Protestant churches (Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches) merged. Each of these, in turn, were formed from the union of two earlier denominations. So this is the combination of six past churches. The chart on the left is what this church's 'family tree' would look like. This much 'cross-breeding' can lead to some rather screwed up Church DNA.
Synopsis
This service started off on a rather non-Christ-like manner. First off, the church is located in a rather 'rough' part of town. 'OTR' (Over The Rhine) in Cincinnati is more like a street in Baghdad than anywhere else. When I showed up there were police present. Apparently, there was a crack deal in front of the church. Then, a yocal prostitute got into a car with some guy in front of the church. Then, an elderly man who lived across the street and attended church there died. Not off to a good start. Then there were only about 45 people in attendance. I later found out that some of those that were in the choir were paid professionals singing. Beyond that, David, the minister, was very pleasant. He gave a nice, seemingly genuine sermon. After service, we all met downstairs in the gymnasium and had coffee together. I spoke with David, the minister, and really liked the guy. He mentioned that he took some flak from some members because he married two lesbians. This is by far the most liberal church we have visited.

I am constantly amazed at how these churches survive from a financial standpoint since their attendances are so low and I know they aren't raking in big bucks every Sunday. Then I got a great idea. Turns out, the church was founded by German brew masters. I think they could boost there financial statement by opening up a micro-brewery inside the church. It would be the only church/micro-brewery in the country! Then they could sell a product that would appeal to more people in that area, especially if they brewed a malt liquor and served it in a brown paper bag. Just a thought. 


June 5,  2006  (back to calendar)

Church of the Living God Loving Christ

Number Disconnected

1210 Chapel Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45206
MAP
 phone: (513) 751-2270 MY CALL
Website: N/A
Email: N/A
Click here to attend with The Atheist Savior

J.C. Power and Disciples' Rating =

 NOTHING

If you can't get god to help pay a phone bill, what good are you?

 

July 30,  2006  (back to calendar)

Blue Ash Presbyterian Church

 

Interim Pastor: Rev. Alice Petersen

Hmmm... A female pastor. This should be interesting.

 

4309 Cooper Road (at Reed Hartman)
Cincinnati, OH 45242
MAP
 phone: (513) 791-1153
Website: www.bapcweb.net
Email: APeter1041@aol.com
Click here to attend with The Atheist Savior
 

October 15,  2006  (back to calendar)

First Baptist Church Cold Spring KY

Pastor Raines

4410 Alexandria Pike 
 Cold Spring, Kentucky  41076
MAP
 phone: (859) 441-6184
Website: www.fbccs.com
Email: fbccold@hotmail.com
Click here to read my letter to Pastor Raines

J.C. Power and Disciples' Rating =

 

     This visit was not all that bad, considering the former pastor here, Reverend Larry Davis, is a former Hypocrite of the Month Award winner. There was plenty of room to park. There were not too many high-end luxury cars. I was graciously greeted at the door. The inside of the church was spacious with some very nice Audio/Visual equipment. Being a Baptist church you know there's going to be plenty of singing, but the hymn count only got up to 5 which was rather tolerable. Pastor Raines was an exceptional speaker. Very well spoken, clean cut kinda guy.  But obviously the content was otherwise. 

The money/collection basket was passed around rather early and it did not appear too many people were being generous that day. I gave my standard $1.00 check, which was promptly cashed as you can see above. There were about 200-250 people in attendance, a far cry from the capacity of probably around 600-700. I sat towards the back, kept quiet and took notes.

The Sermon

     The sermon was based on Daniel 3:16-18. In a nutshell, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were supposed to drop to their knees and worship a 90 foot golden statue. "Shadrach, Mesnach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." As the story goes, these three were thrown into a blazing furnace and God saved them from burning. What immediately popped into my head was the furnaces in Auschwitz and all the Jews that were burned. We have all these stories in the Holy Babble of these 'miracles' being performed but where is this God today.
      How many God loving Jews did God save from the furnaces the Nazis introduced? God had a perfect opportunity to demonstrate this power with a fella from Russia who lowered himself into a lion pit at a zoo in Kiev. You can imagine what happened to him (click here for the article). Pastor Raines went on say this is an anti-Christian culture and that non-believers will try to bring Christians down. He referred to non-believers as 'the enemy'. He said you should teach the truth about Christ when confronted with anti-Christians. How the hell does ANYBODY know the truth about Christ? It's your opinion which is not the same as the truth. 
     What blew me away more than anything was when Pastor Raines insisted that Christians have 'unconditional faith to God.' If you have a dying family member and you pray to God but your prayers are not answered, you still have faith in God. If you pray to God for a thousand different things and none are answered, you should still have faith in God. This is ridiculous. Fortunately most people don't have this mind set in real life. Can you imagine giving money to a stock broker year after year and all he does is lose your money every year but tells you to keep faith in him. It's kind of like buying lottery tickets. Have faith in buying lottery tickets and some day you will hit the big one and your prayers will be answered. BULLSHIT!!  Again, if you want to look into praying to solve problems, check the math (click here for my 'Math in Prayers' tutorial).  I wrote a letter to Pastor Raines which you can read below. Overall, I gave this visit 3 nails. It wasn't bad or good. Just a stereotypical Christian sermon. 

My Letter to Pastor Raines

To: Mr. Raines (click here if you would rather listen to this letter or if you can't read)
From: ScoT The Atheist
RE: October 15, 2006 Visit
            I would like to start off by saying my intentions are, for the most part, benign in nature. I don’t expect to ‘convert’ you or anyone of your congregation to a secular way of life, but to hopefully make you better at your job as pastor by putting your followers on a more moral path in life.  
            Latest polls show that 80% of Americans are Christian, yet abortions are still performed daily. Divorce rates are through the roof. Our crime rate is rather embarrassing, considering we are the most ‘civilized’, super power nation on earth. Our greed, lust and desire for pleasures in life have driven our national debt over 8 ½ TRILLION DOLLARS. We are one of the most litigious societies existing, filing tens of thousands of lawsuits on each other annually. I do not watch much TV, but what I’ve seen leaves me scratching my head. The immoral crap on public television is what this “Christian Nation’ demands and enjoys watching, as the ratings show. If we are indeed an 80% Christian nation then Christians must be responsible for 80% of our problems as a society. The handful of secular humanists, agnostics, atheists, and non-believers surely are not the blame for all of this.
            Although I personally do not believe in Jesus Christ, I can see some goodness in his teachings. However, it is the ministers’, priests’, pastors’, etc… job to relay these lessons to the congregation and, like a parent is to their children, do there best to ensure the followers are following. Given the above-mentioned problems, I see a complete breakdown in the churches performance in instilling basic moral fundamentals in society.
            Upon my visit to your congregation on October 15, 2006, and my numerous visits to other congregations, I have noticed a similar trend in sermons. It seemed like to me your sermon was more geared towards defending Christianity and, pardon my language, kissing God’s ass than teaching moral principles. I understand being a Christian you hold the Ten Commandments as your moral structure, but there are other inhabitants of this country that do not. You and I would surely agree on some of the commandments as moral, such as ‘Thou shall not kill or steal’, but as far as ‘Thou shall not have other gods, make unto thee any graven image, take the name of the lord thy god in vain or remembering the Sabbath day’, I am less concerned about these ‘moral lessons’ being broken than someone harming me or my family. The majority of the Ten Commandments are more self-centered in the fact that they benefit the individual and their future place in heaven or hell than benefiting other members of the society upon which they live in.  
            Personally, I thought you were a great speaker. You have a gregarious, kind personality. Although I thought the same thing of the former pastor Larry Davis, I think you’re sincere. But, I was a little disappointed in your sermon. You are in a unique position as pastor to have the attention, respect and an almost God-like admiration of your followers. I understand your interest in instilling Jesus Christ into the minds and hearts of your followers, but please try to fit more moral lessons into your future sermons that will benefit all of society and not just the believers. I have taken some courses in Contemporary Moral Issues at The University of Cincinnati and can highly recommend them. I believe there is a common ground that can be met in the churches across America between religion and humanism. If the only thing keeping Christians moral is their fear of God and hell, well then by all means, put the fear in ‘em!! I would like to see, and I’m sure you would agree, better results of the resources, money, time, man hours and energy devoted to keeping God and Christianity alive.  
            I will be attending your church again next Sunday, November 4th. Enclosed you will find some other materials you’re welcome to comment on. Being a bartender at night, I leave you with a quote from Mikhail Bakunin: “People go to church for the same reasons they go to a tavern; to stupefy themselves; to forget their misery; to imagine themselves, for a few minutes anyway, free and happy.”
ScoT The Atheist Savior

November 5,  2006  (back to calendar)

First Baptist Church Cold Spring KY

Pastor Raines

4410 Alexandria Pike 
 Cold Spring, Kentucky  41076
MAP
 phone: (859) 441-6184
Website: www.fbccs.com
Email: fbccold@hotmail.com
Click here to attend with The Atheist Savior

J.C. Power and Disciples' Rating =

 

This will be my second visit to this church. I mailed a letter and other material to Pastor Raines for his comments and told him I would be back. The results from my first visit are above or just click here. We'll see what happens.

June 24, 2007  (back to calendar)

Holy Trinity Church

2420 Drex Avenue
 Norwood, Ohio  45212
MAP
 phone: (513) 366-4400
Website: http://www.holytrinitynorwood.org/
Email: HolyTrinity1@fuse.net
Click here to attend with The Atheist Savior


My drive to church

My pre-church thoughts

My post-church thoughts

     This Sunday took me to Holy Trinity. I must admit, I was impressed by it's appearance. The church itself was very impressive, both inside and out. But I know from personal experience it's not the size or beauty that matters. Upon arrival I had to take a leak pretty bad so I headed immediately to the latrine. I was rather thrown back upon entering the bathroom to see grunt bars attached to the toilet. They only made sense since those in attendance were rather old, but I had never seen them before so it was rather comical, and cool for that matter. As far as the visit, it was really no different than any other. I was surprised once again when some little old lady asked me if I would help out with the collection baskets. WHAT!!! ME!!!  Sure, why not. You certainly don't have to believe in Christ to take someone's money. Anyway, I didn't know, but June 24 was John the Baptist's celebrated birthday, so most of the 'sermon' was about him. There were approximately 150 in attendance. Most kneeled before entering and exiting their pews. The pastor did his best to explain why December 25 was the day selected for Jesus' birthday. We sang a lot of songs. Bottom line, a total of over 150 human hours wasted. Nothing that could in theory make those in attendance better people towards one another, just better servants of GOD. It was rather amusing at the end of the sermon when the minister was giving announcements about 'Market News', apparently some fund raiser. He actually said "...individually wrapped frozen chicken breasts" and "...salted pretzels."  It reminded me of that movie with Steve Martin, 'Leap of Faith' when they would make bets whether or not they couldn't use certain words or phrases in a sermon. 

     Needless to say, I did not find Christ by a long shot here. I would have given this church a rating of 2 nails, but gave them an extra 1/2 nail because of the cool grunt bars and asking me to help take everyone's money. Made me feel like a true Catholic for a few minutes. I did give my typical dollar, as a check of course scene below, and they wasted no time on cashing it. I'll send my follow up info to this church and we'll see if they respond.


Cancelled check to Holy Trinity Church


April 27, 2008  (back to calendar)

Jehovah's Witness East Congregation

Watchtower Logo wicked people drowning

964 Clough Pike
 Cincinnati, OH 45245
MAP
 phone: (513) 753-7059
Website: http://www.watchtower.org/
Email: N/A
Click here to attend with The Atheist Savior

Made several attempts to contact by phone but to no avail.

My drive to church My first Jehovah's Atheist Knocking
Synopsis

Unfortunately, there was nobody present at the church. Rather unprofessional if you ask me. Hence, they only get a rating of one nail. However, I didn't let that ruin my Sunday morning. As I sat in the parking lot, I wondered where all the Jehovies could be. Then it dawned on me. They're probably out proselytizing. So I did the next best thing to going to a religious function: I created my own!! The Jehovah's Atheists. Knocking on a door near you soon!!


May 11, 2008  (back to calendar)

Crosspointe Baptist Church

Crosspointe Baptist Church

4596 Bells Lane
Cincinnati, OH 45244
MAP
Phone:  (513) 528-1740
Website: www.crosspointebc.com
Email: church.admin@crosspointebc.com
Click here to attend with The Atheist Savior

   
   
Synopsis

 


April 10, 2009 (Good Friday)  (back to calendar)
Holy Cross-Immaculata Parish

  Holy Cross-Immaculata Parish

30 Guido St
Cincinnati, OH 45202
MAP
Phone: (513) 721-6544
Website: www.hciparish.org
Email: N/A
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Synopsis

This being my First Annual Suffering on the Stairs, it was more of a trial run than anything. My personal cameramen didn't show up so unfortunately I was unable to capture any video. My Good Friday started out at midnight in Mt. Adams. I distributed flyers (see above) all through Mt. Adams then changed into my Good Friday Garb (see pic to the right) and proceeded to march through the streets, carrying my 100 lb cross with chains. There were several (approximately 40-50) bar patrons and car passers by who felt the urge to snap pictures and pose with me. I think I freaked a couple people out but I'm sure it had to do more with how much they had to drink. The temperature outside was a very crisp 40 degrees, mist  of rain and about a 10 MPH wind. Not ideal conditions to be walking around in towel and sandals carrying a big piece of wood. None the less, I left my cross at the very, very, very bottom of the steps (parking lot of the apartment complex) and went home for the night.

The following morning, I headed back to Mt. Adams to trek up the actual stairs, cross in tow. As I walked down St. Gregory Street, in regular clothes, there were several hundred "pilgrims" in line. As I passed a cameraman from Channel 12, I stopped and asked him how long he was going to be there. He responded, "I'm waiting for some guy carrying a cross." I gave him a flyer and said it's me. He asked how long I would be till I came up the hill and I told him about 30 minutes. I had to go to the bottom, change my clothes and start up the stairs. 

Well, I got down, changed my clothes, put on my adult diaper thingy, my sandals and picked up my cross. Maybe it's just me but it seemed to weigh more than the prior night. Maybe the rain soaked into it and weighed it down or perhaps my damn shoulders and arms were already tired. None the less, I proceeded up the stairs. I made a pact with myself: I would not ask anybody in front of me to move out of my way. When the opportunity arose, I would simply smile, pass them and say bless you. Everything was going fine, bobbing and weaving my cross through the line which was rather sparse (most of the pilgrims started at the bottom of St. Gregory stairs, not the very, very, very bottom). Then, as I crossed the overpass bridge, I got stuck behind 2 women. They were 2 abreast, shoulder to shoulder, leaving me no room to pass. They seemed to be in sync with their steps/prayers, which were an arm shaking, shoulder bruising 30-45 seconds per step. I knew the Channel 12 camera guy was waiting for me, but more important, I was getting rather tired. I had enough time behind them to count the rings on one of the lady's neck, and by my calculations, she was probably at one of the first stair climbs 140 years ago. To say the least, neither one could hear me behind them. I must have sounded like a Darth Vader with asthma smoking a cigarette, not to mention the 30 lb. chains rattling on my cross. 

Finally, after about 6-7 minutes, one of the ladies pulled about a 4 step lead on the other, which gave me just enough window of opportunity to pass. Like Muhammad Ali bobbing and weaving, like Dale Earnhardt cutting and breaking, I snaked my way between the two, smiled and said my bless you to them as I passed. Of course, in the back of my mind was how much easier it would have been to simply twist my torso side to side and take 'em both out. But hey, I'm not like that. As I turned the corner onto St. Gregory Street, there were hundreds of pilgrims in line, but unfortunately no TV crew. Divine intervention? Perhaps. Regardless, I finally make it to the top of the Immaculata Church and place my cross on the side of the church. A rather portly gentleman in a Bengal's sweater was walking by so I asked him if he would snap my picture with my phone. He said no and asked me to leave. Confused, I stared at him for a second. He appeared to be your stereotypical beer drinking, hot dog eating, tail-gatin Bengal's fan but then I saw the little white square on his neck. Apparently this was no less than Father Martin Moran. I explained to him I just trekked all the way up the stairs from Columbia Parkway, carrying this 100 lb. cross and I wanted a picture of the momentous occasion. He again asked me to leave and take my cross with me. Without having much of a break, I picked my cross back up, slung it on my back, and left. As I was walking away, I couldn't help but think, "Could this Father Moran even climb the stairs on his own, even without bearing the weight of a cross?" Perhaps he saw my flyer and was offended. After-all, for a rather young guy it appears he had been neglecting one of the 7 deadly sins, gluttony, and not honoring the body/temple Jesus uses to convey his work through (referring to my flyer above).

Bottom line here, I thought this would be a great place to find Jesus. Think about it: 20,000 pilgrims times approximately 300 steps (if you're not cheating)... Not too shabby. That equals about 6,000,000 prayers pumping out of the hill in a 24 hour time span. 250,000 prayers per hour. 4166 payers per minute. 69 prayers per second. Needless to say, even with high prayer concentration rate and literally walking the walk with the cross and all, braving the elements, I didn't and couldn't find Jesus on that hill with a subpoena and a search warrant. Due to my failure to find the elusive Christ and my treatment by Father Moran, I only rated this Search for the Holy Male Crusade one nail.

Next year already promises to be more enlightening, for the 2nd Annual Suffering on the Stairs will be with none less than Bill Cunningham, from 700 WLW. Just listen.


 

 

 

 

Churches in the Greater Cincinnati area

 

 

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    Revised: Friday, May 01, 2009 06:28:55 AM -0500 .