Wednesday 31 July 2013

Is there an Evangelist in the house?


Update 31st July 20.40pm; I have just been alerted to the fact that the Mercy Ministry article and link on the Towy Community Church website has yet again disappeared. I am not sure why, perhaps the website is merely being updated....

Fortunately, I took the precaution of saving the page.

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More thoughts following Mercy Ministry coming to Carmarthen and Mercy Ministry - Questions need to be asked

"We are proud to support Towy Community Church in its vision to create a multi-purpose life centre which will create new jobs and empower the community."
July 15, 2010

This (yes, a multi purpose life centre...) was a quote from a council Executive Board member (now retired) back in 2010 when the links to the Mercy Ministry were still plain for all to see on the Towy Community Church website, the council's 'partners', no less.

After the link 'disappeared' mid-2011 (prior to the council loan approval but after the land and grant were awarded) I asked the Church Pastor, Mark Bennett about the Mercy Ministries, he replied that "We are not planning to set up a Mercy Ministries home in Carmarthen.", as we now know, following the opening of the bowling alley, it is now "the vision of Towy Community Church to set up a Mercy Ministries house in Carmarthen".
It had merely been put under wraps given the public controversy and public funding. The public funding from Carmarthenshire Council has amounted to £1.4m.

It was a striking feature to observers of the December 2011 council meeting when the loan was granted for the bowling alley and 'multi purpose life centre' that not one mention was made of this link to Mercy Ministries despite the recent concerns having been raised in the press.

For a church which believes in the eternal conscious punishment of non-believers to have received so much public money is, to me, staggering - add on the intention to 'treat' vulnerable teenage girls through 'faith' (I'm putting it politely, we're actually talking about a belief in demonic possession) and the situation becomes scandalous.

Several bloggers have recently written about the extensive scope of the council's involvement with this church, and it's extreme reluctance to disclose correspondence. It has been refused twice, once for exceeding the 'costs' limit which was overturned by the ICO, so their next approach was to refuse it as 'vexatious'. It's now gone back to the ICO. My FOI saga can be read here.

Cneifiwr asks the obvious;  “A legitimate question is therefore why this small organisation has risen so rapidly to such a position of prominence and received so much public money?” With most decisions having been taken behind closed doors the situation is as clear as the usual Carmarthenshire council mud.

I hope this question will soon be asked in the Chamber, loud and clear. If there were any councillors or officers who were actually members of the Towy Community Church we hope interests would have been declared somewhere along the line. But what of those with a similar belief in evangelism and the infallible truth of the Bible? Is there at least a moral duty to declare something of an interest when involved in decisions which will undoubtedly further the aims of your particular faith? The question should not be 'is there a doctor in the house', but is there an Evangelist...

Continuing with this theme, blogger Jac o' the North hasn't minced his words; Carmarthenshire Council: Litigious, Vindictive, Dysfunctional, Secretive, Dictatorial, And Now, Anti-Welsh

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
It is quite clear that more importantly there are other people who should not be believed.
This is so blatant and insulting that the Towy chuch and others think the public are swallowing
1.the unpalatable drivel of the Towy church.
2The way links to Mercy Ministries are put in taken out put in again as it suits them to get funding.
Of course blame lies with councillors who must question this sinister cult and council involvement.How many more times does this need to be said before the councillors in Carmarthenshire
wake up from what could be regarded as stupor and earn their money by representing the people in their wards not officers.

1 August 2013 14:15

Anonymous said...

Sadly anon, there are parents I have spoken to recently who were unaware that TCC run the Xcel Bowling Alley.

So for new readers to this wonderful blog, you might want to read the following:-

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/church-linked-exorcists-given-council-2679320

Anonymous said...

Like him or loathe him, I have respect for someone like Jac o'North who doesn't mince with his words and says it as it is! Offend or please, you know where you stand which is more than can be said for the organisation he is describing!

Anonymous said...

Many in carmarthen haven't a clue about the bowling and its links, its a sad state of affair!!

The bowling gives access to many as does the food bank, many vulnerable people are going to be left open to abuse. Heads need to start rolling, enough is enough CCC!!!

Anonymous said...

We do have a Welsh Government - of sorts. Where are they in this mess?? Burying their heads as usual!!!