Small town fun at the drive-in theater

There's a drive-in theater just up the highway about 15 miles from me. It's one of a small handful left in Georgia, and the only one within at least 100 miles of me. They always play first run movies, and it's always a lot of fun, whether I take my young son and his friends or I take a date there.

Just a moment ago, I checked its website, to see if there was anything playing this weekend that my 10-year old son (and I) would enjoy. There isn't. Beverly Hills Chihuahua is this weekend's feature. Even my son isn't entertained by those talking animal movies anymore (thankfully!).

But I noticed something kind of interesting is happening there tomorrow afternoon and evening, and thought I'd share it with you. It's a benefit for the local Shrine Club. From the Swan Drive-In's website:

The Swan Drive In Theatre is hosting a Fund Raising Event for the North Georgia Shrine Club on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008.

100% of all proceeds, admissions and concessions will go to the North Georgia Shrine Club.

From 5 PM until 7:30 PM will be Karaoke provided by Jimmy Stanley's "Showtime Karaoke." This is an open mike event. We encourage everyone who wants to participate in Karaoke to come out and sing.

Harold Lee will be performing as Elvis from 7:30 PM until 9 PM.

9 PM, the movie "Hancock" starring Will Smith, Rated PG13

Bring your lawn chairs and/or blanket, wear your poodle skirts if you want to, Elvis will have you Rocking! A Full Concession will be available, TRY OUT THE FUNNEL CAKES!

Classic Cars and Motorcycles, Car Clubs, Street Rods, etc. are urged to participate.

You can arrive at any time from 4:30 PM thru the entire evening.

Movie will end at approx. 10:30 PM

Admissions will be $6.00 for Adults, $3.00 for children, ages 4 thru 11.

Come join the fun and help raise funds for a good cause. This is a great opportunity to have fun and give support to North Georgia Shrine Club.

This actually sounds like fun.

Masons | Shrine Club | Small Town Freemasonry | Freemasonry | Swan Drive-In | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Statue of Liberation through Christ: Does it honor God, or is it just a ridiculous eyesore?

As if Memphis isn't already gaudy enough with all that Elvis-worshiping going on at Graceland, a mega-church last summer erected what some might call a blasphemy not only to Jehovah and Jesus but to America and America's goddess.

Behold, the Statue of Liberation through Christ!

It's a $260,000 ridiculous eyesore that blurs the line between church and state, some say. Others call it "a creative means of just really letting people know that God is the foundation of our nation."

Whatever you call it, it's big. Standing 72 feet tall, this confused goddess is the brainchild of World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams. It is a replica of the Statue of Liberty, bastardized with the Ten Commandments under one arm and "Jehovah" inscribed on her crown.

Instead of a torch, she holds aloft a huge gold cross.

And, a single tear is on her cheek. How touching.

In "The Meaning of the Statue of Liberation Through Christ: Reconnecting Patriotism With Christianity," the Apostle Williams explains that the teardrop is God's response to what he calls the nation's ills, including legalized abortion, a lack of prayer in schools and the country's "promotion of expressions of New Age, Wicca, secularism and humanism."

At the unveiling last July 4th, Williams proclaimed, "I decree the spirit of conviction on this intersection. This statue proves that Jesus Christ is Lord over America, he is Lord over Tennessee, he is Lord over Memphis."

Williams is a prolific and opinionated writer. In another book, he said Hurricane Katrina was retribution for New Orleans' embrace of sin.

In yet another book, Williams promotes the theory that the original Statue of Liberty was given to the U.S. by France as a symbol of the emancipation of slaves in the U.S., not as a general gesture of good will. His church is predominantly black, and he bases his non-mainstream belief on the fact that Lady Liberty has a broken shackle around one ankle.

This idea has been debated for years, and the general consensus is that it is not true. The designer of the original statue, sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (a Freemason, by the way) was commissioned to build it. He had engineering help from Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the designer of Paris' Eiffel Tower. The project was a joint effort between France and the United States — France built the statue, and America built the pedestal, soliciting funds from the public to pay for it. It was timed to commemorate the USA's 100th birthday in 1876.

Williams certainly thinks big, and his church certainly qualifies as mega with its 12,000 members. It has a school, a bowling alley, a roller rink, and a bookstore.

I hope the store sells paperweight replicas of the statue. One would look swell on my shelf next to my bobble-head Elvis.

Sources:
New York Times article, July 4, 2006
The U.S. Park Service

Statue of Liberation through Christ | Apostle Alton Williams | World Overcomes Outreach Ministries Church | Christianity | Jesus Christ | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com