“IT’S not your typical mission, but two clergymen have taken to the streets of an Ayrshire town armed with ‘alien thought guns’, black books, ‘memory wiping neuralysers’ and sheer charm in an attempt to rescue the Christmas message from commercialisation.
‘Ministers in Black’, or ‘Min in Black’, are made up of Irvine Church of Scotland minister, Reverend Neil Urquhart, and Roman Catholic colleague, Father Willie Boyd.
Says a spokesperson: “They want to challenge the ridiculous myths which surround the festive season, and for people to focus more on the nativity story.
“The duo’s inaugural outing has been posted on Youtube, and shows them explaining to local shoppers in the town’s Rivergate Mall the connections Jesus has to Christmas trees, crackers and even Santa.”
Mr Urquhart, minister at Fullarton Parish Church, said: “Now that another X Factor series is over we wanted to ask about the real ‘X’ factor of Christmas.
“Many shorten ‘Happy Christmas’ to ‘Happy Xmas’ to save time, and some send ‘Seasons Greetings’ in an attempt to be politically-correct.
“Min in Black wanted to expose and explode all thoughts alien to the true meaning of Christmas.
“We want to rescue people from the ridiculous and connect them with Jesus, the real reason for the season.”
At the end of the video, the pair see there is no need for their weaponry and costumes, because God wants everyone to share the message about the birth of Christ.
Mr Urquhart said: “We found a wealth of goodwill towards the real Christmas story and our attempt to help people get to the heart of Christmas.
“Indeed, Min In Black were thoroughly challenged by the Christmas awareness of many!”
Ends.
Notes to news desks:
The video can be watched online here: http://www.youtube.com/user/FullOnArt#p/a/u/0/8gZeZA9HbjE
For more details please phone Reverend Neil Urquhart on 01294 279 909.
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Contact: Gordon Bell
Phone: 0131 240 2204
Email: gbell@cofscotland.org.uk
Website: http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk
