Very UN-Christianlike behavior

A friend of mine who does cat rescue - she and her sister had taken up caring for a feral colony behind their church. They were feeding the cats, got them fixed and had put up shelter for the winter weather.

They get there today and the associate pastors had pulled the food and knocked down the sheter... and threatened to call the Humane Society or Animal Control to take the cats away!

Can you believe it? Now my friend needs to try to relocate those cats. Any suggestions in the Metro Detroit area?

If she's a member of the church, I would call a meeting and appeal to their Christianity.

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matt. 25:40

"What is the price of two sparrows--one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it." Matt 10:29

Wow!! That's not a very loving group of people who claim to be christians. I guess they don't believe in Karma.

I hope that these cats get the help they need

Were they using church property? If so they should have gotten permission first. They may be difficult just because they weren't asked first even if they would have agreed if they had been asked.

I agree that if the church hadn't been aware of the colony, they should have been notified - that said, if they could tell someone was regularly coming, they should have notified the caregivers first.

Perhaps someone should remind those pastors of St. Francis - or let the parishioners know about the lack of love in this so-called church.

If there was knowledge by the church that the property was being used for that purpose, then maybe they have some standing about the issue. For the associate pastors to have done that without warning is cruelty to animals
If I were your friend, I would call the pastor and also contact the head branch of the church, if there is one!
Sending prayers and vibes out to your friend that many cat-angels come forth and bring about a Christmas miracle for those kitties
Are there any men in the church who will go with them to talk to the associate pastors? Sometimes having a guy there will make a difference

Yay, St. Francis! I love him.

Not being so good-natured myself, if the assoc. pastors don't relent I would peacefully demonstrate with signs on Christmas, reminding them that Jesus was born surrounded by animals.

Seconding all the previous said, all being excellent advices.

I will add and remind also about the tale of the lost sheep and the good shepherd: Who although does have lots of healthy sheeps, does make himself great troubles to seek after the one lost sheep, and carry her back home.

I know this tale is supposed to be about God and His people. Or possibly about a priest and his parish.
Especielly as Christianity focus on people, not so much on animals.

But there is really nothing in this biblical tale which denyes a literally interpretation, ie as the interpretation about our duties to animals.

Thus. also our duties to abandoned and astray cats. Or their kittens. They ARE supposed to be returned back into the warmth. It is holy work pleasing God and His mother.

Jesus told this tale as he expected everyone would immediately understand it: such behaviour WAS commonplace in their days.
There are many mentions in the jewish Old Testamente about being friendly and humane with animals. So it was surely entirely obvious to Jesus too.

more following:

I shall retell two striking examples from these biblical times.

1. Observant Jews are forbidden to work on Sabbath. There are though a few exceptions. One of these rare exceptions, used as a common example is: If a donkey fell into a well during Sabbath, it is not only allowed, but also commanded, to save her. "Saving life, even on an animal, goes always first".
The comments dont mention a word about saving the fresh water for the willage, it speaks ONLY about the animal..
2. If you are in quarrel with your neighbour, and find his donkey in your field eating the crop. You shall not even think about punishing the donkey or revenge. You shall take the donkey and help it to get back into its stable, as it surely lacks the warmth and safety of its home.


Thus. The Lord Jesus was born and raised in this traditions and atmosphere. This was his reality. It is NO accident He talked so much about good shepherds and lost sheeps and helping them out.

You know, I am sick of Christian bashing on this site, this could have happened at any charity, business anything - why should a church be any different.

I am assuming if the pastor knew they were being taken care of by one of the congregation he would take them aside and say we want them off the land rather than destroying the shelter which takes time - but the fact is feral cats can not only be a nuisance but can be dangerous. One of mine recently attacked a small dog while walking with his owner through the hydro field - they dont always hide.

They said they were going to call animal control to pick them up after destroying the shelter, thats not animal cruelty - it is what animal control was designed for, despite the fact many of us do not agree with their stance on ferals - without the caretakers including the church in their decisions on the caregiving - how could the pastor know this or the alternatives for caring for these ferals?

The pastor is obviously giving her a chance in moving the ferals, many businesses would just call in a pest control company and animal control from the start - forget waiting for their caretaker to show up to tell them.

My friend is an attorney. And a good one. I cannot believe that she didn't inform and receive consent before engaging in this activity.

No one is Christian-bashing. A church is not any other business. If this had happened on the grounds of a Jewish temple or a Muslin mosque would people be bashing those faiths? No, they are upset with the uncharitable behavior of the associate pastors. Rather than knock down the shelters and pull the food, talk to the caregivers, have a meeting. It is the parishioners' church... not just the pastors.

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

You know, I am sick of Christian bashing on this site, this could have happened at any charity, business anything - why should a church be any different.

I am assuming if the pastor knew they were being taken care of by one of the congregation he would take them aside and say we want them off the land rather than destroying the shelter which takes time - but the fact is feral cats can not only be a nuisance but can be dangerous. One of mine recently attacked a small dog while walking with his owner through the hydro field - they dont always hide.

They said they were going to call animal control to pick them up after destroying the shelter, thats not animal cruelty - it is what animal control was designed for, despite the fact many of us do not agree with their stance on ferals - without the caretakers including the church in their decisions on the caregiving - how could the pastor know this or the alternatives for caring for these ferals?

The pastor is obviously giving her a chance in moving the ferals, many businesses would just call in a pest control company and animal control from the start - forget waiting for their caretaker to show up to tell them.

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but it didn't happen at just any other business, it happened at a Christian church, hence the title.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

My friend is an attorney. And a good one. I cannot believe that she didn't inform and receive consent before engaging in this activity.

No one is Christian-bashing. A church is not any other business. If this had happened on the grounds of a Jewish temple or a Muslin mosque would people be bashing those faiths? No, they are upset with the uncharitable behavior of the associate pastors. Rather than knock down the shelters and pull the food, talk to the caregivers, have a meeting. It is the parishioners' church... not just the pastors.

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I completely agree with this post. It isn't a matter of "bashing" anyone. (I always thought of churches as charitable organizations, but destroying the shleter seems a bit cold-hearted and a poor example of good neighborly behaviour.) Was it really necessary to break the shelter before making attempts at communication?

I wish I could help you out but even though I live in the detroit area I have never seen or taken care of a cat colony and therefore have NO idea where you could re-locate them that wouldn't just end up upsetting somebody else.

Is it that bad for Animal Control to come? Or will they just put them all to sleep?

I agree that your friend should attempt to reason with someone higher up on the chain and see if a compromise cannot be made. I agree that they are showing poor faith by taking such cold-hearted actions. Tell her to explain that they are all relatively healthy and no longer breeding, and that they just need a place to keep warm in the winter.

Appeal to their good nature.

I didn't think the title was bashing Christianity in general; it contrasts bad behavior with what should be expected of Christians. I suppose it could be interpreted as bashing some particular badly-behaving people who say they are Christians.

And someone needs to point out that animals can be "the least of these" too

But on the other hand, it is nice to see scripture quoted on TCS, especially this time of year. Thank you StefanZ and mrblanche!

AddieBee, I hope all turns out well for these kitties!

Originally Posted by ebrillblaiddes

I didn't think the title was bashing Christianity in general; it contrasts bad behavior with what should be expected of Christians. I suppose it could be interpreted as bashing some particular badly-behaving people who say they are Christians.

And someone needs to point out that animals can be "the least of these" too

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Well put.

Originally Posted by ebrillblaiddes

And someone needs to point out that animals can be "the least of these" too

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That was exactly my point. If Christianity (or any other religion) doesn't change for the better the way you treat others, then it's useless, as far as I can tell.

Religion may be the opiate of the masses, but sometimes, we all need that opiate!

Originally Posted by katiemae1277

but it didn't happen at just any other business, it happened at a Christian church, hence the title.

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Yes, but why should a Christian church be held to higher account than any other place? As I mentioned in my post, most people think they are doing the right thing by calling animal control, because that is what animal control is there for - so think they are doing right. Most people in my city do not have a clue what the difference is between the shelter I work at, animal control, the various other rescues and the SPCA - we are the biggest and no kill and they just assume when surrendering or dropping off a stray that it is us.

However my other point is, most people would just say no or would tell you to tear down a shelter rather than doing it themselves, if you had consent from the landowner. Even the local hydro company where my ferals are leave notes saying that the animals are a nuisance and they want them moved and its public land. Hence why I mentioned the permission aspect because its unfair to assume they are doing it in a malicious manner - we do not know what the shelter was (shelters could be polystyrene boxes in some areas that just look like garbage), nor do we know if the ferals have become a problem there to judge these pastors