Holiday Scrooges In The News

Is this the proper response to a snowball?

With this being the holiday season, you would like to believe that people are being a bit more charitable to each other.

Unfortunately, there are always reminders that some individuals are not feeling the holiday spirit.

On December 19, a friendly snowball fight in Washington, DC was interrupted when an off-duty policeman pulled a gun on the crowd after his Hummer was hit multiple times. He did not state he was an officer when he pulled his gun. You can see video of the incident here.

The officer’s identity has yet to be revealed, but he has been reprimanded and placed on non-contact duty.

At least nobody was injured due to the cop’s Wild West moment. Eutisha Rennix died after two New York EMTs refused to help her. Their reason? They were on a coffee break!

EMTs Melissa Jackson and Jason Green were in the eatery Rennix worked at when she collapsed. Instead of assisting her, they told employees to call 911 and left. They have been suspended without pay.

The behavior in these two incidents may be slightly more understandable had the perpetrators been new to their jobs. But the DC officer has been on the force for over 20 years, Jackson is a 4 year veteran, and Green has been an EMT for 6 years. So there are no excuses!

Rounding out our trilogy of holiday Scrooges are three churches in Michigan who decided to stop participating in a ministry that provides food to the poor and homeless because other churches in the program accept LGBTs in their congregations.

The ecumenical ministry Martha’s Table has been operating since 2007, but Centerpoint Church, Word for Life Church of God, and Agape Christian Church have taken the stand that “an immoral lifestyle has eternal ramifications in Scripture,” and they don’t want to be “guilty by association” with inclusive churches. It is believed that the breaking point was a minister’s support for a LGBT non-discrimination bill in Kalamazoo.

Turning your back on the vulnerable is a great way to carry the message of Christian compassion! Let’s hope they all get coal in their stockings.