First Church of Springfield
First Church of Springfield
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Location Information
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The First Church of Springfield is a Protestant Christian church in Springfield. It is part of the Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism denomination. Most Springfielders attend. The unusually specific name is a parody of Protestant reformed churches branching off into other denominations and movements. Reverend Lovejoy is a member of the clergy of Presbylutheranism.
Contents
Work
As with any Church, the main service to the community is their Sunday Service, which most Springfieldians attend. However, they also have offered other services, such as a help line, marriage retreats, outings, a thrift shop, picnic and Christian bands
The Building
The main building of the church is layed out with pews going down until the altar, where the Reverend preaches. At the end of each session, a dish is passed round for donations. Lack of donations have led to the church being brought by Mr. Burns on two occasions.[1][2] The Church also has run a Sunday School, attended by many local children and taught by Ms. Albright. [3][4] The church also has an office [2] and a room in which the church council met. [1].
The stained glass windows have varied throughout the Church's history, originally being based on St. Eleutherius, St. Bartholomew, St. Lucian and St. Donickus. They appeared in a vision that Reverend Lovejoy had once. [5] Later, Bart and Homer accidentally destroy the Church using a rocket they made with the help of Gary, Doug and Benjamin. Some of the glass windows where covered in art. [1] Later on, Bart smashed the windows again, this time of the apostles. The Church cut corners by letting Lenny do it, but ended up with the characters of the Drew Carey Show. Burns sponsors the church and replaces them with himself doing heroic actions. [2]
Commercialisation
The church has twice come under C. Montgomery Burns' control. The first occured due to Bart and Homer accidentally destroying the Church using a rocket they made with the help of Gary, Doug and Benjamin to beat the Flanders' rocket. Nibbles the Hamster, the pilot, lost control and ejected, sending it on a collision course in to the Church. The Church Council got together and realized they couldn't afford the damage. Mr. Burns offered to repair the church in return for running the church like a business. The council, though reluctant, is left without a choice and Lindsay Naegle is left in charge of renovations. Lindsay and Burns install adverts into the church, include a neon Jesus and a Lard Lad statue. Inside their were also impulse stalls, such as a money changer and a novelty Last Supper cutout picture, which gave Church goers a chance to be Jesus. The seats are upgraded to extra large and a jumbotron is installed with a "God Cam". The sermons are also affected the sermons, which included advertisements and commercial sermon takers. This leads Lisa to Buddhism. [1]
The second time was again due to money shortages, with Mr. Burns sponsoring the Church in a scheme to help his book sales. He replaces the stained glass windows with himself and adds taco bars to the pews. As well as this, he gradually takes over sermons, showing commercials for his power plant and other advertisements. He also replaces the Bible with his autobiography, planning on turning Church into a book club. This leads Ned Flanders to leave the Church. Burns then develops a plan to become Pope and unlock the Vatican's riches, not realizing that the church was Protestant and not Catholic.
Outlook on other religions
The church still remains at odds with Catholicism (even though they stopped feuding with each other), its more devout members needing to have their hands re-blessed after shaking with a Catholic. Reverend Lovejoy also has a rivalry with a local Episcopal church[6], and he also has engaged in a brawl with a Catholic priest.[7] Native religions, for instance those which are found in the south Pacific, are seen as inferior, and missionary activity is employed to ridicule away the beliefs of native peoples [8] The church also has enemies on a social level, including monogamous gays and stem cells.
Members
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This article or section is incomplete.
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