seagears winebar

Two new church campaigns to put more fannies in the pews
In Manassas, Va., Pastor Rob Seagears's summer sermon series involved dressing up and channeling characters from whichever movie was number-one at the box office that week, and then tying that message to God. Easy: "Dark Night" (with its built-in morality). Harder: "Hellboy II." Hardest: "Tropic Thunder" (the black preacher as a white actor playing a black soldier). And in the UK, the management of Birmingham Cathedral has turned all entrepreneurial, setting out to create a chain of wine bars and branded merchandise to, er, lift the church's profile and raise money for community work. Washington Post // Daily Mail (London)