Leaders to adorn sackcloth and ashes to fight crime
At Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting, Mayor Larry Langford proclaimed Friday, April 25, a “day of prayer in sackcloth and ashes” in Birmingham.
FOLLOW THIS STORY: Langford sports sackcloth, ashes, Rolex (click here)
Birmingham Weekly reported two weeks ago that the mayor purchased 2,000 burlap sacks for ministers and other community leaders to wear at a Plan 10/30 summit.
To many Christians, sackcloth and ashes symbolize humility and repentance, but the mayor’s decree came dressed with the usual accoutrements - printed on fine, invitation-stock paper and wrapped in a bright silver folder, adorned by the magic hat logo Langford commissioned for the city last year.
In the decree, Langford said that Birmingham’s crime problem “pails” (sic) in comparison to the biblical City of Nineveh.
The proclamation tells the Bible story of Jonah and the city of Nineveh: “Whereas Chapter 3, verse 5 & 6, of the Book of Jonah, Old Testament states, that the people of Nineveh believe God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them,” the resolution reads.
In the proclamation, the mayor puts himself parallel with the King of Nineveh (Jonah 3:7) who, wearing sackcloth and ashes, joined his citizens in prayer.
Langford said last week that “the Constitution of the United States calls for a separation of church and state - it never said anything about a separation of church from state.” He did not mention the Constitution at today’s city council meeting, although he blasted any potential critics who question his piety in public office.
“I could care less what they write about it or say about it,” Langford said. “Because let there be no misunderstanding, just like Satan is at work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days, God is too.”
The mayor’s proclamation urged all “Bishops, Priests, Pastors, Ministers,” and other religious citizens to join him in prayer at the Plan 10/30 summit, which will take place at Boutwell Auditorium this Friday, April 25, at 6 p.m.
The event will be the third Plan 10/30 summit. Previous events have focused on families and crime. In one event, Langford handed out Bibles donated by the 700 Club.
Far from the negative press he received last month for Jefferson County’s financial woes, Langford has been featured and praised by Pat Robertson’s religious news broadcasts.
Meanwhile, Birmingham’s homicide rate continues to outpace figures from this time last year.
To see the full text PDF (you’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader) of the proclamation, click on the image above.
Or watch the video below.
Popularity: 21% [?]
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Hm. I have a few observations:
1. There’s a conflict between the comparisons (”like the City of Nineveh” vs. “pails in comparison to Nineveh”) in the first sentence.
2. He misspelled “pales”
3. Birmingham is not the 4th most violent city per capital.
4. He misspelled “per capita”
5. He is inconsistent with capitalizing the name of the Lord.
6. It’s bat-shit crazy.
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Can somebody please organize a protest
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:30 pm
here’s my official response. please publish it, so that religious weirdos all over the city will hate me. i need to be humbled:
AN ARGUMENT FOR PUBLICLY FUNDED EUTHANASIA
—————————————————————————-
mayor langford needs to be put down, like a terminally sick animal. it is that simple. a man who recently owed $70,000 in clothing bills… and wears $10,000 watches… is asking the city to “humble” itself… and to petition the lord with prayer. .. and is asking people to walk around with their heads bowed wearing sacks and covered in ashes. this is insanity, and most likely, illegal.
how much money was spent from my sewage fees for this?
this guy could be indicted on multiple counts on any given day, and this is his grand idea? THIS is supposed to be the answer to our crime problem. he’s an idiot.
i don’t petition the lord with prayer when my car insurance goes up. i don’t petition the lord with prayer when my sewage backs up. and i don’t petition the lord with prayer to cut my city crime statistics. and anyone who does, deserves to be disappointed when nothing happens.
god didn’t bother to intervene during the european holocaust, so i doubt he’s going to intervene in a southern mid-sized city, who’s only catalyst for reducing crime is the never ending promise of urban revitalization via our bloated, over priced, under-planned wanna-be metro-sexual loft district, which currently contains several meth addicts, numerous prostitutes and ZERO grocery stores.
awesome.
i still want to know whatever happened to the ‘computers fo’ the childrenz.’
here’s some bham humility for you mr. mayer, you psychotic old man…
I’LL PAY YOU $5 DOLLARS A DAY TO WASH MY HANDS after i use the restroom. it’ll be the only honest work you’ve done in decades.
PLEASE, mr. langford… increase your smoking habit from two packs a day to four. its the only real hope this city has for progress. this behavior goes well beyond “southern eccentricity.” this guy is a nut job.
no wonder the rest of the country laughs out loud when they think about the deep south.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
just a thought… maybe it would be more helpful to shut down some of the gun stores around town, instead of handing out bibles. i mean seriously, like anyone in the south has never had access to a bible if he or she wanted to read one, just check grandma’s house.. but gun and pawn shops - i drive past at least 2-3 everyday right by my house. one day my fiancee pointed out a nice spray painted sign at the pawn shop reading “AK47 $299″… but i’m sure his approach will be just as effective.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Prayer will end homicide rates in Birmingham! That must be how Langford got his office renovated. He just prayed and it appeared.
He is the to be the epitome of an evil leader, using religion to control the Birmingham citizens. Pray away, jerk. He must be getting tips from ‘ol Bush.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:26 am
I don’t know why anyone would want to stop this. We will see footage of a bunch of dudes hollering and carrying on in silly outfits. He has already spent the money, I doubt if the burlap sack factory accepts returns. He should have a Christmas cantata to get the even in the right frame of mind. I would be happy to volunteer to bring a bath robe and be shepherd or a wise-man.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:41 am
Could they not locate ANYONE who has a 6th grade level of competency in English, spelling and grammar to proof read that document?
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:14 am
It seems that every week this crazy man comes up with another looney gimmick. I wonder when the trolleys will make their appearnace.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:53 am
Fynster,
1) Kyle didn’t write this article.
2) Kyle, the same person you’re labeling as a “neo Limbaugh republican”, is also the same person who didn’t give any coverage to Ron Paul before the Alabama Primary because:
[quote]”Also, as a liberal (by Alabama standards) white southerner, I have a basic formula for political alignment: Look at what the Klan does, and then do the other thing. It might not be fair to judge Paul for one crowd that’s chosen him. However, Paul never adequately explained the disturbing stuff the New Republic unearthed.”[/quote]
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:01 pm
After reading the Birmingham Weekly article “Leapin’ Larry’s Prayer Proclamation,” I was left stunned. I hope this is a joke or a case of one misinformed journalist with a good Photoshop expert to forge the proclamation.
I hope that the 2000 burlap sacks were purchased with Larry’s money and not the governments, because as a tax payer I cannot stand behind the use of my tax dollars for something so transparently religious in nature. If he is to pay his burlap wearing followers for their prayer time using my tax dollars, I would also like to be reimbursed.
As much as Mr. Langford would like to deny it, this is not a Christian nation and there is a clear legal separation of church and state that he should recognize in his duty as mayor. If he wants to put on his burlap sack in private and pray and fast on his own time, then he can go right ahead. If his intention is one of humility, I hardly see how donning a burlap sack anywhere else BUT in the privacy of his home could be construed as humble.
In his proclamation, the mayor states that, “the citizens of the City of Birmingham have not only turned their backs on God but also turned their back on the freedoms that were won by and through the civil rights struggle.” How dare he mention struggle for equality in the same breath that he promotes one particular religion and declares himself analogous to a king! Fortunately, when the founding fathers wrote the constitution, they made this country a republic and not a monarchy. In the future, I will use my right to vote for politicians with real solutions to our problems.
-Jenny Andrews
PS Though I’m sure it has been brought to your attention already, the misuse of the word “pail” in an official document is hardly befitting of the King of Ninevah.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
You know, I voted for Langford, but he’s looney. I’ve recently moved to the west coast, and these kind of antics make it hard when I try to convince people that Southerners really can be civilized and sane.
April 25th, 2008 at 6:27 am
It is amazing the Mayor Langford mentions the civil rights struggle in his proclamation but it seems he has forgotten himself since he has invited one of the most anti-gay rights ministers in the U.S. to the City of Birmingham! We have homeless people everyone and people needlessly dying but wait we can always give the homeless people the burlap bags for blankets. Maybe Mayor Langford will understand a little better about gay people once he spends some time in prison. Seems like someone is trying to cleanse his sins for an upcoming judgement or indictment???
April 25th, 2008 at 9:53 am
What the hell? This nutjob can’t amaze me enough. Call me a hater. I don’t care, but this man is crazy. Sure he is a “strong black democrat.” I am a fat white democrat. But call me a hater. I see religious propaganda like this proclamation stunt and I am shocked into nothing short of rage. Where did the funds to pay for these feed sacks come from? Surely not from Mr. Langford’s stash-o-cash from his bribes from Alabama Power officials (yes this is true, has been wittnessed, and the FBI was tipped off last year), among other utility companies, among others. I will bet my Grandmother’s silk drawers that the City of Birmingham paid for these burlap bags–most likely out of the outrageous sewer bill I pay every month. Go ahead and call me a hater.
Call me a hater. I can’t stand to see a published document misspelled. I can’t stand to see such ignorance–especially coming from someone so arrogant and pious. Call me a hater.
Call me a hater. We have had the worst financial troubles in recent years, yet someone has the audacity to mention giving this nutjob a $45,000 raise? Hell, our crime is getting worse, but we reward this do nothing mayor? Call me a hater.
Call me a hater. This man is popular and got elected merely because he is popular and well known. Who would’ve known that he was going to raise taxes the first day in office–without effectively showing us benefits? His platform “Let’s do something” was very vague… Well he is “doing something,” alright. He is showing the rest of the world that he is a religious zealot, bent on destroying this city. I hope those who voted him in are really proud–but go ahead: Call me a hater.
Call me a hater. I see a thief and scheister in office, not unlike the President and Emporer of the United States, GW Bush: Arrogant, self-serving, self-righteous, pious, “ignunt”, harrowing, embarrassing, and above all now a religious lunatic. But go ahead, call me a hater.
Call me a hater. This man is now inviting a divisive (and obviously un-christian in behavior) speaker, Rev. Eddie Long, for this day of prayer seminar. Mr. Long is divisive in his disdain for homosexuals. He is spouting hatred and calling it the Word of God–yet his own behavior belies his faith. He is but a clanging symbol, a Pharasee, a fraud. Most likely he eloquently quotes from Leviticus 18:22, & 20:13, yet is “Ignunt” of 15:19-24, 20:18 and 18:19 which is having relations, touching, or even apporaching, a woman on her period, or 19:19 which is wearing clothing of mixed fibers, or even 19:27 which is shaving or cutting your hair…do we still follow these? There are 613 +/- something laws and or commandments… which ones does Mr. Long NOT follow? But James 2:10 syas if you live by the law, but break just one law you are guilty of breaking all (613+/-) of them! Furthermore, in this enlightened day and age of civic freedom, what would Mr. Long think about the law in Leviticus that says I can own a slave or two? Leviticus 25.44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. Of course this is insane, but it is a Levitical law that Mr. Long conveniently ignores. But, go ahead and call me a hater.
April 25th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
God has nothing to do with the crime rate society does. God can and will only influence those who follow him. And all this preaching is not changing a thing. Because the ones that need to listen to God don’t believe.
And I have a big problem with the “Mayor” using government money to fund his Sackcloth and Ashes gathering. The “Mayor” said there is a separation of Church and State but not a separation of Church from State but that is what the Fore-Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitiution of the United States, was that the Church have nothing to with the States affairs.
April 25th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
I am really pissed off. This is just the last straw. Having spent my whole life trying to convince people that Birmingham is a great place - which it is - this clown in a sack goes out there and perpetrates a media event that puts our city and our area higher on the dumbass list.
Aren’t we concerned with enticing personal home ownership and business into the city? Are we not concerned with bettering education (do not talk to me about the lap tops) and life styles in the city? Are we not concerned about our national image? What about better race relations and metro relations? How about starting with image control? How about starting with a rational method to achieve these things? I could bite metal in two right now.
On a personal basis, this group sack-bag huggie thing, asking our Lord to intervene with the crime rate and humble ourselves to get Him to do that, if I were God I’d be disgusting, and if I were God I’d be insulted. But then again, the God I believe in has a brain. The mayor I have doesn’t. What am I bitching about?
April 25th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
This event was a travesty. I was bullied, pushed, harrassed and shoved. He invited all faiths to come worship.
He broke the second amendment in half, then broke those halves in half. It was beyond dumb and into a whole new realm of psychotic. He (Langford) invited a Pakistani minister from Indianapolis who staunchly opposes the separation of church and state. He invited a misogynist, homophobic preacher from Georgia who didn’t realize that you don’t have to scream to be heard in a large room when there is a microphone IN FRONT OF YOU. GAH!
I wonder just what was going through Big Tooth’s mind when he was up there with these loontards.
Six different people tried to convert me to their brand of Christianity. That made me smile a very very lovely smile, and I drank in the irony.
April 26th, 2008 at 7:30 am
Only in America… theocracy now really. The christian version of Iran.
And as for CG… you think that everyone who commits murder is a non-believer?
April 26th, 2008 at 10:55 am
I’d just like to say to the folks of Birmingham, we’re all laughing at you. Sorry.
Try to get your money back and don’t elect this damn fool again.
April 26th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
dude i LIVE in Birmingham. This sucks. It freaks me out having such a bible-thumping mayor who seems to have no idea for tolerance whatsoever.
I’m an out lesbian, and one of the people he invited to the prayer service is one of the leading televangelists in the anti-gay movement. I was afraid to go anywhere in Birmingham that day for fear of being hunted down by the wacko fundamentalists.
People are going crazy down here!
April 26th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I agree with Claville, any rational person who encounters this story is laughing at the town of Birmingham. It doesn’t matter if this mayor is Democrat or Republican: If he thinks he can reduce crime via prayer, he needs to be replaced with someone who is grounded in reality and is willing to pursue proven techniques for reducing crime.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Speaking as a lifelong citizen of the West Coast, yes, episodes like this are EXACTLY why the rest of us throw up in our mouths a little bit when we reflect on our shared national identity with the South. We realize you aren’t all drooling, mouth-breathing godsmacked public-welfare hazards like this Langford clown, but the fact that he (for example) had enough support to get elected makes us absolutely crazy. There are days some of us wish you’d won that little war just so we’d have a sovereign national border to defend from your vocal and energetic theocratic element. If there’s anything the rest of us can do to help you drive this terrifying current out of your society (and I hope nobody reading this is dense enough to think I’m talking about an ethnic group; intolerance of dangerous superstition is colorblind), you have only to mobilize and we assist you however possible. I believe semi-recent history has provided you with an excellent example of Southerners banding together in marches, protests, boycotts, and sit-ins to declare to the entire world, “enough is enough.” It’s your government. Make it answer to you.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Well, at least Mr. Langford got one thing right - based on every post so far, the people of Birmingham HAVE turned their back on God.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
How the hell did this guy get elected? Why did he not get dragged to the nearest mental house upon producing this bit of bat-shit insanity? What the hell, Birmingham? You should be ashamed!
April 30th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Fynster,
MANY of us who are Christians are also offended by this spectacle. He is hiding behind this nonsense because he has no real answers, and he’s trying to deflect attention from his approaching legal troubles.
People like Langford give Christianity a bad name. I resent him making us all look like fools!
If there should be a day of prayer for Birmingham, the subject should be SAVING Birmingham from this looney mayor!!
April 30th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Fynster,
Um, I’m not from Bham, so I don’t know who this guy is. My sister lives there with her husband and son, though, and the thought that THIS is the kind of people they’re living around helps me understand why she would want to move from there to Mississippi. Where we have our crazies, but we don’t let them into office.
A proclamation that clearly says it’s from the City of Birmingham is ILLEGAL. That means he is using his position to promote his own personal beliefs. And in the process, making all Christians - especially those in the south - look RIDICULOUS. Call me a hater. I don’t know who this fool is beyond this article (found through another website, but gonna ask my sister about this when we both get off work!) but he is a FOOL. And, he’s breaking the law.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Well, the past 25 comments are a reminder of why Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh.
He knew he would be ridiculed and misunderstood. People can laugh all they want to at Mayor Langford, but I believe the Lord will answer his prayers because Mr. Langford has placed his trust in Him. Another comment I have is that just because someone is a Christian doesn’t mean they take a vow of poverty. Many comments suggested that it is wrong for Mr. Langford to have money. Sometimes the Lord blesses people with money…God is just concerned with how you spend it. Money in itself is not evil… the love of money is.