Story Archive

Passionate Fundraiser

The Manchester Passion Play presents the story of Christ’s crucifixion for Easter. Sponsored in part by the Reverend Canon Falek Sher of the Manchester, England, Cathedral, Alex Stewart-Clark of the Passion Trust was put to the task of fundraising to stage the show; 50,000 pounds (US$62,650) was needed, and as Easter approached, they were 8,000 pounds short. “We were just chucking around ideas to raise money and it came up,” said Stewart-Clark, 56. “It” was an offer for the well-heeled faithful: for a 750 pound (US$940) donation, parishioners could be “crucified” — hoisted up onto the cross in Cathedral Gardens in the city center. Advertised on the Internet as “the full crucifixion experience,” it was quickly pulled down after Church of England clergy declared the plan blasphemous. “You can either play it safe and be square and not raise money or you can be constructive and try to be imaginative,” Stewart-Clark grumped after his idea was scrapped. “Most important is the question over it being sacrilegious. That’s a grey line,” he says. “You can be prudish or you can embrace it. The clergy didn’t like it.” (RC/Manchester Evening News) ...Maybe there would be better buy-in if parishoners could pay for politicians to be crucified.