Aston Christians cry foul over Villa's Easter Sunday Liverpool clash

[not3bad]

It's the unholy row which has got a Birmingham vicar hot under his (dog) collar.

And today (Sunday 31), Rev Andy Jolley and his flock staged a claret and pew protest outside Villa Park over Easter Sunday soccer fixtures.

Mr Jolley, reverend of Aston Parish Church, says he is fed up with his Easter Sunday services being disrupted by roaring soccer fans at the nearby ground.

Yet his pleas for one of the most important days in the Christian calender to remain sacred have fallen on deaf ears.

So Mr Jolley and his congregation made their made their feelings clear during a demo before Villa’s premiership clash with Liverpool this afternoon.

Parishioners from the Witton Lane church handed out trays of hot cross buns to hungry supporters making their way to the match as part of a ‘generous protest’.

Other worshippers took part in a “passion play”, driving nails into a wooden cross while wearing signs bearing the logos of BSKYB and the Premier League.

Mr Jolley said match-day traffic and the arrival of thousands of fans meant misery for members of his congregation making their way to services. “Three times in the last eight years we have had to cope with a match on Easter Sunday.

"This is one of the two days in the year when the retail industry goes quiet, but the people of Aston can’t have a quiet day.”

Yesterday’s demo wasn’t the first time Aston Parish Church has protested over Easter Sunday Games. In 1999, the then vicar, Rev Keith Sinclair, rang church bells throughout a match with Chelsea.

Rev Jolley said he had asked for the Villa-Liverpool match’s 1.30pm kick off to be moved to 4pm. He had meetings with Aston Villa and police and wrote to both the Premier League and broadcaster BSKYB, but to no avail.

Aston Villa spokesman Brian Doogan said: “Support and assistance has been provided by the club so that members of the congregation had easy access to and from the church.”

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/aston-christians-cry-foul-over-2435236

I have sympathy for their viewpoint myself, being a traditional "football on a Saturday afternoon, church on Sunday morning" man.  And I like the way BSKYB was targeted by the protest.

[eric woolban woolban]

I seem to recall they protested last time we played Easter Sunday.

I think we may have played Birmingham. And I think we may have won 5-1.

[rob_bridge]

I seem to recall they protested last time we played Easter Sunday.

I think we may have played Birmingham. And I think we may have won 5-1.

Nope we played Birmingham in 2006 and won 3-1 on Easter Sunday then drew with Everton 3-3 in 2009. I was there both times

[Witton Warrior]

Luckily I don't care...

[Smoke]

I honestly thought they were just doing their usual god bothering. I had no idea it was any sort of protest.

[Greg N'Ash]

I sympathise. As a non-chocolate lover it does annoy me the whole holiday seems to revolve around shopping. Like Christmas, if you're not a god botherer, you shouldn't be taking the days off

[neo_Villan]

Was it not possible for them to hold the service before/after the match? It is only 90 minutes.

[Greg N'Ash]

I think the point they're making is loads of people have Good Friday or bank holiday easter Monday off even though they're not god bothererers and yet they ignore the religious day when it suits them

[not3bad]

I think the point they're making is loads of people have Good Friday or bank holiday easter Monday off even though they're not god bothererers and yet they ignore the religious day when it suits them

No that's not the point.  The point they're making is that they would prefer it if football matches were not held on their doorstep on Easter Sunday in particular.  The Bank holiday thing you're alluding to had nothing to do with it.

[not3bad]

Was it not possible for them to hold the service before/after the match? It is only 90 minutes.

This is a fair point.  The church in Pheasey Great Barr had finished their morning service by half eleven.

[villan from luton]

What a load of tosh again, the religion was well out of the equation

[Greg N'Ash]

well, I'd say the EASTER bank holiday has something to do with religion, as in you wouldn't be getting a holiday otherwise.As a non-god botherer its not much to ask not to have a football game imo

[eamonn]

Why was this not played at 4pm?

[russon]

I'm pretty sure that our founder would have understood the church's position and acted accordingly -

from Wiki - "William McGregor was a committed Christian who was widely respected for his honesty and integrity. He worshipped for forty years at the Congregational church in Wheeler Street, Aston. His pastor, the Revd. W.G. Percival said that the best thing about him "was not so much the genial, kindly, honest sportsman, but the Christian behind it all". He described him as "a man of absolutely unblemished personal character"

[eastie]

I think it was a lovely gesture by the congregation to get their buns out and offer them to passers by .