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Icarus
I thought some of you might find this interesting…
May the Force be with pew: Brothers open Jedi ‘church’ in Wales
A Jedi “church” has been born in a galaxy far far away – North Wales.
The Holyhead chapter of the self-styled Jedi Church, which claims up to 400,000 members worldwide, has sprung up thanks to brothers Barney and Daniel Jones, both Star Wars obsessives.
The “church” is only one of a handful around the planet, said hairdresser Barney, 26, the Anglesey Order Minister, also known as Master Jonba Hehol.
“Some people think it will be quite interesting but lots of people will ridicule us because it seems quite nerdy but we’ve had a good reaction so far,” he said.
“We think of it as proper lifestyle enhancement and it should be taken seriously – it can’t be bad if it makes life better.
“We live normal day-to-day lives.
“We are trying to take away the humour of it all and bring more structure so people take it more seriously.”
The “religion” was born as a result of a nationwide joke in the 2001 census when nearly 400,000 claimed their belief system was Jedi.
And now Barney and musician Daniel, 21 – or Master Morda Hehol, self-appointed UK “church” leader – are getting their new “religion” off the ground.
“It’s serious,” said Barney.
“We will have teachings based on Yoda – the 900-year-old grand master – as well as readings, essays submitted, meditation and relaxation, visualisation and discuss healthy eating.
“The Jedi religion is about life improvement, inner peace and changing your lifestyle so you have a more fulfilling existence.
“It’s based on the films but we have brought things into it because the films are a bit more sci-fi.
“But we have developed on the film’s teachings, introducing teachings we believe the Jedi Knights would seek.
“We used to watch the films over and over again and it came about from that.”
There will be no chance of their empire striking back at people who mock the Jedi, as they are a peace-loving bunch, said Barney.
The Anglesey order has 80 worshippers – whose uniform is head-to-toe black – but is growing daily, said Barney – who as a master wears brown hooded robes.
And when a building has been found to home the movement, the brothers aim to provide lightsabre fighting classes.
“Worshippers” will take a series of tests to scale the Jedi hierarchy.
Plans have also been made to open a Jedi “church” in Surrey and in the Philippines to follow on from America’s first in Florida.
Aslyn
Ah, yes. Jediists gone extreme… This is probably an off-shoot of that whole ‘Jedi Census’ idea, that made everyone assume there were several hundred thousand Jedi practitioners around the world, and that’s just wholly inaccurate.
inari
*sighs and shakes her head*
Why is it always ruddy churches?
Jax
I don’t think people know how else to form communities honestly.
My concerns are all based on ignorance. I don’t want to assume too much from one article. But, it worries me that they seem to have just watched the movies a lot and built a religion around it. I hope their is deeper thought than that, but… Then again, maybe through this church they’ll come to that deeper thought. It’s just hard for me to imagine as anything legitimate and serious.
Loremaster
We’ll just have to see where it goes. As of now, there are no authoritative Jedi texts, or canonical writings, to make a “church”. However, if these two young men are serious, I wish them the best.
Loremaster
The way I see it is the media will pounce on something like this and degrade it and portray it in any way that seems the most negative. There is no mention of these two men’s spiritual background or training. There isn’t even an in depth look into any of this. This is just a generalized survey piece of media that only focused on the SW parts of the story. For all we know, these two guys could have it all right and the story here was just spun the opposite direction. We see that happen all the time.
I mean, think about this. What would a media hound have to say about this place, or the JRC, or the FA? I could sit down right now and spend five minutes writing an article that makes all three of these places look like a freak show. Why? Because it gets peoples’ attention.
I’m happy for these two guys. They didn’t let anything get in their way. I may not agree with how or why or what they are doing, but at least they are blazing their own path. That is what counts. Plus, I find the humor in it. These two guys have accomplished something that this community hasn’t been able to accomplish in what? twelve years? Sorry, I find that hilarious.
The reasons they were able to accomplish it may have more to do with two brothers who think alike doing a project together and excluding others, but hey! They got it done to their own liking.
I’m certainly not going to judge them. :-X
Exactly. I realized that my judgments were based entirely on assumptions. So who knows. I guess, in the end, I am not drawn toward anything resembling a church, Jedi or otherwise. If this is what works for them, then that’s great. It’s not for me.
Anonymous
Well I had to toss my hat into the ring on a movie forum I belong when this article was posted by one of those nasty Brits…heh!
Being that it was a film forum – I thought – ah well. (I assumed someone had possibly googled my name as I used AstaSophi because I am gaining a measure of privacy by not using my real name online any longer).
I am not thrilled at having “outted” myself – but it is as Icarus feared… I’m going to be really brave/honest and include a link to the film site.
Hope I don’t offend anyone – I had to tone it a bit to talk to the completely uninitiated into the Jedi Community…
http://www.chasingthefrog.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2138&page=52&pp=10
Go down a couple of posts to post #513
Sigh…
No one said it would be easy…heh… :-X
Hey well they were pretty nice to actually after your post Asta. Though I’m wondering who the 15yr old from Australia is (more Aussies, woohoo!).
Yes – it’s a fun group. I’m already considered a bit weird for my silent film fixation so I probably couldn’t fall much further into weirdo land for some of them. Heh…
Lots of Aussies and Brits there…
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