News

A United States church has courted controversy with the launch of a calendar of nude men to raise funds for the church

All participants in the calendar are members of the church.

Leaders at the New York-based Sacred Center Church decided the idea would be just the thing to draw people’s attention to the church’s financial need.

In a statement on the church website, church reverend, Diane Hardy Waller, said: “While I was thinking of a fundraiser that could get people involved, bring them together, and make them feel more connected to Sacred Center; the idea of doing calendar came to me. But not just any calendar, one using the gorgeous men of Sacred Center.

“At SCNY we talk about walking the spiritual path, holding the human and the divine as one, the mind/body/spirit connection. What is more human, more divine, and more holy than the naked figure. The idea that became men of spirit began to grow.

MODELS

“As nude men are not something normally associated with a ‘church’, I began asking what people thought and the responses were really positive. So I began recruiting models and photographers for the project.”

“All of the models are members or congregants of SCNY and are committed to a daily spiritual practice, which includes: prayer, meditation and reading of spiritual texts. Through their leadership, volunteering and tithing, they are supporting the growth of Sacred Center. It has been such an exciting process. I hope you enjoy the Men of Spirit Calendar, I know I have,” she said.

Published: 05 January 2007
Issue: 1250