The elements of entertainment are found everywhere, the clergy no exception. But we all knew that. Clouds of incense, singing, crazy costumes: the church knows its theatrics. So the most notable element of the story about "Elvis Priestley," a.k.a. Andy Kelso, leaving the holy ranks to impersonate the King is one word in relation to connecting people with God:
"My whole desire is to build bridges with people and Elvis. I see it as a form of reaching out to people, using the King of Rock to introduce people to Jesus, hopefully in a way that will be fun.”
Fun. If you haven't noticed, if you want to get anything done in the modern world, it needs to be fun. There are two ways to think about this. One is that it's a great step forward for humanity's mental flexibility; some smartsters among us have recognized the power of disguising vegetables as sweets, which I suppose is inevitable given the massive influence of marketing and advertising nowadays. Another take is that we have developed into a society of perpetual children who can't get anything done unless it involves a sparkly phantasmagoria that is bouncy and makes neato noise and stuff. And that we forget the important, underlying message in our distraction with the fun-fun-really-fun thingy things.
But this isn't that complex. Right? This vicar found Elvis's story and music to be an inspiration for spiritual wanderers. People responded enthusiastically when he rose as Elvis Priestley. And I guess if you believe God is telling you to "take Elvis to the church," there isn't much else to do.
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