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Gosford Anglican Church’s Father Rod Bower ignites social media storm with witty signs

“DEAR Christians. Some people are gay. Get over It. Love God”. With that quote, Father Rod Bower suddenly rocketed to national stardom.

2 min read
August 26, 2014 - 9:00PM
Gosford Anglican Church’s Father Rod Bower with his wife Kerry.
Gosford Anglican Church’s Father Rod Bower with his wife Kerry.

AN ANGLICAN reverend has become a social media sensation for his irreverent and witty signs that often fly in the face of the traditional views people expect from the church.

Gosford Anglican Church’s Father Rod Bower is not afraid of controversy, using the notice board outside his church to call for compassion for boat people and to support gay marriage and action on climate change.

His signs went viral after he started posting them on Facebook and Twitter.

In an interview with ABC’s 7.30, Father Bower said his most popular post was probably one about gay marriage that he put up in July last year, which some estimate has been seen by about 50 million people around the world.

It said: “Dear Christians. Some people are gay. Get over It. Love God”.

Possibly Father Bower’s most popular sign.
Possibly Father Bower’s most popular sign.

The post got more than 7000 likes, while the church’s Facebook page has over 14,000 likes.

While some have found his views refreshing, Father Bower said he had also lost the support of some people in his congregation.

“And that’s really sad because these people are still considered to be friends, I’ve known them for a long time but they have felt that they in good conscience can’t continue in a community that holds certain views,” Father Bower said.

“What inspires me and us as a faith community of course, is the life and teachings of Jesus.

“We stand for what he stood for: justice, equity and compassion.”

Father Bower said his social media following also reached the 25-54 year old age group, exactly the demographic missing from church congregations.

“We stand for what he (Jesus) stood for: justice, equity and compassion”.
“We stand for what he (Jesus) stood for: justice, equity and compassion”.

He said this age group also seemed to be the ones interested in asking the deeper questions, such as “what sort of society do we want to be? What sort of group of people do we want to be?”

Despite his sometimes controversial views, Father Bower said he had never been censored.

“The bishops may not always agree with what I say but they feel very strongly that we have to have these conversations.”

“It’s not about being right or wrong. It’s about evolving as a society into something that’s hopefully better than what we are now.”

Here is a collection of some of his best:

He started his own team:

While giving advice to Immigration Minister Scott Morrison:

Labor also gets a serve:

While gay marriage is also one of Father Bower’s favoured subjects:

He throws in support for action on climate change for good measure:

And also proves he has a sense of humour:

Thank God It’s Friday.
Thank God It’s Friday.
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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/gosford-anglican-churchs-father-rod-bower-ignites-social-media-storm-with-witty-signs/news-story/6d963adce75d1a7f74292156300696ed