An American
bishop has taken on the prejudices of his church congregation by dressing up as
a homeless man
The Telegraph, Jon Swaine, New York, 29 Nov 2013
 |
| David Musselman disguised himself as a homeless man Photo: FACEBOOK |
An American
bishop who disguised himself as a homeless man to give a sermon about
compassion was asked to leave his church by unknowing congregants.
David
Musselman, a Mormon cleric near Salt Lake City, Utah, said he wanted to teach
members of his church to be kind to all people. “To be Christ-like, just
acknowledge them,” he said.
Mr
Musselman recruited a professional makeup artist to transform his face and wore
a wooly hat, thick spectacles, a false beard and a fake scar. Even his own
family did not recognise him.
“The main
thing I was trying to get across was we don't need to be so quick to judge,” Mr
Musselman told his local television news station.
“Many
actually went out of their way to purposefully ignore me, and they wouldn't
even make eye contact,” he said. “I'd approach them and say, 'Happy
Thanksgiving'.”
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After being
asked to leave by five people, Mr Musselman walked to the pulpit during a
service and disclosed his true identity by taking off his wig, fake beard and
glasses.
“It had a
shock value that I did not anticipate,” he said. “I really did not have any
idea that the members of my ward would gasp as big as they did.”
Jaimi
Larsen, one of the congregants, said she was surprised. “I started feeling
ashamed because I didn't say hello to this man,” said Ms Larsen. “He was dirty.
He was crippled. He was old. He was mumbling to himself”.
Mr
Musselman said he was touched by the reaction of younger members of the church.
“I was impressed by the children,” he said. “I could see in their eyes they
wanted to do more”.
Tara
Starling, the makeup artist who transformed Mr Musselman's appearance, said it
was the most rewarding job she had done.
“I used to
dream that the pinnacle of my career would be to work on a film and the film
would get nominated for an Academy Award of makeup,” she told The Deseret News.
“But I
would have to say that somebody writing a Facebook comment saying, ‘Thank you
for sharing this. It’s changed my mind. It’s changed my heart, and it’s changed
the way that I’m living,’ that’s worth more than all of the Academy Awards in
the world to me.”
Mr
Musselman, whose stunt came just before the Thanksgiving holiday, said that he
did not intend to embarrass the members of his church or make them feel
ashamed.
Instead, he
said, he wanted them to remember to be kind all year long to people from all
walks of life.
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