DIVINITY DENIED

What could be more wholesome than a band playing a benefit gig in a parish hall to help out the terminally ill?

That's what was going to happen in St. Mary's parish in Barnegat, until the Pastor found out the band was called Divinity Destroyed:

Tuzeneu said he learned last week about the band and its website, which "had some things that weren't appropriate. We were concerned about the message we were sending."

With only a week before the concert, Tuzeneu said their wasn't enough time to investigate whether all the different bands participating were appropriate for a church atmosphere setting.

"If we had more time, maybe we'd be able to work something out," Tuzeneu said.

For months, St. Mary's teenagers have been making plans for the benefit concert, with the aim of raising more than $5,000 for the Sunshine Foundation — an organization that helps grant the wishes of terminally ill children. About seven bands were slated to perform, and more than 500 people were expected to attend, organizers said.

The pastor at least has the good grace to feel bad about what he's done:

"It breaks my heart. It was for a good cause," he said.

But, you know, he'll learn to live with a broken heart. And the terminally ill? Well, they'll still die just the same, just in a little less comfort. What's important is that a band with a stupid name haven't played in an obscure church hall.

music divinity destroyed