CORRUGATED TIMES-DISPATCH
WEEHAWKEN, NJ -- Inspired by Oklahoman Steve Dyer's unorthodox use of a New Testament parable, the Church of the Water of Living Life Fellowship has started a novel program to exchange sin-laden body parts for baked goods.
"The Lord admonished us to pluck out our eyes if they lead us to sin," explained long-time parishioner Jerry Ruckles. "So, just like a cash-for-guns situation, we're encouraging our members to give up their hands, feet, corneas, livers, whatever makes them stray from the path."
For a transplantable organ, donors receive a $100 gift certificate to McFillip's, a local bakery. Unrecyclable limbs earn a blueberry, blackberry, or banana cream pie. Donors are urged not to perform the operation themselves, but to enlist the help of a board-certified physician in a hospital setting.
So far the church has collected more than five hundred appendages and organs, which are being stored temporarily in an industrial freezer.
A representative from the Department of Health and Human Services could not be reached for comment.
[hat tip: Matt Anderson of Mere Orthodoxy]
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