Garlands of Grace Debacle

So this happened yesterday.  I'd been holding off on blogging about it because I was hoping for a clarification / apology from them, but no luck (at least not yet).  They've been quiet little church mice since this thread spiraled out of control.

To date, there have been almost 240 comments.  I did a quick "stick tally" and found that an overwhelming majority of respondents were Catholic women who were very hurt by such an arrogant and thoughtless comment.  Their customer base immediately began shrinking as folks not only removed themselves from the page, but cited their refusal to purchase from them and their refusal to advertise for them through blogs and personal references.

I immediately wondered if Garlands of Grace realized they had so many Catholic customers.  If they didn't before, they most certainly do now!

Seriously, though... this comment was completely unnecessary.  A simple "We're not Catholic, but we do espouse Christian beliefs" would have sufficed.  Instead, they had to go and take it a step further with "I am burdened for all who stand with the Catholic Church and would plead with you to come out and believe the Word of God."

...

Excuse me?

I do believe this business just accused me of not believing in the Word of God.

I also believe Garlands of Grace attempted emotionally martyring itself for my benefit.

Let me go ahead and pull the emergency brake on that one.

First of all, as I mentioned in the GoG thread that spawned on FB, not only do Catholics fully believe in the Word of God, we fully believe that Jesus Christ IS the Word of God incarnated. 

As such, being the Church that Christ founded and all, we don't need a Protestant denomination martyring itself for our salvation.  Thanks for your concern for my immortal soul and all, but as a faithful, fully-vested Catholic, I've got that covered.  I don't need your condescending pity for my supposed ignorance to save me from hellfire.

That being said, I've made the decision to stop patronizing this business (which breaks my heart because all my favorite veils are from them!).  Until they rectify their stance (which has successfully alienated about 100+ of their previous customers) I simply cannot reconcile supporting a business that views my faith as a burden.

And for the record, I was purchasing from them knowing full well they weren't Catholic.  I didn't care one way or the other about their religious beliefs.  I still don't.  I do, however, care about being belittled and and being condescended to simply because I'm Catholic.

From my experiences in dealing with the women of GoG (they're sisters), they seem to be wonderful, loving and highly talented individuals.  They have families, friends, and trials the same as the rest of us.  They are dedicated to their mission of spreading love of God through veiling, and that's great.  I wish them all the best.  However, I cannot - at this time - be a party to what I see as a sad and hurtful attack on some of their best customers simply on the basis of our faith.

I sincerely hope and pray these women come to their senses and retract what was obviously a hurtful and ignorant comment.

*** Blog Responses ***

I read two blog responses yesterday that I really loved - posting them here for your benefit!

Liturgical Time (She makes beautiful head coverings as well)

A Woman's Place  (Eh, you guys know I'm a huge Cam fan)


UPDATE:

Joann Jordan is the founder of Garlands of Grace Ministry, a separate organization that goes by the same name as the sisters who create head coverings. 

These are not the same groups, so please don't confuse them. Garlands of Grace Ministry is a cross-faith women's Bible study program. 

In this particular entry, I'm specifically referring to the Garlands of Grace company that creates head coverings.