From our bulging ‘Then Why The Hell Did You Hire Me??’ files: Welcome to my world!

Stop me if you’ve heard this one (from me…)

Beliefnet staffers “were very excited about me” blogging for them,” Holmgren told me on Wednesday, a day after negotiations broke down over use of the word “feminist.”

The editors and marketing people “gushed” over her portfolio, which included columns that Holmgren says had been picked up by the Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun.

“I said to them [during a group interview], ‘You’ve got to know that I’m a Presbyterian pastor, but I come to the world as a feminist.’ They said, ‘That’s fabulous. We want a wide range of views on the site.’”

Two days ago, Holmgren got this email from Beliefnet marketing and business analyst Sharon Kirk…

The pastor/writer says she asked Kirk over the phone why she had a problem with “feminist.”

The Beliefnet marketer said she didn’t, but that “we know our readers are offended by the word.”

Holmgren tells me: “I asked, Why did you contract with me? I made it very clear who I am.”

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It’s news to me that BeliefNet readers would be offended by the word “feminist.”

When I wrote for them (briefly) they were mostly lefties, at least judging by the bitchy Bush-hating commenters.