Bovina Sancta!

I'm less angry today

2009-11-15T20:34:00.003-06:00

I try not to be angry at people who say stupid or racist things. I don't know what their life experiences are that led to them believing and saying such things. I need to turn the other cheek and be more forgiving. I do love my verifiable facts (geek is as geek does) and sharing them with someone who wants to know another side of the story is a good thing. I can let them use their own judgement from there.

Even Jesus couldn't convert everyone, right?

Hate shows up in the most interesting places.

2009-11-11T18:37:00.002-06:00

(These were not said by someone in the church I go to, but from a friend who belongs to another Christian denomination.)

In February: "He's not a citizen, he's not a Christian, he sure isn't my president. He's going to turn this country into another USSR."

Also February: "He's got all the Muslims, Gays, Blacks and Mexicans infiltrating the whole government."

April: "Americans are brainwashed by liberal media. Why wouldn't they cover tea-parties? They are saying what they are being told to say by Dear Leader."

June: "My church was steeplejacked by gays and communists."

August: "We will kill health reform. Do you really want socialism and have handicapped people and old people killed in concentration camps? YOU'D BE IN ONE - THEY WOULD KILL YOU!!!!"

October: "You just wait - if he's not removed from office soon, we'll lose all our rights."

I'm sure you can figure out who the "he" is referred to in the email. All quotes are from the same person, in various emails, directly to me, unless there were people bcc'd.

This is what I don't get. How can someone come to hear the Gospel and give personal testimony feel so much hate and fall for such outrageous lies? I tried to be polite when I finally wrote her and terminated our online relationship. She left her church she had been attending since birth and joined up with a popular evangelical church in California when she moved there to be closer to a boyfriend. It was a long friendship, from when I lived in Salt Lake back in the late '90's.

Her mother is very worried. Her daughter has fallen fully into worst form of both ultra-conservatism and religious zealotry. Apparently, in her new church, church and state is inseparable. Her daughter's asthma is being treated with prayer now, not drugs and she's afraid she will lose her to an attack.

This is what happens when reason gets set aside and blind faith and personality cults takes over. There are people who accuse Democrats and Progressives of the same thing regarding Obama. But, having worked for the Obama campaign, I don't remember any hero worship, just an enthusiam that someone in the Oval Office could actually get stuff done.

In the meantime, after watching various news outlets, reading a variety of newspapers, it would seem that lying, racism, greed, and bearing false witness are no longer sins.

Strange days indeed.

SI joint injection: Fail.

2009-11-11T18:36:00.000-06:00

Working on plan B. Until then, not posting much.

Think before you press "Send?"

2009-11-02T20:39:00.002-06:00

Microsoft Word used to have a failsafe "Delete?" button. It would pop up and say "Are you sure you want to delete? Action cannot be undone." Of course, most everyone told the stupid paperclip to bounce off for once and for all.

If I could right code, I would write one that for a "Do you really, really want to send this? Once it's out there, you can't ever, never, no way take it back." That way, when you get diarrhea of the brain and call the majority-elected President of the United States words that I'm not going to repeat, do the same to the Speaker of the House, and make rude comments about Canadians, the UK and France and your little popup pal says "Reply to All? Do you really want to do that?" you can sit back and go "whoa, maybe that's not good an idea". Especially since you tagline is "Blessed are the Peacemakers".

In the meantime, those of us who got spammed by your paranoid diatribe are wondering WTF are you doing with your life? And I, for one, am blocking your emails for ever.

Meh

2009-10-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

Since Gumby Syndrome (aka Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) has been the bane of my existance lately, posting is going to be haphazard until everything settles down, which should be sometime later this week. Or next.

Better Know a Saint: The Saint

2009-10-23T23:27:00.004-05:00

Yesh, you read that right. Roger Moore is The Saint. And Val Kilmer, in a later incarnation. No, I can't choose my favorite. They may play the same role, but they bring their own interpretation, both of which are very interesting.

For those of you who have no idea what Brigid is talking about today, let me introduce you to The Saint. Also know as Simon Templar, fighter of Bad Guys. This is pre-Bond Moore, and I have no doubt that it was The Saint, that got Moore the role. Simon fought the Bad Guys while impeccably dress and manners (except when he absolutely deck some guy) and always got the girl. He was also one cool cat who played his cards close to his chest. If you want to know Simon Templar, watch those eyebrows of his. He and Spock probably had the same eyebrow coach, if there is such a thing. Baddies often learned a hard lesson - don't mistake that bonhomie for weakness. Cross Templar, harm an innocent - and you perish. Very neatly, but you still bit the dust.

Now, about Val Kilmer. Basically the same Simon Templar, more firepower, a bit of an edge to him (bad if you piss him off), more skin and faster cars. To his credit, Kilmer brings his own interpretation to Templar, not copying Moore, but he still has that eyebrow thing going on.

After all, The Saint has to have a least one tell so the audience will know when the baddie is going to have a bit of unpleasantness thrust upon him!

Better Know A Saint: Blessed Marie Poussepin

2009-10-14T15:34:00.003-05:00

Marie Poussepin is my idea of a modern woman! OK, you say, she was born in 1653, how does that make her modern?

For starters, her mother and local parish priest educated her. Not every woman at that time had access to formal education. When her mother died, she took responsibility for running her house and raising her younger brother.

Her father, a stocking manufacturer, died when Marie was about thirty. Marie took over the family business. Now this is were she shows modern women how to rock:

Realizing that making stockings by hand was tedious and limited production, Marie installed the latest mechanical technology, modernizing her factory. Not only did she learn to run them all, she trained her employees to do so.

Along with modernizing her factory, she set up a benefit system for her employees; that's right, she created a union, or as it would have probably been called them, a guild. Norma Rae would be proud!

After a few years of running the stocking factory, she felt the calling to serve God and became a member of a Dominican Tertiary (Third Order) in 1690. Tertiaries don't enter an abbey or convent, but instead live in the community, often keeping their secular vocation. Their days include not only work, but prayer, study, and sharing their faith with others. In Marie's case, she turned the operations of the factory to her brother so she could devote herself to helping others, even caring for people in her home.

She later moved to Sainville, France, establishing a house that eventually joined the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin (called the Presentation Sisters), a Dominican order concerned with education and caring for the sick. Her order was also associated with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, who we all know today from their charity-based thrift stores.

Today American Presentation Sisters are active members of PaxChristi, a Catholic peace and social justice organisation.

We stand for the dignity of life and the rights of each human person and so we oppose any policy or course of action which diminishes life including:
capital punishment
violence as a first response to conflict
shameful poverty
abortion
euthanasia
lack of access to healthcare
mistreatment of immigrants
torture
Blessed Marie was Venerated (said to be a good role model for Catholics) - the first stage of canonization, December 21, 1991, Beatification occurred on November 20, 1994 . Beatification allows a person to be honored by a particular group, and there has to be evidence of a posthumous miracle. Paul II. She is still awaiting canonization, which requires a second miracle.

Better Know a Saint: Fiacc

2009-10-12T20:17:00.004-05:00

I like Irish saints, considering my father's side of the family is Irish, with a little Seneca and English thrown in. Fiacc is and old saint and there's really not a lot about him. A widower, he had one son Fiacre, who also became a saint.

Fiacc lived somewhere in the early Fifth to early Sixth century and was a convert of St. Patrick. He was the son of a prince (MacDara) and nephew of a bard (Dubhtach) so he was very well connected. He seems to have inherited a bit of the bard - he may have written a "metrical psalter" about the life of St. Patrick. A metrical psalter is (at least the way I understand it) a poem written as a hymn. The "Old Hundreth" is an example.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

I'm still looking for this online, but I can't find it, just references to to it.

Another work attributed to him is a hymn about St. Brigid, "Audite virginis laudes" which details some of Brigid's miracles. The only thing is, neither this work, nor the piece about Patrick can be properly attributed to Fiacc because there isn't enough evidence, just legend.

Okay, you've got me: I chose Fiacc because of Brigid. And he's Irish. All I can say is "Nil aon tintean mar do thintean fein". (There's no hearth like your own hearth.)

Better Know a Saint: Saint Denis

2009-10-09T23:01:00.003-05:00

This seems like an appropriate Saint, because the movie Zombieland seems to popular at the moment. Yeah, there's a connection; no Denis was not a zombie. Well, probably not.

Pope Fabian decided to send Denis to Paris to convert the numerous pagan priests still in abundance. The locals liked their pagan ways and decided to behead Denis on the hill known as Montremartre. You'd think the beheading would be the end of poor Denis, but according to accounts, he picked up his head, cradled it in his arm and continues walking along for two miles. When the sermon he had begun (before he was rudely interrupted) ended he dropped dead and was buried in that spot.

To me that sounds very zombie like. And a way to get some converts, I'd bet

Better Know a Saint: St. John The Hermit

2009-10-07T12:48:00.003-05:00

In looking for today's saint, I came across a site whose owner has a very personal connection to St. John the Hermit. More about that later.

John the Hermit was born in Egypt and was part of a group of ascetics known for their healing skills. The original group of ascetics numbered 35. By the time the group had traveled to Cyprus, Turkey and finally Crete, their number had risen to 99, including John. What happened on the last leg of the voyage (around the year 1300) is most interesting.

A maritime storm made it impossible to berth in southern Crete as they had intended. As a result, they landed on Gavdos, the southernmost Greek island. The storm lasted 24 days - that's one stalled low pressure system! Upon reaching their final destination, the ascetics realized that something, make that someone, was missing: John. God made John invisible, and he had never boarded the boat.

Realizing they had left John in Gavdos, they called out for him from the beach. Hearing their call, John said a prayer, tossed his tunic into the sea and sailed to Crete in only three hours. Does this make John the first (and maybe only) surfer saint?

When he arrived in Azogires, John healed the residents of a prison. After getting their freedom, the grateful ex-prisoners built a church around the cave he lived in. This brings me back to the beginning, to a family that has a very personal connection with John the Hermit.

I'll just point you to Lucky's blog, Azogires - The Alpha Kafenion Tales and stories about Azogires and The Alpha Cafenion. He tells of the importance of John the Hermit to his family and the history of John in Azogires. After reading his blog, Crete is definitely added to my list of places to go.

2009-10-06T15:37:00.003-05:00

Here's an interesting project, and one that's sure to raise the hackles of many Christians. Conservapedia, modeled after Wikipedia, has decided to rewrite the Holy Bible to fit their worldview. Welcome to the Conservative Bible Project. What does the Project intend to do? Evidently the King James Version contains a great deal of Liberal Bias, and they are going to correct it by:

1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias

2. Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, "gender inclusive" language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity

3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level

4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop; defective translations use the word "comrade" three times as often as "volunteer"; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as "word", "peace", and "miracle".

5. Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as "gamble" rather than "cast lots"; using modern political terms, such as "register" rather than "enroll" for the census
Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.

6. Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning

7. Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story

8. Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels

9. Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."

Here's some tidbits from the Gospel of Mark for you to peruse:

And Jesus warned them, "I caution you, beware of the bread of the intellectuals and the bread of Herod."
And as Jesus emerged from the water, the heavens opened and the Divine Guide descended like a dove upon Him:

And lastly, this is from the Epistle to Philemon:

From the KJV:

Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow labourer,

From the new Conservative Bible:

Paul, in prison for Jesus Christ, and our brother Timothy, say to our friend and fellow volunteer Philemon,

And why the verse is being changed:

"fellow labourer" is misleading today, and falsely connotes socialism

I don't think this will fly well with those Christians who accept only the KJV, and their are quite a few denominations who fit into that category.

The Conservative Bible: Because the everybody else's bibles have a well known Liberal Bias.

I haven't been here since May?

2009-10-05T17:26:00.002-05:00

Yeah, that's sadly true. The fusion surgery isn't until February. I've had problems keeping up with anything that involves sitting. But I have finally found a chair setting the best fit for me. Since my driving is at a minimum for the moment, I promise to post at least every other day out of sheer boredom. After all there are lots of saints out there whom no one knows about, and I feel ~~bored enough~~ duty bound to bring them to you.

Better Know a Saint: St. Celestine V

2009-05-19T15:35:00.003-05:00

Every mother wants her children to be little saints, but in this case little Peter really did his mother proud. Pietro di Murrone, a bookish young lad who liked keep busy lest the Devil tempt him, went on to become Pope Celestine.

Pietro became a hermit at age 20, but ran into a little problem: how can you be a hermit if other hermits keep wanting to hang around and be hermits together? Kind of defeats the purpose, y'know. So Peter formed the Benedictine Celestine Order.

Not being a particularly political person during a time when the Church was highly political (you have to read it to believe it), Pietro would have preferred to live a hermitic life. And he tried. Until the day three guys showed up and told him he'd been elected pope. Not exactly thrilled, he did consider running off, but after a chat with God, accepted his "promotion" and chose the name Celestine V.

That he was more spiritual than political didn't help, at least in terms of job security. Not to mention his inability to say "no" to anybody, his tenure as pope lasted all of five months. Why? He quit the job. To him it came down to one choice: his job or his soul, and he chose the latter. But nobody had ever quit the job before, so what to do?

Eventually a new election election was held, Cardinal Benedetto Gaetani became Boniface VIII. Not entirely certain Celestine's followers wouldn't try to reinstate him or something, Boniface tried to arrest him and keep him under watch. Celestine escaped and tried to make it to Greece, but was thwarted by the weather. After being captured by Boniface, this simple old man, who wished a simple life of prayer and study was confined to a small cell, attended by two of his adherents and eventually murdered by Boniface.

Not a happy ending at all.

Better Know a Saint: St. Pachomius

2009-05-09T12:06:00.003-05:00

What's a hard working Egyptian fella going to do after leaving the Roman army? In Pachomius's case, it was to convert to Christianity in 314 BCE and build a new type of monastary.

Pachiomus watched Christians bring food and clothes to prison inmates at Thebes and was impressed by their behavior. After leaving the army he became a Christian, and spent several years following an elderly monk named Palemon, living the austere life of prayer and manual labor that St. Anthony of Egypt had created.

Eventually Pachiomus had an idea. Another monk, Macarius had created "larves" where monks who were unable to keep living a solitary life because of physical or mental problems could still be part of the religious community. Pachomius set about organizing these cells into a formal organization that moved individual hermits into formalized communities - the first monestaries and nunneries. To put that into religious geek-speak, monks went from living a hermitic (or eremitic lifestyle), to a communal (or cenobitic lifestyle). While St. Anthony usually gets the credit for the monastic communities as we think of them today, it was really Pachiomus who created them, on the banks of the lovely Egyptian Nile River.

He's also credited with inventing prayer rope, a descendant of the rosary.

However, St. Anthony is still the go-to guy when in comes to lost stuff. Now where did I put my Blackberry?

2009-05-09T12:02:00.002-05:00

Every once in a while, things conspire to toss something into my life from several directions at once. This time it's a book, Wage Theft in America by Kim Bobo. Within the past twenty-four hours I've had two emails from two different people (who don't know each other) and come across a diary on Daily Kos about this book.

Kim Bobo is the the founder and executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice, an organization founded in 1996 to protect worker rights and encourage faith organizations to become involved in worker rights issues.

I haven't read this book yet, but it is definitely going on my "must read" list.

Crossposted at Blue Cat Lair.

Don't come around much anymore...

2009-05-07T00:51:00.002-05:00

Since the last time I posted, I've had two shoulder surgeries, I'm getting ready to have a spinal fusion next month, and my HD blew up. I now have a new kickin' system that does the job and then some.

I took one of those little "Find out what religion you really are, and here is the result:


Liberal Quaker is my top match on the Selectsmart.com quiz: Spiritual Belief System Selector by SelectSmart.com staff
Take this quiz	Take a different quiz

Actually I am a very liberal Episcopalian, but "Liberal Quaker" is cool too. And Quakers usually worship silently quiet, which is very nice.

About the Jerusalem Document and all that...

2008-07-13T20:51:00.001-05:00

Can't we all just love one another as Christ loved us?

Lupus

2008-07-13T20:26:00.005-05:00

It sucks. I've had no energy to post, but with the help of the wonder drugs plaquinil and prednisone, I now have about an hour or two of energy a day, with which I am going to waste an hour blogging. I'll also cut-and-paste the same boring entries to Blue Cat Lair and my Facebook pages, so for the next month or so there really won't be really topical stuff posted anywhere, just ramblings.

It's forced my to reschedule my trip to Idaho until late September. This is one time I won't argue back to the Big Guy. It's in the low hundreds there now, and while I used to love that temperature range, right now, I'll admire it from afar.

I have come across something that is very intriguing and has made for some good listening and spirit warming. It's Saint John Coltrane Church in San Francisco. I highly recommend going there on Tuesday afternoons for the Uplift Radio Broadcast. If you can pick up locally, tune in from Noon to 4. If not, you can listen online: KPOO 89.5,

When I was living in Philadelphia I used to go to Jazz Vespers at Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church, which, I learned today have ended due to lack of funding. I'm hope the tradition will continue somewhere in the area; it's a joyous noise too precious to lose.

In memorium: Tim Russell

2008-06-13T22:55:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I loved him, sometimes he made yell at him for asking really stupid "gotcha" question.

Sometimes though, his "gotcha" question was right on the mark.

MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: America remembers September 11, 2001. In Iraq, six months ago, the war began with shock and awe. Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on MEET THE PRESS:

VICE PRES. DICK CHENEY: My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.

That's the interview I'll always remember for two reasons that I intuitly knew.

One, it was obvious Cheney was either lying or was incredibly, stupidly naive.
Two, the look on Tim's face the said the same thing I knew.

Tim was NBC News’ Washington bureau chief and host of Meet the Press.

He died of a heart attack at the Washing bureau, doing what he loved.

The most touching moment of MSNBC coverage, was when Keith Olbermann fought back tears, while talking about his personal relationship with Tim.

Well, Timmeh, Sunday mornings will never be the same without you. I'll miss you.

Tim, Longing For One More Day
When we lose someone we love it seems that time stands still. What moves through us is a silence... a quiet sadness... A longing for one more day... one more word... one more touch... We may not understand why you left this earth so soon, or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget. We will see you again some day, in a heavenly place where there is no parting. A place where there are no words that mean good-bye.
An Irish funeral prayer, from a friend's funeral

Better Know My Favorite Saint! May 13 Edition

2008-05-13T03:31:00.003-05:00

Julian of Norwitch

The Lady Juliana was born about 1342, and when she was thirty years old, she became gravely ill and was expected to die. Then, on the seventh day, the medical crisis passed, and she had a series of fifteen visions, or "showings," in which she was led to contemplate the Passion of Christ. These brought her great peace and joy. She became an anchoress, living in a small hut near to the church in Norwich, where she devoted the rest of her life to prayer and contemplation of the meaning of her visions. The results of her meditations she wrote in a book called Revelations of Divine Love, available in modern English in a Penguin Paperback edition. During her lifetime, she became known as a counselor, whose advice combined spiritual insight with common sense, and many persons came to speak with her. Since her death, many more have found help in her writings.

The precise date of her death is uncertain.

Her book is a tender meditation on God's eternal and all-embracing love, as expressed to us in the Passion of Christ.

She describes seeing God holding a tiny thing in his hand, like a small brown nut, which seemed so fragile and insignificant that she wondered why it did not crumble before her eyes. She understood that the thing was the entire created universe, which is as nothing compared to its Creator, and she was told, "God made it, God loves it, God keeps it."

She was concerned that sometimes when we are faced wiith a difficult moral decision, it seems that no matter which way we decide, we will have acted from motives that are less then completely pure, so that neither decision is defensible. She finally wrote: "It is enough to be sure of the deed. Our courteous Lord will deign to redeem the motive."

The is more on Dame Julian here

With thanks and gratitute to Anglican Resources at SoAJ

Presiding Bishop issues statement on Zimbabwe crisis

2008-05-13T03:10:00.004-05:00

May 7, 2008

[Episcopal News Service]

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori issued a statement May 6 on the political and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, calling for all Episcopalians to advocate for an international response.

Robert Mugabe's government, shesays, has engaged in a "systematic repression of human rights, democracy, ane economic opportunity for the people of Zimbabwe."
In her statement, Jefferts Schori joins with the archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Archbishop of Cape Town, in calling for an international arms embargo against the government of Zimbabwe.

Urging all Episcopalians to continue to pray for the people of Zimbabwe, Jefferts Schori says: "In a land that has suffered so greatly in recent years as a result of 165,000 percent inflation, 80 percent unemployment, and poverty so drastic that life expectancy is now only in the mid-30s, the need for healing and transformation could not be more urgent."

The full text of the Presiding Bishop's statement can be viewed
here.

Better Know a Saint! May 6 Edition

2008-05-06T23:10:00.004-05:00

St. Petronax

Abbot, called “the Second Founder of Montecassino.” Not to be confused with the Monte Cristo sandwich which is ham and cheese between two slices of french toast. It's usually served with pancake syrup which ups its yum quotient!

Anyway, Petronax joined the Benedictines and in 717 went to Montecassino at the urging of Pope Benedict. It seems the Lombards left a mess when the stayed at the Montecassino in 580.

It wasn't as if it was deserted. Hermits occupied the Abbey, and St. Benedict's tomb was in fairly good shape. With the help of the Hermits, Petronax rebuilt the Abbey. The Pope was so pleased, Petronax was elected abbot for the newly refurbished abbey. For thirty years he was in charge of the Montecassino , and it once again became a respected Benedictine institution.

He is buried near his sister Scolastica, beneath the High Altar of the Abbey. St. Benedict is the Patron Saint of engineers, speleologists (people with an unhealthy urge to shimmy through caves) and of land reclaimination. He'd probably feel at home in our society, since land reclaimation is a big field.

He was proclaimed main Patron of Europe by Pope Paul VI on the occasion of his visit to Montecassino on October 24, 1964 with the following motivation: "Messenger of Peace, Unifier, Master of Civilization and in particular Herald of Faith and Iniziator of monastic life in Western Europe". (Papal Brief - Pacis Nuntius).

Way to go, Petronax!

Land of the Milk and Honey

2008-05-06T22:58:00.004-05:00

Here's a nice place to meditate. It's the Japanese Garden at the Ellington Agricultural Research Center in Nashville.

It's a favored spot for sipping bevvies and reading. This week's bevvie is from Starbucks, their new Honey Latte. It's a warm latte, with the usual foam on top and drizzled with honey. It's a good idea, but the clover honey was very bland and sunk to the bottom of the milk. A nice orange blossom honey would be sweet but not overly so.

Starbucks' Bevvie of Milk and Honey

2008-05-06T22:45:00.005-05:00

Or as it as properly called a honey latte. I had a grande (medium) 2% honey latte with whip. While it was good it was a little too sweet for me. They were using clover honey, and I think orange blossom honey would have tasted better. Tupolo would also added a nice smokey sweetness.

Another good think Starbucks is doing is Blank and White cookies, two to a packet, for $1.50. They are about 2 1/2 inches and wrapped in a cello that will not strip the icing off. If you put them in your fridge, they are much easier to get out with less icing slippage.

I hear they are getting out of the music business. How sad! I love their eclectic selections. The in store music piped in is still tremendous.

Big news! We all know Howard is back. He is bringing better Swiss machines which will us a more traditional, more rounded shot.

Starbucks has always been my favorite after church place. Many other seem to feel the same way, because the Youth Group from the local Baptist church is always there,too.

It's the little things that make life nice.

OK, I have disabled the translator...

2008-04-08T22:31:00.003-05:00

I don't think Tamil will be popping up anymore. I haven't the faintest idea what I wrote in Tamil. It was something to the affect that "why is this text in Tamil and what does it say." I hope I don't start any wars over this.

Tomorrow, post-migraine, I have some actual content that I'll post. About real people, saying stupid, or maybe incredibly profound things, and I'll ramble on about a new recording we picked up at Starbucks. I'll review a new bevvie too.

Until then, Aloha!

வாட் டோஎஸ் திஸ் செ இன் தமிழ்?

2008-04-08T22:18:00.003-05:00

Now I'm getting used to using both hands again. My only question is: why is my title in Tamil. I went and figured out I had the Tamil translator turned on. I didn't know Blogspot had such a thing! I checked for Klingon and Elvish, but no such luck. I have no idea what it says, but I hope it doesn't offend anyone!

A one arm typist goes into a blog...

2008-01-24T06:15:00.000-06:00

Insert your own punchline here.

Yes, I did it again. This time I had a surgery done at the Premier Orthopaedics Surgery Center. Before you shudder, I'd rather have surgery at a center like this. Uncrowded, really personalized service. And it costs a fraction of what a hospital surgery was. Plus, I was in at 11:30, out at 3:30, just time to have mozzerella sticks at Sonic.

The initial diagnosis was "impingment sydrome". Being me, things are never easy. I ended up with:

arthroscopic SLAP repair, left shoulder
arthroscopic subacromial decompression
arthroscopic excision distal clavicle, left shoulder
arthroscopic extensive debridement left shoulder

It only took 1 1/2 hours to do all this. I actually feel better now and have already my first PT, in which I amazed the PT with fact that I am hypermobile without needing to tell her.

Many thanks to Dr. Joseph A Wieck, Pat and Kathy. Y'all did well ! In thanks and praise of these wonderful healers, here's a little ditty from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Irregular postings to come, as the shoulder improves.

A prayer request

2007-11-21T23:42:00.000-06:00

My husband's ex-wife is dying of a brain tumor. We don't know if it's malignant, but that really doesn't matter because the tumor is agressive and most likely fatal. Her doctors, so far, are saying she has three months.

Please, please pray for Juli's health and the fortitude to accept each day and each challenge with grace. Also, pray for her daughter, Julie, her son Todd and for Chris (Julie's husband) and their children, Forrest and Romana. Julie is taking care of her mother at home, a difficult position for a child to be in.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T23:31:00.000-06:00

It's going to be a great Thanksgiving around. I've survived a broken tibial plateau, two dislocations from the same leg, and a concussion. What am greatful for all this. I seem to have really strong bones, and it would have been much worse.

Of course, I can't remember much September, but from what I've told I didn't miss much because not much has happened in Iran.

Here's a new member of our family I'm most grateful for: Loki! He's about two and is a former feral who was adopted twice, once by Mama Tiffany and then by me. He likes to be a solitary cat, so all the attention can be on him.

It's Saturday Night!!!!

2007-08-11T23:08:00.000-05:00

Our Saturday nights are quiet, getting tomorrows Sunday's finest ironed, cleaning shoes and figuring out what brunch will be when we come home.

The things are on my mind tonight, the mine collapse and the bridge collape. I my gut feeling is those in the mines are hin the hand of god, as all those trapped under the bridge.

These are sad thoughts, but remember this song from the Carter Family?

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

I was standing by my window
on one cold and cloudy day
when I saw that hearse come rolling
for to carry my mother away

Lord I told that undertaker
undertaker please drive slow
for this body you are hauling
Lord, I hate to see her go

I will follow close behind her
try to hold up and be brave
but I could not hide my sorrow
when they laid her in her grave

Will the circle be unbroken
Bye and Bye Lord Bye and Bye
There's a better Home Awaiting
in the sky Lord in the sky
We may miss people on this Earth, but we never lose them.
Hank and I send prayers to the victims, family and friends of those affected by these untimely tragedies.

I'm finally back

2007-08-07T15:36:00.001-05:00

I found it very hard to sit and type while on heavy painkillers so I took a break. So did my tibial plateau - OK that's bad humor. I have some other stuff to catch up on, like about 800 or so emails, so once I separate the spam from the real stuff I'll come back. It will probably be Thursday.

I know there's lots to rebuild, but better later than sooner, in this case...

Better Know a Saint, March Madness Edition

2007-04-03T05:49:00.000-05:00

I know it's a little late, but that's what a kidney stone does to you.

Who is this elusive saint? I know you are all pouring over your calendars, your BCP, even the internet for RC and Orthodox saints. Let met tell you what I found.

Nada. It seems basketball isn't worthy of saint, but I am going to change all that.

Here are a few Saints that exist now, from the Patron Saints Index:

Hubert of Liege, Patron of show dogs
Sebastian, Atheletes in General
Eustachius, Hunters
Julian the Hospitaller, yes even a juggler gets a saint
Julian the Hospitaller, Patron of archers (busy guy!)

Now this is what gets to me: where is the saint for basketball? It we weren't the the last throws of March Madness, I might let this go. But, I'm very bored, so I'm speaking for our teams. (P.S. Temple Fighting Owls --- come on guys, you can do it!)

The first of candidate St. Joseph of Paterno. OK, he's not dead, he's the coach at Penn State. And a very good one at that.

My second choice for the saint of basketball is: St. George the Victory Bringer (sometimes known as Gozo). He's also the patron saint of scouting, which could stand as baseball or boy and girl scounts.

So my vote goes to George, aka Gozo!

By the way, Here's to the University of Florida giving a big Gator Chomp to Ohio State!

Happy anniversary to us!

2007-03-20T23:50:00.001-05:00

This is us on March 20, 1987!

And this is us today: Scary, huh!

Tomorrow, we'll do another episode of Better Know a Saint, and this one isn't listed on your Episcopal Kalendar! Not in the BOCP either!

Peace be with y'all!

Some serious thoughts on Lent

2007-03-19T15:36:00.000-05:00

I do get serious occasionally. Here's something to ponder from the "Renewed for Life" Daily Lenten Meditations from the works of Henri J.M. Nouwen. If you can find this in your church, snap it up! It's a day-by-day meditation through Lent.

This is St. Joseph's day and in the Catholic Church, as well as some others, St. Joseph is frequently referred to as the patron saint of carpenters. The verse used is Psalm 42:1 -

As a deer longs for flowing streams,

so my soul longs for you, O God.

We are all seaching for something, but sometimes we don't have the faintest idea of what it is. We just can't conceptualize what is is that will make us happy. We only know when we get it we'll be happy. I don't know about you, but that doesn't work for me. Deers need streams to live - it's their water source, and they don't sit around for a stream to come to them, they go the stream. They know where streams are and they go to them. Like the deer, we where the streams are, but we just wait for them to come to us. Why, I don't know, maybe it is human pride. Maybe we are uncomfortable actually talking to God outside our prescribed time in church.

Quakers do a very good job of it, I think. They don't talk as much as they listen. If you'd read any Quaker books or articles you'd understand. If I weren't an Episkie I'd be a Quaker, but I don't know what I'd do with that almost irrational love of ritual, or my Book of Common Prayer.

I don't actually hear the voice of God (although I think he would sound like Morgan Freeman) but there is always a calm that comes over me and my mind clears. Then, tada! Things seem very clear. I think Bob Marley said it best (yesh, I am a huge Bob Marley fan and if the Men's Club ever does a Caribbean/Reggae night I am soooo there!)

I Can See Clearly Now, by Bob Marley

I can see clearly
now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day
Oh yes I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-shiny day look all around, there's nothin' but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin' but blue skies
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day
bright (bright), bright (bright),
Sun-Shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day It's gonna be a bright (bright),
bright (bright) Sun-Shiny day
At least I think these are the right lyrics - it's been awhile.

Yes I also have One World stuck somewhere in the recesses of my mind.

I'm still working on this

2007-03-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

Osteoarthritis in the low spine is nothing to crow about, but the injections are helping.

So, what's up for Lent, everyone? I am a chicken - I did not give anything up. Things are crazy enough as it is!

I do have a few Lenten thought though, first on the political side:

Would it possible to for the Administration to tell the truth during Lent? I already know the answer to that, and it's a big, fat NOOOOOOOOOO! Why change now.

How are all y'all preparing for Lent?

Fare thee Well, Molly Ivins

2007-02-03T00:06:00.001-06:00

I never had the honor of meeting Molly. She had more brains in her pinkie than Shrub has in his head, which explains the mess we are in now: Civil War and sectarian violence in Iraq, an economy that's only good for a CEO.

She'll not be forgotten, that's for sure. Here's a link for a great tribute for at Creators.com:

A few little rules.

2007-02-02T23:49:00.000-06:00

This sayeth Brigid, the sacred cow of Bovina Sancta:

1. Thou shalt not create flame wars, unless they are funny and pleasing to my big brown eyes.

2. Thou shalt not post copyrighted material

3. Thou shall follow Fair Use Rules (links coming soon)

4. Thou shalt respect one another.

5. Thou shalt not use Pam's photos without her permission (Holy Pink Unicorn, Batman, she really gets pissed when people do that).

6. If thou has good martini recipes sharing them would be a mitzvah!

7. Thou art always welcome to share rituals. We all learn from on another.

8. Thou shalt work for you favorite president candidate and VOTE! No whining.

9. Thou may post freely, just remember Commandments 2 and 3.

10. No sniveling about who's better: the Flying Spaghetti Monster or the Invisible Pink Unicorn.
After all, we're just singers in rock and roll band.

That's all from me now, my little herons!

I don't care what religion you are.

2007-02-02T23:41:00.000-06:00

Really. I'm Episkie, therefore that probably be my main outlook. I may throw some Quakerism, Buddish, Wiccan and Catholic stuff just to confuse you. Whatever you religious persuasion, or if you are agnostic or athiest, you are still welcome here. So give a holler, and stay awhile!

I'm baaaaaaack!

2007-02-02T23:35:00.000-06:00

Been a while huh. Here's what I'm going to do. Since the lupus is leaving me with a bad case of brain fog (I have an MRA next week), I am going to use Bovina as my main blog. Which is good and bad, you see, since I'm combining Chasing Waves of Light, my classic rock blog and Blue Cat Lair, my democratic blog.

It should be quite an experiment. For me, whenever I get in a groove, I really need to stay there before thing go off track.

So let's see how this Grand Illusion goes.

It's Christmas Time!

2006-12-08T17:18:00.000-06:00

A plug for AnySoldier.com

2006-11-28T23:30:00.000-06:00

During the holiday season, please remember our men and women in the Armed Forces. Any Soldier is a great way to do that. Check out AnySoldier.com to find out more. Send some love their way!

Book of Common Prayer now in a PalmOS version!

2006-11-28T23:13:00.000-06:00

This tidbit is from ENS. If you have a PalmOS, here's a really great new thing: the eCP: electronic Common Prayer, courtesy of Church Publishing.

"eCP is a terrific way to have a rich personal devotional life, even if you're constantly on the go," said Susan Erdey, Church Publishing's director of electronic publishing and the eCP project leader. "Anyone can pray the Daily Office — on a bus, subway or train during a commute, or waiting at the airport for a flight. You can pause for Noonday Prayer before eating lunch. I spend the first part of my commute reading Morning Prayer on my Treo before answering e-mail. It's a much healthier way to start the day."

I think this is a very good idea. A Treo is smaller than the BCP and can be taken and used anywhere. Plus it's interactive.

I'm not a shill (I don't even have a PalmOS), I just think this is one more really great way to add a new, modern dimension to our prayer life. Here's the link if you want to find out more.

Of Miracles and Magic

2006-11-28T10:26:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I come across something on YouTube that is absolutely magical. This is an ad for the Peruvian Cancer Foundation. It is a wonderous ad.

While watching this I could't help what it would be like to watch our Lord perform a miracle. Watching the little girl's mother, I can imagine what it must have felt like for Mary and Martha to see Lazarus alive again.

When you buy your gifts this season, please remember those organizations who help those who could use the healing hand of Jesus.

In Thanksgiving for Thomas Ken

2006-11-23T16:37:00.000-06:00

Every Sunday thousands and thousands of Christians sing the Doxology in praise of God's Blessing, and that's not including the occasions Garrison Keillor sings it on A Prairie Home Companion.

Thomas Ken was ordained an Anglican priest in 1662 and became Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1685. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to sign James II’s “Declaration of Indulgence”, which would have restored Catholicism to Britain.

The Doxology

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

These four verses are actually the end of another one of Ken's hymns,

Awake, My Soul, and With The Sun

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.

By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven’s propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.

In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.

All praise to Thee, Who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I slept
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.

Heav’n is, dear Lord, where’er Thou art,
O never then from me depart;
For to my soul ’tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

I would not wake nor rise again
And Heaven itself I would disdain,
Wert Thou not there to be enjoyed,
And I in hymns to be employed.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Better Know a Saint, Vol. 3

2006-11-18T09:06:00.000-06:00

Today's royals have it pretty easy. Their most pressing problems are the paparazzi and tabloids. It could be a bit messier in the past.

Today's saint, Margaret of Scotland was about 1045, died Novemgber 16 1092, hence her feast day. She was the daughter of Edward the Exile and Agatha, who was related to Gisela, the wife of St. Stephen of Hungary. Menfolk in the family may have fled to Hungary when Canute too over the country for a bit, bit that might be more legend than anything else.

Even though Margaret's career ambition were more along religious lines, when Margaret and her mother were on their way to the Continent, a storm drove their ship to Scotland, where eventually Malcolm III married Margaret. Malcolm was obviously very patient, because Margaret kept coming up with new religious duties to get out of the way before she entered connubial bliss.

Once queen, however, she realized she could be both a working wife and a working queen. She was very active in Church affairs, helped reform things like Lenten Fasts, Easter celebrations, and became an advocate for married women within the church. Abuses practiced towards women were done away with, and the church became kindler and gentler for the moment.

She founded many churches, including the Abbey of Dunfermline. Her heavily adorned book of the Gospelsis now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She allegedly fortold day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on November 16, 1093. Her body interred beneath the high altar at Dunfermline, which also boasts a relic of the true cross.

She is the patron saint of reading, which is why she has always been dear to my heart. She is usually pictured holding a book.

Better Know a Saint, Volume 2: Samuel Seabury

2006-11-16T13:32:00.000-06:00

Now here's a man I really like: a headstrong Connecticut man who refused to accept the word "no" from the Church of England.

During the Revolutionary War, the Church of England in the United States decided to change its name to the Episcopal Church. That went over with the English about as well as changing the name of "french fries" to "freedom fries" went over with the French and most of us leftist American connoisseurs of anything fried.

However, the newly formed Episcopal Church was lacking something: bishops. It's not easy to be Episcopal without episcopates. And you definitely are at a disadvantage when you want to ordain new priest and other such bishoply functions. So, off went Samuel Seabury to England to be consecrated a bishop, which didn't turn out as planned.

This is one reason why mixing church and state just doesn't work. At the time, to be consecrated as anything, you had to swear allegiance to the Church and the Crown. That left Samuel in a bit of a bind. Seabury had been a Loyalist and even wrote some amusing anti-rebellion pamphlets that got him jailed by the rebels during the war. But the Royal Cabinet was still miffed about the whole rebellion thing and refused to allow Seabury's consecration. Why? Consecrating Seabury would be interfering in US matters.

So, if the English wouldn't consecrate what was he to do? Seabury decided to travel to Scotland and found friendly bishops in Aberdeen, Moray and Ross who said "Aye, we'll consecrate ye!". So on November 14, 1784, Samuel Seabury was consecrated as the first Episcopal bishop of the very young United States.

A few years later, English bishops would begin to consecrate American bishops because some people in the US weren't thrilled Seabury had been consecrated in Scotland. Actually they just didn't like him much anyway seeing how he sided with the Monarch. However, he worked extremely hard to propagate the Episcopal faith, and managed to visit the entire see and confirmed over 10,000 people. (A couple of my ancestors are among them!)

So while Seabury is not a saint, he certainly deserves props for expanding the Episcopal church to all American, whether or not they had been Royalists or Rebels.

And that is saint-worthy material!

Better Know a Saint, Vol. 1

2006-11-13T11:17:00.000-06:00

This series is an unabashed ripoff of Stephen Colbert's "Better Know a District" series he does on the The Colbert Report. There's just so many saints out there, but if you ask around people might be able to list about 15, mostly the ones that show up as names of churches. There's saints in the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox churches, and the Episcopal Church. OK, we ripped off saints from the other two but we're newbies and I don't even know if we have a saint application process.

Today in the Episcopal Kalendar (hey, that's what says on my calendar) nobody is listed, so I had to hunt around to find a saint. Thanks to Catholic Online, I found one: Saint Gredifael!

Let's see he's famous for being either Welsh or Breton, and was an abbot of Whitland in Dyfed, Wales. From what I found, he had no healings...no visions. However he did travel with St. Paterno from Brittany to Wales. Wow, being a traveling companion is an easy way to become a saint. No nasty bloodletting or illness or anything. Maybe it was a really rough crossing...

Gredifael does have a great church in Penmynydd though. He founded a church there in the 6th century, and the current church was built in the 14th century.

Brigid teneo optimus

Brigid, the Holy Cow, says it's Paternus, not Paterno.

Joe Paterno's not a saint yet? The guy's coached over 630 games! 41 seasons as coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions! Pretty impressive, I'd say. And that was the first game he has ever missed since 1977, thanks to a sideline injury on November 4th. He wasn't at the last game when Penn routed my beloved Temple Owls 47-0. Man, that really hurts! But I'm still flying my Temple flag!

Saint Paternus is the hermit fond of preaching, performing charitable acts and self-mortification. His feast day is April 15th, maybe we'll do more about him then. I'm not sure how much we can dig up on a hermit, but we'll try.

Random Thoughts, Pre-Christmas Edition

2006-11-06T06:02:00.000-06:00

Hank and I went to the mall on Thursday, after I early voted. The Christmas season has arrived, if you go by the commercials on television and radio, not to mention the decorations at the mall and the Christmas music that's being piped in.

I'm not really a material person. I'd rather go to thift stores for furniture, but I'll be the first to admit I love Williams-Sonoma for kitchenware. But I don't have to have the newest version of anything, music cds and movie DVDS excepted.

Watching the people in the stores, especially the younger ones, is kind of depressing. The seem to be possessed by the spirit of overindulgence. The more stuff they have the happier they are. If they have the latest fashion accessory, drive the right car, belong to the right health club, they are doing well. I wonder about these people.

They are worshipping stuff. And every year, this frenzy starts earlier. I've even seen houses with their decorations up already.

All this in mind, I'd like to put in a word for Thanksgiving, which seems to be getting lost in the rush, except in the grocery stores, where it seems the message is "hey, it's only one day, so pig out!"

I'm a direct descendent of John and Priscilla Alden and George Soule and one other Mayflower couple whose names escapes me. They came with what little they were allowed to bring, because face it, there wasn't alot of storage space on the Mayflower. But they survived, just barely, the first year. When they had their first Thanksgiving, they had a great deal to be truly thankful for. The first was that they were even alive. The second was that the local Native Americans showed them how to work with the strange plants and soil. So at least, for that one year, the two sides had peace. (Yeah, it went down hill from there, but that's a story for another time.)

This year, try really celebrating Thanksgiving mindfully. Give thanks for what you have that really matters: your family, your freedom to worship, your health.

Christmas will still be there.

Welcome to Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori!

2006-11-04T21:53:00.000-06:00

This morning at 11 a.m. Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori officially becane the Episcopal Church's 26th Presiding Bishop! Call me tickled pink, it's a girl!

Now there's a role model for our daughters, sisters, neices, mothers and cousins. The first person Jesus told to go proclaim the Good News of his Resurrection was a woman (John 20:17), and now truely we have another woman chosen again, by the grace of God.

Congratulations to you, Katherine, our bishop, chief pastor and sister in Christ!

If you should ever come to Nashville, you'll have lots of friends, and we sure do hope you can visit. (Do you like chili? Just asking..that's all.)

We have a bishop!

2006-11-01T06:02:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, October 27, 2006, the clergy and lay delegated elected John C. Bauerschmidt as our new Bishop. Amazingly enough it only took twelve ballots.* You can read more here. I like the guy, and I'm not at all biased, even though I'm from New York state.

In his responses, he talk about C.S. Lewis and how his writing influenced him as a teenager:

At the age of fifteen I was led to C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, a book whose title I misunderstood to be mildly critical of Christian belief. That a person could make such a mistake seems incredible to me now (?!), but I swear it was so for me. God has a wonderful sense of humor. Lewis’ arguments for Christian faith opened up to me the whole world of classical Christian conviction. What I read echoed within me: nothing manipulative, but instead a deep appreciation of the past, a reasonable appeal to the conscience, and a steady love of beauty and order that moved both heart and mind. It seemed to me that Jesus Christ brought these things together. I recognized in this particular echoing the things that mattered most to me: “the big questions”, and the broad sketches of some answers. This has made all the difference to my life.

I 'm a cradle Episcopalian, but after my late teens, after being very active in the Church, I decided that I needed to explore the religious world, especially since within my own family I have practicing Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Russian Orthodox, Jewish, Quakers and Pagan and Lenape beliefs. I learnt much from all of them, but one snowy afternoon at a B&N int Utah, I picked up a copy Mere Christianity, and I suddenly found my self going back home and delving deeply into the spiritual heritage of the Episcopal side of the family.

When I read Bauerschmidt's explanation of how C.S. Lewis, I just had a feeling, he'd be our Bishop. That's really logical, isn't it! (By now, I'm sure y'all have figured out I don't think more intuitively than logically.)

*You might think that electing a ballot after twelve ballot is a lot, but I have hear stories, late at night around the campfire, that some elections went higher than thirty ballots!!! (That's your Halloween horror story, btw...)

Your Church Calendars are in!

2006-10-24T12:32:00.000-05:00

They can be picked up Saturday, October 28 at Christ Church Cathedral. I will be at Anne Magruder's car, which will be parked in one of the handicapped space, with your calendars after voting has been completed (hopefully with the election of a bishop!). Your invoice will be in the package.

For those of you who don't pick up the calendars, my husband Hank and I will be calling your Church offices to set up a delivery time.

I hope to meet you on Saturday!

God Willing, We Will Elect A New Bishop This Saturday!

2006-10-24T12:18:00.000-05:00

Our nominees are the following, and you can click on their names to see their resumes, responses and full profiles:

Rev. John C. Baurschmidt, Diocese of Louisiana

Rev. James L. Burns, Diocese of New York

Rev. Russell Jones Levenson, Jr. Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast

Election will be at the Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville on Saturday, October 28th. Check-in begins early, but I'm not sure of the time. I will check with Anne Magruder and post it later.

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for this Diocese that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
BCP 818

I normally don't mix politic and religion (ha!)

2006-10-24T12:10:00.000-05:00

I am sick of dirty politics. I am also sick of the twisted views of some of the Republican candidates. For the record: MARTIN LUTHER KING WAS NOT A REPUBLICAN!!!

OK now, these are some of Republican candidates whose "values" are offensive and sometimes racist. Note: The views are my own and do not represent what Jesus may or may not have said.

OK, my friends, it's time to do some serious politicking. These are all races in which the candidates below have done a bad, bad thing: Check them out, and if one of them is in your district, and find out what their opponent stands for. And for crying out loud:

VOTE ON NOVEMBER 7TH! IT'S YOUR RIGHT!

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

And yes, I am a Democrat, and proud of it. I am particularly offended by the treatment Harold Ford, Jr is being treated by the Corker campaign. If you live in Tennessee, get the facts before you cast your vote!

In Remembrance

2006-09-11T16:34:00.000-05:00

To all those who lost their life on September 11th, and all those who have lost their lives in the "war on terror".

Praises of God by St. Francis of Assisi

You are holy, Lord, the only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom.You are humility.
You are endurance.
You are rest.
You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.You are our courage.
You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord,
God Almighty, Merciful Saviour.
Amen.

Hubby bought me a new Bible!

2006-09-04T02:09:00.000-05:00

Hank, my husband, scored major points by buying me an NIV study Bible (published by Zondervan), which comes with wide margins (hooray!), two colored pencils, the Bible on CD and tabs for the chapters. It's a great deep brown with gold letters on front. Once I finished putting on the chapter tabs I found another of my favorite things in the world: MAPS!

My undergraduate degree was in geography (read: so I'm unemployed) and maps are a passion of mine. The themed maps included will help you understand more of the world that biblical events occured it. And it's a much bigger world than many people think!

There's also a weight and measures page so you can find out exact how many letheks equals how many liters. (110, in case anyone ever asks.) The text is easy to read, but while the Concordance is thorough, I literally need a magnifiying glass to read it. Words of Jesus are in red, there are two ribbon tabs, and the pages are gold trimmed.

If you're looking for a new Bible or want to give one as a gift to a serious student, I think this would be a good one, even though their isn't a presentation page.

(Honestly this was not an ad for Zondervan, I just really, really like it! Except for the teensy weensy type in the concordance.)

In Memory of Steve Irvin, the "Crocodile Hunter"

2006-09-04T01:17:00.000-05:00

Steve was killed earlier today when he was struck by the tail of a stingway. There aren't many details out yet. His wife Terri is on a bike trek, and the last I heard she doesn't not know that her husband has been killed. I can't imagine anything worse.
At least he died doing something he loved and was passionate about. He's going to be sorely missed I'd like to offer up this prayer for Steve, an Omaha prayer I think he'd like:

A Returning to Mother Earth

Naked you came
from Earth the Mother.
Naked you return to her.
May a good wind be your road.

I could't find a Lenape prayer or I'd have used that.

There's also this one that I find very comforting.

Prayer for Those Who Mourn
Bless those who mourn, eternal God,with the comfort of your love that they may face each new day with hopeand the certainty that nothing can destroy the good that has been given. May their memories become joyful,their days enriched with friendship,and their lives encircled by your love. Amen.
- Vienna Cobb Anderson

Hoo-roo, my fair dinkum mate!

Jesus Camp -- it's not what you think it is

2006-09-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

I'm speechless. Jesus Camp refers to a movie that will be coming out September 7th, just in time to scare the pants of people before the General Elections. I urge you go watch the trailer here.

I want to see the movie, because as a Christian we own it to ourselves to find out when someone is perverting the Lord's teachings and do something about it.

Blessings y'all!

2006-08-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

Mary Lambert, who has taught Sunday school at the First Baptist Church in Watertown, NY has been dismissed, and the reason?

1 Timothy, 2:12: I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

You can go here to read more.

It seems Rev. Timothy LaBouf, who is also on the Watertown City Council, has decided that a literal interpretation of the Bible is the way to go. Or is he playing politics and using the Bible as a weapon?

After reading some Watertown sites, it seems that there is a bit of politics here as well. The congregation, after years of stagnant growth had a growth spurt and was split about the direction the church. After teaching at the church for decades, Ms. Lambert, who apparently was part of the congregation holding views that differed from Rev. LaBouf, was canned. Outside the church, he seems to have a different standard:

"I believe that a woman can perform any job and fulfill any responsibility that she desires to" outside of the church, LaBouf wrote Saturday.

Mayor Jeffrey Graham, however, was bothered by the reasons given Lambert's dismissal.

"If what's said in that letter reflects the councilman's views, those are disturbing remarks in this day and age," Graham said. "Maybe they wouldn't have been disturbing 500 years ago, but they are now."

You can read the full article here at the Examiner.

This is going to be an interesting case to follow. Ms. Lambert taught for 54 years; my guess is that Rev. LaBouf is hiding behind the verses that he chose to put in Ms. Lambert's termination letter to deflect the fact that her termination is due more to her views regarding the direction of the church than scriptural faithfulness. Even the church admits there is more to it:

In a four paragraph statement released Friday evening the Diaconate Board said, "In the specific case of Ms. Lambert the Board's decision to remove her from a teaching position was multifaceted and the scriptural rules concerning women teaching men in a church setting was only a small aspect of that decision."

Ummm...LeBoef, if you want to drum someone out of your church because they don't agree with you on church related business at least have the courage to say so, don't hide behind Bible verses.

Saint Patricks Breastplate

2006-07-27T07:16:00.000-05:00

This prayer is my all time favorite: It keeps me calm on days like today when I have to have a facet joint injection.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.
Christ, protect me today
Against every poison,
against burning,
Against drowning,
against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ within me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ at my right,
Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,I
believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Coming soon: Dominionism and Reconstructionism

2006-07-27T07:13:00.000-05:00

This will be posted August 13. I want to be sure a good job of it so I'm going to have some take a look at it and do some fact checking and another do some criticing.

Update: This will be coming later than sooner. I have Familial Joint Instability Syndrome and my hips decided it was time to dislocate. First the right one, then when we got the right one back in, the left one decided to join in the fun. Fortunately the left one wasn't as uppity, but I'm still on higher than my normal dose of meds. I'm actually sleeping as I write this!

Our democracy is at risk of becoming America Mart Pay to Play

2006-07-27T06:26:00.000-05:00

I try (ok, I don't try very hard) to keep Bovina from straying to far into the secular. But this time I'm going to stray. Why? Because it's just a matter of time before these sunset groups go from interfering with business and turn their heads to religion. That being said, this is an issue each and every one of us need to act on. What is it? Read on, from an article from OMB Watch:

Two Sunset Bills Racing to Floor Vote in House

Negotiations among proponents of sunset commission legislation have reportedly broken down, and now two separate bills are racing to the House floor for a vote as early as next week.

Both bills share the basic sunset concept: creating unelected, unaccountable commissions to recommend which programs or agencies live, die, or get changed, and then to force the issue with Congress.

What it means is an pointed group of individuals decide which portions of our democratically elected government get the ax and then they go to Congress to deliver their "finding" These sunset grounps creats a government within a government. Do you think that is a good idea? I don't. This creats a small cabal of appointees, probably drawn from within the business community, who will have extraordinary power, power which is likely unconstitutional.

The Brady bill (H.R. 3282) would create a permanent sunset commission that would put programs back on the sunset treadmill every 12 years. Programs would automatically be exterminated within one year of their review -- even if the sunset commission decides the program should continue -- unless Congress acts to save the program.

The new Tiahrt bill (H.R. 5766) would give Congress (by joint resolution) and the White House (by executive order) the power to impanel one or more ad hoc sunset commissions, each of which would be charged with reviewing some specific subset of programs. Proposals for killing programs would be forced through Congress under anti-democratic procedures that limit debate, forbid amendment, and limit Congress's decision to an up-or-down, take-it-or-leave-it vote.

I am the first to agree that our government does work. It is tainted by corruction, plutocracy, and pay-for-play politition. These acts just take our safeguards and bypass them completely. This is bad law, a way to put your competitors out of businss by having a Sunset Commission decide they are obsolete.

This bill is simply bad for America.
Please write to your representative - these bills CANNOT pass.

This is from The Sunset Commission is Not Good Government

Everyone wants to cut waste or avoid unnecessary duplication. Sunset commissions are simply the wrong way to go about those goals. Here’s why: Sunset commissions will not cut waste. Experiences in the states have shown that the cost of the sunset commission is often greater than the savings from eliminating programs. It would be wasteful to force all programs – even those for which there is no question that we need them – to expend significant resources on such a process, after they having already gone through authorization, reauthorization, and annual appropriations processes in Congress. Instead of investigating real cases of waste and addressing them, a sunset commission would just take a meat-axe to all federal programs.

Sunset commissions are not the answer to “duplication.” Many of the programs held up by sunset proponents as being “duplicative” instead, upon closer inspection, turn out to serve different populations. Others are “duplicative” on purpose: for example, Congress created the Appalachian Regional Commission to duplicate the work of some programs because the benefits of those programs were not reaching the severely impoverished and geographically isolated populations of Appalachia. Sunset commissions are too clumsy to “streamline” government. Some proponents of sunsets like to point to the number of programs serving the same problem. The numbers can be misleading: even if there are 19 programs targeting substance abuse, for example, that does not mean that the federal government is doing too much work on that problem. Moreover, 19 programs do not mean 19 separate offices with 19 separate staffs: many times, a single government agency administers several different “programs,” such as several different kinds of grants. sunset commissions have failed in the states. We should learn the lessons from the states’ experiences with sunset commissions. That record has not been very positive:

• A 2001 survey conducted for a National Conference of State Legislatures conference revealed that, of 45 states responding, 32 states had at some point instituted a sunset process — of which 16 still maintained those processes, while an equal number reported having eliminated their sunset programs.

• South Carolina terminated its sunset system in 1998 after finding that the costs of
conducting program reviews greatly exceeded the added revenue to the state from
eliminating programs. South Carolina’s sunset process reviewed agency effectiveness and targeted licensing and regulatory agencies for evaluation and possible elimination. Over the 20 years that the sunset program was in place, it conducted 117 sunset reviews and recommended the termination of 15 programs or agencies. As a result of the recommendations, two minor agencies were eventually terminated. The cost of the audit was deemed too high for these low returns.

Our government needs change, but this is not the way to go about it. It is a disgusting turn of events in the already shameful history of our current Administration. There is much more on their site, OMB Watch.

Update: The voting on both bills has been postponed until September. It looks as if there are not enough votes to pass either at this time, but the delay will certainly allow time for arm twisting.

Dance Like a Monkey!

2006-07-24T10:17:00.000-05:00

Darwin rocks.

Stem Cell Issue is very close to my heart

2006-07-21T23:29:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). You might know it better as Lou Gehrig's disease. There's a familial variant called Familial Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or FALS. It's genetic and it runs in my family. It is fatal, usually within 2 to 5 years of diagnosis. It's the reason my paternal grandfather died, as well as two uncles, an aunt and numerous cousins and direct ancestors.

It is one illness for which stem cell research could bring an effective treatment, even a cure.

But my family's lives aren't worth it to George W. Bush and his cohorts. No, a blastula, which is (according to Biocrawler) "a fertilized ovum and consisting of a spherical layer of cells surrounding a fluid-filled cavity. . . A blastula has around 128 cells." This occurs at about 5 days after fertilization. If a woman were to have a fertilized egg in her body, it would still be another day until it implants itself in the uterine wall. When it has about 4000 cells it will be called a gastrula.

A blastula

128 cells. Do you what's interesting? The cells are undifferentiated. There's no brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, feet, hands, nose - no parts yet. Each cell has a potential to be all of those these things though, which is why they are perfect for stem cell research.

Do you know what will happen to the thousands of blastulas that will be affected by Bush's first veto of his presidency? Even though frozen (hence the Rovian "snowflake baby" term), they do degrade. After about 5 years, they'll be thrown away. Thawed and disposed of. They are medical waste at this point. They are not usable for implantation.

There are people who would have you believe the new stem cell act will save a human life. It won't. But stem cell research will. This act is nothing more than posturing for votes, as is the Pledge Protection Act, the cyclical anti-flag desecration legislation and yet, minimum wage goes unmarked.

With this act, the end result is the same as without the act: the blastula is destroyed. Now however, the hope for stem cell treatments and cures for many diseases is destroyed with it. There is very sick and twisted neocon logic about this whole thing. Ideology trumps facts.

As Christians we should be very concerned about this. Stem cell treatments will affect each and every one of us, whether we have a disease that can be helped or know someone who does. All of us will fit, sooner or later, into one of those categories. A small group of people are using a decidely religious frame (which is only espoused by certain Christian groups) to define this secular medical issue.

And they are getting away with it. Shame on us for letting them. We will pay the price someday, when we lose our freedom of religion. Yes, unfortunately, I think unless we start raising our voices, we are in danger of being compelled to accept a Dominionist or Reconstructionist rewriting of our Constitution that will completely destroy the America we know.

What is Dominionism and Reconstructionism? That's for the next time. Google the terms, take a deep breath and thank God that we're not there yet! And help get the truth out about stem cell research. Your life or the life of someone you know is, literally, at stake.

John and his letters

2006-07-02T20:01:00.000-05:00

Crossposted at Crossleft

We discussed the John, as well as both the letters in adult ed today. I've always liked John. He writes so simply, yet the ideas are profound. As Abe said, if you had to give one book of the Bible to a Christian to explain it all, this would be it.

John starts by saying "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through hi, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it."
In the person of Jesus the Word became flesh, and as Christ (the light) it is impossible for the darkness to overcome the light.

We mere mortals do seem to have the propensity to constantly try ways to bring the darkness out for our lust for power or money or fame. But even then, the Light will still shine.
The rest of John is like a Reader's Digest version of the Gospels. John sums up the main points very matter of factly. At the end he says "But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

We skipped to 1 John, a letter written to someone or some church unknown, reminding them that God is Light, Christ is our Advocate. One favorite part of mine is this: " Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is not cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness and does not know the way to go because the darkness brought on blindness."

Given recent events at the ECUSA general convention, we all need to remember to truly walk in the light. Not to mention step back, take a deep breath and remember what we have in common, what what things differentiate us!

John isn't a long book, so take time to read it, I think that of all the Gospels, it is the most love filled.

Now the letters, are a quick read. 2 John is interesting because it is addressed to "The elder to the elect lady and her children."

Odd - no name. My theory is that the elect lady was a hidden Christian; faithful but for some reason had to keep her faith a secret. The letter itself is a brief warning about deceivers and antichrists. It sounds as if there were a lot of "Christian" scam artists about. He is also reticent to tell her more by pen and paper, preferring to wait until they meet face to face. All sounds very mysterious. I can't help but wonder if she wrote to him and what she said.
3rd John praises Gaius for his hospitality towards some friends, and then goes on to blast Diotrephes and Demetrius for spreading false charges "against us" and of being inhospitable. According to John, Diotrephes "likes to put himself first and does not acknowlege our authority."
I guess church politics are nothing new!

Peace be upon you and yours,
Pam

You stand in your corner, I'll stand in mine.

2006-06-28T08:51:00.000-05:00

Dr Rowan WilliamsArchbishop of Canterbury. BBC UK

That's what the Archbishop of Canterbury is suggesting to us feudin' Episkies. It makes sense. If we are going to bicker about gay carries over into worship (remember St. Matthias?) then maybe we need separate sections to worship with a
whole heart, rather than with a hole in the heart.

It's a darn shame people can't put their differences aside to share the Lord's Supper in the same sanctuary?

Here's Rowan Williams remarks, courtesy of BBC news.

The Anglican Church could be split into different sections in a bid to resolve the row over homosexuality, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

Dr Rowan Williams favours exploring a system of "associated" Churches which would not have the same constitution as the rest of the Anglican Communion.

The 2003 consecration of openly-gay Gene Robinson as bishop in the US has angered conservatives in the Communion.

Dr Williams said there was no way the Anglican Church could remain unchanged.

He has suggested the Anglican Communion, which is the loose network of individual Anglican Churches around the world, could be divided into "associated" and "constituent" provinces. The Churches in the 70 million-strong communion would make a formal commitment to each other in the form of a "covenant".

However, those unwilling to join the covenant could choose to become "associated", which would recognise their historic links with the rest of the Church, but allow them to have different constitutional structures.

Why, oh why, do I do this to myself?

2006-06-26T16:04:00.000-05:00

Any woman reading this knows what those mean.

Yes, I have redecorated. No heavy furniture moving, but I did manage to move a couple of bookshelves (on wheels) and hang four pictures.

You know the real reason Moses stayed in the desert for fourty years? He was afraid of decorating. Face it, you can pick up a lot of stuff in forty years of wandering, and there will never be enough nails. Plus stuff will be hung at least twice, just to make sure the light hits it just right.

I dont' know how they did without duct tape! “Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati.”

Happy Solstice!

2006-06-21T17:46:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again, when the day is at its longest. To my friends in Pennsylvania celebrating tonight, Happy Solstice!

And now we have B033

2006-06-21T15:17:00.000-05:00

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 75th General Convention receive and embrace The Windsor Report’s invitation to engage in a process of healing and reconciliation; and be it further

Resolved, that this Convention therefore call upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.

According to BabyBlueOnline

If this passes, the Episcopal Church will not have complied with the requests made by the leadership of the Anglican Communion in the Windsor Report.

It seems to just sidestep the issue so we can have more time to discuss the issue.

This was voted on this morning and the results are as follows (thanks to BabyBlue:

104 DIOCESES VOTING

LAY

YES - 72 77.4%
NO - 21
DIVIDED - 11

CARRIED

CLERGY

YES - 75
NO - 24
DIVIDED - 10

RESOLUTION B033: CARRIED

To "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion" means what, exactly. It does not say no, we will not consecrate gays or lesbians; it does not say exactly what we won't consecrate other than if someone's "manner of life" presents challenges and strains to our communion. So people are now going to be arguing about what "manner of life" means.

If I wanted to be snarky I'd ask: Who is better to lead a diocese: a gay or lesbian in a stable, monogamous long term relationship or a multiply divorced and remarried person?

PB-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori says this:

"My sense is that the original resolution is the best that we're going to do today," she added. "But I can only support it if we understand that it's not slamming the door. It has to leave the door open for further conversation and consideration in the very near future."

Jefferts Schori later came speak to the deputies. "I am fully committed to the full inclusion of gay and lesbian Christians in this church," she said. "I certainly don't understand adopting this resolution as slamming the door. I think if you do pass this resolution you have to be willing to keep working with all your might at finding a common mind in this church. I don't find this an easy thing to say to you, but I think that is the best we are going to manage at this point in our church's history."

She's right you know. The debate still goes on, and all sides need to listen carefully: not to their own voices, but to that of the Holy Spirit. And things will sort themselves out in God's time, not ours. We can't force change, but we can still carry on a meaningful dialog with those who disagree.

Revised Resolution A161 Fails

2006-06-20T23:29:00.000-05:00

Resolution A161 failed to pass. Does this mean we aren't going to argue about the role of the GLBT clergy and community in ECUSA. Hah! We love a good argument. Courtesy of GC2006, here's the text of the original Res A161:

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church regrets the extent to which we have, by action and inaction, contributed to strains on communion and caused deep offense to many faithful Anglican Christians as we consented to the consecration of a bishop living openly in a same-gender union. Accordingly, we urge nominating committees, electing conventions, Standing Committees, and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise very considerable caution in the nomination, election, consent to, and consecration of bishops whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.

Also from GC2006, here's the revised version - the one that failed.

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, that the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church regrets the extent to which we have, by action and inaction, contributed to strains on communion and caused deep offense to many faithful Anglican Christians as we consented to the consecration of a bishop living openly in a same-gender union. Accordingly, we are obliged to urge nominating committees, electing conventions, Standing Committees, and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise very considerable caution refrain from the nomination, election, consent to, and consecration of bishops whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.; and be it further Resolved that this General Convention not proceed to develop or authorize Rites for the Blessing of same-sex unions at this time, thereby concurring with the Windsor Report in its exhortation to bishops of the Anglican Communion to honor the Primates’ Pastoral Letter of May 2003; and be it further Resolved that this General Convention affirm the need to maintain a breadth of responses to situations of pastoral care for gay and lesbian Christians in this Church. Resolved that this General Convention apologize to those gay and lesbian Episcopalians and their supporters hurt by these decisions.

The revised version basically added Res A162 to Res A161, and apologized for any hurt feeling that gay and lesbian Episcopalians might have, as well as anyone who supports them. Even though the resolution failed, the controversy won't go away and I'm sure some very vocal arguments are about to start as to whether ECUSA is being led by the Holy Spirit or sliding down the slippery slope to Hell. I believe we are following the Holy Spirit.

It's both an exciting and frightening time to be an Episcopalian. We are overcoming hundreds of years of bias, challenging tradition and arguing with our Brothers and Sisters. It will be a tense time, but I've never been prouder to be an Episcopalian than I am now.

A New Presiding Bishop, an Old Controversy

2006-06-20T07:08:00.000-05:00

Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of the Diocese of Nevada, has been elected 26th Presiding Bishop!

Exodus 15:20
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.

John 20

15 Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Women were leaders in biblical times, and now we have a woman Presiding Bishop! Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected June 18th, on the 5th ballot. I literally jumped for joy when I read this, not only because she was woman, but because she was from Nevada, where I lived briefly as a child and still visit as often as possible. I have never met her, but there is still a feeling of “hometown girl makes good” feeling about it.

From the Episcopal News Service, there is this:

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams issued a statement June 19 on the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of Nevada, as the next Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Jefferts Schori was elected June 18 to succeed current Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold.

"I send my greetings to Bishop Katharine and she has my prayers and good wishes as she takes up a deeply demanding position at a critical time. She will bring many intellectual and pastoral gifts to her new work, and I am pleased to see the strength of her commitment to mission and to the Millennium Development Goals.

Her election will undoubtedly have an impact on the collegial life of the Anglican Primates; and it also brings into focus some continuing issues in several of our ecumenical dialogues.

We are continuing to pray for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church as it confronts a series of exceptionally difficult choices."

Katharine Jefferts Schori is becoming Presiding Bishop at a very challenging time, mostly because of the issues surrounding homosexuality and the Church. I can’t help but give me two cents here, because I have so many gay relatives and friends.

Homosexuals have always been with us. They always will be. Homophobia in our society is very prevalent, even supported by selective interpretation of Bible verses. The Ontario Center for Religious Tolerance is a good place to start studying the roots of homophobia and the Church. Gays and lesbians been wrongfully demonized and stereotyped. Their sexual orientation is not a “lifestyle choice” it is the way God made them. You may want to zip on over to the APA Help Center and read their page on Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality.

Accepting gays as complete members of our society and church is hard for many people, but I do believe acceptance will come eventually. I can remember seeing “Whites Only” signs on restrooms and fountains and a "Whites Only" partition on the beach in the town I grew up in. It was considered the norm, but it wasn’t right. Finally, we as a culture have rejected those "norms" and now it’s part of our past, even though we are still fighting racism. Hopefully, very soon homophobia will be part of our past too.

Change is hard. But I truly believe that the day is coming where the Church will accept gays and lesbians as children of God and that their sexual orientation is how they were created, not a “lifestyle choice”. They will be equal in the eyes of the Church and will be able to partake fully in the all the sacraments, including marriage.

There’s no doubt about it: homosexuality is a hot topic and will be for some time to come. It’s one that needs to be dealt with care and prayer. And it’s essential that we take our time and work together to grow, and not just pack up and go off to our own little corner because we don’t like someone’s viewpoint. We need to act like the family we are and work our way through this. It might get ugly, people might storm off to their own little corner, but eventually, like most families, everyone will calm down and talk and ask Father what to do.

Like most families, some kids will listen, some won't, some will interpret what Father says their own way. What's important, is that even with our disagreements, we all still come to sit at the family table and partake of our Father's gifts to us.

Hello, Again

2006-05-06T14:55:00.000-05:00

Having not posted since March 10th (yikes!), a lot has happened. Monday my husband starts a new job, ironically at the place that laid him off the first time. He is finally going to be doing something he likes doing and something that is actually in his field, one that will allow his uber geek to shine through some. The money is much better (yeah!) and we'll have full benefits. He also gets to work with adults. (snark)

My missing brother showed up. He is in a rather precarious position. His behavior starting going a bit odd before he disappeared and when he reappeared he had eloped to someone he barely knew. Unfortunately it wasn't a matter of his showing up at my father's door saying "Hi, Dad, meet my wife!"

He was found when a clerk in a store called the police saying there was a man who was acting oddly, convinced someone was following him. It was later determined he was having psychotic delusions. Fortunately, one of the officers to respond was another of my brothers. He stayed with him until he was signed into a hospital. Eventually he was diagnosed with paranoidschizophreniaa. The hallucinations are fading, but his paranoia seems to be increasing. It's an incredibly complicated and unpleasant situation. He is home, but that may not be the best place for him to be. Please pray for him and for his mental health providers and my family at this time.

My husband's birthday present and my brother.

2006-03-10T16:55:00.000-06:00

The two have absolutely nothing to do with one another.

My husband was told yesterday that he will be laid off at the end of the month. I can't tell you the name of the company, but they'll probably make an announcement according to rumors. Lovely.

My husband has been looking for another job anyway since he's got loads of experience in project management, IT disaster planning and recovery, you name it. (and it's been outsourced...) But he's having talks with groups in Reno, Las Vegas and Philadelphia, so hopefully he won't be out of work for long.

As for my brother (George) he has done a disappearing act. It's been just a little over two weeks since anyone has seen him, he hasn't been in touch with anyone in the family or his friends. We are all a bit worried, as he does have a talent for getting into trouble.

I'd appreciate your prayers for both Hank and George.

I'd drown my sorrows in a pint of Chocolate Moose Tracks but I'm off sweets of all sorts (except whole fruit) for Lent.

Fast for the Hungry

2006-03-06T10:59:00.000-06:00

Note: I have summarized the report and urge you to go to the Second Harvest site to read the report for yourself. These are just a few highlights.

Second Harvest serves 24 to 27 million different people annually. This includes 25.35 million pantry users, 1.2 to 1.4 million kitchen users, and 0.8 million shelter users Approximately 4 million different people receive emergency food assistance from the A2H (America's Second Harvest) system in any given week.

Agencies serve a broad cross-section of households in America. Key characteristics include:

36% of the members of households served by the A2H National Network are children under 18 years old
8% of the members of households are children age 0 to 5 years
10% of the members of households are elderly
40% of clients are non-Hispanic white
38% are non-Hispanic black, and the rest are from other racial group
17% are Hispanic 36% of households include at least one employed adult
68% have incomes below the official federal poverty level during the previous month
5% are receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and 7% are receiving General Assistance
12% are homeless
70% are food insecure (note: it means they do not have food on a regular basis), according to the U.S. government’s official food security scale. This includes clients who are food insecure without hunger and those who are food insecure with hunger, 33% of the clients are experiencing hunger
Among households with children, 73% are food insecure and 31% are experiencing hunger.

MANY CLIENTS REPORT HAVING TO CHOOSE BETWEEN FOOD AND OTHER NECESSITIES

42% of clients served by the A2H National Network report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel
35% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage 32% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care (like me)

CLIENTS ALSO RECEIVE FOOD ASSISTANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT

35% of client households served by the A2H National Network are receiving Food Stamp Program benefits; however, it is likely that many more are eligible
Among households with children ages 0-3 years, 51% participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Among households with school-age children, 62% and 51%, respectively, participate in the federal school lunch and school breakfast programs

(note: Many programs are being reduced or outright eliminated. See Catholic Charities USA and the Episcopal church's Bread for the World for two examples of how churches are helping. There are many more than just these two, which is good because our government....see rant below)

MANY CLIENTS ARE IN POOR HEALTH

29% of households served by the A2H National Network report having at least one household member in poor health

MANY AGENCIES BEEN EXPERIENCING AN INCREASED DEMAND FOR THEIR SERVICES

65% of pantries, 61% of kitchens, and 52% of shelters of the A2H National Network reported that there had been an increase since 2001 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites. (2005 figures are even higher, and I'll find them and post them.)

There are other things to be considered here aer well, besides food and medical care. Do the children get adequate education? Is hunger imparing their ability to learn. How is this affecting adolscents? Are they turning to gangs? (In Philadelphia I can tell you the answer is a big fat yes. Gang related convenience store robbers usually take food as well as cash, and while in a grocery store in Bucks County a woman with a fake pregnancy belly tried to smuggle a Thanksgiving turkey out. She was caught, but another customer talked the store manager into letting her buy the turkey for her, as well as potatoes and pie and a few more things. Her three kids were sitting freezing in the car waiting for their mother to come out of the store with food. If she had been arrested, those kids would have spent thankgiving in foster care, possibly removed from her custody altogether and the mother would have been in jail.

WARNING - RANT BUTTON ON:

At Coretta Scott King's funeral, Rev. Joseph Lowery, who cofounded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr. , made quite a statement and a bit of an uproar for his remarks during Mrs. Kings funeral. He railed against President George W. Bush the pitiful response to Katrina, the poor state of health care and the and poverty which is still all too prevalent.

"We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there, but Coretta knew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war, billions more, but no more for the poor."

Amen, Reverend Lowery! I've been to African American funerals before so I wasn't surprised at this, but certain people really got an unpleasant surprise.

More and more I see our government as the Pharisees. I watch my sister struggle with a mentally ill husband, three young children (one with Autism Spectrum Disorder). Her husband and children have health insurance because he is disabled; my sister does not. Her employer doesn't offer it, but the salary is decent so that with some government help she can put food on her table, clothes on the kids and even have a little extra. But when she gets sick there is no safety net for her children and they have to rely 100% on social services.

I have brother in prison with a mental illness, and a parkinsonian like condition which has left him physically disabled, and juvenile diabetes. He has had two diabetic comas since he has been in prison, once because the guards decided "why should he have food in his cell when other inmates couldn't". His diabetes didn't matter to them. That night he went into a coma and if it wasn't for the other inmates raising a fuss that my brother was passed out against the grate, he would have died. Food is always in the cell now. The second time it was just luck he collapsed as a guard was passing the cell, and with two inmates, they managed to get him to the clinic. We almost lost him. He gets only basic medical care, but the staff is sympathetic and keep an eye on him since he is a very complex medical case. But when you warehouse prisoners I guess you don't have time for the personal touch. Even the other inmates watch out for him, God Bless them all.

This country is broken. And broke. We have gone from having the largest surplus in history to the largest deficit in history in six short years. Thousands and thousands are homeless because of Katrina. The death toll as of today stands at around 1400 but it's hard to find out for sure because there doesn't seem to be much coordination going on. Another 2000 or so are reported missing (again the numbers are all over the place). What hasn't been taken in to account is the number of homeless, who frequently are invisible to the census, and therefore undercounted. My gut feeling is that in the end more people will have died because of Katrina than died on September 11th.

FEMA and Homeland Security turned out to be completely useless. Nobody knew what to except point fingers at they other guy. Now a new video shows that Bush, Brown, and Chertoff discussed the situation but was anything done? Katrina was the worst natural disaster in US history, and may well be the worst failure of our government in history.

So how does this all fit into Bovina Sancta?

Well for starters it's Lent. And we all know what that is right? A time of penitance, fasting, sacrifice, of preparation for baptism while we are waiting for ~~the purple Peeps to get to the storeshelves~~ Easter, and that last for 40 days. After all, Jesus went into the wilderness before he began his ministry. And that's how Lent came about.

Actually, fasting turns up frequently in the scriptures, and people fasted for many reasons:

Ezra and the Israelites fasted before they had to endure a long long journey (at least a thousand miles to Jerusalem from Babylon after being released from their captivity. They had all their possessions and wealth with them. Can you imagine hundreds of men, woman and children, making that trek? If there was ever a need of a fast for protection and strength this was it.

After losing the Ark of the Covenant to the Philistines and Eli breaking his neck and dying, Samuel called for a one day fast and he and his people rededicated themselves to God.

Then there's Elijah. This is one of my favorite stories, and even made a good opera. Anyway, there was a drought in Israel and King Ahab and Queen Jezebel (she of Baalish persuasion) blamed it all on Elijah, which was fair because he did call the drought down from God in the first place. He was not impressed with her idols. After an ancient "Prophet Showdown" between Elijah (1 man) against 450 prophets of Baal, Jezebel got miffed, ran Elijah off into the desert where he fasted for 40 days and nights. If you like opera, here's a link to the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, where you can find out more about Elijah, the opera. I've heard it performed once and it is really good.

These are just a few examples of fasts; I'll leave you to search the Good Book so I can get back to the point.

And yes, it does tie in with Second Harvest. (My rambling do occassionally come full circle.)

What I'm suggesting is that you and join me in fasting to help Second Harvest. Now the date and time and length is up to you, but I am challenging you to at least ONE session of fasting and prayer for Second Harvest, and that you take the money you would have spent for the meal or meals you missed and give it to Second Harvest. Whether you fast for one meal or two or three, the money and your prayers will help them and all those who are in desparate need. Please take your health concerns into account, if you are diabetic or are ill.

This Friday from noon to 1:30 I'll be at the columbarium at my church, fasting and praying. Please, find your special place and join me to help the growing number of men, women and children in the United States of America, "the wealthiest country in the World" who suffer from hunger. And their numbers are growing, my Dear Friend.

Today I leave you with the Irish Fisherman's Prayer

Big Sea, Little Boat

Dear God, be good to me;

The sea is so wide,

And my boat is so small.

Archbishop Sentamu Condemns US Gitmo Policy

2006-02-20T15:21:00.000-06:00

From The Independent Online Edition, Feb. 20, 2006: "The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has launched a passionate attack on President George Bush, saying his administration's refusal to close the notorious Guantanamo Bay camp reflected "a society that is heading towards George Orwell's Animal Farm".

Dr Sentamu, the Church of England's second in command, urged the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to take legal action against the US - through the US courts or the International Court of Justice at The Hague - should it fail to respond to a report, by five UN inspectors, advising that Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay should be shut immediately because prisoners there are being tortured.

The report was published on Thursday, as a senior High Court judge, Mr Justice Collins, stated that American actions over Guantanamo's Camp Delta do not "appear to coincide with that of most civilised nations". As a result of his ruling, three of eight British inmates held in the camp are to appeal to the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to intervene with the Bush administration on their behalf. "

The article goes on to note that others, including Archishop Desmond Tutu, Peter Hain (the Northern Ireland Secretary), and Kofi Annan, among others, believe Guantanamo should be closed. To read the entire article, go here.

This follows the release of the United Nations Report on the Situation of Detainees at Guantanamo. You can can read the entire PDF file here. If it's not available, email me, I have a copy. The Conclusions and Recommendations section in particularly damning.

The National Council of Churches released a report on January 14, which said that foreign national being held at Gitmo have the right to challege the legality of their detention.

"What we are say is that there is no land without law. The law of the United States requires due process , and so does international law, said Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, the NCC's Associate General Secretary for International Affairs and Peace, New York. "The NCC, as a religious organization, is interested from a moral standpoint in the right to due process, which is being denied the detainees in Guantanamo."

I can't quite find the words to say how horrified I am that in the 21st century the USA is having to defend itself against allegations of torture and denial of basic legal rights which, unfortunately, are well documented.

National Religious Campaign Against Torture

2006-02-16T13:51:00.000-06:00

There is simply no excuse for torture. Our country is demeaning itself by participating in it. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture is a group that is worth checking out and supporting.

Don't forget our Saviour was tortured to death.

It wasn't right then. It wasn't right during the Inquisition or the Burning Times or Viet Nam and it's not right now.

It's Wednesday, not Monday

2006-02-15T11:14:00.000-06:00

I had a wonderful sales weekend on eBay and spend the day preparing shipments. It took up a full day, so I'm posting today.

I'd like to ask your prayers for Bishop Gene Robinson. He's undergoing treatment for alcoholism at the moment. I have several alcoholic relatives and I know how it is on him and his loved ones. However, he has to do it in the public eye which makes it doubly hard. I'm praying for you, Gene!

Also, I don't know if any of you have heard about the Community of Christ. They used to be called the Reformed Church of Latter Day Saints and were created when Emma Smith turned back with a group of Mormon travelers after a dispute with Brigham Young. They formed the Reformed Church of Latter Day Saints and they are headquartered in Independence, MO. Anyway, the reason I'm mentioning this is that every day at 12:30 pm central time, they have a Peace Meditation. If you go to their site, you can read about it, and participate. They welcome everyone's participation. While we may have our doctrinal differences, the CoC does consider themselves Christian, but they still rely on that pesky Book of Mormon. But their Daily Prayer for Peace is worth checking out. They don't have much interaction with the LDS in Salt Lake, but if you ask me the Salt Lake LDS could learn a quite a bit from their Independence cousins. Anyway, if you aren't doing anything at 12:30 go and pray for peace with them.

Want a Sunday service, when you can't go to your local church? Go to StreetProphets.com and participate in theirs. Pastordan has worship at St. Gracie's. Click here to check out last weeks service.

Beliefnet also has a selection of meditations that are wonderful from all different denominations.

The point of all this, is that God is everywhere, even in the pixels. Seek on the net, and ye shall find those of like mind, and a lot who aren't.

And if you are in a silly sort of mood, and don't get offended easily, check out Landover Baptist Church, and Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian, who is so close to Jesus he brings people back from the dead just so she can have the last word. If you are a Republican, you will probably be offended. These are satirical sites that have grown by leaps and bounds since 2000 for some strange reason. Sometimes they go a bit over the top, but I do so love the F.O.O.L. Awards!

I am currently listing to: Pink Floyd's Echoes, but I do not have mouse and he is not named Gerald.

Kate Parsons

2006-01-30T20:42:00.000-06:00

Eleven years ago today today my paternal grandmother died. That's her, Kathleen Delores O'Hara Parsons on the left, and my grandfather, George William Parsons, on the right. I guess that picture must have been taken in the late 1940's. I never knew Grandpa George, he died in the early Fifties of ALS, before I was born. Grandma died at age 91.

She was a remarkable woman. She had life of tragedies and triumphs, and lived each day with the expectation that it was going to be a good day.

She loved everyone. I'm not just saying that. She genuinely loved everyone. She'd grumble at people at times, but she also made them know, beneath the grumble, there was love. She accepted people as they were, not as she wanted them to be. She always found something good about everyone and when someone let her down, she knew how to forgive.

For years she was chairwoman of the local Democratic party. While she didn't curse (well, come think it, I did hear the B word a couple times...) I have a feeling she'd let loose a few choice words about the state of today's politics.

She worked hard all her life, from selling windows to owning her own restaurant. When my grandfather died, she held the family together through the rough times, and was like a mother to many cousins and friends as well.

In honor of Grandma Kate (whose real name was actually Katherine but she hated it so she used Kathleen instead) I'm sharing this with you. You've probably already read it, but I can't think of anyone it applies to more.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Creationism v. Darwinism

2006-01-23T12:55:00.000-06:00

Credit: NASA,ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

First of all, I am firmly in Darwin's camp. Like you couldn't figure that out already!

Yesterday's New York Times Book Review had a very interesting essay by Judith Shulevitz entitle "When Cosmologies Collide" where she asks "If Darwinism is such a powerful explanation, why won't creationism go away? Perhaps some of the fault lies with evolutionists themselves." It's worth hunting down to read.

For me there's no conflict between my faith and my belief in evolution. I think God wants to be known, and through science we have a way to do that. Every new discovery leads us to another facet of the Creator. There's also prayer, meditation, revelation, discussion - lot of ways to discover God on a consistent and ongoing basis.

I can remember talking with my grandmother about evolution when I was in the 7th grade and asking her if she thought people were descended from apes. Her answer was "I don't know about that but I have met a few who are obviously descended from jackasses."

I don't doubt humans and apes share a common ancestor. The fossil, DNA and archeological evidence is pretty darn good. What ticks me off is people who misuse and abuse science to promote their agenda. Facts are facts. Science is science. Religion is religion. Faith is faith. And God is as God is. If God wanted to create us mere bags of water by using evolution, that's all right by me.

I think science scares people who don't understand how majestic our Creator is. It makes them feel small. It can destroy ways they have of controlling their world.

I'd rather keep finding ways to know God.

Is this the face of John the Baptist?

2006-01-23T12:34:00.000-06:00

I bet you weren't expecting to see Clint Eastwood's face. Bear with me. During a sermon a few weeks ago, the Priest With No Name said a couple of tunes had been going through his head, one of which was the theme to that one spaghetti western starring Clint Eastwood. Suddenly the face of Clint Eastwood came to mind and I realized that I had morphed him into John the Baptist.

It kind of makes sense - both wandered in the wilderness, both wore what was probably very itchy clothing, and both, after wandering the desert for a while could be smelled coming a mile away. I'm not sure they shared the dietary habits, although there are locusts in the southwest occasionally.

Is Pat Robertson a Christian?

2006-01-05T21:07:00.000-06:00

I know he thinks he is, but saying things like it would be OK to go ahead and assassinate people gives me doubts. And today there's this gem, about Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister who has suffered a stroke that will likely be fatal:

"God considers this land to be his," Robertson said on his TV program "The 700 Club." "You read the Bible and he says `This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, `No, this is mine.'"

I didn't realize God had the emotional maturity of a snotty three-year-old, did you? "You can't have that land, it's mine...mine...mine...mine" I can imagine Himself stomping down his foot and turning red in the face. Pat Robertson's God apparently is need of a spanking if this is how he acts.

Fortunately, the God I know isn't such a jerk. Someone should clue Robertson in on that fact. I know it's a free country and everyone is allowed their say, whether or not people agree with what they say. However when someone as prominent as Pat Robertson mouths off like this, it reflects poorly on the rest of us Christians.

I wonder what God will say to Pat when he reaches the Pearly Gates? Offhand, a phrase from Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen comes to mind: "thunderbolts and lightening, very, very frightening!"

In the meantime, I'll say a prayer for Sharon, his family, and the Israelis and Palestinians, who are going to be in for a very rough time.

Relprof has some interesting thoughts

2005-12-31T10:45:00.000-06:00

I'm a regular ready of Street Prophets, and this morning relprof has this to say:

I have been working in Bonhoeffer studies for a long time and one of the things that has always struck me was how complicit the German Christians were in the Nazi takeover of the legal and political apparatus of Germany. The fact that there were so few who discerned what was happening to their country always made me feel that Christians absolutely failed to see what was going on in their midst. Now, I see this happening again and just as in Germany in 1933, in America, Christianity has lost its prophetic voice.

snip

What is Christianity in this time? Is it a community formed by the cultivation of character incarnated in Jesus Christ? Surely not, for who would believe for a second that Christ would approve of the assault on the poor, the mendacity of the powerful, the oppression of the weak? Who would Jesus torture, exactly? Is our highest value that we are safe? Christianity has never been about being safe, it has been about being faithful. At this moment, right now, Christianity is not faithful. It has lost its prophetic rage and acquiesces to the culture. In short, it has failed. Again.

It's definitely worth a read, especially with the rise of the "Christian Right" and politicians who profess to be Christians but whose actions contradict their words.

Our diocese is close to choosing a new bishop

2005-12-24T11:30:00.000-06:00

Here's a link where you can read all about it: Or current bishop, Bertram Nelson Herlong, is retiring.

I thought, in the interest of being the gadfly I am I'd reprint part of his pastoral letter from the Camp Allen meeting this spring. It was to discuss the impact of the Windsor Report and the Covenant Statement.

Those two documents, the Windsor Report and the Communiqué “invited” the Episcopal Church to declare a moratorium in three areas, “the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate who is living in a same gender union,” “on public rites of blessing for same sex unions” and the crossing of diocesan boundaries to provide Episcopal ministries and to refrain voluntarily from sending delegates to meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council.
The Covenant Statement was approved by a voice vote with only a very few negative votes. I only know of one “traditionalist” bishop who voted against it.
The Covenant Statement responds to the Windsor Report and the Primate’s Communiqué in the language of those documents. It expresses deep regret, a sincere apology and repentance for breaching the “bonds of affection” (WR & Communiqué language). The House of Bishops has no authority for preventing Episcopal elections but has agreed to a moratorium on Consecrations by withholding consents to all Episcopal Elections until the General Convention of 2006. Likewise, they pledged not to authorize any “public rites for the blessing of same sex unions” (WR & Communiqué language) and will not bless any such unions at least until the General convention of 2006. “At least” here means just the minimum. I have stated before that Resolution C051 of the 2003 General Convention did not give permission for the blessing of same sex unions even though some have used it as a pretext for doing so. The Covenant Statement emphasizes this point.

Episcopalians do like a good row now and then. I remember the brouhaha over the ordination of women; we made it through that and we'll make it through this "Gay Crisis" as a friend calls it. What "Gay Crisis" I say - it's the straights having the crisis!

I support Gay Rights, think people are probably born homosexual (most the gays I know would say that, and they should know) and look forward to when the church approves of "public rites for the blessing of same sex unions".

Jesus and Joseph

2005-12-23T11:45:00.000-06:00

There's been several shows on now about Jesus, his life, and of course, Mary. Everything from Jesus' genealogy to one discussing who really was responsible for Jesus' death. (Would you believe Jesus?) It's an interesting series.

That got me to thinking about the relationship between Jesus and Joseph. Mostly we hear about the relationship with Mary, because Joseph gets shoved aside somewhat. But as Jesus got older, he would have hung out more with Joseph, learning whatever Joseph's trade was (carpenter usually is mentioned, but I've also heard stonemason as a possibility). Why don't we hear more about Joseph? He disappears at one point, and we assume he died. What I want to know is what spiritual affect he had on Jesus. Like most fathers, Joseph probably took Jesus and his brothers to the synagogue, taught him Torah, and his livelihood. Who ever Jesus became as a man, was in large part due to Joseph's influence. I can't help but think Jesus' teaching were formed because of what he was taught at Joseph's knee.

So why don't we hear more about him? Inquiring minds want too know.

The news from the doctor

2005-11-30T00:38:00.000-06:00

My bloodwork is good - all within normal limits, and the granulomas are still present in my lungs. So in six months I get to have another enhanced CT scan.

In the meantime, Hank and I are looking at Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and southern Utah as possible places to live.

There is actually ia ruckus in Washington about calling a green evergreen decorated tree a Christmas Tree, rather than a Holiday Tree. Seeing that "Christmas Tree" didn't really come about until the 15th century and were based on Pagan Customs, I think I'll place my vote in the Holiday Tree camp. After, it's the darkest time of the year, and a little light goes a long way. And Christians don't have a monopoly on decorating with either lights or trees. Washington politicals must either be really bored or they are trying to distract people from real problems. Hmmmm. What do you think?

As we have so little room I am thinking of putting up a Festivus Pole. They are cheap, you can hang flags from them afterwards, and come in a variety of sizes. We don't have the room for wrestling though. But I do have a puffy shirt I shall wear!

For those of you who are clueless about the above I have one word: SEINFELD.

Okay, so it nighty night then!

Psalm 69 Salvum me fac

2005-11-29T00:09:00.000-06:00

Save me O God,
for the waters have risen up to my neck.

I am sinking in deep mire,
and there is no firm ground for my feet.

I have come into deep water,
and the torrent washes over me.

I have grown weary with my cring' my throat is inflamed,
my eyes have failed from looking for my God.

Sounds kind of morose huh? Did you see the series "Butterflies"? It was from England and starred Wendy Craig and Geoffrey Palmer. I'm a lot like Wendy. Lately I've been pretty pissed off at God, and I've been letting him know it. Yes, I talk back to God. He's used to it I'm sure.

This is why I'm pissed: my husband is a hugely talented IT project manager who is currently hugely underemployed at a major computer company here in Nashville. I was a highly paid administrative assistant who decided to follow her bliss and go back to school full time to get a degree in Geography so I can get a graduate degree in Hazards Planning, which would have come in mightily handy in New Orleans. However, three things happened that set my world on on end:

February 11, 2000: I fall four and half feet onto a concrete driveway thanks to an idiot and his OOOOWWWWOOOOOGGGGAAAAA horn which scared my poor cat Georgina half to death causing her to run up the stairs porch stairs just as I was at the top and had nothing to grab onto to keep myself from falling. The grand total of injuries was one broken coccyx, one displaced sacrum, dislocated hips and shoulders, and a torn labrum in my right shoulder. Oh, and a concussion.

Then my husband's consulting business fizzled after Y2K. Companies felt they could handle disaster management themselves, or use high-buck, high-profile companies. Or out source. Hank is working again, in sales, in a Nashville company that is being good to him. Salarywise though he's making a fraction of what he was before.

And then there the final blow, the piece de resistance: my lupus. It's left me with joint pain, anemia, osteoporosis, weak lungs, and a brain cloud. (See "Joe Versus The Volcano" if you need any further explanation.)

So anyway what's all this leading to? I haven't got the foggiest idea. I just felt like ranting.

My doctor says I need to move to a dry, warm climate, since my lungs are shot from having pneumonia twelve times (and I have 2 granulomas now), and it would help the arthritis too.

So, my friends, please put me in yours prayers, and Hank as well, for his job search.

Gee, I'm in a really pissy mood. I'm going straight for the chocolate, don't try to stop me!

Help battle AIDS on your home computer.

2005-11-22T23:55:00.000-06:00

Go to battle against AIDS with your computer!

"What is FightAIDS@Home?"

http://fightaidsathome.scripps.edu/index.html is the first biomedical distributed computing project ever launched. It is run by the Olson Laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute, and uses your computer to assist fundamental research to discover new drugs, using our growing knowledge of the structural biology of AIDS.

I'm not a medical doctor, not a med student, a nurse or a health care worker. I am someone who lost someone to AIDS. My Grandfather Benny, whom I adored and miss every single moment of every day. He contracted HIV during several transfusions of blood following surgery for an aortic anyurism in 1981. This blog is about his journey. While he has died, for me this project will give him a peice of immortality.

I have a team "Episcopalians for a Cure" which you are welcome to join. When you go to the site, on the left there is a tab for "Find a Team". Search for "Episcopalians for a Cure" led by DameJulianFan. (Gee, can you tell I'm an Episcopalian?!) There are many, many other teams as well, so find one that suits you and put your computer to good use. Who knows what miracles we can help make!

Jeff Seeman: Congressional Candidate, OH 16th District

2005-11-22T20:37:00.000-06:00

Check this out. Jeff Seemann is a candidate for Congress in Ohio's 16th District. He is currently spending 100 hours as a homeless person. I couldn't do what he's doing. Physically, I couldn't. But I admire him for, as my grandmother would put it "walking in someone else's moccasins".

November 21, 2005
Day 2

Hello. I am writing this diary on behalf of Jeff Seemann. As many of you know, Jeff is running for Congress in Ohio's 16th District, and he's trying a different strategy. He believes that you cannot represent people until you truly understand their lives. Currently, he is spending 100 hours homeless, in an attempt to better understand what life is like for people who have lost everything. We all witnessed the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, but Katrina only magnified a problem that exists in every town on every day of every week. I just spoke with Jeff, and he has asked me to relay the story of his first 20 hours to you and several other blogs. The following is Jeff's entry;
Hello everyone. After my first day out here, if I can give you any amount of wisdom, it will be this; don't take anything for granted. You can always end up worse off than you are right now. It hasn't been easy here. The experiences and lessons I've learned already range from harsh to easy, but it's certainly been an eye-opener.
Last night, I tried to find a place to sleep. It was dark by the time I got downtown, and being a Sunday, everything was closed. I went into this experience blind, so I had no idea where any homeless shelters may be located, and I therefore decided to try a few churches. No luck there, all the doors were locked at the 4 area chuches I could find. I ended up by myself for the entire night, and found a bit of warmth behind the Palace Theater sometime around 10pm. I had hoped to find somebody to help me locate a place to sleep, but again, no luck. It was an awful night of sleep, if you can call it that at all. The temperature was probably in the 30s or low 40s. By midnight, I had a splitting headache. It's amazing how many things we take for granted in our everyday lives...like aspirin. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep a couple of times, but it was never anything that one could reasonably call sleep. By about 7 or 8 am, I was chased out of my space by a police officer. I've heard the words "move along" more times than I thought I would today. This morning, I found myself a few agencies that can help the homeless, but they are few and far between. So far, they've been helpful, but the people I've spoken to who benefit from these agencies tell me that the help doesn't last very long.
At one agency, I was told that I "picked a bad time to end up homeless" (as if there's a good time). This is the end of the year, and the grant money has dried up. Agencies don't have any money left to set anybody up with accomodations, and until January 1st, you're at the mercy of the streets. Churches do step in from time to time, but that's usually for one night only. I didn't know that a "homeless hotline" existed, but was advised to call them. One of the agencies allowed me use of their phone, and the hotline referred me to Open Door, a shelter at the Turnaround Community Outreach. I'm to report there tonight between 930 and 10pm, and I have to leave by 6am tomorrow morning. It's an African-American church, and I've already been by there for a meal at 2pm today. Very nice people, very comforting. Tomorrow, they're also having a free meal at 2pm at Open Door, but in order to eat you have to attend a church service first. I'm not willing to question this policy, but I wonder if they would still offer to feed the hungry if they were Buddhist, Jewish or even Muslim? At today's meal, there were 28 people in attendance. Almost all were homeless, but a few had homes but were well below the poverty line. The ages ranged from 18 months old to 70+ years. The 18 month old was a sweetheart. Her mother lives near the church and has no money, so she does what she can to keep her baby fed. The church gave her a few extra biscuits, and she slipped them in her baby's diaper bag (which was not really clean enough to handle food).
For the benefit of those of you concerned with whether or not I may be taking food or a bed from somebody who needs it more, I will gladly report that I waited until everyone had their plates of food before I approached the line (and was told that there was plenty if anybody needed more), and the cot I will sleep on tonight is not the last one. They can fit many more than will attend tonight, so everyone who has requested a place to sleep will get it. Also, no I have no money to make my situation any more comfortable than it is. I have no ATM card, no pocket change, no photo ID, nothing. If I was going to deprive anybody of anything during my experience, I will gladly give it up and go elsewhere. It's only been a short period of time, and I'm only 25% of the way through this, but I can tell you that I've learned a lot.
For starters, there's a whole system you have to know and those who can work it best survive with the least amount of trouble. There are a few phone numbers to call and get assistance, but most places can only offer you referrals to other agencies. It's a messed up web that you have to maneuver through in order to get anywhere. And I'm told that the funds are being slashed for 2006.
That half-eaten corn dog I saw on theground last night....I was too proud to pick it up, a move I could later regret. That bag of Fritos I saw in a trash can while walking down 12th Street...it might have had food inside. Earlier today, maybe some of you stopped by Burger King or Wendy's. Did you finish your french fries? If not, I know of a few people who would love to have what you just threwaway. Man, just that small handfull of leftover fries or the pickles you took off your burger would be a wonderful gift to some people. No, I'm notasking you to take some cold leftover food to people right now....but I am asking you to never again take for granted what you have. Tomorrow, you may not have it anymore.
Jeff Seemann
I'll be posting this diary in a few locations that Jeff has directed me to. I'll try to answer any questions you have if I have the time. In the meantime, you can help out Jeff's campaign - he's promised to deliver 10% of all funds raised to homeless shelters in the area. Visit Jeff's ActBlue page or his blog.
And trust me, as his friend, I heard it in his voice that he's not having an easy time with this. He's surviving just fine, but the people he is meeting are really eating away at his soul. He's going to walk away from this a very different person, even more sympathetic than he is now.
Peace be with you all, Michelle

I have no idea how people suffering from chronic illness survive on the streets. Or what it must be like to be a child on the streets. I do know I'm grateful for what I do have, and try to what I can to help. One person at a time can make difference, some people, like Jeff, may make a bigger difference.

Narnia: A Multimedia Festival, Nov 15 Dec 13, NYC

2005-11-02T23:44:00.000-06:00

[Episcopal News Service] Trinity Church-St. Paul's Chapel in New York City will offer a unique, multimedia festival November 15-December 13 titled “Narnia: A Multimedia Festival,” in connection with the December 9 release of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," a new feature film from Walt Disney Pictures of C.S. Lewis's beloved classic novel. The festival is dedicated to an exploration of the art and Christianity of Lewis.
Workshops led by the Rev. Dr. Clair McPherson, author, priest and teacher of 30 years, will be telecast online at http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/ and can be viewed live, or on demand, and offered as educational resources.

More on this, and information about an e-course which starts November 7th, can be found here.

I love the works of C.S. Lewis. I wonder how many people have found God through Aslan?

Here's a fun little test at Narnia Web.

Plus, if you go to the The Lion's Call site, there are chatbots for Puddleglum and Reepicheep. It's quite fun to play with, even for us "older kids"!

All Saint's Eve

2005-11-01T21:38:00.000-06:00

It's not all about the great sugar rush...

In the Book of Common Prayer, this is the one of the readings for the All Hallows Eve:

Wisdom of Solomon, 3: 1-9

Buth the souls of the righteous are in the hand of god,
And no torment will ever tough the.
In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be a disaster,
and their goint from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.
For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
becuace God tested them and foun them worthy of himself;
like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accecpted them.
In the time of their visitioand they will shine forth and will run like sparks through the stubble.
They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them forever.
Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful abide with him in love,
ecause grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.

All Saints' Day, Phos hilaron

2005-11-01T09:38:00.000-06:00

Today, on All Saints' Day, this Collect follows nicely with the theme of light that comes from the Celtic tradition:

Lord Christ, your saints have been the lights of the world in every generation: Grant that we who follow in their footsteps may be made worthy to enter into that heavenly country where you live and reighn for ever and ever. Amen

There’s also a wonderful metrical hymn that I haven’t heard chanted in the Episcopal church, but did hear it once in a Greek Orthodox church in Salt Lake City. It’s called the Phos hilaron (Song of the Light) and is one of the earliest Christian hymns. It’s been attributed to St. Athenogenes, but it may have been around long before him, and might be Byzantine in origen.

Phos hilaron

O Gracious Light
pure brightness of the everlasting Father in heaven.
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing praises, O God:
Father Son and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times
to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Here's to not pigging out on the leftover candy!

Right now I am listening to:

2005-10-31T13:35:00.000-06:00

Suppose, sung by Josephine Baker on Les Eternels, Volume 5. It was written by Demon - Dixon, 1931.

Think Jews are stiff necked? Try Celts!

2005-10-31T13:23:00.000-06:00

Much of what gets celebrated in both Roman and Anglican Christianity can trace it roots to earlier pre-Christian Celts, pronounced Kelts – the Boston baseketball team can be allowed their deviation, however because I like them.

Celts weren’t just in the British Isles, they were all over Europe, possibly as far away as India. Probably the most famous Celtic crossover holiday is Halloween, originally called Samhaim. The Celtic language has some peculiarities, so instead of being pronounced “sam-hayne” it’s actually pronounced “sah-ween”. Another instance of being completely confused by the language quirks is my paternal grandmother’s maiden name O’Hara, which was originally o’Eaghra.

So, back to Halloween. According to the ancient Celtic calendar, the New Year began on November 1st, which is why many modern pagans greet each other with “Blessed Samhain” or "Happy New Year". I’m for all the New Years parties you can fit into one year! In many Christian traditions, Halloween is All Saint’s Eve, and November 1 is All Saints Day. We still keep that Celtic tradition going, with our Halloween parties, spooky stories, and tricks and treats.

Being a pastoral bunch (of the farming sort, not the ecclesiastical sort) they celebrated the end of the harvest and began preparations for winter, like moving their livestock closer to where they lived, and storing their harvest in safe and accessible places where it would be fairly rodent and spoilage free. For the Celts, it was the most important of the four major holidays.

The next major holiday Imbolc (ihm-olk) became St. Brigid’s Day Bovina Sancta!’s cow is named Brigid, by the way, and she wears her namesake's cross around her collar. It’s usually around February 1-3, and somehow evolved into Groundhog Day. Why? I don’t know; maybe the people of Paxhatany got really bored one year and decided to dress up a groundhog, then they realized they needed a really good reason to do it and decided on the shadow-weather connection. Many people in my family save their Christmas tree and burn it on St. Brigid’s day. I doubt any of them could explain why they do it other than "well Gram did it that way", but it probably has something to do with the fact that Imbolc is also called the Festival of Lights and Christmas trees were burned then.

Ostara was the first day of spring, usually falling around March 20–21. It was a holiday of rebirth, which is how it eventually evolved into the Christian holiday of Easter. It’s also the Vernal Equinox, where day and night are of equal length.

Beltaine which is usually around April 30 or May 1, but can run later as all the Celtic calendar dates are based on lunar cycles. It doesn’t correspond directly to any Christian Holiday. It’s the midpoint between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice. It’s common to have bonfires at this time, and most people are familiar with a holiday which evolved from Beltaine called May Day. (May Poles, and for some reason military parades get lumped in here) House fires would be extinguished and then relit from the main bonfire. Traditional date: April 30 and/or May 1. This date is opposite on the calendar from Samhain.

Some people believe the fairies could cross over on this day. My Irish great-grandmother always had a special section of her garden reserved for the fairies. Just a little whimsical area, with pastel flowers, pretty rocks and a low to the ground birdfeeder. Yes, the otherwise no-nonsense, devout Irish Catholic Mary Elizabeth O’Neal believed in fairies. Old cultural habits do die hard! Especially since no Celt I know misses an excuse for a party or to make a to-do about something. Like I said, us Celts are stiff necked!

In the Book of Common Prayer, this is the one of the readings for All Hallows Eve:

Wisdom of Solomon, 3: 1-9
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
And no torment will ever touch them.
In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be a disaster,
and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.
For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
becuace God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
In the time of their visition and they will shine
forth and will run like sparks through the stubble.
They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them forever.
Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful
abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he
watches over his elect.

Happy Halloween!

We can be such hypocrites at times

2005-10-30T21:59:00.000-06:00

The past few days have been full of news of polititians and scandals. Well, actually the news always seem to be full that stuff, but lately with DeLay, Frist, Libby. Good Grief. My take on it is they are like the Pharisees. The outside of their cup is clean, but the inside is still dirty; the tomb is whitewashed, but the inside still stinks. You've probably caught on that I'm talking about the Seven Woes -- Jesus nagging at the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites. (Matthew 23: 1-36. )

We seem to want our elected polititians to be better than us: more honorable, more honest, more charitable. The only problem with that is they are human, as are we, and we shouldn't expect them to be any different just because we elect them to office. Or because someone is a movie star, a "personality" or whatever. That's hypocritical of us. Why? Because we know they are mere mortals like us, but when they show that they are just as mortal we are, we get offended. We say "they should know better -- they've violated the public trust."

What about us? Can we, the unelected majority, the common citizens of our land, violate the public trust? Ever weaseled out of jury duty? Ever littered? Ever talked your way out of a speeding ticket you know you deserved? Public trust isn't just for polititians, it's for us all. It's part of belonging to a community. Just because we don't usually end up on the front pages doesn't make it otherwise.

We do have every right to feel let down by these people because they did let us down. We elected them to represent us, or accepted their appointment to their post. We want them to do right by us. They had choices to make and they chose to make poor ones, and now their deeds are in the spotlight. We can't dwell on that though, just work and pray for justice, get active in the political process and let our lawmakers know that we, their constituents, really do pay attention to what they do and what is going on in the world.

It does seem that there is a tendency for politicians to whitewash their actions, spin the truth, blame the other guy and that is nothing new! The first polititian probably did the first spin job right after someone got the bright idea to form a government. It seems to be human nature that once a person get power they want to keep it at any cost, even it means being hypocritical or deceitful. I guess they think they'll never get caught, so they are deceiving themselves as well as us.

The only problem with thinking like that is people do get caught, and God knows what they are doing anyway. I can't help wonder how well these people sleep at night and when they pray if there is a nagging little voice in their ears, that they are desperately trying to ignore, that is saying "Woe to you!"

Just my Sunday night thoughts after a very enjoyable adult Sunday School this morning.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a glass of wine and listen to "The Wall" for about the 500th time in my life. Gotta love the classics!

God bless all y'all!

Matthew 13: 1-19; Parable of the Sower

2005-10-25T11:54:00.000-05:00

The view from my patio.

Matthew 13: 1-19

1 On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.

2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.

3 And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.

5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,

6 and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots.

7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.

8 But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

9 Whoever has ears ought to hear."
(from the New American Bible)

I love to garden, and that's one of the reasons this parable has always appealed to me. I've sowed seeds just to have them eaten by birds, choked by weeds, eaten from below by moles and voles, or just not bloom at all. I've had my garden turned into a buffet for rabbits and deer, and I've watched a leek mysteriously get pulled underground, probably by the aforementioned vole gang. Occasionally I have been rewarded by some really awesome plants, especially hot peppers and tomatoes. I admit I plant mostly a salsa garden, with a few leafy things thrown in for variety. I'm an organic gardener; I have no use for toxic pesticides, and think they are absolutely unnecessary. But that's another matter entirely.

Like a garden, it is necessary at times to nourish our faith. Life has a way of robbing your soul of nourishment. We rush out the door in the morning so intent on getting to a job we hate that we miss the dew on the grass. Or at dinner we can't slow down so we have to get fast food to nourish us. Even at night, an ideally tranquil time, we are busy preparing for the next day when we haven't even finished the one we are in!

Why is that? Do we really have a taskmaster before us making us do all the things we think we need to do to be successful in our life? I doubt it. What we are really doing is running. Always running. Not towards something though, but away from something: our life.

Our life isn't supposed to be a series on unconnected moments that take us from one "obligation" to the next. That doesn't have any real purpose except to get us from one place in our life to place, but not to a destination.

That's what counts. A destination in life; a purpose. Some of us know what it is. I'll be perfectly honest with you. What my destination is, I haven't a clue. Somehow along the way the seeds of my life got tangled up in the thorns of something called lupus and my life hasn't been the same since. Lately though, I have realized that, just as I can rip away the thorns from the good plants in the garden, I can prune the thorns from the path and clear it. Hey, I can even forge a new one if I want! All I had to do was open up my ears and listen.

God is always there beside us, even if we have shoved Him to the sidelines in our search for a "meaningful life". We don't hear Him because of the sounds of the noises we have created in our pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of stuff.

On your next day "off" really take it off and listen. Don't set the alarm, just wake up when your body is ready. Don't turn on any radio or television or CD, but listen to the sounds of the world around you. Somewhere in there is the voice you have missed listening to, whether you have realized it or not. When you finally hear that voice, listen. Just listen.

And on that note, I'll leave you with my favorite gardening prayer:

The Gardener's Prayer by Karel Capek

Oh Lord, grant that it in some way may rain every day, say from about midnight until three o'clock in the morning...but You see, it must be gentle and warm so that it can soak in;
Grant that at the same time it would not rain on Campion, Alyssum, Helianthemum, Lavender and other plants which You in Your infinite wisdom know are drought-loving plants...I will write their names on a bit of paper if You like...and grant that the sun may shine the whole day long, but not everywhere (not for instance on Spirea, or on Gentian, Plantain-lily or Rhododendron), and not too much...that there be plenty of dew and little wind, enough worms, no plant lice and snails, no mildew, and that once a week thin, liquid manure and guano may fall from Heaven.

God Bless You, Rosa Parks!

2005-10-25T00:57:00.000-05:00

Every few centuries a handful of people make a change in our lives, our ways of thinking, our world. Some are driven from birth to grab the world by the shoulders and shake it into change. Some decide to use their voice and argue the world into change.

On December 1st, 1955, one tired woman simply sat down on a city bus and our world changed forever. Today, Rosa Parks left this earth, and I know that in Heaven she is gathered among the angels and the saints who left this planet a better place than they found it when they first arrived.

I was born a little over a year after Ms. Parks sat down on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, but I can remember, even as a young child (maybe three or four years old), how my grandmother told me a the story of the woman who wouldn't give up her seat to a white man and go to the back of the bus as was expected of her in that day and time. I forget exactly under what circumstances my grandmother has decided to tell me the story, but I do remember her sitting me on her lap to tell me about Ms. Parks. I remember she said that she though the woman was an angel sent to earth to teach us all a lesson about love and what was right.

Rosa Parks, we will miss you here, but we are eternally grateful for your courage that turned a simple act of defiance (even though you only wanted to get home!) into a lesson for us all.

A prayer for social order from the Book of Common Prayer:

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human
heart [and especially the hearts of the people of this land], that barriers
which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.

Brother in Idaho Prison Needs Help

2005-10-05T11:10:00.000-05:00

I have a brother in the Idaho prison in Boise. He has numerous health problems, including bipolar disorder, type 1 diabetes and dystonia.

He is only getting 4 of his 11 physician prescribed medications, which is adversely affecting his health. A few days ago he suffered an insulin reaction. His blood sugar went down into the 30's. It could have been avoided if the guards had not taken the food he is allowed to keep in his room to prevent such reactions.

If anyone knows of an prisoner advocacy group there, please let me know. I've not had much luck online, and Idaho is a bit backward when it comes to dealing with mentally ill prisoners.

Actually, they are backward with dealing with the mentally ill period. When my mother was severely depressed and in the midst of a disassociative attack, the police were called because my mother was turning violent. Did they take her to a mental health facility or hospital? No, they arrested her. Yes, arrested her. It's Idaho's way of dealing with the mentally ill when the police are called to help. When she finally came out of the dissassociate state, she found herself in chains before a judge. She should have been in a hospital, not in jail. That gives you an idea of what the Idaho criminal justice system is like when dealing with the mentally ill.

I don't know if the ACLU deals with this type of problem my brother is having, but I'm sure John probably isn't the only prisoner having these problems. I've emailed the ACLU and I'm awaiting a response. Because has no access to computers, so I'm doing the virtual legwork for him. If you can help, or if you know anyone can help, please let email me(bovina_sancta@yahoo.com). Feel free to pass my email to anyone you think might be able to help John.

At this point I am concerned for his life. If he had not been found the other night, he could have died from the insulin reaction.

Please keep John in your prayers.

Only say the word and my servant will be healed.

2005-09-30T13:37:00.000-05:00

Matthew 8: 10-17 The centurion said to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word; and my servant, will be healed.”

I have a brother with a mental illness (bipolar disorder) who is serving a three year term for a crime he committed while he was off his medication. If he had been on his medication and getting proper psychiatric care, he probably wouldn’t have committed the crime in the first place. It was not the first time he had committed this particular crime, but because he looks so clean cut, the question of mental illness was never raised. He just had a “criminal personality”.

Finally he was diagnosed and we understood that his actions were in part due to his illness. I cannot, I will not excuse his crimes totally as being part of his mental illness. He was still able to make a capable moral decision, but often bipolar disorder is it makes a person feel they are above a moral standard and they can do a particular thing without recourse. This I know firsthand, as I too have bipolar disorder. Although I have never committed any crime, I have made some seriously bad decisions in my life while I was manic.

During his current incarceration, those in charge, the centurions, if you will, are responsible for giving him his medications and for his access to counseling. Unlike the centurion who spoke to Jesus on behalf of his servant, my brother’s centurions are not as compassionate or competent. His medications are administered on an irregular schedule, depending on staffing needs rather than his doctor’s orders. His insulin injections are handled only slightly better. Before he was transferred to the prison he is in now, his former prison infirmary messed his medications up so bad his blood sugar was out of control and he was being overdosed on his psychiatric medicines without knowing it. He was in a stupor and no guard paid any attention to that fact until he was transferred to his new facility. Even now, he is not receiving any counseling that would help him deal with his particular demons.

When he is eventually released, he will not have been rehabilitated, he will simply have been the guest of the state. The chances he will again be a “guest” are probably pretty high. This is what happens in our society when we regard mental illness as a moral failure instead of an illness and opt to incarcerate rather than treat the underlying causes of particular behavior patterns.

We must be the centurions to those who cannot speak for themselves, whether they are in prison or are mentally ill. We must ask those in charge to treat our brothers and sisters humanely, to give them what they need to stay well, and to help us help them. We could very easily be in their shoes, but by the grace of God.

The week of October 4th – 10th is Mental Illness Awareness Week, and October 4th is the National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery and Understanding. I urge you to go the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) site and find out more of what you can do.

Prayer for the Intercession of Saint Dymphna, Patron of Mental Illness

Lord God, Who has graciously chosen Saint Dymphna to be the patroness of those afflicted with mental and nervous disorders, and has caused her to be an inspiration and a symbol of charity to the thousands who invoke her intercession, grant through the prayers of this pure, youthful martyr, relief and consolation to all who suffer from these disturbances, and especially to those for whom we now pray. (Here mention those for whom you wish to pray.)

We beg You to accept and grant the prayers of Saint Dymphna on our behalf. Grant to those we have particularly recommended patience in their sufferings and resignation to Your Divine Will. Fill them with hope and, if it is according to Your Divine Plan, bestow upon them the cure they so earnestly desire. Grant this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Jacob's Angels

2005-09-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

Genesis 28:10-17. Jacob dreamed there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

As Jacob was watching the angels, the Lord was standing beside him. The Lord promised Jacob the land he way lying on would belong to him and his offspring and that they would be as the dust of the earth and spread to the four corners of the earth.

Naturally, when I came to meditate upon this, was I led to think about Jacob and his descendents? No. Was it about the Lord saying “Know that I will be with you wherever you go”? No. I thought: do angels dream?

Our society loves angels. They are in the Bible, movies, television, calendars, t-shirts, architecture, and television ads for lite cream cheese. Virtually every culture has some form of angelic beings in their mythos.

What of Jacob’s angels? Do they dream of us as Jacob dreamed of them? Today, September 29th is the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels. Does that mean they get the day off? Probably not. An angel’s work is never done.

If angels dream of us, I can only imagine the nightmares we must give them! Dreaming of our cruelty to one another manifested in so many ways: child abuse, domestic violence, war, poverty, injustice and other insults to God. I can imagine them dreaming of anxiously hurrying to save us from ourselves, only to lose hold of us at the last possible moment, watching us fall into our own manmade abyss.

But I can also imagine dreams where their heavenly hands do reach us in time and tragedy is averted. In their gently hands, an ill woman with AIDS finally sleeps peacefully after a fever final breaks; a homeless man finds shelter, warmth and a hearty meal after days of wandering in the streets while those with plenty pass him by; as a platoon of soldiers breaths a collective sigh of relief as they realize the landmine their Humvee ran over miraculously didn’t explode. I can imagine the joy in the eyes of an angle as they dream of a newborn baby opening his eyes for the first time and gazing into his mother’s after a long and difficult pregnancy.

To all angels, everywhere, I wish you Sweet Dreams.

Knowledge and Love: 1 Corinthians 8 1-13

2005-09-29T09:20:00.000-05:00

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

I've always liked this verse. For some reason, I've always imagined a balloon when I read this. Love is the balloon, and knowledge is the helium that makes it fly.

Sounds strange, I know, but what use is knowledge without love? Without love knowledge is just things we know; with love it is things we know and can experience and share.

Like a helium-filled balloon, if we should let go, it can float away and be found by another. Knowledge and love becomes shared, even if we don't know who found the balloon.

If it floats away far into the atmosphere and bursts, the knowledge we had from it still remains with us, just not in a physical form. But we can take that knowledge left with us and create another form to hold it and pass it on. Knowledge can be passed on indefinitely, but without the love to hold it, it has no form. It's just a collection of ideas. Fill the knowledge with love though, it can become action

Next time you see a balloon floating free, think of it a love-in-action, being carried to where ever God feels it's needed. And remember - we are the balloons as well. Don't be afraid to let the wind carry you to where ever God wants you to be.

Faith Quote of the Day...Not

2005-09-28T18:59:00.000-05:00

"And while my heart goes out to people on fixed incomes, it is primarily a state and local responsibility. And in my opinion, it's the responsibility of faith-based organizations, of churches and charities and others to help those people." _ Michael Brown, former FEMA director.

Right. People on fixed income, say like those of Social Security are the responsibilty of state, local and faith based organizations. Since when? Yes, we help. We help because we care, because Jesus would help. Because we are human. Not because the government mandated it.

Michael Brown's statement somehow brings to mind Pontius Pilate. (Although that may be insulting to Pontius Pilate...) Has the government washed it's hands of the poor? No, but Brown seems to need a civics lesson. A compassion lesson. A lesson in disaster management. A lesson in....oh, never mind. You get the idea.