SUMMARIES OF THE INVESTIGATION OF BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

If you're interested in reasonable and non-hysterical summaries of the investigation of Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina ('Episcopal' has been removed from the name of the diocese at the website) and the complaints (no charges!) against him by persons within the diocese, which the Disciplinary Board of the Episcopal Church is now investigating, as it must, check out the posts at The Lead here and here and the article at The Living Church.

In an update, The Living Church also notes that Josephine Hicks has recused herself as the attorney representing the Disciplinary Board in the investigation.

ABOUT THE PLACEBO EFFECT

This morning after breakfast, I had a bit of heartburn, so I went to the cabinet for a tablet for relief. Actually, I buy the generic version of Zantac, because it's cheaper. My heartburn went away rather quickly. Much later I went back to the cabinet, and there was the pill lying on the counter. I never swallowed it! Have I made a new scientific discovery? The pill works even when you forget to take it, just so you believe you've taken it. Since I'm home alone, I had a good private laugh over the incident, but, of course, I had to tell y'all.

Picture from Wikipedia.

FEAST DAY OF TERESA OF AVILA

Nada Te Turbe

Nada te turbe
Nada te espante
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta
Solo Dios basta
Todo se pasa
Dios no se muda
La paciencia todo lo alcanza

Let nothing disturb you,
nothing afright you.
Whom God possesses
in nothing is wanting.
Alone God suffices.
All things are passing.
God never ceases.
Patient endurance attains all things.

YouTube video stolen from Margaret's website Leave It Lay Where Jesus Flang It.

English lyrics from Margaret, and Spanish lyrics from Paul, who is also a thief.

What are friends for, if not to steal from?

Repost from three years ago.

TYPICAL HEADLINES FOR THESE DIFFICULT TIMES

Pictured above is the front page from The Advocate out of Baton Rouge, LA.

MOVE COSTS BR 400 JOBS

FOOD BANK CUPBOARDS BARE

BR'S NEW MILITARY FACILITY SET TO TRAIN RESERVISTS, GUARD

Priorities! The money's always there for new military facilities. Where's the money to create jobs?!!!

A CAUTIONARY WORD ON AUSTERITY

From the New York Times:

For a year now, Britain’s economy has been stuck in a vicious cycle of low growth, high unemployment and fiscal austerity. But unlike Greece, which has been forced into induced recession by misguided European Union creditors, Britain has inflicted this harmful quack cure on itself.

Austerity was a deliberate ideological choice by Prime Minister David Cameron’s ruling coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, elected 17 months ago. It has failed and can be expected to keep failing. But neither party is yet prepared to acknowledge that reality and change course.
....

Austerity is a political ideology masquerading as an economic policy. It rests on a myth, impervious to facts, that portrays all government spending as wasteful and harmful, and unnecessary to the recovery. The real world is a lot more complicated. America has no need to repeat Mr. Cameron’s failed experiment. (My emphasis)

But that's just where we're headed here in the US, with the obstructionist Republicans in the House and the Senate who will not cooperate with a jobs bill. Make no mistake: theirs is not an ideological or principled stand. The goal of the Republicans is to block all efforts to get the economy on the upswing but rather allow the situation go from bad to worse over the next year, in order that they may electioneer on the failure of President Obama. That's just how cynical the Republicans are. They will sacrifice the people and the country for the sake of politics.

ENGLISH ABROAD

Subject: ENGLISH SIGNS DON'T TRAVEL WELL

In a Bangkok temple:
IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN, EVEN A FOREIGNER, IF DRESSED AS A MAN.

Cocktail lounge, Norway:
LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.

Doctors office, Rome:
SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES.

Dry cleaners, Bangkok:
DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR THE BEST RESULTS.

In a Nairobi restaurant:
CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.

On the main road to Mombassa, leaving Nairobi:
TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE.

On a poster at Kencom:
ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO WE CAN HELP.

In a City restaurant:
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND WEEKENDS.

In a cemetery:
PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.

Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations:
GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.

On the menu of a Swiss restaurant:
OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.

In a Tokyo bar:
SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.

Hotel, Yugoslavia:
THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Hotel, Japan:
YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery:
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.

A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest:
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Hotel, Zurich:
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Advertisement for donkey rides,Thailand:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen:
WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

A laundry in Rome:
LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Don't blame me. Blame Wade. And don't ask me if these are real signs from abroad, because I don't know, but they are funny.

HOW TO PASS THE TIME IN THE CLINIC WAITING ROOM

An elderly couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic for a checkup and spotted a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year. Check out this impromptu performance. We are only as old as we feel, it's all attitude. Enjoy! They certainly do.

What a delight! Thanks to Paul (A.).

UPDATE ON ANN AND JIM'S GRANDSON AND ON BIRDIE

From his mother:

He went in for his X-ray yesterday and the results came back today and were perfectly normal (he and I even got to look at the X-ray just after it was taken-- it was pretty cool). The next step is the ultrasound in 2 weeks.

Thanks for your encouragement and support. It means a lot to us.

Please continue your prayers.

If you recall, we prayed for Birdie a while back. Brian at Noble Wolfe received the following from Birdie:

I am finishing my fourth course of chemo, which will bring a new wave of cluelessness. But that's okay, because today's exam showed NO MEASURABLE TUMOR in my breast—and the last exam said the same about the node tumor. The large tumor measured six by seven centimeters at the start of chemotherapy, and the node was three centimeters. The kind of cancer I have (triple negative) is not always responsive to chemo, so we didn't know what to expect.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's working. I am so thankful and full of hope for my future. Hope is the stuff of life.

Thanks be to God, to all who prayed for Birdie, and for all who cared for Birdie during her illness.

WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED?

From the Guardian:

One of Rupert Murdoch's most senior European executives has resigned following Guardian inquiries about a circulation scam at News Corporation's flagship newspaper, the Wall Street Journal.

The Guardian found evidence that the Journal had been channelling money through European companies in order to secretly buy thousands of copies of its own paper at a knock-down rate, misleading readers and advertisers about the Journal's true circulation.

The bizarre scheme included a formal, written contract in which the Journal persuaded one company to co-operate by agreeing to publish articles that promoted its activities, a move which led some staff to accuse the paper's management of violating journalistic ethics and jeopardising its treasured reputation for editorial quality.

There you have it. The once proud, conservative newspaper is now being run to the ground under Murdoch. It's not a pretty picture. The shoddy reporting on the Episcopal Church and the breakaways noted in my earlier post is all of a piece with the entire WSJ operation at the present time. Pity the employees of the Journal who remain dedicated to ethical journalism.

'EXCOMMUNICATION OF TRUTH'

Bishop James R. Mathes, of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, tells the true story at the Daily Episcopalian and corrects the muddled conglomeration of misinformation from the article at the Wall Street Journal titled "Twenty-first Century Excommunication” and the accompanying video. Shame on the WSJ for this grossly inaccurate report! Where in heaven's name did the reporter, Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, get her information? The spin in the story, and it's all spin and no true story, seems to come from the breakaways who believe they can leave the Episcopal Church and take the silver on their way out.

Bishop Mathes' response in its entirety is posted below:

In an online story published by The Wall Street Journal, titled “Twenty-first Century Excommunication,” and accompanied by a video interview of the reporter, Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, the recent property disputes of The Episcopal Church were grossly mischaracterized. I have served as the Episcopal bishop of San Diego for almost seven years, and in that capacity dealt with three congregations in which the ordained leaders and their followers attempted to leave the Episcopal Church with parish property. In these dealings, I was threatened with death and told I will go to hell by those who claim to love Jesus more than I do. Other colleagues have had similar experiences, from death threats to being spit at during church services. Ms. Hemingway would have you believe that the animus we have received is about scriptural interpretation, but make no mistake: this is about power.

To fully understand this situation, it is important to grasp the canonical (i.e. legal) structure of The Episcopal Church. Parishes are creations of the diocese in which they are situated, in some cases deriving their tax exempt status because they are an irrevocable part of the diocese. As a condition of ordination, clergy vow obedience to their bishop. Congregations begin as mission churches under the direct supervision and financial support of the bishop with property held by the diocese. When such a church becomes a parish, by vote of diocesan legislature, the congregation pledges to be subordinate to the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church as well as the constitution and canons of the diocese. After becoming a parish, they may incorporate under the religious incorporation statutes of the state in which the congregation is situated. The diocese will usually transfer title to real property to the parish at that time to be held in trust for The Episcopal Church.

When individuals purported to alienate property which had be given to The Episcopal Church, I was bound by my fiduciary role as a bishop to prevent that from happening. Because The Episcopal Church, like so many others, follows state laws of incorporation, I had no alternative but to file suit in civil court to remedy the matter. This is analogous to a landlord finally going to civil court to gain relief from a non-paying renter or an owner using legal means to deal with a squatter. Thus, those leaving The Episcopal Church were catalysts of these law suits by breaking their solemn vows and by attempting to seize property they had no right to possess.

What is particularly regrettable about Ms. Hemingway’s piece is confusion about the relationship between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, which is easily remedied with a simple visit to the Anglican Communion’s official website. There you will find every diocese of The Episcopal Church in their cycle of prayer; you will not find The Anglican Church in North American on that list. This is not to say they do not need our prayers. It is simply an indicator of who is an Anglican and who has merely appropriated the label. You will not find Missouri Synod Lutherans there either. Thus, The Episcopal Church remains a constituent member of the Anglican Communion. Despite Ms. Hemingway’s interpretations, our leader (called a primate), the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, is a participant in the Meeting of Primates of the Anglican Communion; Robert Duncan, the leader of the breakaway Anglican Church in North America, is not. At our last House of Bishops meeting, a gathering of all bishops of The Episcopal Church, we were visited by the primates of Japan and Central Africa. Like an eclectic extended family, we have our differences, but we regularly gather together.

Ms. Hemingway suggests that The Episcopal Church is depriving these departing Episcopalians of a relationship to Anglican bishops and foreign dioceses. Oddly, these individuals claim to desire a relationship with a bishop of their own choosing. But bishops are those who by definition maintain order and oversight over the church. To put it in historical terms, this is rather like choosing to secede from the nation when the current leadership is not to your liking. Thus, when the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church urges her colleagues not to provide aid and comfort to those who would undermine our church, she has history on her side.

In the final analysis, no one has been excommunicated; rather some individuals have left our church. On their way out, they have tried to take what does not belong to them and, in an unimaginative attempt to cover their unseemly behavior, they have pointed the finger at their victim, The Episcopal Church. The Wall Street Journal and Ms. Hemingway have either been duped or shown a stunning lack of care in reporting. The only thing in this story that has been excommunicated is the truth. (My emphases throughout)

As Walter Cronkite said as he signed off his news show, "And that's the way it is."

UPDATE: From Cathy in the comments...

Posting these links here too (as well as on FB):

From the WSJ website: To send a letter to the editor for publication in the print journal: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com. To react to something you've read in the Online Journal or comment on our news coverage, email newseditors@wsj.com.

Honestly, do tell them. Most of the WSJ editorial staff are not going to be experts on the ins and outs of the Anglican church and they won't understand these issues, unless someone points out that a report is inaccurate.

Cathy is right. We should not leave it to Bishop Mathes and bloggers to counter the misinformation. Anyone can write to the WSJ. The more letters the editors receive, the more they will take note.

DON'T WAIT TOO LONG!

Thanks to my niece on Facebook.

PLEASE PRAY...

...for Jim and Ann's grandson.

Heavenly Father, watch with us over your child, and grant that he may be restored to that perfect health which it is yours alone to give; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UPDATE: Also from Ann:

An update on Aileen for whom we prayed.

P.S. The following is the final update on Aileen, written by Aileen herself after six months in a coma, and three months of relearning how to do EVERYTHING. These are messages to friends taken from her Facebook homepage which her husband updated during this ordeal for all of us who prayed for this young mother:

September 24, 2011 I am doing MUCH better, and I AM at home...yay!...How are You and John doing? We miss you guys...and love you!

September 30, 2011 I really appreciate it...I am actually doing VERY well...I am able to walk short distances w/ a walker which is VERY exciting!!...Thanks for your words of encouragement...

Thanks be to God, to all who prayed, to all who cared for Aileen.

This is good news, indeed! If you recall, Aileen is married to Mike and has two little boys

IT AND BP - 3RD WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Blessings and congratulations, dear IT and BP! May you have many more happy years together.

IT says, 'Every day, I feel blessed to be married to my Beloved.'

Extend your good wishes to IT and BP at The Friends of Jake.

JESUS AND MO

Click on the cartoon for the larger view.

From Jesus and Mo.

STORY OF THE DAY - EASY OPTION

I'm not that good at live & let live, she
told me, when it's just as easy to avoid &
then I don't even have to think about it.

From StoryPeople.

A GAY VOICE ON COMING OUT DAY

André, Age 4, Baton Rouge, La. (1972)

From The Huffington Post Gay Voices:

The picture of André with the little pink purse is adorable. André's story is bittersweet. He found the picture above as he was looking through an old photo album and showed it to his mother. His mother commented that his sister was really cute at that age. André told his mom that it was his picture rather than his sister's, and she said nothing and turned the page. Sadly, André's parents never came to understand what it meant for him to be gay.

I laughed out loud when I came to this part of André's story:

In my 12 years of Catholic schooling, just about every report card included the comment, "André is a sensitive boy." That was Catholic school code for "gay as a daisy."

André goes on to say:

It was tough growing up "sensitive," and the journey was never easy. It was worth it, though. I can now say I love who I am, and I love the life I've built for myself.

I love that I've learned to honor and protect that sensitive, little boy with the pink Easter purse and black galoshes.

Read the entire story. It's not long, and you won't be sorry. Be sure to look at the pictures of other children in the slide show at the link. A few are hilarious. If being gay is a choice, and sensible people know it is not, then the choice is made early on.

Thanks to Roger for the link.

MUGABE SHOCKED, JUST SHOCKED

From the Daily Mail:

The Archbishop of Canterbury shared tea, scones and jam with Robert Mugabe as he confronted the dictator over the persecution of Anglicans in Zimbabwe.
....

Dr Rowan Williams urged the tyrant to call a halt to a campaign of terror which has seen thousands of the country's Anglicans forced out of their churches and abused.

Dr Williams later said the tyrant, who is a Catholic, claimed to have been shocked at the level of persecution of Anglicans in his country.

He said: ‘He expressed his concern at the damage the division was doing to communities generally in Zimbabwe.'

No doubt Mugabe is a tyrant, but as the Mail tells the story, one pictures the scene with Dr Williams shouting, 'You tyrant! Stop the persecution now!'

BOND GIRL TO CATHEDRAL CANON

My friend Cathy sent me the link to the story last night, but I've learned the hard way not to post late at night when I'm tired. I see MadPriest posted the story first, and I give him due credit, but my post is not a copycat. It's just that the folks in England have the advantage because they get up earlier over there.



From the Daily Mail:

Shannon Ledbetter appeared alongside Pierce Brosnan in the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies, wearing a £250,000 PVC dress.

A £250,000 PVC dress!!! A plastic dress at that price? Well, I never!

Shannon looks a bit sad in her expensive plastic dress. :-(

But after throwing in the towel on her acting career, she studied theology and was ordained in 2003. Shannon, 47, was inducted yesterday as a canon - a permanent member of cathedral clergy - by The Bishop of Blackburn Reverend Nicholas Reade and Dean of Blackburn, the Very Reverend Christopher Armstrong.

There now. That's much better. Shannon is perhaps a bit dressed down from her Bond days, but she looks so very happy. Just look at her radiant smile.

In 2009 the Cathedral was criticised for supplying communion bread blessed by a man in case members of the congregation refused to accept the sacrament after a woman priest had consecrated it.

But Canon Ledbetter said she welcomes the challenge faced by women in the church.

She said: "Many women are ordained in the Church of England and have been for a number of years. I'm happy to embrace the challenge of changing people's minds, people can only judge by my actions. I hope to fulfil the role well."

Go Canon Shannon!

And now I'll tell you my real reason for going forward with the story, even though MadPriest had it first. Cathy not only supplied the link, but she supplied the following commentary:

From loose woman to loose canon!! Haha!!! :)

Now I'm sure Canon Shannon was not a loose woman before she became a canon, but do you really think I was going to let an execrable pun go to waste?

NOTE: All joking aside, I wish Canon Ledbetter the very best as she begins her work in the new position.

BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE ON LAMBETH 2008

From Anglican Mainstream:
Canterbury, England

I am glad I came here for this Lambeth and worshipped one last time in the Cathedral home of Augustine and Dunstan, Anselm and Becket, Cranmer and Laud, Temple and Ramsay. I had come to speak a word of hope and perhaps to intervene on behalf of our beloved, but in the last resolve the family refused the long needed measures. So he just slipped away, our noble prince, one dreary morning in Canterbury with hardly even a death rattle.

The new prince was born last month in Jerusalem. I was there—arriving late, departing early. I was never quite sure what I was witnessing. It was an awkward and messy birth. He hardly struck me as I gazed upon him there in the bassinet as quite ready to be heir to the throne. I even wondered at times if there might be some illegitimacy to his bloodlines. But that I fear was my over wedded ness to a white and European world. May he live long, and may his tribe increase—and may he remember with mercy all those who merely mildly neglected his birth.

As for me my role for now is clear, to hold together as much as I can for as long as I can that when he comes to his rightful place on St. Augustine’s throne in Canterbury Cathedral he will have a faithful and richly textured kingdom.

Bishop Mark Lawrence of South Carolina

The death of the noble old prince is such a sad story - a real heart-breaker, but the good news of the birth of another prince brings a bit of heartsease. And the new prince's name? GAFCON! The name carries great weight and seems a heavy burden to lay upon a mere babe in a bassinet. Still: The prince is dead; long live the prince! And we rest a bit more secure in the knowledge of Bishop Lawrence's mighty effort to hold things together until the new prince takes the throne.

No more words, unless I take a page from the New Yorker to say: Block that metaphor!

Thanks to a friend who found this gem hidden away in the archives at Anglican Mainstream. If you check out their website, you'll soon realize that 'Mainstream' is a misnomer.

WELL DONE, ARCHBISHOP ROWAN

During his visit to Zimbabwe, in his sermon at the celebration of the Eucharist in a stadium crowded with 15,000 people, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams struck all the right notes.

It is not only that some refuse the invitation of God to share his abundant love and generosity. It is all too easy for us human beings to try and block that love and prevent it from reaching others. You know very well, dear brothers and sisters, what it means to have doors locked in your faces by those who claim the name of Christians and Anglicans. You know how those who by their greed and violence have refused the grace of God try to silence your worship and frustrate your witness in the churches and schools and hospitals of this country. But you also know what Jesus' parable teaches us so powerfully – that the will of God to invite people to his feast is so strong that it can triumph even over these mindless and Godless assaults. Just as the Risen Jesus breaks through the locked doors of fear and suspicion, so he continues to call you and empower you in spite of all efforts to defeat you. And in the Revelation to John, the Lord proclaims that he has set before us an open door that no-one can shut. It is the door of his promise, the door of his mercy, the door into the feast of his Kingdom.

In your faith and endurance, you have kept your eyes on that open door when the doors of your own churches have been shut against you. You have discovered that it is not the buildings that make a true church but the spiritual foundations on which your lives are built. And as we together give thanks for the open door that God puts before us, we may even find the strength to say to our enemies and persecutors, 'The door is open for you! Accept what God offers and turn away from the death-dealing folly of violence.'
....

This Eucharist is the sign of God's purpose for all of us; it is a feast in which all are fed with Christ's new life, in which there is no distinction of race, tribe or party. In this community there can be no place for violence or for retaliation: we stand together, sinners in need of grace, proclaiming to the world that there is room at God's table for all people equally. What the Church has to say to the society around it, whether here or in Britain, is not to advance a political programme but to point to the fact of this new creation, this fellowship of justice and joy, this universal feast. It is on the basis of this vision that we urge all people to say no to violence, especially as the next election approaches in this country; to discover that deep reverence for each person that absolutely forbids us from treating them as if their welfare did not matter, from abusing and attacking them.

Read it all. It is excellent.

There's more.

Following their meeting with President Robert Mugabe, the Archbishops of Canterbury, Central Africa, Southern Africa and Tanzania issued the following statement at their press conference.

In our capacities as leaders of the Anglican Church in Africa and worldwide, we have just met President Robert Mugabe.

We come here to be in solidarity with our Anglican sisters and brothers at the invitation of the local church – the Anglican Province of Central Africa, which includes the five dioceses of Zimbabwe.

As you know this has been a time of immense trial.

Since 2007 Anglican congregations in Zimbabwe have suffered serious persecution at the hands of the police. They have been intimidated. Their churches have been closed. Properties, including schools and clinics, have been seized.

As representatives of the Anglican Communion, and with the support of ecumenical friends worldwide, we strongly and unequivocally support the efforts of ordinary Anglicans to worship in peace and to minister to the spiritual and material needs of their communities.

Today we were able to present President Mugabe with a dossier compiled by the bishops in Zimbabwe which gives a full account of the abuses to which our people and our church has been subject. We have asked, in the clearest possible terms, that the President use his powers as Head of State to put an end to all unacceptable and illegal behaviour.

We are proud of our church and our people who have suffered so much, but who continue to serve with love and with hope.

For our part we pray, and invite you to join us in praying, that the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe be allowed to carry out its mission in peace, and serve its communities with love.

Gracious Father, we pray for thy Anglican Church in Zimbabwe. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.

PLEASE PRAY...

From Ann Fontaine:

Asking for prayers for Ann A. -- a long time friend-- who has to go back for more chemo as her cancer is growing again.

Also for Vashti Thompson -- a little girl who has been very sick.

Vashti and I take this time to thank each and everyone of you for your prayers, support, care, and concern -- expressed or not – during this time of our daughter, Vashèd’s medical uncertainty. On Monday, Sept. 26, Vashed presented flu symptoms with a fever that would not break plus cough and a sore throat. Her Pediatrician ordered some lab work, which showed severe anemia, an enlarged spleen, and fused but well-functioning kidneys (apparently congenital). As all this was inexplicable, she recommended further evaluation, which we sought at the HIMA Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico where we have been all of this past week.

In the last few days Vashèd has been pricked, poked and seen through in ways no 7-yr old (her birthday is actually October 25) should have to endure – constant drawing of blood, a sonogram, a chest X-Ray, a CT scan, a hemoglobin electrophoresis, and a bone marrow respiratory biopsy – but all of it necessary. The initial analyses of these tests are showing no malignancy and nothing extraordinary, and we continue to pray that it remains that way. Her hemoglobin count is up; and red and white blood cells as well as blood platelets are stable. Vashèd is in high spirits and is ready to return to school. We hope to be back home for church this week-end. There is follow-up with the Hematologist in the next couple weeks.

Vashti and I continue to ask for your prayers.

Also for JimB's wife:

And please add Sue-z whose broken foot is incredibly painful and debilitating. My love can barely walk the few feet from our bed to the dinner table without crying. She WILL heal, and it will get better, but watching her now hurts.

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servants Ann A. and Sue-Z the help of your power, that their sicknesses may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Heavenly Father, watch with us over your child Vashèd, and grant that she may be restored to that perfect health which it is yours alone to give; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A LOAD OF LAUNDRY

"I did a load of laundry yesterday. All my socks are accounted for but now the dryer's missing."

Cheers,

Paul (A.)

From Daily Kos Cheers and Jeers.

JOE THE PLUMBER STRIKES AGAIN!

From Capitol New York:

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known as "Joe the Plumber," has formed a congressional campaign committee and filed a statement of candicacy, according to the Federal Election Commission's website.
....

The statement of candidacy isn't online yet, but it lists Wurzelbacher in Ohio's Ninth District, which has been held by Democrat Marcia Kaptur since 1983. Wurzelbacher floated the idea he might challenge Kaptur in 2010, and there have been rumors recently that he might consider a run.

If you think folks like Joe have had their 15 minutes of fame, and we've seen the last of them, you'd be wrong. Joe apparently liked his brief time in the limelight and wants more. I'm curious about the finances behind the kick-off of Joe's campaign for the House of Representatives.

H/T to David Nir at Daily Kos.

Picture from Wikipedia, from 2008.

AIN'T IT THE TRUTH?

Found on Facebook, posted by Ron.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, MY CANADIAN FRIENDS!!

BONNE ACTION DE GRÂCE, MES AMIS CANADIENS!!

I've posted the same pictures more than once to extend good wishes to you, my friends in Canada, because I like them. I hope you like them.

OLD SOUTH CHURCH IN BOSTON - JESUS DIDN'T TURN PEOPLE AWAY

Click on the image for the larger view.

H/T to Ann Fontaine on Facebook.

STORY OF THE DAY - SMART EXERCISE

If you were smart, you'd probably spend
more time stretching, he said & I said, If
I were really smart, I'd probably spend
more time just sitting in the shade
drinking lemonade

From StoryPeople.