Alpha Series

After Evensong last night, we had our first Alpha meeting. We're using the "Alpha Express", which, I presume, is the shorter version The course is pretty basic but not scary. Nicky Gumbel talked about how he used to be before he was a Christian, that he wanted to prove that God didn't exist. He talked about the emptiness inside that only God can fill. I don't know that everyone experiences the emptiness. I have had non-believing folks tell me that they don't have that emptiness. However, if you're attending the course, then you must be seeking something in your life. Unless you're like me, and going to see what it's all about.

He talked about the head - heart thing, that faith is not purely working it out intellectually, that It must be experiential also, and I do agree with that. There was no talk of hellfire or punishment, and I can see how it might work for some who have very little knowledge of the faith.

At the end was the, "Jesus, come into my heart," prayer, without the altar call. Gumbel's manner was much gentler and less pressuring than the pushy style of the Billy Graham and TV evangelist types. It was more, "If you'd like to do this...."

In the discussion afterward, we talked about how some evangelists teach that once you've said the prayer, it's all done, except for the, "Come to my church and give me money," part, when it's really a journey.

I have tried to go with an open mind and heart, but so far, the series seems so very much for beginners in the faith. Not that I'm a scholar, or that I know it all, but I've been doing this faith thing for a while, and I was hoping for something a bit more challenging.

The Grace of God

Last night my husband took me to a dinner meeting of a group which was organized to draw attention to the need to restore the Louisiana coastline and offer ideas to the powers-to-be. It's a fine organization with excellent goals, but I'm near to the end of my tolerance for dinner-speech affairs.

The main speaker was to have been a popular radio personality, but he became ill and was unable to attend. His appearance was the only appeal for me about the whole affair, and he wasn't there. The other speakers were members of the group, a politician, and the man who replaced the main speaker. My prayer as each one got up to the microphone was, "Lord, let this be a short."

Near the end, an old guy who was one of the founders of the group, was given an award. He gave a short speech after he received his award, and mentioned that if hurricane Katrina had made landfall a little to the west, our area would have borne the brunt of the storm. He said, "It was the grace of God," and many were nodding in approval. I'm thinking, "What! The grace of God protected us rather than New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast?" I looked over at my husband, and he was nodding in agreement too. I said to him, "So the grace of God protects us, but not New Orleans. God smiles on us and frowns on New Orleans and Mississippi. That is stupid." My husband looked at me as though I was the crazy one. It was amazing to see how easily crowd mentality can sweep over a group of people. I admit that by then I'd listened to a few too many speeches and was in critical mode, waiting to pounce.

At the end of his speech, he said loudly, "Stay the course! Stay the course! Stay the course!"

What do you want to bet that the guy is a Bush diehard supporter even today?

People's Rebuke for Bush's Photo-op in NOLA

Copied verbatim from Scout Prime at First Draft:

People's Rebuke for Bush's Photo Op in NOLA today

Bush will be in New Orleans today. A Rebuke of Bush is planned at 2pm. Via Humid City is the statement of rebuke from Katrina Survivors....

JOIN THE KATRINA SURVIVORS’ REBUKE OF PRESIDENT BUSH
2:00 PM THURSDAY MARCH 1
SAMUEL GREEN SCHOOL
2319 VALENCE ST.
(Near Freret and Napoleon)
NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans Needs Federal Aid, Not Presidential Photo-Ops.
Mr. President: Katrina Survivors Do Not Welcome You, We Rebuke You!

We live in a devastated city and you are a big part of the reason why it sill sits in ruins. Your administration has abandoned our children by savaging their public schools. Your administration has tortured our working class people by refusing to reopen the city’s public housing developments. And your administration is fully complicit in placing our uninsured in harms way by ruthlessly pursuing the privatization of local public healthcare in the aftermath of Katrina. And, finally your administration is guilty of sending our sons and daughters of to war for oil and empire just when we need them most to help us rebuild our community.

Mr. President, we, Katrina Survivors all, do not welcome you to our city, we rebuke you!

Sponsored by Survivors Village, United Front For Affordable Housing.

If you have a blog please consider posting this today.

UPDATE: From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

After lunch, the president arrived at Samuel J. Green Charter School in Uptown, a block away from a group of fewer than 100 protesters waiving anti-Bush signs. At the school, he visited a fifth-grade math class and a third-grade science class. Bush complimented students on their "sharp-looking uniforms," navy polo shirts and trousers, and posed for pictures with students.

That's disappointing.

On the other hand, New Orleanians are turning out en masse to sue the US Corps of Engineers.

Submitting a claim for a staggering $77 billion, the city of New Orleans joined tens of thousands of would-be plaintiffs who rushed to beat a Thursday deadline to alert the Army Corps of Engineers that they may sue for losses resulting from the levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina.

....

By the time of the morning commute, cars already had clogged the two-lane River Road and miles of connecting arteries. The miles-long traffic jam got so thick that the federal agency established satellite pick-up points on Carrollton Avenue and Magazine Street.

It was the faulty levees, you see, THE LEVEES, that caused the flood in the aftermath of the hurricane.

On Being A Semi-Recluse

My diocese will have its convention at the end of this week. I wanted to attend to see if I could hear a word of reaction from anyone in my diocese as to the happenings in Tanzania, and TEC, and the Anglican Communion and also, perhaps to catch a glimpse of what the Windsor bishops are about. I am not a delegate, so I would go as a simple person-in-the-pew observer.

But, I find that I am so thoroughly drained by the recent court proceedings pertaining to my son's divorce, that I can't comtemplate getting myself there. Since September, when the family uproar began, I have been in semi-recluse mode. I am not rebuffing contacts, but I am not initiating contacts either. I stay home more, and it requires more of an effort on my part to get out, except to do my granny duties with my two grandchildren.

I feel totally cut off from what my bishop is about, except that I know that he is involved in working on recovery from Katrina with various groups. I was pleased to hear Bishop Katharine's suggestion in her talk this morning for more creative solutions for those in the affected areas, such as services conducted in homes, with eyes on the early church for models. The church is not a building, but a gathering of the people of God.

In addition, I feel cut off from the wider church, except for news reports and internet contacts, and I am truly grateful for the internet contacts. I'd be going crazy (crazier?) without them.

Tomorrow evening we begin our Lenten Evensong program, followed by soup and sandwiches and teachings from the Alpha series. Perhaps the discussions after the teachings will serve as an opportunity for exchanges with others in my own church community about what is going on. We shall see.

Last Day in Court

A huge thank you and love and kisses to all of you who have shared your prayers and concern over the custody battle of my son and his soon-to-be ex-wife. They negotiated a 6/8 day settlement over a two week period. The children will be with my son for six consecutive days and then with their mother for eight consecutive days. This is not quite what we wanted, but it gives him more time with his children than he had before. For now, we will have to accept this and thank God for it. At least the children will not be moving around from night to night as they have been. Holidays and summers are split half and half.

The judge does not like 7/7 custody arrangements. Why, I do not know, but that's how it is. To try for more time, he'd have had to go to full trial, and more airing of the dirty linen, and we are all exhausted and not ready for that. I never had my turn on the stand, so all my careful grooming and thoughtful consideration of proper court clothing was for nought.

The court will review the situation in six months to see how everyone is doing. Thank God it's over for now.

This passage from Philippians comes to mind:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Phil. 4:4-9

The Feast Day of George Herbert

Happy Feast Day of George Herbert.

Preface for the day:

Our God and King, who called your servant George Herbert from the pursuit of worldly honors to be a pastor of souls, a poet, and a priest in your temple: Give us grace, we pray, joyfully to perform the tasks you give us to do, knowing that nothing is menial or common that is done for your sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

From a brief biography by James Kiefer:

After serving at Cambridge as Public Orator, Herbert was ordained to the priesthood.

He served faithfully as a parish priest, diligently visiting his parishioners and bringing them the sacraments when they were ill, and food and clothing when they were in want. He read Morning and Evening Prayer daily in the church, encouraging the congregation to join him when possible, and ringing the church bell before each service so that those who could not come might hear it and pause in their work to join their prayers with his.

....

Today, however, he is remembered chiefly for his book of poems, "The Temple", which he sent shortly before his death to his friend Nicholas Ferrar, to publish if he thought them suitable. They were published after Herbert's death, and have influenced the style of other poets, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Several of them have been used as hymns....

1 Peter 5:1-4

Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away.

THE HOLDFAST.

I threatened to observe the strict decree
Of my deare God with all my power and might:
But I was told by one, it could not be ;
Yet I might trust in God to be my light.

Then will I trust, said I, in him alone.
Nay, ev'n to trust in him, was also his:
We must confesse, that nothing is our own.
Then I confesse that he my succour is:

But to have nought is ours, not to confesse
That we have nought. I stood amaz'd at this,
Much troubled, till I heard a friend expresse,
That all things were more ours by being his.
What Adam had, and forfeited for all,
Christ keepeth now, who cannot fail or fall.

George Herbert

How long, O Lord!

My friends, My husband and I spent all afternoon in court waiting to testify in my son's custody trial. We did not get our turn, and we will have to go back tomorrow. How long, O Lord! Please keep praying. Thank you all for the prayers.

Riverbend, The Baghdad Blogger

Taking a break from parsing and discussing the hidden meanings in the statements coming from the leadership in the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church, I'm moving on. Perhaps some of you have noted the new blog link in my blog roll, called The Baghdad Blogger. The blogger, who calls herself Riverbend, blogs from the city of death, which the leadership of the "Coalition" has made of Baghdad.

Riverbend is a well-educated young Iraqi woman who began blogging in August of 2003. In the beginning, although she was living in a war zone, her posts were lively and full of humor and irony. Life was hard, but she and her family made the best of the difficulties and privations.

Now if you read her posts, they are filled with despair about conditions in Baghdad and with little hope that things will improve in the near future. She is quite bitter toward the American leadership. Can you blame her? She has lost family, friends, and neighbors to death and to flight from the unspeakable conditions in Baghdad.

She risks her life and the lives and safety of her family in writing her blog. Here in the US, supporters of the war claim that she's not who she says she is, that she lies, and generally seek to discredit her however they can. Of course, she must remain anonymous. She has enemies on all sides, because she tells the truth about the miserable conditions in which the people of Baghdad live.

Riverbend is a real person, and she is who she says she is. A collection of her posts was published and selected for the shortlist of a British literary prize, the Samuel Johnson Award, and her identity was verified by the prize committee. We know the British are never wrong about this sort of thing.

When she doesn't post for a while, I worry about her. I'm awed by her courage in continuing to blog. Her latest posts are about an Iraqi woman, Sabrine, who was gang-raped by Iraqi security forces, and who was brave enough to report the rape, but will get no justice from the authorities. Most women who survive after being raped don't report, because reporting can mean death.

I'm going to change my blogroll link for her to "Riverbend", since that's how she's best known.

Under the title of her blog, she has these words:

I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend...

The Prom

From deep south Louisiana comes a local front page story from The Daily Comet about a young man from a local high school who, at first, encountered difficulties getting a couple's ticket to the prom to take his boyfriend.

Alex Altenhein wasn’t looking for a fuss, and he didn’t want a fight.

"I just want to take my boyfriend to the prom just like anybody else would be able to take their boyfriend or girlfriend to the prom," said Altenhein, a soft-spoken H.L. Bourgeois High School junior, who learned the request was nowhere near that simple.

When his friends told him that he would not be able to buy a couple's ticket, he didn't believe them, so he went to the principal's office to ask.

"I said 'Is it true that I’m not going to be able to take my boyfriend to prom,’ and he said 'Your friend is going to have to buy a singles ticket.’ I said 'It is not my friend, it is my boyfriend,’ and he said again that he was going to have to buy a separate ticket," said Altenhein, who admits that he became emotional -- but not abusive -- during the meeting. "He said 'I believe I have answered your question,’ and showed me the door."

But Alex was not satisfied.

"The couple’s ticket says that me and Travis are going out, that we as a couple are equal, just as equal as the others, that we are normal people," Altenhein said. "That is the most-important thing to me for people to know. I am just your average Joe taking his boyfriend to the prom. I’m not the gay kid that you tell 'Oh you get a special little ticket.’ "

Good for Alex.

The local press became involved, and eventually the School Board intervened, and Alex got his couple's ticket.

Altenhein’s mother, Mary, says she is supportive of him and respects his sexual orientation. But she also fears that concerns about the prom will overshadow his schoolwork. And while she wants her son treated with equality, she is not so comfortable with him leading a civil-rights charge.

"I hope this makes a difference in that no one will be discriminated against again when they try to go to a dance,"

As a mother and a grandmother, I understand Mary's discomfort with her son's "leading a civil-rights charge," but I know, deep down, she's proud of him.

The pleasure with which Altenhein and Griffin greeted Authement’s [the principal] decision was tempered by reservations over how serious the school’s commitment to equality will be, and sadness that it should be an issue at all.

"It was not supposed to be like this," Griffin [Alex's boyfriend] said. "It shouldn’t be this difficult. It shouldn’t take the newspaper getting involved for that to happen. The damage has already been done. We shouldn’t have to ask for what is our right to begin with."

"It was not supposed to be like this," is exactly right. I am pleased that the story has a happy ending, but it should not have been such a struggle.

I have hope that those of Alex's generation will be much further along than my generation in making sexual orientation a non-issue. Here's a quote from one of Alex's classmates:

"I am not gay or anything, but I have a few gay friends," said Ian Wood, an H.L. Bourgeois senior from Houma, who signed the petition. "I thought we got past all that a long time ago. I don’t think it should matter who you go with. Why are they making such a big deal about it at school? I think it’s stupid."

I'll add that I'm quite pleased with the actions of the local press in this situation.

MadPriest

There once was a man called MadPriest.
Of his humor he served up a feast.
He stirred up a storm
To his bishop's alarm.
Now he's merry, but churchless, poor priest.