God Speaks From The Freeway

From the AP via AZ Central:

RENO, Nev. - Carla Dupree says God is trying to tell her that five kids is enough. That's after No. 5 was born at a freeway offramp.

Dupree, 29, said her mother-in-law was driving her from Sparks to a Reno hospital on Saturday when Jayden Dupree took things into his own hands.

"I had him on the freeway," she said. "This is the last one. God is telling me something."

Louisiana Shortchanged

From the Baton Rouge Advocate:

WASHINGTON — Louisiana was shortchanged in funding for a pilot program to build so-called Katrina Cottages as a disaster-housing alternative, the investigative arm of Congress concluded.

The Government Accountability Office, in a report issued earlier this week, said the state could have received almost double the $74.5 million it has been slated had the agency overseeing the program used a more fair formula.
....

Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the congressional delegation cried foul, noting that Louisiana suffered more than three times the housing damage in hurricanes Katrina and Rita than Mississippi.

The GAO finding was similar to a report issued earlier this year by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes FEMA.

Andy Kopplin, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, pointed out Wednesday that the report showed FEMA ignored the recommendations of its own panel of 11 experts when issuing the awards.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with the fact that Mississippi has a Republican governor, Haley Barbour - a Bush crony, actually - and Louisiana has a Democratic governor. No politics in operation here. Nothing to see. Move along now.

That money is gone, spent. The only hope:

A spokesman for [Sen. Mary] Landrieu said Wednesday that the state has little recourse as it pertains to the December award but may benefit if the federal government agrees that the cottage pilot is the best disaster housing alternative.

Feast Of St. Francis Of Assisi

Padre Mickey has a beautiful post on the life of St. Francis. I'm going to give away Padre's ending, because I like it so much:

The life of St. Francis is proof that, if one is to be great, one must be the servant of others. May all of us look to the life of St. Francis and see God in the faces of the least among us.

He's gone all out and given us a poem about Francis, too.

James Kiefer at the Lectionary quotes Dante's Paradiso on Aquinas' words from the poem about Francis:

Let me tell you of a youth whose aristocratic father disowned him because of his love for a beautiful lady. She had been married before, to Christ, and was so faithful a spouse to Him that, while Mary only stood at the foot of the Cross, she leaped up to be with Him on the Cross. These two of whom I speak are Francis and the Lady Poverty. As they walked along together, the sight of their mutual love drew men's hearts after them. Bernard saw them and ran after them, kicking off his shoes to run faster to so great a peace. Giles and Sylvester saw them, kicked off their shoes and ran to join them....

READINGS:

Psalm 148:7-14 or 121
Galatians 6:14-18
Matthew 11:25-30

PRAYER

Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace gladly to renounce the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfect joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Image from the Lectionary.

UPDATE: I recommend God's Fool: The Life and Times of Francis of Assisi, by Julien Green for a good biography of Francis of Assisi.

UPDATE 2: From Jane in the comments, "That is a stained glass window from Taizé! I love it. Thank you for posting it." Thanks for the information, Jane.

Words Too Good to Be Hidden Away

A quote from Dorothy Sayers set Magdalene, from Magdalene's Musings, to musing on the experience of tension in serving as both prophet and pastor. It's well worth a read. Here's the link and a bit of wisdom from a former mentor of hers, "They are treading the thin line between prophet and pastor. They neglect either one at their peril." Read the rest.

In the comments to that post, I found words too good to be hidden away:

MadPriest said...

The pastoral role validates and informs the prophetic role. Unless you are prepared to spend most of your time visiting people in their homes, sitting with the dying etc. and listening to people, your prophetic voice will be nothing but your own voice and will be just yourself moaning about your own concerns. Visiting is not regarded as a primary concern by so many priests nowadays and this may account for the lack of ordinary prophesy at parish level and beyond.

Good words, aren't they? Sometimes the mad among us speak the sanest words.

My Conversation With Bishop Katharine

In September, Bishop Katharine participated in the consecration of the new - and young, aged 32 - bishop of Western Pennsylvania, Sean Rowe. My good virtual friend Pseudopiskie sang in the choir for the event and posted wonderful pictures of at her blog Mom Said Nobody Cares.

Piskie also posted pictures from the rehearsal for the consecration on the day before. In the comments you will see that I had a few words to say:

Grandmère Mimi said...

Should I say this? Probably not, but I will anyway. I wish that Bishop Katharine would occasionally wear a skirt.
September 8, 2007 1:31 PM
PseudoPiskie said...

Mimi: I'll ask her about it tomorrow.
September 8, 2007 4:28 PM
Grandmère Mimi said...

Well, Pseudo, I did not know that you two were on such intimate terms. Lucky you.

I admire her so, but I'd like to see a variation on what appear to be men's pants and suits. But who am I to comment on something as trivial as her manner of dress? I suppose she wears what she's comfortable in....

So. I find that Piskie's going to ask her about why she wears what she wears.

Then Piskie put up a post just for me - for my information.

For Grandmère Mimi

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori seldom wears a dress. She started wearing pants when she started to fly because dresses presented problems. She is more comfortable in pants. Her grey suit today was masculine. No, Mimi, I don't know her that well but I have talked to her quite a bit in the last two days. For me it has been a thrill having her here.

OK, I have that. Of course, Bishop Katharine can wear whatever she likes, right?

I know that some of you may be wondering why I'm running on about the PB's clothes, but hang with me. I will make an important point.

When Piskie found out that I was going to Christ Church Cathedral to attend the Eucharist in which Bishop Katharine would be presiding and preaching, she said this:

PseudoPiskie said...

I so wish you would have the opportunity to talk to ++Katharine! And tell her you are the person who asked about dresses. If you think she is impressive in procession, you need to meet her in person.

There you have it, folks. Did I have a choice about the subject of my conversation with the PB, if I had the opportunity to talk to her? I think not. Piskie forced me to talk to her about clothes. Of course, clothing styles is the subject that is uppermost in the minds of most thinking women anyway. Am I right?

Now when I tell folks I met with Bishop Katharine and chatted with her for a few minutes, I get profound questions like, "Did you call her Bishop Katharine Zeta-Jones?" and, "What did you talk to her about?" I can answer, "No!" and "Clothes!"

I said, "Welcome to Louisiana, Bishop Katharine." Then I went on, quite lamely, IMHO, to say, "Remember in Pennsylvania when Pseudopiskie asked you why you didn't wear dresses? I was the person who wanted to know." She smiled graciously at my lameness and told me that yes, she was more comfortable in pants, but that she does sometimes wear skirts.

That's the scoop. That's the gist of our conversation, because others were waiting to talk to her, and I had to move along. No talk of deep theology or the crisis in the Episcopal Church, just clothes.

Watch out for future "Skirt alerts!".

One of my questioners said, "That was probably refreshing and a great relief from the heavy conversations." That could be true. I hope it was.

Anyway, Piskie made me do it.

Virtual September

Bill, at Not Quite Dead Poet, left this poem in my comments, and I thought it was too good to have hidden away. He very kindly gave me permission to post it. Thank you, Bill.

Virtual September

Through your words
I see angels fall from pillars of flame,
but cannot taste your salted tears.

Through your words
I hear the chaos of a thousand souls,
but not one of your choked sobs.

Through your words
I touch the broken shards, pick through the scraps of paper,
scraps of lives. But My hands are empty,
My hands are clean.

Is it the same for the leaders of terror and war,
Too far to see or hear or feel.
Too far removed, too distant, too un-real, too un-real.


Bill – Sept 27th, 2002

Church Of All Souls

For some time, I have been trying to put together a post on the Church of All Souls in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans.

From Episcopal News Service:

In a part of New Orleans that is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, a new sign of hope has appeared.

In the midst of the Lower Ninth Ward, the Diocese of Louisiana and the Church of the Annunciation in New Orleans have launched a mission station named the Church of All Souls to minister to the many working class families who are trying to return to their homes -- where some have lived for generations.

Located downriver from the Industrial Canal, the lower Ninth Ward received between four to 20 feet of floodwater following Katrina.

The Rev. Shola Falodun, an Anglican priest from Nigeria who moved to the United States to be a missionary to African Anglicans, began assisting with the relief work in the diocese immediately after the hurricane. He helped deliver supplies through the diocesan Mobile Ministry Respite Unit, a recreational vehicle that carried necessary items to the lower Ninth Ward on a regular basis.

Fr. Shola visited our parish as a supply priest on a couple of occasions while we were searching for a rector. He preaches lively sermons and likes a response from the folks in the pews, perhaps as proof that we're not sleeping through the sermon. Take my word for it. His sermons are not the kind that would be likely to put us to sleep. We're not accustomed to the call and response type sermon at my church, but we tried - somewhat lamely, I'm afraid.

When he visited us, he was trying to get his green card to establish permanent residency and bring his wife over to New Orleans from Nigeria. I hope that by now he has his card, and his wife is with him.

While Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was in New Orleans, he visited the site of a former Walgreens pharmacy, which will be renovated and used for church services by the congregation of All Souls.

From Webwire.

Arriving after an all-day session with the House of Bishops at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown New Orleans, Williams visited one of two mobile respite care units that had made their routine stop in the parking lot of the former Walgreens. He also briefly toured the inside of the building before speaking to the members of All Souls and other neighborhood residents.
....

"I want you to know that the Anglican church worldwide knows about you, cares about you, prays for you and we won’t leave you alone" he said.
....

The Diocese of Louisiana and the Church of the Annunciation in New Orleans launched the Church of All Souls as a mission station to minister to the many working-class families who are trying to return to their homes.
....

[Fr. Shola] Falodun proposed planting a church and received the diocese’s blessing to start All Soul’s. Falodun has said he chose the name to honor the new souls who will be coming to worship and those souls who were lost in Katrina’s waters. When it began, the church was housed in the garage of a parishioner during a time when few homes on the street were occupied. The congregation now rents space at a nearby Baptist church.

"If we are here, we are a light to the world" he told reporters September 20, adding that the light of Christ could banish the darkness felt in the neighborhood since Katrina and her aftermath.

Such efforts, Jenkins said, are part of the diocese’s new-founded role in racial reconciliation in the city and the state. There was a diocesan presence earlier in the day in Jena, Louisiana, at a rally that drew some 60,000 people to protest the treatment of six black teenagers arrested in the beating of a white schoolmate last year.

On Killing From Afar

From a correspondent:

On my last visit to the library I happened upon a book by Arturo Perez-Reverte entitled "The Sun Over Breda". A novel set in the 17th century about the Spaniards invading Flanders. After a very graphic description of the carnage of a battle scene, the main character comes away with:

"He who kills from afar knows nothing at all about the
act of killing. He who kills from afar derives no
lesson from life or from death; he neither risks nor
stains his hands with blood, nor hears the breathing
of his adversary, nor reads the fear, courage, or
indifference in his eyes. He who kills from afar
tests neither his arm, his heart, nor his conscience,
nor does he create ghosts that will later haunt him
every single night for the rest of his life. He who
kills from afar is a knave who commends to others the
dirty and terrible task that is his own. He who kills
from afar is worse than other men, because he does not
know anger, loathing, and vengenance, the terrible
passion of flesh and of blood as they meet steel, but
he is equally innocent of pity and remorse. For that
reason, he who kills from afar does not know what he
has lost."

Do you think President Bush would consider that this passage may describe him?

My answer was that Bush would never consider that this passage applies to him. In my opinion, he would be shocked by the suggestion.

Feast Day Of Remigius Of Rheims

Saint Remigius baptizes Clovis I, by the Master of Saint Gilles, c. 1500 (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

Image from Wiki.

Remigius was the Bishop and Apostle of the Franks.

From James Keifer at the Lectionary:

A 1987 motion picture, "The Big Easy" (a nickname for the city of New Orleans), and a current (1996) television series of the same name based on it, have as the male lead a Cajun police detective named Remy McSwaine. In the first episode of the series (I am not sure of the film) we are informed that "Remy" is short for "Remington." I fear that this shows that the scriptwriters have not troubled to research Cajun culture. Remi is one of the three great national saints of France (the others are Denis (Dionysius) of Paris and Joan of Arc, or Joan the Maid (Jeanne la Pucelle)), and it is thoroughly natural for a Cajun to be named Remi. How is that for a topical introduction?

Well, James Kiefer, that's quite an introduction, especially for an old lady living in Cajunland. I love it.

Remi (Latin Remigius) was born about 438 and became bishop of Rheims about 460, at the remarkably young age of 22. (Both he and the city were named for his tribe, the Remi.) In his time, the Roman Empire and the Christian church were jointly faced with a serious practical problem -- the barbarian invasions.

Kiefer goes on to give a capsule history of the of the barbarian invasions and the dispute between the those who followed Athanasius' view that Jesus Christ was truly divine and those who followed Arius and believed that Jesus was the greatest of God's creatures. The Council of Nicea should have settled the matter because the bishops gathered gave overwhelming support to Athanasius' position. However, in the years ahead, despite the decision of the Council, political events worked to give the Arians the upper hand and Arianism spread.

Remegius was an Athanasian.

Then, along came the Franks, another barbarian tribe, led by Clovis, a pagan, who was married to Clotilda, a Christian. Keifer says:

His wife and Bishop Remi (remember him?) spoke to him about the Christian faith, but he showed no particular signs of interest until one day when he was fighting a battle against the Alemanni, and was badly outnumbered and apparently about to lose the battle. He took a vow that if he won, he would turn Christian. The tide of battle turned, and he won. Two years later, he kept his vow and was baptized by Remi at Rheims on Christmas Day, 496, together with about 3000 of his followers.

Clovis was converted to the Athanasian or orthodox or catholic faith. He brought in priests of the Athanasian persuasion, and thus the orthodox position eventually prevailed throughout Europe.

As Kiefer says:

The conversion of the Franks brought about the conversion of the Visigoths, and eventually (about 300 years later) the empire of Charlemagne and the beginning of the recovery of Western Europe from the earlier collapse of government and of city life under the impact of plague, lead poisoning, currency inflation, confiscatory taxation, multiple invasions, and the assorted troubles of the Dark Ages.

Descendents of Clovis and Clotilda, Bertha and Ethelburga, married the pagan Ethelbert, King of Kent, and the pagan Edwin, King of Northumbria, leading to their conversions, which helped the spread of Christianity to southeastern and northern England.

READINGS:

Psalm 135:13-21 or 103:1-4,13-18
1 John 4:1-6
John 14:3-7

PRAYER

O God, who by the teaching of your faithful servant and bishop Remigius turned the nation of the Franks from vain idolatry to the worship of you, the true and living God, in the fullness of the catholic faith; Grant that we who glory in the name of Christian may show forth our faith in worthy deeds; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

UPDATE: I edited the information beneath the painting at the head of the post.

Diana Is Blessed!

Today, for the first time, we took Diana to the Blessing of the Pets at our church. As you may already know - because I've said it before - Diana hates cats. She really, really hates them.

She's a good dog with people. She has never, ever growled or snapped at a human, not even at my grandchildren when they were young and annoying - not ever. But she is vicious about cats. We were afraid that she would make trouble at the ceremony if cats were present.

We decided to give it a try today, and it worked fine. There were no cats there.

She did embarrass me twice. She pooped on the lawn, and I had forgotten to carry a plastic bag with me, but fortunately another person there had a supply, so I cleaned up.

Then came the real hurt. One member of our church had taken the trouble to make home-made doggie treats, darling little bone-shaped things that looked good enough for humans to eat, and probably were, but DIANA TURNED UP HER NOSE AT THE TREATS! How mortifying.

Anyway, now that God's blessing is upon her, I'm expecting great things. I'm hoping that she will obey us in the future. She has not for nine and one-half years, but Jesus has said all things are possible for those who believe.

Diana was found with an arrow through her leg and taken to the animal rescue folks. After the vet removed the arrow, and she was spayed, the local paper ran a picture of her on the front page.

Our previous dog, Rusty the Wonder Dog, had died of lymphoma about six months before, and when I saw her picture and read her story, I asked my husband if we could adopt her. He agreed, and here she is, nine and a half years later.

If I had a scanner, I'd show you the picture that was in the local paper of me picking her up from the vet. Since the newspaper had showed her looking for a home, they wanted to show her finding a home.