From Our Friend Luiz In Rio

I received this email from Luiz, which I quote in full. Luiz has been accepted as a candidate for the priesthood by the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janiero. He spent nearly a year working with Fr. Eduardo Costa in one of the poorest and most dangerous slums in Rio.

Dear friends,
For those of you who have facebook, please visit [here].

As you might know, I did a placement at Christ the King Anglican Church for almost a year, in Cidade de Deus - Rio de Janeiro. Cidade de Deus (City of God) is one of
Brazil's most disadvantaged communities. Built in the sixties to provide a new start for Rio de Janeiro's urban poor, it has become a notorious shanty town, far from being a new hope for the oppressed.

- Only 3% of local people have completed secondary education;
- 22% of residents are unemployed;
- Life expectancy is just 66 (the Brazilian average is above 70);
- 14% of teenage girls are pregnant;
- Average income is just US$ 100.00 per month.

We have started some months ago, a ministry with children of that community, providing them Christian Education, activities, and meals. The parish was experiencing a rebirth (it almost closed), and already had some social projects... so, I sent an appeal to several people, for help.

A couple months ago, two individuals, plus our friends of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Atlanta, have sent about 850.00 US Dollars, which are already being used for buying toys, food for meals we prepare for the children and parishioners and some vestments for our new children choir.

It happens that some sisters and brothers in Christ have started a wonderful Christmas initiative too, in order to raise funds for Christ the King. I do kindly ask you to take a look at the following options:

- PayPal
Currently, some of our OCICBW friends have set up a PayPal account which can be accessed here:

They have graciously started a Christmas appeal. Do find out about it!

- Cheques
In the U.K. cheques (made payable to "St. Francis Church") can be sent to:
CITY OF GOD APPEAL,
St. Francis House
18 Cotswold Gardens
High Heaton
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE7 7AE

(Please write "City Of God Appeal" on the reverse of the cheque.)
In the United States, cheques (made payable to "The Episcopal Church of St. Paul") can be sent to:
CITY OF GOD APPEAL
c/o The Reverend Elizabeth Kaeton
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul
200 Main Street
Chatham, NJ 07928

- ERD
You can also donate to Episcopal Relief and Development. They have been doing a wonderful job helping sponsor one of our projects and surely deserve your help, so, in the future, more and more projects can be funded by them.

If you have questions on Christ the King's projects or on how we intend to use the money, please, feel free to ask.

We are also proud to present Fr. Nicholas Wheeler, a wonderful friend of ours who is coming work at Christ the King as a USPG missionary. Fr. Wheeler is currently the team rector of Old St. Pancras' in London. You can find out more about him here:

Blessings in Christ
Luiz Coelho

"No to hate and yes to love,
No to death and yes to life,
No to falsehood and yes to truth,
No to oppression and yes to justice,
No to cruelty and yes to mercy,
No to violence and yes to the path of peace,
No, no matter what it may cost, and yes, no matter what it may cost.
For you are the source of love leading to reconciliation and forgiveness."
(a Sabeel prayer)
--
"Não ao ódio e sim ao amor,
Não à morte e sim à vida,
Não à falsidade e sim à verdade,
Não à opressão e sim à justiça,
Não à crueldade e sim à misericórdia,
Não à violência e sim ao caminho da paz,
Não, não importa o que custe, e sim, não importa o que custe.
Pois és a fonte de amor que leva à reconciliação e perdão."
(uma prece de Sabeel)

Diana Saga Continues - Good News

When Grandpère brought our dog, Diana, home from the vet last Thursday, he put her papers on the kitchen counter, and they were soon covered with other papers and lost to sight. Yesterday, when I was clearing off the counter, I came across them and noticed in the directions for her care that "Absolute Cage Rest" was checked off.

I was shocked. First of all, we do not have a cage. When she travels in the car, she sits on the seat. Second, she would have been very unhappy if we had put her in a cage once she came home. The only bone that was broken in the accident was one under her eye which was damaged and had to be removed. The vet said that it should heal on its own.

When humans are in the hospital and go home to convalesce, doctors usually recommend that they begin to move around rather quickly, if possible. The first two or three days Diana was home, she hardly moved except to go out to do her poop and pee. Now she is moving a good bit, and she walks better every day. She even did a little hip-hop today.

Tomorrow, we take her to have the stitches taken out of her eye, and according to the directions, she should still have been in a cage until the next visit to the vet. The recommendation that she be confined for that long a period doesn't seem right to me

Anyway, I'm glad that we never saw those directions, because I think she was much better off moving around, as she was able.

Any of you who have not been following the saga, you can read the earlier posts here, here, and here.

Brad And The Pink Tents

Photo from the Associated Press.

From the Times Picayune in New Orleans:

Driving tours begin today of the 150 flamingo-colored fabric houses, stand-ins for actor Brad Pitt's Make It Right architectural project in the Lower 9th Ward.

The free driving tour, modeled on the Celebration in the Oaks holiday tour of City Park, features tent-like structures scattered between Tennessee Street and the Industrial Canal in the Lower 9th Ward.

All the structures are wired to glow from within, with constellations of lights spaced across the ground between them, representing the lives lost during Hurricane Katrina and in the flood that followed. All occupy sites where the Make it Right project intends to build new homes.

I will not make fun of Brad Pitt again. He is doing great work in my beloved home town, New Orleans. He's there, on the ground, talking to the people of the Lower 9th Ward, getting their input. The houses will be environmentally friendly.

Pitt explained that only one pink house thus far has its roof in place. The rest of the roof shapes will be lifted atop their companion blocks when the $150,000 needed to erect each real house is raised.

"As each house is adopted, the roof goes on," Pitt said.

As the houses go up, the pink awning material used in the tents will be recycled into tote bags and, perhaps, umbrellas by workers from the Lighthouse for the Blind to raise money for Make it Right.

Thank you, Brad.

From Dorothy Sayers?

"The worst sin - perhaps the only sin - passion can commit, is to be joyless."
Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night


"As I grow older and older
And totter toward the tomb
I find that I care less and less
Who goes to bed with whom"


"Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force."
Sir Impey Biggs in Clouds of Witnesses by Sayers (Thanks to Allen in the comments)


I could not find a source for the poem and the final statement, and they are only "attributed" to Sayers. Anyway, I like [it] them, whoever said them [it].

Advent Calender 2007

Today is day three of Advent. The beautiful calendar pictured above is from the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. If you click on each day's date, you will find the following:

Daily Meditation
The Daily Office
Carol of the Day
Scriptural Reflection (Podcast)
Give a family a pig.

Yes, they're breaking the rule and doing carols during Advent, nevertheless it's a lovely site, well worth visiting during this season of waiting.

Clumber's Gift Suggestions For Anglicans

Clumber, that absolute genius of a dog, has several excellent gift suggestions for your Anglican friends.

Are Episcopalians Anglican? I'll leave that to the genius canine to answer.

Words From The Bishop And The Verger

Photo from The Pharisaios Journal.

I received notice from the editor that the Advent issue of The Pharisaios Journal from the Diocese of Wenchoster is available on the website of the diocese.

From The Bishop's Column:

The entiphawn in the Altarnative Sarvice Book 1980 (*) reads, “Now is the tame to wick ite of slip, for now our salvat-i-on is narrer then when we fast believed.” These wards are, of course, from Saint Paul’s Litter to the Romans, end they express a deep since of argency at this pint, the beginning of the Charch’s yar. It is a busy tame es our thoughts tarn to fistive pleasures, but I exhort you awl, up end dine the Darsis, to join with me in dippening our prars this Edvent.

Es well as devoting ourselves to studying pessages from the bable, we cen awlso use the great tradit-i-ons of this season to help us. The cendles on the Edvent crown, the enthems sung by the cwar, the litargical blue or violet on the altar end the smell of incense et marss. Awl will increase our expectat-i-ons in warship.

The Collect bids us to, “Put on the armour of late.” I know I will!

+ Roderick Codpiecium

I know I will wear the "armour of late" nearly every Sunday, to the chagrin of the rector and my fellow parishioners. Mea culpa.

Who would be next in the hierarchy of those who actually keep the cathedral running, but the head verger?

From Mr. Grindle:

Where did Pentecost go I hask you one moment there we hall were decked hout in green then it’s suddenly Christ the King and white for the day then now the royal sarum blue for Hadvent must say I rather like this time of year what with all Mrs. Grindle’s seasonal baking last Sunday we did the stir-hup thing and she slipped a couple of coins into the pudding before tying it hup in one of ‘er hold leg bandages the Dean looks a bit stressed these days but I know ‘e’ll be better hafter the Lighting service on Sunday once ‘e gets to the ‘igh haltar and hajusts ‘is cope ‘e hallways smiles and winks which is a sign that hall ‘as gone well and we can hexpect a round of spiced hale in the Nine Bells hafterwards. Yes! If you ‘old it like that of course it’s going to wrinkle!

The Episcopal Church is joined with the Church of England in the Anglican Communion (last I heard). I consider the Diocese of Wenchoster as sort of a partner to Wounded Bird, and I like to keep up with the activities of a typical diocese in the Church of England.

I urge all of you to explore the many riches in Advent issue of the journal at their website. There is more, much, much more. You won't be sorry.

Feast Day of Nicholas Ferrar

St. John's Church at Little Giddings as it stands today, from Wiki.

Nicholas Ferrar was born in London in 1592. He was the son of a merchant, Nicholas, also, who was a member of The Virginia Company. Upon his father's death, John, Nicholas' brother, took charge of the business affairs of the family until Nicholas succeeded him as deputy. When the Virginia Company was dissolved and John was threatened with bankruptcy, in 1624, the family decided to move away from London and devote themselves to a godly life.

Mary, Nicholas mother, purchased the manor of Little Gidding, and the family retired there. Her daughter, Susanna, and her husband and their many children moved there also. The inhabitants of the manor numbered around 40.

In 1626 William Laud, then Bishop of St. David’s but later Archbishop of Canterbury, ordained Nicholas a deacon though Nicholas made clear that he would not proceed to the priesthood. He and the family soon established on weekdays a regular round of prayer based on Archbishop Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer. The family processed to the church for these services of matins, the litany, and evensong, which were led by Nicholas.

Nicholas became ill and died on the day after the first Sunday of Advent in 1637. The family continued to occupy the manor after Nicholas' death.

The Ferrar household was an example of a godly family, neither unique nor monastic, but firmly committed to the established Church of England and its Prayer Book and determined to follow Christ’s commands to forswear worldliness and devote themselves to God’s service.

Quotes and biographical information taken from Little Gidding Church website.

If you came this way,
Taking any route, starting from anywhere,
At any time or at any season,
It would always be the same: you would have to put off
Sense and notion. You are not here to verify,
Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity
Or carry report. You are here to kneel
Where prayer has been valid. And prayer is more
Than an order of words, the conscious occupation
Of the praying mind, or the sound of the voice praying.
And what the dead had no speech for, when living,
They can tell you, being dead: the communication
Of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living.
Here, the intersection of the timeless moment
Is England and nowhere. Never and always.

From T. S. Eliot's "Little Gidding", No. 4 of "Four Quartets".

READINGS:

Psalm 15 or 112:1-9
Galatians 6:7-10
Matthew 13:47-52

PRAYER

Lord God, make us so reflect your perfect love; that, with your deacon Nicholas Ferrar and his household, we may rule ourselves according to your Word, and serve you with our whole heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Advent

Photo from Catholic Online.

Charm with your stainlessness these winter nights,
Skies, and be perfect! Fly vivider in the fiery dark, you quiet meteors,
And disappear.
You moon, be slow to go down,
This is your full!

The four white roads make off in silence
Towards the four partsof the starry universe.
Time falls like manna at the corners of the wintry earth.
We have become more humble than the rocks,
More wakeful than the patient hills.

Charm with your stainlessness these nights in Advent,
holy spheres,
While minds, as meek as beasts,
Stay close at home in the sweet hay;
And intellects are quieter than the flocks that feed by starlight.

Oh pour your darkness and your brightness over all our
solemn valleys,
You skies: and travel like the gentle Virgin,
Toward the planets' stately setting,

Oh white full moon as quiet as Bethlehem!

Advent by Thomas Merton


Grant me O God the capacity to wait in hope, to allow your own loving-kindness to grow in me, for the life of your world. Amen.
Thomas Merton

A link to the Advent calendar provided by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, at the top left above the picture, will remain throughout Advent.

WORLD AIDS DAY

From Avert:

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is not just about raising money, but also about increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

Take the quiz.