From James Kiefer at the Lectionary:
Florence Li Tim-Oi was ordained a priest by Bp. Ronald Hall of Hong Kong in 1944, primarily because of difficulties occasioned by the Japanese occupation of China. A storm of protest after the war forced her to refrain from exercising her role as a priest. Towards the end of her life, she emigrated to Canada where she was able to resume her priestly duties. She died in 1992.
Readings:
Psalm 116:1-2
Galatians 3:23-28
Luke 10:1-9
Prayer
Gracious God, we thank you for calling Florence Li Tim-Oi, much-beloved daughter, to be the first woman to exercise the office of a priest in our Communion; By the grace of your Spirit inspire us to follow her example, serving your people with patience and happiness all our days, and witnessing in every circumstance to our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Florence demonstrated extraordinary patience in her long wait to exercise her priestly ministry. My bolding in the biographical information.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Word From Brother Causticus
Brother Causticus, who writes at TitusOneTen, my favorite of all the vergers of my virtual acquaintance, has broken silence to request prayers for the people of the Diocese of San Joaquin - for those who will go and for those who will stay. Brother Causticus is working with the vergers of the diocese in their "listening process" and is presently situated "en suite with the very-nearly-abstemious and Tablet-perusing Deacon Thorndike Andrewes, availing himself of the complimentary Internet connection in a commodious double queen room at the Comfort Inn overlooking historic downtown Hanford, California."
Hearing from the good brother again was immensely satisfying, but I was somewhat mystified by his words in the quote which follows:
Though the machinations of offense by proxy – "I, Little Stone Bridget, am thoroughly vexed that Dagenham Rector, noted apostate, has promulgated vulgar representations of and about Father Mass Progeny, which under no circumstances should be viewed by any faithful Anglican, but can be found at… & etc." – are endlessly instructive to be certain, BC avers presently the moment arrives where the thurible must be stoked, torches must be trimmed and lit, and – the Cross leading the way! – the procession move ever on.
Of whom does he speak? Who are these people?
Please go read his entire entry. You won't be sorry. We must encourage him not to leave us without his words of wisdom for long stretches of time.
Hearing from the good brother again was immensely satisfying, but I was somewhat mystified by his words in the quote which follows:
Though the machinations of offense by proxy – "I, Little Stone Bridget, am thoroughly vexed that Dagenham Rector, noted apostate, has promulgated vulgar representations of and about Father Mass Progeny, which under no circumstances should be viewed by any faithful Anglican, but can be found at… & etc." – are endlessly instructive to be certain, BC avers presently the moment arrives where the thurible must be stoked, torches must be trimmed and lit, and – the Cross leading the way! – the procession move ever on.
Of whom does he speak? Who are these people?
Please go read his entire entry. You won't be sorry. We must encourage him not to leave us without his words of wisdom for long stretches of time.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Gov. Bobby Jindal Watch
From Americans United:
Take Louisiana, for example. Earlier this week, Bobby Jindal, a 36-year-old Indian-American, took the reins as the state’s 55th governor. Jindal, who served two terms in Congress as a representative of a suburban New Orleans district, broke through racial divisiveness in the state by touting his personal faith.
....
Jindal, the son of immigrants from India and a born-again Roman Catholic, suggested on the campaign trail that he supported teaching “intelligent design” in public school science courses and boasted about his animosity toward reproductive rights.
....
[Louisiana Family Forum's Tony] Perkins also noted that Jindal’s “top priority” would be to revamp ethics laws to make Louisiana more attractive to businesses “that have shied away from my home state because of its history of political corruption.”
“Once that mission is accomplished,” Perkins continued, “I fully expect him to turn his attention toward promoting a more pro-family environment within the state.”
Bobby Jindal is a Rhodes scholar. He well knows that ID is not science and has no place in the science classroom. This is plain and simple pandering to religious fundamentalists. One wonders what sort of "pro-family environment" we can expect, considering his "animosity toward reproductive rights". We shall see if the new governor meets Tony Perkins' expectations.
You'd think Perkins would know enough to shy away from the mission accomplished metaphor. The fundamentalists seem to enjoy military analogies.
The full name of the organization that these quotes are taken from is Americans United for Separation of Church and State. I believe I'll join and throw them some support.
Thanks to Fran at FranIAm for calling the group to my attention.
Take Louisiana, for example. Earlier this week, Bobby Jindal, a 36-year-old Indian-American, took the reins as the state’s 55th governor. Jindal, who served two terms in Congress as a representative of a suburban New Orleans district, broke through racial divisiveness in the state by touting his personal faith.
....
Jindal, the son of immigrants from India and a born-again Roman Catholic, suggested on the campaign trail that he supported teaching “intelligent design” in public school science courses and boasted about his animosity toward reproductive rights.
....
[Louisiana Family Forum's Tony] Perkins also noted that Jindal’s “top priority” would be to revamp ethics laws to make Louisiana more attractive to businesses “that have shied away from my home state because of its history of political corruption.”
“Once that mission is accomplished,” Perkins continued, “I fully expect him to turn his attention toward promoting a more pro-family environment within the state.”
Bobby Jindal is a Rhodes scholar. He well knows that ID is not science and has no place in the science classroom. This is plain and simple pandering to religious fundamentalists. One wonders what sort of "pro-family environment" we can expect, considering his "animosity toward reproductive rights". We shall see if the new governor meets Tony Perkins' expectations.
You'd think Perkins would know enough to shy away from the mission accomplished metaphor. The fundamentalists seem to enjoy military analogies.
The full name of the organization that these quotes are taken from is Americans United for Separation of Church and State. I believe I'll join and throw them some support.
Thanks to Fran at FranIAm for calling the group to my attention.
Rajun' Cajun Radio
All Louisiana, All The Time!
While I was setting the radio stations on my new car, (yes, my car died in the accident, or rather it was so damaged, that we had to put it down) I discovered a new radio station, Rajun' Cajun Radio, out of Golden Meadow, Louisiana. That's down Bayou Lafourche from me - way down the bayou.
6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - The Hot Sauce Express - "Get on the Hot Sauce Express" with Bu-Bud and Waylon Thibodeaux. Every weekday morning, they host a 4-hour morning show featuring some of the best Cajun, Zydeco and Swamp Pop music in the world. On Friday mornings, from 7am - 8:00am, join Hugh Louviere for the South Louisiana Hunting and Fishing Show.
What's not to like? Well, I skip the fishing part. Some of the Swamp Pop Music sounds a lot like rhythm and blues and the old rock 'n' roll, the good stuff from the 50s.
Every cloud must have a silver lining
Wait until the sun shines through
I can't stay a melancholy baby forever, right?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
One Year Ago Today....
At the 1 year anniversary of my first blog post, I reflect on a year that was in many ways a wonder to me. When I started to blog, I thought that after the first rush of virtual friends dropped by, few would come around to visit, but I wanted to write and do commentary on the events of the day and give my family and friends a break from my harangues. Even if the blog turned out to be nothing more than a diary, it would not be all loss.
The time and work required to do what seemed like simple posts is beyond what I ever imagined. The blog has taken over my life in ways that I never thought possible. I confess that on some days I look at what I have written, and I think that it's not worth the time I put in. I've said to myself, "Woman, give it up". Let me be clear. I'm not soliciting compliments or reassurance with these words. Far too many of you good folks have complimented me far beyond my desserts, and I thank you for the many kind words. But, in the end, it will be my own judgment of what I do here that will determine if I think it's worth the time and effort.
Through the blog, I have met so many wonderful people, in both virtual and real life. Our gathering in New York was fantastic. I would not have missed that for the world. I loved meeting Kirstin in New Orleans. You, my friends, have enriched my life greatly. I won't name names, because you are many, and I would surely leave someone important out.
A week or so ago, I happened to notice that my numbers on StatCounter were right at 57,969. Today they're at 59,562. In a few days, I will round off 60,000. Now I know that's nowhere near the numbers of the big league religion bloggers, but I am humbled to have that many visitors. I'm sure that a large number of visitors come from Google or some other search engine and don't find what they want at my blog and click off immediately. Perhaps a few take a look around and one or two come back. The great majority of those who visit do not leave a comment. To those of you who come to read, thank you. To those of you who leave comments, a special thank you. I love the exchange in the comments, as much, if not more, than the writing. But, of course, without the writing, there would be no exchange.
At the end of a year, I owe more to you, my readers, than I can say. It was good for me. Was it good for you?
The time and work required to do what seemed like simple posts is beyond what I ever imagined. The blog has taken over my life in ways that I never thought possible. I confess that on some days I look at what I have written, and I think that it's not worth the time I put in. I've said to myself, "Woman, give it up". Let me be clear. I'm not soliciting compliments or reassurance with these words. Far too many of you good folks have complimented me far beyond my desserts, and I thank you for the many kind words. But, in the end, it will be my own judgment of what I do here that will determine if I think it's worth the time and effort.
Through the blog, I have met so many wonderful people, in both virtual and real life. Our gathering in New York was fantastic. I would not have missed that for the world. I loved meeting Kirstin in New Orleans. You, my friends, have enriched my life greatly. I won't name names, because you are many, and I would surely leave someone important out.
A week or so ago, I happened to notice that my numbers on StatCounter were right at 57,969. Today they're at 59,562. In a few days, I will round off 60,000. Now I know that's nowhere near the numbers of the big league religion bloggers, but I am humbled to have that many visitors. I'm sure that a large number of visitors come from Google or some other search engine and don't find what they want at my blog and click off immediately. Perhaps a few take a look around and one or two come back. The great majority of those who visit do not leave a comment. To those of you who come to read, thank you. To those of you who leave comments, a special thank you. I love the exchange in the comments, as much, if not more, than the writing. But, of course, without the writing, there would be no exchange.
At the end of a year, I owe more to you, my readers, than I can say. It was good for me. Was it good for you?
And Here's Doug!
This is a year when both Groundhog Day and the State of the Union address occur in the same week.
And as it has been pointed out, "It is an ironic juxtaposition of events: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, while the other involves a groundhog."
And as it has been pointed out, "It is an ironic juxtaposition of events: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, while the other involves a groundhog."
Johnieb Has A Blog!
Our virtual and real life friend (we met in New York) and long time commenter, Johnieb, has BEGUN TO BLOG! He's a little crazy, but aren't we all? He has a lovely story about participating in a civil-rights march organized by Martin Luther King. Please check in over at Here Still Running and read it. In person, Johnieb is absolutely charming and brilliant. He's originally from the South, you know.
Graces from "Barefoot And Laughing"
Kirstin at Barefoot And Laughing has a lovely post on her work in New Orleans doing interviews for the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana.
I’m doing research for EDOLA staff who’s writing a book, one aspect of which is graces in the storm. There have been so many graces in my own life, here. I’ve been given so many unexpected gifts: all at some cost, but which have grown me in ways I won’t understand for a long time.
God bless Kirstin. She even counts among the graces the fact that we gave her whiplash.
Mimi’s been amazing; she checks in with me pretty much daily, to see how I am. I’m just thankful that neither of them were hurt. 2 ½ months of neurological weirdness, I can handle. They’re both older; I’ll heal much faster than they would.
I'll tell you who's been amazing. Kirstin has been amazingly kind and generous. She's a living saint.
Please do read the rest of her very fine post. And pray for quick healing of her injury.
I’m doing research for EDOLA staff who’s writing a book, one aspect of which is graces in the storm. There have been so many graces in my own life, here. I’ve been given so many unexpected gifts: all at some cost, but which have grown me in ways I won’t understand for a long time.
God bless Kirstin. She even counts among the graces the fact that we gave her whiplash.
Mimi’s been amazing; she checks in with me pretty much daily, to see how I am. I’m just thankful that neither of them were hurt. 2 ½ months of neurological weirdness, I can handle. They’re both older; I’ll heal much faster than they would.
I'll tell you who's been amazing. Kirstin has been amazingly kind and generous. She's a living saint.
Please do read the rest of her very fine post. And pray for quick healing of her injury.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Planning For Lambeth 2008
From the Guardian.
The 2008 Lambeth Conference officially opened today. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams announced that approximately 70% of the bishops of the Anglican Communion have accepted their invitations to the Lambeth Conference and that others have said that they plan to attend. According to the Guardian, much of the conversation at the meeting centered on homosexuality.
With all the dreadful problems facing us in our world today, it is amazing to me that homosexuality was the main topic of the conversation - truly amazing. War, famine, disease, global warming, all yield place to homosexuality.
Bishop Gene Robinson of the Diocese of New Hampshire, who is openly gay and partnered, has not, so far, been invited to Lambeth.
When asked if he had decided whether Robinson would attend, Williams replied: "Gene Robinson has not been invited to the Lambeth Conference and it is proving extremely difficult to see under what heading he might be invited to be around, and that is where we are.
My suggestion is that he be invited around as the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. I'd ask Archbishop Williams the reason for his exclusion!
Episcopal spouses will be well cared for under the direction of Jane Williams, wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Margaret Sentamu, wife of the Archbishop of York. They are promised more than "jam and Jerusalem, more tea vicar, or mitre-making and flower arranging".
Oh, well, that's all right, then.
In Memoriam - Martin Luther King
An excerpt from Martin Luther King's acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964:
I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him.
I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.
I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.
I believe that even amid today's motor bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.
I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land.
"And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid."
I still believe that we shall overcome.
And so must we believe. He has given us example.
Note: Time edited to keep the post at the top of the page.
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