Same Sex Wedding In The Church Of England

Our friend, Ann, posted at the Episcopal Café, the story of the wedding of two Church of England priests, both men, with the liturgy for the ceremony taken from the Book of Common Prayer, with only slight adaptations. Ann links to the actual bulletin of the litrurgy itself. A nice precedent out of the CofE. I wonder what will come of this.

The ceremony for The Rev. Peter Cowell, Priest Vicar at Westminster Abbey, and the Rev. Dr. David Lord was held at The Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great in London..

Check it out.

UPDATE: Here's a link to the article in the Telegraph on the ceremony from Thinking Anglicans.

Archbishop Orombi of Uganda calls it "blasphemous" and demands that the Archbishop of Canterbury act quickly to prevent the "disintegration" of the "Anglican Church". To which Anglican Church does Abp. Orombi refer? Surely not the Anglican Communion, because the Anglican Communion is most definitely not a church, although some have taken to calling it that.

Thanks to Susan S. in the comments for the tip.

UPDATE 2: More from the Daily Mail.

Methuselah Resurrected

From the AP via USA Today:

WASHINGTON — Just over three years old and about four-feet tall, Methuselah is growing well. "It's lovely," Dr. Sarah Sallon said of the date palm, whose parents may have provided food for the besieged Jews at Masada some 2,000 years ago.

The little tree was sprouted in 2005 from a seed recovered from Masada, where rebelling Jews committed suicide rather than surrender to Roman attackers.

With Dr. Sarah, I think it's lovely, too, that a seed from the time when Jesus walked the earth sprouted with new life. What a wonderful symbol of the Resurrection.

The picture shows the plant at the age of 24 months. It's three years old now and bigger and taller than in the photo.

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat (or a date palm seed) falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
John 12:24

Photo from MSNBC News by Guy Eisner / Courtesy of Science Magazine

"A Victory For The Rule Of Law"

From the Center For Constitutional Rights:

Today is a historic victory for the rule of law. We won! For the third time, the Supreme Court has upheld the fundamental rights of Guantanamo detainees. In its historic decision in CCR's case, Boumediene v. Bush, the Court affirmed detainees' right to habeas corpus. One of the oldest and most basic legal protections, habeas corpus affords the incarcerated the right to challenge the legality of their detention before a judge and keeps the king and president from arbitrarily locking people up and throwing away the key.

We're asking you to take action in two important ways: please make a contribution to CCR today so we can continue this important work, and please write to the presidential candidates to demand that they uphold the Supreme Court's decision.

The Administration has delayed, ignored and sought to evade two prior Supreme Court decisions, Rasul v. Bush in 2004 and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld in 2006, both of which upheld the rights of Guantanamo detainees.

This decision was, in many ways, made possible by the support of so many - the over 500 volunteer habeas counsel who have committed themselves to defending the rights of Guantanamo's detainees, the thousands upon thousands who have acted to demand that the Constitution be upheld, and all of our supporters, who have made this work possible. Today, your support is urgently needed, now more than ever, to ensure that the Supreme Court's decision is implemented and the Constitution restored.

CCR was the first organization to step forward to defend the detainees, long before anyone else would take the risk. Please click here to donate to support CCR's work today so that we can continue to take on the risky cases!

Join CCR today to write to the candidates for President of the United States, Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R), and demand that they affirm their commitment to not only implement the Supreme Court's decision, but also to close Guantanamo and undo all of the policies of the Bush administration that have trampled upon our Constitution.

Click here to write to the candidates!

This six-year-long nightmare is a lesson in how fragile our constitutional protections truly are in the hands of an overzealous executive. Let us celebrate, but let us remain vigilant.

Sincerely,
Vincent Warren
Executive Director, Center for Constitutional Rights

UPDATE: Tell me why Nancy Pelosi says impeachment is off the table.

Feast Day Of Enmegahbowh

PRIEST AND MISSIONARY


Icon of St. Enmegahbowh by the Rev. Johnson Loud.

Enmegahbowh, who was also called John Johnson, belonged to the Ojibwa Indian tribe in Minnesota.

He must have been born to some position in his tribe, as he had been set apart for a "Medicine Man" in youth, and his Indian name, Enmegahbowh, meant "The man who stands by his people," a significant name, which in time proved to be a true one.

He was sent as a missionary to Crow Wing, after two ministers before him had been unsuccessful in establishing a mission.

For a few years the mission work seemed at a stand still. From Canada Enmegahbowh received earnest invitations to go where comfort and hopeful work awaited him, but Bishop Whipple encouraged him, s[t]anding in the forefront for an unpopular cause and a hated people, and Enmegahbowh would prove the fitness of his name -- he would not desert his people.

The Ojibwa were moved by the US government to the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota, where:

Enmegahbowh labored earnestly, the government now aiding in the work by encouraging the Indians in civilized ways. A steam sawmill was built at White Earth Lake, where Indians were taught to run the machinery, and from which lumber was furnished for building purposes. Eastern churchmen assisted the mission, and a church and parsonage were built.

At the time of the consecration of the church in August, 1872, quite a party of the clergy and laity, through the kindness of Bishop Whipple, were enabled to visit White Earth.

The consecration was on Thursday. Friday morning, the chiefs signified to the bishop their wish to meet with him in a council, which was therefore held, that afternoon, on the hillside in front of the church. It was a picturesque scene -- the lovely landscape, the sunlight glancing through the tall oak trees on the bishop and Enmegahbowh, who sat in the centre, the chiefs and five or six clergymen grouped around. Behind the bishop three chairs were placed for the ladies of the party -- the first time, I think, that ladies were ever admitted to an Indian council.

Enmegahbowh died at White Earth at the age of 95.

The above quotes and information were taken from A Pioneer History of Becker County Minnesota by Alvin H. Wilcox (1907), via St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Enterprise, Oregon.

Prayer:

Almighty God, you led your pilgrim people of old with fire and cloud; grant that the ministers of your church, following the example of blessed Enmegahbowh, may stand before your holy people, leading them with fiery zeal and gentle humility. This we ask through Jesus, the Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

READINGS

Psalm 29
Isaiah 52:7-10 or1 Peter 5:1-4
Luke 6:17-23

Disclosure: For the most part, this post is recycled from the feast day last year.

The Political Compass Test

Economic Left/Right: -5.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.72


Take the test.

I took a similar test a few years ago, and, although my result was still in the same quadrant, I was much closer to the center. It seems that I've been marked by the Bush years. The test is not a quickie six-question test.

They're Talking About Gov. Jindal's Exorcism

Talking Points Memo has taken note of our governor's participation in an exorcism (or so Jindal called it):

Bobby Jindal, the 36-year old governor of Louisiana, is being taken seriously by the national press as a candidate on the shortlist to be John McCain's Vice President. No one doubts that he's a political prodigy -- his impressive resume includes stints as president of the state university system, a Congressman and now governor.

But one of Jindal's job titles hasn't gotten much attention -- and it just might prompt a few questions if his Veep candidacy gains steam: Exorcist.

What impresses me most about Jindal's resumé is his nearly 100% loyal support of all of Bush's mad schemes, both at home and abroad, while he was in the House of Representatives.

I have no doubt that this wider notice of his participation in an exorcism will lessen his chances of becoming McCain's running mate, if he ever was a serious contender. The word of the exorcism has been around locally for some time, but it didn't seem to make much difference to Louisiana voters in the House race and the gubernatorial election. However, in a national election, the story of the exorcism could be a tad radioactive.

TPM failed to take note of the local bloggers who have talked about the story for years, except for one link to The Daily Kingfish, added in an update.

Thanks to Oyster for the tip.

UPDATE: Time Magazine's blog has picked up the story, and the full article from the New Oxford Review is available now, probably only for a limited time, but I printed a copy.

Wise Words From J. K. Rowling

Please go read or watch the video of J. K. Rowling's commencement address at Harvard University. It's powerful, simply amazing. After pondering what to speak of, she says:

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

I'll give you a few snippets of the address, but I urge you to read the entire speech or watch the video at the Harvard Magazine website that I link to above. It will take a little time, but I promise you, it's worth it.

She tells of the period in her life, seven years after graduating from the university, when her marriage had ended and she was a jobless single mother. It was a time of great difficulty for her. She says of herself, "I was the biggest failure I knew".

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

On imagination:

You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

Her final words from Seneca:

"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."
I wish you all very good lives.

I hope that these brief quotes are enough to whet your appetite for more.

Thanks to Ann for the link.

Oh, That Liberal Media!

Via Sadly No comes a link to Anne Applebaum's opinion column in the Washington Post. Applebaum is on the editorial board of the WP. Oh, that liberal media!

Applebaum said:

“Will Americans vote for a black man?” I’ve been asked this question by foreigners of various origins a dozen — or maybe three dozen — times since the U.S. presidential campaign began for real in January. … Which means that it is time to turn this rather offensive question around: Will foreigners accept a black American president? I realize that this, too, may seem like a rather offensive question.

Anne, is it the "foreigners" who have a problem with accepting a black man as president? How do you make the leap in logic from the "foreigners" asking the question about how Americans will vote to the conclusion that it was time to turn the question around in the manner that you did? Anne goes on to say, "I hate to put it so crudely, but -- European newspaper reporting to the contrary -- racism is not unique to the United States." What a surprise! If you hate to put it so crudely, then why do it?

A President Obama wouldn't have to worry too much about angry stares from people at bus stops, of course, and it is fair to assume that prejudices harbored by the odd foreign leader would vanish in the presence of the American president.

Indeed! I don't think he will be riding the bus, and he won't have to worry about taxis not stopping to pick him up, either.

But in the meantime, do not be surprised if there is some backlash as well. A hint of what might be hiding behind those enthusiastic headlines emerged last week in Obamamanic Germany, where a Berlin newspaper, Die Tageszeitung, put a photograph of the White House and the headline " Uncle Barack's Cabin" on its front page. The editors argued that their intention was satirical, but since the same newspaper has also referred to the current U.S. secretary of state as "Uncle Tom's Rice," it is clear that they understood the nastiness of the "Uncle Tom" connotation perfectly well.

So. We should keep the views of the racists around the world in mind when we cast our vote for president.

Listen carefully, too, when foreigners start worrying about Obama's lack of foreign policy experience. Though this is a legitimate concern, I occasionally catch a racist undertone in this kind of conversation. "How could a black man possibly understand European/Middle Eastern/South Asian politics?" is what my interlocutors sometimes in fact seem to be saying.

That seems another great leap in illogical reasoning, but, of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps I should conclude that you, and only you, Anne, know what's in their heads, what they really, really mean.

Sadly No's commentary on the column is wise and funny.

Sad Doggy News

Remember the story of Roger's newly adopted rescue pet, Becky? Roger, aka Lapinbizarre, told their story here on Wounded Bird in the middle of May.

Tonight I received this email from Roger:

Becky's persistent "kennel cough" - I decided a week or so back that it was too resistant to antibiotics to be this - turns out to be lung cancer. The vet thinks three to six months, poor little soul, tho treatment with steroids, etc., could extend it as far as two years. I'll speak to her at greater length later in the week. In the meantime, Becky is her usual busy self. Very sad.

I wrote back:

Roger, I am so sorry. What sad news. We lost Rusty to lymphoma at the age of 9, too soon. I'll pray for Becky, that she'll have good times in whatever days are left for her. I'll pray for you, too, Roger. I know that this tears at your heart. I'll post a prayer request if you like.

And so I have done.

Mystery Solved! It's "The Dap"!

Ooooh, I'm getting my groove now.

From Newhouse via the Times-Picayune:

Moments before stepping to the podium Tuesday night to acknowledge that he would be the first black candidate nominated by a major party for president of the United States, Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, knocked knuckles.

It was a tiny gesture so cool, so tight, so loving and so right, that it seemed to encapsulate both the satisfaction of the moment and the new cultural trajectory of American politics.

"Barack and Michelle were giving each other some 'dap,' " says Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of black popular culture at Duke University. "I was watching the speech with my wife and she saw 'the dap' and said, 'Do you see that? A bunch of folks must be wondering what that means."

Yeeaah! Cool, tight, loving, right! Ya gotta love 'em. But wait! How much cool can the citizenry of the US take? What would the Founding Fathers think?

To wit: NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, who on Wednesday asked Obama about the dap, noting that Michelle had "tried to give her husband a fist pound the way a lot of Americans do, the way a lot of couples do. The only problem it's an inside move shared in front of 17-and-a-half thousand people in the arena and millions watching at home."

Of course! Why Brian, of the raccoon eyes due to tanning with his goggles on, is right! It was as though they had sex right there on the stage. Tell me, is there anyone less cool than Brian Williams? Well, probably. What can one do to confront this sort of assininity, but make sport of it?

In fact, Neal says, the dap probably does trace its early origins to the black power salute of the 1960s.

Horrors! Can this be? Bring me my smelling salts.

But it morphed into what it is today -- lateral instead of vertical -- in the intersection of hip-hop and the National Basketball Association in the 1980s. In the years since, it has become familiar beyond the black world to many Americans younger than 50 -- especially to anyone glued to a television as professional athletes congratulate each other on exceptional performance.

Black people and those under 50 -- a demographic that has come to be known by another name: Obama's base.

Dayum! Now that is scary. How did I know that the gesture was common? I'm in the wrong demographic. Is it possible that I'm 43, instead of 73?