Feast Day Of William White

William White was consecrated bishop, along with Samuel Provoost, in England, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the Bishop of Peterborough, as the second and third US bishops after the first American bishop, Samuel Seabury.

White was largely responsible for the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. At his suggestion, the system of church government was established more or less as we have it today.

The words below, William White's own, are as timely today as when he wrote them. I'd like to see them printed and passed around at Lambeth for all the bishops in the Anglican Communion to read.

The power of electing a superior order of ministers ought to be in the clergy and laity together, they being both interested in the choice. In England, the bishops are appointed by the civil authority, which was a usurpation of the crown at the Norman conquest, but since confirmed by acts of parliament. The primitive churches were generally supplied by popular elections; even in the city of Rome, the privilege of electing the bishop continued with the people to the tenth or eleventh century, and near those times there are resolves of councils, that none should be promoted to ecclesiastical dignities, but by election of the clergy and people. It cannot be denied that this right vested in numerous bodies, occasioned great disorders; which it is expected will be avoided, when the people shall exercise the right by representation.

Let us next take a view of the grounds on which the authority of episcopacy is asserted.

The advocates for this form maintain, that there having been an episcopal power originally lodged by Jesus Christ with his apostles, and by them generally exercised in person, but sometimes by delegation (as in the instances of Timothy and Titus) the same was conveyed by them before their decease to one pastor in each church, which generally comprehended all the Christians in a city and a convenient surrounding district. Thus were created the apostolic successors, who on account of their settled residence are called bishops by restraint; whereas the apostles themselves were bishops at large, exercising episcopal power over all the churches, except in the case of St James, who from the beginning was bishop of Jerusalem. From this time the word "episcopos," used in the New Testament indiscriminately with the word "presbyteros" (particularly in the 20th chapter of the Acts where the same persons are called "episcopoi" and "presbyteroi"), became appropriated to the superior order of ministers. That the apostles were thus succeeded by an order of ministers superior to pastors in general, episcopalians think they prove by the testimonies of the ancient fathers, and from the improbability that so great an innovation (as some conceive it) could have found general and peaceable possession in the 2d or 3d century, when epicopacy is on both sides acknowledged to have been prevalent. The argument is here concisely stated, but (as is believed) impartially.

Readings:

Psalm 92:1-4,11-14 or 84:7-12
Jeremiah 1:4-10
John 21:15-17

PRAYER

O Lord, who in a time of turmoil and confusion raised up your servant William White, and endowed him with wisdom, patience, and a reconciling temper, that he might lead your Church into ways of stability and peace: Hear our prayer, and give us wise and faithful leaders, that through their ministry your people may be blessed and your will be done; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Quotes from James Kiefer at the Lectionary.

Image from Wiki.

Girlie Wisdom!

Women over 50 don't have babies because they would put them down and forget where they left them.

A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but doesn't really care.

One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.

My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.

The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.

The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.

Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.

Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.

I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my knicker's.

Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks 2 sizes!

Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' ......Now I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!

The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing and then they marry him.

I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day!

From the darling daughter.

Cajun Hurricane Survival Kit

Toilet Paper..................................check

Bud Light...........................................check

Keystone Ice........................................check

Budweiser.........................................check

Red Dog.............................................check

Misc. other bottles of alcohol......................check

Piece of plywood to float your old lady and booze on ...... check


God love dem Cajuns!

Please! Don't tell me this is not PC. I am a Cajun, so it's OK for me to post jokes like this. I can also post demeaning jokes about the French, the English, the Spanish, the Portuguese, and the Germans, because I am all of those, too.

Obama's Faith

From Jon Meacham in Newsweek:

The tradition of which Obama is a part is best exemplified by another of his heroes: Lincoln. "Probably it is my lot to go on in a twilight, feeling and reasoning my way through life, as questioning, doubting Thomas did," Lincoln, who belonged to no church, said. "But in my poor, maimed way, I bear with me as I go on seeking a spirit of desire for a faith that was with him of olden time, who, in his need, as I in mine, exclaimed, 'Help thou my unbelief'." He added: "I doubt the possibility, or propriety, of settling the religion of Jesus Christ in the models of man-made creeds and dogmas … I cannot without mental reservations assent to long and complicated creeds and catechisms."
....

Asked about what he has learned from Lincoln's spiritual journey, Obama tells NEWSWEEK: "My religious influences extend to the Founding Fathers, and I would include Lincoln in that category. Because these were men driven by reason and were full of skepticism and doubt. So much so that some of them considered themselves deists as opposed to strict Christians as we'd call them. But look at somebody like Lincoln: [he] starts off, as far as we can tell, a deeply skeptical but powerfully moral person who, as he finds himself in the midst of history and potential cataclysm, feels it necessary to hang on to a more explicit belief in providence and faith. And so that resonates with me. I think that there's a place where, the more seriously you take the world and the more you find yourself struggling with good and evil and war and the great moral questions of the day, the more you have to fall back on some sort of north star. Or you get lost. The kinds of issues that might get confronted are so difficult that the weight you carry was so great, that the possibilities of paralysis are—Lincoln himself acknowledged are—sometimes too present. What gets him out of bed, that's powerful stuff."

Powerful stuff is right. Obama's models in the spiritual journey are Lincoln and the Founding Fathers. Not bad at all. But can the majority of citizens in the US, which is fast hurtling toward becoming a theocracy, stand this sort of honesty and ambiguity?

After reading the articles in Newsweek on Obama's faith, my estimation of the magazine has risen a few notches.

Here's the link to the longer article on Obama and faith. He sounds thoughtful and intelligent. What a breath of fresh air compared to the man who presently "serves" in the office of the president. I'm shedding tears that we've had someone like Bush as president for seven and one half years. I pray for relief and someone of a completely different type, next time around. Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Word From Friends At Lambeth

Our young friend Allie, who is "doing the Lambeth walk" as a steward, gives us the scoop on the colour coded lanyards at Lambeth - who wears which colour. As you will see, Allie has already been infected by the English spelling, and - Alas! - I seem to have caught the virus, too. Poor baby is having technical difficulties. Let's hope she gets that fixed soon.

Our other friend, the ever young-at-heart, Elizabeth Kaeton, has a great story from Lambeth 10 years ago when she was a famous first.

The Place Where We Are Right

From the place where we are right
Flowers will never grow
In the spring.

The place where we are right
Is hard and trampled
Like a yard.

But doubts and loves
Dig up the world
Like a mole, a plow.
And a whisper will be heard in the place
Where the ruined
House once stood.

Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai

With thanks to Ann.

La Vie En Rose

For those of you who have seen "WALL-E" and anyone else who wants to listen.

I Was Thirsty....

From Rmj at Adventus:

Water-borne diseases are common in poor countries that have no sewage or clean-water systems, but Baghdad once had such things. Dr. Fathil al-Hadawi, of Iraq's Ministry of Health, says the pipes have been wrecked by years of neglect and war.

Hadawi says both water and sewer pipes are broken or cracked in many places, allowing untreated fecal matter to mingle with the tap water. He adds that chronic electricity outages in the city mean that water treatment and pumping stations often stand idle, so even polluted tap water isn't always available. NPR

As Rmj says, violence is down in Iraq, but life there is still not a bowl of cherries.

Bishop Gene On Putney

From Canterbury Tales From The Fringe:

By now, you will have probably read about the service last night at St. Mary's, Putney. The church was filled to capacity, the music was glorious, the crowd was warm, welcoming and supportive. It was clear that everyone wanted to be there. Except that one person wanted to be there for different reasons.

As I began to preach, this youngish man with long hair and long sideburns, carrying a motorcycle helmet, stood and began to point his finger at me and scream, "Heretic! Repent!"
....

And then, on with the sermon. Though everyone seemed to appreciate it, it was not my best, and my timing felt off. I meant what I was saying, and it was all true, but I was distracted -- wondering if there were plans for further interruptions by possible collaborators in the heckling, still feeling the sadness, and absorbing the trauma of what had just happened. The communion proceeded, and I sat and watched the faces as they came forward to receive. (I was not distributing the bread, to make it absolutely clear that I was not presiding at the service, having not been given permission to do so.)

Read the rest about Nicky, the waiter, and about Emily, the young woman with cerebral palsy.

Why Women Need Catalogs

If you feel the slightest bit of hostility toward the man in your life, even the slightest, this should help. You feel better now, right? Good. Now you can go about your business with a load off your shoulders.

Sent by my daughter.