Elizabeth Kaeton at her blog, Telling Secrets, has two extraordinary posts here and here. Elizabeth attended Lambeth as President of the Episcopal Women's Caucus.
Both Elizabeth and Susan Russell raised my hopes about the good that will flow from Lambeth 2008. Credit is due to the Archbishop of Canterbury for the structure of the conference around the retreat, the Daily Bible Study, the plenaries, daily Eucharist, and the indaba groups, which included deep listening with the result that the members actually heard what the others in their group were saying. In addition, within the small indaba groups, the members formed close relationships which will not be lost because of distance once they return home.
I won't attempt to choose excerpts from Elizabeth's posts. I urge you to read them in their entirety.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Anti-Colonialism Or Colonialism?
From Priyamvada Gopal at the Guardian:
The Bishop of Uganda has taken a tough line on the British empire. Henry Orombi has denounced the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to invite some pro-gay American clergy to the Lambeth conference as a "remnant of British colonialism". He and his fellow Ugandan bishops have refused to attend the conference as an act of passive resistance to the "clear violation of biblical teaching".
....
This kind of tendentious anti-colonialism, coming from quarters not otherwise known for radicalism, is part of a phenomenon that might be called the "blacking" of homophobia. This dismaying process has made it acceptable for some members of cultural and ethnic minorities not only to articulate intolerant views (which they would not accept if directed against themselves), but to have these prioritised in the name of religious sensitivities and cultural difference.
....
The tragedy for the larger Anglican communion is that the intolerance once spread abroad in the name of Christianity has now returned to haunt and hold back its laudable attempts to move forward. But in undoing this colonial legacy, it should not be deterred by false accusations of colonialism. Hatred is not love and homophobia is not anti-colonialism.
Please read the whole column. It's quite good. It's amazing to me that those who have experienced prejudice, exclusion, and even persecution can sign on so to supporting the very same treatment towards another group. You'd think they'd learn from their own experiences.
The Bishop of Uganda has taken a tough line on the British empire. Henry Orombi has denounced the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to invite some pro-gay American clergy to the Lambeth conference as a "remnant of British colonialism". He and his fellow Ugandan bishops have refused to attend the conference as an act of passive resistance to the "clear violation of biblical teaching".
....
This kind of tendentious anti-colonialism, coming from quarters not otherwise known for radicalism, is part of a phenomenon that might be called the "blacking" of homophobia. This dismaying process has made it acceptable for some members of cultural and ethnic minorities not only to articulate intolerant views (which they would not accept if directed against themselves), but to have these prioritised in the name of religious sensitivities and cultural difference.
....
The tragedy for the larger Anglican communion is that the intolerance once spread abroad in the name of Christianity has now returned to haunt and hold back its laudable attempts to move forward. But in undoing this colonial legacy, it should not be deterred by false accusations of colonialism. Hatred is not love and homophobia is not anti-colonialism.
Please read the whole column. It's quite good. It's amazing to me that those who have experienced prejudice, exclusion, and even persecution can sign on so to supporting the very same treatment towards another group. You'd think they'd learn from their own experiences.
Reflections From Susan Russell
From Susan's blog, An Inch At A Time. Susan Russell is President Of Integrity USA.
There were many good things that happened in Canterbury between July 16 and August 3:
Despite the dire predictions of a coup d’état, instead of an outbreak of schism there was an outbreak of civility. The interactions between the bishops over their two-week conference were marked by generosity and by a holy curiosity and genuine interest in learning from each other about mission and ministry in the various parts of the global communion. Building on those relationships – one-on-one, diocese by diocese, year by year – will continue to build up the bonds of affection that make up the fabric of this global communion of which is our Anglican family of faith.
....
I also want to note those bishops who do not agree with the inclusive perspective we understand to be God’s will for this church and yet stood in solidarity with us against those who would divide us from each other and from our Anglican brothers and sisters. +Duncan Gray (Mississippi) and +Charles Jenkins (Louisiana) are but two who spoke publicly and eloquently in that regard … and I know there were others.
Thanks be to God for the words of Bishop Gray and Bishop Jenkins (my bishop).
And yet, at the 11th hour -- in his final Presidential Address and at the Press Conference following -- +Rowan Williams managed to snatch the defeat of a guarantee that issues of human sexuality will stay on the front burner of communion discourse for the foreseeable future out of the jaws of the victory of a conference what was on the verge of finding a new way forward in faith for those committed to walk together in spite of their differences.
By pushing his preference that the American and Canadian churches abide by the moratoria on blessings of same sex unions and the consecration of any more openly gay bishops, he undid in a two-hour span a good percentage of the good work that had been accomplished over the two- week conference.
My thoughts exactly on the final Presidential Address. I'll very likely do a post with further thoughts on the Archbishop of Canterbury's address, but I choose first to give you Susan's early reflection on Lambeth, because it is is excellent. Please don't stop here. Read all of Susan's post.
There were many good things that happened in Canterbury between July 16 and August 3:
Despite the dire predictions of a coup d’état, instead of an outbreak of schism there was an outbreak of civility. The interactions between the bishops over their two-week conference were marked by generosity and by a holy curiosity and genuine interest in learning from each other about mission and ministry in the various parts of the global communion. Building on those relationships – one-on-one, diocese by diocese, year by year – will continue to build up the bonds of affection that make up the fabric of this global communion of which is our Anglican family of faith.
....
I also want to note those bishops who do not agree with the inclusive perspective we understand to be God’s will for this church and yet stood in solidarity with us against those who would divide us from each other and from our Anglican brothers and sisters. +Duncan Gray (Mississippi) and +Charles Jenkins (Louisiana) are but two who spoke publicly and eloquently in that regard … and I know there were others.
Thanks be to God for the words of Bishop Gray and Bishop Jenkins (my bishop).
And yet, at the 11th hour -- in his final Presidential Address and at the Press Conference following -- +Rowan Williams managed to snatch the defeat of a guarantee that issues of human sexuality will stay on the front burner of communion discourse for the foreseeable future out of the jaws of the victory of a conference what was on the verge of finding a new way forward in faith for those committed to walk together in spite of their differences.
By pushing his preference that the American and Canadian churches abide by the moratoria on blessings of same sex unions and the consecration of any more openly gay bishops, he undid in a two-hour span a good percentage of the good work that had been accomplished over the two- week conference.
My thoughts exactly on the final Presidential Address. I'll very likely do a post with further thoughts on the Archbishop of Canterbury's address, but I choose first to give you Susan's early reflection on Lambeth, because it is is excellent. Please don't stop here. Read all of Susan's post.
"In Case You Missed These"
ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonalds.
AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tried to do.
BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage.
BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with.
CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate.
COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.
ECLIPSE: What a barber does for a living.
EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.
HEROES: What a guy in a boat does.
LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money.
MISTY: How golfers create divots.
PARADOX: Two physicians.
PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm.
POLARIZE: What penguins see with.
PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.
RELIEF: What trees do in the Spring.
RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife.
SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does.
SUDAFED: A litigation brought against a government official.
From "Stringer Doug".
One of these days, I'm going to write a serious post. I have one in mind, but no time right now. Laughter is better for you anyway.
AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tried to do.
BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage.
BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with.
CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate.
COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.
ECLIPSE: What a barber does for a living.
EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.
HEROES: What a guy in a boat does.
LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money.
MISTY: How golfers create divots.
PARADOX: Two physicians.
PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm.
POLARIZE: What penguins see with.
PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.
RELIEF: What trees do in the Spring.
RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife.
SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does.
SUDAFED: A litigation brought against a government official.
From "Stringer Doug".
One of these days, I'm going to write a serious post. I have one in mind, but no time right now. Laughter is better for you anyway.
Monday, August 4, 2008
From Sister Mary Clara
And waaaay too good to stay hidden away in the comments.
Sister Mary Clara, OSL has left a new comment on your post "Am I Crazy?":
I LOVE that basket and would buy it in a heartbeat. Of course, as a life professed member of the OSL (Order of St Laundra) I take seriously the quality of the liturgical objects employed in the holy rites of laundry.
I could even be tempted to go higher than fifty dollars. Maybe you will feel better, Mimi, if I tell you just how much higher. A few weeks ago my daughter and I were shopping for a bassinet for her about-to-be-born baby. We were sorely tempted to spring for the $450 (plus tax and shipping) one at Pottery Barn, consisting of a finely woven basket on a wheeled cart (see it online )
Clearly, as a bassinet this would have been an extravagance, since the baby would outgrow it in a few months. We saw clearly, however, that the item would then serve as the ultimate laundry cart! And we don't expect ever to outgrow our need for laundry. Moreover the cart was so beautifully made that we imagined it would last a lifetime.
If this were not enough, I pointed out, the basket could be lifted out, freeing the cart (with the addition of an oval-shaped glass top) for use as an elegant cocktail or tea server.
We knew St Laundra would approve (we didn't even need to pray over it), but there were certain other parties to the decision who would never have been able to grasp the appropriateness of a $500 outlay for a laundry cart, even if it happened to be a laundry cart that would be a source of endless inspiration and be passed on to future generations. So we let it go.
Posted by Sister Mary Clara, OSL to Wounded Bird at August 4, 2008 11:00 PM
Thank you, Sister Mary Clara, for treating the matter of the cost of the laundry basket with the appropriate gravity. The bassinet/laundry cart that you linked to is a true object of beauty, but, unfortunately, not everyone grasps the merits of being surrounded by inspirational, though costly, objects. MY guilt slate is now wiped clean, forever and ever. Amen. Many thanks to you, Sister.
UPDATE: For those of you near the South Bronx, if St. Laundra, on occasion, fails to come to your aid, here's an alternative.
With thanks to a reader.
Sister Mary Clara, OSL has left a new comment on your post "Am I Crazy?":
I LOVE that basket and would buy it in a heartbeat. Of course, as a life professed member of the OSL (Order of St Laundra) I take seriously the quality of the liturgical objects employed in the holy rites of laundry.
I could even be tempted to go higher than fifty dollars. Maybe you will feel better, Mimi, if I tell you just how much higher. A few weeks ago my daughter and I were shopping for a bassinet for her about-to-be-born baby. We were sorely tempted to spring for the $450 (plus tax and shipping) one at Pottery Barn, consisting of a finely woven basket on a wheeled cart (see it online )
Clearly, as a bassinet this would have been an extravagance, since the baby would outgrow it in a few months. We saw clearly, however, that the item would then serve as the ultimate laundry cart! And we don't expect ever to outgrow our need for laundry. Moreover the cart was so beautifully made that we imagined it would last a lifetime.
If this were not enough, I pointed out, the basket could be lifted out, freeing the cart (with the addition of an oval-shaped glass top) for use as an elegant cocktail or tea server.
We knew St Laundra would approve (we didn't even need to pray over it), but there were certain other parties to the decision who would never have been able to grasp the appropriateness of a $500 outlay for a laundry cart, even if it happened to be a laundry cart that would be a source of endless inspiration and be passed on to future generations. So we let it go.
Posted by Sister Mary Clara, OSL to Wounded Bird at August 4, 2008 11:00 PM
Thank you, Sister Mary Clara, for treating the matter of the cost of the laundry basket with the appropriate gravity. The bassinet/laundry cart that you linked to is a true object of beauty, but, unfortunately, not everyone grasps the merits of being surrounded by inspirational, though costly, objects. MY guilt slate is now wiped clean, forever and ever. Amen. Many thanks to you, Sister.
UPDATE: For those of you near the South Bronx, if St. Laundra, on occasion, fails to come to your aid, here's an alternative.
With thanks to a reader.
Am I Crazy?
During our visit to Kansas City, we drove out to Jamesport, MO. After a delicious lunch in a Mennonite restaurant, we visited an Amish store and community nearby. Pictured above is a laundry basket, which I purchased from the store. It cost $50. Yes, $50 for a laundry basket, thus the title of the post. I am a pushover for beautiful handcrafted objects, and I have a special affinity for baskets. I have baskets upon baskets, pine-needle baskets, palmetto baskets, and Native-American baskets of various materials.
The basket is pictured above, and it's lovely, in my humble opinion. The handles are made of leather. Leather handles on a clothes basket! The picture below shows the solid wood bottom of the basket.
Pictured below is the straw hat that Grandpère bought for a much less money. He would not model it for me to take a picture, so I did the best I could with no model. He'd look like a proper Amish gentleman in his hat, except that I'd have to photoshop his shorts and tee-shirt into a long-sleeved shirt and long pants with suspenders and add a beard. With just those few changes, to all appearances, he's Amish.
Click on the pictures to see the fine work close up.
Then, we stopped at an Amish farm to buy fresh-picked corn, which we cooked as soon as we arrived back at the house. It was out-of-this-world delicious!
UPDATE: My middle picture seems to have disappeared, and I cannot upload it again. I will try later. I suspect Blogger. OCICBW.
UPDATE 2: Yay! I was able to upload my picture again.
Calling Counterlight!
Dear MoveOn member,
....
Barack Obama's historic candidacy has sparked an unprecedented artistic outpouring. Now, in partnership with Shepard Fairey and his Obey Giant collective, we're offering a new way for artists—anyone with a pen and paper qualifies—to share their talents and help elect Barack Obama at the same time.
It's called Manifest Hope, and it's a new Obama art contest for 2D and 3D art, from painting to photography to sculpture. The winners will be shown at the Manifest Hope Gallery online and in Denver during the Democratic convention alongside works from dozens of established and influential artists.
If you think you might want to enter, or want updates on the contest, please let us know here:
http://pol.moveon.org/mh/signup/?id=13385-6955748-P9AQxMx&t=3
If not, can you pass this on to friends of yours who might be interested?
Anyone can enter. You don't have to be Picasso, you just need to be inspired by Barack Obama and willing to donate your creativity and time to the cause.
But you need to get started soon. The final submissions deadline is August 18th at 11:59 a.m. ET. That's not much time to conceive and create a piece of art, so get started today.
All submissions will be judged by a distinguished panel of judges—artists from Obey Giant, contemporary art curators, and multi-talented musicians. Finalists will be asked to auction off their pieces, and donate the proceeds to progressive organizations.
Denver will be buzzing during the convention, but this gallery is going to be one of the coolest places to visit there. Plus, the gallery's going to have an amazing party with live performances by Death Cab For Cutie, Moby, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
We're not going to send any more emails to the full MoveOn list before the submission deadline. So if there's any chance you might be interested, you have to sign up for contest updates now:
http://pol.moveon.org/mh/signup/?id=13385-6955748-P9AQxMx&t=4
Thanks for all you do.
–Peter, Karin, Laura, Ilyse and the rest of the team
P.S. It's okay to enter a piece of art you've already created, as long as you're willing to offer it up for auction if it becomes a finalist. If you're ready to enter right now, you can upload your entry here:
http://pol.moveon.org/mh/enter/?id=13385-6955748-P9AQxMx&t=5
Counterlight, calling Counterlight! Please answer your page, Counterlight!
Am I a terrible old cynic for finding this amusing? Perhaps I'm jealous because I have no talent for art.
I will certainly vote for Obama. This is part of MoveOn's mighty effort to drum up excitement about the presidential race and get out the vote. It's vital that folks go out to vote and get others to vote, so that we don't make our third terrible mistake in a national election and end up with John McWorse as our president.
By all means, if any of you out there have talent and want to submit artwork, use these links. Even though I find the email amusing, I'm publishing this as a public service for those of you who do not get MoveOn's emails.
Note: The hyperlinks went bad, so I removed them and pasted in the web addresses.
....
Barack Obama's historic candidacy has sparked an unprecedented artistic outpouring. Now, in partnership with Shepard Fairey and his Obey Giant collective, we're offering a new way for artists—anyone with a pen and paper qualifies—to share their talents and help elect Barack Obama at the same time.
It's called Manifest Hope, and it's a new Obama art contest for 2D and 3D art, from painting to photography to sculpture. The winners will be shown at the Manifest Hope Gallery online and in Denver during the Democratic convention alongside works from dozens of established and influential artists.
If you think you might want to enter, or want updates on the contest, please let us know here:
http://pol.moveon.org/mh/signup/?id=13385-6955748-P9AQxMx&t=3
If not, can you pass this on to friends of yours who might be interested?
Anyone can enter. You don't have to be Picasso, you just need to be inspired by Barack Obama and willing to donate your creativity and time to the cause.
But you need to get started soon. The final submissions deadline is August 18th at 11:59 a.m. ET. That's not much time to conceive and create a piece of art, so get started today.
All submissions will be judged by a distinguished panel of judges—artists from Obey Giant, contemporary art curators, and multi-talented musicians. Finalists will be asked to auction off their pieces, and donate the proceeds to progressive organizations.
Denver will be buzzing during the convention, but this gallery is going to be one of the coolest places to visit there. Plus, the gallery's going to have an amazing party with live performances by Death Cab For Cutie, Moby, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
We're not going to send any more emails to the full MoveOn list before the submission deadline. So if there's any chance you might be interested, you have to sign up for contest updates now:
http://pol.moveon.org/mh/signup/?id=13385-6955748-P9AQxMx&t=4
Thanks for all you do.
–Peter, Karin, Laura, Ilyse and the rest of the team
P.S. It's okay to enter a piece of art you've already created, as long as you're willing to offer it up for auction if it becomes a finalist. If you're ready to enter right now, you can upload your entry here:
http://pol.moveon.org/mh/enter/?id=13385-6955748-P9AQxMx&t=5
Counterlight, calling Counterlight! Please answer your page, Counterlight!
Am I a terrible old cynic for finding this amusing? Perhaps I'm jealous because I have no talent for art.
I will certainly vote for Obama. This is part of MoveOn's mighty effort to drum up excitement about the presidential race and get out the vote. It's vital that folks go out to vote and get others to vote, so that we don't make our third terrible mistake in a national election and end up with John McWorse as our president.
By all means, if any of you out there have talent and want to submit artwork, use these links. Even though I find the email amusing, I'm publishing this as a public service for those of you who do not get MoveOn's emails.
Note: The hyperlinks went bad, so I removed them and pasted in the web addresses.
Authorized Version Of The Big Adventure
TheMeThatIsMe, who blogs at Conscientisation, gives us the authorized version of the 400 mile road trip adventure with MadPriest to St. Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow, Scotland, where Bishop Gene presided and preached at the Eucharist yesterday. And a grand day it was. Get the other side of the story.
Along with excluding Bishop Gene from the Lambeth gatherings, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams forbid him to preside at the Eucharist during his stay in England. It seems the Scottish Episcopal Church had no such qualms.
On a side note, those of us in the Episcopal Church in the US have reason to be grateful to the Scottish Church, because bishops in Scotland consecrated the first bishop for the Episcopal Church, the US-born Samuel Seabury.
Along with excluding Bishop Gene from the Lambeth gatherings, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams forbid him to preside at the Eucharist during his stay in England. It seems the Scottish Episcopal Church had no such qualms.
On a side note, those of us in the Episcopal Church in the US have reason to be grateful to the Scottish Church, because bishops in Scotland consecrated the first bishop for the Episcopal Church, the US-born Samuel Seabury.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn - Rest In Peace
He was a brave man, and he did not give up, even when it seemed there was no hope.
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