Vespasian's Birthplace Found

From the AP via The Huffington Post:

ROME — Archaeologists have unearthed a sprawling country villa believed to be the birthplace of Vespasian, the Roman emperor who built the Colosseum, they said Friday. The 2,000-year-old ruins were found about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Rome, near Cittareale, lead archaeologist Filippo Coarelli said.
....

The 1st-century residence featured "a well-preserved huge floor, decorated with luxurious marble coming from the whole Mediterranean area," he said.

"It's clear that such things could only belong to someone with a high social position and wealth. And in this place, it was the Flavians," the dynasty to which Vespasian belonged.
....

Born in A.D. 9 into a family of low-tier country nobility, Vespasian rose through the army ranks, becoming the general in charge of putting down a Jewish revolt in Judea.

After being acclaimed emperor by his troops in A.D. 69 and eliminating his rivals, Vespasian found Rome facing a deep economic crisis and still recovering from the fire that consumed it under Nero.

Using riches plundered from Jerusalem and proceeds from increased taxes, he launched a major public works program and started building the Colosseum – the most ambitious and best-preserved of his projects.

After Vespasian left for Rome, he put his son Titus in charge of completing the task of putting down the revolt.

The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote of the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem:

While the holy house (The Temple) was on fire, everything was plundered that came to hand, and ten thousand of those that were caught were slain; nor was there a commiseration of any age...but children and old men...and priests, were all slain in the same manner....The flame was also carried a long way, and made an echo, together with the groans of those who were slain...one would have thought the whole city would have been on fire. Nor can one imagine anything greater and more terrible than this noise.

"The Episcopal Church Has A Life" - 2

The article by Fr. Tom Ehrich, which I removed from my blog, because it was available only through purchase is now available at the IndyStar:

Now that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has slapped my church's wrists for refusing to marginalize gays and has threatened to have us become second-class citizens in the Anglican Communion, I say this to Archbishop Williams:

The Episcopal Church has a life. Not a perfect life. In fact, a messy one, a life that could be more than it is. But we do have a life.

That life preceded the formation of the Anglican Communion. That life will survive our being marginalized within the Anglican Communion.
....

If it's any consolation, Archbishop, I don't like some of the changes in my church, either. I think we have rewarded institutional tinkering and stopped dreaming. We depend on style and not substance. We worry about inherited property and not about the world outside our doors. We fuss about who is ordained when we should be nurturing healthy congregations.

Fear abounds. Fear of offending longtime members and deep-pocket givers. Fear of speaking freely and dreaming grandly. Fear of trying hard and maybe failing. Fear of preaching a Gospel more radical than anything we've said.

But many are determined to get beyond fear -- by taking one brave step at a time, learning to be nimble and to listen, learning from our failures, taking risks.

The dilemma facing Episcopalians is that "soon, and very soon we are going to see the King." Our buildings may crumble, our endowments may tumble, and all we have left is each other and our faith.
....

I think our best days lie ahead. I doubt that our future will bear much resemblance to our past. But we will discover, once the burden of inherited overhead is lifted, that we have much to give.

And so, Archbishop, rather than try to stir even more fear in a church struggling with fear, I suggest you join Jesus in the commandment he actually did give: "Do not be afraid."

The article is very good. I'm pleased that all may read it now. For what it's worth, I agree with Fr. Tom that our best days lie ahead. We will be forced to get back to the basics of Christianity.

As I said in the comments at Fr. Jake's:

Does schism concern me? Somewhat. But I won't mourn what Rowan Williams wants to make of the Anglican Communion.
....

But I see communion in the form of relationships continuing, with or without the top-heavy structures, and perhaps the communion will be the better for it. I hope that we in TEC take special care to maintain relationships with fellow Christians in countries where the people are poor and even destitute.

In the long term, I see the decline in the mainline denominations continuing until the time for the death of the church, as we know it, arrives. Perhaps we'll see merging of denominations, which could be a good thing. I see hard financial times ahead.

But none of this causes me to despair, because the church, the Body of Christ, the Kingdom of God on earth, will surely prevail. I envision the model for the church resembling the very early years of the Christian church.

Thanks to Ann for the new link.

...A Complete Failure Of Leadership

The Rev. Steven Stephen Wood opines at Treading Grain:

It’s time for the Diocese of South Carolina to join the new North American Province: Anglican Communion North America. Anything short will mark a complete failure of leadership.

The Rev. Steven Stephen Wood is rector of St. Andrew's Church in Mount Pleasant, SC. His bishop is David Mark Lawrence, who some believe would like very much to follow the rector's advice.

The information about the rector at the church's website includes these words:

And if anything in the above list makes you nervous, maybe it would help to know that Steve married his childhood sweetheart, Jacqui, they have four sons, right now his favorite Bible verse is Ephesians 3.20-21, and, he also owns sixteen different versions of his favorite song, “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”

Not that there's anything wrong with that. And behave yourselves in the comments, please!

Federation Is Not Enough

In the Guardian, Bishop Graham Kings of Salisbury says federation is not enough and the Anglican Communion must have a covenant.

Desmond Tutu has often talked of the crucial support of the Anglican communion when he was under pressure from the apartheid regime. Robert Runcie, the archbishop of Canterbury at the time, commented that it signalled to the regime, "Touch Tutu, and you touch the whole Anglican communion." Tutu was not isolated.

David Gitari experienced similar worldwide solidarity following an assassination attempt. During the night of 22 April 1989, thugs attacked his house in the foothills of Mount Kenya. He managed to climb to the roof and raise the alarm. Neighbours came running. The thugs ran away. Gitari had taken a courageous stand on issues of local, national and international justice.

At the nearby college in Kabare, where I was teaching theology, the phone rang with the news and I drove to the bishop's house. Soon the Anglican communion office in London had alerted people across the world for the need for prayer and the government in Nairobi knew that Gitari was not isolated.

Bishop King uses these examples of the Anglican Communion standing together in support of those under threat to suggest that federation is not enough. We must have a covenant to "intensify" our relationships.

In his accounts of Anglicans protecting their brothers under threat, he even calls the group who offered protection the Anglican communion. If we were a communion back then, why do we need a covenant to be the Anglican communion now?

Bishop Kings adds:

Who cares? God does: for communion mirrors the love of the trinity better than a loose federation – the federation of the holy trinity?

I guess God didn't care before now. You have to give their due to the folks, especially bishops, who know the mind of God.

Stay!

I pulled into the crowded parking lot at the
Local Shopping Center and rolled
Down the car windows to make sure my
Labrador Retriever Pup had fresh air.

She was stretched full-out on the back seat
And I wanted to impress upon her that she must
Remain there.

I walked to the curb backward,
Pointing my finger at the car and saying emphatically,
'Now you stay. Do you hear me?'

'Stay! Stay!'

The driver of a nearby car, a pretty blonde young lady,
Gave me a strange look and said,

'Why don't you just put it in park?'

Thanks to Sue.

"No Anglican Covenant!"

Several days ago, I sent the following email to Lionel Deimel in appreciation of his essay "Reflecting on the Archbishop’s Reflection":

Lionel, I very much enjoyed your reflection on the reflection. That we are in agreement in all that you say, no doubt, added to my enjoyment. You gave me not a few smiles as I read through it.

I believe that the Episcopal Church will not sign on to the covenant. I shall be greatly disappointed should that happen.

12 years ago, when I joined the Episcopal Church, I did not pay much attention to the affairs of my own diocese, much less the national church, and even less the Anglican Communion. Anglophile that I am, I thought that it was nice to be part of the Communion, but the association affected my life in my parish church only marginally, if at all.

Not until the turmoil that resulted from consent to Bishop Gene's consecration did I begin to pay attention to church politics. At times, I feel nostalgia for those times when I wore my blinders, lived in ignorance, and paid little attention to issues in the larger church.

Thanks for taking the time to write your take on Rowan's reflection.

Blessings,

June Butler (aka Grandmère Mimi)


Then, in a follow-up email, I responded to Lionel's comment below:

"I am wondering if it isn’t time to oppose the covenant in principle. I am not so sure The Episcopal Church will reject the covenant, though I am convinced it should."

Lionel, yes! It's time to oppose the covenant across the board. I'm not sure that TEC will reject it, either, although I don't see how, in good conscience, we can sign on without being hypocritical. Too many are going along with the process. The ABC details the aftermath of the covenant even before the final draft of the covenant is complete. I fear that TEC's signing on to the covenant may come to seem inevitable.

We saw what happened with the Windsor Report. As Bishop Martin Barahona, the primate of Central America said:

“The Windsor Report,” he said. “It’s just a report. When did it become like The Bible. The Covenant. Why do we need another covenant? We have the Baptismal Covenant. We have the creeds. What else do we need?”

I have his words on my sidebar, and I read them often. I want a plaque for my blog that says, "No To The Covenant!"

Blessings,

June

And lo! It came to be! Thank you Lionel, thank you, thank you.

And you should all go read Lionel's essay at the link at the beginning of the post.

Thought For The Day - Cynthia Gilliatt

A quote by Cynthia Gilliatt

re: Rowan

"Orotundity does not equal profundity."

Thanks to Ann.

APA Exclusinve From Our On-site Reporter

Dennis has left a new comment on your post "Gay "Reparative Therapy" Doesn't Work":

hello from the APA convention! I'll bet that we are having more fun than you all had in Anaheim last month!

Great decision, eh? One of my instructors is on the Council and was able to cast a vote for this resolution. Need to find him and say thanks.

The funny thing about this decision at this convention is that there hasn't been a lot of talk here about it - it was just assumed that it would pass because it was the right thing. No real protests even (though they were expected). There were a couple of guys with handwritten signs (repent, and other related messages) out on Front Street in front of the Convention Center (centre?) earlier today I heard, but I never saw them. The only thing I saw out there all day were the canteen trucks selling hotdogs and falafel.

Wouldn't it be nice if at church conventions it could also be assumed that the right thing would be done and thus be a non-issue? Of course I am proud of the APA for this decision.

The big topic here remains finding a way to push for the Council to draw up rules that no psychologist can ever help the government torture. The medical association has so far been unable to stop physicians from participating in executions, perhaps we can stop psychologists from helping in torture.

I'm off to see Toronto's Chinatown now. It is a full day of presentations here tomorrow and I have to rest my eyes before the PowerPoint projectors start again. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate PowerPoint?

And when I get home I still have a million boxes left to unpack from the move!

He reports; you decide.

Another Anniversary

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, and we remember with great sadness the bombing of Hiroshima.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mrecy.

Today is also the seventh anniversary of the now well-known, but ignored at the time, Presidential Daily Briefing, titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”

Bush was at the ranch in Crawford and remained there throughout August, cutting brush, jogging, celebrating his birthday, and reading books. What's the big deal, right?




Edited and reposted from last year.

The Three Legged Stool reminded me of the anniversary of that terrible day.

UPDATE: Please read Elizabeth Kaeton's post at Telling Secrets on the feast day and the anniversary.

From Senator David Vitter

Dear Mrs. Butler,

Thank you for contacting me in opposition to a public health insurance plan. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue, and I agree with you. (My Emphasis)

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts that the Obama health care plan will cost more than $1 trillion over the next ten years and will still leave 34 million people uninsured. Other independent studies show 120 million, or 60 percent, of Americans who currently have health coverage, would lose it and would be forced onto the public plan. Also, the CBO Director stated that the proposed plan would hurt the already weakened American economy, creating an even greater national debt.

Like you, I understand that Washington-run health care would decrease access, quality, and choice in health care for Americans. Health care decisions are best made by patients and their doctors, not by bureaucrats and politicians in Washington. Important, life-saving surgeries and procedures are often delayed for people living in other nations that have government-run health care. I support and want health care reform, but cannot support a Washington takeover of health care that decreases access and choice and results in delayed and denied care. Rest assured that I will continue to work in the U.S. Senate on legislation that promotes health care choice for Americans in a free market.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about other issues important to you.

Sincerely,

Senator David Vitter
United States Senator

Of course, I wrote to Vitter demanding that the public option be included in the health care bill, and I reminded him that his duty to his constituents trumped protecting the profits and CEO bonuses of the health care industry. I added that, although the industry pays him big bucks in campaign contributions, his responsibility is to the people who elected him, who are in dire need of help.

My question: does it do any good at all to write to Congress critters?