On 11 Aug 2009, at 18:57, June Butler wrote:
Hi Jonathan,
You deserve a great deal of credit for being amongst the first in England to speak against the powers in the English church. And before you say that I haven't given you enough credit publicly, I've linked to your blog 111 times. Some of the links are, no doubt, trivial, but many are not, from a cursory look. To prove my point, I could separate the gold from the dross and send you the links, if you like.
Anyway, thank you for courageously taking up the fight early on, thus putting your own position in the church at some risk. The English herd is now following - finally.
June
----------
From: Jonathan Hagger
To: June Butler
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 3:50 PM
Subject: Re: You were amongst the first
My greatest achievement was to introduce the English Church to Grandmere Mimi. I am certain that this has led to them getting off their arses. Having seen the wreckage that is now that former lion of a young priest called Mad, they are petrified you might start emailing them if they didn't.
Mad.
----------
June Butler wrote:
Dear Mad,
"...that former lion of a young priest called Mad...."
I think he was before my time.
....
June
----------
I have the last word, because Jonathan didn't reply to my second email.
Over the years, Jonathan and I have had our ups and downs. We've had our differences and disagreements (Translation: knock-down-drag-out internet fights). But credit due. The voices out of England were few for a good many years. Now they're coming in greater numbers, and I'm pleased about that, and perhaps Jonathan is, too. Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe he liked being the Lone Ranger.
PS: I asked Jonathan's permission before I posted his email.
Friday, August 14, 2009
GOTTA LOVE THOSE ANIMALS
For Roseann and KJ
For my cat people
Another sweetie for my cat people.
Eeeww!
For lovers of dogs and money
Poor baby
Thanks to Susan.
From The Holy Office Of The Laity - A New Structure
Anglican Communion News Office:
The Secretary General, Canon Kenneth Kearon, has announced the appointment of Canon Dr Alyson Barnett-Cowan as Director for Unity, Faith and Order at the Anglican Communion Office. The post is a new one in the Communion, and arose after some restructuring following the election of Canon Gregory Cameron, formally Director of Ecumenical Affairs and Deputy Secretary General, as Bishop of St Asaph in the Church in Wales.
We (the collective "we" of the Holy Office of the Laity, also a new structure) can only hope that this new structure, headed by Canon Dr Alyson Barnett-Cowan, is not the cousin of the Holy Office of the Inquisition* of the Roman Catholic Church. Already we don't like the title of the new structure. And a woman as the Director? Not another Maggie Thatcher, please, Alyson!
Adrian at Pluralist Speaks has a first-person account from a pseudonymous (of necessity!) archdeacon's meeting with the new director of UFO. Here's a snippet:
Director: Yes. As part of my office I now use a new piece of software as contracted by the Primates. The program is orthodox.exe, and it takes the names of any Anglican clergy person worldwide and does an immediate search of all links and connections, including for example your entries on any social networking sites. The software examines phrases of words and compares them with an orthodoxy meter, and results below a generous 50% are notified in my email inbox.
Take great care with your sermons, clergy and bishops! The days of internet spying technology have arrived.
Read the rest of the interview over there. If we didn't have Pluralist in Anglican Blogland, we'd need to invent him.
*Name updated to The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to appear less threatening.
The Secretary General, Canon Kenneth Kearon, has announced the appointment of Canon Dr Alyson Barnett-Cowan as Director for Unity, Faith and Order at the Anglican Communion Office. The post is a new one in the Communion, and arose after some restructuring following the election of Canon Gregory Cameron, formally Director of Ecumenical Affairs and Deputy Secretary General, as Bishop of St Asaph in the Church in Wales.
We (the collective "we" of the Holy Office of the Laity, also a new structure) can only hope that this new structure, headed by Canon Dr Alyson Barnett-Cowan, is not the cousin of the Holy Office of the Inquisition* of the Roman Catholic Church. Already we don't like the title of the new structure. And a woman as the Director? Not another Maggie Thatcher, please, Alyson!
Adrian at Pluralist Speaks has a first-person account from a pseudonymous (of necessity!) archdeacon's meeting with the new director of UFO. Here's a snippet:
Director: Yes. As part of my office I now use a new piece of software as contracted by the Primates. The program is orthodox.exe, and it takes the names of any Anglican clergy person worldwide and does an immediate search of all links and connections, including for example your entries on any social networking sites. The software examines phrases of words and compares them with an orthodoxy meter, and results below a generous 50% are notified in my email inbox.
Take great care with your sermons, clergy and bishops! The days of internet spying technology have arrived.
Read the rest of the interview over there. If we didn't have Pluralist in Anglican Blogland, we'd need to invent him.
*Name updated to The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to appear less threatening.
Don't Blame Facebook And Twitter
From Roz Kaveney at the Guardian:
When the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster criticises Facebook and Twitter, he raises some points of real concern; the problem is that he does not do so in an appropriate spirit of humility.
As he rightly points out, some teenagers have killed themselves over what has been said about them online; as he does not bother to mention, a significant factor in many other teen suicides is the discovery of sexuality or gender issues that clash with the faith in which teenagers have been brought up. To be told, by the Pope, that to be gay is to be "objectively disordered" is no less a cause of despair – some would say rather more of one – than to get a text saying that your breath smells and your hair is ratty.
....
The most meanspirited of teenage bullies persecuting a classmate for acne or the wrong trainers does not expect to influence how the law treats their victim; Archbishop Nichols can have every realistic expectation that the irrational prejudice of his church and other religious organizations against LGBT people will be to some degree protected in law, even in the new Equalities Bill. One of the saddest things about the Archbishop's public role – and on some issues he is on the progressive side of things – is that he does not understand the deep suspicion held of him by the secular minded even when he is right.
When religious leaders of any faith make cruel, unreasonable, or foolish statements, their words may have far-reaching and unintended negative consequences. Roz's example is Roman Catholic Archbishop Nichols, however she could well have chosen her example from the leaders of other faiths. When those same leaders speak the truth about matters such as war, poverty, untrammeled capitalism, etc., few pay attention, for they have lost the moral high ground due to their foolish judgements on other issues.
The fault, dear people of faith, is not in our stars, nor in our Facebook or Twitter accounts, but in ourselves.
H/T to TheMe at ThatDamnBlogThat'sHardToSpell.
When the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster criticises Facebook and Twitter, he raises some points of real concern; the problem is that he does not do so in an appropriate spirit of humility.
As he rightly points out, some teenagers have killed themselves over what has been said about them online; as he does not bother to mention, a significant factor in many other teen suicides is the discovery of sexuality or gender issues that clash with the faith in which teenagers have been brought up. To be told, by the Pope, that to be gay is to be "objectively disordered" is no less a cause of despair – some would say rather more of one – than to get a text saying that your breath smells and your hair is ratty.
....
The most meanspirited of teenage bullies persecuting a classmate for acne or the wrong trainers does not expect to influence how the law treats their victim; Archbishop Nichols can have every realistic expectation that the irrational prejudice of his church and other religious organizations against LGBT people will be to some degree protected in law, even in the new Equalities Bill. One of the saddest things about the Archbishop's public role – and on some issues he is on the progressive side of things – is that he does not understand the deep suspicion held of him by the secular minded even when he is right.
When religious leaders of any faith make cruel, unreasonable, or foolish statements, their words may have far-reaching and unintended negative consequences. Roz's example is Roman Catholic Archbishop Nichols, however she could well have chosen her example from the leaders of other faiths. When those same leaders speak the truth about matters such as war, poverty, untrammeled capitalism, etc., few pay attention, for they have lost the moral high ground due to their foolish judgements on other issues.
The fault, dear people of faith, is not in our stars, nor in our Facebook or Twitter accounts, but in ourselves.
H/T to TheMe at ThatDamnBlogThat'sHardToSpell.
Please Pray - David@Montreal
dear Giants
i'd ask your prayers for Johnnie & Vaughan
Johnnie is a post-graduate student in ministry who has had to put aside his academic year to look after Vaughan his beloved spouse who has been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive cancer.
Johnnie and Vaughan are a truly beautiful couple and were married in the United Church of Canada just a year ago by Rev. Arlan Bonner.
i'd also ask your prayers for the successful realization of public health coverage in the United States. for the safety and protection of all those who speak truth to power, speak truth to insanity, speak truth to greed and fear.
prayers for the American Church, that those who have been able to afford vacations will return refreshed and ready to lovingly support those in reduced & frightening circumstances, and that together they will be open to the wondrous work the Holy Spirit is working in their province, that together they will take strength & comfort from the post- Anaheim realities for God' larger Church.
I'd also ask prayers for Terry & Demi, and all those personally impacted by the drastic budget cuts in the American Church.
(Yes, I'm still Canadian, and gratefully so, but the prophetic place the Episcopal Church finds itself in right now has been much on my heart)
and lastly a Mary Oliver poem which was waiting for me when I returned home fromr a lovely evening, a wonderful meal and fellowship and a viewing of' Susan & Louise's 'Claiming the Blessing.' (at long last!)
From Thirst - by Mary Oliver
Another morning and I wake up with thirst
for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has
given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord, I
was never a quick scholar but sulked
and hunched over my books past the
hour and the bell; grant me, in your
mercy, a little more time. Love for the
earth and love for you are having such a
long conversation in my heart. Who
knows what will finally happen or
where I will be sent, yet already I have
given a great many things away, expect-
ing to be told to pack nothing, except the
prayers which, with this thirst, I am
slowly learning.
(emphasis, mine)
David@Montreal
i'd ask your prayers for Johnnie & Vaughan
Johnnie is a post-graduate student in ministry who has had to put aside his academic year to look after Vaughan his beloved spouse who has been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive cancer.
Johnnie and Vaughan are a truly beautiful couple and were married in the United Church of Canada just a year ago by Rev. Arlan Bonner.
i'd also ask your prayers for the successful realization of public health coverage in the United States. for the safety and protection of all those who speak truth to power, speak truth to insanity, speak truth to greed and fear.
prayers for the American Church, that those who have been able to afford vacations will return refreshed and ready to lovingly support those in reduced & frightening circumstances, and that together they will be open to the wondrous work the Holy Spirit is working in their province, that together they will take strength & comfort from the post- Anaheim realities for God' larger Church.
I'd also ask prayers for Terry & Demi, and all those personally impacted by the drastic budget cuts in the American Church.
(Yes, I'm still Canadian, and gratefully so, but the prophetic place the Episcopal Church finds itself in right now has been much on my heart)
and lastly a Mary Oliver poem which was waiting for me when I returned home fromr a lovely evening, a wonderful meal and fellowship and a viewing of' Susan & Louise's 'Claiming the Blessing.' (at long last!)
From Thirst - by Mary Oliver
Another morning and I wake up with thirst
for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has
given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord, I
was never a quick scholar but sulked
and hunched over my books past the
hour and the bell; grant me, in your
mercy, a little more time. Love for the
earth and love for you are having such a
long conversation in my heart. Who
knows what will finally happen or
where I will be sent, yet already I have
given a great many things away, expect-
ing to be told to pack nothing, except the
prayers which, with this thirst, I am
slowly learning.
(emphasis, mine)
David@Montreal
Story Of The Day - Aiming Low
I need you to
come home
soon, she said.
I'm walking
around like a
woman who's let
herself go.
From StoryPeople.
come home
soon, she said.
I'm walking
around like a
woman who's let
herself go.
From StoryPeople.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
People Don't Understand....
Martin Beckford writes in The Telegraph of an interview program on British TV which will be broadcast this weekend, in which several religious leaders "explain the basic tenets of their faith and how they know that God exists".
One of the five leaders is Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Of his belief in God he says:
“I think I’d prefer to talk about being confident that God exists, or trusting that God exists.
“It’s not knowing as you know a state of affairs in the world, it’s much more of a sense that you’re in the presence of something greater than you can conceive. I suppose from my teens I have just been aware of that something greater than I can put words to in whose presence I live.”
Sounds good to me, but I wonder if the ABC's explanation of his faith in God will be sufficiently strong for those in the Anglican Communion who would wish for a tad more certainty from their leader.
When asked if hell exists and what it is like, he said: “My concept of hell, I suppose, is being stuck with myself for ever and with no way out.
“Whether anybody ever gets to that point I have no idea. But that it’s possible to be stuck with my selfish little ego for all eternity, that’s what I would regard as hell."
No comment.
Asked why the Church of England is still struggling to admit women bishops long after Britain had its first female Prime Minister, he said: “The Church has got to solve this on its own terms and yes that does take longer and it can be embarrassing sometimes.
"You look at society and you realise people don’t fully understand why the church is taking so long, and what the terms are in which the church is trying to sort it out.
Indeed, it must be terribly embarrassing to be on such a steep slide into obsolescence. And it's quite true that people don't understand why the church takes so long to sort out the matter of women bishops, not to speak of teh gay and lesbian bishops and clergy matter, which is nowhere near to being sorted out and which a good many wish would just go away.
I'm afraid I may have to give up writing about the ABC, for he has become too easy a target - like shooting fish in a barrel.
H/T to JB Chilton at The Lead.
One of the five leaders is Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Of his belief in God he says:
“I think I’d prefer to talk about being confident that God exists, or trusting that God exists.
“It’s not knowing as you know a state of affairs in the world, it’s much more of a sense that you’re in the presence of something greater than you can conceive. I suppose from my teens I have just been aware of that something greater than I can put words to in whose presence I live.”
Sounds good to me, but I wonder if the ABC's explanation of his faith in God will be sufficiently strong for those in the Anglican Communion who would wish for a tad more certainty from their leader.
When asked if hell exists and what it is like, he said: “My concept of hell, I suppose, is being stuck with myself for ever and with no way out.
“Whether anybody ever gets to that point I have no idea. But that it’s possible to be stuck with my selfish little ego for all eternity, that’s what I would regard as hell."
No comment.
Asked why the Church of England is still struggling to admit women bishops long after Britain had its first female Prime Minister, he said: “The Church has got to solve this on its own terms and yes that does take longer and it can be embarrassing sometimes.
"You look at society and you realise people don’t fully understand why the church is taking so long, and what the terms are in which the church is trying to sort it out.
Indeed, it must be terribly embarrassing to be on such a steep slide into obsolescence. And it's quite true that people don't understand why the church takes so long to sort out the matter of women bishops, not to speak of teh gay and lesbian bishops and clergy matter, which is nowhere near to being sorted out and which a good many wish would just go away.
I'm afraid I may have to give up writing about the ABC, for he has become too easy a target - like shooting fish in a barrel.
H/T to JB Chilton at The Lead.
At Least Comb Your Hair!
From Margaret and Helen:
Margaret is it just me or did combing your hair become optional when going out in public? I’ve been watching news clips of these town hall free-for-alls and we have definitely become a nation of tired, poor, and huddled masses clearly tempest-tossed, but without access to a good beauty salon. Universal Hygiene – now that is something I could get behind. And all of them are asking for their America back. I wonder which America that would be?
Or another America?
I remember that America. In that America people screaming at public gatherings were called out for what they were – an angry mob. Of course, they wore sheets to cover up their bad hair. Let’s be clear about something: if you show up to a town hall meeting with a gun strapped to your leg, the point you are trying to make isn’t a good one. Fear never produced anything worthwhile.
And what’s all this crap about killing your grandmother? Are you people honestly that stupid? This has become less an argument about healthcare reform and more a statement about our failed education system.
Go read the rest of Helen's wonderful post. Margaret and Helen have been "Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting…"
Thanks to Ann.
Margaret is it just me or did combing your hair become optional when going out in public? I’ve been watching news clips of these town hall free-for-alls and we have definitely become a nation of tired, poor, and huddled masses clearly tempest-tossed, but without access to a good beauty salon. Universal Hygiene – now that is something I could get behind. And all of them are asking for their America back. I wonder which America that would be?
Or another America?
I remember that America. In that America people screaming at public gatherings were called out for what they were – an angry mob. Of course, they wore sheets to cover up their bad hair. Let’s be clear about something: if you show up to a town hall meeting with a gun strapped to your leg, the point you are trying to make isn’t a good one. Fear never produced anything worthwhile.
And what’s all this crap about killing your grandmother? Are you people honestly that stupid? This has become less an argument about healthcare reform and more a statement about our failed education system.
Go read the rest of Helen's wonderful post. Margaret and Helen have been "Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting…"
Thanks to Ann.
Feast Of Jeremy Taylor - Bishop And Theologian
(Jeremy Taylor (d. 1667). Detail from a portrait hanging in Caius College, Cambridge University.)
"Jeremy Taylor was born at Cambridge in 1613 and ordained in 1633. In the years between 1633 and the ascendency of the Puritans in 1645, he was a Fellow of two Cambridge colleges, and chaplain to Archbishop Laud and to King Charles. Under Puritan rule, he was imprisoned three times, and forced into retirement as a family chaplain in Wales. After the Restoration, in 1661, he became Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland. Among his many books on theological, moral, and devotional subjects, the best known are The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living (1650) and The Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying (1651), usually cited simply as Holy Living and Holy Dying. [Also available collected with other works as part of the Classics of Western Spirituality series.]
Many readers, including Charles Wesley a century later, have reported finding these books of great spiritual benefit. Another work of his, Liberty of Prophesying, argues for freedom of conscience and freedom of speech in a religious context. Being stationed in an area that was largely Roman Catholic, he was, perhaps inevitably, drawn into controversy, and he wrote a book called Dissuasion (or Dissuasive) against Popery."
By James Kiefer at The Lectionary
Readings:
Psalm 139:1-9 or 16:5-11
Romans 14:7-9,10b-12
Matthew 24:42-47
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
(Psalm 139:1-10)
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. For it is written,
‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.’
So then, each of us will be accountable to God.
(Romans 14:7-12)
Prayer written by Jeremy Taylor for use in the Visitation of the Sick from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer:
O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered; Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days: that, when we shall have served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of the Catholic Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope; in favour with thee our God, and in perfect charity with the world. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Image from Wiki.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
No Males Allowed
An elderly woman died last month.
Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers.
In her handwritten instructions for her memorial service, she wrote,
"They wouldn't take me out while I was alive, I don't want them to take me out when I'm dead."
Fair enough.
From Doug.
Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers.
In her handwritten instructions for her memorial service, she wrote,
"They wouldn't take me out while I was alive, I don't want them to take me out when I'm dead."
Fair enough.
From Doug.
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