When I grow up, I want to remember
that I always wanted to be about a
thousand different things & one lifetime
didn't seem nearly enough. When I
grow up, I hope it's at the very end
when it doesn't matter anymore anyway
From StoryPeople.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Obama Tonight - No Public Option?
According to those who speculate about these things, Obama will not speak out tonight in favor of health care reform with a robust public option, but rather in favor of a trigger - whatever that is. Why do we support and vote for Democrats? Right now, the best reason I can think of is that they are not Republicans.
Without the public option to reduce costs, the bill will mean more money for the health insurance industry. At the present time, the industry spends 30% on administrative costs, while Medicare spends around 4%.
I hope that the speculators are wrong, but I fear that they are right.
Read Robert Creamer on the health insurance industry at The Huffington Post - if you have the stomach for it.
Without the public option to reduce costs, the bill will mean more money for the health insurance industry. At the present time, the industry spends 30% on administrative costs, while Medicare spends around 4%.
I hope that the speculators are wrong, but I fear that they are right.
Read Robert Creamer on the health insurance industry at The Huffington Post - if you have the stomach for it.
Please Pray For S.
Mimi -
An update on my friend, S., for whom I asked the prayers last time:
Some time ago I requested prayers for my friend, S., who was experiencing hard times, (thanks to all of you who responded then!) and I wanted to post a quick update. Apparently today she had a conference call with her lawyers, and the only clear path they see is for her to go back on SSI and to enter an assisted living residence where she would have a roof over her head and three meals a day, but where she would indeed have to give up her beloved parakeets, who are now her only family.
This is very hard for her to bear, and very scary (it would be both of those things even without losing the parakeets, as it means giving up so much personal autonomy as well as the only home she has known for fifty years or more, and all the other issues you can guess at.) And she feels that God is mad at her. So good thoughts for S, who needs strength and hope and courage to cope with all these overwhelming changes in her life, and for her friends who need inspiration to help her make the transition - and for the bureaucracy not to screw her over too badly... One hardly knows what to ask for.
And thanks in advance for your prayers, all who read this.
Aichellsee
Ah, so sad. Pray for S., that she will adjust to her new situation, that her caregivers will care, and that she will find a good home for her beloved parakeets.
An update on my friend, S., for whom I asked the prayers last time:
Some time ago I requested prayers for my friend, S., who was experiencing hard times, (thanks to all of you who responded then!) and I wanted to post a quick update. Apparently today she had a conference call with her lawyers, and the only clear path they see is for her to go back on SSI and to enter an assisted living residence where she would have a roof over her head and three meals a day, but where she would indeed have to give up her beloved parakeets, who are now her only family.
This is very hard for her to bear, and very scary (it would be both of those things even without losing the parakeets, as it means giving up so much personal autonomy as well as the only home she has known for fifty years or more, and all the other issues you can guess at.) And she feels that God is mad at her. So good thoughts for S, who needs strength and hope and courage to cope with all these overwhelming changes in her life, and for her friends who need inspiration to help her make the transition - and for the bureaucracy not to screw her over too badly... One hardly knows what to ask for.
And thanks in advance for your prayers, all who read this.
Aichellsee
Ah, so sad. Pray for S., that she will adjust to her new situation, that her caregivers will care, and that she will find a good home for her beloved parakeets.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Myron - Good News
Evening all,
The Good News of the day is the lady who did the evaluation for Bryn Marw Rehab told Maryann that they are ready for My when he is ready for them. He is still working on ridding himself of the ventilator.
One more step forward.
Sue
Good news, indeed! Thanks be to God, the medical staff, and Myron's family and friends.
The Good News of the day is the lady who did the evaluation for Bryn Marw Rehab told Maryann that they are ready for My when he is ready for them. He is still working on ridding himself of the ventilator.
One more step forward.
Sue
Good news, indeed! Thanks be to God, the medical staff, and Myron's family and friends.
Dangerous, Subversive Indoctrination...Wait!
Here's the text of the speech by President Obama, the dangerous, subversive indoctrination of our innocent school children, which caused such a flurry of warnings, invective, and instructions to keep your children home lest they be besmirched.
Wait! OMG! The speech sounds pretty inspirational to me. The president's words encourage school children to pay attention, work hard in school, and be diligent about study and homework.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
....
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
But I must be missing something. What WAS all the fuss about? Obviously, I'm reading the speech wrong.
You know what? I'm not reading the speech wrong. It's an excellent speech to children and parents alike. There are far too many fearful and ignorant people in this country, who think Obama is Satan or the anti-Christ. I'm not kidding, nor am I exaggerating. Others see Obama as perhaps something less than Satan or the anti-Christ, but nevertheless as evil. I've heard and seen these lesser-evil views expressed by people of education and apparent intelligence. Any influence by Obama on their children or grandchildren would be seen as nothing less than contamination.
What are we becoming in this country? Have we always been like this? Are we better, worse, or same? Was I not paying attention?
H/T to Oyster at Your Right Hand Thief.
Wait! OMG! The speech sounds pretty inspirational to me. The president's words encourage school children to pay attention, work hard in school, and be diligent about study and homework.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
....
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
But I must be missing something. What WAS all the fuss about? Obviously, I'm reading the speech wrong.
You know what? I'm not reading the speech wrong. It's an excellent speech to children and parents alike. There are far too many fearful and ignorant people in this country, who think Obama is Satan or the anti-Christ. I'm not kidding, nor am I exaggerating. Others see Obama as perhaps something less than Satan or the anti-Christ, but nevertheless as evil. I've heard and seen these lesser-evil views expressed by people of education and apparent intelligence. Any influence by Obama on their children or grandchildren would be seen as nothing less than contamination.
What are we becoming in this country? Have we always been like this? Are we better, worse, or same? Was I not paying attention?
H/T to Oyster at Your Right Hand Thief.
Good News From Göran In Sweden
Ms Eva Brunne was confirmed today as the 8th Bishop of Stock-holm after some legal wrangling (unjustified). Bishop Brunne who was elected by a majority of delegates on the 21st of April is partnered with another woman, who is also a Priest. Bishop Brunne will be consecrated on the 8th of November at Upsala Cathedral together with Finnish born Ms Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund, the new Bishop of Härnösand.
Excellent news!
Leave your good wishes with Göran Koch-Swahne.
Excellent news!
Leave your good wishes with Göran Koch-Swahne.
Statement From The Seven Bishops...
...of the Episcopal Church who met with the Archbishop of Canterbury recently, all members of the "Communion Partners", from Thinking Anglicans:
As seven representatives of the Communion Partner Bishops, we are grateful to have met with the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss our concern in light of the recent actions of the General Convention and the subsequent nomination of candidates “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on Communion” (General Convention 2006, B033).
At this meeting we expressed our appreciation for his post-convention reflections, “Communion, Covenant, and our Anglican Future,” and were especially interested in his statement about whether “elements” in Provinces not favorably disposed to adopt the Anglican Covenant “will be free … to adopt the Covenant as a sign of their wish to act in a certain level of mutuality with parts of the communion.”
Given our commitment to remain constituent members of both the Anglican Communion and The Episcopal Church, we are encouraged by our meeting with the Archbishop. We agree with him that our present situation is “an opportunity for clarity, renewal and deeper relation with one another - and also Our Lord and his Father in the power of the Spirit.” We, too, share a desire to “intensify existing relationships” by becoming part of a “Covenanted” global Anglican body in communion with the See of Canterbury. We also pray and hope that “in spite of the difficulties this may yet be the beginning of a new era of mission and spiritual growth for all who value the Anglican name and heritage.”
We understand the divisions before us, not merely differences of opinion on human sexuality, but also about differing understandings of ecclesiology and questions regarding the independence or interdependence of a global communion of churches in discerning the mind of Christ together. However, we also shared our concern that the actions of General Convention have essentially rejected the teaching of 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10 as the mind of the Communion, and raise a serious question whether a Covenant will be adopted by both Houses at General Convention 2012.
At the same time we are mindful that General Convention Resolution D020 “commended the Anglican Covenant proposed in the most recent text of the Covenant Design Group (the “Ridley Cambridge Draft”) and any successive draft to dioceses for study during the coming triennium” and invited dioceses and congregations to “consider the Anglican Covenant proposed draft as a document to inform their understanding of and commitment to our common life in the Anglican Communion.”
Therefore, at this time we make the following requests of Communion minded members of the The Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion:
1. We encourage dioceses, congregations and individuals of The Episcopal Church to pray and work for the adoption of an Anglican Communion Covenant.
2. We encourage dioceses and congregations to study and endorse the Anglican Communion Covenant when it is finally released and to urge its adoption by General Convention, or to endorse the first three sections of the Ridley Cambridge Draft and the Anaheim Statement, and to record such endorsements on the Communion Partners website (www.communionpartners.org).
3. We encourage bishops, priests, deacons and laypersons of The Episcopal Church who support the adoption of the Anglican Communion Covenant to record such endorsement on the Communion Partners website.
4. We encourage dioceses and congregations, in the spirit of GC2009 Resolution D030, to engage in “companion domestic mission relationships among dioceses and congregations within The Episcopal Church.”
5. We encourage Bishops exercising jurisdiction in The Episcopal Church to call upon us for service in needed cases of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight.
6. We encourage relationships between Communion Partners and primates, bishops, provinces and dioceses in other parts of the Communion, in order the enhance the ministry we share in the life of the Communion.
7. We invite primates and bishops of the Communion to offer their public support to these efforts.
+Mark J. Lawrence, South Carolina
+Gary R. Lillibridge, West Texas
+Edward S. Little, II, Northern Indiana
+William H. Love, Albany
+D. Bruce MacPherson, Western Louisiana
+Michael G. Smith, North Dakota
+James M. Stanton, Dallas
There you have it. Why was it necessary for the seven bishops to visit with the ABC before making this statement? Why did the ABC choose to meet with them? Did the bishops tell tales along the journey?
And we are to visit THEIR website to express our support for the covenant. Those who express support for the covenant at their website will not actually be signing on to the covenant, but I'll wager that the "Communion Partners" will strive to make it appear that they are doing just that.
Thanks to Lapin for the link.
UPDATE: Ann Fontaine informs us at The Lead:
D030 refers to the Blockade of the Gaza Strip - we believe the bishop intended to refer to B020.
As seven representatives of the Communion Partner Bishops, we are grateful to have met with the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss our concern in light of the recent actions of the General Convention and the subsequent nomination of candidates “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on Communion” (General Convention 2006, B033).
At this meeting we expressed our appreciation for his post-convention reflections, “Communion, Covenant, and our Anglican Future,” and were especially interested in his statement about whether “elements” in Provinces not favorably disposed to adopt the Anglican Covenant “will be free … to adopt the Covenant as a sign of their wish to act in a certain level of mutuality with parts of the communion.”
Given our commitment to remain constituent members of both the Anglican Communion and The Episcopal Church, we are encouraged by our meeting with the Archbishop. We agree with him that our present situation is “an opportunity for clarity, renewal and deeper relation with one another - and also Our Lord and his Father in the power of the Spirit.” We, too, share a desire to “intensify existing relationships” by becoming part of a “Covenanted” global Anglican body in communion with the See of Canterbury. We also pray and hope that “in spite of the difficulties this may yet be the beginning of a new era of mission and spiritual growth for all who value the Anglican name and heritage.”
We understand the divisions before us, not merely differences of opinion on human sexuality, but also about differing understandings of ecclesiology and questions regarding the independence or interdependence of a global communion of churches in discerning the mind of Christ together. However, we also shared our concern that the actions of General Convention have essentially rejected the teaching of 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10 as the mind of the Communion, and raise a serious question whether a Covenant will be adopted by both Houses at General Convention 2012.
At the same time we are mindful that General Convention Resolution D020 “commended the Anglican Covenant proposed in the most recent text of the Covenant Design Group (the “Ridley Cambridge Draft”) and any successive draft to dioceses for study during the coming triennium” and invited dioceses and congregations to “consider the Anglican Covenant proposed draft as a document to inform their understanding of and commitment to our common life in the Anglican Communion.”
Therefore, at this time we make the following requests of Communion minded members of the The Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion:
1. We encourage dioceses, congregations and individuals of The Episcopal Church to pray and work for the adoption of an Anglican Communion Covenant.
2. We encourage dioceses and congregations to study and endorse the Anglican Communion Covenant when it is finally released and to urge its adoption by General Convention, or to endorse the first three sections of the Ridley Cambridge Draft and the Anaheim Statement, and to record such endorsements on the Communion Partners website (www.communionpartners.org).
3. We encourage bishops, priests, deacons and laypersons of The Episcopal Church who support the adoption of the Anglican Communion Covenant to record such endorsement on the Communion Partners website.
4. We encourage dioceses and congregations, in the spirit of GC2009 Resolution D030, to engage in “companion domestic mission relationships among dioceses and congregations within The Episcopal Church.”
5. We encourage Bishops exercising jurisdiction in The Episcopal Church to call upon us for service in needed cases of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight.
6. We encourage relationships between Communion Partners and primates, bishops, provinces and dioceses in other parts of the Communion, in order the enhance the ministry we share in the life of the Communion.
7. We invite primates and bishops of the Communion to offer their public support to these efforts.
+Mark J. Lawrence, South Carolina
+Gary R. Lillibridge, West Texas
+Edward S. Little, II, Northern Indiana
+William H. Love, Albany
+D. Bruce MacPherson, Western Louisiana
+Michael G. Smith, North Dakota
+James M. Stanton, Dallas
There you have it. Why was it necessary for the seven bishops to visit with the ABC before making this statement? Why did the ABC choose to meet with them? Did the bishops tell tales along the journey?
And we are to visit THEIR website to express our support for the covenant. Those who express support for the covenant at their website will not actually be signing on to the covenant, but I'll wager that the "Communion Partners" will strive to make it appear that they are doing just that.
Thanks to Lapin for the link.
UPDATE: Ann Fontaine informs us at The Lead:
D030 refers to the Blockade of the Gaza Strip - we believe the bishop intended to refer to B020.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Myron Update
I was finally able to visit with Myron today, and gratefully the only other person in the room was Maryann, so I was able to have a nice visit with her also.
He squeezed my hand several times and will mouth words, and occasionally will speak simple words like "I love you". He was triggering the ventilator to assist him in breathing and the staff will probably do that for a couple of days and inch up the time each day. His eye contact was good, but you can quickly see the tiredness in his eyes. He gets a lot of company. We were still gloved and gowned. I really worry about people not washing their hands.
He is to have an evaluation from the rehab center tomorrow. This center is renowned for their work with people with brain injuries.
I hope the folks in the USA had a good Labor Day as it is back to work tomorrow.
Sue
He squeezed my hand several times and will mouth words, and occasionally will speak simple words like "I love you". He was triggering the ventilator to assist him in breathing and the staff will probably do that for a couple of days and inch up the time each day. His eye contact was good, but you can quickly see the tiredness in his eyes. He gets a lot of company. We were still gloved and gowned. I really worry about people not washing their hands.
He is to have an evaluation from the rehab center tomorrow. This center is renowned for their work with people with brain injuries.
I hope the folks in the USA had a good Labor Day as it is back to work tomorrow.
Sue
A Word To The Seven Bishops...
...who recently called upon the Archbishop of Canterbury, namely Mark Lawrence of South Carolina, Gary Lillibridge of West Texas, Edward Little of Northern Indiana, Bill Love of Albany, Michael Smith of North Dakota, James Stanton of Dallas, and Bruce MacPherson of Western Louisiana.
From the rite for the ordination of a bishop in the Episcopal Church:
The Examination
All now sit, except the bishop-elect, who stands facing the bishops. The Presiding Bishop addresses the bishop-elect
My brother, the people have chosen you and have affirmed their trust in you by acclaiming your election. A bishop in God’s holy Church is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings.
You are called to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church; to celebrate and to provide for the administration of the sacraments of the New Covenant; to ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops; and to be in all things a faithful pastor and wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.
With your fellow bishops you will share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the faith of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God in hope. Your joy will be to follow him who came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Are you persuaded that God has called you to the office of bishop?
Answer
I am so persuaded.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 517)
Amongst those seven bishops was Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina who recently addressed the clergy of his diocese.
We face a multitude of false teachings, which like an intrusive vine, is threatening The Episcopal Church as we have inherited and received it from our ancestors. I have called this the false Gospel of Indiscriminate Inclusivity because I see a common pattern in how the core doctrines of our faith are being systematically deconstructed. I must by necessity be brief and cannot give any of these concerns the attention they deserve.
....
• Scriptural Authority. This is such a comprehensive dimension of our present crisis in the church that one hardly knows where to begin. But one can hardly do better than St. Ambrose’s statement that “the whole of Holy Scripture be a feast for the soul.” How seldom one hears upon us who are bishops in Tec such glowing statements about the Bible. In my experience all too many of our bishops and priests seem to mine the scriptures for minerals to use in vain idolatries.
....
The Standing Committee and bishop will be proposing a resolution to come before the special convention that this diocese begin withdrawing from all bodies of governance of TEC that have assented to actions contrary to Holy Scripture; the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has received them; the resolutions of Lambeth which have expressed the mind of the Communion; the Book of Common Prayer (p.422-423) and the Constitution & Canons of TEC (Canon 18:1.2.b) until such bodies show a willingness to repent of such actions. Let no one think this is a denial of the vows a priest or bishop makes to participate in the councils of governance. This is not a flight into isolation; nor is it an abandonment of duty, but the protest of conscience. It is recognition that the actions of GC’09 were in such blatant disregard and violation of Holy Scripture, the bonds of affection, and our own Constitution & Canons that one is led by reasoned conviction to undertake an intrepid resistance to the tyranny of the majority over judicious authority; therein erring both in Faith and Order. (My emphasis)
Meanwhile in the Diocese of Albany, according to the Times Union:
A grass-roots Episcopal group wants to question Bishop William Love on whether he intends to lead the Albany diocese out of the Episcopal Church.
Albany Via Media, a group of moderate to liberal Episcopalians, is lining up parishioners to attend Love's seven meetings around the diocese in September and October.
"We are trying to have members asking the question at every meeting,'' said Clair Touby of Saranac Lake, president of Albany Via Media.
....
Dennis Wisnom of Schenectady, an Albany Via Media board member, said Love would talk at the meetings about the opening of the clergy and the development of blessing for same sex unions. The Albany Episcopal Diocese's rules do not allow same sex marriages or blessings of same sex unions.
Wisnom said Albany Via Media doesn't want the diocese to leave the Episcopal Church as four other dioceses around the country have done.
....
Love and spokesman for the Albany Episcopal Diocese could not be reached for comment about the meeting with the archbishop or those scheduled in the diocese.
....
Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina was among the bishops with Love who attended the meeting in London. Lawrence is scheduled to appear at a Sept. 21-23 clergy retreat for the Albany Episcopal Diocese.
What's going on? To paraphrase Fox News, "I report, you decide."
And down in the Diocese of Louisiana, we are preparing for the election of a bishop. My prayer is that we elect a bishop who is loyal to the Episcopal Church. Although Bishop Charles Jenkins had differences with the leadership of TEC, he had his feet firmly planted in the Episcopal Church. I hope to be able to say the same of our next bishop.
H/T to Andrew Gerns at The Lead and to MadPriest at Of Course, I Could Be Wrong for the link to the Times Union.
From the rite for the ordination of a bishop in the Episcopal Church:
The Examination
All now sit, except the bishop-elect, who stands facing the bishops. The Presiding Bishop addresses the bishop-elect
My brother, the people have chosen you and have affirmed their trust in you by acclaiming your election. A bishop in God’s holy Church is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings.
You are called to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church; to celebrate and to provide for the administration of the sacraments of the New Covenant; to ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops; and to be in all things a faithful pastor and wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.
With your fellow bishops you will share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the faith of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God in hope. Your joy will be to follow him who came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Are you persuaded that God has called you to the office of bishop?
Answer
I am so persuaded.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 517)
Amongst those seven bishops was Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina who recently addressed the clergy of his diocese.
We face a multitude of false teachings, which like an intrusive vine, is threatening The Episcopal Church as we have inherited and received it from our ancestors. I have called this the false Gospel of Indiscriminate Inclusivity because I see a common pattern in how the core doctrines of our faith are being systematically deconstructed. I must by necessity be brief and cannot give any of these concerns the attention they deserve.
....
• Scriptural Authority. This is such a comprehensive dimension of our present crisis in the church that one hardly knows where to begin. But one can hardly do better than St. Ambrose’s statement that “the whole of Holy Scripture be a feast for the soul.” How seldom one hears upon us who are bishops in Tec such glowing statements about the Bible. In my experience all too many of our bishops and priests seem to mine the scriptures for minerals to use in vain idolatries.
....
The Standing Committee and bishop will be proposing a resolution to come before the special convention that this diocese begin withdrawing from all bodies of governance of TEC that have assented to actions contrary to Holy Scripture; the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has received them; the resolutions of Lambeth which have expressed the mind of the Communion; the Book of Common Prayer (p.422-423) and the Constitution & Canons of TEC (Canon 18:1.2.b) until such bodies show a willingness to repent of such actions. Let no one think this is a denial of the vows a priest or bishop makes to participate in the councils of governance. This is not a flight into isolation; nor is it an abandonment of duty, but the protest of conscience. It is recognition that the actions of GC’09 were in such blatant disregard and violation of Holy Scripture, the bonds of affection, and our own Constitution & Canons that one is led by reasoned conviction to undertake an intrepid resistance to the tyranny of the majority over judicious authority; therein erring both in Faith and Order. (My emphasis)
Meanwhile in the Diocese of Albany, according to the Times Union:
A grass-roots Episcopal group wants to question Bishop William Love on whether he intends to lead the Albany diocese out of the Episcopal Church.
Albany Via Media, a group of moderate to liberal Episcopalians, is lining up parishioners to attend Love's seven meetings around the diocese in September and October.
"We are trying to have members asking the question at every meeting,'' said Clair Touby of Saranac Lake, president of Albany Via Media.
....
Dennis Wisnom of Schenectady, an Albany Via Media board member, said Love would talk at the meetings about the opening of the clergy and the development of blessing for same sex unions. The Albany Episcopal Diocese's rules do not allow same sex marriages or blessings of same sex unions.
Wisnom said Albany Via Media doesn't want the diocese to leave the Episcopal Church as four other dioceses around the country have done.
....
Love and spokesman for the Albany Episcopal Diocese could not be reached for comment about the meeting with the archbishop or those scheduled in the diocese.
....
Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina was among the bishops with Love who attended the meeting in London. Lawrence is scheduled to appear at a Sept. 21-23 clergy retreat for the Albany Episcopal Diocese.
What's going on? To paraphrase Fox News, "I report, you decide."
And down in the Diocese of Louisiana, we are preparing for the election of a bishop. My prayer is that we elect a bishop who is loyal to the Episcopal Church. Although Bishop Charles Jenkins had differences with the leadership of TEC, he had his feet firmly planted in the Episcopal Church. I hope to be able to say the same of our next bishop.
H/T to Andrew Gerns at The Lead and to MadPriest at Of Course, I Could Be Wrong for the link to the Times Union.
Labor Day 2009
For those who work, have a good holiday.
For those who work, but must work the holiday, have a good work day.
For those who want to work, but have no jobs, may you find work soon.
For those who worked all their lives, but are now retired, have a good day.
For the kids, have fun.
Collect For Labor Day
Almighty God, who hast so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
For those who work, but must work the holiday, have a good work day.
For those who want to work, but have no jobs, may you find work soon.
For those who worked all their lives, but are now retired, have a good day.
For the kids, have fun.
For the Unemployed
Heavenly Father, we remember before you those who suffer want and anxiety from lack of work. Guide the people of this land so to use our public and private wealth that all may find suitable and fulfilling employment, and receive just payment for their labor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect For Labor Day
Almighty God, who hast so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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