Sunday, September 20, 2009

Saturday, September 19, 2009

"Brief (I Promise) Update On Myron"

From Sue:

Hello Everyone,

It is a beautiful autumnish day here in the Northeast and there is good news. Myron is off the ventilator!! He is receiving oxygen through the trach tube but is no longer ventilator dependent. The physical therapist had him sitting up on the edge of the bed yesterday afternoon also. I'm quite sure that felt good to be upright for a change. Ones back sure gets tired of being in the prone position even if you are turned from side to side.

The trip to Bryn Mawr Rehab Center is now in the very near future, The left side is still not functioning, and the therapist told Maryann that injuries to the brain such as Myron's take 6 months to a year to heal.

So there you have it. Brief as promised.

Thanks be to God for all of these small miracles!

If You Can Spare A Prayer...

please pray for the family of a young friend of ours. His father, aged in his late 50s, died suddenly of an apparent heart attack on Thursday. There was no known history of heart disease.

Our friend's father and mother had both retired, and the two did everything together. They were not like Grandpère and me, with certain interests in common and others in which we went our separate ways. They shared a great many interests and did EVERYTHING together. The wife will miss her husband terribly.

Please pray especially for the wife and also for our friend and his two sisters and all the friends and family of the man who passed. He was an excellent cook, and he sometimes shared with us samples of his culinary art. He was a fine man in every way.

O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother. We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth, until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, p. 493)

The Episcopal Church Is A Hierarchical Church

Mark Harris posted a link to an affidavit by Professor Bruce Mullin which provides expert testimony for the court in Fort Worth on behalf of The Episcopal Church. I've previously posted several fillers for your amusement, as I do my homework and read the 57 pages of the affidavit by Prof. Mullin on the history of the polity of the Episcopal Church.

Prof. Mullin writes in a clear and easy-to-understand style. So far, I'm about halfway through the document, but it seems plain to me that TEC is a hierarchical church and was so from the beginning. I don't know what sideline issues are introduced by those who argue that they have a right to the property when they leave TEC, but they would seem to me to be simply diversions and distractions. Of course, I'm no legal expert, nor am I an expert on the polity of TEC, but in my opinion, to conclude that TEC is anything other that a hierarchical church would be to go against reason and common sense.

I believe this document to be of great value and not only in the case of the faux diocese versus the real Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

UPDATE: I read the entire affidavit and found it to be quite interesting and persuasive. I learned a good deal about the history of the polity of the Episcopal church that I did not know. Now if only someone could persuade the Archbishop of Canterbury to read the document, it might help him to understand the workings of the Episcopal Church, if he cares to understand.

Why am I doing this. Next I'll be reading the entire text of the Constitutions and Canons of TEC.

I was amused by these words in the text:


Have a care there, you priests amongst us. We're watching you.

Old Medical Equipment

 

This picture and description is probably TOO MUCH for my sedate blog, but it made me laugh out loud for quite a spell, so, you know, I had to post it.

From the usual suspect.

Story Of The Day - Right Accessory

Sometimes you just need the right
accessory, she said & I said I know,
sometimes it takes me an hour to pick
the right head & she just ignored me.



From StoryPeople.

Some We May Have Seen. Still Funny?

It's not for me to say. If they're not, don't blame me. Blame Doug.


I have kleptomania,
But when it gets bad,
I take something for it.

Sometimes too much to drink isn't enough.

Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake!

My short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory is not as sharp as it used
To be.

In just two days from now,
Tomorrow will be yesterday.

A bartender is just a pharmacist
With a limited inventory

The statement below is true.
The statement above is false.

I am a Nobody.
Nobody is Perfect.
Therefore I am Perfect.

I LOVE COOKING WITH WINE
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Money isn't everything,
But it sure keeps the kids in touch.

Reality is only an illusion that
Occurs due to a lack of alcohol.

I am having an out-of-money experience.

Don't sweat the petty things.
Don't pet the sweaty things.

Corduroy pillows are making headlines!

I want to die while asleep like my grandfather,
Not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car.

Friday, September 18, 2009

The Real Magnificent Seven Bishops...

...speak out on social justice. From Episcopal Life:

Bishops representing 200,000 Episcopalians from Maine to California made the case for health care and immigration reform, and stricter environmental protection on Capitol Hill Sept. 16.

Together as "Bishops Working for a Just World" and organized by the Episcopal Public Policy Network's capitol-based Office of Government Relations, the seven bishops, guided by General Convention resolutions, made their annual trip to Washington, D.C., Sept. 14-16 to lobby Congress, meeting with more than 30 elected officials and/or their legislative staffs, on behalf of the Episcopal Church.

"Our involvement says that it's appropriate for Christians to be involved in conversation about social issues and bring an informed, theological perspective to the discussion," said Diocese of Connecticut Bishop James E. Curry, the group's convener. "We [bishops] model that, and I could make the case that that is more important than taking a stand [on a specific issue]."
....

Though the congressional visits centered on the bishops' requests for universal, affordable, quality health care for all Americans; comprehensive immigration reform grounded in family unity; and support for the climate bill, the recent infusion of incivility the health care debate has inserted into politics and public discourse entered the discussion.


Read the report from ENS.

The "Magnificent Seven" bishops are:

Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut Bishop James E. Curry
Episcopal Diocese of Newark Bishop Mark Beckwith
Episcopal Diocese of Maine Bishop Stephen Lane
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland Bishop Eugene T. Sutton
Episcopal Diocese of Washington Bishop John Chane
Episcopal Diocese of Rochester Bishop Prince Singh
Episcopal Diocese of California Bishop Marc Andrus

Bravo, Bishops! You do the work of the Lord when you advocate for the least amongst us. You are disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ who follow the way of the Gospel. Thank you. You make me proud to be an Episcopalian.

H/T to Andrew Gerns at The Lead.

Story Of The Day

connected by something finer than
words that's hard to notice because
usually you're doing stuff that should've
been done yesterday & you've got no time for it



From StoryPeople.

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