Sunset - October 27, 2009

This evening, the sunset was spectacular. Above is my photo of the scene, which does not at all do it justice. The sky was aflame, truly breathtaking.


Sun slipping from sight
Sky blazing, trees darkening
Breaths sharp, eyes delight


UPDATE: Below is another view of the sunset taken a bit later, showing a more accurate view of the bright reddish-orange color of the sky.

Regarding Frogs...

From the Right Reverend John Broadhurst, who is the Anglican Bishop of Fulham and the Primate of Forward in Faith, at Catholic News Agency:

In an emotional closing speech on Saturday, Bishop Broadhurst used the metaphor of the frog and the boiling pot to describe the current Anglican status.

"The temperature at the pot has become intolerable, but the process of boiling started before the ordination of women… The truth is, the tragedy for us is the Church of England has presumed. It's presumed to know better than the tradition on many matters and it's presumed to know better than Jesus Christ about some matters,” he explained.

“And It is the presumption of our Church in this present period that has caused such pain and anguish to many of us.

“Oh yes, the ordination of women was the water being turned up; we knew that we were going to be cooked to death ...

“And what the general (Anglican) Synod did, was to say, ‘We will push the pot towards the edge of the gas, as long as you stay on this side of the pot, with a few ice cubes, it'll be all right,’” Bishop Broadhurst said.

My words to Doug in an earlier post on frogs seem singularly apropos:

Bishop Broadhurst, please leave the stage.

Thanks to Ann for the link.

"...A Tainted Olive Branch"

From James Carroll at the Boston Globe, titled "From Vatican, a tainted olive branch":

Last week’s anti-Anglican salvo from Rome shows how far the Catholic leadership has fallen from the heights of Vatican II. The invitation to “disgruntled’’ members of the Church of England’s extended family to abandon the Thames for the Tiber is a rejection of contemporary human experience, a resounding response of “No!’’ The church against the modern world, after all. Not only a cruel assault on a fellow Christian communion that is valiantly struggling to strike a balance between liberal and conservative impulses; not only an insult to loyal Catholic liberals who will be denied what converted Anglicans are offered (notably a married clergy); not only a slap at women and homosexuals whose progress toward equality is a global measure of justice; not only a stark contrast with the common Anglican practice of fully welcoming alienated Roman Catholics, while eschewing any pressure on them to convert - there is more.
....

From the misfit fringe of another denomination, Rome recruits the naysayers it needs to bolster what has become its own place on the margin of Catholic life. First there was Opus Dei, with its crypto-fascist origins, then there were the Holocaust-denying lovers of Latin - and now the Anglo-fundies. Come on over, guys!

Ouch! And the title of the column must prick a little, too. I've long admired Carroll's writing in his columns for The Globe, and I've read a couple of his books. American Requiem and Constantine's Sword. He's a former Roman Catholic priest and still a practicing RC. In fact, he's written a book titled Practicing Catholic, which I have not read.

By all means, read the entire piece. It's a cry from the heart for those of us in Anglicanland and against the policies of the present pope of his own church.

Thanks to John for the link.

Birth Of A New Community

See Paul the BB on the birthing of a new community at the Episcopal Church of Our Savior in the wake of the departure of members of the Episcopal Church for greener pastures, leaving the church vacant, but not for long. Paul has already presided at two services for a small, but growing, number of people in attendance.

Ask and you shall receive. Paul posted a list of the needs of the church. Any and all help is welcome, especially prayers that the community of Our Savior will grow and flourish and bear good fruit.

UPDATE: Should you want to help, the mailing address is below:

Church of Our Saviour
c/o Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande
4304 Carlisle Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87107

Diocesan phone: 505.881.0636

Mr. Frog

Mr. Frog comes home from work, puts his briefcase down, and walks over to the kitchen table. He opens the newspaper to the obituary section and starts to read.

"Why did you start reading the newspaper at the obituary section?" Mrs. Frog asks.

"Because," Mr. Frog says, "I wanted to see who croaked today."



[cue cymbal crash]


Doug, please leave the stage.

Story Of The Day - Sense of Directionlessness

cursed with an unerring sense of
directionlessness even when things are
going well


From StoryPeople.

Ahhhh, so true!

Still...to be hit with this first thing in the morning is something of a blow.

Death, Death, And More Death...

From the New York Times:

KABUL, Afghanistan — Fourteen Americans were killed in Afghanistan on Monday in two crashes involving helicopters, making it one of the deadliest days in America’s eight-year war here.

Neither crash appeared to involve hostile fire, American military officials said.

From Salon:

Oct 26th, 2009 | BAGHDAD -- Iraqi security forces conducted intense searches at checkpoints in Baghdad on Monday amid warnings of more attacks, as Iraqis questioned how two buses packed with explosives penetrated what was supposed to be one of the city's safest areas, killing 155 people.

From Canon Andrew White of St. George's Church in Baghdad:

Dear Friends,

I am very sorry to tell you that the two major bomb explosions in Baghdad this morning have done serious damage to the church compound, the clinic, the bookshop, the school rooms and the Mothers' Union buildings.
....

And the clinic? The St George's clinic provides free medical and dental treatment to people in Iraq, regardless of their religious or ethnic background. It is staffed by a team of medics representing each of the Abramic faiths: Muslim, Christian and Jew. It contained high quality medical equipment provided by charitable donations to the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East. In a moment, much of this equipment has been destroyed, placing it permanently out of reach of the Iraqi people who need it so desperately.

Outside the church, at least 132 people were killed and over 600 injured. Destroyed fragments of their bodies have been thrown through windows of the church, making the clean-up operation yet more unpleasant. Many of our staff and church members remain unaccounted for. Lay Pastor Faiz and I have been trying in vain to reach them by telephone.

Today was a terrible day for us. But even in the blood and trauma and turmoil, there are things for which we can, and indeed must, praise our G-d. The carnage was terrible, but it could have been even worse.

At 10.30am this morning, when the bombs exploded, there was no-one in the church. If the bomb had been just a few hours later, the glass from the windows would have ripped through the congregation causing terrible human damage.
....

Some people ask us whether days like today make us want to give up. We have seen much of what we have worked for destroyed. We have seen people we love bereaved. But the truth is, it is days like today that remind us why our work in Iraq is absolutely essential.

We must continue to provide a place of worship for Iraqi Christians. We must continue to treat the medical needs of Iraqi civilians. And we must continue to engage with the senior religious leaders from across the sectarian divides, working with them to challenge the belief systems that lie behind this terrible slaughter.

We will not stop because of this. Will you stand with us and help us to restore what was destroyed?

Blessings,
Andrew

H/T to Nicholas Knisely at The Lead.

May those who died rest in peace and rise in glory. May God give comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding to all who loved them.

May the love of God flow in abundance upon the wounded and their families and friends and bring healing to bodies, minds, and spirits.

‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’
‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

June Tabor - "The Band Played Waltzing Matilida"

Will we never learn?

How to be a Gracious Bitch*

Jennifer's wedding day was fast approaching. Nothing could dampen her excitement-- not even her parent's nasty divorce. Her mother had found the PERFECT dress to wear and would be the best-dressed mother-of-the-bride ever!

A week later, Jennifer was horrified to learn that her father's new young wife had bought the exact same dress as her mother! Jennifer asked her father's new young wife to exchange it, but she refused.

'Absolutely not. I look like a million bucks in this dress, and I'm wearing it,' she replied.

Jennifer told her mother who graciously said, 'Never mind sweetheart. I'll get another dress. After all, it's your special day.'

A few days later, they went shopping and did find another gorgeous dress.

When they stopped for lunch, Jennifer asked her mother, 'Aren't you going to return the other dress? You really don't have another occasion where you could wear it.'

Her mother just smiled and replied, 'Of course I do, dear. I'm wearing it to the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding.'

NOW I ASK YOU - IS THERE A WOMAN OUT THERE, ANYWHERE, WHO WOULDN'T ENJOY THIS STORY?

None that I know of, Doug.

*I tried to think of a less offensive word that made the same exact point, but none came to mind. I even thought of putting asterisks to substitute for the middle letters, but I thought that would be taking the cowardly way out. Sooooo.....excuse my language!

Vatican Overture In F-Minor

From the transcript to the NPR interview by Guy Raz, titled "Vatican's Overture To Anglicans Rankles, Delights", with Jim Naughton, Fr. Thomas Reese, and (Wait for this!) Archbishop Robert Duncan. Ta-dah!

Mr. [Jim] NAUGHTON:

I think this is an instance where some of the more conservative leaders within the Roman Curia have decided that there's an opportunity to try to weaken the Anglican Communion by sending a message that Rome disapproves of its policies. And so I think this is, in many ways, not the pastoral move it's being portrayed as but is largely about sending a political message. And I think that's what Anglicans have to say in response is that if indeed you want to define yourself as the church that will reach out to people who are dissatisfied over liberalization, go for it, because we do disagree with you. We just, after much prayer and study, we just think you're wrong.

RAZ: Jim Naughton is the canon for communications with the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.


Reverend THOMAS REESE (Jesuit Priest; Senior Fellow, Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University):

I think what's basically happening is that there is a large number of Anglicans who have approached the Catholic Church and want to rejoin with the Catholic Church. You know, it's not that the Catholic Church is going out recruiting, trying to steal sheep from the Anglican Communion. These people are basically ones who are unhappy, have left or are planning to leave the Anglican Communion. They're knocking on our door. And the question is, do we open the door and let them in, or do we say no, thanks, you're on your own?
....

RAZ: Father Thomas Reese is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

The best for last, of course - Archbishop Robert Duncan of ACNA

RAZ: Mm-hmm. We spoke with a representative from the Episcopal Church here in Washington, D.C.

Archbishop DUNCAN: Mm-hmm.

RAZ: He called the decision by the Vatican an affront.

Archbishop DUNCAN: Ah, an affront. Well, you see that the majority of Anglicans all over the world believe what the American Episcopal Church has done is an affront. It's an affront to what Christians have always believed. It's an affront to the authority of Holy Scripture. It's an affront to Christian marriage. It's an affront to the person and saving work of Jesus Christ.

So it doesn't surprise me that a representative of the Episcopal Church would call what the Vatican has done an affront. They would, in fact, call what we have done, as classic Anglicans, mainstream Anglicans, they call what we've done an affront.

RAZ: Do you have any plans to take advantage of the Vatican's offer?

Archbishop DUNCAN: No. I have made plain in my conversations with the Vatican that I believe that at this point in time, I'm called to lead the Anglican Church in North America and to rally faithful, mainstream Anglicans together and together with other mainstream Christians and that that's my call and my work right now. But I certainly bless those who are ready for this.

RAZ: Archbishop Robert Duncan heads the Anglican Church in North America.

Your Grace, thank you so much.

Mm-hmm. Affront, affront, affront. Who's committing affront? Whom do you believe?

His Grace will not take advantage of the kind offer from the Vatican. You see, if he crosses over to Rome, he will not be "His Grace".

Read the entire transcript or listen to the interview.

Thanks to Fran for sending me the link to the interview.

UPDATE: From a comment by BabyBlue to her own post titled "The Living Church: Rowan Williams says only provinces may sign the Anglican Covenant":

BabyBlue said...

I talk on the phone with Bob Duncan's office and it's "His Grace" this and "His Grace" that and I want to scream and run out of the room.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

bb

BabyBlue, I tip my hat to you. You have that exactly right.