Another Embarrassment

An alert from MadPriest about another embarrassment that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will inflict on the members of the Anglican Communion. Of course, the embarrassment is all the worse for the English (although the ABC is Welsh, but still English), because he is their own in a special way.

From The Local:

Anglican bishops from England and Northern Ireland have rebuffed invitations to attend the ordination of the openly gay Eva Brunne to be the next Bishop of Stockholm.

Five bishops from various levels within the Anglican Church, including Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, have decided not to attend the November 8th ceremony, the Dagen newspaper reports.

“The Anglican Church has a moratorium right now concerning the ordination of bishops who live together with someone of the same sex,” Alan Harper, a bishop from Armagh in Northern Ireland, told the newspaper.

On second thought, the decision is quite understandable. Since the Church of England has a moratorium on ordaining bishops with cooties and, as of now, is certified as cootie-free, there is a risk that the English bishops could be carriers of cooties when they return to England and Ireland from the ordination of a partnered lesbian bishop and - Horrors! - infect their entire church.

And the ABC is the leader of the pack, although how he came to be the alpha-male in any group of men is far beyond me.

And what about this?

Back in July, two UK bishops warned that allowing homosexuals to be married in Swedish churches would lead to “an impairment of the relationship” between the Church of England and the Church of Sweden.

What business it is of the English bishops to issue warnings to other churches about their local affairs? Wait! I forgot! The ABC models for the rest of the bishops how to interfere in the affairs of other churches. One only has to remember the many tongue lashes he directed to the Episcopal Church about bishops with gay cooties.

One wonders how the Church of Sweden will bear up under the threat of "the impairment of relationship" with the CofE.

"By The Rivers Of Babylon...."

From Harry Knox, director of Human Rights Campaign's religion and faith program:

“By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and wept…how could we sing the songs of Zion…?”

This morning I am wondering who and what I am. Once again, when American voters have had an opportunity to affirm my humanity and the loving commitment I have made to my husband, a majority of those voters have made a conscious decision to deny my humanity and treat me as if my citizenship and my marriage mean nothing; all the while patting themselves on the back for their piety. The slap they intended is received. I am made to wonder – Am I human? Am I an American? Am I a Christian? Am I married?
....

Most Maine voters want us to understand once and for all that the Bible, which has been used to subjugate women, people of color, and the poor of every gender and race is now to be used as a weapon against us. They have gleaned all they intend to learn from their faith and as far as they are concerned, my family can go to hell.
....

Today I am tempted to feel like an exile in my native land – to question who and what I am. But this I know: in the end it matters not one whit what others say or believe about me and mine. What matters, today and forever, is what we believe about ourselves. We are fully human. We are Americans. We are Christians. And we are most assuredly married.

A powerful and eloquent essay in a style of oratory that reminds me of Martin Luther King. Please read the entire essay. And never forget that the struggle is about human rights and "liberty and justice for all", as we say in the pledge of allegiance.

Thanks to Ann.

UPDATE: Susan Russell, who presided over the marriage of Harry and Mike, posted the entire essay at her blog.

Marriage Equality Loses In Maine

From Yahoo News:

PORTLAND, Maine – Maine voters repealed a state law Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed, dealing the gay rights movement a heartbreaking defeat in New England, the corner of the country most supportive of gay marriage.

Gay marriage has now lost in every single state — 31 in all — in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine — known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate — and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.

With 87 percent of the precincts reporting, gay-marriage foes had 53 percent of the votes.

"The institution of marriage has been preserved in Maine and across the nation," declared Frank Schubert, chief organizer for the winning side.

Sad, so sad. What happened to the "moderate, independent-minded electorate"? And Frank Schubert, will you have no more divorce in Maine? Is the next step to outlaw divorce? I never knew of a gay marriage that destroyed another marriage, but I know of a good many marriages that were "destroyed" by divorce.

From Joe Sudbay at Americablog:

And, then, there's Maine where hate prevailed. The Bishop of Maine, Richard Malone, must be quite pleased with himself. He ran a campaign of lies, hate and distortions -- and convinced enough Maine voters to vote with him. It's going to take me a couple days (or more) to get my head around this one. But, for now, suffice it so say: HATE was the winner in Maine. Hate and the Catholic Bishop. But, this isn't over. Time and justice really are on our side.

Joe Sudbay is right. Although it's difficult to believe his final words this morning, what he says is true.

Died in Service

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, 'Good morning Alex.' 'Good morning Pastor,' he replied, still focused on the plaque.

'Pastor, what is this?'

The pastor said, 'Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.' Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque.

Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked,




"Which service... the 8:30 or the 10:30?"

Don't blame me. Blame Fran.

"Bad Manners..."

From Ruth Gledhill's latest post:

A friend and former chaplain of the Archbishop of Canterbury has criticised the Pope's 'ecumenical bad manners' and accused him of fomenting division. In a debate on BBC Radio Wales to be broadcast tomorrow morning, on the All Things Considered programme, the Bishop of St Asaph Gregory Cameron challenges the Pope's move to welcome disaffected Anglican Catholics.

Listen to the podcast, "All roads Lead to Rome?" at the BBC.

Gledhill says:

Friends of Dr Rowan Williams have warned me that the Archbishop does not like it much when journalists play the Gregory-Cameron-friendship card, but the fact remains that Father Gregory, a truly dear and saintly priest in the old Welsh tradition who was recently consecrated, is a close former colleague of the Archbishop's and was his chaplain for years in Wales.

Oh dear! I have something of a soft spot for Bishop Cameron, because it seems that he once responded to a post on my blog. From a statement that he made regarding church property of the Episcopal Church, I saw that he misunderstood our polity in TEC, and I posted about his misunderstanding.

Gledhill commends Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for his silence in response to the overture by the Vatican, but I don't agree that his silence is a good thing. To me, it makes him look weak. He was quite vocal in his criticism of the Episcopal Church, his sister church in the Anglican Communion and my church, on more than one occasion. Why so timid with the Roman Catholic Church upon its announcement of an intention to raid the membership of Anglican churches around the world?

Bishop Cameron is more forthcoming:

Bishop Gregory Cameron: 'I think I have two concerns really. It seems to me that what we’ve got here is basically a case of ecumenical bad manners. The decision by the Pope, I think, has taken a lot of people by surprise. There was no consultation whatsoever with the leadership of the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury was given 24 hours notice of the announcement and I would have hoped that that was not the way we do things.

Mgr Andrew Faley of the Bishops' Conference was the spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church:

Mgr Andrew Faley: 'Now, the Pope is not an ill-mannered man, as far as I’m aware, it’s not so much about ecumenical bad manners as the Pope’s concern for the unity of the church.

Mgr Faley repeated "the Pope’s concern for the unity of the church" several times during the interview. I assume that is the talking point from the RCC side. "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it." Raiding the membership of another denomination with whom one has an ongoing ecumenical relationship seems a strange path to take to promote the unity of the church.

Congratulations to Ruth on her cat's giving birth to a litter of seven kittens on Halloween.

Thanks to Nicholas Knisely at The Lead for the link.

Please Pray For Zoe...

...and for Frank.

From Frank, my brother-in-law, about his Corgi:

Looks like we have another dog struggling. Zoe has had a swollen area under one eye for about a month - two rounds of antibiotics didn't help. Doc thought it might be a particular tooth that usually abscesses. Turns out it was another tooth totally unrelated to the swelling. Took out a teaspoon of unknown yellow fluid from below the eye - off to the lab. She was struggling to breathe while at the vets - so she did x-rays - she has an extremely enlarged heart - mashing the lungs somewhat - diagnosed as dilated myocardiomyopathy. Vet said she was at the point where if she has any kind of crisis - it would not be productive to treat her. Broke my heart. Haven't cried like this since Gayle died. Zoe is my connection to her and I have been dreading this possibility. Will keep you posted.

Gayle is Frank's wife and my sister, who passed away three and a half years ago. This same family recently lost Murphy. Trouble upon trouble.

"Our own Trinity"

From From Wade McClay in Maine:

Grandmere,

Thought you might get a kick out of this picture of Bishop Lane (Maine) and Bishop Robinson (New Hampshire) with our previous Bishop, Chilton Knudson, watching over them! It was taken during a break when Bishop Robinson visited the Cathedral here in Portland.

We did an Integrity Eucharist during our Diocesan Convention and a candle-light march and vigil from St. Patrick's in Brewer to the State Street Bridge in Bangor where a young gay man, Charlie Howard, was murdered for being gay in 1984.

I've also included a picture of the vigil on the State Street Bridge. Gosh I'm proud of my Diocese!

Please cross your fingers and if you can manage a prayer today for us to win marriage equality at the polls it would be greatly appreciated!

{HUG}

--Wade

Thanks for sending this, Wade. I have prayed, and I shall continue to pray throughout the day for the vote on marriage equality in Maine today. Readers out there in the ether, please pray also.

Feast Day Of Richard Hooker

Readings:

Psalm 19:1-11
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 44:10-15
1 Corinthians 2:6-10,13-16
John 17:18-23


PRAYER

O God of truth and peace, who didst raise up thy servant Richard Hooker in a day of bitter controversy to defend with sound reasoning and great charity the catholic and reformed religion: Grant that we may maintain that middle way, not as a compromise for the sake of peace, but as a comprehension for the sake of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Of Richard Hooker's book, The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, James Kiefer says:

In the course of his book he sets forth the Anglican view of the Church, and the Anglican approach to the discovery of religious truth (the so-called via media, or middle road), and explains how this differs from the position of the Puritans, on the one hand, and the adherents of the Pope, on the other. He is very heavy reading, but well worth it. (He says, on the first page of Chapter I: "Those unto whom we shall seem tedious are in no wise injuried by us, seeing that it lies in their own hands to spare themselves the labor they are unwilling to endure."
....

Although Hooker is unsparing in his censure of what he believes to be the errors of Rome, his contemporary, Pope Clement VIII (died 1605), said of the book: "It has in it such seeds of eternity that it will abide until the last fire shall consume all learning."

Presently, I am reading a book of excerpts from Hooker's many-volume work. It is slow going, but I find much that is profitable and applicable to our situation in Anglicanland today. Along with the book of Hooker's excerpts, I am also using Michael Russell's book, Hooker's Blueprint as a sort of "Cliffs Notes" to Hooker's writing.

Reading Hooker in fits and starts, as I do, is not the best way to go, because reading the book at longer intervals, as I have done on occasion, I fall into the cadences of the Elizabethan English, and the reading becomes easier. If you choose to read Hooker, do as I say, and not as I do. And please! Don't ask me complicated questions about Richard Hooker's writings, because I'm not likely to be able to answer them.

Image from Wiki.

Nothing Takes The Place Of You

"The Menace Of The Public Option"

From M.C. Blakeman at SFGate:

Of all the current assaults on our noble republic, perhaps none is more dangerous than the public option - specifically, the public library option.

For far too long, this menace has undermined the very foundations of our economy. While companies like Amazon and Barnes & Noble struggle valiantly each day to sell books, these communistic cabals known as libraries undercut the hard work of good corporate citizens by letting people read their books for free. How is the private sector supposed to compete with free?
....

Have you ever wondered who's really behind this public library option? And don't you think it's fishy that they mask their nefarious activities with benign-sounding names, like Friends of the Library? What's their real agenda - and why do they have so many "volunteer" meetings, anyway?

Read the rest at the link. I spent most of my working life in these places, and I attest to the dangers that lurk in public libraries. In the olden days, the subscription libraries charged for books. What a cockamamie idea to lend the books out FOR FREE. Someone's paying. There's no free lunch. It's your tax money and my tax money that pay for this socialistic, giveaway program.

H/T to Oyster.