PLEASE PRAY

From Ann:

Prayers for Julie and Dylan -- whose husband and father were killed in the power plant explosion -- cousin of a friend.

And I hope that Paul the BB doesn't mind, but I'm copying his "Oremus" post.

We begin this evening with a request from David@Montreal.

I've just learned that my much loved cousin Frank is undergoing a recurrence of his cancer. The news comes via dear Mam who spoke with Frank an hour ago. Mam is a generation which doesn't ask awkward questions, so I have no details on whether it is a recurrence of the leukemia or something new. That will only come when I have an opportunity to speak with Frank myself.

Let us hold Frank and the entire family in our hearts.

David also asks "Prayers also all of those dealing with snow in the American north-east and in Newfoundland & Labrador please. For those trying to re-establish normalcy, but also with those who normally have no shelter of their own and those in transit. In both situations the accumulation is serious in many places."

We have heard reports from many dear friends, narrating the challenges this creates. David reminds of us those who normally have no shelter and those in transit. For them especially we offer prayer.

I thank those who have been praying for me. I have been trying to fend off a cold this past week and I do seem to have beaten it down under my feet, to borrow words from the Great Litany. Bill and I will catch a plane Tuesday en route to Istanbul. Prayers for our journey will be gratefully received. Almost everything that needs to be packed is now assembled. My three tasks between now and take-off are sewing the Lenten frontal for the altar and taking it to the church, going to work tomorrow, and packing. This all seems do-able.

Prayers for Jonathan and the Missus. We luffs you!

For Mark's ongoing recovery.

We pray for safe travels for you and Bill, Paul, and have a lovely time in Turkey.

UPDATE: From Ann:

For Jan Nunley's sister whose cancer has come back.

GOOD NEWS FROM ENGLAND

From Ruth Gledhill at the Times Online:

The Church of England is to go ahead with the plan to create women bishops without giving in to demands from traditionalists for a separate structure of bishops and archbishops untainted by the hands of a woman.

I hope that Ruth is right and that the plan survives intact through General Synod in July.

Traditionalists warned last night that the decision, to be announced at the General Synod today, will trigger an exodus from the Church of England of many thousands of priests and lay people.

Just go already, or stop making threats.

The Synod’s Catholic Group said it was “deeply disappointed and dismayed” by the Bishop of Manchester’s statement, which it was sent in advance yesterday.

Spokesman Martin Dales, of the York diocese, said: “We believe that the vast majority of ordinary members of the Church of England would not want to see the consecration of women to the episcopate as the trigger for the exclusion from the church of a large number of faithful Anglicans.”

Who will force the ordinary members of the CofE who do not want to see the consecration of women to the episcopate as a trigger for exclusion to, in fact, see it that way? Women bishops won't be a trigger for exclusion unless people want to take that view.

The General Synod voted two years ago to go ahead with women bishops in a simple measure but leaders of the Church of England have since been struggling to find a way forward that would keep the traditionalist wing on board. Today’s announcement shows their attempts have failed.

There is no way to keep the traditionalist wing on board and still maintain women bishops on an equal footing with male bishops.

In truth, I don't like to see anyone walk away from an Anglican or Episcopal church, but I'm tired, tired, tired of the threats.

WHAT IS DAT?

One zealous fan leads a march of Saints fans down University Drive in Miami Gardens, FL, the site of the Super Bowl.

I don't know what this is, but it's wearing a mitre, a stole, and a cincture.

"No, June, do not say it!" Sorry. I had to have a word with myself.


See the entire wonderful slide show at TPM.

"WHO DAT DOG"

H/T to OCICBW.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

If you think about it, not a one of us knows where we're going. We may think we know, but we really do not. Getting up in the morning is a little like jumping off a cliff - if you think about it. Best to trust God, which is not easy but is still best.

Thought inspired by the farewell letter of Bishop Gordon Mursell upon his retirement from the Anglican Diocese of Lichfield in England.

H/T to MadPriest at OCICBW.

STORY OF THE DAY - BAD ARGUMENT

I don't believe in love, he said & I
nodded & said I'd heard that argument
before & it always ends badly & he
couldn't think of another thing to say.


From StoryPeople.

MITCH LANDRIEU BY A LANDSLIDE

New Orleans had more good news that was eclipsed by the Saints mania. The voters elected the best man in the mayoral race.

From the Times-Picayune:

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, son of a former mayor and brother of a U.S. senator, beat five major challengers in Saturday's mayoral primary, riding a sense of regret among voters who rejected him four years ago and extraordinary biracial support to claim an unprecedented first-round landslide victory.

When he takes office May 6, Landrieu will become the city's first white chief executive since his father, Moon Landrieu, left the job in 1978. Early analysis shows that Mitch Landrieu's victory is owed to widespread crossover voting by African-Americans, who make up two-thirds of the city's residents.
....

"The people of the city of New Orleans did a very extraordinary thing today," Landrieu said minutes after he entered to a chorus of "Who Dat!" from the crowd gathered in a Roosevelt Hotel ballroom. "We decided that we were going to stick the pole in the ground and strike a blow for unity, strike a blow for a city that decided to be unified rather than divided, a city that understands that where there is equal opportunity, there is equal responsibility. It is a city that really understands that we are ready to move beyond and into the next generation."

I predict that Landrieu will be a good mayor for the city. Perhaps he can get the murder rate down. His father, Moon Landrieu, was one of the best mayors New Orleans ever had, and if Mitch is half the mayor that his father was, he will be head and shoulders above the present failed Mayor Ray Nagin. All the good news coming within such a short period overwhelms.

WHO DAT SAY DEY GONNA BEAT DEM SAINTS?

NO ONE GONNA BEAT DEM SAINTS!!!!

NOT EVEN CLOSE - 31-17!!!

UPDATE: For All the Saints Who From Their Labors Rest

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thanks to Paul (A.). Sing along here.

You know, I've said again and again, that winning the NFL championship and the Superbowl is about much more than a football game. The Saints team win is a sign of hope for the full comeback for the city of New Orleans and south Louisiana. The victory helps us to believe in ourselves again.

"HOWAY THE LADS!"

Cheers for the Saints all the way from Newcastle upon Tyne in Merrie Olde England. You see a new face (Moi!) in the Saintsations lineup, along with Ormonde, who "helps" the dancing girls' coach.

To hear the music that goes with the picture, click on over to Newcastle for a listen.

SAINTS MANIA SPREADS TO ST. JOHN'S

 

Closing hymn and beginning of Second Line. The rector's wife follows him with the umbrella. Click on the picture to see the close-up of the alternative hymn book for our closing hymn. What else?

 

Second Line continues.

 

Our rector poses in his special chasuable.

 

Rear view of the chasuable showing the fleur-de-lis, for which the NFL attempted to claim copyright. LOL!

 

More Second Line.

 

Our greeter all dressed up in her Saints outfit with her umbrella. Ain't she sweet?