MORE ON WOMEN BISHOPS IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Lapinbizarre has left a new comment on your post "PROTECT ME, PLEASE, FROM FEMALE MINISTRY!":

According to Simon Sarmiento's account at Thinking Anglicans, the "Women Bishops" measure has passed, apparently without a vote count. The proposal of Simon Killwick, an Anglo-Catholic priest, that the measure be sent back to committee for further revision, was defeated 102 to 293 (12 abstentions), and an amendment requiring 2/3 majorities for any future revision to the legislation passed by 287 to 78 (20 abstentions) even though the steering committee opposed the measure. Clearly, therefore, General Synod is firmly behind the legislation, notwithstanding the closeness of Saturday's vote.

Thanks, Lapin. The whole process had become too detailed and complicated for me to follow. I don't have a "Robert's Rules of Order" kind of mind. My brain tunes out of its own volition after a spell.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I gather that if the actions taken at General Synod on women bishops are ratified by GS two years from now, after further discussion and consideration by the dioceses of the CofE, the first female bishop could be ordained in 2014. The wheels of justice in the Church of England grind slowly....

And there's Jonathan Wynne-Jones" scarifying piece in the Telegraph:

Canon David Houlding, a prebendary at St Paul’s cathedral, estimated that as many as 200 traditionalist clergy could leave the Church, taking thousands of worshippers with them.
....

Fr Jonathan Baker, principle of Pusey House and a leading traditionalist, warned that young Anglo-Catholic priests will struggle to see a future in the Church of England.

“It is bound to be more difficult to hold on to people now,” he said. “How can you stay in a family where members of the family have no need of you.”

The continuing threats of departure became tiresome after a while, as I know from the ongoing warnings by certain members of our own Episcopal Church, who continue their stance with one foot in and one foot out of the church, all the while bemoaning the church which has fallen into heresy and revisionism and is hardly even Christian any longer. Although I wish that no one would leave, the repeated threats tempt me to give the malcontents a gentle push toward the door. But, of course, I would never do such a thing!

"...THE WORD IS VERY NEAR TO YOU...."

In his sermon posted at Ekklesiastes, Tobias Haller tells a beautiful story of faith inspired by the reading assigned for the day from Deuteronomy 30:11-14.

The commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away… No, the word is very near to you…

Listen, or read, or both. You won't be sorry. Remember that Tobias was once an actor, and he does not hesitate to use his thespian skills in preaching.

STORY OF THE DAY - IMAGINARY NUMBERS

I have a friend who does numerology in
California & she called me up one night
& said that 444 was the number of Wal-
Mart, which is 30 percent off of 666 &
we were both amazed & then I hung up
the phone & said now I remember why
we moved to Iowa.

From StoryPeople.

For all my friends in California...and my friends in Iowa

FEAST OF NATHAN SÖDERBLOM

Nathan Söderblom was born in Trönö, Sweden, in 1866 and ordained in 1893. He was chaplain at the Swedish Embassy in Paris from 1894 to 1901, and earned a doctorate in comparative religion from the Sorbonne. He then became professor of the history of religion at the University of Uppsala, and in 1914 became Archbishop of Uppsala and Primate of the Church of Sweden.

Soderblom, a Lutheran in a church that had retained the historic episcopate, valued the liturgy and devotional tradition of traditional Catholic worship, while seeing much of worth in the writings of liberal Protestant scholars. He believed it his duty to work for a united Christendom, both catholic and evangelical, and saw practical cooperation on social issues as a promising first step. During World War I, he worked tirelessly to alleviate the conditions of prisoners of war and refugees. For this and his subsequent work for Church unity and world peace, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930. At Stockholm in 1925, he organized the Universal Christian Council on Life and Work. Meanwhile, a chiefly Anglican group had formed an inter-denominational Conference on Faith and Order. In 1948 the two groups merged to form the World Council of Churches. As Archbishop of Sweden, he was concerned to deepen the channels of communication between the Church and the laboring masses, and also between the Church and the intellectuals. He died 12 July 1931.

By James Kiefer

Readings:

Psalm 133
2 Kings 22:3-13
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
John 13:31-35

PRAYER

Almighty God, we bless your Name for the life and work of Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala, who helped to inspire the modern liturgical revival and worked tirelessly for cooperation among Christians. Inspire us by his example, that we may ever strive for the renewal of your Church in life and worship, for the glory of your Name; who with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A man for our season or any season.

Dedicated to my Swedish Lutheran clergyman friend, Göran Koch-Swahne.

"LONG ENOUGH?"

Solemn Pontifical High Mass: 20th Anniversary of the Traditional Latin Mass (Part 7)

Sorry, folks, I know the video shows a solemn occasion, but this one had me rolling on the floor.

Many thanks to Lapin for the laugh and the title for the post.

WHAT IS A WOMAN?

A real woman is a man's best friend. She will never stand him up and never let him down. She will reassure him when he feels insecure and comfort him after a bad day. She will inspire him to do things he never thought he could do: to live without fear and to forget regret. She will enable him to express his deepest emotions and give in to his most intimate desires. She will make sure he always feels as though he's the most handsome man in the room and will enable him to be the most confident, sexy, seductive, invincible . . . .



Oh, wait . . . I'm thinking of vodka.

Never mind.


Don't blame me. Blame Paul (A.). I can't imagine how Paul's lovely wife puts up with him.

PRIMATE MADE ME DO IT

Picture and headline "borrowed" from Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish.

The link to Christopher Ryan's article in Psychology Today is worth a read.

First off, chimps aren't "our closest primate cousin," though you'll need a sharp eye to find any mention of our other, equally intimately related cousin, the bonobo in most of these "news" stories. Like a crazy relative who lives in a shed out back, bonobos tend to get mentioned in passing-if at all-in these sweeping declarations about the ancient primate roots of war. There are plenty of reasons self-respecting journalists might want to avoid talking about bonobos (their penchant for mutual masturbation, their unapologetic homosexuality and incest, a general sense of hippie-like shamelessness pervading bonobo social life), but the biggest inconvenience is the utter absence of any Viking-like behavior ever observed among bonobos. Bonobos never rape or pillage. No war. No murder. No infanticide.

Our bonobo cousins could teach humans more than a few lessons. Not a new thought, I know.

Disclaimer: Neither Andrew nor I is responsible for stray thoughts that pop into your mind from viewing the picture and the headline out of context, which thoughts have nothing whatsoever to do with Andrew's post. :-)

BRAVO, MICHAEL!

From an opinion column by Michael Gorman in the Daily Comet in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

The Nov. 2 Election Day is still months away, and already the name-calling between U.S. Senate candidates has become the hot topic on some news websites.

I haven’t heard many people talking about the race outside of the newsroom here, but the contest between U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-L.a, and U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, is going to be bitterly fought to the end.

Vitter will be scratching and clawing to hold onto his seat in the Senate even as other Republicans throughout the nation are expecting an easier time of it.

Melancon, meanwhile, will be trying desperately to oust Vitter from the Senate and claim the seat for himself.

If Vitter had been content to sit back, contribute his normal sound bites to the hate-mongering GOP crowd and unleash a torrent of anti-Obama ads this fall, he would probably be assured re-election.

After all, here in Louisiana, Obama is immensely unpopular, a fact that will only be worsened by his ongoing attempt to shut down much of the Gulf oil-and-gas activity.

Vitter wasn’t content with doing his job. Several years ago, he fessed up to being involved in a prostitute ring in Washington, D.C.

The prostitute in the center of the case has since died, hounded to her grave by federal prosecutors for her part in what is, if nothing else is, a two-party crime.

Vitter, who has acknowledged his involvement, went free with no prosecution and is now trying to continue representing our great state.

Even if his admitted sins had stopped years ago, Vitter would probably be assured of re-election.

Louisiana has never been very hard on its politicians. Just tell us what we want to hear and behave any way you like. We’ll keep sending you back to D.C.

Another scandal that some female voters might understandably find offensive has rocked Camp Vitter.

Brent Furer was a trusted aide to Vitter in 2008 when Furer pleaded guilty to holding a girlfriend at knifepoint and stabbing her in the hand.

People who might be willing to look the other way and forgive Vitter’s embarrassing sexual exploits might find the issue of domestic violence a bit more unappealing.

Vitter says now that he knew about Furer’s crimes and disciplined him. However, Furer kept his job working for the gentleman from Louisiana.

Even women who find Vitter’s disgusting brand of hate-based politics engaging might be turned off by his continued support of a victimizer of women.

Two years after the violence conviction, the incident finally cost Furer his job. A change of heart on the part of his boss? Nope. Did Furer mend his ways and decide that he had not been sufficiently punished for his crime? Nope.

What drove him out of the Vitter fold was that news about his conviction made it into the news.

So, as long as it’s just between you and Mr. Vitter, everything’s OK. Once it makes the news, all bets are off.

For his part, Melancon is making hay while the sun shines.

Read the rest here.

Bravo, Michael!

Let me tell you my friends, it takes courage to write such an opinion column in Vitter country, but I'm thankful that our local editorial page editor stepped up to tell the truth about our senator. Folks need to know. Vitter may still win the election, but he shouldn't. Any senator who knew that a member of his staff had held his girl friend captive and slashed her with a knife, and permitted the person to continue in his position for two years, does not deserve his place in the US Senate.

BISHOP OF MONTREAL APPROVES LITURGY FOR BLESSING CIVIL MARRIAGE WHICH INCLUDES SAME-SEX COUPLES

From the Montreal Anglican: (pdf file)

Staff

In response to a request from the Diocese of Montreal Synod in the fall of 2007, reaffirmed the next year, Bishop Barry Clarke has approved a liturgy for the blessing of previously solemnized civil marriages, tacitly including ones between same-sex couples.

He presented copies of the liturgy at the May meeting of the Diocesan Council. While the liturgy is already available in French and English, the bishop said that on his return from the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in Halifax in June he would be writing to clergy and parishes to explain the process. The liturgy is adapted from the

Book of Occasional Celebrations produced by the General Synod of the national church in 1992.
The leaflet, with about 10 pages, contains a note that the liturgy was commissioned by the bishop in re -sponse to the 2007 motion requesting “that the Bishop grant permission for clergy, whose conscience permits, to bless duly solemnized and registered civil marriages, includ ing marriages between samesex couples, where at least one party is baptized; and that the Bishop authorize an appropriate rite and make regulations for its use in supportive parishes as ministries.”

This is the only explicit reference to same-sex marriages in the document.

A “Protocol for Use” includes provisions for a 60-day period between a request and the blessing and for a request to the bishop. Only priests authorized to solemnize weddings may preside and “no priest shall be obliged to bless a civil marriage.”

(Here are the “Protocol for Use” and preface of the new liturgy for the Blessing of Civil Marriage authorized by Bishop Barry Clarke and tabled at the May meeting of the Diocesan Council.)

PROTOCOL FOR USE

• The couple shall provide legal documentation as proof that the civil marriage has taken place;

• The couple shall commit to meeting with the priest to discern their reason for seeking a blessing upon their marriage;

• There shall be a minimum of sixty (60) days between the initial request and the blessing;

• At least one of the spouses must be baptised;

• A request for the blessing shall be made to the Bishop;

• The blessing shall be entered in the vestry book and noted as a blessing in the parish marriage register;

• Only priests holding a valid authorisation to solemnise marriages shall be permitted to preside;

• No priest shall be obliged to bless a civil marriage.

This process will be monitored and adapted as necessary.

This liturgy was commissioned by the Bishop in response to a motion passed at the 2007 Synod of the Diocese

of Montreal and affirmed by the 2008 Synod.

2007 Motion

Be it resolved that this Synod re quest that the Bishop grant permission for clergy, whose conscience permits, to bless duly solemnized and registered civil marriages, including marriages between same-sex couples, where at least one party is baptized; and that the Bishop authorize an appropriate rite and make regulations for its use in supportive parishes and ministries.

......

PREFACE

According to Western Christian thought, the ministers of marriage are the two individuals who marry each other. From the point of view of the church, the role of an ordained minister in a marriage service is to pray for God’s blessing on the marriage which the couple ministers to each other. (From the point of view of the state the minister may have other civil functions to perform.) An ordained minister offers the prayer of blessing because he/she is the appointed leader of the congregation assembled for this particular act of worship.

The church recognizes the validity of marriages which have been solemnised in accordance with its understanding of marriage, whether or not the exchange of vows took place in the context of an act of worship at which one of its ordained ministers presided. A civil ceremony at which two people took each other as spouses with the intention of lifelong commitment is a complete and valid wedding. People enter marriage through the forms of civil ceremonies for a variety of reasons: because of cultural differences, to appease families, because they were not practising Christians at the time. Sometimes they later wish to affirm the Christian nature of their marriage by a ceremony which culminates in a solemn prayer for God’s blessing on the marriage.

There is an intimate relationship between the vows of marriage and prayers of blessing which may follow them, even when there is a considerable interval of time between the two events.

Nothing that is done in the blessing of a civil marriage should reflect negatively on the original exchange of vows. The blessing of a civil marriage is not a second marriage. The marriage vows should not be repeated.

This service should not be used in contravention of diocesan regulations relating to remarriage after

divorce.

Good news from Montreal!

At first, I was going to do a partial quote with a link, but I decided to go ahead and post the entire text of the article in the newspaper.

Thanks to David@Montreal for the text.

AND THE OIL GUSHES ON AND OUT INTO THE GULF

From the Daily Comet:

Robotic submarines working a mile underwater removed a leaking cap from the gushing Gulf oil well today, starting a painful trade-off: Millions more gallons of crude will flow freely into the sea for at least two days until a new seal can be mounted to capture all of it.

There's no guarantee for such a delicate operation almost a mile below the water's surface, officials said, and the permanent fix of plugging the well from the bottom remains slated for mid-August.

"It's not just going to be, you put the cap on, it's done. It's not like putting a cap on a tube of toothpaste," Coast Guard spokesman Capt. James McPherson said.

Who amongst us with a functioning brain would think that capping an oil well a mile under the sea is like putting a cap on a tube of toothpaste? Plus BP's previous failed attempts to cap the well are not soon forgotten. And do you really believe that if the new cap is successfully installed that it will capture all of the oil from the well?