WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?

From Yahoo News:

As a Christian author, gospel singer and leader of one of the nation's best-known black megachurches, Bishop Eddie Long finds a wide audience for messages such as marriage is "between one man and one woman." Those words hung heavy Wednesday over accusations that the TV preacher, a married father of four, used jewelry, cars and cash to lure three young men into sexual relationships.

Lawsuits filed Tuesday and Wednesday say the young men were 17 or 18 years old at the time, enrolled in New Birth Missionary Baptist Church's ministry for teen boys.

A lawyer for Long, who writes books on heterosexual relationships and has strong ties to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s family, adamantly denied the allegations. Few at Long's 25,000-strong church will discuss the situation, and the grounds were quiet Wednesday save for a small group walking in prayer. But those who will speak say they are supporting him.

From the Southern Poverty Law Center:

"Men can look attractive when they are dirty," writes Bishop Eddie Long in his 1997 book I Don't Want Delilah, I Need You! "We see sweating, dirty, hardworking men on television all the time and we say to one another, 'There's a macho guy.'"

Despite this affinity for sweaty, macho men, Long is one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement.

....

Much of what appears in I Don't Want Delilah was espoused in the videotaped "Back to the Future” sermon Long gave when his church was still small.

"It is the most unattractive thing I have ever seen, when I see women wearing uniforms that men would wear, and women fighting to get in the military!" Long shouted to his congregation then. "The woman gets perverted to turn towards woman … and everybody knows it's dangerous to enter an exit! And everybody knows, lady, if you go to the store and buy these devices [marital aids], it's Memorex! It ain't real!"

The audience, seated in a congested sanctuary, erupts in laughter. But what Long says next is no joke.

"God says you deserve death!"

I wonder. Did the congregation laugh when Pastor Eddie said those words?

Many bloggers have already written about Bishop Eddie Long. I don't have further wisdom to contribute to the subject, but I remain amazed that homophobic leaders don't learn from the example of the ever-lengthening line of the like-minded in high positions who have taken mighty falls.

The Counseling Ministry at the church lists a class in "Sexuality Discipleship".

“Out of the Wilderness” – Confidential counsel and discipleship of men and women struggling with homosexuality. Counselors provide caring support to individuals who desire healing and deliverance through the Word of God.

You can't make this stuff up.

Back to Yahoo News.

Lance Robertson, who joined New Birth nearly two decades ago and has coached youth basketball there, said Wednesday that members were hurting.

"I support and will stand with my bishop, but right now in the court of public opinion, it does not look good," Robertson said. "This affects too many people. As the bishop goes, New Birth goes. He built New Birth."

I wonder how many of the megachurches prosper and grow principally due to the influence of a charismatic pastor. What happens to the churches when the pastor moves on for one reason or another?

UPDATE: Photo lifted from Box Turtle Bulletin. I hope Jim Burroway doesn't mind.



Bishop Eddie Long's humble abode.

FROM LOYAL EPISCOPALIANS IN THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Episcopal Forum of South Carolina
P.O. Box 1772
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29465
Episcopal Forum

Date: September 22, 2010

To: The Executive Council of The Episcopal Church
The House of Bishops
From: The Episcopal Forum of South Carolina
Subject: The Alienation and Disassociation of the Diocese of South
Carolina from The Episcopal Church

This communication is being sent from the Directors of the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina to the general membership of the Forum, to the House of Bishops, and to the lay and clerical leadership of The Episcopal Church.

The Episcopal Forum of South Carolina is a 501(c)(3) corporation with members from two thirds of the congregations in our Diocese. Our mission is to preserve unity with diversity in the Diocese and in The Episcopal Church through the inclusion of a broad range of Scriptural understandings and by upholding the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church and the democratic actions of its Conventions and elected leaders. You will find more information about EFSC at our website and in the brochure at: Brochure.

We wish to call to your attention the recent actions and inactions on the part of the diocesan leadership and leaders in parishes and missions within the Diocese of South Carolina, which we believe are accelerating the process of alienation and disassociation of the Diocese of South Carolina from The Episcopal Church.

In accordance with our Mission statement, we feel compelled to emphasize the importance of the issues that we include in our attached documents. Specifically, we enumerate issues that present grave concern to us, as Episcopalians in our Diocese, and we request that The Episcopal Church leadership investigate the situation in our Diocese.

Thank you for your consideration.

Attachments/Links

Episcopal Forum Directors
Alex Baron+
Douglas G. Billings
Frances Elmore
Daniel J. Ennis
Cynthia Harding
John Johnson+
Eleanor Koets
Richard Lovelace
Melinda Lucka
Barbara Mann
Dave Mann
Susanne Nash
Jack Nietert+
Lynn Pagliaro
Dusty Parker
Bob Pinkerton
Philip Porcher+
Scott Shaffer
Marilyn Roper
Colton Smith+
Carolyn Sparks
Ginny Trolley
Betsy Walker
Virginia Wilder

Enthusiastically Episcopalian in South Carolina

I urge you to read the attachments at the link provided, which document the concerns of the members of the Diocese of South Carolina who wish to remain within the Episcopal Church and fear (with good reason, in my opinion) that their bishop is headed for an attempt to lead the diocese out of the Episcopal Church.

The official web page of the Diocese of South Carolina includes no reference in its name to indicate that it is a diocese of the Episcopal Church.

H/T to John White at Openly Episcopal in Albany.

OH, PLEASE!

From PhillyBurbs.com:

Episcopal Church leaders have asked for the resignation of a Pennsylvania bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse by his brother more than 30 years ago.

The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church said in a resolution late Tuesday, issued after a meeting in Arizona, that it was asking the Rev. Charles Bennison Jr. to step down as Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

"We have come to the conclusion that Bishop Bennison's capacity to exercise the ministry of pastoral oversight is irretrievably damaged," the statement said. "Therefore, we exhort Charles, our brother in Christ, in the strongest possible terms, to tender his immediate and unconditional resignation as the Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania."

Spokeswoman Anne Rudig said the church had not gotten a response from Bennison, who released a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"Resigning my position as Bishop of Pennsylvania will not ease (the victim's) pain or remove the sting of the abusive relationship," he said in the statement. "Instead, I hope that the suffering I have endured during the past three years has strengthened me and will enable me to work for reconciliation within the Diocese." (My emphasis)

The suffering that Bishop Bennison has endured is as nothing compared to the suffering of the person whose abuse by the bishop's brother was covered up by the bishop. The president of the Standing Committee of the diocese, the Rev. Glenn Matis, expressed his wish that the bishop resign. How will Bennison's hanging on in the face of the request by his fellow bishops and members of the diocese for him to step down lead to reconcilation within the diocese?

Charles Bennison has said he was being railroaded by other church officials who were trying to cover up their own involvement in his brother's case, and that some had been trying to oust him due to differences in theology and the handling of church finances.

Oh, please, spare us the martyr, Bishop Bennison.

TWO CLERIHEWS FOR YOU

For the blog Faith and Theology, Kim Fabricious offers a series of clerihews "...for those of you who have trouble reading poetry (or would like to be able to talk about poets without reading them...." Below are two teasers. For the rest, you'll you'll need to visit the blog. It's only right.

W. H. Auden
Sure liked his Gordon’s;
Of course the intoxicated sod
Was also drunk on God.

Wendell Berry
Is very, very
Farmy.
And some would say barmy.

No, I didn't know what a clerihew was before now.

Thanks to Ann V.

UPDATE: I intended to include a link to the definition of a clerihew in my original post, but I neglected to do so. Sorry. The link is there now.

"EAU LA LA!"

From the New York Times:

In the latest in a series of unusual efforts to make Paris green, the city is now offering residents free sparkling water to try to wean Parisians not from red wine, but from overconsumption of plastic bottles.
....

“We chill the water between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius,” said Philippe Burguière, the spokesman for Eau de Paris, “and then we inject carbon dioxide into regular tap water to make the bubbles thin and tasty.” Those temperatures translate to 42.8 to 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

The new water fountain is part of an operation “aimed at promoting tap water in a country where we invest a lot to preserve its quality,” Mr. Burguière added.

The fountain is connected to the public water system and uses six taps to provide both sparkling and flat water.

The idea was conceived in Italy and grew very popular there, Mr. Burguière said.

Italians, who are known as the world’s biggest consumers of sparkling water, have installed 215 fountains of the same type in the country’s northern regions.

Sounds like a great, green idea to me. Leave it to the Italians to teach the French a thing or two.

Did you know that an Italian taught the French how to cook? Back in the day when Catherine de Medici, of Florence, married Prince Henry of France, who later became King Henry II, she took her cook with her. The cook proceeded to show the French how it's done.

Of course, there are spoilers who say that the story is not true. Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

But I digress. The Italian and now the French practice of giving away water, even water with a sparkle, is wonderful. The sellers of bottled water may not agree, but, hey guys! you have to do your part, too, in going green - for the common good, you know.

The title of the post is from the headline of the story in the Times-Picayune newspaper, but I cannot find an online link.

KITCHEN TIPS - MARTHA AND MAXINE

Martha says: Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent ice cream drips.

Maxine says: Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for god's sake! You are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it anyway!



Martha says: To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

Maxine says: Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix.
Keeps in the pantry for a decade.



Martha says: Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

Maxine says: That kind of unnecessary crap isn't in the Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions.



Martha says: Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

Maxine says: IF the lime is from your third margarita!



Martha says: Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

Maxine says: Leftover Wine, Martha?????? HELLO!!!!!!!

Thanks to Doug.

FAREWELL TO SCOTTY

Scotty and his dear friend Mocha

Lisa at My Manner of Life lost her beloved Scotty, her friend and companion of 19 years. Pray for Lisa and Mocha.

0 God, you created all that is, and you love all that you have made: we come to you this day in grief and with thanksgiving. We grieve the death of Lisa's beloved Scotty, who has been her companion on the way, and we thank you for the gift of his presence with her as an effective sign of the richness of your creation and of the generosity of your love; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Prayer from Animal Chaplains.

DOXY BLAMES ME

Doxy in the comments:

Wormwood's Doxy said...

Mimi--I started writing and couldn't stop. So I turned my comment into my first blog post in 3+ months.

You have only yourself to blame... ;-)

Pax,
Doxy

After a long hiatus, Doxy writes on her blog concerning the election of the Rev. Dan Martins as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield and says that I was her inspiration. But hang on! She disagrees with me! That's not how it's supposed to work.

Nevertheless, Doxy writes an excellent post. Although she doesn't post often, when she does, her blog is always worth reading. Check out her latest at Wormwood's Doxy.

OH NOOO!!! GOP = GAY OLD PARTY?

From Candace Chellew-Hodge at Religious Dispatches:

Republicans really must have believed they had this whole gay issue settled once and for all—then along come voters, and prominent Republicans, showing support for gay rights and even coming out. That’s left some hard-line religiously conservative Republicans confused and angry.

Witness the vehemence of such conservatives as WorldNetDaily founder Joseph Farah who took on Christopher Barron, the co-founder and chairman of the gay Republican group GOProud, at the Take Back America conference over the weekend in Miami. (You’ll remember, this is the conference Ann Coulter was disinvited from because she agreed to speak at GoProud’s “Homocon” event.)


Barron argued that gay people can be true conservatives, listing his organization’s support for conservative causes like “tax cuts, repealing health-care reform, social-security reform, and a neo-conservative defense for the Global War on Terror.” To Barron, one’s sexual orientation has nothing to do with whether one can be conservative or not.

Barron's statement is Republican heresy! Purge, purge, purge!

...the “conservative movement” is filled with gays and lesbians like Ken Mehlman, who led the Republican National Committee, and author and radio host Tammy Bruce. Gay and lesbian people, closeted or not, have long been a part of the “conservative movement.” What Farah does not like is that right now, these people are speaking up. They are no longer being silent about who they are - not just as conservatives, but as human beings.

I believe that the author is correct. I have it on excellent authority, from someone who could get Karl Rove on the phone, that the Bush White House staff was riddled with teh gays.

I confess that I find it difficult to understand how LGTB persons can support the Republican agenda, considering the bigotry which has been and is directed against them, but chacun à son goût. Having said that, I admit that the Democratic Party has not always been, nor is it now, a shining light of inclusivness.

Many have speculated on the death of the religious right—and it always seems to survive predictions of its demise—but a new Associated Press poll released this week echoes an earlier CNN poll showing majority support for same-sex marriage (52 percent to 46 percent). The poll also shows 58 percent say gays and lesbians should “be entitled to the same government benefits as married couples of the opposite sex.” Only 38 percent opposed.

In my territory, the religious right is not moribund, but rather, they rule, far beyond what their numbers warrant. Their voices scream loud and long, and the parties and the politicians not only listen, but, all too often, march to the beat of their drummers, more's the pity.

Thanks to Cathy for the link.

PLEASE PRAY FOR LISA AND SCOTTY

Lisa at My Manner of Life is preparing to say good-bye to Scotty, pictured above, in better days. Scotty went to live with Lisa as a kitten, and they have been together for 19 years, nearly her entire adult life.

Saying Goodbye to Scotty

In the name of God the Father,
who created you and all the animals,
in the name of Jesus the Son,
who spoke of you in parables and stories,
in the name of the Holy Spirit,
in whom every creature lives, moves, and has their being,
go now in peace, dear friend.

May you find rest near refreshing waters,
may you lie in cool, green pastures,
and may you warm yourself under the sun that never sets.

You have been my constant companion,
my shadow and confidante,
my comfort and playmate.
You filled my days with life and brought me endless joy.
For this I give thanks to God who gave you to me.

Now return to your Maker who eagerly waits for you
as you waited for me at the end of each day.

In the Father’s arms, let there be no more pain.
Let there be no more suffering.
Let there be only light as it was on the day God created you.

For our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer by Diana Macalintal from San José Diocese.

O God, we ask that you be powerfully present with Lisa during this difficult time as parting with Scotty draws near. Give her comfort, consolation, and your peace that passes understanding to keep her mind and heart in Christ Jesus. Amen.