IT GET'S BETTER

Jonathan Smith

Song is "There Will be a Way" by Bad Religion from their album New America.

DAVID@MONTREAL'S MILD (?) RANT

Our sweet friend David@Montreal posted what I can only describe as a mild (?) rant at his website, LGTB Vocation, in response to the article in the Mangalorean on the Archbishop of Canterbury's visit to India, which states:

Bangalore, October 21: As Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion entered the confines of the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in the City on Thursday evening, hundreds of faithful Christians greeted him with prayers that reverberated throughout the atmosphere.

And later, when a programme in his honour commenced with a prayer and was punctuated by greetings from heads of various Christian Dioceses of Karnataka for over two hours, the Archbishop remained patiently attentive.

The audience were more than awed by his persona. Every time, his name was read out, it evoked a huge round of applause. Predictably, he received the most passionate ovation when he was called to address the gathering. Although he spoke briefly, the Archbishop of Canterbury sought to delve on a crucial aspect of our civilisation - human rights.

He emphasised that human rights should be seen in the context of human dignity. The Archbishop said the values of unity must be upheld for peaceful co-existence.

“Human dignity ought to be protected at any cost. It’s important that the critical issue of human rights is viewed in terms of its relation with the right to self-respect,” the Archbishop of Canterbury, who leads the third largest group of Christians in the world, said.

Viva il Papa! Whoops, my mistake! He's the head of the first largest group of Christians in the world.

Anyway, our Sweet friend David@Montreal posts the following on his blog:

Am I just imagining it- the faint whiff of post-colonial condescension to William’s making this pronouncement overseas? To say nothing of the blatant hypocrisy of this coming from this particular individual whose own actions would appear to indicate a casual or only occasional acquaintance with what human dignity entails. Coming at a time when:

he continues to tolerate the prissy waffling of traumatized misogenists within the ranks of his own Church’s clergy over the consecration of women bishops; essentially dismissing the vocations of certain sisters to serve in this capacity, discounting both their lives and faith and implicitly admitting that the C of E is not ready yet to deal with more than one half of the human race as dynamic, living human beings living valid lives of faith sealed by their baptism.

All right now, I didn't say that. David said it. You can read the rest of his mild (?) rant at his website.

And I'm not sending you over there just because David calls me "blessed Mimi, Queen of the South". Such blandishments don't influence me at all, when I link.

MORE COLLECTOR BOOKS FROM LAPIN

The Weird Rabbit does not own the books. He merely found pictures of them for us, so we can't ask him questions about the naughty contents.



Is it wrong to out one's own grandfather? What do you think?



Dancing dishes, dusters, pots, and kettles! Oh, to have such a gay kitchen!

Lapin, a suggestion: If you are considering buying the books, I believe you may be aiming above your reading level. Just a thought.

My readers: I have access to pictures of a whole treasure trove of such collector books, enough material to start a series, if you would like to see more titles.

GOOD NEWS ABOUT KATZIE

From Mark at Enough About Me:

VERY GOOD NEWS
Katzie is home.

It was a very bad bladder infection, but the vet was really worried, and she went above and beyond in providing care. They gave and intravenous antibiotic, flushed his bladder with antibiotic, and sent him home with an orally-administered antibiotic - which, apparently, tastes horrible.

He's acting like his old self much more - though the long periods away from home mean that Miutu is having difficulty adjusting.

Katzie got home yesterday in time to take care of me, as a steady diet of fear, sleeplessness, and changing temperatures has led to a crushing sinus infection. Yesterday afternoon, I was too weak to turn from my back onto my side without considerable effort.

Our prayers and our donations helped save Katzie's life. Thank you all who contributed in any way. Please continue to pray for Katzie to be restored to full health.

Now Mark needs our prayers, too.

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Mark the help of your power, that his sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mark, when you feel better, don't forget your promise of a picture of Katzie.

"A DISHONEST COVENANT"

Paul Bagshaw's was an early voice from across the pond to speak against the Anglican Covenant. Paul blogs at Not the Same Stream.

The initial judgement was that a Covenant would be a hard sell. Therefore the decision was taken to avoid as much public debate as possible but to contain debate within the smallest possible inner circles of each Province. The rest has followed: public debate has deliberately been muted and it's hard to see how much, if any, difference it made to the shaping of the Covenant.
....

The only thing that made any difference was private opposition from Primates and their representatives. And then only in relation to the terms of the Covenant. Public and official statements that stated opposition to the Covenant were apparently ignored.

Paul's voice, along with the voices of a few others such as MadPriest, was one of only a few to be heard in England against the Covenant, and that's how it will come to pass that the Covenant will likely make easy passage through General Synod of the Church of England next month.

Although many of us in the US spoke against the Covenant early and often, perhaps we could and should have called more attention to those voices in other provinces, especially in the Church of England, who were doubtful that the Covenant was good or even simply benign. If the Covenant was rejected by the Church of England, it would be dead.

Please read Paul's entire post from which I copied my title, "A Dishonest Covanant".

Paul's article from 2007 may be found in Modern Church.

H/T to MadPriest at OCICBW for the link to Paul's post.

CUTE KITTEH!!!

Thanks to Cathy.

A NEW SOCIETY TO FORM IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND?

Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England, who are opposed to women bishops, but who do not plan to join the Roman Catholic ordinariates, formed The Mission Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda.

Now Thinking Anglicans reports:

Reform members have voted to back the creation of a religious society within the Church of England for conservative evangelicals who want to promote the church’s mission but are opposed to the consecration of women as bishops.

Speaking at the network’s annual conference yesterday, attended by over 170 members, Revd Rod Thomas, the Reform chairman, said: “This is a very positive move not just for us, but for the wider church. The creation of a society can both provide a model of how the church can change to become more focused on mission, not maintenance, and a way forward through the dilemma it faces over women bishops.

“Reform members are involved in innovative ways of reaching into local communities with the good news of Jesus Christ. Many are in churches with a good number of younger men and women being trained for future gospel work. We have a mission-focus which brings health and life that is good for the wider church, and a religious society would enable us to continue that focus.

Further, the Revd Rod Thomas, the Reform chairman, now says that the combined votes of the Anglo-Catholics and Reform members of General Synod, who are opposed to women bishops, may now be sufficient to block the draft legislation, as it is now written, when the body takes up the current legislation, since a two-thirds majority is needed for passage.

"VOTE YOUR HEART OUT"

Mark Harris at Preludium has a splendid post about politics and voting. Christine O'Donnell is a candidate for the US Senate in Mark's state.

Almost no one seems to get it: We need elected officials who are willing to do the mind numbing job of reading sewer reports and statistical tables, economic reports and proposals for new technologies and then vote with some wisdom. If they can't read or don't have time that they hire good people who do and will instruct them.

And we ought to expect from our elected leaders that they help this country break its war habit, a habit that poisons our economy, community life and takes lives endlessly.

I hear very little mention of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by the candidates, more's the pity. Mark posts charts which illustrate the human and monetary costs of our wars.

Along with his wise words about the coming elections, Mark posted the video below, which made me smile and which I've lifted. In these times, a smile is most welcome.

NOT LATE THIS TIME!

Yesterday, I went to New Orleans to an appointment for a routine check with the ophthalmologist following my cataract surgery nearly one year ago. Since I don't like driving the Interstate highway system through cities, I planned to drive through the streets of Jefferson Parish, with the rest of the traffic and the stop lights, but as I watched the time, I saw that I would not be on time for my appointment, if I did.

After a quick prayer for nerves of steel and for my sharpest driving skills to kick in, I headed for Interstate-10, which is also congested at times, with traffic moving slowly or not at all, and hoped for the best. The journey was a breeze, and I arrived at the doctor's office with seven minutes......and a whole day to spare.

Yes, when I walked into the office, the receptionist was at her desk, but the rest of the offices were dark. Obviously, THE DOCTOR WAS NOT IN. My appointment was for today. Ah well, nothing to be done, except drive home and drive back in tomorrow (today). As I turned and started to walk out, I thought, "There are other doctors in the group practice, who work from another office. Perhaps one of them would see me." I turned back to ask the receptionist, and she said it was quite possible. With a quick phone call, she arranged for me to see a different doctor at their other office, which was only a short distance away.

Every morning, I pray in "Morning Prayer" not to be overcome by adversity. The thought of returning to New Orleans the next day did not thrill me, and, in fact, seemed to me like a small adversity. I'm not one to give up easily, and the thought which came to mind helped me to overcome. Thank God for "Morning Prayer"...and for planting ideas in listening minds?

All is well with my eyes, except that in a few months, scar tissue which formed in both eyes will have to be zapped, a rather common procedure after cataract surgery, which is done right in the office.

Since I did not have time to eat lunch before I left for my 2:00 PM appointment, I planned to eat an old-fashioned hamburger and fries at Dot's Diner, pictured below. In fact, after I saw the doctor, I could hardly wait, because the time was around 3:30 PM. My mouth watered as I approached the diner.



When I arrived at Dot's, a sign was posted on the door saying that the diner would be closed tomorrow (today) because Disney would be filming there. The cook at Dot's will play the cook in the film. She could not remember the name of the movie, but I found the title, "From the Rough", at the website of New Orleans Office of Film & Video.

Anyway, about the hamburger and fries, "Mmm mmm good!"

Oh, and, "All's well that ends well."

Off topic: Did you know that the phrase above was a proverb before Shakespeare used the words in his play?

"John Heywood included it in A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes in the Englishe tongue, 1546:

Lovers live by love, ye as larkes live by leekes
Saied this Ales, muche more then halfe in mockage.
Tushe (quoth mine aunte) these lovers in dotage
Thinke the ground beare them not, but wed of corage
They must in all haste, though a leafe of borage
Might by all the substance that they can fell.
Well aunt (quoth Ales) all is well that endes well."

CRISIS AT THE PALACE!

From the The Telegraph:

Malvern Water has been the choice of the Royal Family for more than 400 years after Queen Elizabeth I first drank it in the 16th century.

Queen Victoria refused to travel without the spring water and the current Queen orders gallons of it whenever she travels abroad.

But Coca-Cola, which produces the drink, are halting production at the end of next month after being squeezed out of the market by cheaper rivals.

They also claim the size of the factory in Malvern, Worcs., is too small to compete with larger brands such as Evian and Highland Spring.

Coca-Cola have now decided to sell off the site as luxury housing and make the 17 workers who produce the water redundant.

The decision has shocked residents living near the Colwall plant in the town where the water has been drank since 1558.

Paul Tuthill, a district councillor and chairman of Malvern Town Council, said: "This is a great shock.

"What is the Queen going to do about her water because she always drank Malvern Water?

"I think Coca-Cola ought to offer it for sale to local entrepreneurs to take it over rather than just sell the site for high value housing."

I expect the Queen will manage, but I'm sorry for the workers who will lose their jobs. And why not offer to sell the plant to local business people who might keep Malvern water flowing? I can guess. Coca-Cola will make a lot more money by selling off the property to developers of luxury housing.

Since the days of Elizabeth I, the water is reported to have curative qualities. Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin agreed and claimed to have been cured by drinking the water.

Thanks to Lapin for the link and the title of the post.