BLESSINGS AND CONGRATULATIONS, BISHOP GENE

On this date 7 years ago, Bishop Gene Robinson became a bishop in the Episcopal Church. Susan Russell was there. Read her lovely account of the great day at An Inch At a Time.

Susan says in her post:

I'm writing this between flights (thanks for the free wifi, McCarren Airport!) ... and I'm honored and excited to have been invited to come to New Orleans to preach a bit, speak a bit, meet-and-greet a bit ... to talk about "Common Ground & Social Justice" in the Diocese of Louisiana.

I will be in that number when Susan speaks on Thursday evening.

COMMON GROUND AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

AN EVENING WITH THE REV. CANON SUSAN RUSSELL

Thursday, November 4, 2010
7:15 p.m.

Trinity Episcopal Church
Bishop Polk Hall

ON Wednesday evening, Susan+ will preach at Holy Eucharist at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit on Broadway, near Tulane/Loyola Universities. Outreach to LGBTQ youth is the focus of that evening.

If you live in or near New Orleans, I urge you to attend one or both of the events if at all possible.

"NO LONGER CAN"

From the The New York Times:

The spokesman for the arch-conservative leader of Belgium's Roman Catholic Church has resigned after his boss defended priests accused of pedophilia and criticized AIDS patients.

Spokesman Juergen Mettepenningen told reporters that he "no longer can" work for Archbishop Andre Leonard.

Still, one wonders what took Mettepenningen so long, but better late than never. I expect that Archbishop Leonard's words were the last straw for a good many Roman Catholics in Belgium and around the world.

Thanks to Lapin for the link

VOTE AND VOTE SMART

KIRSTIN NEEDS TRAVEL COMPANIONS

Kirstin is undergoing chemotherapy for melanoma, and she needs people to travel with her and stay with her when she has her treatments.

If you’ve gotten this far: We need more people to come to Riverside with me. I hate to be this blunt—I loathe the position it puts me in, even to ask—but my life depends on it. They won’t admit me if I don’t have a companion. My roommate Andee has exhausted her vacation time. I need someone to fly down and back with me, and be in the hospital with me while I’m there and awake. I need emotional and physical support. And even if I didn’t, they wouldn’t treat me if I went on my own. You are helping save a life, if you go.

Kaiser pays for lodging and travel expenses from Northern California. (If you’re not in Northern California, but would otherwise be available, don’t rule yourself out. A friend who has lots of frequent flier miles has put them at my disposal.)

Read the rest of Kirstin's post at Barefoot and Laughing. If you can help, her email address is on her profile page.

A CROWD OF WITNESSES

Eastern Orthodox icon of All Saints. Christ is enthroned in heaven surrounded by the ranks of angels and saints. At the bottom is Paradise with the bosom of Abraham (left), and the Good Thief (right).

2 Esdras 2:42-47 (NRSV)

I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a crowd too large to count, all singing hymns of praise to the Lord. In the middle stood a very tall young man, taller than all the rest, who was setting a crown on the head of each one of them; he stood out above them all. I was enthralled at the sight, and asked the angel, "Sir, who are these?" He replied, "They are those who have laid aside their mortal dress and put on the immortal, those who acknowledged the name of God. Now they are being given crowns and palms." And I asked again, "Who is the young man setting crowns on their heads and giving them palms?", and the angel replied, "He is the Son of God, whom they acknowledged in this mortal life." I began to praise those who had stood so valiantly for the Lord's name. Then the angel said to me, "Go and tell my people all the great and wonderful acts of the Lord God that you have seen."

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NRSV)

As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. Let us rid ourselves, then, of everything that gets in the way, and the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and is now seated at the right hand of God's throne.

The saints from the ages stand with us in our witness. Thanks be to God.

Image from Wikipedia

OCTOPI

Finally, a use for that bad plural form of octupus.

From Pharyngula.

Thanks to Paul (A.)

OUR FRIEND IT REPORTS FROM THE SCENE ON THE RALLY TO RESTORE SANITY

Do you see us? Two lesbians under the pink arrow waving! (Photo from CBS, arrow added by IT)

IT at The Friends of Jake posted an eye-witness account from the Stewart/Colbert Rally To Restore Sanity.

We started to realize it would be a Big Thing on the plane, when about 1/3 of the passengers raised their hands when asked who was going to the rally. One woman behind us said friends of hers from New York were on the train and said everyone else on their train was also going. We got to our hotel (in Crystal City, where BP lived about 25 years ago) by 8pm and had a reasonably early night, since we wanted to get to the Mall early in the AM for some sightseeing before the rally. I'll blog later about that.

The same company that estimated 87,000 for the Glenn Beck rally estimated 215,000 for this one.

How wonderful to see sane people in the US highlighted, which almost never happens. For the most part, the BIG Media did not at all understand why the sane amongst us should receive attention. Hey, guys, here it is again from Jon Stewart's closing speech:

"The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen," he said. "Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire. And then, perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected, dangerous ant-fire epidemic."

Jon's first statement is what you are to be about if you do your job properly.

DVD TO ART, BUT DON'T MAKE WAVES

"The Wave" by Lucinda Naylor in collaboration with 2,000 households

From Jesus in Love:

An inclusive sculpture made from anti-gay DVDs was unveiled Friday in Minneapolis.

Artist Lucinda Naylor showed off “The Wave,” which she created out of 2,000 DVDs that were originally sent by the Catholic Church to oppose same-sex marriage.

Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstedt.sent 400,000 of the DVDs to Minnesota Catholics, urging them to seek a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage. Naylor responded by asking people to give her their DVDs for recycling into art with an inclusive theme of hope.

Naylor’s project made waves in the church and led authorities to fire her from her job as artist-in-residence at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis.

And there you have it. If you work for the Roman Catholic Church, you must not make waves, not in art...and perhaps not even in the water? Who can tell us?

Lucinda, your sculpture is wonderful. You laid your job on the line for what you believe in - hope for inclusion. Thank you for standing up for justice and equality.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8)

STORY OF THE DAY

1: trying on new looks because the old
ones take too long in the morning &
everyone just thinks "O, she's wearing
that old thing again" anyway

2: really small mirror so she doesn't
have to take the shock all at once

From StoryPeople.

ALL SAINTS DAY

St. Louie swings with his band and the dancing lady.