"GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS NEWSFLASH"

A brief background to the story: a week or so ago, my friend Cathy, with whom I traveled in Scotland in August, asked me to pray about her problems with her downstairs neighbors, who were extremely noisy and greatly disturbed her peace. Today, I received the following email from Cathy:

Mimi, I'm so so relieved and excited, I can't begin to tell you - a guy turned up at the door about an hour ago and rang the doorbell - I went and answered it. He said he was there to do a forced inspection of the downstairs flat. I left him to it and he went in with keys. One of the two guys who lives downstairs was there and I could hear them talking. About half an hour he came out again and went to his car. I ran down and said "Where are you from?" He was from the estate agents' who let the downstairs flat on behalf of the landlord. I said the people downstairs had been hellishly noisy for ages and I had been complaining to everyone who I could complain to. He said he was sorry to hear that "but you don't need to worry any longer because they'll be out by next Wednesday". YES!!!!!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!! He said he thought it was rent arrears, though they might also just be moving, because the tenant had a new flat in Chelmsford. I said "is that definite?" He said "Yes." He said, get this, "Your prayers have been answered! Have a wonderful day!" He drove away grinning at me. I cut loose and did a little dance in the street. I actually think that guy may have been an angel. (He was very good-lookin' too BTW.)

My prayers have indeed been answered, and yours (and those of others who I asked to pray for the same). Hallelujah!!!

Can you please post something about this on your blog? ... I am going to CC it to Jonathan because I would also like it posted there, if okay Jonathan, just as a way of saying: Thanks be to God! They have made my life miserable for a year with their constant, torturous racket, which has never let up - the TV or awful, intrusive music or a really loud, annoying computer game was always on or they were talking in loud, crass voices or banging doors. It made it so hard to pray quietly or get on with any writing or play music or do anything that needed thought. Plus I am almost certain they were dealing in drugs, which I really don't want to share a building with. There was something on the petty criminal level going on, that's for certain. It has been torturous, honestly - there has been no letup. And now they're gone! I have begged God day in day out for the situation to be solved and for solitude and peace and quiet and the answer was a great big fat Yes! (I've also prayed for the two of them, BTW, and asked God to bless them and look after them and grant them grace, etc.)

Plus I've now got contact details for the letting agent so I can at least ask them to let the flat to someone quiet and responsible who lives on their own, which they will hopefully do. Oh the joy!!!!!

See, there is hope Jonathan - these things move slowly but they move :-) Hurrah!

xx cathy

Cathy adds further:

After the guy left I had the impulse to go to my allotment to check on the bird feeders. I got in my car and Classic FM was blasting out Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, the first movement, and if God had laid on a heavenly orchestra with Beethoven himself conducting it could not have been more expressive of my mood.

Hurrah!

xx cathy

Hallelujah!!! Thanks be to God!

STORY OF THE DAY

seems to be digging a really deep hole
for himself, but, really, he doesn't like to
get dirty, so he'll probably stop & clean it
all up pretty soon now

From StoryPeople.

FOR YOUR DAUGHTERS AND GRANDDAUGHTERS FOR XMAS

Thanks to Ann.

PLEASE PRAY FOR LAUREN

Lauren moved recently and says:

Folks, I am having a 2nd cataract surgery on Monday Nov. 15. Prayers would be appreciated.

I really don't have a parish community yet so I need the prayers of the faithful.

Strengthen your servant Lauren, O God, to do what she has to do and bear what she has to bear; that, accepting your healing gifts through the skill of surgeons and nurses, she may be restored to usefulness in your world with a thankful heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ONLY ONE WORRY

Rabbi Mordecai of Lekovitz said:

"We must not worry. Only one worry is permissable: a man should worry about nothing but worry."

From Tales of the Hasidim by Martin Buber.

"CAN TWO WALK TOGETHER EXCEPT THEY BE AGREED?"

From Jonathan Jennings in the comments to Bishop Alan's post titled, Right solution, wrong problem?:

The prophet Amos asks "can two walk together except they be agreed."

Yes they can. I have always held that pilgrims bound for different destinations may still, for a time, share the same road.

Some 25 years ago I found myself on a mountain with a young man with, to my ears, completely unformed political views. We argued for about three hours whilst journeying half way towards the summit. When we got to our lunch stop, my rucksack was found to contain no lunch. Although our views were becoming more divergent he instantly broke his sandwiches in half and we shared them and then his soup and chocolate, before starting our descent, arguing the whole time.

We parted that evening, still unreconciled but having shared a day, a lunch and an incredible mountain.

I have long treasured the memory of that day, made more poignant as he, sadly, was killed on that mountain about three weeks later on an expedition that I had at one stage been due to join.

I have no difficulty with the idea that we might journey and break bread with those whose views we find repellent.

What a lovely story! How pertinent to our present discussion of the Anglican Covenant. Jonathan's commentary presents an alternate perspective to that of the Anglicans who refuse to share the table with "sinner" provinces, neither the table of the Lord, nor even the table to meet and speak with one another.

Bishop Alan's post and the entire, lengthy discussion in the comments is well worth reading.

THE HEARTBREAKING STORY OF CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ

From the Guardian:

When George W Bush sent the US into Iraq in 2003, he believed he would be replacing Saddam Hussein with a peaceful, pro-American Arab democracy that would naturally look to the Christian west for support. In reality, seven years on, it appears that he has instead created a highly radicalised pro-Iranian sectarian killing field, where most of the Iraqi Christian minority has been forced to flee abroad.

This week saw new levels of violence directed at Iraq's Christians. Eight days after the attack on Baghdad's main Catholic church that left more than 50 worshippers dead, militants detonated more than 14 bombs in Christian suburbs, killing at least four and wounding about 30. Since then the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), an al-Qaida front, has warned of a new wave of attacks on Christians "wherever they can be reached … We will open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood."
....

The Christian community in Iraq is one of the oldest in the world: according to tradition it was St Thomas and his cousin Addai who first brought Christianity to Mesopotamia, soon after the crucifixion. At the council of Nicea, where the words of the creed were thrashed out in 325AD, there were more bishops from Mesopotamia than from western Europe.

From Christians of Iraq:

According to UN statistics, 1.5 million Christians of different sects were living in Baghdad before the American invasion. “The majority of Christians left Iraq because of religious persecution by extremists,” Joe Obayda, an Iraqi ex-pat living in England told The Media Line.

“Today there are less than 500,000 Christians left in Iraq.” Obayda is a member of the executive council of Iraqi Christians In Need (ICIN), a British charity set up in May 2007 to address the influx of Christians leaving Iraq. He said that his charity helped both Christian Iraqi refugees in neighboring Arab countries and internally displaced Christians in Iraq. Obayda said that his cousin was forced to flee Iraq after militants tried to forcefully convert his daughters to Islam and demanded money from him.

He added that the United States was partially to blame for the plight of Iraqi Christians. “The Americans did not foresee the problems that would occur [as a result of the invasion], even though they should have,” he said. “Now that the Americans have left Iraq, the Christians will become a greater target than they already are.”

France, the country decried by the pope for its secularism, is welcoming Christians wounded in the recent attacks, according to John Chilton at The Lead:

The Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon, president and co-founder of AEMO, and bishop-in-charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, expressed his thanks for the rapid response of the French government in this case. "In offering refuge to the victims of this latest assault, we are making more than a gesture. We are also protesting this egregious violence inflicted on fragile religious minorities in Iraq, and indeed, throughout the Middle East," he said.

Secular Italy has also begun to admit wounded Iraqi Christians into their country. Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani, in northern Iraq, "...wants to make clear that the Chaldean Catholics are welcome in the northern part of the nation, and says he welcomes Chaldean families with open arms."

I Googled, "US welcomes/admits Iraqi Christians" and found nothing, but perhaps I missed the stories. George Bush & Co., what about the plight of the Christians in Iraq? Any comments? Any regrets for the unintended consequences for Christians in Iraq?

President Obama, when will we hear from you about actions to help and support Iraqi Christians beyond deploring the suffering and death they have already endured?

H/T to DP at The World of Doorman-Priest for prodding me to address this tragic story.

BORSHT BELT JOKES

Many comedians began their careers as stand-up comedians in the NY Catskill's. Their appearance was usually loaded with one-liners. And there was never one single swear word in their comedy. Here are a few examples:

I just got back from a pleasure trip. I took my mother-in-law to the airport.

I've been in love with the same woman for 49 years! If my wife ever finds out, she'll kill me!

What are three words a woman never wants to hear when she's making love? "Honey, I'm home!"

Someone stole all my credit cards but I won't be reporting it. The thief spends less than my wife did.

The Doctor gave a man six months to live. The man couldn't pay his bill so the doctor gave him another six months.

The Doctor called Mrs. Cohen saying, "Mrs. Cohen, your check came back." Mrs. Cohen answered, "So did my arthritis!"

Doctor: "You'll live to be 60!" Patient: "I am 60!" Doctor: "See! What did I tell you?"

Patient: "I have a ringing in my ears." Doctor: "Don't answer!"

The Harvard School of Medicine did a study of why Jewish women like Chinese food so much. The study revealed that this is due to the fact that Won Ton spelled backward is Not Now.

Q: Why don't Jewish mothers drink?
A: Alcohol interferes with their suffering.

That's all for now. More to come.

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

PHOTOS OF ST. MATTHEW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN HOUMA, LA, AFTER FIRE

Watch the slide show at WDSU.

Historic Church Destroyed In Morning Fire - Photos - WDSU New Orleans

Almighty God, we give thanks for the gift to the parishioners of St. Matthew's of many years of fellowship and worship in their beautiful church building. We ask you to give your people comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding as they grieve the loss of their building. May the people of St. Matthew's remain bound together in love and obedience to you, ever mindful that a church is the gathering of its people to give you praise, honor, and glory. Give them strength and courage to continue in worship and fellowship, as they move forward to rebuild their building. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

TONY HAYWARD - NOT OUR IDOL

From the Guardian:

The former boss of BP admitted last night that the oil giant had been completely unprepared for the Gulf of Mexico accident that nearly sank it financially.

When the crisis hit, BP was forced to make up its oil spill disaster response as it went along, something that made it look "fumbling" and "incompetent" in the eyes of the public, said Tony Hayward.

"Embarrassingly we found ourselves having to improvise on prime-time TV and slap bang in the middle of the glare of the global media.

"Our efforts involved amazing feats of engineering – tasks completed in days that would normally take months, numerous major innovations with lasting benefits.

"But because every move was scrutinised around the world, what the public thought they saw was fumbling and incompetence."

No! You made it up as you went along? Really?

But BP was not the only company at risk from such an event, he added. "The whole industry had been lulled into a sense of false security after 20 years of drilling in deep water without a serious accident, till now," said Hayward, in criticism which will be challenged by oil rivals who have tried to distance themselves from the behaviour of the British oil group.

The other oil companies did it, too?

"For me perhaps the most shattering reflection was just how much havoc can be wreaked by a single accident in one small part of a giant company's operations — an accident moreover that all our corporate deliberations had told us simply could not happen," he said. "For BP this was the ultimate low-probability, high-impact event – a black swan to borrow a term used in the financial crisis."

And now we all know that the impossible happens.

Our federal agencies, especially the Minerals Management Service, are not off the hook. The MMS allowed the oil companies to write the regulations for the service which was established to regulate the oil companies. And the service did not follow up with sufficient inspections to see if the companies followed the rules that they had written.

He told the BBC in a documentary screened on Tuesday night that he would have needed to study drama at RADA rather than geology at Edinburgh University if he had wanted to perform better in front of a hostile US public.

Heh, heh.

Which public would that be? Mainly the public who live on or near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. True, Tony, you are not our Gulf Coast Idol.

Thanks to Cathy for the link.