FOR ALL THE SNOWBOUND

Newcastle Upon Tyne? MadPriest's house?

"The Snowstorm"
by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.
The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.

Come see the north wind's masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly,
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn;
Fills up the farmer's lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer's sighs; and at the gate
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,
Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work,
The frolic architecture of snow.

The snow is pretty to look at when it's fresh and new, but I'd rather see the white stuff in pictures than around here.

The photo doesn't match the poem, because the picture shows the city, but it will do. You get the drift.

H/T to The Writer's Almanac, Nov. 30, 2010.

IT'S A GIRL - AGAIN!

From Episcopal News Service:

The Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado Del Carpio was installed as bishop of the Episcopal Church of Cuba during a Nov. 28 ceremony at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana.

Among those attending the ceremony were Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Archbishop Fred Hiltz of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Delgado, 55, was consecrated as bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Church of Cuba on Feb. 7 and has since worked with Bishop Miguel Tamayo of the Anglican Church of Uruguay as he completed his six-year tenure as Cuba's interim bishop. With Tamayo's retirement, Delgado becomes Cuba's diocesan bishop and the first woman to serve in that role.

Blessings and congratulations to Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio!

And good on our Bishop Katharine and Archbishop Fred Hiltz of the ACofC for being there. I'll wager that the Presiding Bishop was permitted to wear her mitre.

FEAST OF ST ANDREW THE APOSTLE

St Andrew - Artus WOLFFORT - Private collection

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-20)

According to the Gospel of John, (Jn 1:35-42) Andrew was one of the two first apostles to follow Jesus, and later he brought his brother Simon, who became Peter, to Jesus.

I ask your prayers for my grandson, Andrew, who started in a new school today. Pray that he will adjust and do well. Pray also for his parents, who are a bit anxious, and that the school situation works to the advantage of all. I was not going to ask for prayers for Andrew publicly, but that he starts in the new school on St Andrew's Feast Day seemed a sign that I should. And when I found a painting of St Andrew with a book, it seemed to me a double sign. Below is a photo of Andrew from a good many years ago. He is now 14 years old.




PRAYER

Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give unto us, who are called by your Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us, especially our saint's namesake, Andrew, into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

This week, Wounded Bird seems to have turned into blog-on-family-week.

Painting from the Web Gallery of Art.

STATEMENT FROM THE NO ANGLICAN COVENANT COALITION

No Anglican Covenant Coalition
Anglicans for Comprehensive Unity
noanglicancovenant.org
30 NOVEMBER 2010

Observations on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Presidential Address and the Anglican Covenant Debate in the Church of England General Synod, November 2010

In his Presidential Address on 23 November 2010, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams presented a message of fear and gloom to the Church of England General Synod. He suggested that, if the Synod did not accept the Anglican Covenant, we could witness the “piece-by-piece dissolution of the Communion.” The “risk and reality of such rupture [of some aspects of communion] is already there, make no mistake,” he said. “Historic allegiances cannot be taken for granted.” If we try to carry on as usual, he warned, there is a danger of creating “new structures in which relation to the Church of England and the See of Canterbury are likely not to figure significantly.”

The Archbishop’s message was clear—be afraid of rejecting the Covenant. It is the only lifeboat in the troubled sea of Anglicanism, and doing nothing or being idealistic is not an option. It is particularly ironic that Dr. Williams painted a picture of a frightening Anglican dystopia should the Covenant fail, as he and other supporters of the Covenant have been quick to accuse Covenant sceptics of “scaremongering.” It is also surprising, both in this speech and in the subsequent debate, that concerns were raised about the decline of the role of the Church of England, as well as references to its being “the mother church” that needs to set an example, whereas Covenant sceptics have been accused of being “Little Englanders.”

The interpretation that most people put on the speech was that Dr. Williams saw the Covenant as the only way to keep the GAFCON Primates and their allies in the Anglican Communion. Ironically, even as the 24 November debate on the Covenant was going on, GAFCON issued its “Oxford Statement,” which rejected the Covenant as being “fatally flawed” and insisted on the more conservative Jerusalem Statement as the foundation of international Anglicanism.

The Archbishop asserted that the Covenant is not “a tool of exclusion and tyranny.” “To say yes to the Covenant is not to tie our hands,” he insisted. It is difficult to see, however, how a document that, in the words of the Windsor Report, is to “make explicit and forceful the loyalty and bonds of affection which govern the relationships between the churches of the Communion” is not coercive, and it is likewise difficult to see how enforcing “relational consequences” on a church that might take a “controversial action” is not a punishment. Bishop John Saxbee, Bishop of Lincoln, put it like this:

Anglicanism has been described as a fellowship of civilised disagreement. Well I leave you to judge whether a two-tier Communion with first and second division members answers to that description of civilised disagreement. It frankly feels like we will be sending sincere and faithful Anglicans to stand in the corner until they have seen the error of their ways and can return to the ranks of the pure and spotless.

The Archbishop spoke of loyalty and catholicity. Apparently, he thinks that belief and practice should be uniform across the Communion. Otherwise, the Church—he consistently speaks of the Anglican Church—is disordered, and if the Church is disordered, then the faith is disordered and the mission of the Church is compromised. If necessary, personal convictions need to be sacrificed for the greater good of the Church, and those who refuse are disloyal. In reality, of course, there are only Anglican churches, and many, unlike Dr. Williams, do not want to create a worldwide Anglican Church.

Uniformity will be facilitated by affording the Standing Committee greater powers. This is a group of fifteen people who will act as judge and jury when conflicts arise. Section 4.2.4 of the Covenant states:

The Standing Committee shall make every effort to facilitate agreement, and may take advice from such bodies as it deems appropriate to determine a view on the nature of the matter at question and those relational consequences which may result.

During the debate, lawyer Jacky Humphreys confirmed this, saying, “It’s a very gentle way of saying it, but it is a determination of the issue; that is, a judicial decision.”

Although Dr. Williams says that the tendency of the last hundred years has been to centralise, increasing the number of “Instruments of Communion,” the No Anglican Covenant Coalition sees this increasing centralisation as a radical departure for Anglicanism. The Lambeth Conference and Primates’ Meeting have been instituted to discuss and share ideas, not to impose a single view on the whole Communion. The Covenant speaks of the Provinces as being family members, and this is perhaps an apt metaphor. However, Dr. Miranda Threlfall-Holmes spoke about the misuse of this term in the document:

As a University Chaplain I see, all too often, the emotional damage done when a family puts conditions on their love, on their support and on the continuation of relationships. “Relational consequences” sounds very chilling indeed. We are told that the Covenant sets out the framework for family relationships. But what sort of family lives by a covenant, with “relational consequences” for breaches of the rules?

During the debate, the vote on the Covenant became a vote of confidence in the Archbishop of Canterbury. Thus was the integrity of the synodical process compromised, with speeches that centred not on the document that was being considered, but on how Dr. Williams needed support and how he knew better than the Synod what would be good for the Anglican Communion. This was consistent with Dr. Williams’ Presidential Address, with its assertion that the Covenant “represents work done by theologians of similarly diverse views,” as though theologians also know what is better for the Communion than do members of the General Synod.

Those who spoke against the Covenant were assured that General Synod members were not agreeing to accept the Covenant, but merely allowing the process of discussion to continue in the dioceses. By voting yes, they could at once be loyal to Dr. Williams while retaining serious reservations about the wisdom of the Covenant in its current form.

The idea of an Anglican Covenant was always a means to placate those in the Anglican Communion who were upset by the “controversial” actions of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. The Oxford Statement makes it clear, however, that that faction of the Communion will never be satisfied with unity without uniformity. Its insistence on the Jerusalem Declaration is proof that not even the first three sections of the Anglican Covenant are acceptable. It is obvious that the Fellowship of Confessing Anglican created by the GAFCON movement is intended as a separate, “pure” Anglican Communion that will include churches, such as the Anglican Church in North America, that are not part of the present Communion.

In these circumstances, the churches that subscribe to a more traditional view of Anglicanism than the Anglican vision asserted by GAFCON should abandon the Covenant, which can only divide them, and re-establish the Anglican Communion as a tolerant fellowship of autonomous national and regional churches.

Check out the No Anglican Covenant website for its wealth of information and resources. As discussions begin in the dioceses in the Church of England and around the world on the Anglican Covenant and here in the dioceses in the Episcopal Church in the US in advance of the consideration of the covenant at General Convention 2012, the material at the NACC site will be quite helpful for those of us who are opposed to the covenant to make our case.

"ADORABUHLS"

From the Leader-Post:

Two one-month-old lion cubs cuddle with each other and their mother in their enclosure at a Bulgarian zoo on Nov. 22.

A Lion cub gets a kiss from mother Stefani at the zoo in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Nov. 22. The twin lion cubs were born in captivity at the zoo a month ago.


Lion cubs wobble into each other on Nov. 22 while their mother Stefani watches on at the zoo in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The twin lion cubs were born in captivity at the zoo a month ago.


One-month-old lion cubs play in their enclosure at Sofia Zoo in Sofia on Nov. 22. The cubs were born last month in the zoo.

Thanks to Cathy for the link and for the title to the post.

"JTB X 3"

Click on the picture for a larger view and to read the text.

Our eldest grandson is in his first semester at Louisiana State University. He is the third Joseph Thomas Butler in the family to attend the university. We jinxed Joey's dad by not naming him Joseph Thomas Butler, and he went elsewhere to college. At the time our two sons were born, we thought "The Third" was somewhat of a heavy burden to lay on a baby boy, so we did not continue the tradition. Besides, we were in a daze, since one baby followed so quickly upon another. I can't think how that happened. Our son Tim and his wife returned to the tradition when they named our firstborn grandson, and Joey, according to tradition, now attends LSU.

Above you see a picture of Joe, my father-in-law, Tom, my husband, and Joey, my grandson. I love the title chosen by the author, Jackie Barkiewicz, who went to great pains to get the information in the article right. And I want you to know that Tom went for a formal sitting with a professional photographer, since my photos were not flattering enough to suit him.

Since Joey plans on nothing less than a doctoral degree in psychology, he will be a student for years into the future, far too distant in time to fix his old grandmother's mental state.

From the LSU Alumni Magazine. The most recent issue is not yet online.

SHEPHERD IN A MANGER

Nativity Scene was erected in a church yard.

During the night the folks came across this scene.

An abandoned dog was looking for a comfortable, protected place to sleep. He chose baby Jesus as his comfort. No one had the heart to send him away so he was there all night.

We should all have the good sense of this dog and curl up in Jesus' lap from time to time.

This is too sweet not to share.

No one mentioned that the dog breed is a "shepherd!"

Indeed, too sweet not to share.

Thanks to Ann.

OH NO! NOT AGAIN! PRAY FOR PAUL THE BB

That big lovable bear, Paul the BB, has a swollen jaw and a toothache now. Paul says he looks like a gopher, but we all know him as the Big Bear. What could I do but make another cartoon and ask for prayers? Poor baby is moaning over at Facebook.

Seriously, please pray for Paul to be relieved of his pain. You know a toothache is no fun.

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

PS: The BB appears to be smiling throught his pain, but what you see is not a smile, but a grimace. The two sometimes look alike.

UPDATE: From Paul in the comments:

Update for you all: the endodontist said he cannot do a root canal until the swelling goes down. I trust him, especially after he said the anesthetic will not work in my current condition. A very convincing argument. He doubled the dose of the antibiotic, switched me to non-drowsy, non-narcotic analgesics (hooray) and we will wait a week. Scheduled root canal is next Monday. I can work the rest of this week but am going to spend today resting.

Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes, folks.

We'll keep praying, luv.

"-ANOTHER OCCASION FOR SILK AND GRANDEUR"

From the Cole Moreton in the Guardian:

This week, and with it the Queen's visit to the General Synod, has been a chance for high-ranking Anglicans to imagine they still matter. And they have another thrill to come, playing host to the biggest royal wedding in a generation – another occasion for silk and grandeur.

But look beyond the pomp and what you actually see is a group of men clinging to the royal skirts while their institution falls to pieces. This really is the endgame for the Church of England as we know it. I don't mean the break-up of the worldwide Anglican Communion, although that too seems likely. African leaders have refused to sign up to a new covenant that was meant to prevent a cataclysmic split over homosexuality..

Ouch! I was going to comment further, and, in fact, I typed the words, but it is the First Sunday of Advent, and I want to try to keep to the spirit of the beginning of the season to make swords into ploughshares, even verbal swords, so I'll say no more.

Moreton's entire column is worth reading. In the end, he says:

However, there may yet be salvation of the Church of England in the "Big Society": if it can accept that it no longer deserves special privileges but is just another group of believers doing their best.
....

But most of all, if the bishops put away the gilded robes at last – and finally end their long love affair with royalty, with power and with pomp.

And no more need be said, except I agree.

Thanks to Cathy for the link.