JESUS AND MO - DOGMA

Happy New Year, everyone!

Peace and blessings,

J&M

From Jesus and Mo.

OPINION FROM A LURKER

From the comments to my post on Anglicans in England being received into the Roman Catholic Ordinariates:

Dear Grandmere Mimi

I'm usually a lurker, but I think I'll comment on this one.

I was at university in the UK, studying theology, when the whole issue of ordaining women started to become "hot". The truth of the matter is that, historically, the priesthood in the Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox Church has been nothing more than men's club designed to attract and retain an above average percentage of lazy males unwilling to work in the harsh, secular world.

In my time both at university and, much later, when I worked with a man who had left the Anglican Church over the issue and gone on to become ordained in the Orthodox Church, I have heard and read a number of theological arguments for an all-male priesthood, all of which hinge on the essential God-given nature of men and women.

What undermines all of these arguments, as far as I'm concerned, is the one thing that is hardly ever mentioned: the fact that in these churches priests are paid. And, in two of these churches, the Anglican and EO, the priest is also allowed to marry.

The effect of all of this is that a Christian man, but not a Christian woman, can choose to be a paid professional in an institution that is daubed as "Christ's Church".

In any argument and issue, it is always worth asking: who gains, in material terms, from this arrangement? (My emphasis)

As far as going over to Rome is concerned, by no means all stay - even David Virtue has had to admit this.

Jane Smith (Pretoria, South Africa)

Jane's commentary intrigued me so, that I decided to bump up her words to an opinion post.

The men's club label is difficult to dispute. In fact, I won't even try.

While the priesthood (along with the groves of academe) may tend to attract a fair number of lazy men who would have a difficult time making their way in the secular world, I'd estimate a higher percentage than Jane of men who enter the priesthood as idealists who wish to serve God and God's people.

I can't speak with authority about the Church of England or the Orthodox Church, but I've known a good many Roman Catholic priests and Episcopal priests, and I'd say the majority enter as idealists. Sadly, in far too many cases, (but not all!) the institution of the RCC drives good men to ruin or entirely out of the church. Less so in the Episcopal Church, in my experience, but the institution still takes its toll.

I have heard and read a number of theological arguments for an all-male priesthood, all of which hinge on the essential God-given nature of men and women.

Like Jane, I'm not impressed by the theological arguments about the God-given nature of men and women, which conclude that women are, by nature, unsuited to serve as clergy. The essential God-given nature of men and women is to be human. While I do not deny differences between men and women, the differences don't disqualify women to serve as clergy.

In any argument and issue, it is always worth asking: who gains, in material terms, from this arrangement?

The money quote (no pun intended), most certainly! Who benefits from the arrangements? And isn't it the status quo that is most often seen to be in need of protection? Whoever is in power, wants to retain power.

With regard to those who go over to Rome and then decide that they made a mistake, I suggest we leave the door open.

Jane, thanks for your commentary.

UPDATE: From IT in the comments:

I would certainly like to live in the the tidy sinecure of academe that is invoked here. That certainly isn't MY experience, where my research and grant-writing are more than a full time job, which I still have to combine with the other full time job of teaching and institutional administration that pays 9 months of my salary, and of course my national service responsibilities (reviewing, etc) to professional societies, journals, and funding organizations, including grant and paper review, committee service, and far too many plane trips.

I'm sure there are some living cushy lives of privilege, but they aren't in my building.

STRANGE YOUNG COUPLE

Untoward Incident in Lovers' Lane

A Texas DPS Trooper was patrolling late at night off the main highway. He sees a couple in a parked car, with the interior light brightly glowing.

He carefully approaches the car to get a closer look. Then he sees a young man behind the wheel, reading a computer magazine.

He also immediately notices a young woman in the rear seat, filing her fingernails.

Puzzled by this surprising situation, he walks to the car and gently raps on the driver's side window.

The young man lowers his window and mutters, "Uh, yes, Officer?"

The trooper asks: "What are you doing, son?" The young man says, "Well, sir, I'm reading a magazine."

Pointing towards the young woman in the back seat, the trooper says: "And her in the back, what is she doing?"

The young man shrugs. "Sir, I believe she's filing her fingernails."

Now the trooper is totally confused. A young couple, alone in a car at night, in a lover's lane, . . . and nothing improper is happening!

The trooper asks: "What's your age, young man?"

The young man says, "I'm 22, sir."

The trooper continues: "And her . . . what's her age?"

The young man looks at his watch and replies, "She'll be 18 in 11 minutes . . . ."

I know we've encouraged Paul (A.) far too much. Tone your comments down, please.

CHRISTMAS 2010

In the kitchen

That's Grandpère over the stove and my daughter over the sink and two grandsons. Andrew, in the red cap, cooked a tasty noodles and cheese dish. He thinks he may want to be a chef.

Oh, and I forgot little Gino, the Maltese, in front of the refrigerator.

 

The Gang of Five

My 18 year old grandson is not in the photo. And, of course, certain of the gang must be silly when a photograph is being taken.

 

Oyster casserole (for Cathy)

Cathy asked for a picture of my oyster casserole, which is not much to look at but is delicious, if I say so myself. The recipe is for a stuffing for a turkey, but we had prime rib and leg of lamb, instead of turkey, so the dish ended up as a casserole. The dish is tastier when cooked inside a turkey but is still excellent as a casserole. To die for, if I'm honest, and is in great demand in the family, stuffed in the turkey or not.

PLEASE PRAY FOR PAUL THE BB

From Paul:

I have had three root canals in as many months. This Tuesday I will have sinus surgery to drain all the infection and repair a deviated septum at the same time. They will be working in three sinuses on my right side. It is day surgery and Bill will be with me that day and night. The doctor will remove plastic stents when I see him ten days later. So I will be out of commission for the next two weeks. Your prayers are requested and appreciated.

Between this and holidays and too many doctor appointments paychecks have been slim and medical expenses high. I give thanks that I am insured and still employed and think of those who lack work and seek it, those without insurance, those who are homeless. Let us hold them in our hearts also and seek to make our social systems better.

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.

Three root canal surgeries for tooth problems, even as he suffered from sinus problems. Poor baby. Better times await him!

Still Paul doesn't forget those who are less fortunate, so let us join with him to remember them in our prayers.

As a bonus, if you click on the link above to Paul's blog, you will find a delightful picture of his large family of children.

UPDATE: JCF said...

I also have a Problem Tooth, about which "Something Will Sooner-or-Later Have to Be Done": if you can spare any, I'd love some prayers as I discern this...

Of course, we will include you and your Problem Tooth in our prayers, JCF.

A STUTTERER REVIEWS "THE KING'S SPEECH"

Torey Lightcap at The Lead links to the review of "A King's Speech" by the L.A. Times movie critic, Charles McNulty, who also happens to stutter.

Public speaking consistently ranks as one of life's most stressful events, up there with divorce, bereavement and home foreclosure. But there's a look of paralytic terror on the face of the protagonist of "The King's Speech" that goes beyond any working definition of stage fright. As the man who will one day become King George VI prepares to deliver a few ceremonial remarks, his doomed countenance suggests not so much a judgmental audience as a firing squad.

Colin Firth, who portrays "Bertie," the second-born, stammering son of Great Britain's King George V, captures the adrenaline-racing horror of a person obliged to speak when speech itself is an uncertain thing. As someone who has stuttered since childhood, I recognize his symptoms only too well — the blood-drained complexion, the collapsing gait, the passive acceptance of death in the eyes.

Since I have terrible stage fright without a stutter, I can't even imagine what it would be like to face a group of people focused on my words in fear that the words would not come out.

But "The King's Speech" is more than just a movie about stuttering. It dramatizes the difficulty of self-acceptance, the painful ownership of the life you have rather than the one you assumed you'd get. The film is also about finding one's voice, which I like to think of as a style of being that embraces the unique history you've been handed. Finally, it's about the possibility of incremental change, or, as a wise speech therapist once put it to me, "learning to stutter more easily," an approach that has had far more widespread application than I could have ever realized at the time.

Ah yes. The movie is profound in ways that had not yet surfaced in my conscious mind. What a splendid review of a splendid movie! Please read it all.

Thanks to Torey also for the link to the video of the actual speech by King George VI, which you may hear in the video below.




H.M. King George VI, broadcast speech to the British Empire from Buckingham Palace on September 3rd, 1939...at the outbreak of WW2.

DOUG'S NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO US ALL

OH DEAR!

THE FORECAST (CALLS FOR PAIN)

Not, I hope, the forecast for the year 2011.

H/T to Adrastos at First Draft.

PLEASE PRAY FOR FRANK AND CAROL

From David@Montreal

cherished Giants:

I've just had a call from Carol, the heroic wife of my very dear cousin Frank who, as you'll remember has been putting up a heroic fight against lukemia and the compications it brings.

unfortunately Frank and Carol have had a pretty horrendous holiday season. the original plan to admit him before Christmas was abandoned when the hospital found themselves with some pretty serious viral outbreaks and Frank was sent home for his own protection. since then, they've been treating him daily as an outpatient with Carol having to drive to and from Whitrock BC to Vancouver each day and eight hours in the hospital, seven on seven.

in addition to the rapidly depleting white blood cell/platlets, the primary foe of the moment is an aspergillis fungal infection in his lungs.
with no spleen and a non-existent immuse system as his body still recovers from his second genetic transplant on Sept 22, the hospital is throwing everything they have at the fungus without success so far.

with a two hour drive each way, eight hours in the hospital each day, a recent fall by Frank and a nurse who inappropriately suggested it might be time for them to give up, Carol was really quite raw when she phoned,but before she had to go we were able to discuss getting some psycho-pastoral support for her and some practical help at home. working my computer while we spoke I even managed to find a Roman Catholic priest in hospital chaplaincy who it turns she knows slightly and she has promised to contact him for resources.

unable in my own financially precarious state to call her back, my heart knows that more than a call from me what my cousins need are prayers, and I couldn't ask for better than you my beloved Giants of prayer & practice

David

For Frank:

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

For Carol:

O merciful Father, look with compassion upon your servant, Carol, for whom our prayers are offered. Remember her, O Lord, in mercy, nourish her soul with patience, comfort her with a sense of your goodness, lift up your countenance upon her, and give her peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HAITI - ONE YEAR LATER - ERD

Since the bulk of my financial support for recovery from the earthquake in Haiti goes through Episcopal Relief and Development, I was pleased to see that Nicholas Knisely at The Lead posted a link to the Episcopal Relief and Development Report on the work that has been done in the country during the past year through donations to Haitian relief.

Click on the images for the larger view.






The full report is here. ERD operates with very low overhead, with the greater part of the donations going to the people who need help.

Make a donation at Episcopal Relief and Development.

Update from Ann in the comments:

ER-D also hires local workers and buys supplies locally whenever possible - building the economy while helping with recovery.

Thanks, Ann.