KATO'S FUNERAL

Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, who has been excommunicated from the Anglican Church of Uganda because of his support for LGBT rights, presides at the graveside service.

H/T to John Chilton at The Lead.

I'M SENDING YOU AWAY...

...to read four sermons:

"A response to the murder of David Kato" by Stephen Neill at Paddy Anglican

Thoughts for a sermon, 4 Epiphany, by Ann Fontaine at What the Tide Brings In

A sermon at St. Mary Magdalene by Neal at Conscientisation

A sermon by it's margaret at Leave It Lay Where Jesus Flang It

You say that's too many? I read them all today and tonight to my edification. Come on now. If I can do it, you can do it.

PLEASE VOTE FOR MATT'S TREES EVERY DAY

Thank you.

MEET ROXIE THE CAT

Roxie is Frank's new companion. You may remember that Frank, my brother-in-law, said good-bye to his dog, Zoe, in December and his cat, Maddie, last October.

Frank says:

Don't know if I mentioned it before - but I now have a new pet - Roxie. She was a stray hanging out behind the police station for the past six months - and they convinced me to adopt her - now that Zoe is gone. She was named by one of the female officers. She now has a repertoire of four tricks - all performed without benefit of commands - sleep, eat, poop and pee. She is extremely proficient at all four - especially the sleeping - during the day on my desk, at night on an upholstered chair in the living room.

Frank

Frank will be rejuvenated by Roxie's presence, especially as he is guaranteed his quota of daily exercise feeding Roxie and keeping her litter box clean.

SAVING THE WORLD

i meant to save the world today.....then i saw something sparkly.....................

Sigh...

Me too.

Thanks to Ann.

JESUS AND MO - POLL

Click on the strip for the larger view.

Author posted a poem, too, which you can read over there.

From Jesus and Mo.

MIND THE GPS INSTRUCTIONS

From the heraldsun.com:

An ELDERLY British couple is recovering today after a faulty GPS system led them to crash into a 19th-century German church, causing $37,000 worth of damage.

The couple, who cannot be named under German data protection laws, were traveling Friday from Austria to France guided by their GPS system. The 76-year-old husband, who was driving, followed instructions to "turn right" but ended up hitting the chapel near Freundpolz, Bavaria.

The man and his 78-year-old wife were taken to the hospital suffering from shock and bruises, before returning by train to Britain.
....

Karl-Heinz Krueger, a passing motorist, told a local radio station, "The old man was more confused than the woman. He kept saying, It's the machine - it told me to turn this way, but I suddenly ran out of road."

This story is NOT funny. Do NOT laugh.

I confess I laughed, but it's not my fault. It's Andrew Gern's fault for posting the link at The Lead.

I pray for quick healing for the couple's shock and bruises.

PLEASE PRAY...

From David@Montreal Ore

beloved Giants

i'd ask your prayers please for my cherished cousin Frank out in Brittish Columbia struggling with the effects of his long fight with lukemia.

dear Mam received a call from Carol this afternoon, and in the process also got to speak to Frank for a very short while.

able to control the spread of the fungus in his lungs, but unable to beat it with his immune system so seriously compromised by the most recent gene therapy transfer, they have sent him home from the hospital. not fully mobile, my cousin is a robust fellow and Carol is going to have to get help for handling him.apparently he spends much of the time sleeping at present.

as he is still intubated there will be medical staff going in daily to maintain it, and Frank will be returning to the hospital weekly for as long as he is able.

so i'd ask your prayers for both Frank and Carol, knowing that through the unfailing grace of that 'Love beyond our wildest imagining' they will be given what they need.

i'd also ask your prayer for dear Mam, his godmother, who at eighty-nine is finding it challenging, the possibility that her beloved godson/nephew could be dying before her.

in other quarters, i'd ask your prayers for the people of Tunisia, Egypt and Sanaa; that they indeed are able to claim that 'life more abundantly'. prayers particularly please for our Coptic brothers and sisters in Egypt- for their protection and safety. prayers please for the repose of David Kato, the gay Ugandan martyr, and for our LGBT brothers and sisters at risk wherever they might be.

prayers for the Great +Katherine and her brother primates in Dublin. prayers for Gabby and Mark and for all those struggling to heal in Tucson.

thank-you beloveds

love always-always Love

Lord, hear our prayers.

STORY OF THE DAY - STRETCHING OUT

I've been doing these Chinese stretches
that are supposed to make you live
longer, he told me. I just hope I'm not
this sore the whole time.

From StoryPeople.

MORE ON DAVID KATO'S FUNERAL

THE REV. CANON ALBERT OGLE - PRESIDENT OF ST. PAUL’S FOUNDATION FOR INTERNATIONAL RECONCILIATION in SDGLN.com:

Ten miles from a Ugandan blood-stained home, 300 friends, fellow activists from the LGBT community, his mourning mother and family joined foreign dignitaries and embassy staff to pay their respects to David Kato.

Since Kato was an Anglican, the local parish church of Nagojje was responsible for his funeral rites to be read from the Book of Common Prayer. Although tributes have been pouring into the Kato family from President Barack Obama and other international leaders, the Church of Uganda sent no priest, no bishop, but a Lay Reader to conduct the service.

Bishop Christopher Senyonjo arrived in his purple cassock accompanied by his wife Mary and let the master of ceremonies know he would like to say a few words at some point in the service. He was going to read a message from Frank Mughisu of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) where David worked tirelessly since 2004.

As an excommunicated bishop of the Church of Uganda, Christopher has no standing in the official hierarchy of the church. The Lay Reader began to make inappropriate remarks condemning homosexuality quite graphically and stating the Church of Uganda’s position that homosexuality was a sin and against the Bible.

All this in the presence of Kato's grieving mother and family.

Read on about the Anglican Lay Reader's anti-gay rant and the crowd cheering him on, as the funeral service turned into an anti-gay rally, followed by what Canon Ogle calls a Stonewall moment, when a young lesbian woman, Kasha, took over the microphone from the Lay Reader, and the voices of the friends and supporters of Kato began to be heard.

The Church of Uganda, a member of the Anglican family of churches to which I belong, took a pastoral opportunity for healing and reconciliation with family members and LGBT people and allies and turned the event into an anti-gay political rally. Following this horrific incident with the Lay Reader who condemned the LGBT community, Bishop Christopher, as a bishop of the church and wearing his purple cassock, walked behind the coffin carried by David’s friends and family to the graveside. There, although he was disinvited by the Church to speak at the funeral, he found a way to bring words of comfort to the mourners and said the final blessing over David’s battered remains.

In this one sad occasion, we can see there are two churches in Uganda and indeed elsewhere. The bishop was horrified by what he witnessed from his fellow Christians. Yet, it was good that Christopher was there. He told me he was honored to be there and though was not welcomed to speak to the whole assembly, had the final word of love and peace for David. May he rest in peace.

Sadly, a member of the Anglican family of churches to which I belong.

Lord have mercy!

Thanks be to God that the courageous Bishop Christopher spoke the final words of blessing for David Kato.

May God protect Bishop Christopher from all harm.

Thanks to Ann for the link.