JUNE TABOR - "THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA"

Today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday. His 2nd Inaugural Address, which I posted earlier, reminded me of the bloody Civil War, and then June Tabor's song about The Bloody Great War, which was to end all wars, played on my iTunes DJ, which, in turn, reminded me that we are still involved in two bloody wars. And as I type, I hear Joan Baez and Bob Dylan singing "With God on Our Side".

ABRAHAM LINCOLN - 2ND INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Fellow-Countrymen:

AT this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

THE REV. GEORGE D. YOUNG,III, ELECTED 4TH BISHOP OF EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF EAST TENNESSEE

The Rev. George D. Young, III, was elected on Saturday, Feb. 12 as fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee, pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church.

Young, 55, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Fernandina Beach, Florida, was elected on the eighth ballot out of a field of five nominees. He received 107 votes of 142 cast in the lay order and 59 of 84 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 95 in the lay order and 56 in the clergy order.

Young asked the the Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg to convey his excitement about the future and said that he is looking forward to being with us the in our future ministry in East Tennessee.

From the diocesan website.

Blessings and congratulations to the new bishop-elect!

Here's the link to the biography of the new bishop-elect. Scroll down to page 14 to begin reading.

What would you want your legacy to be?

I have recently been reading a book titled “Integrity,” and the author (Henry Cloud) uses the concept of “the wake,” describing the image seen from the aft deck of a ship traveling across the ocean. As one moves through the life of an organization, one leaves behind a wake, which has two sides – the task and the relationships. What did we accomplish as we moved through this life, and were we successful? And what was the quality of the relationships? How did we treat people, and how were they able to grow because we moved through their life?

A "Scattin' Preacher Man" as bishop? What's not to like? Well, I'm a native New Orleanian, you know, so I am prejudiced.

PRAY FOR THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF EAST TENNESSEE

At this time the diocese is voting to elect their new bishop. You can following the voting at the diocesan website. The electors completed the 5th ballot with no candidate yet having sufficient votes.

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for the Diocese of East Tennessee, that they may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for the people and equip them for their ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MAXINE FOR THE SNOWBIRD WANNA-BE

UPDATE: Oh my goodness! I forgot to give credit to Doug.

"FAR SIDE BANKS OF JORDAN" - CASH AND CARTER

iTECHNOLOGY

It all began with an iPhone..

March was when my son celebrated his 15th birthday and I got him an iPhone. He just loved it. Who wouldn't?



I celebrated my birthday in July and my wife made me very happy when she bought me an iPad.



My daughter's birthday was in August so I got her an iPod Touch.



September came by so for my wife’s birthday I bought her an iRon.



It was around then that the fight started...

What my wife failed to recognize is that the iRon can be integrated into the home network with the iWash, iCook and iClean. This unfortunately activated the iNag app.

Which led me to the iHospital, and iGet out Thursday.

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

GOOD NEWS - THE MORAVIAN CHURCH AND THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN FULL COMMUNION

From Andrew Gerns at The Lead:

Last night the inaugural service celebrating full communion between the Episcopal Church and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church in North America was held at at Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori joined the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Miller and the Rev. David Guthrie, the presidents of the two Moravian Provincial Elders' Conferences celebrated.

Good news, indeed, of God's people coming together.

The Reconciliation of Episcopal Ministries took place in this way: the Episcopal Bishops present faced the Unitas Fratum bishops. The Moravian bishops knelt and received laying on of hands and the "Right Hand of Fellowship" from the Episcopal Bishops. After that, the Episcopal Bishops knelt before their counterparts, and then received the laying on of hands and "Right Hand of Fellowship" from the Unitas Fratrum Bishops.

It's been a long, long time, but the reunion demonstrates that Christians should not give up hope of coming together even after a lengthy period of separation.

In an e-mail to the people of the Diocese of Bethlehem, Bishop Paul Marshall wrote:

In the 1780s, the Episcopal Church's leadership chose not to receive episcopal orders at the hands of Moravians, so our kneeling before each other tonight for the laying-on of hands and the right hand of fellowship was more than symbolic--it was a moment of healing. Ghosts can indeed become ancestors.

Thanks be to God.

UPDATE: The image on the left is the seal of the Moravian Church featuring the Agnus Dei, as pictured on stained glass window in the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, NC.

The image on the right is of the arms of the Episcopal Church which includes both the cross of St. George and a St. Andrew's cross.

HOSNI MUBARAK STEPS DOWN

The Egyptian flag.

From the New York Times:

President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt resigned his post and turned over all power to the military on Friday, ending his 30 years of autocratic rule and bowing to a historic popular uprising that has transformed politics in Egypt and around the Arab world.

The streets of Cairo exploded in shouts of “God is Great” moments after Mr. Mubarak’s vice president and longtime intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, announced during evening prayers that Mr. Mubarak has passed all authority to a council of military leaders.

Mubarak has left Cairo and retired to his home in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Let us pray for the people and the government of Egypt.

O God, whose glory is in all the world: We commend the nation of Egypt to your merciful care, that, being guided by your goodness, they may dwell secure in peace. Grant to the new President of Egypt and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do your will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to humbly serve the people of their country. Amen.

Tomb of Nakht

A tomb relief depicts workers plowing the fields, harvesting the crops, and threshing the grain under the direction of an overseer.

Image from Wikipedia.

STORY OF THE DAY - DAY BREAK

liking each other because it's a beautiful
day & it seems like a waste of time to
disagree about stuff the other one is
refusing to change out of sheer
stubbornness

From StoryPeople.