THE ANGLICAN COVENANT "HEARKENS BACK TO A WORLD THAT IS PASSING AWAY"

Anglicans Online posted a superb opinion piece on the Anglican Covenant, pointing out why the Anglican Covenant is wrong for the times. The post is significant in that Anglicans Online does not usually take a partisan position in the affairs of the Anglican Communion.

The old ways of ensuring alliances are passing. The old certainties of known allegiances and predetermined interest groups is giving way to the power of like-minded people connecting and assembling in one place, for an agreed end, in the flash of a few tweets. When everyone in the world has a mobile phone with video cameras, are television studios needed to report news?
....

The very looseness of the Anglican Communion (at least until the Tedious Years of the Anglican Covenant Discussion) is what will give it strength to move with relative ease in this new world. The gentle, unlegislated bonds of affection and the tolerance for variances of custom, behaviour, churchmanship, hymns, divorce, prayer books and the like are far more aligned with the way we live now. The old-speak of the proposed Covenant hearkens back to a world that is passing away, one of rigidity, structure, and complex mechanisms of governance.

It's tiresome enough that we've been considering a Covenant when there is so much about the very concept that flies in the face of all that's been characterised as Anglican. That it could be adopted is, to our mind, one that will signal the death knell of the Anglican Communion as we have known it. (And frankly we don't want to know any other kind.)

Ouch! But oh so true. How we will miss the "gentle, unlegislated bonds of affection..." if the covenant is adopted. The thought brings a tear to my eye. (True. Not snark. I actually teared up.)

The writers remind us of the Lambeth Quadrilateral:

Since the late 19th century, the Lambeth Quadrilateral has served brilliantly as a strong and supple web of connection for us all. In our opinion, it's all that is needed.

Here it is, all 108 words of it (five tweets).

(a) The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as 'containing all things necessary to salvation,' and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.

(b) The Apostles' Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol; and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.

(c) The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself — Baptism and the Supper of the Lord — ministered with unfailing use of Christ's words of Institution, and of the elements ordained by Him.

(d) The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the Unity of His Church.

And why does the Lambeth Quadrilateral not now serve our needs? Why do we need a covenant? The answer is we do not.

The entire article is brilliant, and I urge you to read it all.

The members of the editorial staff of Anglicans Online may be found here.

PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

Christ Church Cathedral after the earthquake

From the New York Times:

A large earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey, causing buildings to collapse and burying vehicles under debris. There were preliminary reports that the 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which struck in the early afternoon, resulted in fatalities, but none were confirmed.

Damage was extensive and people were trapped inside crumbled buildings, The Associated Press reported. Prime Minister John Key told Parliament that there might be casualties. “Sadly, I cannot rule out whether there have been fatalities or not,” he said.


Video from the scene by 3 News New Zealand showed extensive damage to the city’s main cathedral, as well as people running through the streets to safety. One person called it “the most frightening thing of my entire life.”

Christ Church Cathedral before the earthquake

Photos from twitpic here and here.

H/T to Nicholas Knisely at The Lead.

UPDATE: From Anglican Communion News Service:

The Dean of Christchurch Cathedral, the Very Revd Peter Beck, has said he is fearful that people may have been in the Cathedral's tower when it collapsed after an earthquake struck the city.

Speaking to the BBC's 5 Live Radio programme he said that he had himself been in the cathedral office when the quake struck, but was able to escape and get others out of the Cathedral. However, he warned that others could still be trapped inside.
"We were in the cathedral when this happened," he said, "in the office and fortunately that wasn't too badly damaged, but the tower has collapsed and some of the walls have collapsed and we're pretty fearful there may be some people underneath that."

He said that, while there was no service taking place at the time, the cathedral is one of the biggest visitor attractions in the country so there would still have been visitors inside. "There will have been people in the Cathedral, as well as our own staff of course, when this happened. There's a huge amount of dust, it's like a fog inside there.

"We got all the people out that we could, but there are piles of rubble, especially where the tower has collapsed. We don't know whether there were people in the tower at the time, but I'm fairly fearful of that."

H/T to MadPriest.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks prayer in response to natural disaster.

Adon ha-olamim, Sovereign of the universe,

We join our prayers to the prayers of others throughout the world, for the victims of the earthquake which this week has brought destruction and disaster to many lives.

Almighty God, we pray You, send healing to the injured, comfort to the bereaved, and news to those who sit and wait. May You be with those who even now are engaged in the work of rescue. May You send Your strength to those who are striving to heal the injured, give shelter to the homeless, and bring food and water to those in need. May You bless the work of their hands, and may they merit to save lives.

Almighty God, we recognise how small we are, and how powerless in the face of nature when its full power is unleashed. Therefore, open our hearts in prayer and our hands in generosity, so that our words may bring comfort and our gifts bring aid. Be with us now and with all humanity as we strive to mend what has been injured and rebuild what has been destroyed.

Ken Yehi Ratzon, ve-nomar Amen.
May it be Your will, and let us say Amen.

From Beliefnet.

ARKANSAS HILLBILLY SAYS: "KEEP PRAYING"

From David (Arkansas Hillbilly):

Quick update. I just got called for a second interview tomorrow at the retailer I applied for... Keep praying, it's working!

In reference to the prayer request here.

MISCELLANEA

Because I'm doing OTBB (other things besides blogging) like answering a backlog of emails, household chores like emptying the clothes dryer, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning up the kitchen after Grandpère cooked lunch, vacuuming the stairs, etc. after boring etc., except for answering the emails, I offer a few random photos, miscellanea, which I just uploaded from my camera to my computer.



Above you see Stormy, the gray cat, and Wendy, with the stripes, the cats who own my son and his two children. Wendy's eyes caught the flash. I tried to fix them, but my fix did not work, so there they are in their flashing beauty.



Grandpère is proud of the fruits of his garden, and I enjoy eating the fresh produce. Pictured above is the parsley which came back after the swallowtail caterpillars stripped the plants of leaves months ago, which shows that we can have our parsley and let the caterpillars eat it, too.

Also pictured are two varieties of lettuce and two varieties of oranges, navel and Louisiana Sweet. We've been drinking fresh-squeezed orange juice for months now, in addition to eating the oranges and giving away bushels to the local food bank.



Mardi Gras season has been around for a while, but on Sunday we will attend probably our only parade here in Thibodaux, Cleophas, which passes in front of our church, where the congregation gathers for a potluck and then to watch the parade.

Pictured above is the beautiful Mardi Gras scarf, which my daughter-in-law gave me yesterday, and which I will be wearing to the parade Sunday.

Sunday evening, Bishop Morris Thompson will make his first official visit to our parish to baptize, confirm, and receive new members. After the service, we will have a reception to welcome the new bishop. Our day will be quite full.

SLUMBER PARTY

I don't know if I really believe in all the
saints, she said, but I pray to them
anyway. It makes every night feel more
like a slumber party.

From StoryPeople.

NOT "DANGEROUS" AFTER ALL

From the New York Times:

MADISON, Wis. — In a capital city overrun for much of the past week by union supporters, state employees and students — all objecting to the Republican governor’s plan to cut collective bargaining rights and benefits for public workers — a new element was introduced on Saturday: opposition to the opposition.

All around the Capitol square, tens of thousands of union supporters chanted, as they have for days: “Kill the bill! Kill the bill!” In one corner, a far smaller contingent of demonstrators, many of whom described themselves as Tea Party members, chanted: “Pass the bill! Pass the bill!”
....

Initially, lawmakers and others here seemed worried about how the events might play out, and scores of officers were on hand, along with barricades, temporary fences and even police snipers.

One legislator had deemed the scene “dangerous,” but police officials said there were no serious problems as the day went on. The obvious tensions seemed to be playing out with only an occasional exchange of angry words, hand gestures and spittle.

Union members are ready to make concessions, but they are not willing to give up their right to bargain on other issues. There you have it. The "dangerous" rabble demonstrated peacefully to the surprise and dismay of the anti-union people.

The pro-union crowd in Madison received support from fellow demonstrators in a far-away country.


H/T to Counterlight for the photo just above.

UPDATE: Oppose the Governor.

Support the Democratic Senators.

From Michael Moore.com:

Watch the video and read the statement from Kamal Abbas of Egypt's Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services.

LINDA ARRIVED SAFELY HOME IN ZAMBIA - PLEASE PRAY FOR CRISTA

Thanks be to God and all those who helped Linda in her travels. This morning, I learned that she arrived safely home in Zambia. Linda is weak and tired and spends a good deal of her time resting. Please continue your prayers for Linda.


Please pray also for Crista Kessler. Crista and Liz Zivanov are off to Turkey for Crista to receive treatment for multiple health problems, scleroderma, vasculitis , and ankylosing spondylitis. Crista's story is here.

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our help in time of need: Visit and relieve your sick servants Linda and Crista for whom our prayers are offered. Look upon them with the eyes of your mercy; comfort them with a sense of your goodness; preserve them from the temptations of the enemy; and give them patience in their sicknesses. In your good time, restore them to health, and enable them to lead the rest of their lives to your glory; and grant that they may dwell with you in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MARK ASKS A QUESTION

Mark Harris at Preludium asks:

Is Julian Linnell an ACNA member on an Anglican Communion group?

The AC group is the Evangelism and Church Growth Initiative (ECGI).

Read Mark's entire post and the comments.

Paul Powers says in the comments:

He's on a list of clergy in Pittsburgh who have been released from licensed ministry in the Episcopal Church.

http://www.episcopalpgh.org/wp-content/uploads/file/2010DioConv/2010PreconventionPacket09162010v2.pdf

(go to page D-14).

I said in the comments to Mark's post:

On the one hand, I have the sense that someone or more than one in the ACO may be trying to sneak something by us in TEC that will be the first step in having parallel churches recognized as part of the AC here in the US.

On the other hand, I wonder if the folks in the ACO even know to which church the Rev Dr Linnell belongs.

Some might say, I'm a tad suspicious, and I would not quarrel with them.

UPDATE: Mark has more information at Preludium.

Following up on my earlier post in which I asked "Is Julian Linnell an ACNA member of an Anglican Communion group?" the answer appears to be "yes." Thanks to several readers who found additional information on this.

Read the rest.

SUMMER'S ON THE WAY

Summer's almost here ...

We can now see the deer moving around in our back yard!

This may be a repeat, but I like it, so here we go again.

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OLGA AND THOSE WHO LOVE HER

Olga is the sister-in-law of our friend Fran, sister to Fran's husband, Mark, aunt to Mark's daughter, Erica. Olga is gravely ill. Fran writes:

I write this post from Wilson UHS Hospital in Johnson City, NY. My sister-in-law, Olga Szpylczyn (Mark's sister) is asleep in the bed a few feet away from me. At her side I can see various containers that collect bodily fluids. At least one of them, connected to a tube that goes into her chest, is not pretty. The changing texture and color of that bag makes me want to scream. If I could scream, I would simply repeat the words, "Stupid effing cancer, I hate you and your ugly magic."
----------------

One of my tasks is to find a home for Skittles, Olga's Jack Russell Terrier. Skittles is 8 and very cute, but she is also a Jack Russell Terrier. Read: She is highly energetic. In the good days, she had Olga out and walking, getting regular exercise. When Olga had her first bout with the stupid cancer in 2009, she wanted Skittles to go. I persuaded her otherwise and she was later grateful. That dog helped fuel a recovery.

Now I know that persuasion has no point. If you live within 3 hours of Albany or Binghamton and you even remotely think that you know someone who would consider this dog, it would be a mercy that is much required.
----------------

It is an awesome and terrible thing to be asked to hold someone's hand, literally and figuratively. It is actually the greatest privilege in life if you ask me, albeit a painful, painful privilege.

Olga and I have had a challenging relationship. We are both very strong willed and opinionated. I'd like to think that over time we wore each other down in the best ways, with our sharp edges getting softer and rounder, like sea glass after a good pounding in the surf.

So to have her ask me to undertake this role is a true gift. I pray that I carry out her wishes accordingly and that I am here to hold her hand and either talk or remain silent, as needed.

Read the rest of Fran's post at There Will Be Bread.

For Olga:

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

For Mark, Fran, Erica, and all who love Olga and care for her:

Sanctify, O Lord, those who love Olga and all whom you have called to the care for her. Strengthen them by your life-giving Spirit, that by their ministries, Olga may be comforted and your creation glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.