YOUNG IDEAS FOR THE CHURCH

The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, 'You had a good idea to replace the first four pews with plush bucket theater seats. It worked like a charm. The front of the church always fills first now.'

The young priest nodded, and the old priest continued, 'And you told me adding a little more beat to the music would bring young people back to church, so I supported you when you brought in that Rock 'n Roll Gospel Choir.

Now our services are consistently packed to the balcony.'

'Thank you, Father,' answered the young priest. 'I am pleased that you are open to the New Ideas of Youth.'

'All of these ideas have been well and good,' said the elderly priest, 'But I'm afraid you've gone too far with the Drive-thru Confessional.'

'But Father,' protested the young priest, 'my confessions and the donations have nearly doubled since I began that!'

'Yes,' replied the elderly priest, 'and I appreciate that.... But the flashing neon sign, 'Toot 'n Tell or Go to Hell' cannot stay on the church roof.'

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

BISHOP JOHN SAXBEE ON THE ANGLICAN COVENANT

Many thanks to the Rev Lesley Fellows for the video and the transcript of Bishop John Saxbee's speech at the November 2010 Church of England General Synod. Bishop Saxbee retired as Bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln in January of this year.

The speech is splendid. I'm somewhat disappointed that the bishop decided to vote for the covenant to move on to the next step in the process, that of presenting the covenant to the dioceses for study and a decision at to whether or not to approve the document, and I regret that Bishop Saxbee's voice will no longer be heard in future gatherings of GS.

In relation to the Anglican Covenant, I’m on record as saying in this synod that I entirely support the process, as long as it never ends. Let me explain what I mean. The Anglican Communion doesn’t need a Covenant because Anglicanism is a covenant. It is a way of Provinces listening, living distinctively apart from each other whilst remaining part of one another. That is a way of doing difference differently from the ways in which groups and individuals usually do difference. It is predicated on grace and goodwill, and if there is grace and goodwill then a covenant will be unnecessary and if there is no grace and goodwill then a covenant will be unavailing.

Listen to this quote from Hilary Mantel’s book ‘Wolf Hall’, putting words into the mouth of my distinguished predecessor, Cardinal Wolsey, “Wolsey always said that the making of a treaty is the treaty, it doesn’t matter what the terms are, just that there are terms. It’s the goodwill that matters, when that runs out the treaty is broken, whatever the terms may say’.

Members of Synod, the Church of England has a bit of a history of putting in place measures in response to a particular presented issue and then discovering that the proposed cure does not only have unintended consequences (and The Good Intentions Paving Company is still very much in business, I assure you), not only will there be unintended consequences, but the cure can actually make matters worse.

We all know that the process towards the drawing up of this Covenant was triggered by events in The Episcopal Church of a few years ago, notwithstanding the long preamble which was helpfully presented to us by the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Those events were by no means trivial, but to elevate them to the status of game changers when it comes to how we deal with each other over time is… well… stepping over a very significant mark in the sand. And I truly doubt whether it will be conducive to long term stability.

The Covenant may of itself not be tyrannical, but there are those in the Communion whose treatment of our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers has had at least a touch of the tyrannical about it. And if I ever come to the conclusion that a covenant of this kind would give them comfort then I would be bound to resist it.

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.

I am grateful to Mr Roy for referring to the story of the woman taken in adultery. Jesus, if you recall, first of all draw an extended circle of sinfulness to include those who considered themselves to be more righteous than she was, and then drew an extended circle of acceptance to count her in. You know the little rhyme,

“They drew a circle that shut me out —
Heretic, rebel, something to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took them in.”

We can draw ever tighter circles of sinfulness or we can draw ever wider circles of acceptance, so that all Provinces, and not just some, hear our Lord’s injunction, ‘Go and sin no more’, but also echo his reassurance, ‘Neither do I condemn you’. I love the Anglican Communion. I value our inter-diocesan links and I have learnt so much from visits to many dioceses. But I don’t love it so much that I would want it to be still a communion but no longer Anglican. That prize is not worth the price.

And so, Madam Chair, I simply leave you with the wise words of the American philosopher H. L. Mencken which you may well be familiar, ‘For every difficult and complex problem there is a solution which is simple, straight-forward and wrong’. As an answer to a difficult and complex problem, this Covenant is simple, straight-forward and I still believe probably wrong. There is too much religion in the world and not enough faith, and I think this Covenant seems to be more about factory farmed religion than free range faith.

As I want the conversation to continue, I cannot vote against the motion to go on considering it and its implications. But I do think the implications are very significant. And as I ride off into the wonderful sunsets of West Wales, I wish you all well and hope and pray that as this process continues you will enjoy discussing the idea of a covenant and hesitate long and hard before signing up to one.

Thank-you.

ORDINARIATES "VERY IMPORTANT" TO POPE BENEDICT

From Catholic Online:

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org) - A priest at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is affirming that the newly established Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Ordinariate of the United Kingdom, is "very important" to Benedict XVI.
....

"In the area of ecumenism it strengthens the Catholic Church's approach in two ways," the priest noted. "It promotes sincere dialogue with a Christian defense of life and the promotion of peace."

He stated: "The goal of the ecumenical movement is complete visible union with one Christ and with Peter in one Church. We must cooperate and grow together."

"Unity is built on two pillars, love and truth," the priest added.

True ecumenism promotes unity through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation amongst those of different faiths. The game of so-called "ecumenism" as played by the Roman Catholic Church is the same old, same old, my way or no way. Unity means becoming one of them.

What we see in the statement here is a bit more truth-telling and a bit less covering up of the true purposes of ecumenism as defined by the RCC. In the end, the members of the so-called "Anglican" ordinariates will be Roman Catholics and no longer Anglicans.

And poaching by any other name still stinks.

Thanks to Ann V. for the link.

PLURALIST - "HEADS YOU LOSE, TAILS YOU LOSE"

Adrian at Pluralist Speaks posted "Heads you Lose, Tails you Lose" on his "further thinking on the Anglican Communion...."

Imagine, however, what happens should the House of Clergy defeat the thing and throw it out.

It is necessary to stop it if the Church of England is to remain flexible about the future. My guess is that the biased powers that be will then panic, and try desperately to bend the rules to bring the thing back in. If not, and if they cannot, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will have to resign because it is his policy, steered and forced through so far by him. It is his flagship. Also arguments will be made beforehand to support the Archbishop, and so if he then loses he really will be done for. Even the Archbishop of York might go too (gosh, this gets better!). I actually think Rowan Williams should go, and should have a long time ago as he has been nothing but a disaster. But, with or without that resignation, the level of recrimination will be huge, especially against those who have led the campaign.
....

A weakness of the campaign against is that it has come from the liberal side of the Church, and that means it will be easier to target the recriminations. The hierarchs and bureaucrats as well as evangelicals will set about marginalising the liberals through various legislative and other means, if that is the way needed to reattach to the Covenant or something similar.

The entire post is well worth reading. My thinking is, as I said in the comments, that Adrian may be right that those in the Church of England (and elsewhere) who oppose the covenant may suffer from their stand, even in the unlikely event that the covenant is voted down in General Synod (and elsewhere), and the opposition achieves its goal. Still, I see it as a good thing to go down fighting, win or lose. Of course, since I speak as one of the fortunate who has nothing to lose by voicing my opinion, I have no right to urge others on in activities that may be injurious to them. I fully understand why some may choose not to speak out against the daft covenant.

STORY OF THE DAY - GENERAL CONFUSION

I used to be pretty clear on what was
real & what I made up, but with
everything going on in the world, none
of that seems to matter, so I just decided
to talk less & smile to myself more, so as
not to add to the general confusion

Food for thought, surely, especially for a blogger.

From StoryPeople.

MORE PUN FUN

When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.

A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.

The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.

The batteries were given out free of charge.

A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.

A will is a dead giveaway.

Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.

You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

A boiled egg is hard to beat.

Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

Did you hear about the fellow whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.

A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

In a democracy, it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

Acupuncture: a jab well done.

Don't blame me. Blame susan s.

Oh my goodness! Paul (A.) sent me the same list some time ago, and it got lost in my flood of email. Then, too, I was more concerned about Paul (A.)'s injuries from slipping on the ice than about posting his list of puns. Neverthess, mea culpa! He sent them first.

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING FOR IRMA'S SUCCESSFUL SURGERY

Irma's surgery went well. She had to have a temporary colostomy but Dr. said surgery could not have gone better. The family feared it was cancer but none found. Thank everyone for their prayers. :) Frankie's family greatly appreciates it.

Thanks be to God, to the medical staff, and all who helped care for Irma.

Thank you all for your prayers.

O Lord, your compassions never fail and your mercies are new every morning: We give you thanks for giving our sister Irma both relief from pain and hope of health renewed. Continue in her we pray, the good work you have begun; that she, daily increasing in bodily strength, and rejoicing in your goodness, may so order her life and conduct that she may always think and do those things that please you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UPDATE ON AILEEN:

From her husband, Mike:

OK quick update, Aileen made it to Billings, did very well on the transport. Already getting her going with OT, PT and respiratory therapy. She is already doing great. I finally saw her wiggle her toes, just a tiny bit, but it was awesome! However she did lose blood again overnight and needed a transfusion by late afternoon. But I really think this was the right move. This is a great place with wonderful staff.

Prayers of thanksgiving for Aileen along with prayers for her continued recovery and for strength and courage for Mike and all who love and care for Aileen.

STORY OF THE DAY - FIGHTING CHANCE

What do I get for this? I said & the angel
gave me a catalog filled with toasters &
clock radios & a basketball signed by
Michael Jordan & I said, But this is just
stuff & the angel smiled at me &
swallowed me in her arms. I'm so glad
you said that, she whispered to me. I
knew you still had a chance.

From StoryPeople.

GRANT STORMS SAYS HE'S SORRY

From NOLA.com.

Nearly every blogger I know scooped me on the local story of Grant Storms' shenanigans in New Orleans. I'm about burnt out with tales about men (mostly) who scream loud and long about gays and others who destroy "family values", and then get caught in compromising situations. As soon as these folks start shouting, we should watch their tracks for signs of a train wreck waiting to happen. The stories are so frequent that they are hardly newsworthy.

Though he admitted having his hands in his pants, Christian fundamentalist Grant Storms denied Tuesday that he was masturbating in a Metairie park before being arrested.

Storms addressed the allegations during a news conference in Metairie, one day after hiws arrest became public.
....

"I had my hands in my pants," he said. When asked by a reporter what he was doing with his hands, Storms answered, "I don't want to get into all that right now. That will come out in court."
....

Storms, who once called himself a "Christian patriot," gained notoriety for his fervent opposition to Southern Decadence, a three-day gay festival held in the French Quarter during Labor Day weekend. Storms and his followers used bullhorns and picket signs to protest the festival, which he has said turned the Quarter into Sodom and Gomorrah.

Storms on Tuesday apologized to those he had maligned.

So Storms apologizes. Better than not apologizing, I suppose.

He also asked forgiveness of his wife and four children, as well he should. My heart goes out to them.

And he admitted he has a problem with pornography.

THE ANGLICAN COVENANT AS FRUITCAKE

The elements of the Chicago Lambeth Quadrilateral and the Marks of Mission, and bits of Scripture and dollops of assorted Anglican Premises have been folded into the batter of the Anglican Communion Covenant like so many raisins, candied citrons, cherries, and whatever those semi-gelatinous green things are, go to form part of the conglomerate of Fruitcake.

From Tobias Haller at In a Godward Direction.

My conclusion as to whether we should adopt the covenant is a bit different from that of Tobias, but his analogy is excellent.