STORY OF THE DAY - RELATIVE WORRIES

I'm not worried about ghosts in general,
she said. Just the ones that are related
to me.

:-)

From StoryPeople.

ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY DOLAN - GENIAL ENFORCER OF ROME'S CONSERVATIVE WRIT

From NewsBusters:

On Sunday's 60 Minutes, CBS correspondent Morley Safer interviewed New York Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan and pressed him on the his commitment to traditional Church teachings: "No question that you're conciliatory, that you like to have dialog, but underneath that you're an old-fashioned conservative. I mean, in the sense of right-wing conservative."

Dolan turned Safer's characterization around: "I would bristle at being termed 'right-wing.' But if somebody means enthusiastically committed and grateful for the timeless heritage of the Church, and feeling that my best service is when I try to preserve that and pass that on in its fullness and beauty and radiance, I'm a conservative, no doubt."

Our neighbor called to tell Grandpère to watch as Morley Safer interviewed Archbishop Dolan. GP called me into the room, and I wish I hadn't gone, because I felt a little ill during Abp. Dolan's performance during the interview. In my opinion, Safer went easy on the archbishop, however Safer did say:

Despite the jolly open demeanor, he's about as conservative as they come....He is unwavering on what he calls the 'settled' questions: abortion, birth control, ordination of women, gay marriage, and celibacy."

And that is that! All settled and done.

The "jolly open demeanor" was very much in evidence. Abp. Dolan smiled and laughed often, nudging and patting Safer on the shoulder. I told GP that he seemed very much like a salesman to me, which I suppose is what an archbishop is called to be in these troublesome times for the Roman Catholic Church, especially an archbishop who was recently elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The thing is, I'm not buying what he's selling.

SAFER: What do you make of the Church's response to the abuse scandals?

DOLAN: When you think of what happened, both that a man who proposes to act in the name of God would've abused an innocent young person, and that some bishops would have in a way, countenanced that by reassigning abusers, that's nothing less than hideous. That's nothing less than nauseating. The second story, Morley, is the Church's reaction to that, which I think has been good. It's been strong. It's been rigorous.(My emphasis)

I found the caveat, "in a way" quite troublesome. You either countenance child abuse, or you do not. There is no "in a way" that diminishes countenancing child abuse. The entire interview disturbed me a good deal. The phrase that ran through my mind as I watched and listened was, "De Nile is not just a river in Egypt." - not very original, I know, but there it is.

Abp. Dolan again:

Yeah, there would be – yes, I think there would be changes in the Church. But I don't think they're the ones you have in mind. I don't want to see changes in the Church when it comes to celibacy or women priests or our clear teaching about the sanctity of human life and the unity of marriage between one man and one woman forever. I'd love to see changes in the Church in the very area that you're hinting at over and over again, in the perception of the Church as some shrill scold. We need to change that. (My emphasis)

Well, for crying out loud, archbishop, the church needs to stop scolding! If the hierarchy would stop threatening with excommunication the Roman Catholics who disagree that the issues you mention are "settled" once for all, then the church might not be perceived as a "shrill scold".

After I wrote the words above, I saved them and left them, partly because I was quite busy with other matters. Then, too, when I departed from the Roman Catholic Church, I promised myself that I would not be a bitter ex-Catholic, obsessed with ranting against the church I left. I confess that I have not always been successful in my determination. My reaction to Abp. Dolan was visceral, and I know that we must examine our visceral reactions closely before we settle into their meaning for us. However, I also believe that to ignore our instincts is perhaps not the wisest path to follow.

For those reasons and because, as I've said, I was quite busy yesterday, I never completed the post. Then, through a link from MadPriest, I was led to Jan's post at A Church For Starving Artists on the interview. Jan's wise words, which I quote below, impressed me greatly.

One of the biggest spiritual issues of our day is the need to be with people in the throes of Real Life. It's tempting to be "the entertaining pastor" or the "funny pastor" or merely "the smart pastor." But the 21st C Church is sorely in need of the equipping pastor who models servanthood and compassion, the pastor who is unafraid to grapple with the deepest issues of our lives, the pastor who sees people with the eyes of Jesus.

Jan's entire post is well worth a read. I thank her for the push to complete the post - for better or for worse. If for worse, the responsibility is all mine and not Jan's.

More on the interview at CBS News.

Photo above from the New York Times article from February of this year on Abp. Dolan's election as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The article states:

Archbishop Dolan also does not outright deny the sacrament to dissenting Catholic lawmakers, but he is genial enforcer of Rome's ever more conservative writ.

UPDATE: Ann V. alerts me to the article in the Washington Post on a poll by the Post and ABC News:

The question was straightforward: “Do you think it should be illegal or legal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?” In February 2010, an astounding 55 percent of white Catholics said "legal." In the current poll, the number jumped 8 points to 63 percent.

My question is what about non-white Catholics?

Not that the poll will change any minds amongst the hierarchy.

"HAPPY NEW BIRTHDAY, CRISTY!"

From here to Istanbul:

Between 12:00 and 12:15, Istanbul time, Cristy’s stem cell transplantation happened. It took all of about 10 minutes. She is currently sleeping soundly and tomorrow will begin her regimen of walking the halls of the bone marrow transplant unit every two hours. She’ll be closely monitored over the next 10 days to ensure that the transplant is indeed working and that her body is building an entirely new autoimmune system. She has been told that the next few days will be difficult but that she will soon experience an upswing in her physical health as her system continues to regenerate itself. She likens this process to a complete oil change and refers to Dr. Gulbas as her master mechanic.

Posted by Sharon (on behalf of Liz)

GUMBO TIME IN THIBODAUX!

 

From the Daily Comet:

THIBODAUX — One of the city’s longest-running gumbo fundraisers is back for another year as St. John’s Episcopal Church continues its chicken-and-sausage gumbo sale.

Run by the Episcopal Church Women, the gumbo is sold from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday during Lent. The meal costs $8 and includes carrot or potato salad, French bread, iced tea and homemade dessert.

The fundraiser began more than 20 years ago when the church’s ladies were looking for an outreach program, said Nyada DeGravelles, a founding member.

The chief beneficiary is the local Good Samaritan Food Bank. The gumbo also serves to draw folks to St. John's to get to know us in the midst of an area that is heavily Roman Catholic.

St. Joseph Roman Catholic Co-Cathedral serves a seafood gumbo on Fridays, and the two congregations support one another in their fundraising efforts.

THE VIEW FROM "OVER HERE"

At Lesley's Blog, I learned that the Diocese of Lichfield in the Church of England voted in favor of the adoption of the Anglican Covenant by a comfortable margin.

BISHOPS: For: 4; Against: 0; Abstain: 0

CLERGY: For: 39; Against: 11; Abstain: 1

LAITY: For: 57; Against: 9; Abstain: 1

There you have it.

A summary of the con and pro arguments:

Arguments against were that it slowed down change, it is unnecessary bureaucracy, that Section 4 was more like a legal contract than covenant and was full of holes; that document was not really addressing the main issues - gay people, communication, interpretation of scripture - and was a red herring.

Arguments for were that the Episcopal church has been very naughty and needs punishing for the trouble it has caused; that good relationships with international colleagues are very important and the Covenant would keep them going; that Section 4 not really a very big stick; that Rowan is showing leadership and we need to back him; that they don't like Section 4 but is the only show in town so need to go with it. (My emphasis)

A comment to Lesley's post stated:

Unfortunately a lot of arguments for the Covenant seem to be based on the view that people don't want to be nasty to Rowan, and humiliate him. That seems to be a very weak argument in favour of something we could be stuck with for a very long time.

I agree wholeheartedly that not wanting to hurt or humiliate Dr Williams is a very weak excuse for supporting the daft covenant, and, being one of the naughty Episcopalians, I decided to leave a response at Lesley's blog, which is quoted here with slight editing:

If I may speak a few words about the election of Bp Gene Robinson. He was elected by the Episcopalians of the State of New Hampshire. He was not an unknown. He had served as a priest in NH, a very small state, for 12 years and was well-known in the churches around the state.

NH is not a hotbed of liberalism. At the present time, NH has one Democratic senator and one Republican senator. Both members of the House of Representatives are Republican.

Back in 2003, when Bp Gene was elected, I was not in favor of having partnered gay persons as bishops, but despite my misgivings, even I could not see why the people of NH shouldn't have the person they chose as their bishop. When the time came for consents to be given by the bishops and Standing Committees of the dioceses in the Episcopal Church, Bp Gene received sufficient favorable votes.

Have the English folk who are quick to blame us for all the troubles in the Anglican Communion and want TEC punished for its naughtiness (which, by the way, hardly seems Christlike to me) thought that there may have been other reasons for giving consents to Gene Robinson besides a lack of care for the other churches in the AC?

The truth is that we in TEC cherish our relationships throughout the Anglican Communion, some of which are extremely close. At the same time, we also cherish our relationships amongst the dioceses in our own church. If the people in NH wanted Bp Gene for their bishop, why should they have been denied, simply because the man they chose was in an open, loving, committed relationship with his partner Mark?

Sometimes, choices must be made, and the majority of those in TEC who voted on consents decided that the just and right thing to do was to give the folks in NH the bishop they wanted.

Of course, I'm well aware that the view from "over there" may be quite different, but I wanted to speak my piece from "over here".

BEING GOOD

I've always thought death was a lot like
Christmas, he said. I can't wait to find
out if being good the whole time was
worth it.

Yes. :-)

From StoryPeople.

IN THE BLOOMIN' GARDEN

 

Our azaleas are at different stages of blooming, some in full bloom, some just beginning to produce buds, and some fading.

 

The Indian hawthorne is in full bloom, while the dwarf azaleas in the background are beginning to fade. The dwarf azaleas bloom several times a year, usually with a display around Christmas, which is lovely.

 

As you see, this bush is just about covered with flowers.

 

St Francis points to the lovely azalea blooms - or perhaps he points to the birdie. Who can tell?

 

Our shrimp plant is not the greatest beauty in our garden, but the hummingbirds like to visit, so we must keep it going.

 

Diana lolls in the yard guarding, but not eating, her dog bone. Diana, we don't want your bone. Truly.

As regular readers know, Diana lost one diseased eye through an accident, but she was already nearly blind in the eye. Her remaining eye is clouded over, and she doesn't see well out of it. In addition, she suffers from arthritis and is going deaf. Poor old girl. Old age is not for sissies.

"...GOD'S LOVE AS THE BE ALL AND END ALL....

Mark Harris at Preludium preached a fine sermon for Lent II titled "God in the midst of death and destruction".

The Tweet summary:

Spirit filled and freed up, we Jesus people know that God loves the world fully and accept God’s love as the be all and end all of life.

Read the rest at Mark's blog. It's excellent.

CHUBBY CARRIER AND THE BAYOU SWAMP BAND

 

The band that won the Grammy playing this afternoon at the Bayou Swamp Stomp Festival at Nicholls State University here in Thibodaux

 

The band again

 

The dancers

 

A couple who danced really well

 

Chubby Carrier and moi

Chubby knows to hold up his CD because he wants to sell you a copy of his latest "Zydeco Junkie".

 

Randy Ellis and moi

Randy is a local boy who went to school with my daughter, Alison, and played with her in the Thibodaux High School Band.

You may order the CD from the band's website or the MP3 album from MadPriest's Amazon widget on his right sidebar.

PLEASE PRAY..

...for all involved as we continue the selection process for priests-in-charge for four parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. The Q&A sessions yesterday went quite well. I'm pleased that we are blessed with a slate of excellent candidates from which we and the candidates will choose the best church/candidate matches. I thank you all for your prayers thus far.

Lord, look upon the congregations St. John's in Thibodaux, St. Margaret's in Baton Rouge, St. Mary's in Franklin, and Christ Episcopal Church in Slidell. So guide the hearts and minds of our leadership teams, Bishop Morris, Canon Mark, the participating candidates for Holy Orders, and all those participating in the Clergy and Congregational Development Program, so that we may come to prepare and strengthen each other in our respective ministries. Make us all thankful of Your many blessings, faithful to Your Holy Word, and mindful that we are working to your honor and glory. Amen.

I confess that when I first became part of the selection process for a priest-in-charge, I did not quite realize the solemnity of the responsibility, which I now do, and it's awesome (in the old sense of the word). However, I am convinced that erring humans that we are, the Spirit of the living God guides us in the process.

Omnia vestra in caritate fiant. (Let all that you do be done in love.)

Soli Deo gloria. (Glory to God alone.)