PLEASE PRAY FOR...

...Tom, aka Grandpère. Poor baby has an abscessed tooth. Our dentist saw him this morning and gave him antibiotics, but he doesn't do the kind of work Tom needs. If he can stand the pain, he will wait until Tuesday to see another dentist in town. If the pain gets too bad, he can see someone in the next town over on Monday.

UPDATE: Tom saw the endodontist this morning, who discovered that he had two abscesses, instead of one. The endodontist did two root canals, and he (Tom) is feeling much better. I'm sure the endodontist is feeling much better, too, because he make quite a bit of money off Tom. Still, we're not complaining.

NEW YORK PASSES MARRIAGE EQUALITY LAW

The crowd celebrates outside the Stonewall Inn.

From the New York Times:

Supporters of the same-sex marriage bill danced in the streets of the West Village after the State Senate approved it on Friday night.

Crowds gathered, screamed and embraced in Sheridan Square near the Stonewall Inn, where the gay-rights movement began more than 40 years ago. Many stood on park benches to get a better view. Gay and lesbian bars in the neighborhood were packed with patrons, and the neighborhood had the feel of jubilant celebration.

“Equality is what this means; this is our right as people,” said John Huls, 52, standing in the Stonewall with his partner, Jay Hoff, 50. “It’ll be our same relationship. We’re the same people as when we met, except now it’s proper in the eyes of the state, and I’ll be able to look at people and say, ‘This is my husband.’ ”

Jen Morera and her partner, Rio Morera, who were married in Boston last year and live in Queens, spent hours glued to the television screen in the Stonewall on Friday night. On their fingers were matching diamond wedding rings.

Great news! As a friend said last night, "No turning back. No turning back."

Congratulations, New Yorkers! Thanks to the people in New York who pushed and pushed and did not give up the fight until marriage equality became law. Thanks to the legislators and the governor. Thanks especially to the law-makers for whom the vote in favor of the bill was a difficult choice and who may pay a price at the next election.

Enjoy your celebration, New Yorkers!

"SAD NEWS ABOUT GÖRAN"

Göran and Jack at our gathering in Leeds

From IT at The Friends of Jake:

Long time friend at Fr Jake's and Friends-of-Jake Göran Koch-Swahne, a Swedish priest and formidable Biblical scholar, has been ill for some time, and has now entered hospice. I am assuming this means the same in Sweden as it does here. Notes are being put on his facebook.

And friend of Wounded Bird. Göran flew in from Sweden for our blogger gathering in Leeds two years ago. He is a lovely man, a truly gentle man, whence comes the word "gentleman". Göran is the very essence of a godly gentleman. Some mornings, I woke up to four or five of Göran's wise and gentle comments at my blog.

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

JESUS AND MO [AND MOSES] - CROSS

Click on the cartoon for the larger view.

Some of my readers and frequent commenters don't like Jesus and Mo, and, to oblige them, I don't post the cartoons as often as I once did. Still, from time to time....

From Jesus and Mo.

BONNE FÈTE DE LA NAISSANCE DE ST-JEAN BAPTISTE

Caravaggio - Oil on canvas - c.1604 - Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City

From Canada, David@Montreal says:

Bonne Fête St-Jean chère Mimi
la Fête Nationale de Quebec
c'est une journé de plui ici a Montréal, mais les nationalistes feront leur defili quand-meme

je t'embrace

David

Dear David, thank you. Have a lovely day.

I've seen the magnificent painting pictured above twice at the Nelson Atkins. As soon as I walked into the gallery the first time, the painting caught my eye and left me breathless. I knew it was a Caravaggio. It is amazing to see the work of art up close.

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Image from Wikipedia.

PLEASE PRAY...

Please continue (or begin) prayers for Andee and Kirstin, pictured above. Their story is at Kirstin's blog, Barefoot and Laughing.

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

We pray, O Lord, for those whom you have called to care for Kirstin, especially Andee. Strengthen them by your life-giving Spirit, that by their loving ministries Kirstin may be comforted and her suffering alleviated. Grant, O Lord, your peace that surpasses understanding to Kirstin and her caregivers, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UPDATE: Kirstin wrote a new post at Barefoot and Laughing.

From Mark Brunson:

I don't really know this person, have never personally met him. I don't even know if he's a Christian, or what. I do, however, know what it's like to watch someone devoured by pancreatic cancer.

David is being tested for pancreatic cancer. I haven't told him I'm praying for him, and I haven't asked; my father died of pancreatic cancer, and it is a horrible, horrible way to go, so I don't care whether he wants my prayers or not. He has a wife, children and grandchildren, and is loved by people that I love - that's all the permission I need.

*UPDATE*

My brother, Jeff, the middle son, has cancer of the bladder and needs surgery.

Please remember both David and Jeff in your prayers.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAINS UNE AMIE

Yes, the full name is The Anglican Mission in England.

AMIE has been established as a society within the Church of England dedicated to the conversion of England and biblical church planting. There is a steering committee and a panel of bishops. The bishops aim to provide effective oversight in collaboration with senior clergy.

The AMIE has been encouraged in this development by the Primates’ Council of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) who said in a communiqué from Nairobi in May 2011: “We remain convinced that from within the Provinces which we represent there are creative ways by which we can support those who have been alienated so that they can remain within the Anglican family.”

Thinking Anglicans brings us the news. It seems the group was once called the St Augustine Society. The acronym of the new name spells out to the French word for a feminine friend. Smart move.

The group is dedicated to the conversion of England. Hmmm. One wonders if another intention is at play (or at work) here - the conversion of the Church of England.

UPDATE: From Lay Anglicana in the comments...

With 'Amies' like that, who needs enemies?

This is more and more like Alice in Wonderland...

Yes, indeed!

A TRIP WAY BACK DOWN MEMORY LANE

The tune was running through Lapin's head, and now it's running through mine.

MR CATOLICK HAS A BLOG

Check it out.

Besides his brilliant videos, Mr CatOLick posts cartoons, and writes blog posts. Below is a cartoon from his blog.



The guys are English, but the humor translates to this side of the big pond.

UPDATE: SCG at Wake Up and Live makes the videos with Bishop Yellow Belly and Ms Young Person. I mistakenly attributed them to Mr CatOLick.

AND THAT'S JUST THE INTRODUCTION!

From Jonathan Clatworthy, General Secretary of Modern Church in the UK:

When I debated the Covenant with Gregory Cameron in March he said nobody had disputed Sections 1-3, so they were acceptable. My take is that nobody debated them because they are not the sharp edge.

On my reading, the wording is poorly put together, and full of conservative evangelical stances which fly in the face of mainstream theological scholarship.

The Introduction centres round a string of biblical texts interpreted in a ‘conservative evangelical’ manner which no reputable biblical scholar would approve of. Just to take the first example, ‘God has called us into communion in Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1.9).’ If you read the biblical text, it doesn’t mention you, me, the Archbishop of Canterbury or any Anglican. It was the Christian congregation at Corinth about 50 AD who were being called. The subsequent biblical references get no better: the only biblical scholars who would approve of the way these texts are used are the ones who repudiate mainstream scholarship in the interests of what some people call ‘literalist’ readings (i.e. readings interpreted according to a tradition that fantasises about taking the words literally).

Intro 3. ‘We humbly recognize that this calling and gift of communion entails responsibilities for our common life’…
Well, is it a gift or is it a calling? If it is a gift we’ve got it. If it is a calling we haven’t. Perhaps it was a gift, subsequently messed up? Yet church historians are quite clear that Christianity was a diverse movement from the start. In the New Testament ‘communion’ is about gathering together for the Eucharist, not international institutions to which local churches belong.

Intro 4. ‘In the providence of God, which holds sway even over our divisions caused by sin’. Are all divisions caused by sin? For example, are differences of opinion about gays and lesbians necessarily sinful? Isn’t this presupposing that all Christians ought to hold exactly the same opinions?

Intro 4. ‘We recognise the wonder, beauty and challenge of maintaining communion in this family of churches, and the need for mutual commitment and discipline as a witness to God’s promise in a world and time of instability, conflict, and fragmentation.’

Maintaining communion is not the same as maintaining unity, unless you define communion as unity; and if so, this is a very unbiblical account of communion. I haven’t come across anyone who thinks maintaining communion is wonderful or beautiful. The language of God’s promises, here and elsewhere, needs to be challenged: on what grounds can we claim that God has promised what, and to whom? Once again we are being invited to accept an anti-intellectual conservative evangelical interpretation of the Bible.

Intro 5. ‘To covenant together is not intended to change the character of this Anglican expression of Christian faith. Rather, we recognise the importance of renewing in a solemn way our commitment to one another, and to the common understanding of faith and order we have received, so that the bonds of affection which hold us together may be re-affirmed and intensified.’

... Pompous cant. this text contradicts itself. The covenant is ‘not intended to change the character’ of Anglicanism, but it is intended to reaffirm and intensify the bonds of affection. Reaffirm okay, but intensify means change.

Intro 6. ‘We are a people who live, learn, and pray by and with the Scriptures as God’s Word.’ Another bit of conservative evangelical pompous cant. Sounds as though you can’t be an Anglican unless you spend a good chunk of your time reading the Bible and praying about it. I guess most Anglicans don’t. Want to exclude them? More importantly, what about ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us?’

So. The Anglican Covenant is poorly written, poorly reasoned, and the scholarship behind the Scripture citations is poor.

And that's just the introduction!

H/T to Ann Fontaine at The Lead.