YELLOW ROSES FROM LAST WEEKEND

Can you believe the roses are still beautiful from our family celebration last weekend? You'd think I was the Yellow Rose of Texas!

AMIE DECLARES ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

At the website of Anglican Mission in England, Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden write as follows:

The ordinations of three young Englishmen by the Archbishop of Kenya in June and the launch of the Anglican Mission in England was a "game-changer". It marked a turning point after four and a half years of discussions with and proposals to Lambeth Palace. These discussions were to seek a way of providing effective Episcopal oversight to those for whom this had become problematic in the Church of England.

The launch of AMIE and the establishment of its panel of bishops indicated that we would no longer play the game of Church of England politics as defined by the Church of England Establishment.
....

It has a different view of women in ministry that does not seek to compete as though it is a matter of power and status. It has a different view of marriage and sexuality which is not based on the interchangeability of the genders. AMIE resists the disaggregation of the issues as though they are all separate. It analyses the current malaise as a gradual process of destabilizing biblically faithful Anglican witness and ministry.

The writers use the analogy of the Arab Spring for the launch of their "game-changer" plan. The members of the AMIE group appear to see themselves as akin to the oppressed people in the Middle East.

And all along I thought it was women and LGTB persons who were the oppressed in the Church of England and that Archbishop Rowan Williams leaned over backwards to appease the anti-gay and anti-women folks. How mistaken I was!

H/T to Nicholas Knisely at The Lead, who says:

Much of this is familiar to people who remember the first moves of the AMIA movement here in the US back in 2000 and the subsequent irregular ordinations of Chuck Murphy and John Rodgers to the episcopate. This latest essay makes clear that the new organization in England is also planning to ignore the rules of the Anglican Communion when they get in the way of their goals.

Yes, I believe I've seen this movie already.

HILDEGARD VON BINGEN - 'O VIS AETERNITATIS'

Hildegard von Bingen- 'O Vis Aeternitatis' from Canticles of Ecstasy - Sequentia

O vis Aeternitatis

Power of Eternity
you who ordered all things in your heart,
through your Word all things are created just as you willed,
and your very Word
calls forth flesh
in the shape
which was drawn from Adam.
Power of Eternity
Power of Eternity.

I have the CD. The music is gorgeous.

Translation of the lyrics here.

Padre Mickey has a wonderful sermon for the feast day of Hildegard von Bingen.

YORKSHIRE GOLD - MMM, MMM, GOOD!

This morning, I had my first taste of the Yorkshire Gold loose tea which I recently ordered, and it is excellent. I've had three cups, mugs really, of the tea. Mmm, mmm, good! What a fine way to start the day.

When I visited England three years ago, the staff at Haley's Hotel presented me with a parting gift of chocolates and Yorkshire Gold tea. Now I have what I hope is a reliable vendor at a reasonable price here in the US.

LAZY BLOGGING DAY

 

I'm a lazy blogger today. We went to the Grandparents Day mass and reception at my grandson's school (on the right day!). The food at the reception was delicious. Afterward, we ran several errands, and I'm worn out.

We must decide whether we want to pay to connect our old computer, which is now in good shape, for Tom's exclusive use, or just go with the laptop and the new desktop and share the desktop. The old computer will not work on our wireless account.

WHAT I DID ON MY 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 

Don't feel sorry for me about the anniversary, because our family had a lovely celebration over the weekend. You may feel sorry for me for the stress and frustration involved with setting up my new computer, for I am in no way a techie. I forgot to install my printer, copier, scanner on the new computer and could not figure out why the printer wouldn't work, but that's now fixed. The task is mostly finished, leaving only a bit of housekeeping to be done, with only one rather major problem, which I hope is only temporary. My main email account is in Outlook Express, which Microsoft no longer owns, and Windows 7 no longer supports. Thus, when the contents of my old computer were transferred to my new computer, OE was not included. Woe is me!

My old computer is in the shop waiting to be worked on to see whether once all my documents, music, and pictures are removed, and the drive is cleaned, it will serve as Grandpère's exclusive computer. He doesn't load up a computer as I do and mainly uses it for email and searches. I asked the person in the repair shop to write in large letters: PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE OUTLOOK EXPRESS FROM THIS COMPUTER!!! If I lose all the material in my OE email account, I will be in one grand mess.

PLEASE PRAY FOR DAVID (DAHVEED) AND SUSANKAY

Brother David said...

Thank you all for the remembering prayers. The procedure came out well. I had a fully occluded artery that was successfully reopened and had four stents inserted. The time for the procedure used the time I could be subjected to the radiation and dye, so I will be doing it again on the 15th for two partially blocked arteries. But now, a day later I am doing and feeling well. (My Emphasis)

TBTG and knowledgable physicians.

susankay said...

Awaiting path reports on thyroid cancer, Hard to ask for prayers for myself rather than for my deceased MollytheWonderdog. Don't want prayers for cure, just for not being fearful.

Prayers

Strengthen your servant David, O God, to do what he has to do and bear what he has to bear; that, accepting your healing gifts through the skill of doctors and nurses, he may be restored to usefulness in your world with a thankful heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, the strength and comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant susankay the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UPDATE; Please pray also for margaret's Joel, who is having cataract surgery today.

100TH BIRTHDAY SECRET

Grandpa was celebrating his 100th birthday, and everybody complimented him on how athletic and well-preserved he appeared.

"Gentlemen, I will tell you the secret of my success," he cackled. "I have taken a long walk in the open air, every day, day after day, for some 75 years now."

The celebrants were impressed and asked how he managed to keep up his rigorous fitness regime.

"Well, you see, my wife and I were married 75 years ago. On our wedding night, we made a solemn pledge: Whenever we had a fight, the one who was proved wrong would have to go outside and take a walk."

Happy anniversary!


Cheers,
Paul (A.)

Thanks, Paul (A.), though I should have saved this one for the next big anniversary, when I'll be 102.

WHOSE HUMANISM?

From the fourteenth century, there developed in Italy a new way of looking at the world which has come to be called humanism. Humanism can seem a difficult phenomenon to pin down and define, not least because no one used the word at the time. Early nineteenth-century historians newly coined it from words actually in use in the late fifteenth century, when it became common to talk about the liberal non-theological arts subjects in a university curriculum as 'humanae litterae' (literature human rather than divine in focus), while a scholar with a particular enthusiasm for these subjects was called a 'humanista.' A further complication is that 'humanist' has come to be used in modern times for someone who rejects the claims of revealed religion. This was not a feature of the movement we are considering. The vast majority of humanists were patently sincere Christians who wished to apply their enthusiasm to the exploration and proclamation of their faith. They were trying to restore a Christian perfection to humanity.

Diarmaid MacCullough in his massive and excellent book titled Christianity: the First Three Thousand Years

The 'new atheists' claim 'humanism' and 'humanist' for their exclusive use, but the terms originated in a Christian context. Not only did Christians have the terms first, early humanists knew their theology, which is not the case with a good many of the new atheists of today, those who wish to stamp out religion as an all-around pernicious influence throughout the world.

'Know your enemy,' as Sun Tzu said in The Art of War.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS TOGETHER - SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

THEN

June and Tom - September 13, 1961

AND NOW

Tom and June - September 13, 2011

Folks have asked us the secret of our long life together. Each long-married couple is unique, and what I say here is quite personal and should be read simply as an account of what I believe worked for us. First of all, I believe that we entered into marriage as a commitment for life. We intended for our relationship to endure, through good times and difficult times.

Next, at least for me, I believe it was better that Tom and I were friends first, and falling in love happened over a period of time. With the wisdom of hindsight, I think of the two or three boys and young men with whom I fell - as Jane Austen would say - violently in love. The relationships did not last, and if I had gone on to marry any of them, the marriages probably would not endured. One, I'm quite sure, would have failed rather spectacularly.

We'd never have made it without each of us having a sense of humor, plus neither of us will permit the other to take him/herself too seriously for very long.

We air our differences openly, and it's not always pretty, but when the argument is over, it is done, with no lengthy, pouty silences following.

We enjoy some of the same activities, and we go our different ways other times, which seems to have been good for our relationship.

And that's about it for wisdom from the aged - for now. I'm reminded of Eliot's words:

The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
Is the wisdon of humility: humility is endless.

The pictures are from our brunch/lunch over the weekend when the family gathered to celebrate our anniversary and the September birthdays of four members of the family: my son Patrick, my daughter Alison, my grandson Joey, and me. September seems to be a month for new life in our family. Our celebration was lovely.

The restaurant permitted us to bring our own champagne for a small corking fee. My friend Dennis, the psychologist, who was once a wine-seller, recommended several brands of the bubbly, and I was able to find Taittinger at our local market. I don't care for a good many champagnes, plus some of them give me a headache, but the Taittinger was perfect. Dennis described the brand as having a 'delicate style', which it did, indeed, and everyone enjoyed it. Best of all, I didn't get a headache.

WHAT TOM AND I HAVE WROUGHT

 

My son Patrick and his children, Joshua and Ashlynn, with cousin William

My daughter-in-law Cindy, their son Joey, and my son Tim

 

My grandsons Bryan and William, my daughter's boy friend Frank, and my daughter Alison

My grandson Andrew was absent from the gathering because he had scheduled his first driver's education lesson, and he would not, for the world, have missed. We missed not having Andrew with us, but I don't hold his decision against him.

Sunday morning at church, instead of the regular anniversary prayer for Tom and me, Fr Ron, our interim rector, asked the congregation to join with him to say the 'Blessing of a Marriage' from the marriage ceremony in The Book of Common Prayer. The prayer is lovely, and Tom and I were both quite moved and a bit teary-eyed.

O God, you have so consecrated the covenant of marriage that in it is represented the spiritual unity between Christ and his Church: Send therefore your blessing upon these your servants, that they may so love, honor, and cherish each other in faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that their home may be a haven of blessing and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord mercifully with his favor look upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may faithfully live together in this life, and in the age to come have life everlasting. Amen.

Now you know the occasion for the dozen golden roses, which Tom had arranged to be on the table when we arrived at the restaurant. The children and Tom went all out for our celebration. I thank them all, and I love them all.