OOPS!

Thanks to Ann at Facebook.

ACNA AND BISHOP DUNCAN LOSE APPEAL IN PENNSYLVIA SUPREME COURT

See Lionel Deimal's Web Log and Ann Fontaine at The Lead.

The ruling reads:

ORDER
PER CURIAM

And now, this 17th day of October, 2011 the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is hereby DENIED.

SOME FOLKS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO DO

Good morning, Brothers and Sisters:

The agenda for our upcoming College of Presbyters is attached. If you have not already registered, there is online registration. Please go to http://www.solepisc.org . On the left hand side click on a box entitled, "Info about and Registration for Upcoming Events." Then click on Clergy & Committee Meetings. From there you can see info about the College and submit your online registration.

I look forward to seeing you on Monday, October 24. Please remember to bring your Bible.

+Morris
--
The Rt. Rev'd Morris K. Thompson, Jr.
Bishop of Louisiana

Above is an email from my bishop, Morris Thompson, to the clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana on the upcoming College of Presbyters, which was posted at Stand Firm (no link) without commentary. Some folks, like Festivus over there, must not have enough to do. Is the object of the post to mock Bishop Morris and the priests of the diocese? Are we to conclude that if Louisiana was a proper reasserter diocese, served by proper reasserter clergy, the bishop would not need to remind them to bring their Bibles? If not, then what IS the point?

Is Festivus a member of the clergy in Louisiana, or did a friendly clergy member supply the email?

Hmm. Many questions.

STORY OF THE DAY - EMPTY SPACES

After his father died he carried his life
more gently & left an empty space for
the birds & other creatures.

From StoryPeople.

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED - ONCE AGAIN

Last night I watched the first of the four DVDs of the 1981 version of the TV series, Brideshead Revisited, yet again. Oh my! How splendid! Since I have my new larger screen monitor, I decided to watch on my computer rather than on TV, and it worked out quite well. With my old monitor, I didn't care to watch movies on my computer, but I'm reconsidering now whether I want to subscribe to one of the movie sites like Netflix. I have a comfortable padded desk chair for my computer, and if I moved a footstool in place, I'd be all set.

Anyway, back to Brideshead. For the first time, I was able to watch the series with the closed captions for the hearing impaired. I could never get the captions to work when I watched the DVDs on my TV, although the notes on the container box said the captions were there. I was able for the first time to get all of the brilliant dialogue and voiceovers. What a pleasure! I've 3 DVDs to go, and I will go. Thanks be to God, my new computer screen, and the CC function that worked.

I love Evelyn Waugh's book, which I've read countless times, and the TV version is one of the few translations from book to screen of a favorite of mine that truly works for me. The scenes of Oxford University brought tears to my eyes as I remembered my first visit and my awe at actually seeing the 'city of dreaming spires' with my own eyes. Later, I took week-long summer courses on three occasions and stayed in student rooms at Brasenose College. On one of my visits to England, I visited Castle Howard, which is the location of the scenes which take place at Sebastian's ancestral home, and it was lovely to see the amazing castle again.

I WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT IF I HADN'T SEEN IT

Nina Burri's parents are Persian (Iranian), but she grew up in Europe.

Thanks to Doug.

HERMAN CAIN WANTS A BORDER FENCE

From The Caucus in the New York Times:

“It’s going to be 20 feet high. It’s going to have barbed wire on the top. It’s going to be electrified. And there’s going to be a sign on the other side saying, ‘It will kill you — Warning.’” At an earlier rally, on the campus of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tenn., he added that the sign would be written “in English and in Spanish.”

According to Edward Wyatt, the listeners at two rallies in Tennessee cheered and applauded Cain's remarks.

Cain added:

“If we have to put troops with real guns and real bullets for part of it, we can do that too."

What about the deficit? 2,000 mile fences don't come cheap. But wait! Although I haven't done the math, doing away with Social Security and Medicare might more than cover the cost.

Cain said that some folks had told him his suggestion is insensitive. Has anyone told him to his face that his suggestion is just plain stupid?

Picture from Wikipedia

UPDATE ON IMMIGRATION LAWS: Ormonde at Through the Dust said:

The last [Louisiana] Legislature passed two bills, both requiring employers to use the incompetent but poisonous E-Verify, and we are in danger of even stricter legislation based on the Alabama model. The speaker, Susan Weishar of the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University, shared with us a letter issued by several bishops in Mississippi last February, including Duncan Gray.

The entire text of the letter from the bishops in Mississippi is here. It's a fine thing to see the religious leaders stand together against the punitive legislation. The letter is excellent. I hope to see similar action by the religious leaders in Louisiana.

OUR MAN DOUG AT OCCUPY WALL STREET

Doug reports from Times Square.

David Kaplan, Paul Lane, and I met at the Public Library on 5th and 42nd to go to the big Occupy Wall Street rally in Times Square this evening.
....

The weather was perfect, a cool breezy autumn evening. The crowd was immense, much larger than we expected. From our vantage point, it looked like Broadway was packed all the way to 34th street. Far from pot smoking hippies, the crowd struck me as very middle class, and very diverse in terms of age and ethnicity. The mood was determined and very happy and festive. I'm a great believer in the political power of a good time had by all.

Read the rest at Counterlight's Peculiars, and see his pictures from the rally.

SUMMARIES OF THE INVESTIGATION OF BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

If you're interested in reasonable and non-hysterical summaries of the investigation of Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina ('Episcopal' has been removed from the name of the diocese at the website) and the complaints (no charges!) against him by persons within the diocese, which the Disciplinary Board of the Episcopal Church is now investigating, as it must, check out the posts at The Lead here and here and the article at The Living Church.

In an update, The Living Church also notes that Josephine Hicks has recused herself as the attorney representing the Disciplinary Board in the investigation.

ABOUT THE PLACEBO EFFECT

This morning after breakfast, I had a bit of heartburn, so I went to the cabinet for a tablet for relief. Actually, I buy the generic version of Zantac, because it's cheaper. My heartburn went away rather quickly. Much later I went back to the cabinet, and there was the pill lying on the counter. I never swallowed it! Have I made a new scientific discovery? The pill works even when you forget to take it, just so you believe you've taken it. Since I'm home alone, I had a good private laugh over the incident, but, of course, I had to tell y'all.

Picture from Wikipedia.