GOOD NEWS FROM THE HUMBLE ABODE OF MADPRIEST

Literally at MadPriest's house...comes a visit by the new bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Durham, Justin Welby. And the visit goes beautifully. Do read MadPriest's account. MadPriest says, 'I even feel just a little bit excited.' It's a story that warms my heart. Maybe I'm over-excited, but what keeps coming to mind is, 'Miracles do happen!' Of course I could be wrong...

(I have a very nice photo of the real MadPriest which I would love to use for this post, but he would kill me if I did, and I'm not quite ready to die.)

WHAT IS A CHURCH TO DO?

From the comments at Occupied Bishop, the blog of Bishop George E. Packard.

Tim Schreier has left a new comment on the post "Trinity's Compassion":

As one of the reporters/photographers arrested at Duarte Square last month, I have some very mixed thoughts about the role of Trinity Church in Occupy Wall Street. These thoughts led me to penning a letter to Father Cooper urging him to reconsider prosecuting (not necessarily me) but the people who were caught up in the middle of Duarte Square Interfaith service.

It was a cold Tuesday morning. Zuccotti Park had been cleared only hours before. The OWS people had walked up to Duarte Square seeking a place to count heads, regroup and shelter from the chaos of the early morning raid. Many people had scattered, many arrested, some left wandering the streets of Lower Manhattan. They need sanctuary. They chose Duarte Square. An Interfaith service had been arranged with Catholic, Episcopal, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and other representatives.

After the service some had chosen to go over a wall. For some reason, someone had cut the chain link fence, why? I do not know, as there was an open gate too. The police chose to pen the people in this area and offered no warning of arrests. They moved in on force.

This caused me a crisis in faith. A crisis I took to my neighborhood church. They had conversations with Father Cooper. The bottom line is that Father Cooper and Trinity are listening to the wishes of the Vestry. A wealthy Vestry. People from the finance community, one person who works every day with Mayor Bloomberg. People who are seemingly in direct opposition of the general nature of Occupy Wall Street.

My personal conflict is in the teaching of Christ and Trinity's reaction. What would Matthew say to this? Trinity Real Estate is one of, if not the, largest single land owner in Manhattan. Duarte Square is a gravel lot and quite frankly an eye sore in my neighborhood. It's stated intention is to bring art and thought to the community. Trinity has fortified this area since that Tuesday with additional chain linked fencing and a police van 24/7.

I feel sorry for Father Cooper. Truly I do. He is caught between the teaching of Christ and the wishes of his Vestry. Trinity could choose to offer a sanctuary for peaceful gathering. A place for discussion. But it seems that they are insisting on further isolating themselves as if to pretend to pay empathy while appeasing it's mighty Vestry.

Occupy Wall Street has given the United States a gift. It is a living and breathing civics lesson, not only for the adult citizens of our nation but for the Children who are the future of our world. It is a clear example that the world is getting smaller and smaller in thought, word and deed. We, as a nation, hail the protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Moscow, Greece but when it happens on our soil, we turn the other cheek. Occupy Wall Street has opened our dialogue. No longer are we bickering over birth certificates, death panels and other non-sense, we are talking about civil justice, economic justice, immigration justice, taxation justice, health justice... "99%" and "1%" are a part of our collective vernacular. Voices are being heard.

I find it odd that Trinity would want to sit this moment out. If ever there was a case to be made for the importance of the teachings of Christ, this is certainly one of them. Trinity Wall Street can hide behind it's press releases but the rubber hits the road when actions speak and words are silent. Just consult Matthew.
Tim Schreier
Soho, NYC

Tim Schreier's comment speaks for itself.

UPDATE: Schreier is a contributor to the The Local East Village.

HALLELUJAH CORPORATIONS

I love it!

Thanks to Wade.

THE VIRTUE OF MINDING ONE'S OWN BUSINESS

Everyone who's anyone, and I mean everyone, has picked up Tobias Haller's reminder of the Encyclical letter of the 1878 Lambeth Conference, section 1.5 titled Those Were the Days (Lambeth 1878).

There are certain principles of church order which, your Committee consider, ought to be distinctly recognised and set forth, as of great importance for the maintenance of union among the Churches of our Communion.

1. First, that the duly certified action of every national or particular Church, and of each ecclesiastical province (or diocese not included in a province), in the exercise of its own discipline, should be respected by all the other Churches, and by their individual members.

2. Secondly, that when a diocese, or territorial sphere of administration, has been constituted by the authority of any Church or province of this Communion within its own limits, no bishop or other clergyman of any other Church should exercise his functions within that diocese without the consent of the bishop thereof.

3. Thirdly, that no bishop should authorise to officiate in his diocese a clergyman coming from another Church or province, unless such clergyman present letters testimonial, countersigned by the bishop of the diocese from which he comes; such letters to be, as nearly as possible, in the form adopted by such Church or province in the case of the transfer of a clergyman from one diocese to another.

For well over 100 years, the churches of the Anglican Communion lived according to the rules listed in the section of the encyclical quoted above, with the churches joined one to the other in the mutual bonds of affection, but with respect to polity and governance, the various churches practiced the good old-fashioned virtue of minding their own business and not intruding into the affairs of other churches without permission.

See what Tobias says about the application of the rules in the encyclical in the Anglican Communion today.

OCCUPY CAMP IN NEW ORLEANS REMOVED FROM DUNCAN PLAZA

From NOLA.com:

The two-month occupation of Duncan Plaza ended with a whimper late Tuesday as U.S. District Judge Lance Africk denied Occupy NOLA's request for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed protesters to continue camping indefinitely in the park across from City Hall. As darkness fell, protesters scurried to pack up possessions and clear out of the plaza by 10:30 p.m., the park's official closing time.
....

So while plaintiffs' lawyers spent the day hoping for a favorable decision, they also hedged their bets, helping their clients arrange places to stay in case Africk ruled against them.

"We're just heartbroken for people who are out here with no place to go," said plaintiffs' lawyer Davida Finger, who estimated that about 20 people were in that situation.
....

Across the nation, the issue of tents is one of the more unusual aspects of Occupy cases. Carol Sobel, an attorney for the National Lawyers Guild, which has represented many of the groups, says she believes that the cases have forced judges to ask, "What is the role of the tent as a symbolic expression of foreclosures and people's loss of their homes?"

Some proponents have proposed that tents, as a symbol, rise to the level of free speech. But so far, no courts have supported that argument.

First Amendment scholar Keith Werhan, a professor at Tulane University Law School, said he sees the structures as emblematic.

"Tents are in a sense symbolic of the message that the Occupy movement is trying to get out: that some people are literally left out in the cold," he said. Plus, from a practical standpoint, he said, tents also make possible a 24-7 occupation, which in itself is arguably part of a larger message.

I don't see what harm the Occupiers do that they need to be driven out. A couple of months ago, I visited Duncan Plaza, and I fail to understand why they couldn't stay, so long as Occupy followed health and safety rules. Perhaps certain people don't like the sight of the folks camped out in the plaza, but is that a reason that they must be removed?

In another story on the front page of the newspaper, we learn that Occupy negotiated a cheaper price on portable toilets than the city. Occupy paid $163.50 a week for two portable toilets, including cleaning, compared to the $1000 per week that the city paid just for cleaning four portable toilets.

Occupy's lawyers say the disparity in costs raises a broader question about whether Landrieu administration officials have overstated what the low-key protest movement has cost New Orleans.

Their memorandum accompanying Exhibit No. 1 notes that city officials claim to have spent $50,000 to maintain Occupy NOLA, including about $1,000 per week for toilets. But Occupy could have rented four toilets a week for $327, about one-third of what the city had paid.

Occupy posted signs on the toilets reminding the users to keep them clean because the cleaner is "one of the 99 percent".

Only two persons, Michael Raso and David Dantonio, refused to leave Duncan Plaza and were arrested by NOPD.

JESUS AND MO - BEAT

Click on the cartoon for the larger view.

From Jesus and Mo.

STORY OF THE DAY - LEGACY

I promise you not a moment will be lost
as long as I have heart & voice to speak &
we will walk again together with a
thousand others & a thousand more &
on & on until there is no one among us
who does not know the truth: there is no
future without love.

From StoryPeople.

THE KINKS - 'TILL THE END OF THE DAY'

Oh, how I wish!

CATHEDRAL OF ST PAUL'S IN BOSTON WELCOMES OCCUPIERS

From the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts:

As Occupy Boston protesters regroup following the recent close of their Dewey Square encampment, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts' Cathedral Church of St. Paul has offered them meeting space for their general assemblies, beginning Tuesday, Dec. 13. The general assemblies are open meetings through which local Occupy participants come to consensus about future actions. The evening meetings take place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.

The Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul, located at 138 Tremont Street in downtown Boston, has offered to host the meetings on a week-to-week basis, as needed, and is doing so not to endorse a particular point of view but instead "to endorse the conversation," according to the cathedral's dean, the Very Rev. Jep Streit.

"The issues raised by the Occupy movement are important to be discussing in society, and so I'm happy to offer our cathedral to provide hospitality and a venue so those conversations can continue," Streit said, noting he felt that attention had of late shifted to controversy over the protesters' encampment and away from the economic and social justice issues at hand.

St Paul's models the church as sanctuary, a place of refuge for the Occupiers who were driven out of Dewey Square. Thanks be to God, the cathedral dean, the Very Rev. Jep Streit, and the staff of St Paul's.

'I PLAN TO BE WITH THE MARCHERS ON SATURDAY...'

From Bishop George Packard at Occupied Bishop:

I plan to be with the marchers on Saturday (December 17th) not because I don't like and respect the Rector, the staff, and all the work of this historic parish. I believe they are making a profoundly wrong decision in this matter. Certainly they could record what they think is a trespass on the property with a note to the Occupiers but then have the grace to look the other way.

Read the rest at the link.

I don't see the standoff as between the good guys and the bad guys, but I agree that the staff at Trinity come down on the wrong side. I respect and admire Bishop George for his statement that he will be with the marchers.