WHY ROMAN CATHOLICS STAY IN THE CHURCH...

...One reason: To minister to those who suffer grievous wounds inflicted by the likes of Roman Catholic Father Marcel Guarnizo:

Deep in grief, Barbara Johnson stood first in the line for Communion at her mother’s funeral Saturday morning. But the priest in front of her immediately made it clear that she would not receive the sacramental bread and wine.

Johnson, an art-studio owner from the District, had come to St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg with her lesbian partner. The Rev. Marcel Guarnizo had learned of their relationship just before the service.

“He put his hand over the body of Christ and looked at me and said, ‘I can’t give you Communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin,’ ” she recalled Tuesday.

She reacted with stunned silence. Her anger and outrage have now led her and members of her family to demand that Guarnizo be removed from his ministry.

Family members said the priest left the altar while Johnson, 51, was delivering a eulogy and did not attend the burial or find another priest to be there.

John Shore interviewed Barbara Johnson after her mother's funeral service.

Yes, Fr. Guarnizo denied Barbara communion. But almost immediately thereafter a layperson acting as the service’s Eucharistic Minister did lovingly serve Barbara communion.

Yes, Fr. Guarnizo essentially shunned Barbara. But directly following the service (and to a necessarily lesser degree during the service), Barbara was also surrounded and hugged by fellow Catholics who made a point of telling her that Fr. Marcel in no way represented the love of the Church.

Yes, Fr. Guarnizo shamelessly refused to go to the cemetery. But immediately thereupon the funeral director (“an angel,” says Barbara) comforted Barbara with assurances that he would quickly secure a priest to perform the burial. He then turned to Fr. Peter Sweeney, who wasted no time at all stepping right out of his retirement, and right into the Johnson funeral service.

“Father Sweeney was perfect,” says Barbara. “We couldn’t have asked for a kinder, more loving priest. Both Father Sweeney and the funeral director acted as soothing balms on our very scarred hearts.”

The story illustrates why I do not urge my Roman Catholic friends and acquaintances to follow my example and leave the RCC. Besides, the decision to stay or to go is the responsibility of each individual after prayerful reflection. The good people amongst the laity and the clergy in the church who live the Gospel of Christ, will yet be the salvation of their church. Not the pope, not the bishops: It will be the lowly folks who are the church, no less than the pope and the bishops, who will save the church and the hierarchy from themselves. I know Roman Catholic clergy and laity who live by the Two Great Commandments and the Golden Rule and serve God and God's people with love and compassion, sometimes in the face of obstructionist tactics by those in authority. Who will take their place if they leave?

Thanks to Paul (A.) who sent me the link to the post by Fred Clark at Slactivist, along with the note, "I had been familiar with the main story but not the followup as explained in Slacktivist." I knew the original story as well, but I did not know the tale of the Roman Catholics who stepped forward with words and deeds of love after Fr Guarnizo demonstrated a complete lack of compassion. Thanks be to God for the people who acted in a Christ-like manner!

IOI YEAR OLD WOMAN DRIVES AN 81 YEAR OLD PACKARD

Thanks to Doug, who says:

101 year old driving an 81 year old car! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS ONE.

Notice at the very end when she steps on a little red towel to get into the car so she won't dirty the running board, then picks it up and puts it in the car so she can use it when she gets out!

Precious lady!!!! An amazing lady, 101 years old, driving an 81 year old car, who changes the oil and spark plugs herself!

This is a hoot!

BBC RADIO 4 - DISCUSSION OF ANGLICAN COVENANT

Transcript of the program from the Diocese of Salisbury, with Edward Stourton discussing the Anglican Covenant with Bishop Graham Kings and Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch.

Stourton - The Anglican Covenant was Rowan Williams’s big idea for securing unity of the worldwide Anglican Communion after the row over the American church’s decision to appoint a gay Bishop. It lays out a set of basic principles to which all churches in the communion would be required to subscribe. In the Church of England the Covenant needs to be endorsed by a majority of the church’s 44 Dioceses. 10 [sic 6] of them have been voting this weekend and the running total stands at 17 against and only 10 for the Covenant. Dr Graham Kings is the Bishop of Sherborne and Diarmaid MacCulloch is the Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford.

Stourton - Good morning to you both. Bishop you are going to have to make up a good deal of ground if you are going to get this through. How do you persuade people to vote for the Covenant?

Kings - Yes, the momentum is against the Covenant at the moment but there are still 17 Dioceses to vote. I think we can look at the image of a bunch of grapes or a bag of marbles. A bunch of grapes is what the communion is at the moment and we want to keep it like that. It is to do with personal interdependence. A bag of marbles is about isolated autonomy that don’t actually meet together. The interesting thing about today is that I am in Bournemouth in a studio, Diarmaid is in Oxford and you’re in Manchester and we are connected. And I think that is interdependence. The danger is if we get cut off from each other we have isolated autonomy.

Stourton - Diarmaid you’re more of a marbles man.

MacCulloch - I don’t understand those images very much, I just don’t think they are very useful images at all. What is very interesting, is the way the figures have consistently built up as people have understood the arguments for the Covenant and they realise just how incoherent they are.

Stourton - Right, what is the argument that you think swings it?

MacCulloch - Well, what swings the argument against is that people realise that this is a sort of centralisation, proposed for the Anglican Communion, which has never been Anglican, which is against Anglicanism. The Anglican Communion is not an Anglican church it’s a family of churches and you don’t need some punitive, centralising, disciplining sort of process to make the churches work together. That’s not the Anglican way, and I’m delighted at the way that the Dioceses have recognised that. This is a great thing for the Church of England.

Stourton - Let me put that to Graham Kings, because it is a very serious charge that the idea that this runs against the fundamental spirit of what Anglicanism is?

Kings - I thinks it’s worth watching the Archbishop of Canterbury’s video which was put on Youtube on Monday this week. He specifically says, quote “Some people say there’s a misunderstanding that it is some sort of centralising proposal creating an absolute authority which has the right to punish people for stepping out of line!”, that’s what Dairmaid has just said, and the Archbishop says, “I have to say, that I think this is completely misleading and false”. In the introduction you said they would be required to sign the Covenant. No, this is an ‘opt in’ Covenant; nobody is required to sign it at all.

MacCulloch - Yes, but what happens Bishop, if you ‘opt in’, what if you ‘opt out’? You are not opting out you are forced out. If you will not sign up to a set of arguments, a set of propositions, which have been drawn up by one body and they have decided what Anglicanism is. Then you have to say, am I going to agree to something, which someone else has decided on Anglicanism

Stourton - Let’s just be clear Dr Kings is that right in formal terms? If you don’t sign up to this you are not a member of the Anglican Communion?

Kings - No. That’s not right. You are still a member of the Anglican Communion. It may be some particular committees that you cannot take part. Yes, you are still fully a member of the Anglican Communion but not in the central committees. Nobody is forced to do anything. These are recommended courses of actions. It is not one central committee that has drawn up this, it has been discussed all over the Communion and the Church of England had a huge input into it.

Stourton - Professor MacCulloch?

MacCulloch - Well, it has been discussed by those who want to discuss it. There is a curious sense in which this lunatic proposal has gone down a path. Once you start you don’t see the alternatives. Watching it happen has been like a rather slow motion version of the Gadarene Swine.

Stourton - A quick final word Dr Kings. On a practical point doesn’t this or won’t this, if it goes against the Covenant, as it appears to be doing, very much damage Archbishop Rowan Williams’ authority in the church because he set enormous store by this idea?

Kings - I think we need to look at the Provinces. Provinces have voted worldwide. So far, six in favour and only one against. A liberal province, Mexico, has voted for it, Southern .......

Stourton - But, the Church of England is the Mother church in a way ...........

Kings - In some ways yes, we will see. The business committee have to report in July and we will see what their report is.

Stourton - Graham Kings, Bishop of Sherborne and Diarmaid MacCulloch Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford, thank you both very much indeed.

Listen here. The segment begins at approximately 13:27 minutes into the broadcast.

DIOCESE OF RHODE ISLAND SELECTS FIVE CANDIDATES FOR BISHOP

From Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island Bishop Search:

The Search and Nomination Committee has selected five priests to stand for election as the 13th Bishop of Rhode Island. This preliminary slate consists of:

• the Rev. Kurt Dunkle, 50, rector, Grace Episcopal Church, Orange Park, Florida (Diocese of Florida);
• the Rev. Cathy George, 55, currently on a writing sabbatical; former priest-in-charge, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Dorchester, Massachusetts (Diocese of Massachusetts);
• the Very Rev. Nicholas Knisely, 51, dean, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Phoenix, Arizona (Diocese of Arizona);
• the Rev. Ledlie Laughlin, 52, rector, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Diocese of Pennsylvania);
• the Rev. Jennifer Pedrick, 45, rector, Church of the Epiphany, Rumford, Rhode Island (Diocese of Rhode Island).

Links to the Nominee Profiles, photos, autobiographies, and answers to the four essay questions posed by the Search and Nomination Committee may be found at the diocesan website.

H/T to Nicholas Knisely Ann Fontaine at The Lead.

Nicholas Knisely is one of the candidates. Go Nicholas!

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for the Diocese of Rhode Island that they may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip them for their ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

STORY OF THE DAY - BROTHERHOOD OF MAN

I'm much better at the brotherhood of
man thing, he said, when I can afford to
live in a good neighborhood.

Alas, too true.

From StoryPeople.

DIOCESAN SYNOD VOTES ON THE COVENANT IN CHURCH OF ENGLAND TODAY

Final results for the day in: final update 13.57

Bath and Wells Against

Bishops For: 0, Against: 1, Abstained: 1
Clergy For: 17, Against: 22, Abstained: 1
Laity For: 18, Against: 23, Abstained: 1

Carlisle For

Bishops For: 2, Against: 0, Abstained: 0
Clergy For: 19, Against: 13, Abstained: 2
Laity For: 33, Against: 17, Abstained: 0

Coventry For

Bishops For: 2, Against: 0, Abstained: 0
Clergy For: 22, Against: 7, Abstained: 0
Laity For: 26, Against: 2, Abstained:

Ripon and Leeds Against

Bishops For: 2, Against: 0, Abstained: 0
Clergy For: 12, Against: 22, Abstained: -
Laity For: 8, Against: 17, Abstained: -

Southwark Against

Bishops For: 1, Against: 0, Abstained: 1
Clergy For: 10, Against: 27, Abstained: 2
Laity For: 21, Against: 32, Abstained: 0

Worcester Against

Bishops For: 2, Against: 0, Abstained: 0
Clergy For: 5, Against: 19, Abstained: -
Laity For: 6, Against: 22, Abstained: -

Summary

Dioceses for the Covenant to date: 10
Dioceses against the Covenant to date: 17

therefore:

For the Covenant to succeed 13 more dioceses must vote in favour
For the Covenant to fail 5 more dioceses must vote against

There are 17 dioceses yet to vote.

Dioceses voting next Saturday:

Norwich
Liverpool
St Albans
Chester
Ely

Results copied directly from Paul Basgshaw at Not the Same Stream.

The numbers are better than I hoped for. I would have considered 3 for and 3 against a good day. No proponent of the covenant can now say that there is a consensus favoring the document in the Church of England. And it's plain to see the bishops are either well out of touch with their flocks or extremely loyal to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Only in Bath and Wells and Southwark did bishops stand apart from Canterbury.

UPDATE: Alan Perry does the math for us at Comprehensive Unity.

Across all 27 dioceses, the votes by houses look like this:

Bishops: 82.0% for, 10.0% against, 8.0% abstentions
Clergy: 44.6% for, 50.8% against, 4.7% abstentions
Laity: 50.1% for, 45.2% against, 4.7% abstentions

Comparing against last week's figures, one can see that support is dropping in all houses, opposition is growing, and confidence is growing (judging by the declining number of abstentions) except in the House of Bishops.

NO TO THE ANGLICAN COVENANT - YES TO THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

Tomorrow six Church of England diocesan synods will meet to vote on whether to adopt the Anglican Covenant. The vote now stands at 13 dioceses against, and 8 dioceses for. Posted below are three videos which may be helpful to synod members who are as yet undecided as to how they will vote.



In the video, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams tells why he thinks the Anglican Covenant matters. I hope for a different outcome than the archbishop, that a majority of Church of England dioceses votes 'no' to the covenant.



Louie Crew, founder of Integrity, makes great good sense with a few, clear, well-chosen words as he cautions against probable punitive consequences of adopting the Anglican Covenant.

There are other ways forward, and I urge you if you have anything to do with this process, make sure that this Covenant is voted down.

Diarmaid MacCulloch is Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford. He was knighted for his service to scholarship in January 2012.

I pray that God bestows the gift of wisdom on those who vote.

Note: The idea for the title of my post is from Kelvin Holdsworth at What's in Kelvin's Head?

MY MOTHER'S MARY

The statue of the Virgin Mary pictured above was amongst my mother's few possessions when she died in the nursing home some years ago. The slender, elongated, and perfectly symmetrical figure has an Art Deco look about it. A friend gave the statue to her, and my mother whispered to me that it may be worth a good deal of money. I think not, but the Mary figure is a keepsake and, in appearance, is more interesting than most devotional statues of Jesus and the saints.

A gold sticker on the bottom of the statue reads:

RELIGIOUS FIGURE
Sculptor A. Santini
MADE IN ITALY

After Googling around a bit, I found the website Amilcare Santini.

In 1958 with his son Nedo, 23 years old, he decided to begin the production of statues in imitation alabaster and, some months later, the production of statue in alabaster powder and oxolyte under the name of ISAC DI SANTINI NEDO (INDUSTRIA STATUE ARTISTICHE CECINESI) in a small plant in Cecina, Via della Madonna n°12.

My statue is a little over 10" tall and may be made of bonded or imitation alabaster.

Mary’s Song of Praise

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

(Luke 1: 46-55)

JONATHAN IS NOW KINDLING

Available by monthly subscription at a cost of just of just £2.49 (slightly less than $4.00) per issue. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time.

NOW AVAILABLE IN KINDLE FORMAT

Click over to St Laika's Shoppe for details and links to subscribe or purchase the Kindle version.

Jonathan's alternative services for Holy Communion are lovely. The collects, intercessions, post-communion, and other prayers blend with Lectionary readings from the Scriptures of the day and flow smoothly into the eucharistic service. The prayers for Holy Week are especially moving and truly fine work. I know Jonathan, and, since he's a bit of a rogue, I wrote to ask how he could write such beautiful prayers. His response to me makes very good sense: "I think you have to be a rogue to write good prayers. If I was holy, I could only write 'God is wonderful' stuff. When I pray I am praying for myself and, being fully aware of my shortcomings, I am actually grateful for what Jesus has done for me."

Clergy looking for alternative services would do well to give them a try. Lay church-going folks may wish to pass them along to their pastors or just use the prayers at home outside of church services. I subscribed in the PDF version, and I highly recommend them.

Jonathan Hagger blogs by the name of MadPriest.

PREY UNCEASINGLY

Alas, must Rowan make do with the floor, rather than a prie dieu, because he's not a 'real' archbishop in the eyes of the pope?

The proposed Anglican Covenant is, in part, an attempt by the Archbishop of Canterbury to gain the approval of Pope Benedict and ease the way into a closer relationship between the Vatican and Canterbury. You see, we Anglicans are, at present, a diverse lot, a messy communion of autonomous churches, and Rowan wants to gather us into a 'real' Anglican church vis-a-vis the church of Rome. He should know that the attempt is similar to the old cliché of trying to herd cats. Besides, no matter what Rowan does, the pope will not accept him as a 'real' archbishop, nor will he accept Anglican orders as valid. Even if the ABC joined the ordinariate or converted to the RCC, he could not be a bishop, much less an archbishop, because he is married.

Anglicans decided nearly 500 years ago that they preferred an autonomous church, the Church of England, which was not under the authority of Rome. Why is Rowan so anxious to curry favor with the RCC, especially after the recent shabby treatment of only very short notice by of the powers in the Vatican before the predatory RC ordinariates were set up in England to woo away disaffected Anglicans? Why try to foist the covenant on the churches in the Anglican Communion partly to 'relate' better to Rome? We (at least a good many of us) want to be in communion with other Anglican Churches, but we do not want to be a worldwide Anglican Church.

Clever and very funny photoshop from The MadPriest Internet Chop Shop.