QUESTION OF THE DAY - PEACE OR NO PEACE?

Has the US ever been at peace since the end of World War II?  I do not refer only to declared wars,  but rather to any fighting in which US military forces were involved, either overtly or through surrogates.

They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace’,
when there is no peace.

(Jeremiah 6:14)

THREE CHEERS FOR THE REV

Not all local Episcopal Church leaders agree with a recent letter from the diocesan bishop strongly opposing same-sex blessings, but the said they will comply.
....

The fourth area church, All Saints Episcopal Church on Hilton Head Island, staked a more moderate stance, but the Rev. Richard Lindsey, the church's rector, said the congregation will comply with Lawrence's views.

"I stand solidly behind the (national) Episcopal Church," he said. "That's not to say I'm not loyal to my bishop, but I tend to disagree. ... We will honor where he stands because we are part of his diocese and he is our bishop."

The church's website states it is a "welcoming, inclusive" church, and Lindsey said he was not surprised with the General Convention's decision because it is the direction the national church has been headed for more than a decade.

"This is the tip of the iceberg," he said. "The real issue is about how we read scripture, about how we interpret God's Word today. God has given us indications we need to have a broader understanding of creation and a broader understanding of how humans are formed."

The cheers are for the Rev. Richard Lindsey's courage in speaking publicly of his loyalty to the national church and of his disagreement with the position of Bishop Lawrence on same-sex blessings. 

The text of Bishop Lawrence's letter may be found at the link above.

H/T to Kurt Wienser at The Lead.

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/17/2137637/beaufort-episcopal-church-reactions.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/17/2137637/beaufort-episcopal-church-reactions.html#storylink=cpy

WALKING ON WATER

Paddy had long heard the stories of an amazing family tradition. It seems that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been able to walk on water on their 18th birthdays.

On that special day, they'd each walked across the lake to the pub on the far side for their first legal drink.

So when Paddy's 18th birthday came around, he and his pal Mick, took a boat out to the middle of the lake, Paddy stepped out of the boat...and  nearly drowned!

Mick just barely managed to pull him to safety.

Furious and confused, Paddy, went to see his grandmother.  'Grandma,' he asked, "Tis me 18th birthday, so why can't I walk 'cross the lake like me father, his father, and his father before him?"

Granny looked deeply into Paddy's, troubled brown eyes and said, "Because ye father, ye grandfather and ye great-grandfather were all born in January, when the lake is frozen, and ye were born in August, ya fookin idiot!"

Don't blame me.  Blame a friend who shall not be named.

ONE MORE TIME...

Must-have button for GC12

...an appeal for donations to help with expenses for lodgings for Malcolm French, Moderator, and Lionel Diemel, US Convener, of No Anglican Covenant Coalition, who attended General Convention 2012 of The Episcopal Church in Indianapolis.  Everyone who was present at the convention commended Malcolm and Lionel for their dedication and hard work.  They are short a few hundred dollars on their expenses for lodgings, and any amount you can give will help.  With a donation of $25.00, you are eligible to receive a button like the one pictured above.

Use the "Donate" button below.  You do not need to join PayPal to make a donation. 

FOR NO ANGLICAN COVENANT COALITION EXPENSES AT GC12

 

OMAR KHAYYAM - "WINE LOOSENS EVEN CAST-IRON SHACKLES'

Wine-bibbing makes people
       less full of themselves,
and wine loosens even
    cast-iron  shackles.
If satan had only
    tippled every night,
he would not have been cast down
         from heaven for his pride.

Translated by Juan Cole
from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 313/ Arberry 1949

BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE WRITES A LETTER

Following the early departure from General Convention 2012 of all but two of the deputation from the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, Bishop Mark Lawrence wrote a letter to the congregations in the diocese.

Some of you have actively followed the decisions of the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Others have been blissfully unaware that our denomination even had a General Convention. We have. And the actions taken mark a significant and distressing departure from the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has received them.

Read the letter in its entirety at the link above.

THANK YOU, SISTERS!

Message to Nuns on the Bus from members of Congress.

SAYS IT ALL

From ASBO Jesus.

"BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS"

I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

Psalm 100

Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE...

...since I've posted a liturgical vestment fashion statement from His Eminence Cardinal Raymond Burke, so I thought it was time for another.

Other liturgical fashion statements from His Eminence are here, here, and here. And no, I am not obsessed.

Cardinal Burke is Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

Photo from "The Cost of Looking Good in the Magic Kingdom" (pdf) from a link from Lapin.