BBC INTERVIEW WITH JUSTIN WELBY PRIOR TO HIS ENTHRONEMENT

Included in the interview are statements by Justin Welby that I find troubling.  The partial transcript below is mine, and I don't vouch for every word as correct.  One word is missing, because, even after listening a number of times, I could not understand what the archbishop said, so I left a blank. A reader supplied the word.

After the question about the decreasing numbers of the English who attend church, the interviewer asks:

Question: Could the source of that be that the church seems so out of touch with the mainstream on a number of issues, especially sexuality?

Response: The Church of England holds very firmly and continues to hold the view that marriage is a lifelong union of one man and one woman.  At the same time, at the heart of our understanding of what it is to be human is the essential dignity of the human being, and so we have to be very clear about homophobia.  You don't by muddling these ideas.  You don't suddenly provide the answer to dwindling congregations.  There's a very big difference between the ideals that we hold to that are essential to us and also pastoral practice.  In pastoral practice, you work with people as they are, as you hope they work with you, as you are yourself, and we are all conscious of our failings.  Anyone who goes around saying, I'm so ideal that I've got it absolutely right, and we can throw out those people we disagree with is completely out of order.  That's just not the way it works.

I confess my first reaction was, "And they let you get away with this?"  In the two questions and answers that I so laboriously transcribed, Justin seems to be doing what he said mustn't be done, namely muddling ideas.  To accept the idea that a straight person can have a marriage, but an LBGT person cannot, is homophobia, at least as I see it.  Why must the church hold "very firmly that marriage is a lifelong union of one man and one woman"?  Because of tradition?  The church changed its practice about a number of traditions.  To name only two: slavery and divorce.

Is it because of the few verses in the Scriptures that appear to refer to same-sexuality?  Surely Justin knows that the case against same-sex paetnerships and same-sex marriage in the Bible is quite weak.  None of the passages refer to faithful, loving, committed relationships of two persons of the same sex. Don't take my word for it; read Tobias Haller's book titled Reasonable and Holy.  Jesus never mentions same-sexuality in the Gospels, but he explicitly condemns divorce.  I'm mystified about what the church would allow in the way of pastoral practice.  It would seem very much like turning a blind eye, which Justin denied when the interviewer mentioned it.

Question: Do you worry sometimes that the concept of equality is beginning to displace Christian values?

Response: Equality as an aim and end in itself is something of a myth because people are not equal; they're different, and if we try to make them equal, we take away the extraordinary richness and diversity of human beings in all kinds of ways, and that's a huge mistake to make.  How you treat people can be equal without saying that you'll all be the same.

Balderdash!  Actually, a stronger word, not suitable for polite company, came to mind.  Justin Welby knows full well that those of us who advocate for equality for LGTB persons do not intend to "take away the extraordinary richness and diversity of human beings".  Why would he say such a thing?  We advocate for exactly what the archbishop says he wants: equal treatment under the law and in the church.

Since I had limited energy for transcribing, I picked out the archbishop's answers that troubled me most, but I believe the interview is a poor performance that sheds little light on Justin's admittedly evolving views on same-sexuality.  Unless he wishes to spend a good deal of his time answering questions about the issue, he must do better.

From the BBC.

LOUISIANA CLERGY SPEAK OUT ABOUT JINDAL SALES TAX PLAN

Bishop Morris Thompson

Religious leaders from across Louisiana complained Friday that the math behind Gov. Bobby Jindal’s tax proposal is flawed.

Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith, a Shreveport-based religious organization, said the Jindal administration underestimated the expected tax burden on families by omitting part of a proposed state sales tax hike from calculations.

The Rev. Melvin Rushing

“This is about more than just numbers on a page. This is about integrity and people’s lives,” the Rev. Melvin Rushing, of Baton Rouge, said during a news conference at the State Capitol.

The Rev. Morris Thompson, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana in New Orleans, said the governor should withdraw his sales tax proposal. He was among ministers from around the state drawing attention to the governor’s tax overhaul proposals.  (My emphasis)

“Our numbers are growing,” Thompson said. “Our voice of justice is being heard.”

The math doesn't add up.  The governor won't answer questions, nor will he give full details of the sales tax plan.   Jindal is known to hold details until the last minute, just before the vote, so that the legislators don't have time to do a proper review.  What could possibly go wrong if Jindal's plan becomes law?  Will the legislators once again submit meekly to the governor's wishes in a last minute rush?

Thanks be to God that the clergy in Louisiana are speaking out against the injustice and fuzzy math in Jindal's proposed tax policy.

[Tim Barfield, executive counsel for the state Department of Revenue,] concluded his statement by appearing to blame the ministers’ complaints on misinformation spread by the Louisiana Budget Project, which he called a liberal special interest group.

The liberals are out to get them.  But wait!  The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana and The Council for A Better Louisiana are also critical of the plan.  They're all out to get you, Tim, but hang on and don't let paranoia get the best of you.  But wait again!  I had a thought: Does it ever cross your minds that it may not be "them", the people and groups who disagree with the tax plan, but perhaps the Jindal administration's plan on offer is just really, really bad? 

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY

For the latest medical report on Joel and Margaret, see Margaret's blog. Turns out that Joel has RSV "--a viral infection that can cause secondary infection, and is dangerous in folks with health conditions as Joel has --with compromised immune systems and little ability to cough." Margaret's pneumonia is probably a secondary infection from RSV. 

For Joel and Margaret:

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our help in time of need: We ask that you visit, and relieve your sick servants Joel and Margaret for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of your mercy; comfort them with a sense of your goodness; preserve them from the temptations of the enemy; and give them patience in their illnesses. In your good time, restore them to health, and enable them to lead the rest of their lives in faith, and to your glory; and grant that they may dwell with you in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer (edited)

SECOND AMENDMENT FREEEEDOM!

AK-47

One of the strictest gun crimes on the books in Louisiana was ruled invalid Thursday by a New Orleans criminal court judge in the wake of the state’s powerful new “right to bear arms” provisions.

District Judge Darryl Derbigny ruled that the law prohibiting felons from carrying firearms violates Louisiana new “strict scrutiny” amendment to the state Constitution. The amendment, backed by heavy lobbying by the National Rifle Association, was adopted by a wide margin by voters last year and became effective Jan. 1.

The strict-scrutiny amendment makes gun ownership a fundamental right that can only be regulated by meeting a very narrow set of standards upon review by the state Supreme Court.

The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office immediately appealed Derbigny’s ruling, taking the case straight to the high court for a ruling.

Who says felons can't have their guns?  Well, they can here in Louisiana with our new constitutional  amendment requiring "strict scrutiny" for depriving anyone of the right to bear arms. So says the judge in New Orleans, and he may be right, according to the new law.  We'll see what the Louisiana Supreme Court decides.

The case before Derbigny involved a man who was caught with a .40-caliber pistol and AK-47. The man, Glen Draughter, previously had been convicted of a felony burglary charge.

Freeeedom! 

Regarding the push to arm employees in the schools, which we are told will prevent future shootings, I read yesterday that three people were killed at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia.  The base is surely armed, and three people are dead.

May those who died rest in peace and rise in glory.  May God give comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding to all who love them.

May God have mercy on us all.

IN THE BLOOMIN' GARDEN

Azalea row

Indian hawthorne

Gardenia

Gardenia

Cold weather is on the way Sunday night with temperatures in the low 40s and Monday and Tuesday nights in the 30s. The blooms may suffer.

BLUE MONDAY - FATS DOMINO

Friday night with Fats Domino singing "Blue Monday".  Ponder that mindbender, as you listen and enjoy. I missed the Fats post last week altogether. Sorry about that.

PLEASE PRAY FOR JOEL AND MARGARET

My dear friends Margaret and Joel need your prayers.  Joel is in the hospital being treated for pertussis.  Other ongoing health conditions put him at great risk in this situation.  Margaret is in a nearby hotel diagnosed with an active pneumonia-like infection dosing herself with prescribed antibiotics.  Trouble upon trouble.  Thank heavens Margaret's bishop is lovely and supportive.

See Margaret's blog.

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servants Joel and Margaret the help of your power, that their sicknesses may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST?

The Jindal administration on Thursday announced it has canceled a controversial contract that has come under scrutiny by a federal grand jury.

Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols issued a prepared statement announcing the decision affecting a $185 million-plus contract to process Medicaid claims with CNSI, a firm with ties to state health Secretary Bruce Greenstein.
....

Greenstein’s office directed media inquiries to Nichols’ office.
Gov. Bobby Jindal declined a request to be interviewed on Greenstein’s job status. Jindal’s office released a prepared statement from Paul Rainwater, the governor’s chief of staff, that said: “We have confidence in Bruce.”

The development occurred just hours after news broke that a federal grand jury was investigating the administration’s award of the contract.

Still the administration is not yet ready to say goodbye to Bruce. 

The company got the contract for Medicaid claims processing in 2011 amid some complaints that the firm “low balled” the price and made erroneous assumptions in its proposal.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

The CNSI contract has been amended once since it was signed, increasing its $185 million cost by about $9 million. A second contract amendment proposed by DHH that would have added another $40 million was sidelined recently by the state Division of Administration.

Oops!

The Jindal administration functioned for years with virtually no checks and balances.  Jindal and his closed circle of advisers operated in secrecy; the legislature went along with Jindal's proposals with little scrutiny; and Jindal brooked no dissent from the administrators of the various agencies.  Dissent publicly, and you're out.

The local press is given little access to the governor and his inner circle, but Jindal rarely refuses a request by national media for interviews and appearances.  Since the local press know more about what's happening in the state, they might ask hard questions, but the national media view Jindal as the new face of the Republican Party, possibly even presidential material, and the governor is eager to encourage the impression.

PRESIDING BISHOP KATHARINE ON THE ENTHRONEMENT OF JUSTIN WELBY

From Episcopal News Service.

DRAMA AT THE ENTHRONEMENT

But perhaps the most dramatic statement about the future of the Church of England in the service to formally install the new Archbishop of Canterbury this week will be that he will be enthroned by a woman.

The Venerable Sheila Watson, the Archdeacon of Canterbury, one of the most senior female clerics in the Church of England, will perform the first of two inductions in a service to formally recognise the Most Rev Justin Welby as the 105th archbishop at the city’s cathedral on Thursday.

In a show of unity not seen since a rift over homosexuality opened up eight years ago, all of the primates of the 77-million strong Anglican Communion are expected to attend and worship under the same roof.

The Archbishop of Canterbury inducted by a woman and all 77 Primates in the same building?  God bless them every one.