LORNA ASHWORTH'S MOTION ABOUT ACNA

Colin Coward at The Changing Attitude Blog out of England, has an excellent post about the reasserters mistaken conclusions about what really happened with the Ashworth motion, which reads as follows:

That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America.

Colin was at the "fringe meeting organized by Anglican Mainstream" at which representatives of ACNA made their case for passing the Ashworth motion:

I was present at the meeting, illicitly because the Bishop of Winchester who chaired said at the beginning (looking directly at me, I thought), this meeting is open only to members of General Synod, asking anyone else present to leave. I remained in my seat, waiting to be named. I’m sorry, bishop, for having ignored your request.

Colin doesn't sound all that sorry to me, and I'm pleased that he stayed in his chair to give us his report on the meeting.

The four speakers at the meeting representing the Anglican Church in North America were Bishop Donald Harvey, Mrs. Cynthia Brust, Dr. Michael Howell, and the Rev. Dr. Tory Baucum. They were confident and convincing in their presentations and any one not knowing better would have been convinced by what they said. Speakers from The Episcopal Church would have been equally passionate and convincing. That’s what North Americans are like.

Yesterday I met one of the BBC reporters covering Synod. What they said isn’t true, he commented, having visited both TEC and ACNA parishes. ACNA distorts statistics to their advantage and are riven with tensions and disagreements. ACNA is an unstable network. This is very different from the idealised picture presented on Tuesday of a network which is modelling Anglican breadth and inclusiveness with far more success than we in the Church of England have ever been able to achieve.

Amazing! The BBC reporter did his homework in a way that few reporters in the US would trouble themselves to do. Imagine a reporter from the US doing that sort of extensive backgroud work on a story about TEC and ACNA.

Visit Changing Attitude to read the rest of the post, because Colin has much more to say about the mistaken interpretations of the supporters of ACNA.

Colin's final paragraph rings true to me.

It isn’t difficult for Changing Attitude to stand firm with those who want women and gay people fully included in our Communion. It’s much more difficult to work and pray for an outcome in which present divisions are reconciled and all are united in one Communion. It is a dream which we have to try and turn into reality. We must refuse to be corrupted by the distortions of reality which characterise conservative campaign strategy.

Amen.

BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE'S RECENT PASTORAL LETTER

In Bishop Mark Lawrence's recent pastoral letter to the members of the Diocese of South Carolina, the bishop seems distressed by the request for certain documents from the diocese and a number of the churches within the diocese by the office of the Presiding Bishop. I read over the letters of request by the attorney for the PB's office, Thomas Tisdale, to Wade Logan, Chancellor of the diocese, and I see no reason why the diocese objects to supplying the documents. Of course, I have no special knowledge of canon law nor of the law of the land.  The bishop asserts that he is the only bishop with canonical jurisdiction in the diocese, and he, along with his Standing Committee, claim sovereignty for the Diocese of South Carolina. Note that "Episcopal" is missing from the name of the diocese.

My first thoughts upon reading Bishop Mark Lawrence's letter were, "Whining, self-pitying, and sanctimonious!" - which led me to wonder if, in his letter, Bishop Lawrence is setting up his case for a claim of persecution by the office of the Presiding Bishop against him and his doocese.

Bishop Lawrence counsels against a unilateral, precipitous response to the "unjust intrusions", "provocative interference", and "unprecedented incursions" into the affairs of the diocese.

In the service for the Ordination of a Bishop in the Episcopal Church, Mark Lawrence was asked:

Will you guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church?

He answered:

I will, for the love of God.

One presumes that Mark Lawrence affirmed the statement in the knowledge that "the Church" meant the Episcopal Church.

Surely statements such as the one below from his address to the Special Convention of his diocese had nothing to do with the request for documents:

Surely most of you know that I believe the foundations of The Episcopal Church and this Anglican way of being a Christian are being bit by bit destroyed.
....

This false teaching, that I have called the Gospel of Indiscriminate Inclusivity, has challenged the doctrine of the Trinity, the Uniqueness and Universality of Christ, the Authority of Scripture, our understanding of Baptism, and now that last refuge of order, our Constitutions and Canons. (This is the kudzu.)
....

The General Convention has become the problem. It has replace a balanced piety in this Church with the politics of one-dimensional activism.

And his mantra repeated no less than five times:

"When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Ps 11:3)

FROM PAUL (A.) - HIS OWN TRUE STORY

I went to the doctor's for my annual physical.

The nurse started with certain basics. "How much do you weigh?", she asked.

"135," I replied.

The nurse put me on the scale. It turns out my weight is 180.

The nurse asked: "Your height?"

"5 feet, 6 inches," I answered.

The nurse checked and saw that I only measure 5 feet, 3 inches.

She then took my blood pressure and told me that it's very high.

"Of course it's high!" I screamed. "When I came in here I was tall and slender! Now I'm short and fat!"

She put me on Prozac.

Look it up, but, as Stephen Colbert says, not in a book.

PARADE DAY

The Krewe of Cleophas parades past our church on the Sunday before Mardi Gras. The congregation and friends and family have a pot-luck lunch and then watch the parade from the church grounds.

 

The children play football before the parade starts. The blond girl will be a quarterback when she grows up. She can throw the ball!

 

Thibodaux High School Band. My three children attended Thibodaux High, and my daughter was in the band. She played the clarinet and the oboe.

Below are a few of the floats from the Krewe of Cleophas parade. The riders design and make the floats themselves. Another name for the krewe is The Poor Man's Parade, so-called because the members of the krewe do not pay to have their floats made.

 

 

 

 

 

My loot. I gave stuffed animals and toys to the kids. One nine year old girl in our congregation held up a sign saying, "Today is my birthday!" hoping that the float riders would throw her beads and especially toys as birthday presents.

PARADE DAY - PART DEUX

 

A dancing marcher

 

Grandpère, No. 2 son, and daughter-in-law

 

See how they love one another.

 

A Catahoula hound parade watcher, all dressed up for Mardi Gras. Some folks call the Catahoula hound the ugliest dog in the world, but I ask you, "Is this an ugly dog?" She has one brown eye and one light blue, almost white, eye.

And we all passed a good time.

WHAT IS IT?

 

From Nola.com:

It's Parade Sunday At Christ Church Cathedral, the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, situated along the St. Charles Avenue parade route.
And at morning Eucharist that means the annual reappearance of the Rev. David duPlantier's Mardi Gras vestments, seen here. (When he faithfully describes them -- sequins, fleur de lis, purple, green and gold -- he is compelled to add: "All tastefully done, of course.")
Of course. These are Anglicans, yes?
The vestment is called a cope, basically a long cloak, with a tradition of more than a thousand years in liturgical use.
....

If you've a mind to, you can catch all this at 9 a.m. Sunday. Note the time; this week, it's a hour earlier than the usual time posted on the cathedral website.

Shamelessly stolen from Caminante. I had to have it, doncha know.

HAPPY ST. VALENTINE"S DAY!

 

Aren't they precious? Too precious? Bless their hearts.

From Wiki.

DAT'S DAT!!!

 

Amen!

From my friend in Florida (not Miami).

A PRAYER REQUEST...

From Susankay:

Mimi -- I am spreading a prayer request around the blogosphere -- my much loved Molly the WonderDog has just has a really bad seizure -- the first in almost two years and is still really freaked out. Please pray that she be well and unafraid.

We've prayed for Molly before, and we'll do so again.

YOU KNOW YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH WINTER WHEN:

 

Thanks to Sue.

NEW ROADS IN THE SNOW

 

Our farmhouse is on the right in the picture of New Roads in the snow last Wednesday. The town is located northwest of Baton Rouge. When hurricanes threaten, we evacuate to the farm, which is no longer much of a farm. A nearby farmer makes hay in the field, and we harvest pecans from the many pecan trees on the property.

 

The Randall Oak is on the property next to us. Wiki says:

Pointe Coupee was home to Julien de Lallande Poydras, a merchant, planter, poet, statesman, banker and philanthropist who helped establish the state's first public schools in Pointe Coupee in the early 1800s. He likewise endowed a trust fund to provide impoverished brides with dowries in Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge Parishes. Visitors will find his grave on the grounds of the old Poydras School on Main Street in New Roads, now a museum and cultural center established by the Pointe Coupee Historical Society.

James Ryder Randall, an English professor who has written the poem "Maryland, My Maryland" in April 1861, at nearby Poydras College on False River. The poem was later put to music. The site is still known as Randall Oak, though the school was destroyed by fire in 1881. The poem is now Maryland's official state song.

 

I don't know which house is pictured above, but the snowfall is visible.

 

Above is the road that runs in front of our property. A neighbor of ours in New Roads sent the pictures.

The snow is pretty, but I'm glad I wasn't there. Our neighbor, who lives in the house on the right in the picture at the top, works for the highway department, and he hardly slept for two days. He supervises the road crews who clear the snow off the roads and bridges.

I NEED HELP!

Blogger changed my layout without asking. I'm now using the new posting and editing form, and I don't know how to load pictures in the new format. However, the bold, italic, and links are easier to use.

I've discarded Firefox altogether, because it would not let me open pop-up comments at any of the blogs and took an eternity to load.

I tried Google Chrome, but I could not get the toolbar to load, nor could I get the back and forward buttons to work, so I uninstalled the program.

I am now using Internet Explorer and not much liking it, I can open comments, but I get a safety warning pop-up asking if I really want to open the comment box.

I need help.

UPDATE: I'm back in Google Chrome and making my way. We'll see. Firefox was totally broken for usefulness for me.

For the new editing format in Blogger, I guess you upload the pictures directly from wherever you store your pictures.

STORY OF THE DAY - WORDS OF COMFORT

There are days I drop words of comfort
on myself like falling rain & remember it
is enough to be taken care of by myself.


From StoryPeople

THE ENGLISH ARE FEELING THE PINCH

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588 when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards" They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France 's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability. It's not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout loudly and excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose".

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels .

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Americans meanwhile and as usual are carrying out pre-emptive strikes on all of their allies 'just in case'.

Canada doesn't have any alert levels.

And in the southern hemisphere...

New Zealand has also raised its security levels - from "baaa" to "BAAAA". Due to continuing defence cutbacks (the air force being a squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper airplanes and the navy some toy boats in the Prime Minister's bath), New Zealand only has one more level of escalation, which is "I hope Australia will come and rescue us".

Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be al'right, mate". Three more escalation levels remain: "Crikey!", "I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and "The barbie is cancelled". So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

Don't blame me. Blame Doorman-Priest. Equal opportunity insults?

"...LITTLE CAUSE FOR CONCERN FOR TEC OR ACoC...."

Mark Harris at Preludium posted a communication from the Rev. Brian Lewis, member of General Synod from the Diocese of Clemsford and member of the Executive Committee of Inclusive Church, UK, which I suggest that you read. The Rev. Lewis gives an eye-witness report on what really happened at General Synod regarding the original motion by Private Member Lorna Ashworth concerning ACNA's desire to be in communion with the Church of England which reads as follows:

That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America.

The Rev. Lewis's opening words in his report:

“We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language” (Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost 1887).

I was alarmed but (bearing in mind Oscar's witticism) should not have been surprised to hear that some in TEC and ACoC might misunderstand the full significance of the Church of England's General Synod's decision to reject the call to "express a desire to be in Communion with ACNA".

But let us be clear it did just that, not once, but twice or perhaps even three times.

The Rev. Lewis' final words:

I would just reiterate, I see little cause for concern for TEC or ACoC in the outcome of this particular debate, and to be frank it is beyond disingenuous or bizarre for anybody connected with ACNA to pretend this is in anyway an affirmation of ACNA.

Do read the Rev. Lewis' words in between his opening and final words which enlighten and clarify the event at General Synod even for those of us who think we already understand what took place.