The Naked Liturgist

Check out this great video clip. Great Sunday viewing!

And thanks to Chuck over at the blog A Guy in the Pew for posting this gem!

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -3.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.85

I guess this will be no surprise to anyone.

Thanks to Mimi for this link.

You can take the test yourself here.

Thought for today

“To the question, Who is my neighbor? I reply as my Master did by the example that He gave: ‘the alien and the heretic.’”

Frederick W. Robertson

Saddleback Church and gays

Some disappointing news from the Straight, Not Narrow blog. I had always hoped that Rick Warren might be a little more open minded.

Rick Warren Welcomes Gays to His Church--Oops, Never Mind

from Straight, Not Narrow by Jim and Brenda Johnson

The story had started circulating that Rick Warren, the author of the wildly successful best-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life" and pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California, had invited a group of gay fathers to worship and meet with him on Fathers Day.

Here is one link to that story passed on by SNN reader Mark:

However, Rev. Warren issued this clarification, reported at the bottom of the story linked above:

Following news of the plan by gay fathers to attend Saddleback Church this coming Sunday, the church’s pastor, Rev. Rick Warren, has issued a statement clarifying the church’s role. “We did not invite this group, and I will not be meeting with them,” he said, adding that he had a previous commitment and would not be in church on Sunday.

The stern tone of this statement was very disappointing. It seems the Purpose Driven Life author sees no purpose in meeting with members of the GLBT faith community. What a shame and an opportunity lost.

Remaking Jesus in our own image

What is common to all these positions is a remaking of Jesus in one’s own image. The political conservative makes Jesus into a capitalist warmongerer. The theological conservative makes Jesus into a preacher of penal substitution. The Emerging Church leader makes Jesus into a casual suburban moderate who is relevant to contemporary youth in the Western world. The liberal makes Jesus into an ancient Che Guevara—hence Hendricks’s use of violent imagery and his anti-Yoderian reading of the NT, despite the title of his book. More significantly, the Emergent and liberal views of Jesus end up endorsing a decidedly low christology. Both of them dispense with notions of atonement and soteriology and speak almost exclusively of Jesus as a model for ethical behavior. Hendricks, for his part, explicitly separated God from Jesus—a tactic common among liberals who reduce Jesus to the role of human prophet and want their abstract notion of “God” to be inclusive of, say, Allah. “God” becomes a cipher for whatever people think they worship, and Jesus becomes a model for how we should live socially and politically today. Jesus is a revolutionary, but not a savior.

The above paragraph was taken from a rather long post at the blog of The Fire and the Rose. But I was struck by the truth of this particular observation. I think all of us need to be concerned about the problem of wanting to make Jesus in an image that particularly speaks to us. Not that I think that in itself is wrong, but it becomes wrong when that is the only image we can see of Jesus.

I'm lagging behind!

I sent an invitation to just about everyone I know to join the EPPN, I mean there is a contest going on for crying out loud. And I'm lagging sorely behind in the contest. Come on everyone out there in the blogsophere, help me out and sign up! Click here to join the EPPN!
Be sure to give them my email address when you sign up (episcopalpadre@gmail.com) so I get my credit!

The Episcopal Public Policy Network Policy Alert

Dear Robert, Pentecost Membership Drive and Contest Continues The Pentecost Membership Drive is now in full swing! Many of you have successfully recruited members and many more have been putting the word out about the EPPN. Need ideas on how to tell people about the EPPN? Check out: 5 Easy Ways to Share the EPPN. Election Year Guide for Churches We get lots of questions about what churches can and can't do when it comes to talking about policy issues, inviting candidates to forums, or participating in voter registration and Election Day activities. The Interfaith Alliance has a great easy to understand resource to help churches be involved in a non-partisan way and not get in trouble with the IRS -- Religion and Politics: A Guide for Houses of Worship For more information about faith and elections check out Faithful Democracy &nbsp Anglicans Under Attack in Zimbabwe The visit of Bishop Thomas Shaw to Zimbabwe has gotten a lot of attention in the media. He went there on behalf of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and at the invitation of Bishop Sebastian Bakare of Harare to witness the ongoing religious and political violence among the people of Zimbabwe. Read about his trip in ENS and in the Boston Globe. Or listen to him being interviewed on NPR &nbsp Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North TV Premiere on PBS In this feature documentary, filmmaker Katrina Browne (Episcopalian) discovers that her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. She and nine cousins retrace the Triangle Trade and gain a powerful new perspective on the black/white divide. An unfinished version of the film was shown in Columbus at General Convention '06. Traces of the Trade will have its national television broadcast premiere on the PBS award-winning independent documentary film series P.O.V. on Tuesday, June 24 at 10pm! Please check your local listings for airdate and time in your area. &nbsp Legislation While climate change legislation has been killed for this year, stay tuned for alerts on debt relief - the Jubilee Act - and the Global AIDS Reauthorization Act of 2008.

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Thought for today

just as dew refreshes
the wilting flower,

tenderness restores
the grieving heart.


Ven. Shi Wuling, an American Buddhist nun

Arctic synod says recent same-sex blessing votes hurt church unity

The Anglican Journal reports:

The synod of the diocese of the Arctic, meeting in Iqaluit, Nunavut from May 27 to June 3, passed a motion criticizing decisions by four dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada that support blessing same-sex unions.

“Synod expressed great disappointment as some diocesan synods have decided to move forward with approving the blessing of same-sex civil marriages, after General Synod 2007 (made) it clear that this would not be allowed until the Lambeth Conference had time to discuss the issues this summer,” said a press release issued by the diocese of the Arctic synod. “This then indicates that Canadians are not serious about unity elements that hold the church together.”

It also passed a motion expressing “strong support … for those in the Southern cone dioceses, recognizing them as members of the Anglican Communion.”

Read it all here.

But of course since it is not the Synod of the Diocese of the Arctic that gets to recognize who is and who is not a member of the Anglican Communion, their recognition doesn't really matter a whole lot.

CS Lewis

In CS Lewis' book "The Last Battle", Aslan has the following discussion with a devoted follower of Tash:

"Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas, Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child? I said, Lord, thou knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou shouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek."

An interesting side note. As I was looking for those quote, I found it in all places at a Fundamentalist Baptist web site which is devoted to warning people of the dangers of CS Lewis. I would post the link here, but I really don't want to encourage people to go there! :)

CS Lewis has a very generous understanding of grace as demonstrated in this passage.

Thought for today

“But thus do I counsel you, my friends: distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!”

Friedrich Nietzsche

Duck Noodle Gang

I ran across another interesting blog this morning (ok, to be honest, he ran across mine, made a post and so then I found his) which is rather interesting. I encourage you to check it out here. It is from a priest down under who has some interesting things to say.

Nature or nuture?

Albany (New York) Bishop William Love recently said that he "disagreed with those who say that God created some people to be oriented towards people of the same gender "and therefore it is in accordance with His will that they live out their gift of sexuality in a same-sex relationship."

"To the best of my knowledge, there is no scientific study that proves that people are born homosexual," he said. "There is no genetic link that has been discovered. In regard to God creating people homosexual in orientation, Matthew 19 makes a strong case against such an argument. Jesus said, 'Haven’t you read, that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?" So they are no longer two but one.'"

I'm appalled at such an attitude from an Episcopal Bishop. While he is correct in his claim that no scientific study proves that people are born homosexual, neither is there any scientific evidence they we are not.

If Bishop Love really believes our sexuality is a choice, I invite him to choose homosexuality for a while and walk in our shoes. I suspect that he will find that kind of choice rather difficult. Shame on him for thinking it is so easy for me.

Billboards

A little humor, courtesy of the "Of Course I Could Be On Vacation" web site. I really love the third one!

Billboards!

Church growth vs. stealing sheep

Those interested in church growth should read the article in the latest edition of Ocknega Connections. In an article entitled "Stealing Sheep: A Study in Church Growth Ethics" the Rev. Dr. William Chadwick presents an interesting conundrum. His work reveals that most of the church growth reported at many evangelical churches results largely from transfers from other churches, hence the name of his article.

The article is a good wake up call for many.

Thought for today

"When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden."

Viktor E. Frankl

The End is Near!

I stumbled across a rather funny site called "The Rapture Index". According to their web site, The Rapture Index has two functions: one is to factor together a number of related end time components into a cohesive indicator, and the other is to standardize those components to eliminate the wide variance that currently exists with prophecy reporting.

I find it rather amusing that people actually find time to do things like this. Just to save you from looking the Rapture Index is currently above the highest level meaning, I assume, that the Rapture is just around the corner.

The amazing thing is that they have even taken steps to make sure that the web site remains active after the Rapture, although there are no provisions for someone staying behind to update it!

Although, they postulate that those of us Christians who do not believe in the Rapture will indeed be left behind, so I will put maintaining the Rapture Index on my to-so list!

What I really wish is that people would pour as much energy into bringing about the kingdom of God now rather than wasting their time on trivial pursuits like this.

A poem for Emma

Barring a miracle, Emma will be leaving Emmanuel and me for a new home on June 18th.



Emma

god came to me in the form of a child
in a most unexpected way and time

she cooed and she cried
her smile brightened my life

i was affected in ways i never imagined
and my life has been changed forever

then just like that
in a flash she is gone

and a hole is left in my heart
empty and void

she will probably never remember me
having been moved to a new home so young

but i will never forget her face
or the love she brought to my life

Thought for today

understand things as they really are.

do not mistake
the reflection of the moon in the water
for the moon.


Ven. Shi Wuling, an American Buddhist nun

The pain of life

I'm struggling right now with the very hard news that Emmanuel received yesterday. He learned that Emma will be going to a new home on June 18th (her four month birthday). I have been struggling with the possibility of loosing her for quite some time now, but the finality of it all has brought the pain to a more intense level. I had been so looking forward to spending days with her in July when I was supposed to start caring for her while Emmanuel was at work. I had envisioned stroller trips where we would be walking around town visiting.

And now all that has come crashing down. Emmanuel is naturally devastated.

While I'm happy we were able to give her such a great start in life for her first four months, I'm quite frankly angry and God and the system for now cruelly taking her away.

Laid off

Well it has been made official now. The Chaplaincy position and therefore my job was not funded after the end of this month. It is frustrating to see the State of Alaska take sure a short term view, looking only to save a few dollars now rather than the long term implications. But it is sadly the continuation of a long term plan to do away with any rehabilitation whatsoever for the prisoners in Alaska.

On the good news front, I had an excellent interview for a job as Maritime Instructor (a return to my earlier roots) and they are waiting to hear if the Coast Guard will approve me as an instructor. If they do, I should be starting that new job in the Fall.

While it is a bitter disappointment to loose the Chaplain position I'm excited about the possibility of moving on to this new position.

Somehow I know that God is at work in all of this.