I Think Jimmy Carter Has You Beat, Mr. Prez

Obama also stressed he probably knows about Judaism more than any other president, because he read about it -

Say what you will about Carter, but he had a broad and impressive knowledge of comparative theology.

Also, John Adams and James Madison knew Hebrew.

Apparently, A Cross On The Side Of A Highway Establishes A Religion

53-YEAR-OLD CROSS TO BE TORN DOWN

God Sighting

Is this the face of God in a mixing bowl?

Summer #55 [Anticipated]

In over fifty summers, I've sustained a damaged rotator cuff, torn thumb tendon, strained Achilles tendon, sprained ankle, simple orbit fracture, cracked palate, demolished molar [a surf board hit me in the side of the face; not my board, some teenager's], two black eyes [not at the same time], bloodied noses, a sprained elbow, jellyfish stings, and forty-eight sixty sixty-six stitches in various parts of me. Not to mention sunburn [although not since the early 80's], dehydration, ear infection, various minor abrasions, contusions, lacerations, a profound sinus irritation, and shredded knee cartilage. Oh, and a barracuda once gave me a dirty look.

Then again, I've seen colleagues literally work themselves to death in the face of their congregations' spiritual lassitude, sneering indifference, and occasional hostility, so it seems that surfing is safer.

From The Dawn Patrol, by Don Winslow:

"The physicists call it a 'energy-transport phenomenon.'

The dictionary says it's 'a disturbance that travels through a medium from one location to another location.'

A disturbance. It's certainly that.

Something gets disturbed. That is, something strikes something else and sets off a vibrations. Clap your hands right now and you'll hear a sound. What you're actually hearing is a sound wave. Something struck something else and it set off a vibration that strikes your eardrum.

The vibration is energy. It's transported through the phenomenon of a wave from one location to the other.

The water itself doesn't actually move. What happens is one particle of water bumps into the next, which bumps into the next, and so on and so forth until it hits something. It's like that idiot wave at a sports event - the people don't move around the stadium, but the wave does. The energy flows from one person to another.

So when you're riding a wave, you're not riding water. The water is the medium, but what you're really riding is energy."

[Above is a photo of a Roman Catholic nun whose religious order hosts an annual charity surfing competition in Stone Harbor, New Jersey.]

Memorial Day

Memorial Day in Roxbury means at least a couple of things, from the fun of our very particular town parade to the quiet witness of small American flags sprinkled throughout the three cemeteries.  Below is the collect for today:

Lord God Almighty, who have made all peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and peace: Grant to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sometimes the old poetry teacher in me comes out, too.  Below, A.E. Housman's "Here Dead We Lie":
 
Here dead we lie
Because we did not choose
To live and shame the land
From which we sprung.

Life, to be sure,
Is nothing much to lose,
But young men think it is,
And we were young.

[For Jeff and Scott, who were young; and for those of the 1/4th Marines who fought the good fight and kept the faith.  "Whatever It Takes."]

Wherein I Take Umbrage At Something In The NYT

This may not be the first time that I've winced at something in the New York Times [I think that was when they tried to turn the obit for movie cowgirl Dale Evans into a dissertation on post-modern feminism], but this opening sentence, while compelling and designed to please an editor on a holiday weekend, isn't accurate:

In the end, it was a typical Monaco Grand Prix procession: The man on pole finished first, the man who started second finished second, and none of many potential surprises came to be.

Well, racing reporter, except for the races that were held between 1989 to 2007.  That would seem to make it not typical at all.    

[This is for Formula One nerds only, of whom I know only two others.]   

The Day Of Pentecost

This week, as is traditional, we witness the procession of the early Christian phone book, appropriately groan in labor pains with the early church, and learn of the Advocate, who is to be our perpetual guide through all things temporal. All this plus what I witnessed at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 1972 [or was it '71?].

The lections may be found here.

Remember: It is customary to wear the color red on the Day of Pentecost.

Too Busy To Blog

I became remarkably busy this week and was unable to spend any early morning, or late night, time in front of the computer.  Also, today was the last day of school for me for this academic year, which meant I took a little more time at RHS this morning.

Returning soon....

Today Is National Maritime Day

It's a grand day for those of us who have the honor of serving as chaplains to merchant seamen. An often forgotten form of national service gets its due by presidential decree on this date each year. I also get to wear my uniform. Well, if I can find it.

More may found here.

Also, have fun playing "Guess the mariner" with the photo below.  Hint: a great number of America's writers have been merchant mariners, including Herman Melville, Jack London, Allen Ginsberg and Mark Twain.  Joseph Conrad, while not American, was a merchant ship captain before becoming one of the great stylists of the English language.

I Used To Play Bass For Sarcastic Fringehead

The things I meet while surfing. Check out the photo. (Bad link now fixed.)

The Government Gets Ready To Go After Guitars Again

Feds threaten to disrupt summer concerts 

"Lawmakers are scrambling to save the summer concert season from federal agents poised to seize the instruments of rock and country stars because the wood used to make them may have been illegally harvested--and without their knowledge."

Yes, it's this weird "illegal" wood fixation that portions of the federal government seem to have with Gibson guitars. Note that Martin guitars, which are made from the same wood from the same source, have never been subject to government scrutiny nor have they ever been raided by armed federal law enforcement personnel. [Ditto Clements guitars, I might add.]  Odd, isn't it? It's almost as if there's something political about all of this. Nah, that's crazy talk.

The New York Times Explains This "Christian Marriage" Notion To Its Readers

Mitt and Ann Romney’s marriage is strong because they believe they will live together in an eternal afterlife, relatives and friends say, which motivates them to iron out conflicts.

Honestly, whenever the NYT speaks of Christian theology or sacrament these days, it's as if they're explaining the practices of some odd cargo cult to a collection of curious readers.  It reminds me of the tone heard in those old travelogues that used to be shown in movie theaters: "Here are the Tahitians in their colorful native dress.  Don't shrink our heads, boys and girls." or "Behold the Navaho trinket salesman.  Don't worry, he doesn't want your scalp!"  Yeesh.

The part that gets me is that the NYT implies that this belief of the Romney's is something particular to Mormons.  In fact, it is the Christian sacrament of marriage as understood by anyone who is, well, a Christian of any type, denomination, or church.  That's why marriage is a sacrament; it's eternal.

I Used To Play Bass For Vegetarian Shark

World's First Vegetarian Shark Prefers Heads of Lettuce

Parish News

I received word this morning that Marion Oonk, a long-time member and former lay minister at Christ Church, has died. In fact, she was the lay minister I worked with on my first Sunday at Christ Church back in 1999. Let light perpetual shine upon her.

Rite Of Sancturary Is Offered To Black Bears, Too

This fellow came to visit me in front of the parish this morning.  By the time I found my camera he was making his way along South St.

The Widening Gyre

An ordained friend of long acquaintance called me today.  "Did you know that there is General Convention this summer?"

Actually, if I did make note of it, I had forgotten.

He then asked the question that haunts me: "Do you think it matters any more?"

My answer to that question scares me a little.

When the center of this gyre we call the church no longer holds, what happens?  No, I know the answer.  It's happening now.

Greece And Russia: The Christian Connection

This is especially interesting given the coming, and significant, international political shift.

The Geopolitics of Greece’s Exit from the Euro

A Marvelous Letter From Yesterday's Wall Street Journal Web Page

It regards the woman who was once referred to as the Harvard Law School faculty's "person of color", an ostensible 1/32nd Cherokee, whose claims to being the member of any tribe are...weak:

I think everyone is missing the point about the Elizabeth Warren matter. What's important isn't whether or not she lied. What's important is that once she was hired, and Harvard et al. were able to check the diversity box, it didn't matter one little bit if she was actually an Indian or not. This whole kerfuffle exposes the diversity hoax.

On the one hand, back in 1997 we were to celebrate that Harvard had hired its first "woman of color." Finally, Harvard was diversified, which is apparently vitally important for many unnamed reasons, or so we are told. On the other hand, we are assured by all the involved parties that she was hired and evaluated on her performance, not on the diversity that she brought to the institution.

Unlike Warren, I am an "official" Cherokee Indian. I have the pedigree card from the Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs Bureau to prove it. But just like Warren, any "diversity" I bring to an institution has nothing to do with that pedigree. I didn't grow up on a reservation. I don't participate in any Indian-specific religious or cultural institutions. The diversity I bring is related to being the first in my family to go to college. It comes from being in the military. It comes from growing up, being educated, serving my country, and working under my own unique circumstances. In short, the diversity I bring is only different, not better, not worse, than anyone else's "diversity," regardless of skin color or bloodline. It is certainly not related to my great-grandmother being a Cherokee.

But if I check that box, somehow my employer might be viewed as better, more progressive and more "diverse" than others. That's a pile of Indian-pony dung.

Of course this means that any who are of mixed racial background, and yet are as oatmeal-colored as Elizabeth Warren, are held up to even more ridicule by pure Caucasians; something that has been an unforturnate experience for some time.  Between academic poseurs such as Warren, and the odd collection of "Indians" who operate casinos, the honest claim of Indian blood is now always to be suspect.  In the 21st century, the only good Indian is the one you can pretend to be.

Words Written In 1978 [Italics Are Mine]

I speak as a socially concerned evangelical, one who sees that the Gospel is a stick of dynamite in the social structure. We need to proclaim the whole Gospel to the whole man, and this includes relating Christian faith to the whole man, and this includes relating Christian faith to the economic and political areas of life as well as the so-called religious area. At the same time we must beware of combining the Gospel with any social ideology.  - Donald G. Bloesch

True, as the Episcopal Church's strong association with one branch of one secular political party often renders it an irrelevant entity in the lives of about 80% of the American public.  It also sends the unfortunate message that The Church believes that Jesus is only for those who politically agree with its leadership.

And Also With You

Man arrested for throwing Bible at roomie

But You'll Die Healthy

Deadly organic food – worse than Fukushima

The Educational Conundrum

College artists take out onerous student loans in order to learn how to paint a mural that...protests student loans?

Ah, The Simple Joys Of Summer

Armed environmental police shut down ice cream stand

Cue the bureaucrat: "I like ice cream as much as anybody, so it pains us to even temporarily close what is an iconic property, but we have to make sure people eating ice cream there are safe,' said Lambert."

Feel his pain, and that of the thirteen now-unemployed high school + college students.

Some More About Donald "Duck" Dunn

Not to be tedious, but as mentioned in a post from a few days ago, Dunn was a major influence on most of the popular music that grew out of the cauldron of the 1960's; a time when the blending of styles created music so memorable that I still hear it played in high school dormitories.  This link is to an excellent article about him in The Atlantic with mentions of the songs on which he played, his style in regards to the other two bass greats of his era [James Jamerson, who died of a drug overdose, and Jaco Pastorius, who was beaten to death by a bouncer.  Rough crowd I hang out with, aren't they?] and the inspiration he bequeathed to bass players everywhere, even ratty nightclub hacks from the late 70's/early '80's [like me].

Dunn leaves behind an impressive legacy: just a quiet guy holding down the low end who managed to change the sound of pop music.

This Is Why Wind Turbines Are Called "Bird Blenders"

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a division of the Interior Department, is considering loosening regulations on the killing of bald eagles, the national bird of the United States, to accommodate the development of wind energy sources.

This seems a disturbing metaphor.

I Wonder What Grade He Got

Teen arrested after homework left at crime scene

Detroit's historic churches still thriving, helping city

When the Rev. Steven Kelly arrived at St. John's Episcopal Church in Detroit a decade ago, there were only about 50 members left at the historic congregation.

But today, there are almost 200 who attend the oldest church building on Woodward Avenue, built in 1859, a Victorian Gothic structure that sits next to Comerica Park and across the street from the Fox Theatre. The revival of the area around the church coupled with its unique services --traditional Anglican rituals -- have brought back a house of worship that was fading into history.

An Obituary Of Note

Legendary bass player ‘Duck’ Dunn of Booker T. and the MGs dies in Tokyo at age 70

And Also With You

New Zealand churchgoer rips man's ear off

Archaeological News

RAF fighter plane discovered in the Sahara... 70 years after it crashed in the desert

An Obituary Of Note

Carroll Shelby, Builder of Cobra Sports Car, Dies at 89

Maybe the coolest guy ever. I think he was on his fourth heart.  Here he is talking to some guy who's only half as cool.  And look at that car....

Yes. Next Question.

Are the Indians for real?

(It's about baseball, not political candidates.)

Surprisingly, This Was Written In 1911

"Modern culture is a mighty force. It is either subservient to the gospel or else it is the deadliest enemy of the gospel. For making it subservient, religious emotion is not enough, intellectual labor is also necessary. And that labor is being neglected. The Church has turned to easier tasks. And now she is reaping the fruits of her indolence. Now she must battle for her life." - The Princeton Theological Review, Volume 11, 1911

Vox Populi, Vox Deo

As mentioned in an earlier posting:

Massachusetts House overturns school bake sale ban

Cue the outraged politician:  “That is the stupidest thing I’ve seen in my career,” state Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord), moments after the House unanimously voted to ease the statewide cupcake crackdown.

You tell 'em, Cory.

And You Can't Smoke Outdoors, Either. So There!

New York Bans Kiteboarding

When did things get so...totalitarian?

Speaking Of Environmentalism

Rescue Workers Train for Hybrid Hazards

Now This Is Environmentalism

The fastest surfing wave in the world has been saved

Ohhhhhhh, Canada

A Christian student suspended from a high school in Nova Scotia for sporting a T-shirt with the slogan "Life is wasted without Jesus" vows to wear it when he returns to class next week.

Cue the bureaucrat: "Nancy Pynch-Worthylake, board superintendent, said some students and teachers found the T-shirt offensive. "When one is able or others are able to interpret it as, 'If you don't share my belief then your life is wasted,' that can be interpreted by some as being inappropriate," she said."

Perhaps I shouldn't smile about the bureaucrat's name sounding like a Month Python character's.

The New York Times Explains These "Christian" Creatures To Its Readers

I saw that when people prayed, they imagined themselves in conversation with God. They do not, of course, think that God is imaginary, but they think that humans need to use their imagination to understand a God so much bigger and better than what they know from ordinary life. They imagine God as wiser and kinder than any human they know, and then they try to become the person they would be if they were always aware of being in God’s presence, even when the kids fuss and the train runs late.

If I were of a scabrous nature, I'd say "Duh". I'm not, though.

The Feast Of Julian Of Norwich, 1342 – 1416

Insomnia, from which I occasionally suffer, can be great when working on sermons or catching up on a variety of letters and notes that need to be sent out. It's also good for catching that deer that's eating my rhubarb.

But, around early afternoon, it can be a bit of a drag. Rather, I can be a bit of a drag by early afternoon. Insomnia usually causes word-retrieval issues, spontaneous bursts of laughter at nothing in particular, and a certain impatience with common foibles.  At those times, it's best that I not be around ordained colleagues.  For some, it can permit compelling experiences with non-linear perception.

One of Christian history's insomniacs, as well as a sufferer of migraine headaches [specifically, scintillating scotoma] was Julian of Norwich, whose feast day is today, of whom more may be found here.  Suffice it to say that she was one of the great mystics of the Anglican tradition and her story evocative of that portion of spirituality of which we seem rarely to speak these days. Given the volume of literature that has been produced about her and her visions, especially since the mid-20th century, she is certainly the most identifiable of Anglican mystics.

The saying, "…All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well", which Julian claimed to be said to her by God Himself, reflects her theology.  T.S. Eliot incorporated this phrase in his "Little Gidding", the fourth of his Four Quartets poems:

Whatever we inherit from the fortunate
We have taken from the defeated
What they had to leave us—a symbol:
A symbol perfected in death.
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
By the purification of the motive
In the ground of our beseeching.

Lord God, in your compassion you granted to the Lady Julian many revelations of your nurturing and sustaining love: Move our hearts, like hers, to seek you above all things, for in giving us yourself you give us all; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Useful Information

'Death is one of the most important things in life'

The Commonwealth Of Mass. Discovers The Cause Of Obesity

Turns out, it's school bake sales.

Bake sales, the calorie-laden standby cash-strapped classrooms, PTAs and booster clubs rely on, will be outlawed from public schools as of Aug. 1 as part of new no-nonsense nutrition standards, forcing fundraisers back to the blackboard to cook up alternative ways to raise money for kids.

I haven't purchased school bake sale goods in well over a decade, which explains why I'm whip thin.

Cue the bureaucrat: "State Sen. Susan Fargo (D-Lincoln), chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Public Health, said the problem of overweight children has reached “crisis” proportions.  'If we didn’t have so many kids that were obese, we could have let things go,' Fargo said."

Gosh, the government can fix everything. It's like Jesus and Superman combined. Of course, if state funding hadn't been cut from athletic/outdoors programs, I doubt this would be an issue. That's why obesity isn't such a problem at private schools.

The New Town Christmas Tree Has Been Planted

The annual party may continue.

Fun Things For A Day Off

Well, it may not be your day off, but it's certainly mine.

Ever consider how important a mail order catalog was in the formation of American music?  Here's an interesting article:  How Sears, Roebuck & Co. midwifed the birth of the blues

This morning's news from France reminded me of this article by P.J. O'Rourke from about four years ago, which was ostensibly about graduation speeches:  Bad Advice for New Graduates

It includes this gem:

"6. Whenever you’re unsure about what course to take in life, ask yourself, “What would France do?”You see, France is a treasure to mankind. French ideas, French beliefs, and French actions form a sort of loadstone for humanity. Because a moral compass needle needs a butt end. Whatever direction France is pointing in—toward Nazi collaboration, Communism, existentialism, Jerry Lewis movies, or President Sarkozy’s personal life—you can go the other way with a clear conscience."

And finally, from the world of sports: Kiteboarding replaces windsurfing in the 2016 Olympic Games

Just So You Know...

The patron saint of horsemen is St. James the Greater. Unofficially, St. Augustine of Hippo (whose mother was Monnica, whose feast day was this week) is the patron of horse racing.

Useful Information

Saturday's Supermoon won't destroy Earth

The Feast Of Monnica

St. Monnica [note the two "n's', as there is an interesting archaeological tale involved in that spelling] was the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the three or four greatest theologians in Christian history, whose most favored quotation was from his great work The Confessions, in which he said that, despite his mother's devotion to Christ and her desire for her son to be equally devoted, in his younger days his prayer was "Lord, give me chastity, but not yet."

Anyway, Monnica was a well-born member of a North African family of the early 4th century; her family was Christian.  In her youth, she was a little on the wild side [a family trait, it appears]; her fondness for wine was extreme to the point that her family's servants would openly ridicule her for her drunkenness.  A sense of shame and developing maturity caused her to eschew wine for the remainder of her life.  However, it is safe to say that she did find her spirituality to be intoxicating.

Her husband was a pagan, and it was to these outworn creeds that her brilliant, precocious son Augustine was originally drawn.  Her singular mission was to see that her son came to Christ, and it was to this she remained dedicated until, with inexorable results, Augustine would be baptized on Easter of 387.  It should be noted that it was the Christian intellectual Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, who had much to do with Augustine's conversion, as Ambrose taught Augustine that one could be both an intellectual and a Christian.  Ah, for an Ambrose in the 21st century....

Monnica followed her son as his political career took him from Carthage to Rome; her work with Christians in the Holy See would become legend.  Interestingly, it was through her efforts that the sites of the Holy Land, while part of the Christian Roman Empire, would be set aside as special.  The building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is thought to be on the site of Jesus' crucifixion, was the singular project encouraged by her work and devotion.

She died before she could return home to Carthage and was entombed in Ostia, on the Italian coast, on this day in the year 387.  Her tomb would be discovered and revealed by archaeologists at the end of World War II.  On it, the spelling of her name is as it appears in this posting, and not as "Monica", which is how it had been spelled in history texts since...well, for a long, long time.  It is not known if the newer [which is to say, older] spelling is accurate or the result of a clumsy stone mason, but it is the spelling that is now accepted.

O Lord, who through spiritual discipline strengthened your servant Monnica to persevere in offering her love and prayers and tears for the conversion of her husband and of Augustine their son: Deepen our devotion, we pray, and use us in accordance with your will to bring others, even our own kindred, to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.

National Day Of Prayer

We will be meeting at noon on the Great Lawn of Christ Church today to recognize the National Day of Prayer.  If inclement, we will meet in the church.

This Isn't What You Think

Horny Jesus hits cop with massive butt

Supermoon = Superwaves

Biggest Full Moon of the year due this weekend as 'supermoon' raises tides around the planet

Continued Gender Problems In Higher Ed

The major reasons young males are not matriculating is a campus atmosphere that is unwelcoming…. It is voiced by young men who enroll but may leave after several semesters: We do not feel welcomed. The environment is anti-male in many classrooms. Administrators, who are now for the most part women, are not interested in how active young men are in college life, with the exception of athletics. Lack of engagement of men in on-campus activities and organizations was one of the first signs of young men being turned off by college life….

This is a commonly expressed issue in seminaries and divinity schools too; although sotto voce, as no one in the greater church wishes to be labeled "disharmonious".

Post-Modern Anarchy: Blowing Up A Place Popular For Elementary School Field Trips

FBI: 5 arrested in plot to blow up bridge

What a surprise: They're members of the Occupy bunch.

Something NPR Left Out

Oh yeah, and a visit from God

Feast Of Sts. Philip And James

As in the case of the other apostles, we see in James and Philip human men who became foundation stones of the Church, and we are reminded again that holiness and its consequent apostolate are entirely the gift of God, not a matter of human achieving. All power is God’s power, even the power of human freedom to accept his gifts. “You will be clothed with power from on high,” Jesus told Philip and the others. Their first commission had been to expel unclean spirits,heal diseases, announce the kingdom. They learned, gradually, that these externals were sacramentsofan even greater miracle inside their persons—the divine power to love like God.

Almighty God, who gave to your apostles Philip and James grace and strength to bear witness to the truth: Grant that we, being mindful of their victory of faith, may glorify in life and death the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Great Moments In Non-Theism

Hunter, a New Age devotee, even called the guru, Bob McGovern, for emergency spiritual advice at a restaurant when the waiter brought her the wrong dressing for her ruben sandwich, Young recalled.

Government Even Has Its Own Theology

FALSANI:Do you believe in sin?
OBAMA:Yes.
FALSANI:What is sin?
OBAMA:Being out of alignment with my values.

Please don't think me a horrid partisan, especially as I have no issue with the current president or any of his predecessors.  Frankly, I don't put a lot of faith in any politician, which is one of the liberating aspects of being a Christian.  God, not government, rules creation, at least in my understanding and that of my Christian culture.  I offer up this interesting quotation to display the "theological" perspective that I think is common in the contemporary governing class, including members of both political parties.

For those puzzled, sin is defined as a separation from God or, put perhaps too simply, from God's values.  We do not commit sin when separated from our own values.  [Unless, of course, we are God; something I don't think even politicians believe.]  If we did, we would confess sin to ourselves, absolve ourselves, and seek to have a closer relationship with ourselves.  God would not be a factor, nor, I think, would Jesus' redemptive moment on the cross.  If we extend the logic of this quoted exchange, we could expect to crucify ourselves for the sake of ourselves and in redemption of ourselves.

Now I'm getting dizzy.

Africa’s War of Religion Heats Up

The explosive growth of Christianity across Africa in the last half century has challenged and rattled Muslims in parts of the continent, and tensions between the groups are further exacerbated when conflicts over resources and between tribal groups get mixed in with religious competition. Add weak states, poorly policed frontiers, rapid population growth and large pools of underemployed young men to the mix, and it seems clear that these two attacks will not be the last.

More may be read here:  A later attack in the northeast city of Maiduguri saw gunmen open fire at a Church of Christ in Nigeria chapel, killing five people, including a pastor preparing for Communion, witnesses said.

No Surprise, Really

Ocean waves boost human happiness: The turbulence of breaking waves alters physical structure of the air and water and triggers endorphins and serotonin, the feel-good hormones.

I Confess, I Get A Little Nervous When Bureaucrats Start Talking About Crucifixion

EPA official: 'Crucify' oil companies

I hope he didn't try to get an "Amen" from the audience.

Why Universities Can't Grant Religious Liberty

Similarly, the modern university is a jealous university with its own commandments, and you shall not put God before it. For more than a generation, universities have sought to marginalize conservative or orthodox religious life. In the 1980s, universities tried to keep religious groups from using empty classrooms. In the 1990s, universities tried to prevent religious groups from sharing in student funds. In both decades, speech codes intended to stifle expression that some students might find offensive were enacted at hundreds of universities across the United States.

The Feast Of St. Mark

Today is the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, one of the so-called "red days", a reference to the liturgical color of the day that is used to note the feast of a martyr.

In the Epistle to the Colossians, chapter 4, he is identified as a member of Barnabas' family.
In the Acts of the Apostles, he figures often as the disciples meet at the house of Mark's mother, Mary; Paul and Barnabas would bring Mark on a missionary journey with them, their first such journey, but Mark would leave prematurely for reasons that are not identified and return to Jerusalem. On Paul and Barnabas' second missionary journey, Paul took Silas instead of Mark, as he felt that Mark was not reliable, so Barnabas made a separate journey with Mark as his partner. 

Paul would, though, refer to Mark in both Colossians and the First Letter to Timothy as a person of trust, so perhaps whatever controversy existed between Paul and Mark had been reconciled by that time. 

Outside of scripture, Papias' 2nd century work Origins of the Gospels refers to Mark as Peter's aide and interpreter.  It is possible that Mark was in Rome with Peter at the time of the latter's execution.  According to pious legend, Mark then moved to Alexandria, Egypt where he would meet his own martyrdom.

We recognize him today primarily as the composer of the Gospel that bears his name; the oldest Gospel in the New Testament.  The lections for his feast day may be found here.

Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Must Have Been A Method Actor

Brazil actor playing Judas dies from accidental hanging

Church And State Separation Seems To Dissolve During Election Years

Obama Asks Students for 'Amen'

Seriously, if I asked for an "Amen" at a secular university, I'd get in trouble.  The last time I was asked to give the invocation at a secular university, I was warned not to mention Jesus and not to ask those present to respond verbally to the prayer's conclusion.  I seem to recall that I got a tatty letter about a week afterwards from the campus' alliance of atheists/agnostics/druids/wiccans, too.

Heck, once at a well-known automobile racing track in Connecticut, I was asked to open a race with prayer as long as it didn't mention God.

The other thing that was weird about this is that the President expected people to say "Amen" after a negative exclamation.  In other words, "You will owe lots of money to a bank when you graduate.  Say 'Amen'". 

Government really is a religion in contemporary America.

This Is A Tempting Notion

Ft. Lauderdale Church Offers Drive Thru Prayer Service

The Feast Of Mellitus, c. 580-624

Well, I've never been that sure how to pronounce his name, either, but he was the first Bishop of London and the third Archbishop of Canterbury.  It appears that he died as natural a death as may be permitted early church archbishops.  During his life he is credited with...well...not that much, actually.  Although, as one may read through the link below, he did use prayer to save Canterbury from fire.  I hope he used prayer and a water bucket, actually; but to each, his own.  Mellitus does not appear on the Episcopal calendar, but is recognized by the Churches of England [natch] and Rome.  Like all of the early British clergy, he was a monastic.

Archbishop of Canterbury from 619. In 601, he was sent from St. Andrew’s Monastery, Rome, to England by Pope St. Gregory I the Great. Mellitus spent three years as a missionary in Kent, England, aiding St. Augustine. He also became the first bishop of London and was responsible for converting the King of the East Saxons. The Saxons, however, exiled him in 616 over some conflict, but Mellitus returned to England and was named archbishop of Canterbury, in succession to St. Lawrence.

 Heavenly Father, Shepherd of your people, we thank you for
your servant Mellitus, who was faithful in the care and nurture of
your flock; and we pray that, following his example and the
teaching of his holy life, we may by your grace grow into the
stature of the fullness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

[Above is "Scenes from the Passion", a tapestry alleged to have been brought by Mellitus from Rome to England as a gift from the Holy See.]

The Feast Of St. George

St George is the patron saint of England and among the most famous of Christian figures. But of the man himself, nothing is certainly known. Our earliest source, Eusebius of Caesarea, writing c. 322, tells of a soldier of noble birth who was put to death under Diocletian at Nicomedia on 23 April, 303, but makes no mention of his name, his country or his place of burial. According to the apocryphal Acts of St George current in various versions in the Eastern Church from the fifth century, George held the rank of tribune in the Roman army and was beheaded by Diocletian for protesting against the Emperor's persecution of Christians. George rapidly became venerated throughout Christendom as an example of bravery in defence of the poor and the defenceless and of the Christian faith.

O God, Who dost gladden us by the merits and intercesion of Blessed George, Thy Martyr, mercifully grant that we, who ask Thy blessings through him, may obtain them by the gift of Thy grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in Unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

This Week's Provocation

Of course, “man’s work” isn’t what it used to be. Forget the “war on women” you’re hearing about right now, although it may well exist. There’s been a “war on men” for the last fifty years, and it’s been more successful than any of the Middle Eastern adventurism which has burned up the lives of American men like so much unwanted firewood at the end of winter. A war against the ideas of manhood, fatherhood, responsibility, dependability. The traditional American man — think Gregory Peck in To Kill A Mockingbird — has been parodied, denigrated, humiliated, ironized, written out of existence. It’s no longer pleasant or even feasible to emulate our grandfathers and their unashamedly masculine lives.

Remarkably, this comes from a review of an automobile. Also, is "ironized" a word?

The Sacrament Of Holy Baptism

The Third Sunday of Easter will feature the baptism of Lexie Jean Armbruster at the 10am celebration.  She will be the third generation of her family to worship at Christ Church.

The lections for tomorrow may be found here.

An Obituary Of Note

Levon Helm dead at 71: Drummer for The Band succumbs to cancer

You may have seen him in some unremarkable films, as he acted quite a bit in his post-Band years.  I particularly enjoyed him in "The Right Stuff" as Chuck Yeager's bemused flight engineer, or in "Coal Miner's Daughter" as Loretta Lynn's father.

But he is primarily known for the work he did with The Band as drummer and vocalist, especially memorable when singing lead on “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”.  There was something wonderfully American about his accent, as it seemed to contain traces of the disparate places of our country, from central Ohio down to the Delta.

The photo above is of the lamented Tony Mart's in Somers Point, New Jersey, where I misspent a fair portion of my youth.  In the mid-1960's, the house band was Levon and The Hawks.  They were noted for bringing Delta Blues from the cotton fields of Mississippi to a bunch of mostly white kids on the Jersey shore.  One night, Bob Dylan stopped by, liked what he heard, and asked them to be his backup band.  For the sake of irony, they were re-named The Band.

Here's a moment from their heyday:

George Orwell May Have Been On To Something

From the British press, we learn of the latest attempt to use nuanced language to re-cast history and its facts.

Today we learn that the European Union (our real ruler) is opening a £44m museum that will be a House of European History...World War II is to be described as "the European Civil War".

That's some "civil war", given that it included places outside of Europe like...oh...Burma, North Africa, Micronesia, China, Hawaii, etc.  Not to mention that the European Civil War included Americans, Australians, West Indians, Canadians, Japanese, and so on. 

I just hope I'm never named as today's Emmanuel Goldstein.*

[*You have to read 1984 to get it.]

The Feast Of Alphege, 953-1012

Archbishops of Canterbury used to be absolute fire-eaters, to use an English expression.  About fifty years before William the Conqueror and the Normans invaded Britain, the Danes did so and established their king.  When tribute [bribes] was demanded of the church, Alphege politely, but resolutely, told the Danes that it wasn't going to happen.  A collection of drunks then abused and murdered him for not giving them money.  [Interestingly, something similar happened to a Jamaican priest just a few years ago, although not by Danes.] 

More about him may be found here.  By rough count, about eighteen Archbishops of Canterbury have been martyred or otherwise killed for their faith.  Nowadays, they are simply ridiculed by the BBC and Oxford faculty.

O loving God, your martyr bishop Alphege of Canterbury suffered violent death when he refused to permit a ransom to be extorted from his people: Grant that all pastors of your flock may pattern themselves on the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep; and who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sounds Like A Tong War

Man tries to rob deli with hot dog tongs.

I Guess Not

A Korean fishing boat sank in New Zealand waters because it was not watertight, an expert witness testified at an inquest today.

The Feast Of Athanasia, 790-860

Again, this is a feast day in the Church of Rome, not the Church of England and All the Colonies [or, as we prefer, The Episcopal Church in the United States], but the life of Athanasia, though not terribly remarkable compared to many of her contemporaries, does highlight an interesting aspect about the relationship between the church and the state in the early Middle Ages.  To wit:

Greek widow and abbess who lived on an Aegean Island. Athanasia's husband of two weeks was killed fighting Saracens. She remarried, and her second husband decided to become a monk. Athanasia agreed and converted her home into a convent, where she became an abbess. Moving the convent to Timia, Athanasia became an advisor to the Byzantine empress during her seven-year stay in Constantinople.

 In fact, she appears to be so minor that I can't find a collect for her.  I was, however, able to find the icon above.  Here's the Collect of a Monastic from our Book of Common Prayer:

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his
poverty might be rich: Deliver us from an inordinate love of
this world, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant,

may serve you with singleness of heart, and attain to the
riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 4:16, The Secular Version

"This president has brought us out of the dark and into the light."

Feast Of Ancetus, Who Died In 166

The Episcopal Church does not mark this as a feast day, but the Church of Rome remembers Ancetus on April 17th. He was the tenth successor of Simon Peter and, with Polycarp (who is on our calendar), developed the formula for determining the date of Easter.

Enable us, we pray, almighty God, to proclaim the power of the risen Lord, that we, who have received the pledge of his gift, may come to possess all he gives when it is fully revealed. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

An Obituary Of Note

He abandoned his presidential palace in Lilongwe not out of shame over inhabiting its 300 luxurious rooms, built for $100 million in a country suffering abject poverty, but because he declared it to be haunted and claimed that invisible rodents were running all over him at night.

I Would Have Commended Them For Original Thinking

Which is why I'm the priest of a small parish and no longer a school administrator.

Senior prank lands Murray County students in suspension

It was harmless, creative, and careful to observe decorum and traffic regulations.  So, naturally, the students must be punished.  And how do I know that the administrators know they overreacted?  Behold, the classic "weasel words" uttered by every bureaucratic microbe since the dawn of human history:

"Murray County School Administrator Mike Tuck would not discuss the issue because of the student code of conduct. He would only confirm that "an incident happened."

Well, It Is The Season Of Resurrection

London 2012 organisers wanted Keith Moon to play at Olympics ceremony

For those of you not familiar with the demi-monde of popular music, Mr. Moon was the drummer for The Who.  I say "was" because he died in 1978.  [Thus fulfilling a wish contained in a verse in The Who's breakout single: "Hope I die before I get old."]

Sunday Fun

19 Regional Words

My Ohio grandparents actually used a couple of these.

What May Be The Best Obit Ever

Weary of reading obituaries noting someone's courageous battle with death, Mike wanted it known that he died as a result of being stubborn, refusing to follow doctors' orders and raising hell for more than six decades. He enjoyed booze, guns, cars and younger women until the day he died...So many of his childhood friends that weren't killed in Vietnam went on to become criminals, prostitutes and/or Democrats. He asks that you stop by and re-tell the stories he can no longer tell. As the Celebration will contain Adult material we respectfully ask that no children under 18 attend.

Collect For Easter Saturday

We thank you, heavenly Father, that you have delivered us from the dominion of sin and death and brought us into the kingdom of your Son; and we pray that, as by his death he has recalled us to life, so by his love he may raise us to eternal joys; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

[Things for which I'm thankful:  Guys like this.  100% pure American attitude.]

Collect For Easter Friday

Almighty Father, who gave your only Son to die for our sins and to rise for our justification: Give us grace so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

[Things for which I'm thankful:  Above is the first comic book I ever bought; Fantastic Four #55.  By reading comics I became interested in stories of the "heroic cycle", which lead to reading Greek and Roman myths, then more contemporary literature, then comparative literature, then appreciating opera, then realizing that the archtype of all human endeavor is contained in the life of Jesus and the apostles.  The Marvel Comic Co. helped me generate two Master's theses and a doctoral dissertation.  That was a pretty good return on a 12 cent investment.]

News From Scotland. What Kind Of News, I Have No Idea

Scots deploy taste testers to sample gas leak fish

Time For Something Provocative

In Defense of Herbert Spencer

My former philosophy and ethics students who read The Coracle may recall how we used the general misunderstanding of the works of Spencer as a model as to how not always to trust "credentialed" authority.  An Ivy League degree and position is not always the guarantee of accuracy [trust me, I've had both and know what I'm talking about...er, or don't, but, you know...].  Also, the worst thing a thinking person can do is repeat incorrect information.  Always, always challenge the source.

Collect For Easter Thursday

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[Things for which I'm thankful:  Dad's 1963 Chevy Nova.  It contained the first carburetor I ever took apart, thus beginning my lifelong fascination with engines.  Unfortunately, it took a mechanic to put it back together.  My dad finally let me near one of his cars again last year.]

Secular "Easter" Is A Gift That Keeps On Giving

Police arrest 6 ft. Easter bunny statue

Collect For Easter Wednesday

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

[Things for which I'm thankful:  I actually grew up ten minutes away from an amusement park.  It was small and a little ratty, but they had the best popcorn balls and hosted many a memorable Sunday afternoon.]

Update:  Well, here's a pleasant surprise.  The popcorn balls are still made by the same people.  They can be ordered here.

Collect For Easter Tuesday

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that we, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.

[Things for which I'm thankful:  Above is Rocky Calavito, the only Cleveland Indian from the 1960's worth talking about, arguing with the ref.  Cleveland boys of my generation held Rocky in a veneration usually assigned to Olympians.]

Without Question

Are you smarter than an atheist?

Especially since I scored 100% on the quiz. Give it a try.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Was Executed On This Day 67 Years Ago

Lots of sources about him; I'll leave it to readers to do their own research, as I'm using this Android device today and it doesn't always want to link.

Oh? Quelle Surprise!

52 percent of reporters: Media does a poor job explaining religion

Further commentary may be found here, as offered by our friend, Yale's Walter Russell Mead:

This doesn’t just tell us something about the qualifications of journalists. It says something depressing about the ability of editors to hire people with the background and the knowledge that allow them to cover world events intelligently. With some significant and honorable individual exceptions, the mainstream press today lacks the expertise it needs to assess and report some of the most important stories on the planet.

False panics over alleged theocracies lurking under every bush (haha), inability to analyze or cover major news stories involving Islam, and a persistent overestimation of global support for the secular rights-driven agenda that serves much of the MSM as a guiding ideology in lieu of religion can all be traced back to the religious illiteracy of so many journalists today.

The Whole Church/State Thing Is A Bit Of A Canard, Eh?

Tennessee Mother Faces Possible Jail Time For Baptizing Children

I Think I Should Introduce The Principal To My Scottish Cousins. The Male Ones.

Teenager banned from wearing kilt to his high school prom by school officials who 'wanted him to dress like a man'.

The principal, the judge of all things "manly", will not speak to the press.

Another Obituary Of Note

You would not believe how much of the music you have heard was courtesy of this fellow:

Guitar amp pioneer Jim Marshall dies at 88

Jesus Sighting! Aquatic Edition

Charleston woman sees Jesus on back of stingray

Anti-Christian Violence Continues

50 people killed in Easter Sunday bombings in Nigeria

[Above is a photo of our bishops protesting last week on behalf of Connecticut's convicted murderers.]

Update:  It was suggested that my comment about the photo seemed snarky.  That wasn't my intention.  I just wanted a different headline that those of area media.  So, how about "Our bishops representing a political perspective this past week"?  No, that's either too vague or even snarkier, as it seems to suggest that they're merely representing only one of the state's political parties.  How about, "Our bishops protesting state-sponsored murder"?  Wait, that sounds like they're anti-abortion, which they definitely aren't.  I know, "All three of our full-time bishops unite to protest capital punishment."  Dull.  How about New York Post-style: "Prosaic and Peaceful Protest by Protestant Progressives"?  Yes, that's the winner.

I used to work for an editor who would never run stories about Protestant clergy involved in a protest.  "Why?" he would ask, "Every headline would be 'Liberal bishop does something liberal.  That's not news."

Oh, and the reason I juxtaposed the photo with the link is to visually remark on how easy we have it as Christians in the USA.  Here, we protest on behalf of murderers.  In Nigeria, we get murdered.

The Definition Of Hell Can Be Highly Subjective

“Along with the first truly beautiful day of the year, my son and I had our first ruined day at the playground,” the poster named Sarah somberly recounted. “Two different people came into the actual playground with ice cream/Italian ice push carts. I was able to avoid it for a little while but eventually I left with a crying 4-year-old.”  Another angry mother...chimed in.  “I should not have to fight with my children every warm day on the playground just so someone can make a living!” the poster wailed.

An Obituary Of Note

The kind of writer only America could produce.

In Case You Didn't See It Last Week...

...here's a profile of our organist and choir director that appeared in the Litchfield County Times.  It appears he also has a few other interests, too.

Roxbury's Piano Man, Attorney, Board Member, Musician