Summer #52

It's August, again. Or almost, anyway. Let's review the list, shall we?

"...a damaged rotator cuff, torn thumb 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, sprained elbow, jellyfish stings, and forty-eight 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, and a profound sinus irritation. Oh, and a barracuda once gave me a dirty look."

Yeah, and in the summer of '76 I managed to sink a sailboat. Twice in one day, as a matter of fact. Got rescued by a boatload of inebriated charter fishermen. They towed the sailboat back, too. Nice guys, if somewhat erratic at navigation.

Does it get any better? Nah.

A couple of pre-loaded updates, mostly concerned with lections and historical events, will appear, but we are technically on summer hiatus. Needless to say, I'm not taking a computer with me, so e-mail will not be entertained.

The Best First Sentence Ever

A TRUCK driver had a lucky escape when his cucumber-laden rig rolled near a crocodile-infested river after hitting a buffalo yesterday.

Today In History

July 30, 1775: The U.S. Army founds its chaplaincy, making it the Army's oldest division after the infantry.

Ride Your Bike, Make People Think About Malaria

Cross-country ride raises awareness in the fight against malaria

This reminds me of the annual event on Capitol Hill when young women wearing leafy bikinis feed vegetarian hot dogs to elected officials in order to boost awareness of...um...animal rights, I think. Yeah, I'm not sure what one has to do with the other in that case either but I don't begrudge attempts to boost "awareness" in something by indulging in fun, however tangential it may be.

Come to think of it, indulging in one's hobby for a cause can be argued as being "work" and doesn't necessarily have to be deducted from one's contracted vacation time. Brilliant.

To that end the rectors of St. Michael's, Litchfield, St. Andrew's, Harlem and I will be surfing waves in south Jersey next month to boost awareness of the need to address Descolada [it was the only disease that wasn't taken].

Thank you for your support.

Gee, No Kidding

Gallery’s invitation to deface the Bible brings obscene response

Not to pick a bone with Glasgow's Metropolitan Community Church, but wouldn't it be a better idea to promote the actual reading of the Bible before encouraging people to write in it?

Perhaps The Government Should Regulate These Items

Police on Sunday said they broke up a fight that involved a hammer, a television and logs from a fireplace.

Great Story. One Problem.

This is one of those articles that, for a reporter, is fun to research and write and is enjoyable to read in a weekend paper. There's just one issue I take with it, and partly that is to be put to the reporter who, being true to current NYT style, doesn't mention the religious aspects of the subject. But the greater responsibility is that of The Episcopal Church that keeps this old and highly effective form of...wait for it... EVANGELISM a virtual secret.

A Century of Character-Building and Games

I have to ask my cadre of Episcopalians: Did anyone know of this camp? Has anyone ever heard of it? Honestly, I know more about what TEC does in Honduras than I do of what good works and honest proclamation take place in this country. Why does that seem weird to me?

The Future Of Home Entertainment...

...based on the progress of the last ten years.

I can't help but wonder what sort of application this could bring to worship and scriptural study. Yeah, I'm squaresville, but the church is my medium, after all.

Oops

July 27, 1681: During a bitter battle between Scottish Episcopalians and Presbyterians, five Presbyterian preachers are martyred in Edinburgh. The Church of Scotland became Presbyterian permanently in 1690.

I Completely Missed This Yesterday; Seems Apt For Trinity Church In The Summer

July 26, 1603: James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England. Among his many acts affecting English religious life (it is he for whom the King James Version is named) was the issuing of the Book of Sports, approving sports on Sunday.

"Folly is a more dangerous enemy to the good than evil. One can protest against evil; it can be unmasked and, if need be, prevented by force. Evil always carries the seeds of its own destruction, as it makes people, at the least, uncomfortable. Against folly we have no defence. Neither protests nor force can touch it; reasoning is no use; facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be disbelieved — indeed, the fool can counter by criticizing them, and if they are undeniable, they can just be pushed aside as trivial exceptions. So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self-satisfied;..."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Permit Us Humility

I draw your attention to page one, Province V, Diocese of Ohio.

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. Their very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals."
- C.S. Lewis

The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

This week we are reminded that David, for all of his talents, is also rather human; a doxology is offered to the Ephesians, and Jesus and his buds have a picnic. A large picnic, I might add. All this plus the reality of human nature as realized through a guitar order.

The lections may be found here.

Today In History

July 25, 1593: King Henry IV of France, raised a Protestant, converts to Catholicism. Long considered a political move, the conversion is now thought to have been sincere, partially because of the king's statement that "religion is not changed as easily as a shirt." His conversion did not end his sympathy for Protestants, however, and in 1598 he promulgated the Edict of Nantes, giving Protestants freedom of worship and permitting them to garrison certain towns for security.

More On Media Misuse Of The Word "Icon"

Icons aren't what they used to be

I Have No Comment

Bishop blesses compost toilet

Today In History

July 24, 1725: John Newton, author of "Amazing Grace" and other hymns, is born in London. Converted to Christianity while working on a slave ship, he hoped as a Christian to restrain the worst excesses of the slave trade, "promoting the life of God in the soul" of both his crew and his African cargo. In 1764 he became an Anglican minister and each week wrote a hymn to be sung to a familiar tune. In 1787 Newton wrote Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade to help William Wilberforce's campaign to end the slave trade.

How That Elephant Got Into My Pajamas I'll Never Know

Man fights mountain lion with chain saw

Must Have Been A Delegate To General Convention

I'm Sorry, Jesus

Best quotation:

"I'm sorry I rarely check my shampoo for the "not tested on animals" logo. I've seen the posters of the injured bunnies. You must be very, very disappointed in me, Jesus. I am sorry that I enjoy the taste of meat, Jesus. I'm sorry about the whales, Jesus, and about the litter that I sometimes throw on the highway. And I am sorry about the colonization of the New World."