The Beauty of It All

I got it! The diocese of South Carolina is going to discern what road to take over the next 40 days. During the course of this time each parish is going to determine that they wish to leave the Episcopal Church. Each time that decision is reached the parish will strike a deal with the Bishop of South Carolina so that they can take the buildings and the property with them. Generally, the Bishop of South Carolina, the honorable Mark Lawrence, will extract some form of token payment in exchange for the land and buildings. This exchange will "compensate" the diocese for the loss of property and therefore mollify the Episcopal Church. Any extra holdings such as retreat centers will be permitted to spin off by themselves ostensibly to become a "private going concern". Finally, the cathedral, acting as a parish will do the same as any other parish. The bishop, holding no TEC property, or very little except the amounts derived from the compensation from the various parishes leaving will then turn over to the Episcopal Church in the United States of America the remainder. Mark Lawrence will then "leave the Episcopal Church", completely in tact as a bishop in good standing and move to ACNE ACNA to become the heir apparent to the prime minister Archbishop, Robert Duncan.

TA DA! The Beauty of it all. Simple. Elegant. No fingerprints and no hooks, lines or stinkers sinkers.

When You Come To A Fork In The Road

Much is being written about the General Convention 09 and the two resolutions passed during that convention. B025 and D056 have apparently stirred quite a bunch of emotions for the orthodites. It sort of reminds me of the Chief High Priest the night before the crucifixion where he rents his garments and says, "What more must we hear? He has blasphemed".

Here are a couple of blogsworth your time:

Grandmere Mimi:

Who Can Adopt This Covenant

Father Mark at Preludium:

Realignment Crowd Ramps Up War Talk

and

Seven Bishops meeting at Canterbury. . .

That is just for starters. There are more around and these point to others.

My point is as it has always been, what is being planned by the Episcopal Church as things move forward? What do I mean? Well, for starters there were seven bishops that travelled to Canterbury with not so much as a "by your leave". What is being done there? Had 7 lay persons chosen that path they would have never been received by the Archbishop of Canterbury AND would have be severely rebuked by both the Presiding Bishop and their own diocesan bishop? What is going on with the Communion Partners, both bishops and rectors? They are claiming to be Episcopalian while acting like Robert Duncan. Apparently, at least for the moment, TEC is buying what the Communion Partners is selling and that is genuinely too bad. But now, is it not time for the Presiding Bishop to ask, politely but firmly, "come down from that fence and have the courage to act on your convictions. Again, where is the plan?

GAFCON snd ACNA and AMiA and CANA and the ACI and a whole host of conservative folks are pressing on all sides hoping that TEC will collapse.

Rather than use any more words I would offer the following from the West Wing (please watch it all, you will not be disappointed nor do I beleive you will miss the applicable points):




As Yogi Berra once was purported as saying, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

And So It Goes

Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite authors (read most everything he has written) tends to end things like sections and chapters and books with "and so it goes." Never quite sure what that means until a day like yesterday. Actually two partial days.

On Wednesday evening we all went to the mortuary for a 5 - 7 visit. I have never been a big fan of "visitations" in fact I do not go when invited. This was/is different. Too close. And so we went. And, the casket was open at the request of Jerry's mom and dad. (There is a stoic couple. They have 3 children, two are now dead. Can you imagine outliving two of your three children?)

That was hard. I have seen enough death to last a couple of lifetimes. Picked up too many bodies of battlefields and flown with too many comrades-in-arms. One does certain things because to not do them would be a worse. Occam's razor and all that stuff.

Then on Thursday we did the funeral thing. A relatively Small church, holding about 260 or so was filled to capacity and the outside held another 60 or so. Jerry had friends, a bunch of them. Interestingly enough, though he was not enamoured with the Episcopal Church in later years. If, however, we measure Christians by Matthew 26 and not by ASA Jerry would be at the top of the list. He helped everyone. Want to build a car -- no problem he would work side by side with you doing whatever you wanted him to. Jerry, me and both of my children built cars. My daughter built a bug and my son built a truck and Jerry was the catalyst. We had truly great times. Ask, and you shall receive. Jerry built the mascot for the local high school. Kathy, his wife works there but Jerry built it because he could and they needed it.

Anyway we did the funeral thing with full military honors. He was retired Lt. Col. in the Army and the briefing officer for Edwards Air Force Base. Jerry led many lives. We had an amazing soloist, Jerry's brother-in-law's wife has an incredible voice. She sang Amazing Grace flawlessly. Oh, did I mention she was Jewish? Great lady. That, Taps, and the presentation of the flag to our friend Kathy were faltering points for me. But we did get through it -- don't we always?

Then, as if to punctuate this whole thing with one last laugh, the 41 Ford, Jerry's pride and joy, the car that was driven to the funeral by his son and carried Kathy, failed to start. But, after everyone left and Nathan (Jerry's son came back) the Ford fired right up. It was Jerry, saying goodbye in the only way he could.

To finish this post I offer the following, it will give you a glimpse of the soul of the man I called friend.





And so it goes.

Socializing With Hors d'oeuvres

It is that time again (October 23,24,25) where the EPISCOPAL Diocese of San Joaquin will meet in convention and do the regular business of every Episcopal Diocese. Friday's main event, so to speak, is socializing with hors d'oeuvres (sheesh, I can barely spell that word). Now, I have never had much time mingling with canapes or finger sandwiches or even chips and salsa but this is new ground for the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin.

In years gone by, read that prior to March of 2008, yes during John David's reign, we were not permitted to socialize with each other, let alone the crab and lobster dishes. Convention under the "old bishop" was a little more than here's the budget, did we vote, yep we did -- what's keeping you here get back to your parish and thank you very much.

The special convention in March of 2008 was a breath of fresh air for all of us here in San Joaquin as it was an opportunity to "love our neighbor" and ourselves. maybe that is one of the things overlooked by the Conealoneialists. The second great commandment is like the first, love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commands hang all the laws and prophets. We actually got the chance to love our neighbors and that is exactly what was missing and is missing in the Anglican whatever they are calling themselves. Do they love God, well I give them the benefit of the doubt. Do they love their neighbor? Doesn't look like it to me. Lots of reasons and lots of neighbors but the bottom line, at least according to Christ, is to love God and your neighbor. And who is my neighbor -- well, Jesus answered that one as well -- everyone!

As for the hors d'oeuvres, I am not comfortable talking with an olive sandwich but I will give it a try.

More pre-convention stuff later.

Psalm 46:10

We have friends that we have known for over thirty years. We met when our families ended up in Woodbridge, Virginia. Actually, Jerry worked at the pentagon and I worked in the National Office of the IRS (no snickers please). At that time our son was not born, our daughter was about 16 months old and Jerry and Kathy had a son that was 4 and a daughter that was about 4 months old. We grew close. It was fun to meet for Church. Jerry and I would usher and Kathy and "Wilma" would Altar Guild. We all, at one time or another served on the vestry. We grew a church from 30 families to what is now about 800.

Our family vacations were taken together. Jerry and I would have umbrella stroller races (daughters included) in the swamps of Virginia and on the beach at Fort Story. Jerry was a car enthusiast. Well, that puts it mildly. over the course of our 30 years he built a Porsche 356C, about 10 bugs including a bus and a square back, a 55 Buick, a 58 Lincoln, a 41 Ford Sedan and a host of other project cars. Jerry would say to me, "Fred, the only reason to cut wood is to bend steel." He helped both me and my daughter build a 64 Bug from the ground up and he helped my san (matt is his Godson) and me build a 63 Ford truck. Jerry's hands grew gnarly over the course of time with all the pounding and whatnot on cars. Jerry could fix almost anything, and if he could not fix it he could fabricate a part that would fix whatever was broken. The gifts God gave him were astounding!

But the biggest gifts God gave him were his family. He loved his Kathy, his daughter Carrie, his son Nathan and his two beautiful grandchildren Stella and Brodie. He taught them everything hew knew -- about cars, about trivia, about rock and roll music and about God.

We both travelled from coast to coast on a few occasions and yet our friendship stayed strong. Jerry was a desert rat. Strange for a guy who was raised in Newport, Rhode Island and worked as a lifeguard growing up but first he lived in Barstow, CA and then later, after a second stint in DC, moved to Cal City. As a military person he also put in time at Fort Hood and Fort Juachaca. All that being said he and his family settled in California City, CA. In these later years it has been a little difficult for us to get together but still, 380 miles is not all that great and we did visit for special occasions and for family things. And with close friends, I would call and we would talk cars and rock and roll for hours, as if we had not been separated by time and distance.

Recently, about 3 and one-half years ago, Jerry, contracted esophageal cancer. Seems that stupid hietal hernia caught up with him in a big way. But he was a strong guy in really good health and he beat it. Sure, they took out his esophagus and had to steal some of his stomach to create a new one but he beat it! It took months but he learned to eat all over again and was well on the road to full recovery. Sure he had to retire in order to fight this thing but he took it in stride. Actually, he said, "I ain't going quietly. I got my feet and my hands jammed against the door and if I go it will be because somebody bigger and stronger pulled me through that door."

Next came the lung cancer. A spot appeared and try as the doctors might, they just could not quite get rid of it. It would shrink and then the chemo would stop working, or the medication given to Jerry to build the white count would fail and the docs would have to try something else. I spoke with Jerry only about 2 weeks ago or so and he was still fighting and seemed to be holding his own. His biggest problem was the fluid that built up in his lungs, after a while he could not work on the cars for a very long time because he could not breath. On numerous occasions the docs took a quart or so of fluid out of first one lung and then another. He would go right back to work banging on one fender or another.

Now, Jerry has a 41 Ford Coupe (his bumper sticker would say "I would rather eat worms than drive a Chevy") that he has collected parts for for some time. engine, rear end, axles, disc brakes, seats, electrical stuff -- all of that. He never actually worked on that one car and, naive as I am, I grew to believe that nothing really serious would happen until after that car was complete. Somehow, God and Jerry had struck a deal that Jerry would get to finish the Coupe before he was called home.

Yesterday, in the midst of a spectacle bigger than life, regular life intruded. I received a call from Jerry's daughter, Jerry died. From an inoperable brain tumor. After all of that cancer stuff, he ends up with a tumor. Ironic? And so it goes.

"Pause a while and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted over the earth!"

Has Anyone Here Seen My Old Friend Teddy?

For those of us who came of age in the 1960's we have suffered a grievous loss. We have lived our political lives knowing that we were protected by the Kennedy family. We started with John and then came Robert and then came Teddy but we have always had a Kennedy in our political hemisphere. Much of what John and Robert accomplished in their short stay with us was through their deaths. Much of what Teddy accomplished was through his life. And yes, Teddy had flaws -- Lord knows Ted had his flaws. But who among us does not? He was a giant among us and his flaws seemed to be larger than life but his accomplishments also were larger than life. Nothing ever got through the senate without his mark on it and rarely if ever did he take credit, Ted was the "go to guy" for the last 40 years. But there is an intangible that I wish to remark upon.

For many of us liberalism was a cause. From the War in Viet Nam to the Great Society to Civil Rights to the Patriot Act and the War in Iraq we would drift in and out of the cause for a period of time or until we tired of the issues and returned to our BMWs and our Yuppie lifestyles. For Senator Edward Kennedy liberalism was not a cause it was a lifestyle. Yes, in many respects he symbolized for us what Matthew 26:31-46 was all about. He put into practice in a very real way the concepts of clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and visiting the sick. Liberalism was not a cause to be championed it was a means to bringing to life the gospel of Jesus Christ. No one was more inclusive, more compassionate nor more productive in legislation for those less fortunate than Senator Kennedy.

What is worse is that there is no one in the House or Senate than embodies the same characteristics as Senator Kennedy. There is no one on the horizon to pick up where he has left off and no one to champion the causes that he championed. We may very well be lost -- we may never see again quite the likes of Ted Kennedy and we will be worse off for it. The love of humankind, the generosity of the body known as the Senate, the compassion of and for and through legislation has taken a severe blow.

For those of us that remember, there must be a grand touch football game going on right now in heaven.

I end with a piece of Music that strikes me as erriely appropriate for this moment. Yes, I am a product of the So. California 1960s.

The Covenant versus the Convent

Above is a picture of a convent. The following url sends to you a website that clearly demonstrates the committedness of a group of people when it comes to convents.

http://www.carmelitedcj.org/convents_n_amer.asp

The following url leads one to the Anglican Covenant, at least the last draft of this document.

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/commission/covenant/ridley_cambridge/draft_text.cfm
Here is at least one definition of a convent.

Originally signified an assembly of Roman citizens in the provinces for purposes of administration and justice. In the history of monasticism the word has two distinct technical meanings:

•A religious community of either sex when spoken of in its corporate capacity. The word was first used in this sense when the eremitical life began to be combined with the cenobitical. The hermits of an Eastern laura, living in separate cells grouped around that of their common superior, when spoken of collectively, were called a conventus. In Western monasticism the term came into general use from the very beginning and the technical phrase abbas et conventus signifies to this day the entire community of a monastic establishment.
•The buildings in which resides a community of either sex. In this sense the word denotes more properly the home of a strictly monastic order, and is not correctly used to designate the home of what is called a congregation. In addition to these technical meanings, the word has also a popular signification at the present day, by which it is made to mean in particular the abode of female religious, just as monastery denotes that of men, though in reality the two words are interchangeable. In the present article the word is taken chiefly in its popular sense. The treatment, moreover, is limited to those features which are common to all, or nearly all, convents, while peculiarities due to the special purpose, rule, or occupation of each religious order are explained in the pertinent article.

That definition is from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Here is another one:

“Convents” generally refer to houses where Roman Catholic women live under religious vows. They became common in Chicago and other industrial cities early in the nineteenth century. The first ones, like that established on Chicago's Wabash Avenue by Mother Agatha O'Brien and four other Sisters of Mercy in 1846, resembled the settlement houses of the 1890s. But before Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr were born, the Mercys and several other communities had begun building a network of services for the urban poor that included elementary and Sunday schools, orphanages and hospitals, employment bureaus and industrial schools, as well as the city's first Magdalen Asylum. Some of these mid-nineteenth-century institutions, such as Mercy Hospital and the House of the Good Shepherd, still exist. Thus, when Hull House opened in 1889, most Chicagoans would not have considered it extraordinary to see a group of women living among immigrants and working selflessly on their behalf. By 1889, Chicago had over 60 convents.

This is from the Encyclopedia of Chicago.

Here is Christopher Wells definition of a covenant:

The notion of covenant is, of course, familiar not only from scripture but also from the vows we make at baptisms and ordinations, the various agreements between Anglican churches for purposes of mission, and from our ecumenical commitments with other Christian churches. In every case, to “covenant” with God and with one another means that we accept basic facts about the faith and the consequences of how we live according to shared principles, texts, and traditions. This fits with the literal meaning of the word covenant, which has two connotations: (a) to agree about something, and then (b) to act on that agreement by coming together or assembling in a visible way. (The origin is a Latin word, convenire, from which our English word, convene, derives.)

After reading all of both of these items what would YOU rather do? We could, as the ABC, Ridley Mr. Wells and a host of men want us to do. That would be to come together on a semi-regular basis and judge each other. Those provinces found wanting, you know, the ones that include the marginalized groups such as LGBT, handicapped, socio-economically downtrodden, most women, would be punished. Those provinces that are living the "godly life" like Nigeria, Uganda, Sydney, CANA, Fr. Kennedy, Archbishop Duncan would all get rewarded by becoming bishops and popes and things. Then, for a couple of days we could explore the scripture as written by "proper authority once given for all" and then go about our business all feeling much better about how we slew Satan.

That would be the covenant.

Or we could all form convents. We could come together in Christian communities all over the world to pray, to form schools and hospitals and orphanages and food shelters and single room occupancy homes to help those less fortunate than we. We could come together sometimes to pray and to worship God. We could pass the peace and receive the Eucharist all together and all for the love of Christ. We could be known by our faith through our good works.


The following is a picture of me in a nun's habit. Wouldn't the world Anglican Communion look better (and perhaps more stylish) if we all dressed like this?



So, now the question is back to you? Wouldn't you rather be in a convent than in the covenant?