Michael Nazir-Ali Announced to be new Assisting Bishop in South Carolina

All I can say is "Wow".

And the sexualizaton of children continues....

My 11 year-old daughter wants a Halloween costume.  (Let's not go into the whole "Halloween" thing right now...).  She found a website with "really cool costumes, Mom!"

Yeah.

Really cool for pre-teen hookers. Remember, these are for "tweens" - that is PRE-TEEN girls.

Will he be deposed for border crossing?

++Anis of Jerusalem and the Middle East Preaches at St. Vincent's Cathedral


I can't help wonder if KJS will depose ++ Archbishop Mouneer Anis for daring to set foot in Fort Worth.

RED STICK RANT: Inaction Speaks Louder Than Words. (UPDATED AGAIN)

RED STICK RANT: Inaction Speaks Louder Than Words. (UPDATED AGAIN)

Pray for Jos

This happened back in March, but the Diocese of Jos and all Christians in Muslim dominated countries need our continual prayers. Please pray for Bishop Ben and family and all his people.
(WARNING - very graphic content)

Thank you,Red Stick Rant for this information.

Using children as human shields in the cultural wars

Nice set of "parents":

A child has been denied entrance into an Episcopal school in Bedford because her parents are married lesbians.

Jill and Tracy Harrison, lesbians married in 2006 in Canada, applied to enroll their daughter into St. Vincent's School, in June.

Jill gave birth to Olivia, thanks to a sperm donor. On the application, they crossed out the word father on the application and wrote mother and put Tracy's name on that line. Jill was written on the mother line.

They attended the school's parent night on Tuesday, and now, just a few days before school starts Monday, the school is denying their daughter Olivia enrollment into the school because her parents are lesbians, the women said.

And an update:

(CNN) — A private religious school in Texas has denied admission to the daughter of a lesbian couple who wanted to enroll the child in preschool, citing its “clear teaching of the Christian faith” for the refusal.

In a statement e-mailed to CNN sister network HLN, the dean of St. Vincent’s Cathedral School in the Dallas suburb of Bedford, Texas, said the school is standing on its principles “in matters of marriage and sex outside of marriage” by refusing to seat 4-year-old Olivia Harrison.

“St. Vincent’s School as a ministry of St. Vincent’s Cathedral upholds the clear teaching of the Christian faith, the Holy Bible, and the Anglican Church in North America,” the Rev. Ryan Reed said.

“We based our decisions about enrollment on what is best for the children of St. Vincent’s as a whole and in conformity with the above standards,” he said. “We regret the disappointment the mother feels, but also do not understand why she would want to enroll her child in a school that would undercut her own personal values at home.”

Olivia’s mother, Jill Harrison, told HLN’s “Prime News” that was fine with her.

“I absolutely would not want her to partake in a school where they did not believe or condone the relationship that we have together,” she said.

St. Vincent’s is part of a conservative movement that broke away from the U.S. Episcopal Church in 2008, in part over the Episcopal church’s positions on gay and lesbian rights. The Anglican Church in North America claims about 100,000 adherents.

In a follow-up e-mail, Reed said that the school had no problem with a single mother, “lesbian or not, living chaste” — but said St. Vincent’s has taken a hard line in other cases. He said it has rejected an earlier preschool applicant who came from a gay household, fired an unmarried teacher who became pregnant and removed a man “from leadership roles in the school” after he left his wife for another woman.

This is the money quote for me: Olivia’s mother, Jill Harrison, told HLN’s “Prime News” that was fine with her.

“I absolutely would not want her to partake in a school where they did not believe or condone the relationship that we have together,” she said.


This woman obviously knew what the school taught and believed. This couple is from Bedford, home of the school. St. Vincent's school is part of St. Vincent's Cathedral. No one who lives around there, especially a lesbian couple, can be unaware of the fact that this is Bishop Iker's Cathedral and that the entire diocese has left the Episcopal Church over just such issues as the blessing of homosexual relationships and the rejection of clear Biblical teachings. If the woman wanted her child to receive a "religious" education that condoned mommy's lifestyle, all she had to do was find an Episcopal school, not an Anglican one. She intentionally created this uproar as a way to further her own agenda. Using your own kid as a human shield. Nice and classy, lady.

Come join us in the Park!

Have you ever wanted to read the Bible from cover to cover like a novel?

Well, The Susquehanna Valley Association of Evangelicals is inviting the public to gather under a big tent in Oneonta to learn how to do it in 90 days.

The association is a loose collection of more than a dozen area churches, and the group is hosting "The Bible in 90 Days" at 5 p.m. Sept. 12 in Neahwa Park.

2 Farms, 380 Million eggs

Maybe they should be investigating factory farming? How can 2 farms produce over 380 million eggs in humane or sanitary conditions? Obviously, they can't.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
added 40 illnesses to the estimated 1,300 that have
occurred already in the salmonella enteritidis
outbreak that forced the recall of half a billion eggs.
Meanwhile, the more than 20 Food and Drug
Administration staffers on site at the two implicated
farms — Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms,
both in Iowa— have completed their initial
investigations, says Jeff Farrar, the agency's
associate commissioner for food protection.

A New Terry Prachett Movie!!!!!

There are some days I just miss living in Wisconsin....

Dozens of cows float away in Western Wisconsin flooding

MARTELL, Wisc. -- The Rush River at Martell is known for its trout fishing. But Wednesday's catch of the day was cows.

"We should have put floaties on them or something," said Pierce County farmer Tim Wiff.   

(read the rest here.)

Thanks, Dean Munday, for this story!

Do you believe that?

Hee, Hee. Love it!



H/T Stand Firm

Top Eleven Reasons the Reformed Theologian Didn't Cross the Road

Oh, too, too funny.  I especially like #11.

11. A woman already crossed. We don’t follow women.
10. We don’t believe the road is safe. It wasn’t built between 1500-1700 A.D.
9. We believe that “road crossing” ceased with the death of the last Apostle or the completion of the New Testament.
8. The crossing guard was only helping people cross from one side to the other, so we are suspicious. Is this a denial of double pre-destination?
7. Neither Romans 9 or John 6 say anything about crossing roads. Therefore, it is unbiblical.
6. The “Walk” sign was gender neutral. It made us mad.
5. The road was called Tiber Ave.
4. John Wesley said that God’s prevenient grace would pave the way, but we have to take the steps ourselves. What a load!
3. We were not elected to cross before the foundation of the road.
2. Piper said that God is most glorified when we are most satisfied on our side of the road.
1. The pub is on this side of the road.

Tip well - especially if you pray over your meal

For my daughter the waitress:



Preach the Gospel of Grace!!!

For my daughter at Summer Camp

I'll be expecting my lanyard on Friday, my sweet, awesome daughter!

The Menaissance

For the men in my family.....

"I told you so....."

In day 78 of Reading the Bible in 90 Days.  I had forgotten this delightful passage.

²¹After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. ²²But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. ²³Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me ²⁴and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' ²⁵So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. ²⁶Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island."

Acts 27:21-25
Next  time my family complains about me saying "I told you so", I'm going to claim I am just following the example of the Apostle Paul.

SAMS Missionary in the Family

My daughter Becka has been accepted as an Intern with SAMS (Society of Anglican Missionaries & Senders). She will be spending three months in Bolivia, working with children at a safe house. All SAMS missionaries are required to raise their own support. Any donations would be greatly appreciated. Donations should be marked for "Rebecca Hunter, Bolivia".

Coming to an Episcopal Church near you . . . .

Any day now....
German man 'marries' his dying cat
Possendorf

A German man has unofficially married his cat after the animal fell ill and vets told him it might not live much longer, Bild newspaper reports.

It says Uwe Mitzscherlich, 39, paid an actress 300 euros (£260,$395) to officiate at the ceremony, as marrying an animal is illegal in Germany.

Mr Mitzscherlich said he had wanted to tie the knot before his asthmatic cat Cecilia died.

The cat and groom have lived together for 10 years.

"Cecilia is such a trusting creature. We cuddle all the time and she has always slept in my bed," Mr Mitzscherlich, a postman from the eastern town of Possendorf, told Bild.

Actress Christin-Maria Lohri, who officiated the ceremony, was quoted as saying: "At first I thought it was a joke. But for Mr Mitzscherlich it's a dream come true".

Piobaireachd

Just 'cause I'm in the mood for pipes.....

Bishop of Albany's Holy Week and Easter Letter

Received via email:

Holy Week and Easter, 2010


Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As the world teeters from one crisis to the next, you and I as Christians can go forward facing the uncertainties and trials of life in confidence, a confidence not from human optimism, but from the salvation and victory won by Jesus Christ against all the forces of evil, hell and death itself.

With the coming of Holy Week, we have the great honor and privilege to join in celebrating the events of our redemption. We begin with Palm Sunday, whereupon we remember and celebrate how our Lord rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey (as had been prophesied about the coming of the Messiah) and how many greeted Him, singing, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” On Maundy Thursday, we come together to remember and celebrate the Last Supper Jesus and the Disciples were to have together before His arrest, at which time He instituted what we now know as Holy Communion or the Eucharist. In addition, it was then that the Lord stated, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Jesus would demonstrate the fullness of His love the next day on Good Friday, when He went to the cross, offering Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all the world—dying in order that we might live. Three days later, on Easter Sunday, we join with all the Heavenly Hosts in singing “Alleluia. Christ is risen!” in celebration of our Lord’s glorious resurrection, wherein He conquered sin and death.

As we enter into Holy Week, we not only commemorate the historical markers of those eight days, but rather we are invited to enter in to a deeper relationship with the crucified and Risen Lord. Each of us brings to this Holy Week our own needs and problems and fears, indeed our own wounds. We can do this because we are confident that the Wounds of Jesus are the source of our forgiveness and healing. We especially bring to Christ what we can take to no one else, our sins. In exchange we receive new life and the promise of the resurrection we all hope for.

But beyond our personal needs and our family needs, the Lord calls us to help others in their own spiritual need. We are surrounded by folks who not only are in need of, but open to experiencing the transforming love of God. I encourage you to invite a friend, a neighbor or a co-worker to come with you this Holy Week. Reach out to someone you care about, and welcome that person to join you on Good Friday to hear the good news of the Savior’s love, and on Easter Day to hear the joyous praise that rings out the Resurrection victory.

As your bishop, I invite you to join the priests and deacons of the diocese at the Chrism Mass in any of three locations across the Diocese, as they renew their commitment to the Lord and to His ministry.*

May the Risen Lord who offered Himself for us upon the Cross fill you with a renewed faith. And may your family and loved ones be filled with the peace that surpasses all human understanding throughout Holy Week and the whole of the Easter Season.


In Christ our Risen Savior,

The Right Reverend William H. Love
Bishop of Albany


* Monday, 6pm the Cathedral; Tuesday 6pm St James, Oneonta; Wed, 12N, St Thomas Tupper Lake

A new Episcopal Congregation In Central New York? NOT!

No, wait.  My mistake.  I would have thought that the obligation to safeguard the legacy of previous generations of Episcopalians would lead the Diocese of Central New York to ensure that the building previously occupied by Good Shepherd, Binghamton would remain an Episcopal church or at least a Christian church.  But, not so......

Instead, the Bishop and/or Standing Committee has opted to sell, not for the assessed value (which the former congregation of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, now the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd was willing to pay) but for 1/3 that value to a.... oh, take a guess.  Will it be a night club? A grocery store? A restaurant?  Some sort of non-profit group?  NO.

Well, actually, I guess it IS a non-profit group after all, because the Diocese has sold the building to an Islamic group.  The Islamic Awareness Center, to be exact.

This is the best comment regarding the Diocese that I have read:

Think about that for a minute - The Episcopal Church (tm) put an active Christian parish out of their traditional home because that parish believes homosexual practice is a sin... and instead sold it to a faith that believes homosexual practice deserves death. 

Above there is a "before" shot of the building. And now, here's what it looks like:

Veggie Tales explains St. Patrick!

St. Patrick's Day Bagpipes

Third Annual St. Patrick's Extravaganza!!!!

The Blood of Cu Chulainn

The Bishop of TEC hath no juridiction in this realm

Resolutions before the South  Carolina Diocesan Convention:

Proposed Resolution R-2      2010 Convention

Offered by:  The Standing Committee

Subject: Response to Ecclesiastical Intrusions by the Presiding Bishop

RESOLVED, That this 219th Convention of the Diocese of  South Carolina affirms its legal and ecclesiastical authority as a sovereign diocese within the Episcopal Church, and be it further

RESOLVED,  That this Convention declares the Presiding Bishop has no authority to retain attorneys in this Diocese that present themselves as the legal counsel for the Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and be it finally

RESOLVED, That the Diocese of South Carolina demands that the Presiding Bishop drop the retainer of all such legal counsel in South Carolina as has been obtained contrary to the express will of this Diocese, which is The Episcopal Church within its borders.

(Hat tip to Chris Johnson)

Good Stewardship or Money Laundering?

If a "Diocese" has a $420,000 grant from The Episcopal Church (DFMS - The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, line 64 in the budget), is it just a coincidence that the "Diocese's" legal fees are nearly the same amount as the grant?  (lines 72 & 73)  Is this not just a way for TEC to sue parishes and individuals in the actual, legitimate Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin while pretending this is an internal argument in the Diocese of San Joaquin?  The Episcopal "Diocese" looks very much like a puppet regime.  

As usual, the Anglican Curmudgeon has an excellent analysis of the whole sorry mess.

Moses and Miriam sing again

JERUSALEM – Two parts of an ancient biblical manuscript separated across centuries and continents were reunited for the first time in a joint display Friday, thanks to an accidental discovery that is helping illuminate a dark period in the history of the Hebrew Bible.

The 1,300-year-old fragments, which are among only a handful ofHebrew biblical manuscripts known to have survived the era in which they were written, existed separately and with their relationship unknown, until a news photograph of one's public unveiling in 2007 caught the attention of the scholars who would eventually link them.

Together, they make up the text of the Song of the Sea, sung by jubilant Israelites after fleeing slavery in Egypt and witnessing the destruction of the pharaoh's armies in theRed Sea.

"The enemy said: 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My lust shall be satisfied upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them,'" reads the song, which appears in the Book of Exodus. "Thou didst blow thy wind, the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters."

An exhibit at Israel's national museum dedicated to the Song of the Sea is now bringing together the two long-separated pieces.

Read the rest...

Thanks to Kendall Harmon

Just how Christian is Brian McLaren?

Hey, Brian, I don't have a seminary education either, but I can tell what you are teaching  is cr*p.

Diocese of South Carolina changes date of Diocese Convention

Please  pray for Bp. Lawrence and the Diocese of South Carolina.

Farewell to a family pet

Rest in peace, Mr. Dangerous Beans.

For my husband! You know why....

Invitation to Grace

The sermon preached this morning at my parish:

“Invitation to Grace”
2nd Epiphany
January 17, 2010
Isaiah 62:1-5, Psalm 96:1-9, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 2:1-11


What’s your idea of heaven? Are you all prepared to sit around on a cloud, playing a harp? Do you know how to play a harp? Will everyone be dressed in white robes, like the ones we’re wearing, and speak quietly like they are in church all the time?

Did you know that the Bible actually tells us something very different about what heaven and being in the presence of God will be like?

Heaven is going to be a party, and not just any party, but a great big wedding party. In this morning’s Gospel, we are given a tiny glimpse of that party.

We’ve probably all been to weddings or wedding receptions, especially all the adults here. Some of the weddings were probably small, quiet events and some of them were no doubt large, elaborate and very expensive affairs. But I’ll bet none of us has ever been to a wedding as elaborate as the one Jesus attended in Cana.

In ancient Israel a wedding feast wasn’t just a ceremony in the church, or the synagogue and then a reception that lasted a few hours. A wedding feast lasted at least a week, with guests coming and going, people going home to get some work done, take care of their livestock, and then coming back again to the party. The whole village would be invited and probably people from surrounding towns as well. The wealthier the groom’s family was, the bigger the party would be. We don’t know whose wedding this was in Cana, but we can tell the host was a wealthy man. He had stone water jars, stone jars being something that a wealthier household would have. Poorer people would have clay jars. And these were huge water jars, six of them, each holding 20 to 30 gallons of water. If you don’t feel like doing math this early in the morning, I’ve already done it for you. That came out to 120 to 180 gallons of water. The guest list must have been pretty large, to need jars that size to accommodate everyone’s need for ritual hand washings.

Now, the wedding feast would begin with the groom and his friends starting to party a day or so before the actual wedding, kind of an extended bachelor party, then in the middle of the night, they would parade through the village with torches to the bride’s home, where she would be having a more subdued party. The bridesmaids’ job would be to wait at the door with lamps to greet the groom’s party whenever they decided to arrive. Then, with groomsmen’s torches and the bridesmaids’ lamps, the whole party would dance back through the village to the groom’s house, where the wedding ceremony and the week long party would begin. Jesus even told a parable about this, when he told the story of the five wise virgins who had oil for their lamps and the five foolish virgins who feel asleep and let their lamps go out.

Jesus told a lot of parables about weddings. The image of a wedding feast to describe heaven and the relationship between God and his people is probably the most common image used in both the Old and New Testaments.

Weddings are a joyous time. Weddings, like the birth of a child, are always new beginnings, the start of a new life and full of hope. And weddings in ancient times, and usually now, always included wine to celebrate. The Bible calls wine “the oil of gladness”. It symbolized a joyous celebration.

In Cana of Galilee, someone was getting married and Jesus and his disciples and his mother Mary had been invited. The party was well under way but nowhere close to being over when the wine ran out. This was a social disaster. Hospitality was very, very important. It wasn’t just that the host of the party would face embarrassment, probably for years to come. He would always be remembered as that guy who ran out of wine, who invited everyone from town and then couldn’t entertain them. It would be brought up every time there was another wedding in the town for years to come. But worse than embarrassment, the host could have actually faced a lawsuit. He could be sued by the party goers who would have felt cheated out of the good time they had been promised. Can you imagine that? If you threw a party and your guests where able to sue you because they didn’t think you had spent enough money on them? It would make me pretty leery of throwing any parties at all! But then, I would be offending against hospitality and still be liable to be sued!

So, here is this big party and there’s no more wine. Jesus’ mother comes to him and says, “They have no wine.” We don’t know why she was concerned. Maybe this was a relative’s wedding. And we don’t know why she thought Jesus could do anything about it. The text tells us Jesus hadn’t preformed any miracles or signs yet. And he sure couldn’t do what anyone would do now; make a run down to the local liquor store! But Mary is confident that Jesus will do something to fix the problem. Even when Jesus challenges her, the way he challenges so many people in the Gospels, and he says “what concern is that to you and me?” Mary is still so confident that her son will fix the problem, she just turns to the servants and says “Do whatever he tells you.” I love that. This is one of my favorite Bible stories, because that statement right there sums up the Christian life – Just do whatever Jesus tells you!


And the servants do exactly what they are told. Jesus has them fill the water jars not just kinda full, but all the way up to the brim so they will overflow when the ladle is dipped in. And then he does it, the first of the signs he ever performed. He turned the ordinary water used for washing into the finest of wines. Not ordinary wine, not cheap wine, but the finest wine.

Jesus, God with us, chooses to reveal his glory in a lavish, overflowing manner in the context of a wedding. Jesus turns 180 gallons of water in 180 gallons of fine wine. Think of it. Out of the vessels used for ritual cleansing, once filled with water to wash away impurities, flowed wine to make the heart glad. Jesus could have just filled one of the jars, just enough to save the host from embarrassment. But he chose offer this spectacular sign of his glory and his love and grace.

Jesus is never stingy with his grace. He always offers more than enough, abundant and overflowing. He offers us that grace every day, if we will just accept it. That’s really the only requirement. We don’t have to come before him perfect and washed and tidied up already. He has replaced the ritual cleansings and our attempts to make ourselves fit to stand before God under our own power. He offers us the wine of gladness and invites us to the party. He is offering it right now, in the sacrament of His body and the wine of his blood, come to the table and receive the grace of his love and mercy. However you may feel right now, the grace of God invites you to come to him. He invites you not to be drunk with the old, inferior wine of the world, but to be filled and overflowing with the new wine of the Spirit of God. He offers to replace the 180 gallons of guilt and recriminations we hold against ourselves with his grace.

St. John doesn’t call this event a miracle, he calls it a sign. What is a sign? A sign points to something beyond itself, a message. A stop sign isn’t just an octagonal piece of metal, painted red and white. When you see that stop sign in the street, you don’t try to figure out what type of paint was used on it, you stop your car. It means more than its physical shape. Its message is stop what you are doing, look, listen, and don’t go on until its safe.

When you hear of the sign of Cana, don’t try to determine what vintage the wine was or how many guests were there or why there were six stone jars instead of five or seven. Look beyond the sign to what it points to, to what it means. Stop, look, listen and turn to Jesus for his abundant grace and love.
When you follow the sign of Cana, you will find yourself part of the joyous celebration of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. As the prophet Isaiah says, you shall be called by a new name, you shall no longer be termed Forsaken or Desolate, but the Lord will delight in you, you will be like a royal diadem in the hand of your God. The Lord rejoices over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. Come to the altar of Christ and receive the sign of his love and grace.

Amen.

Lean postings

Blog postings have been a little lean, in fact non-existant for awhile. Real life family has been much more important and in the forefront.

My mother-in-law, Della, passed away on January 5th and we, especially my husband, have been not only dealing with our grief and all the missed times we had with her, but the difficulties of coordinating air travel, funeral arrangements and trying to settle an estate. Our lives leave so many loose ends and missed opportunities.

I thank all my friends who have been praying for us.