Breaking news: God holds a press conference

This just in, from the Boston Globe.

Making his first public remarks in more than 1,000 years, God appeared in the heavens yesterday and ordered all world religions founded in His/Her name to ``immediately take a well-deserved and long overdue time-out." At the crowded press conference, hastily called by the angel Gabriel with a trumpet blast, God's tone switched between anger and sadness as He/She described being frustrated with the boundless cruelty and violence committed in His/Her name.

"It's not like I haven't been patient," said God, who is also known as Lord, Yahweh, Allah, Creator, and the Unnamed One. "I make and give to humans this beautiful gift called Creation. I give them the ability to think and love and imagine. I send them messengers who teach. I provide food for all, sunsets, cute babies, music, even the Internet! But the minute I turn my back, they all start fighting. Holy War this, Crusade that, and Jihad, blah, blah, blah," He/She said.

If only things were this clear, perhaps we'd have less "blah, blah, blah."

Bishops gathering left and right. Make that only right.

On the heels of news that the Bishop of Texas had invited "Windsor-compliant bishops" to Camp Allen for a pow-wow came word of another meeting of primarily right-leaning bishops. The Texas meeting has the "blessing" of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the other upcoming meeting, to be attended by our Presiding Bishop and Presiding Bishop-elect, includes the Rev'd Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. Our Presiding Bishop has issued a statement explaining the New York guest list, saying that it is simply an opportunity "those of differing perspectives to come together in a spirit of mutual respect to exchange views."

For all the talk from some quarters about a vast left-wing conspiracy to take over the Episcopal Church, it should be noted that no news has reached this blogger of upcoming meetings of the likes of Chane and Robinson. Are they meeting quietly? Perhaps there really is no vast left-wing conspiracy? At least one prominent blogger wonders if the New York meeting will lead to "betrayal."

My hunch is that the composition of this group will give momentum to an argument/fear already abroad in liberal circles: that when push comes our elected episcopal leadership may well betray the convictions of the majorities that elected them for the sake of what they perceive to be our institutional viability.

I am not suggesting that a betryal is in the works, but this matter continues to be handled on both sides of the ocean in a way certain to demoralize the Church's left/center majority.

Jonathan Myrick Daniels

The calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts is a way that the Episcopal Church celebrates the life and ministry of many people who have been an example of Christ like behavior in the world. On August 14th about twenty people gathered at the Church of the Epiphany in Providence to celebrate the feast day of Jonathan Myrick Daniels. Jonathan Daniels was a young seminarian who in the 1960s went to Alabama to march with Martin Luther King Jr. and fight for the right to vote for African Americans. One day Jonathan was walking with two young African American girls, after being released form prision. They were going to get a drink from a store and the owner was at the door telling them that they could not come in. In his hands he held a shot gun. The store owner then went to shoot one of the young African American girls, and Jonathan pushed her out of the way taking the fatal bullet himself. Jonathan spent some time working at Christ Church in Providence, which is no longer standing.


As we gathered for the remembrance celebration on the 14th, I learned that there were a few people there who knew Jonathan making what we were doing that much more personal. To hear the stories of his life was extremely inspiring. At 6.30 we gathered in the mission house for the beginning part of the Eucharist up until the homily. We then left the mission house and marched around the block singing the zimbabwe alleluia. As we marched we were lead by the cross. There were also two banners that some of the kids there carried.

Also Rev. Al Barnaby carried an icon of Jonathan that he had made. We finally gather in the back of the church for the prayer of consecration. As we were concluding out Eucharist the sun was setting. We gathered in the mission house and shared a meal and some wonderful fellowship.

As a young person, myself and my peers, so often take all that we have for granted. Taking part in an event like this celebration really put things into perspective for me. To be in a community where several had been personally affected by this man was remarkable. Someone had even brought two pieces of the old Christ Church, the parish Jonathan worked at, with them.

There have been a small handful of Eucharists that I have been to that I will never forget. Gathering around the icon of Jonathan, the pieces of Christ Church, sharing in the Eucharist, with the sun setting in the background was a truly unforgetable sacramental moment. This is just a small thing that we can do to celebrate the life of Jonathan and all the Civil Rights Martyrs who dedicated their lives to ensuring equality for all.

Archbishop of York is shorn and anointed

I don't know much about Dr. John Sentamu, but in his brief time as Archbishop of York, he has shown himself to be a person who does not do things half way. In response to recent violence in the Middle East, Sentamu has begun a prayer vigil, and he has encouraged others to do the same. He had his head shaved and anointed with oil in last Sunday's services at York Minster. For seven days, he's sleeping in a tent that he's pitched in one of the chapels.

Around my neck I wear a cross which bears the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero: "Peace will flower when love and justice pervade our environment." The events of the past weeks show how far we are, as a world and as a nation, from that place which Romero describes.

I have received letters and calls from people about this conflict, and people are asking "What can I do?" They feel helpless, they feel bewildered but they want to do something in response to the suffering that they have been watching on their televisions, hearing on their radios and reading in their newspapers. So my call to everyone is to join me in prayer, join me in fasting join me in providing a meal for every displaced person--especially women and children, medicine for the sick; and at a future date be part of the reconstruction of the areas, in both countries, that have been destroyed.

Will you join me in standing up against violence as an unacceptable means of trying to change one another's views and lives? Whether in our own skies or the skies above the Middle East, bombing and violence cannot be the way in which we seek to change that which we don't like in the world. There has to be another way. Each one of us has to be the change we want to see in the world."

You can read more in an article on the Diocese of York's website.

New diversity: from Bono to Elvis

For two millennia, Christians have anchored worship both in timeless tradition and cultural context. In the latest round of adaptations, we've seen so-called U2charists. Now, even merry olde England is emphasizing the "merry", and Ecumenical News International has the story:

Elvis imitator Johnny Cowling had more than 1000 people - many of them non-churchgoing teenagers - rocking in the aisles of one of England's best known cathedrals at a Sunday service. "It was a fantastic service. We've tried country music and classical composers but never Elvis," Truro Cathedral's Cannon Perran Gay told Ecumenical News International. "Most of Johnny Cowling's songs were Elvis's best known gospel songs - 'Crying in the Chapel', 'Peace in the Valley', 'His hand in Mine'.

From the Truro Cathedral website, where there's a news release (Microsoft Word doc):

Elvis Presley'’s music to be performed in Truro cathedral? The Rock 'n Roll King desecrating the sanctity of Cornwall's premier church? The critics, both local and in the national press, should have been there last Sunday--that is, if they could find a spare seat among the nine hundred that filled the cathedral. Although it was in part an Elvis gig it was also a service of worship and joy devised by Perran Gay, the Canon Precentor. "I'’m genuinely excited,” he said, "by the challenge of engaging with people who wouldn'’t normally come to the Cathedral."

Indeed. Has your church been packed lately?

The world transformed?

Today celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration, but it is also the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Here's an eyewitness account of the explosion by a Roman Catholic priest who was in the city at the time.

Suddenly --- the time is approximately 8:15 -- the whole valley is filled by a garish light which resembles the Magnesium light used in photography, and I am conscious of a wave heat. I jump to the window to find out the cause of this remarkable phenomenon, but I see nothing more than that brilliant yellow light. As I make for the door, it doesn't occur to me that the light might have something to do with enemy planes. On the way from the window, I hear a moderately loud explosion which seems to come from a distance and, at the same time, the windows are broken in with a loud crash. There has been an interval of perhaps ten seconds since the flash of light. I am sprayed by fragments of glass. The entire window frame has been forced into the room. I realize now that a bomb has burst and I am under the impression that it exploded directly over our house or in the immediate vicinity. I am bleeding from cuts about the hands and head. I attempt to get out of the door.

I post this particular account because it's well written, but more important, he includes some reflections on the moral questions at hand. The account concludes:

We have discussed among ourselves the ethics of the use of the bomb. Some consider it in the same category as poison gas and were against its use on a civil population. Others were of the view that in total war, as carried on in Japan, there was no difference between civilians and soldiers and that the bomb itself was an effective for tending to end the bloodshed, warning Japan to surrender and thus to avoid total destruction. It seems logical to us that he who supports total war in principle cannot complain of a war against civilians. The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it not have material and spiritual evil as its consequences which far exceed whatever the good that might result ? When will our moralists give us a clear answer to this question?

These questions are still worth pondering now, especially today as war seems to be on the increase, and peace-making is hardly given serious consideration in our national discourse any more.

The bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki undoubtedly transformed our world. Can we respond in fervent hope, like Sadako Sasaki, and transform the world into a place where war is no longer known?

Wedding stewardship

This is the time of year when lots of people have weddings. This article, in the Christian Century is timely.

"Pay attention: These are our values." That's what we're saying when we make decisions about spending money or ask others to spend money on our behalf. For an engaged couple, it all starts with the wedding. Brides magazine reports that the average cost of a wedding today exceeds $19,000. That amount includes more than $4,000 for rings, $7,500 for a reception, $1,500 for flowers and—much lower on the budget list—$250 for clergy.

The article goes on to suggest that perhaps couples might consider reducing expenses by, for example, asking family members to take photographs, rather than professional photographers. Perhaps, author James Wall suggests, people could register for charitable gifts rather than material goods.

An economically pared-down wedding and something equivalent to sheep and goats and medical aid to Iraqi children on the registry list may not guarantee a long and joyous marriage. But it's a good beginning.

I recommend the Christian Century as a source of religious news and inspiration. You could subscribe here.

If heaven had a telephone system....

Saw this over at titusonenine.

Thank you for calling heaven.

I am sorry, all of our angels and saints are busy helping other sinners right now. However, your prayer is important to us and we will answer it in the order it was received. Please stay on the line.

If you would like to speak to:
God, press 1.
Jesus, press 2.
The Holy Spirit, press 3.
If you would like to hear King David sing a Psalm while you are holding, press 4.

To find a loved one who has been assigned to Heaven, press 5, then enter his or her social security number followed by the pound sign. (If you get a negative response, please hang up and try area code 666.) For reservations in heaven, please enter J-O-H-N 3:16

For answers to nagging questions about dinosaurs, the age of the earth, life on other planets, and where Noah’s Ark is, please wait until you arrive.

If you are calling after hours and need emergency assistance, please contact your local pastor.