Lectionary Boo Boo: No Scary Verses Allowed This Halloween

Lectionary edits have become a recurring theme here.

Our O.T. reading today was Habakkuk 1:1-4,2:1-4

Removed from the reading was part of the prophesy, the fate that awaits those who do not follow God's commandments.

5 Look at the nations, and see!
Be astonished! Be astounded!
For a work is being done in your days
that you would not believe if you were told.
6 For I am rousing the Chaldeans,
that fierce and impetuous nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
7 Dread and fearsome are they;
their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more menacing than wolves at dusk;
their horses charge.
Their horsemen come from far away;
they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come for violence,
with faces pressing forward;
they gather captives like sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
and of rulers they make sport.
They laugh at every fortress,
and heap up earth to take it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind;
they transgress and become guilty;
their own might is their god!


12 Are you not from of old,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
You shall not die.
O Lord, you have marked them for judgement;
and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment.
13 Your eyes are too pure to behold evil,
and you cannot look on wrongdoing;
why do you look on the treacherous,
and are silent when the wicked swallow
those more righteous than they?
14 You have made people like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.


15 The enemy brings all of them up with a hook;
he drags them out with his net,
he gathers them in his seine;
so he rejoices and exults.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his seine;
for by them his portion is lavish,
and his food is rich.
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net,
and destroying nations without mercy?

The Epistle reading for today was 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4,11-12

So what happened to verses 5-10?

This is evidence of the righteous judgement of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marvelled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

It should be obvious that those verses contain taboo words. "Judgement", "repay with affliction", "flaming fire", "vengence", punishment", and "eternal destruction" are possibilities to which the average Sunday visitor to church shouldn't be exposed.

Stripped of this language, the letter loses its punch. Read how the Word was presented in church (I left in the verse numbers and added a "..." so you can see where the imprecatory verses were removed).

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
3 We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring....
11 To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfil by his power every good resolve and work of faith, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When you serve fluff, you are killing God's people with kindness.

Mountain Witches

Great Aunt Eliza used to pass along lots of mountain "witch stories" to the children. My mother in law remembers one short tale of the witch who was visited by a local girl who wanted to have a "fortune tellin." The witch told the girl that she would find her fortune, but that she must not pick up anything from the woods during her journey home. Along the way home, the girl passed up blackberries, pretty flowers, and all sorts of forest treasures. As she neared the edge of the woods, she saw a beautiful white broach on the path. She felt that it should be okay to pick this up and pin it on her dress since it probably didn't belong in the witch's woods to begin with. She proudly wore the broach all the way home. When she entered her house, she ran to show her mother her treasure. As her mother approached, the broach melted and turned into bird droppings ruining her nice dress and earning the girl a switching.

The moral of the story?

Don't go a witchin, for you might get a switchin.

Wasting Away Again in Resolutionville, and the HoB Redefines the Birth of the Church?

I am not a fan of "resolutions" introduced at conventions or other such gatherings. The typical resolution put forward is a non-binding statement designed to make someone feel good while accomplishing absolutely nothing. Witness the last convention of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina where somebody from St. Martins in the Fields presented a resolution urging politicians to stop negative campaign ads.

BE IT RESOLVED, That the 88th Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina calls those who seek election to office, those who support candidates for office and those who will be affected by the elections and subsequent actions of the General Assembly, to put aside partisan politics; refrain from unnecessary or inappropriate personal attacks upon the character of those running for office; be guided by our Lord’s call for justice for all and heed the wisdom of our founding fathers who sought “to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”; and reach out to find workable, honorable and lasting ways to weather the current storm and do justice by and for all the citizens of this state, most especially those who are dependent on their more fortunate brothers and sisters for a helping hand.

I have not seen any change in either the quantity or the quality of negative political ads showing up on my idiot box since this resolution passed with only a smattering of "No" votes.

Why not resolve that the Church pray for God fearing, peaceful, and intelligent political debate? That's right, make a resolution that the church can put into action by doing what it is supposed to do. Doh!

One problem that Upper SC has set itself up for by passing this type of resolution is that they have opened the door for more and more convention time in the future to be taken up by not just silly resolutions, but crazier ones by the bucket load. I fear that next year we will have a resolution about keeping the retirement age in France at age sixty, and another about "hate crimes." Two years from now we will have one about "gun control," another about spaying and neutering your pets, and another about non-celibate gay clergy. Yes, I am suggesting that the domino theory might apply to church politics.

People should be discouraged from making inane resolutions. I am afraid that our convention's "Yes" vote will encourage not only more of the same, but worse sounding resolutions on things that cannot even be imagined by this lowly pewster.

Taking it up a notch, for another fine example of how purple breasted church people fritter away their hours, let's take a look at a theological resource that was recently approved by our House of Bishops at +Waldo's first visit with that august body on Sept. 21, 2010. First consider it totally out of the original context (which I will explain below). The opening words say it all,

"The church was born out of the passionate conviction of a growing number of people that, united with the crucified and risen Jesus in baptism, and empowered by the same Spirit that empowered him in his humanity, they could welcome one another, and everyone else, just the way Jesus did. They rightly discerned the social critique embedded in Jesus’ own total availability to others, and, beginning with the admission of the Gentiles and the blurring of distinctions between slave and free, rich and poor, they organized themselves as a community geared to transform Jesus’ personal example into a collective way of life that could challenge prevailing cultural and social norms."

This was the preamble to a resource for the church to use on the issue of "illegal immigration." A resource that is of zero use whatsoever. The preamble however, is useful to study because it can help to explain why the church has lost its way.

Would someone please explain to the bishops the story of the birth of the Church? What about the shocking news that death has lost its power? Who could believe that God had lived and died for us? Who wouldn't want to share the good news that God loves us this much? What led people to give up their lives for these outrageous claims?

The bishops' preamble makes the birth of the Church seem sound like the birth of a political party, inspired by a really great guy. They might as well have written, "We march in solidarity under the banner of ____(insert name of a great guy)." What were the Episcopal bishops smoking when they wrote/signed on to this one?

As a commenter at T19 opined in stronger words than mine,

 "...not only is this document an expression of humanism, as suggested. Its avoidance of the real reason for 'Church', as the object and agent of the Divine Plan of Cosmic Salvation, is not just a mistake. It is damnable!"

I agree.

I wonder if our Bishop voted "Yes" when this thing came up?

U.P., sipping a glass of cabernet...
(Not a fan of wasting away in "Resolutionville")

How Many Times a Day Do You Check Your E-mail?

Part of the reason for my edginess last week was the pressure of a compressed work schedule in anticipation of a conference in NY, NY. I hate to leave the comfort of my cave, but I usually wind up all the better for it. I should be getting back today, so here is a post that I had prepared for last week, but I wound up getting too upset on 10/17/2010 to publish it.

I heard this today as I prayed in silence with friends during lunch break.

"How many times a day do you check your e-mail?"

Not, "How many times a day do I check my e-mail?"

This occurred as I was thinking about the times I have felt God's presence, or seen Jesus' face, heard him whisper in my ear, felt his beard, smelled his breath.

Then I had a fleeting thought about why those times seem so few and far between.

Why doesn't God "pop up" more often? (You've got God!)

Then the voice came...

"How many times a day do you check your e-mail?"

Oops, I have been ignoring You haven't I?

The answer to the question seems obvious, and it is this, "More times than I stop what I am doing, sit down, and seriously pray during the day."

According to AOL's 2008 survey, the average email user in New York checks personal email 4 times per day. Meanwhile, they also check work email over 3 times in a given weekend.

We go to church once a week at best.

I think I will sign off now and compose some e-mails to God. If I keep sending them, He will e-mail me back (Luke 18:1-8) of that I can be sure.

(After  typing this, I checked the lectionary for 10/17/2010, and guess which Gospel lesson popped up?)

Sheathing the Sword

Most of the time, I am calm in situations that might cause others to panic. This is most likely due to a comfort level that has grown from careful study and practice for those situations. On occasion, events conspire to put me in the place of discomfort and trial. At these times, I just might get sharp, snippy, sarcastic, or just plain mean.

This past week has been one of those weeks. Making too many plans, working too hard, sleeping too little, praying less than seriously.
The other day I  found myself at a table of church people, and we had just been asked by our Bishop to discuss several questions. Most of our group appeared to be satisfied with talking about other things, but one person appointed him/herself to be moderator, and, interrupting the pleasant conversations, this person started trying to get us to answer the assigned questions. At the onset, our moderator let everyone know where he/she was coming from. A self described liberal with different views from those people in the Diocese of South Carolina, (sort of like saying, "Some of my best friends are from there..") his/her soft spoken sweetness very early on started to take me out of my comfort zone. During his/her discussion about how wonderful it was that +Waldo was welcoming of diversity of opinion, someone pointed out to him that there was, in fact, a person of diverse opinion, a "conservative," at the table. Guess who that might have been? After that, eyes and comments seemed to become increasingly directed towards your lowly sleep deprived pewster. Some of these comments, while innocuous sounding to most "liberal" or "moderate" church goers, grated like sandpaper on my ears. When the "conversation" got to the point of becoming a one-handed love fest over how wonderful it was to pay taxes, and that this somehow justified how our diocese sends $418,181 in taxes to T.E.c. in spite of the need to trim $200,000 from the diocesan budget (which several missions were bemoaning), I felt that our moderator must not be allowed to go on unchallenged, after all, he/she was in the discernment process and needed to experience a little "diversity." Despite all my study and practice in listening to these people, I could feel my right hand reaching to draw out my sword and go on the attack. I had forgotten that neither verbal arguments, jousting, or open battle will ever help this type to change their world view. Like the chemically dependant, they have to hit rock bottom, in this case by sending money to 815, before they can even begin to see the need to change.

On this occasion, I could not stop myself from taking a few swipes at the ear of my "moderator." While I may have felt that I was just tilting at windwills at the time, later on he/she did move to another table.

I am sorry, Lord. I thought I was defending you from the sweet kiss of a so-called friend. Now I understand that you do not need my sword.

That type makes its own rope.
Why You let the Church drain the life from itself, I cannot fathom.

Must the Church die in this way in order to be reborn?

I will sheath my sword, but I still left wondering why your followers have swords to begin with. 

Let your Church's ear be healed.

Free the Hostages

During the announcements at today's church service, our rector expressed his pleasure at how our Bishop, +A. Waldo, presented his argument yesterday at the Diocesan convention of Upper S.C. for continuing full economic support of T.E.c. in the face of a $200,000 shortfall in the diocesan budget. To summarize, the rationale is that you have to send T.E.c. money so that they can continue to support the needy Native American tribal missions in S.D. and so that money can go to the Episcopal Church in Haiti. 

B.S.

Unlike our rector, I was not pleased when I heard +Waldo using these Churches as hostages. After all, he was saying in a way, "Pay up, or the hostages will die."

As with much of what he says, it was said oh so nicely.

Shame on you Bishop. Why don't you present viable options for those who disagree with T.E.c.'s use of 21 million dollars of our money to sue other Christians in the secular courts, or the use of T.E.c. dollars to support radical pro-abortion groups such as the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice?

I am posting some links to the Churches in need so that people might donate directly if they wish to prove that if people stop funding T.E.c., these churches will not die. God will not let them die. In fact, they just might find themselves set free from dependancy on T.E.c. and its agenda.

The Gifts of Bread and Water Cange Haiti



Or you can contact one of the missions in S.D. below.


South Dakota Mission Offices


Cheyenne River Episcopal Mission

The Reverend Les Campbell, Interim Priest-In-Charge
PO Box 533
Waubay, SD 57273
605-590-0017

Mission Office (Cheyenne River Episcopal Mission)

PO Box 80
Eagle Butte, SD 57625

Lower Brule and Crow Creek Missions

The Rev. Liz Powers, Priest-in-Charge
209 S. Main
Chamberlain, SD 57325
605-734-4288
Contact her

Pine Ridge Mission (including Corn Creek District)

The Very Reverend Craig West, Supervising Presbyter
PO Box 532
Martin, SD 57551
605-685-6631
Contact him

Rosebud Mission and Bishop Hare Center

The Very Reverend John Spruhan, Priest-In-Charge
PO Box 257
Rosebud, SD 57570
605-747-5927
Contact him (I love his e-mail address)

Administrator
PO Box 188
Mission, SD 57555-0188
605-856-4982

Habitat for Humanity 856-2665

Sisseton Mission

The Reverend Charlie Chan, Priest-In-Charge
716 7th Ave W
Sisseton, SD 57262-1248
605-698-6528

Standing Rock Mission

The Very Reverend Rob Schwarz, Priest-In-Charge
806 3rd Avenue W
Mobridge, SD 57601-2011
605-845-2182
Contact him

For those interested in helping the Episcopal Church in Haiti in general,

Bureau diocésain


Mgr Jean Zaché Duracin
Tél. : (509) 257 16 24
Email : epihaiti@hotmail.com

epihaiti@egliseepiscopaledhaiti.org



Adresse Haïti :

Eglise Episcopale d'Haïti
BP 1309, Port au Prince
Haïti

Adresse USA :
c/o Lynx Air
P.O. Box 407139
Fort Lauderdale, 33340
USA

Task Force Commission
Emergency Help
The Rev. Canon Ogé BEAUVOIR,
Coordinator
E-mail.: obeauvoir@steeh.org
Phone: 011 509 3752 8725
011 509 3788 0892



Or for other world wide missions contact,
 
The Anglican Relief and Development Fund

Shaking Some Sand From My Shoes

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post after hiking the Pinnacle trail at Crowder's Mountain State Park. During my descent, I noticed something in my left boot. This something worked its way down to my arch, and I had to stop to take off my boot in order to remove a small stone that had worked its way in. At the time, I thought how important it is to take care of minor irritations before they become major problems.

There has been many a time when I carried things, either painful or pleasurable, for way too far down the mountain. One particular stone I carry has both characteristics, yet I carry it along. Maybe I was made for the bittersweet, but I have learned that it is important to keep stones out of my shoes, and to keep them tucked away in a place where they will not cause harm to myself or to others.

Old songs keep coming to mind...

"Son can you play me a memory I'm not really sure how it goes But it's sad and it's sweet And I knew it complete When I wore a younger man's clothes" - Billy Joel

I had forgotten about the incident on the mountain until this past week when I was driving home from Columbia one day. The old time gospel station had faded out, and I hit the "Seek" button on my radio which started playing this song by the Drifters,

Oh, the boardwalk's deserted

There's nobody down by the shore
And the Ferris wheel ride
Isn't turning around any more
The heat wave and the crowds
Are just old news

But I've still got some sand in my shoes.

* (Sand in my shoes)
  Brings mem'ries of the salty air
  (Sand in my shoes)
  Whoa-uh-oh-oh, the blanket that we used to share
  How we fell in love down by the sea
  Comes back to me (I've still got some sand)
  With the sand in my shoes.

When the water was cold
You would tremble and hold me so tight
And we'd sit on the beach
Just to wait for the stars to come out at night
The heat wave and the crowds
Are just old news
But I've still got some sand in my shoes.

* Refrain...

The poor singer hasn't realized that the sand in his shoes might cause a blister if he doesn't do something about it. He might decide to shake the sand from his shoes, or he might write  a popular song and memorialize the moment, but if his memory is elephantine like mine, he might wind up putting a little in his pocket so he can sprinkle some here and there as he walks down the trail leading away from the past.

Don't Jump

DON'T!


Today's Gospel reading was Luke 17:11-19, the healing of the ten lepers.

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.  As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

 How we got from there to a sermon about bullying of GLBTs and the recent suicide of a young man "pris en flagrant délit" is beyond me. Did we hear one word about how Jesus can heal such tortured souls? No, instead we heard a rambling tale of people "excluded from community" and how they can be returned to full acceptance by the community, somehow without healing of the individual. In this type of mathematic, the community alone is that which needs the healing. This leaves out important questions of what, if any, of our shameful behaviors are unseen by God, the questions of why we feel shame in the first place, and the questions of how we can return to the Lord in those times when we engage in sin and do shameful things.  Why, why, did we not hear the call for all those who are afflicted to come to Jesus to be healed?

Trying to simplify a complicated math problem by ignoring important variables gets you nowhere, and trying to score progressive points by capitalizing on a tormented soul's suicide gets you a big fat zero in this pewster's grade book. I take this a bit personally as I have been touched by suicide and have also cared for way too many unsuccessful as well as quite a few successful suicides, and once the blame game starts being played, my dander gets up.

When I listened as our preacher used this unfortunate man's death to advance her agenda, I thought that this is how a church commits suicide: by ignoring scripture, blaming others, and by using a bully pulpit to promote a social activist agenda.

To that I have to plead to the church, "Turn back. Don't jump!"

Upper SC 2010 Convention Proposed Amendment to Canons

I post this for not just those of us in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, but also for those in other dioceses who should expect to see similar changes proposed to their canons.

Squirreled away in the EDUSC web 2010 convention site under "Constitution and Canons" is this innocuous sounding sentence:

"The Title IV Review Committee of The Episcopal Church has requested all diocesan canons be changed to coincide with the new Title IV of The Episcopal Church canons, which will take effect July 1, 2011.

The Constitution and Canons committee has completed their work to amend our canons. That resolution is available for download by clicking here."

Eagle eyed watchers have been waiting for this amendment to appear. It is unfortunate that this comes out shortly before the convention begins next week. If a delegate finds this prior to the convention and decides to actually read the 7 page document, they will find the following,

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CANONS
Date: September 17, 2010
Offered by: Committee on Constitution & Canons - Mr. Dan Hunt, committee chair

A question came up about that Sept. 17 date. Amendments are supposed to be submitted to the Secretary sixty days prior to the Convention as our web pages say,

Section 1. These Canons shall not be altered or amended, nor shall any new Canon be enacted, except at a stated Convention in the manner here provided. All proposals for new, altered or amended Canons shall be:


(a) Submitted in writing to the Secretary of the Convention no less than sixty days prior to the commencement of the Convention for reference by the Secretary to the Committee on Constitution and Canons:

(b) Read to the Convention prior to action by the Convention thereon; and

(c) Approved by a two-thirds vote of those present at the Convention at which it is first presented or by a majority vote of those present if the identical proposal had been previously read to and considered by the immediate preceding Convention where less than two-thirds but at least a majority of those present voted to approve the proposal.

Because the date on the amendment is what it is, I assume that reflects its final version, which should be what when it was presented to the Secretary. As the amendment is being offered by the committee itself, maybe some other rule applies, or this amendment was submitted late, or maybe it was revised after submission (at the very least, the date was revised). Too many questions arise. As currently dated, this amendment should not be acted upon by the convention until these questions are answered without the convention risking creating constitutional challenges during future trials.

Read on,

Title V: Ecclesiastical Discipline is Hereby Amended So As To Read As Follows:
PROPOSED TITLE V,
Canon 1: Jurisdiction
All proceedings in this Diocese for canonical discipline of members of the clergy shall be governed by Title IV of the Canons of the General Convention as supplemented by this Title. To the extent that any of the provisions of this Title are in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of Title IV, the provisions of Title IV shall govern.

The problem is that Title IV of the Canons of the General Convention (G.C. of T.E.c.) has been changed recently, and it is subject to change every 3 years when each General Convention meets. This is a recipe for disaster. Clergy should be very, very concerned about this, and for this reason, I believe they should vote "NO" to this amendment.

Next there are some process and structural Canons.

Canon 2: Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board
SECTION 1. Forming an Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board
There shall be an Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board for THE DIOCESE OF UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA to try such charges as may be preferred against any member of the Clergy canonically resident in this Diocese. The Board shall consist of not less than seven (7) members, four (4) of whom are members of Clergy, canonically and geographically resident of the Diocese, and three (3) of whom are confirmed adult Lay communicants in good standing who are members entitled to vote in congregations of this Diocese and who are geographically resident in the Diocese. Clergy and Lay members shall not be members of the Diocesan Executive Council and shall be elected at the Annual Convention of this Diocese according to Section 2 below. The Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board may make, by majority vote, such rules as may be necessary for the orderly conduct of its business, consistent with Canon Law.
SECTION 2. Election of Members
(a) Currently, there are three (3) Lay and four (4) Clergy members serving on the Ecclesiastical Trial Court. Those members will transition to the Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board when the new Canon IV takes effect on July 1, 2011. In case a member is rotating off the Trial Court, his or her replacement will take his or her place as anticipated herein and transition as herein anticipated.
(b) Thereafter, as members of the Judicial entity rotate off the entity, new members shall be elected by the Annual Convention. Each clergy member, shall be elected for a four (4) year term and each Lay member shall be elected for a three (3) year term; except, if a member is elected to fill a vacancy, the term of such member shall be the unexpired term of the member being replaced. The term of the member shall commence on the first (1st) day of the year following election. The terms of office of the Board shall be staggered and arranged into classes.
(c)Vacancies The Diocesan Executive Council may fill vacancies on the Board, other than for cause in the conduct of a presentment, occurring in the interval between Conventions; however, any member of the Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board appointed by the Diocesan Executive Council shall serve only until the next Annual Convention at which time the Convention shall elect a member to serve the unexpired term.
SECTION 3. President
Within two months following the Annual Convention the members shall elect from among themselves by majority vote one person to serve as President for a one year term. The President shall preside at all meetings of Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board, and shall be responsible for the conduct of the administration and business of the Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board.
SECTION 4. Preserving Impartiality
In any proceeding under this Title, if any member of a Conference Panel or Hearing Panel (as defined in Canon IV of the General Canons) of the Board shall become aware of a personal conflict of interest or undue bias, that member shall immediately notify the President of the Board and request a replacement member of the Panel. Respondent’s Counsel and the Church Attorney shall have the right to challenge any member of a Panel for conflict of interest or undue bias by motion to the Panel for disqualification of the challenged member. The members of the Panel not the subjects of the challenge shall promptly consider the motion and determine whether the challenged Panel member shall be disqualified from participating in that proceeding.
SECTION 5. Intake Officer
The Intake Officer shall be appointed from time to time by the Bishop after consultation with the Board. The Bishop may appoint one or more Intake Officers according to the needs of the Diocese. The Bishop shall publish the name(s) and contact information of the Intake Officer(s) throughout the Diocese.

All of that seems pretty tame except for the elimination of a "Presiding Judge."

Next we pick up a new member of the team.

SECTION 6. Investigator
The Bishop shall appoint an Investigator in consultation with the President of the Board. The Investigator may, but need not, be a Member of the Church.

No mention of whether or not this is a paid position or who will pay for the investigator. I am guessing that it would come out of the Office of the Bishop's budget.

And isn't it curious that only the investigator need not be a member of the church. Out of all the individuals mentioned, the Investigator gets singled out for this distinction. It makes one think. I suppose he/she could come from another diocese or even from 815 itself. Or maybe Perry Mason's pal, Paul Drake, is still available.

Next comes another little added expense,

SECTION 7. Pastoral Response Coordinator
The Bishop may appoint a Pastoral Response Coordinator, to serve at the will of the Bishop in coordinating the delivery of appropriate pastoral responses provided for in Title IV.8 of the General Canons and this Title. The Pastoral Response Coordinator may be the Intake Officer, but shall not be a person serving in any other appointed or elected capacity under this Title.

I guess this person could be the Dalai Lama or even the U.G.P. because there again, this coordinator need not be a member of the diocese or the church. There might be potential for an enterprising person to start a consulting business in Pastoral Response Coordination (oops, there already is someone  in the Diocese of Connecticut who popped up in my Google search who might be available).

SECTION 8. Advisors
In each proceeding under this Title, the Bishop shall appoint an Advisor for the Complainant and an Advisor for the Respondent. Persons serving as Advisors shall hold no other appointed or elected position provided for under this Title, and shall not include chancellors or vice chancellors of this Diocese or any person likely to be called as a witness in the proceeding.

SECTION 9. Clerk

The Board shall appoint a Board Clerk to assist the Board with records management and administrative support. The Clerk may be a member of the Board.

SECTION 10. Notice of the First Meeting of the Hearing Panel

A written notice of the time and place of the first meeting of the Hearing Panel shall be served at least thirty (30) days before that meeting on the accused and on the Church Attorney. This period may be shortened with the prior written consent of the accused and the Church Attorney.

Canon 3: Church Attorney

SECTION 1. Church Attorney

A church attorney will be appointed by the Bishop with the advice and consent of the Diocesan Executive Council. The Church Attorney is not to be a member of the Diocesan Executive Council, but is to be licensed to practice law in a jurisdiction of the United States of America. In addition, he or she must be either a member of the Clergy canonically resident in this Diocese or a confirmed adult lay communicant in good standing who is entitled to vote in a congregation of this Diocese. The Church Attorney shall be elected to terms of one year and shall serve at the pleasure of the Diocesan Executive Council.

SECTION 2. Appointment of Assistant Church Attorneys

By majority vote, the Bishop with the advice and consent of the Diocesan Executive Council may authorize the appointment of one or more Assistant Church Attorneys, who shall then be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Church Attorney, provided, however, that such Assistant Church Attorneys must have the same qualifications as those applied to the Church Attorney.

Finally, we get to the question of who pays for all of this,

Canon 4 Expenses of the Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board
The expenses of the Ecclesiastical Disciplinary Board, including but not limited to those of the Church Attorney, shall be presented to the Diocesan Executive Council for payment.

This is unchanged from the earlier canon, and maybe it can be interpreted to include the "Investigator's" fees. It sounds like a blank check to me. I wonder if in this day and age of ever escalating legal expenses that there should be some sort of limit on the costs that D.E.C. will agree to pay, or maybe there should be a proviso that an estimate of the legal expenses shall be obtained in the initial phases of the presentment.

In my opinion, it would be a grievous mistake to allow the disciplinary canons of the diocese to become of secondary relevance to any current or future canons put forth by a General Convention of the Episcopal church, a General Convention that does not have the reputation of providing the wisest counsel to the Church.

Delegates should not be afraid to vote "No."

What follows is the current wording in our canons. ________________________________________________________________________________

CURRENT TITLE V,

Canon 1: Jurisdiction

SECTION 1. All proceedings in this Diocese for canonical discipline of members of the clergy shall be governed by Title IV of the Canons of the General Convention as supplemented by this Title.

Canon 2: Ecclesiastical Trial Court

SECTION 1.
There shall be an Ecclesiastical Trial Court for THE DIOCESE OF UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA to try such charges as may be preferred against any member of the Clergy canonically resident in this Diocese. It shall be comprised of four members of the Clergy canonically resident in this Diocese and three confirmed adult Lay communicants in good standing who are members entitled to vote in congregations of this Diocese. Clergy and Lay members shall not be members of the Diocesan Executive Council, and shall be elected at the Annual Convention of this Diocese according to Section 2 below. The Ecclesiastical Trial Court may make, by majority vote, such rules as may be necessary for the orderly conduct of its business, consistent with Canon Law.

SECTION 2. ELECTION OF MEMBERS

(a) Election of Clergy members. At the first Annual Convention after January 1, 1996 there shall be elected one Clergy member for a term of four years, one Clergy member for a term of three years, one Clergy member for a term of two years, and one Clergy member for a term of one year. Thereafter, at each Annual Convention, one Clergy member shall be elected for a term of four years.
(b) Election of Lay members. At the first Annual Convention after January 1, 1996 there shall be elected one Lay member for a term of three years, one Lay member for a term of two years, and one Lay member for a term of one year. Thereafter, at each Annual Convention, one Lay member shall be elected for a term of three years.
(c) Vacancies. The Diocesan Executive Council may fill vacancies on the Court, other than for cause in the conduct of a presentment, occurring in the interval between Conventions; however, any member of the Court appointed by the Diocesan Executive Council shall serve only until the next Annual Convention at which time the Convention shall elect a member to serve the unexpired term.

SECTION 3. PRESIDING JUDGE

Within two months following the Annual Convention the members shall elect from among themselves by majority vote one person to serve as Presiding Judge for a one year term. The Presiding Judge shall preside at all meetings of Ecclesiastical Trial Court, and shall be responsible for the conduct of the administration and business of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court.

SECTION 4. Challenge as to members of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court

When a presentment is made, the Diocesan Executive Council shall promptly transmit a copy of it to each member of the Court and serve a copy upon the accused.
(a) Voluntary Recusal. Any member of the Court who is a party to or is personally interested in a particular case shall recuse himself or herself within five days after the Court's receipt of the presentment by notifying the Presiding Judge, or all other members of the Court in the case of voluntary recusal of the Presiding Judge. In the event these recusals result in less than three Clerical and two Lay members of the Court remaining as members, the remaining members who have not recused themselves shall appoint by majority vote another person of the same order to serve as a temporary member of the Court in place of the recused members. If the Presiding Judge has recused himself, the Court, after appointment of temporary members, shall appoint a Temporary Presiding Judge.

(b) Challenge for Cause. After due opportunity for recusal has been given the members of the Court, and, if necessary, additional appointments have been made, the Presiding Judge shall serve on the accused and the Church Attorney a list of the names of the members of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court as constituted after recusal and temporary appointment. The parties shall, within thirty days after service of the list, notify the Presiding Judge in writing of any challenge to a member or members of the Court for cause. The Court shall determine the merits of challenges for cause by majority vote. The member challenged shall not be allowed to vote on his own qualification or exclusion. In the event members disqualified for cause result in less than three Clerical and two Lay members of the Court remaining as members, the remaining members who have not been disqualified for cause shall fill such vacancies by appointing by majority vote a person of the same order to serve as a temporary member of the Court in place of any disqualified member removed for cause. If the Presiding Judge has been disqualified for cause, the Court, after appointment of temporary members, shall appoint a Temporary Presiding Judge.

(c) Selection of the Hearing Panel. After recusal, disqualification, and appointment of temporary members, three Clerical and two Lay members of the Court shall be selected by lot, and they shall constitute the Hearing Panel for the trial of the accused. The Hearing Panel, as originally constituted, shall retain jurisdiction over the trial of the accused until issuance of a final non-appealable order by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction, at which time the members of the Hearing Panel shall be dismissed. The Hearing Panel shall initially meet at such time and place as it shall determine, and shall have the authority to adjourn from time to time and from place to place within the Diocese, as it shall determine necessary by majority vote. If the Presiding Judge is a member of the Hearing Panel, he shall be the Chief Judge of the Hearing Panel. If the Presiding Judge is not a member of the Hearing Panel, then upon its initial meeting, the Hearing Panel shall select one of its members Chief Judge of the Hearing Panel and one Secretary of the Hearing Panel. The Chief Judge shall preside at all meetings of the Hearing Panel, and shall be responsible for the conduct of the administration and business of the Hearing Panel. The Hearing Panel shall then appoint a Clerk and such assistant clerks and officers as it shall determine necessary for the conduct of the business of the Hearing Panel, all of whom shall be duly sworn by the Chief Judge of the Hearing Panel to well and truly perform the duties of their respective offices. The Hearing Panel may also make, by majority vote, such rules as may be necessary for the orderly trial of the case, consistent with Canon Law and the rules of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court.

(d) After selection of the Hearing Panel for a presentment, all temporary members of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court who have not become members of the Hearing Panel shall be dismissed, and the Ecclesiastical Trial Court shall be comprised of its duly elected or appointed members as constituted prior to commencement of the presentment.

SECTION 5. NOTICE OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE HEARING PANEL

A written notice of the time and place of the first meeting of the Hearing Panel shall be served at least thirty days before that meeting on the accused and on the Church Attorney. This period may be shortened with the prior written consent of the accused and the Church Attorney.

Canon 3: Diocesan Review Committee

SECTION 1. The Diocesan Review Committee shall be comprised of five members appointed by the Bishop with the consent of the Diocesan Executive Council. Of the five members of the committee, three shall be clergy and two lay. Terms of members shall be three years with all members eligible to be reappointed to a second three year term. The members of the committee shall elect a President from among their number each year. In cases where members recuse themselves from consideration of particular matters, the Bishop may appoint acting members to serve for consideration of that matter with consent of the Diocesan Executive Council. Acting members shall be the same order as the recused member they replace.

Canon 4: Church Attorney and Lay Assessors

SECTION 1. CHURCH ATTORNEY AND LAY ASSESSORS
The members of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court shall elect by majority vote at least one but no more than three Lay Assessors and the members of the Diocesan Review Committee shall by majority vote select a Church Attorney. The Church Attorney and all Lay Assessors must be persons who are not members of the Diocesan Executive Council, and who are licensed to practice law in a jurisdiction of the United States of America, and must be either a member of the Clergy canonically resident in this Diocese or a confirmed adult lay communicant in good standing who is entitled to vote in a congregation of this Diocese. The Church Attorney and the Lay Assessors shall be elected to terms of one year and shall serve at the pleasure of the Diocesan Review Committee or Ecclesiastical Trial Court respectively.

SECTION 2. APPOINTMENT OF ASSISTANT CHURCH ATTORNEYS
By majority vote, the Diocesan Review Committee may authorize the appointment of one or more Assistant Church Attorneys, who shall then be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Church Attorney, provided, however, that such Assistant Church Attorneys must have the same qualifications as those applied to the Church Attorney and all Lay Assessors in Section 1 above.

SECTION 3. EXPENSES OF THE TRIAL COURT.
The expenses of the Trial Court, including but not limited to those of the Church Attorney and Lay Assessors, shall be presented to the Diocesan Executive Council for payment.

The Unspoken Gospel, Again.

To the shock of many, today's Psalm, which was read in unison by all, contained one of the most imprecatory verses to be found in the Psalms.
Psalm 137,

1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
3 For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
4 How could we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem’s fall,
how they said, ‘Tear it down! Tear it down!
Down to its foundations!’
8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator!
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!
9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!

I was not surprised to hear gasps at the reading of verse 9, for we have been fed a steady diet of expurgated Psalms and lessons over the past several years, and words like this are not what we expect to hear on Sunday mornings. But to have to say them out loud as a congregation?

Ouch.

Today's Gospel reading from Luke 17:5-10 contained more of those troublesome verses, this time about slaves.

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.
‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’

While the Jesus' is giving us a message about the seemingly endless labors that we are to do for him, and how we should be humble servants, there remains the unspoken possibility that some of His apostles owned slaves at one time or another.
I guess I needed some help with this part of Luke, but like last week, there was no mention of the Gospel lesson in today's sermon.

Instead, we heard a relatively mild sermon that focused on today's Epistle, 2 Timothy 1:1-14

To the rector's credit he did mention Psalm 137:9 but digressed into talking about corporate guilt over historical events. I was puzzled by the mention of German Christians' corporate guilt over not standing up to stop National Socialism and its "religion" as it swept that nation, while in the same breath mentioning our corporate guilt over the Crusades. I was puzzled because these historical periods present two seemingly opposite ways of approaching a political problem involving an anti-christian force. No explanation was given. I was left to ponder the timeless question of Christian action vs. inaction when the consequences of both appear to be negative.

Whenever a preacher goes down the road of apologizing for corporate guilt, I often wish they would bring up the notion of "original sin" somewhere in the course of their discussion. For some reason, that usually does not turn up.

We all have the same Judge, and no amount of coroporate apology or expressions of feelings of guilt on our part will untimately remove our guilt. There is only one way that we can be cleansed of our sin and the sins of our fathers.

Jesus is the Way.

That is the faith that we are to not just demonstrate in our lives as our rector would have us to do, but that is the life saving faith that we are to spread to our guilty world so that others might learn of God's amazing grace (one of the hymns for today).