Another Carol

A Carol

Don't Play that Grandma Song

Irreverent: (Warning, the following video depicts a potentially harmful depiction of callous rednecks, is discriminatory against grandmothers, presents ugly stereotype of grandfathers, includes no warning against the consumption of excessive amounts of eggnog on Christmas eve, and engenders reindeeraphobia.)



Don't say I didn't warn you!

Thanks Dr. Elmo.

Jingle Bombs?

Irreverent. (Warning adult language, do not play at work)

Early Christmas Present

In a rare treat, today's sermon stuck to scripture and didn't stray into unorthodox. It was delivered by our deacon, Rick Hanners and his subject was the "Song of Mary." I was only worried at one point when he pointed out that Jesus was not just his personal saviour. My fear was that he would follow the path of our Presiding Bishop and say something like "we can only be saved as part of a collective" and forget about "the great Western heresy—that we can be saved as individuals." (Page 4 of General Convention opening address 7 July 2009 by the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori.

Fortunately our deacon did not go there and stuck to Jesus as saviour of the world. That was my early Christmas present, and it felt personal.

The only problem with such a sermon is that it leaves no time for the mind to wander and leaves no time to prepare your last minute Christmas shopping list.



I am putting the blog on automatic pilot for the rest of the week with a mixture of reverence and irreverence (unless some new Episcopal horror occurs). Make sure your speakers are working!

Dear Andre Waldo+, Will You Agree to This?

(4.2.5) The Standing Committee may request a Church to defer a controversial action. If a Church declines to defer such action, the Standing Committee may recommend to any Instrument of Communion relational consequences which may specify a provisional limitation of participation in, or suspension from, that Instrument until the completion of the process set out below.

(4.2.6) On the basis of advice received from the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meeting, the Standing Committee may make a declaration that an action or decision is or would be “incompatible with the Covenant”.
(4.2.7) On the basis of the advice received, the Standing Committee shall make recommendations as to relational consequences which flow from an action incompatible with the Covenant. These recommendations may be addressed to the Churches of the Anglican Communion or to the Instruments of the Communion and address the extent to which the decision of any covenanting Church impairs or limits the communion between that Church and the other Churches of the Communion, and the practical consequences of such impairment or limitation. Each Church or each Instrument shall determine whether or not to accept such recommendations...

This is just one small subsection of a larger document that the Archbishop of Canterbury has asked our church to agree to sign. It is supposed to be more than a document, it is a written indication of the presence of an Anglican Covenant. Read the whole thing and decide for yourself.

Several questions for the Episcopal church come to mind. Does the General Convention have the authority to agree to this, or is this something the House of Bishops will be asked to address? If the House of Bishops does not agree, will the Communion Partner bishops agree on their own accord? Can individual dioceses agree?

WWWD(What Will Waldo Do)?

I would not have needed to ask that last question if Stockton Williams+, Neal Michelle+, or John Burwell+ had been elected bishop.

After you are finished reading the covenant, consider for a moment whether or not the Episcopal church wants to convene with all those fundamentalist Anglican churches out there, or does it want to go its own way?

"Tell me why everything turned around?
Packing up, shacking up, is all you wanna do
If I could baby I'd give you my world
Open up, everything's waiting for you
You can go your own way, go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
You can go your own way, go your own way" Fleetwood Mac

Recommended Links

"The Saint Barnabas’ Blog"
(the vague ramblings of the Revd. Fr. Edward Tomlinson SSC……)

has a couple of interesting posts on secularism and Christianity (no Virginia, they are not the same).

The first is "Its all in the soil....". Here is a teaser:

"Yet despite profound ignorance in matters floral I have harvested one tiny colonel of wisdom in my life-..."

(And I always thought that was "kernel" of wisdom)

"...that the soil is every bit as important as the plant. How often we wrongly check blooms for disease when the real problem lies buried underground.

Now to Christian life where, like a wilting rhododendron chocking in an alkaline soil, the church is floundering rooted to modern culture. Where all too often we gaze inwards, bewildered at the rotten fruit we find, when we need to gaze outwards to the true source of our malaise- the anti-Christian values drip feeding into souls by means of a rampant, secular agenda. How can the ten minute homily compete with the modern ‘values’ of the BBC that enter our ears by the hour?"

The second post is from Dec. 15, 2009 is titled "In the soil part2." Again, I give you a tease:

"Accepting the secular model of ‘justice’ (freeing people to ‘do what thou wilt’), as Western society has done, can lead to fixation on self. We see the evidence for this in the cult of celebrity that pervades modern life. Very soon this self-centredness, for the liberation secular ‘justice’ seeks is centred on self, breeds hubris. We grow cocksure and unable to recognise our weakness. This is seen in the modern scepticism of the past and the desire to deconstruct our heritage. The novel and new is embraced, look at how politicians fawn over minority faiths, but the old order is rejected, consider how Christianity is singled out for ridicule and attack."

Is there an answer to secularism? I believe that there is, and it lays within reach of every person who accepts the rule of Christ. Can Jesus compete with the modern media? Of course He can, and of course He would be mocked, scourged, and hung for so doing. Will He triumph? Yes. What will that look like?

When will He come again in Glory?