The Congregation for Catholic Re-education

After watching Protestant denomination after denomination fall like denominos to the push of the LGBTQetc zeitgeist, it was just a matter of time before progressive Roman Catholic clergy started trying to push the envelope. Pope Francis, knowingly or unknowingly has encouraged some of these clergymen as evidenced by the following story from (LifeSiteNews)

" Newark archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who has come under fire for statements at odds with Church teachings about sexuality, was named by Pope Francis as a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
The Congregation for Catholic Education is responsible for communicating and ensuring the implementation of the directives of the Holy See at Church-affiliated schools, institutes, colleges, and universities."

After reading a bit of Tobin's statements, I think he will be looking to re-educate Roman Catholics as to the new sexual mores of the times.

"Cardinal Tobin said in a nationally televised program in April that Catholic teachings on same-sex attraction are 'disordered' and 'unfortunate' and use “hurtful” language. On NBC’s Today show, Tobin suggested that the Church is about to change its teachings: 'The Church, I think, is having its own conversation about what our faith has us do and say with people in relationships that are same-sex. What should be without debate is that we are called to welcome them.'
In the interview, show host Anne Thompson introduced discussion about homosexuality by praising Tobin, saying his 'outreach to the LGBTQ community is in the mold of Pope Francis, despite some Church teaching.' She asked Tobin, 'But how can you welcome people that you call ‘intrinsically disordered’?' Tobin answered, 'Well, I don’t call them ‘intrinsically disordered.’'
She countered, “But isn’t that the Catechism of the Catholic Church?”
'That is,' Tobin said and added, 'It’s very unfortunate language. Let’s hope that eventually that language is a little less hurtful.'
Just before assuming leadership of the Newark archdiocese, Tobin welcomed homosexual activists to the Cathedral-Basilica of the Sacred Heart, who came on a so-called 'LGBT Pilgrimage.' Fr. James Martin, S.J., whom many have criticized for his statements supportive of homosexuality, congratulated Tobin on his participation in 'LGBT Pilgrimage,” tweeting, “Bravo!' Tobin was one of four American bishops who endorsed Martin’s controversial book Building a Bridge. Martin suggested in 2018 that Tobin is one of the “gay-friendly” prelates appointed by Pope Francis.Under Tobin’s authority is Our Lady of Grace in Hoboken, which will hold what it touts as its “2nd Annual Pride Mass in Support of Our LGBTQ Brothers and Sisters.” Scheduled for June 30, the morning Mass is being advertised in LGBTQ media. The parish is encouraging those attending the Mass to participate in the gay pride march in New York City later that day."

That is what we call putting the fox in charge of guarding the hen house.

The Day of Pentecost

This Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost with an old fashioned pig pickin' after church services. I don't think this is traditional anywhere but in our small enclave in South Carolina. It certainly would not have been something the folks in Jerusalem would have been doing on that first Pentecost.

Acts 2:1-21When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: “In the last days it will be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,and your young men shall see visions,   and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women,   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;     and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above   and signs on the earth below,     blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness   and the moon to blood,     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

From Christianity.com we learn that Pentecost was the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of the First Harvest, and the harvest of the first converts following Peter's sermon on Pentecost makes this day doubly special.

"There are three things you need to know about Pentecost that will help you understand Acts 2.
1. Pentecost was a pilgrim festival.
That meant that according to Jewish Law, all the adult Jewish men would come from wherever they were living to Jerusalem and personally be in attendance during this celebration.
2. Pentecost was a holiday.
No servile work was to be done. School was out. The shops were closed. It was party time.
3. There were certain celebrations and sacrifices and offerings which were prescribed in the Law for the day of Pentecost.
On Pentecost, the High Priest was to take two loaves of freshly baked wheat bread and offer them before the Lord. The wheat bread was made from the newly harvested wheat.
In short, Pentecost in the time of the Apostles was a great and grand harvest celebration. The streets of Jerusalem were clogged with thousands of pilgrims who had come from every point of the compass to celebrate the goodness of God and the bringing in of the wheat harvest."

So instead of a pig pickin', we should be offering two loaves of freshly baked bread. I think I will do that and see what my priest has to say.

Methodist Madness

Recently, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in Alabama wisely decided they would not broadcast the children's cartoon "Arthur" and its episode, “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone”, which depicted a homosexual wedding.

The decision by Alabama PBS outraged the LGBTQ crowd, but never fear, First United Methodist Church - Birmingham is here and will put on a special show for the kiddies.

From their Facebook events page,

Join The Sidewalk Film Festival, Shout LGBTQ Film Festival & First Church Of Birmingham on Saturday, June 15th at 10am for a FREE celebration & screening of the Arthur episode "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" followed by two additional surprise cartoon episodes. There will be wedding cake, sparkling apple juice and surprises. This all ages screening and celebration is free and open to all. Please let us know if you plan to attend via this event. 

Event Run Time: Approximately 90 minutes 

Thank you to WGBH Boston for granting permission to screen the episode! 

First Church is located in downtown Birmingham at 518 19th Street North, BHM, AL 35203 

Kid Friendly

With friends like First United Methodist Church - Birmingham, who needs enemies.

Their Connections newsletter for June 2019 is ironically titled, "Celebrating Our Children", and another way they celebrate children is by exposing them to those often offensive and sexually explicit "Pride" parades.

As they proudly announced in the newsletter,

"This year will mark First Church’s third appearance in the Pride Parade and we want to go all out. We’ll be marching with all of the Reconciling congregations in Birmingham to show our love and support for the full inclusion of our LGBTQ community. The Parade will take place on Saturday, June 8 at 8:00pm and track along 7th Avenue South beginning at 32nd and continuing to Our Place just after 22nd Street South. We will meet a few hours before the parade begins to getorganized and decorate our float! Everyone must be checked in by 7:00pm..."

"...In addition to participating in the Parade, we will have a booth at Pridefest on Sunday, June 9which begins at 11:00am at Sloss Furnaces."

Instead of participating in such events, First United Methodist should be teaching their children and adults that at the center of "pride' is "I", and pride is one of the deadly sins.

Woe be it to the leaders of the congregation,

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away--it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea." -Matthew 18:6

Not all Methodist congregations are deviant, but there are enough in the United States to cause schism (see reports here). Unlike what happened to Episcopalians where conservative congregations were blamed for breaking up 815's Anglican monopoly, the Methodists who will be labelled schismatics may be the radical ones like First United of Birmingham.

Communion talks between the Episcopalians and the Methodists are likely to be put on hold because Episcopalians would not want to be in full communion with the conservative fraction of the Methodists.

The Wrath of John

I posted on this in 2010, in 2013, and again in 2016, and thanks to the lectionary cycle, you get to read about it again. This past Sunday's particular reading, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-12, creates what I call the "Abbrevelation of John". When read without the imprecatory verses, the Abbrevelation of John sounds sweet, soothing, and perfect for the unsuspecting Sunday church crowd. Unfortunately, most lectionary edits seem to result in this, a pasteurized scripture designed to keep the sheep peaceful.

The lectionary cycle is such that once a reading is written into the schedule, like clockwork, like a meteor shower, and sometimes like a bad penny in this case, every three years it keeps on re-appearing. So, I will repost this from May 16, 2010.

A Warning to the Writers of the RCL

I usually blog about the Sunday sermon, but this was really bugging me today.

This Sunday's readings highlight one of my pet peeves, and that is the problem of the "missing verses." We use the Revised Common Lectionary for the assigned readings, and quite frequently this presents us pewsitters with an expurgated version of the Bible. What they did today to Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-12 sounds innocent enough,

12 ‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
******expurgated v 15***************
16 ‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’
17The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
******expurgated vs. 18-19***************
20 The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen

I wonder if they just wanted to make things sound pretty by cutting the verses of warning,
v. 15

"Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practises falsehood."

And also left out was the part that the RCL really, really should not have tried to expurgate, vs. 18-19

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

Uh oh...

So, if you did not hear the full text in church, and if your preacher did not point out the omissions during their sermon, please ask them if they believe that John's Revelation is important, and next ask them if they believe that God wants us to hear the whole thing, and finally ask them why they feed God's sheep skim milk instead of whole milk.

Then, advise them to read the whole text, or face the wrath of John. 

New Ploy to Resurrect a Dead Episcopal Church: Eliminate Sunday Services!

St.Stephen's Episcopal parish in Philadelphia was pronounced dead back in 2016, but it refuses to go away. A novel experiment is going to see if the dead can be revived by doing away with Sunday services, preaching about 815's flawed "Great Cloud of Witnesses", and renting the space out for performing arts. In their words (selected from various pages on their web site),

"St. Stephen's is a historic parish, established in Philadelphia in 1823. In 2017, St. Stephen's was reborn as a new model of church, one that is redefining the idea of congregation and forging a non-traditional path. Much has changed since 1823, and spirituality is no exception. St. Stephen's is committed to meeting this new challenge, to looking toward the future while celebrating our history and journey.Unlike typical parishes, St. Stephen’s doesn’t hold Sunday services. Instead, we focus on weekday worship and reflection."

"Weekday Service | Our intimate Eucharist services focus on the lectionary of the saints and holy people. We commemorate important events in the year of the church as found in the Book of Common Prayer."

"The sanctuary is open for drop-in counsel with Father Peter, prayer, meditation and viewing of the historical art and architecture. " 

"For the most part, our weekday services celebrate holy women and holy men with stories, biographies and scripture readings drawn from the Episcopal Church’s lectionary of the saints and holy people, On a Great Cloud of Witnesses, a compendium with the stories of exemplary individuals to be read in services along with the lessons from scripture.

Not all of those people are holy as I reported back in 2011 and in 2015,

Such holy women and men—some historical, some not martyrs or saints, and some of our own period--are intended to be models for the way we lead our everyday lives. The services at Saint Stephen’s build on that intent to further reflect on the significance of these special people for us in our own world as we seek to follow the Gospel."

"St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church is a historic parish with a contemporary mission: to create a new model of urban church that redefines congregation through a commitment to worship and the arts. We believe the shared experience of art inspires connection, empathy and reflection. "

"St. Stephen’s invites artists into our sanctuary to question, create, strengthen our community and challenge our assumptions and practices as a church. As we hold daily worship, so too do we produce annual performance series and support rehearsal and presenting opportunities for Philadelphia artists. We also bring fresh approaches and voices to the interpretation of our sanctuary space, where works of prominent 19th-century architects, sculptors, designers and stained glass artists contribute to the meaning and atmosphere of our building, the oldest extant example of the Gothic Revival style in Philadelphia."

A look at their average Sunday attendance (ASA) shows that in 2017 ASA was 10 souls and plate and pledge was 25,000.

From now on ASA will be zero which should make reporting their statistics a lot simpler.

Their first performance will be tomorrow,

The Future of Jazz Piano: Micah ThomasThursday, May 30, 20197:00 PM  8:30 PM

WWPD (What would Paul do?)

Paul's Travels

One of the things that I appreciate about the Book of Acts is the first person, journal like nature of the parts that chronicle Paul's travels. This week's reading from Acts 16:9-15 is a good example of this,

During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.

I have heard way too many expositions by Episcopal priests on Lydia and how she was an example for the modern successful business woman, blending career and heading the household. Extrapolations such as those are dangerous. When you hear them, question the motivations of the preacher. If promoting a feminist agenda is the goal, you can be certain that you are in for a long trip during that sermon with side excursions to many a revisionist port along the way.

Desperate Times at VTS? Will Free Tuition Help the Problem of Falling Enrollment?

With many of the candidates for the Democrat's presidential primary promising tuition free college education, most of us who paid for our education are left wondering how we taxpayers are going to afford such a give-away.

One wealthy Episcopal seminary, Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), is already experimenting with the idea of a free ride, along with free meals, housing, and healthcare, but there may be a hidden motive behind this move. The story from Episcopal News Service is as follows,

"Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) is delighted to announce an expanded and simplified financial aid application and award process that will allow anyone with assets less than $200,000 (excluding one’s primary home and any pensions) have the costs of education covered.
'Expanding and simplifying our financial aid packages is an investment in the future of the Episcopal Church,” said the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., dean and president of VTS. “Many institutions are going tuition free, but we are going tuition free, housing free, meal plan free, and making a substantial contribution to healthcare.'
In a move that will help ensure the Seminary’s goal of making theological education accessible to all, effective immediately, all students applying for financial aid for Fall 2019 with a combined adjusted gross income (single/family) less than $150,000 annually and/or combined assets less than eight times the respective Cost of Residency category (see below) will receive a package that includes:
• The cost of tuition;• The cost of housing;• The cost of a meal plan (for single students – three meals weekday, for all others – the lunch-only plan); and• A maximum contribution of $4,000 towards healthcare cost for those selecting the VTS sponsored health insurance plan.
'With this step, VTS has made it possible for students to attend seminary without taking out educational loans to cover tuition, room, or board,” said the Rt. Rev. James R. Mathes, associate dean of students. “Most students should be able to graduate from VTS debt-free.'
To qualify, all students must apply for financial aid to be considered for this award package. Assets to be considered for the Cost of Residency requirement are: Cash and Cash Equivalents, Stocks, Bonds, and Real Estate Holdings. Primary Residence and Pension/Retirement accounts will not be considered. Cost of Residency categories are defined as follows:
• Single students: $24,200;• Students living in a one-bedroom apartment: $34,100;• Students living in a two-bedroom apartment: $36,500;• Students living in a three-bedroom apartment or house: $38,900;• Students that cannot live on the campus and live in rented accommodation off-campus: $41,300.
'We are thrilled to be able to offer such comprehensive scholarship packages to our students and to make theological education accessible for all,' said Jacqueline Ballou, CPA, MBA vice president for Finance and Operations.
Any student electing to live off-campus when on-campus housing is available will not be eligible for housing accommodation but will be eligible to receive an award to cover tuition, fees, and meal plan. Each student will be required to present an annual budget of living expenses. This budget should clearly identify the sources that will be used to meet all other financial obligations during residency.
'Student debt has become a multi-generational burden,' added Dean Markham. 'VTS is in a fortunate position to make a difference. This is the right thing to do.'”

How can they afford all of that? They do have a $17 million operating budget but a $160 million endowment fund (gleaned from this story).

Over at Juicy Ecumenism back in 2014 we saw the early warning signs of problems at VTS.

"Giving to the Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) Annual Fund has dropped dramatically in recent years. In 2006, the Alexandria, Virginia-based school received $1,050,000 from parishes, alumni and other supporters. By Fiscal Year 2013, giving to the fund had been cut nearly in half, dropping to $538,000.VTS officials have not let the shortfall go unnoticed, with Markham making development of the Annual Fund a priority for Fiscal Year 2014."

So where is the hidden motive?

Juicy Ecumenism dropped a hint in the above article,

"Data provided from the Association of Theological Schools shows a total 2012-2013 enrollment of 250 in VTS, with 169 full-time students taking classes"

I thought I would update those numbers to look at the trend in enrollment by going to The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) data base,

Fall 2010 Head count 241, Full time enrolled 171Fall 2018 Head Count 188, Full time enrolled 138 (From  here)

Falling enrollment is clearly the motivation behind the freebies.