And in this case I'm not referring to the attorneys: Sharks gathered off Reef Road Thursday morning, but were not moving into public swimming areas. Mark Hassell, town lifeguard supervisor, reported Thursday that no sharks were seen congregating at Midtown Beach or Phipps Ocean Park. Both public beaches remained open. Midtown Beach was closed for …
A Real "Alhamdulillah" Moment: Bishop John Chane Retires
It's the only word that really "captures the moment" about this event: Washington Episcopal Bishop John B. Chane announced Saturday he will retire in the fall of 2011, saying it was "time to elect a younger person to lead what I consider to be the best and one of the most influential dioceses in the …
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The Gospel for Septuagesima: Christians Need to Stop Pining for the Big Payoff
From the 1928 BCP, it's the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard: For the Kingdom of Heaven is like an employer who went out in the early morning to hire labourers for his vineyards. He agreed with the labourers to pay them two shillings a day, and sent them into his vineyard. On going …
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We Already Have a Feminised Church
I see that The Times' Ruth Gledhill is on the trail of this issue: The charity is in the process of doing research into why men don't come to church, and their questionnaire makes, for this woman anway, pretty reading. Read on for some of the reasons they suggest why real men might not like …
Strange Bedfellows: Liberals and Muslims
On the first day of this decade, one Muslim extremist broke into the apartment of Danish political cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, whose “Muhammad-in-a-bomb” cartoon’s publication in Jyllands-Posten ignited another round of rage in the Islamic world. Westergaard joins Salman Rushdie, Geert Wilders and others who are forced to live underground because they have drawn the ire …
Katharine Jefferts Schori and the Bois Caïman Ceremony
In the midst of all of the conservative dancing in the streets about Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts, the tragedy unfolding in Haïti continues to require both prayer and assistance. It isn't without controversy either; we're still batting about Pat Robertson's remarks about a pact with the Devil and its consequences. There's no doubt that's …
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Blind Authoritarianism Isn't God's Way for the Church
I've made this point before, but the Anglican Curmudgeon does it very eloquently here: I have been thinking about a comment made here some time ago, in connection with a post about the polity of the Church. "Polity" comes from the same Greek root as does "politics": the root is polis, meaning the unique form …
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Episcopal Worship is Exclusive Worship
And, in case, you forget this, there's a sign, like the one at the right, to remind you... Photo taken at Ft. Monroe, Virginia. Actually, the chapel was built by the Episcopalians, so I supposed they should have first dibs on the place. Superior financial resources--both personal and ecclesiastical--has always been an advantage for the …
Merry Christmas: When the Scripture Readings Don’t Quite Cut It
With this, I wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas. Beyond that, anyone whose is or was in a liturgical church knows that part of the liturgy is to read appropriate scriptures (like this one for this time of year.) The idea is that the scriptures be really appropriate. However, when the liturgy …
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Calling the Police on Santa Claus
Only in the UK... The children detained in the Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre are lost somewhere in the UK's asylum system. There more about this strange business here. "Santa Claus" is in reality the Rev. Canon James Rosenthal, a world class authority on the original "St. Nick," St. Nicholas of Myra. I love the …
Positive Infinity 