A Very Difficult Day

Where it all began

I fell in love with The Book of Common Prayer while attending a regimental Chapel in the early 1970's.  By the middle of that decade, I was a regular attender at Christ Church Lexington where The Rev'd Father Moultrie McIntosh inspired me to seek God's will for my life.  The music, the liturgy, and the architecture were inspiring to say the least.  It was another 15 years before Rebecca and I decided to be confirmed at Trinity Church in Columbus, Ohio.  I knew where the church seemed to be headed, but hoped against hope that either God would send a revival or that at least things wouldn't go completely south on my watch.  I really did know better, but I have always been a bit of a niave optimist.  I suppose it has something to do with my desire to avoid conflict as much as I can (and more than is healthy.)  And now here we are.

This morning, when I read Canon Jim Lewis' letter on the Diocese of South Carolina's website http://www.diosc.com/sys/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=435:bishop-lawrence-meets-with-clergy-of-the-diocese-of-south-carolina-following-general-convention&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=75, I had a gnawing sense that my world was falling apart around me.  Somehow, knowing that South Carolina was there and ever so orthodox has long been a source of comfort to me.  It seemed to confirm that my decision to stay in the church was right and true.  I am still here and so are they, but somehow the sensation of finality seemed and still seems to cover me like a shadow. 

I've spent a lot of time today thinking about what might have been.  Generally that is a very bad thing to do, but as a part of my grieving process, I decided to indulge myself a bit today.  During my musings, I came across the following analysis in The Beauty of Holiness: The Caroline Divines and their Writings, by Benjamin Guyer.  "James VI and I proactively sought peace with his European neighbors and also sought to pave the way towards an ecumenical council.  The king cultivated relations with groups as diverse as the Greek Orthodox and Dutch Reformed churches, and sought to use the French Protestant Synod of Tonneins as the basis for reconciliation between the Lutheran and Reformed churches.  He also sent a small delegation to the reformed Synod of Dordrecht (Dort) in 1618-19.  Royal involvement in each of these was due to the king's conciliarism."  Here was a good man with lots of issues and situations (King James) doing his best to do what he believed was right.  Almost none of it worked out in the long run, but he did the best of things in some of the worst of times. 

I have found real comfort in his example today.  I do hope I can do as well in being faithful to my vows as a priest as he was to his as a king.  Many years ago, I had the following exchange with Bishop Thompson:
The Bishop says to the ordinand
Will you be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of
Christ as this Church has received them? And will you, in
accordance with the canons of this Church, obey your bishop
and other ministers who may have authority over you and
your work?
Answer
I am willing and ready to do so; and I solemnly declare that I
do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments
to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to
salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine,
discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church.
Things have changed a great deal since that day.  Things changed a great deal today.  I would argue that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church has indeed "Walked Apart" and would agree with Bishop Lawrence that it would be wrong for me to act as if everything were "business as usual."  But my promise to Bishop Thompson, who stood in the place of Jesus Christ, still stands.  It is still as valid and binding as my marriage vows to Rebecca and as my vow to "Uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic." 

And so at the end of this day, I do not know what the future holds, but I know that I will be true to my vows.  I will pray for Bishop Lawrence as Canon Lewis requests.  I will be faithful to Jesus Christ and to these people among whom he has been pleased to place me.  As Martin Luther said, "Here I stand, I can do no other.  God help me."

A Comforting Confirmation (Yesterday's Blog Continued)

The Headliner

The Festival Fireworks Finale

So often, God seems to give us the encouragement we need- and after spending so much time thinking about my trip to the Municipal Court recounted in my last post, I needed encouragement.  Tonight was the last night of the Lancaster Festival (our 25th!)  It was a great show, preceeded by a great meal.  The Festival is and was after a fashon a celebration of those values and institutions which seemed so ignored and undervalued in the municipal court.  It was good to look around and realize that there are many who believe in our Republic and the economic and political system which supports it.  It is good to know that I am not alone.

But the issue remains that many people do not believe that they have a stake in the system.  They lack what President Obama calls "skin in the game."   What can the church do to change the situation of those who feel alienation from this magnificent experiment which has worked so well for so many?  Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is to ask, "What can our culture do to give people a genuine stake in preserving an expansive status quo which will grow with the realities of the present without jettisoning the values of the past?"  Could it be a good first step is to acknowledge that it may not be the job of the church at all?  In the past, religious people of many faiths seem to have approached the question in several ways.  One was to worship the state.  Another was to take the Erastian path and subordinate religion to the state.  A third was to drop out of the state.  A fourth, very popular today,  was to adopt a rather hypocritical call for justice which employs all of the vocabulary of revolution while relying on the status quo for financial support and enjoying all of the solcial and economic benefits of the system the religious claim to decry.  Undoubtedly there have been others.  Perhaps religious folks ought to be encouraged to apply their faith to their public and social ethics as they enter into the political process according to the dictates of their individual consciences,  and stop pretending that a particular political fix is God's will for all people.  When  a denomination or a faith group endorses a party or the agenda of a party, they become so aligned with the same that they are bound to be discredited when that party or agenda fades from popular view or falls from popular acclaim, which it most certainly will.  A better way might be an individual approach which calls on people of faith to apply their beliefs individually within differing political parties, recognizing that good people will often differ in their outlook.

A necessary correllary of this option must acknowledge that in political discourse there must be winners and losers.  Everyone cannot feel good all of the time, and everyone does not get a trophy.  I am a capitalist, and the economic system I support cannot reasonably coexist with a communist system.  Either the government controls the means of production or it does not.  There is no middle ground.  I am a libertarian.  Either there is a significant effort to protect personal liberty, even at great risk to security, or there is uniformity in the name of security at the risk of liberty.  You can't have it both ways.  I am a supporter of a constitutional bicameral republic which limits government and shys away from direct and instantly responsive democracy while giving the populace some voice through the lower house of the legislature.  I would add to that description that I am a constitutional monarchist because of the stability a continuing executive brings to foreign and economic policy.  The policy instability inherent in direct democracy, which I would characterize as "mob rule," is incompatible with my system of choice.  I would acknowledge that Christian people, even good and right thinking Christian people, might well disagree with me.  Thus the struggle to determine what type of society is best ought to occur in the political realm among individuals of good will and strong faith in their particular system of belief, whatever it might be.  Religion ought to inform the struggle, but not take sides, unless a particular contending system denies the basic tenents of religion as does pure philosophical Marxism. (I would note that socialism as it is generally practiced does not share this rejection of the basic idea of religion.)

It is late, and so I won't attenpt to complete what remains for me a partial argument.  Suffice to say that I am leaning toward a conclusion that the Church, or the Mosque, or the Temple, or the Synagogue, is neither designed nor equipped to instill a love for and appreciation of any particular political or economic system in any group of people.  That is a job better left to conpeting and contending political parties.  It is enough for institutions of faith to instill in their adherents an understanding of the principles of their own particular ethical system, and give them a consistent moral basis for developing and implementing their own political goals in a non-homogenoeous society.  It might also be a good idea to realistically acknowledge that there are opposites in the world, and that accomodation and compromise are not always possible.

In any event, I am thankful for the Lancaster Festival, because it reminds me that perhaps revolution is not as imminent as it might have seemed to me twenty four hours ago.

A Most Unsettling Realization

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprized, but it is so easy to forget about such things living on a small farm in what commentators call "the fly-over country."  Recently, I had occasion to attend a series of arraignments in the metropolitan court of a large American city.  Considering the nature of their charges, the dress, demeanor, and deportment of the eighty or so people who were arraigned that afternoon, I think it is safe to say that a good ninety percent of them showed serious disregard for the court, her officers, and the law she represented.  I did not witness seething anger or revolutionary contempt.  But I did see a practiced unconcern for legality and those basic considerations of good citizenship to which I have dedicated my life.

The day was troubling to me.  The officers of the court took it all in stride as if it were what they saw every day of their working lives.  They processed cases with an almost emotionless consideration for the realities that seemed to fill the room.  Theirs was the practiced professionalism of the assembly line mechanic from beginning to end.  It occurred to me that the vast majority of the people they saw that day had no stake in the republic.  Pundits may argue the reason for this marginalization and virtual ennui, but whatever its root causes, it was palpable. 

Last week, son Tristan, who has certainly paid his dues to this Republic, attended the new Batman movie with some European friends.  Apparently, there is one scene where the mob goes berserk and chaos reigns in Gotham City.  Tristan turned to one of his friends and said, this looks like a page out of a history of the French Revolution.  She solemnly nodded in agreement.  As we were discussing that night, he told me of a very disconcerting event he witnessed at the fireworks which celebrated American Independence here in Lancaster.  The man sitting in front of us became very boisterous for some reason, and in the midst of his diatribe, he said that he could deal with things, and that he had been to jail once and would probably be there again.  The display unnerved my decorated Marine combat veteran son in the same way that the arraignment hearings unnerved me.  When large numbers of citizens (or residents) demonstrate such unfeeling disregard for those institutions and basic responsibilities which govern and define civilized behaviour in any nation, there will ultimately be the Devil to pay.  It is from such disconnected marginalization that violent revolution is born...and violent revolution has a tendency to set neighbors against each other and destroy all that is good, and beautiful, and true.

In their commentary on the Fifth Commandment (that we honour our fathers and mothers), the old English and American catechisms counsel deference to all lawful authority and solemn attention to personal and corporate responsibility.  Somewhere along the way, our families, churches, and schools have failed to instill those lessons in many people.  Perhaps our economic and social institutions have failed them.  Perhaps our society has embraced new values which defy and reject older ways.  Perhaps the traditional means of transmitting values received have become ineffective.  The fact remains that for many people in America today, a new set of values is being transmitted which bode ill for our future as a people.  Without doubt, some believe that to a greater or lesser degree they are pushed aside.  Others may be so preoccupied with pleasure, or self, or survival that they consider the law to be a minor inconvenience and an occupational hazard.  Whatever the motivation may be in the hearts and actions of so many, the spread of such attitudes threatens order, good order as well as tyrannical order.

I have no answers about the best way to change the situation, but it troubles me deeply.  Might God who is the granter of our life and our liberty show us a way forward, that all the peoples of this fair land might find good reason to participate in pacific and supportive ways in this civilization which has been so painstakingly built over so many centuries.

The Eve of the feast of St. Mary Magdaline

Today has been a wonderful day.  After a quick round of chores at the barn, I showered and drove to Mingo Lodge in Logan for a planning meeting of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.  It was good to see old friends and to share ideas for the coming year.  The theme for the day was building character and virtue in the lives of the members of our fraternity.  Such a positive time together was a welcome relief from some of the events of the past couple of weeks.

I returned home to check my e-mail and find this wonderful picture of my grand-daughters, Margaret and Helen, taking their snack together.   Then it was out into the garden to pick tomatoes and peaches and cucumbers, some of which made a delightful lunch.  At about 3:30, Tristan called just to say hi.  It was good to hear him sounding so happy and contented.  I think his carefree joy has something to do with some girls he met from Austria.  It is so good to see him experiencing civilian joys in peace and safety.

Then Rebecca and I drove up for Vespers with our friends at Holy Cross Carpathian Orthodox Church in Columbus.  Sometimes it is good to meet God from the perspective of a layman.  Then we finished out the day by eating at "Chick Fil A," as much as a political and moral statement as anything else, but their food is good. (see http://m.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38271 if you need some background on the company and the controversy surrounding them.)

From there it was just home, chores (all eight Speckled Sussex Hens laid an egg today!), some time with Scott's "Fair Maid of Perth" and a wee dram of Sherry on the porch surrounded by the dogs, and now it is almost time for bed.  Such an Eve of the Feast of St. Mary Magdaline I cannot remember!

PS: for those who may wonder, Squirt the Shetland Pony has completely recovered from her brush with founder and is back on pasture with her friend Princess, the Thoroughbred-Arab Cross.

The Problem with The Episcopal Church

I can't say that I enjoyed living and working in Academe all that much.  As a student, everything seemed far too important and I managed to plague myself and those around me with significant moral turmoil bordering on moral outrage on a fairly regular basis.  As faculty, I remember long hours, poor pay, and endless mountains of papers to mark.  But I am still fascinated by the concept of the undergraduate essay- significantly over simplified, somewhat non-sequitor, and filled with a little too much feeling at the expense of clear and factual thinking.  But for all of its shortcomings, the medium has over the years helped a lot of people, myself included, to order our thoughts a bit, and that is an improvement for most of us. 

I've been thinking a good bit over the last few days about the problems (or the problem) which faces my beloved Episcopal Church, and in good undergraduate essay fashon, I humbly offer you my thoughts...

With all due respect to the contention of our Presiding Bishop that the Episcopal Church is healthy, I am compelled by shrinking budgets and shrinking Average Sunday Attendance to disagree.  We will survive, but we are in trouble.  There are priests in my own Diocese of Southern Ohio who maintain that to reverse the trends, we must be more involved in our communities and support movements for justice and human inclusion more vocally.  It seems to me that our Diocese of Southern Ohio is already doing those things.  There are priests in other parts of the church (and I sometimes seem to be among their number) who maintain that a return to traditional values, especially regarding sexual mores, is the only way to recover and to receive God's blessing.  Well, most of those folks do those things as well, and most of their numbers are as disappointing as everyone else's.  It seems to me that the real problem of the Episcopal Church is a problem of authority, particularly as it relates to the Bible.  I would submit that Episcopalians can be categorized in a very oversimplified manner into four primary sub-groups based on their approach to the Bible.  One is well intentioned and devout, but tends to be a bit judgemental at times and can be very hard to get along with.  There are not many people in that group in the American Church.  A second group values Scripture highly and tends to stress the catholicity of our faith as the standard within which the Bible should be understood.  A third group values Scripture highly, but their frame of reference for interpretation seems to be the established canon of enlightenment or scientific scholarship as it is generally understood today in the university community.  Groups two and three are generally nice people who don't like to argue, and hold their (or should I say "our") differences inside and get mad without ever really saying what it is that makes us mad.  Group four has a passing respect for scripture, but their definition of "Gospel" as "Justice," or more specifically as "Civil Rights Movement," leads them to see the Bible as an ancient document which should be carefully considered, but which can and should be set aside if it seems to encourage behaviour which in the opinion of the the group four member fails to "respect the dignity of every human being."  These folks tend to be real crusaders, what in my more curmudgeony moments I would call "damned Whig dictators."

In my experience, many group one members hail from Evangelical churches.  They tend to be pietists and biblical literalists who seek a link to sacrament and historical continuity- one might say catholicism- by attending the Episcopal Church.  There aren't many of those folks any more, although many of us baby boomers were drawn to the denomination through that portal.  Sometimes they are frustrating, but they have good hearts as a rule, and in Bible Studies and Adult Forums they do tend to keep everyone else honest in their consideration of what the Bible says.  Occasionally they can get out of hand and get very defensive, but that generally mellows with time.

Group two members, in my experience, tend to be drawn from group one, from Rome, and from old Episcopal families who are well read in either Anglo-Catholic or Evangelical writers from the UK.  They accept the methodologies of modern scholarship as a rule, but are unwilling to consider a clear break with the past.  They have often flirted with Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism in their spiritual journey, and speak reverently of Tradition and the Church Fathers.  They are very good at being offended, and often rather enjoy being cast as the persecuted minority of Western Anglicanism.  Often, they are Anglophiles.  Their voice is firmly raised in defense of continuity with the Christian past, but they are willing to explore new ideas if they consider them to be within the parameters of the historic church.

Group three members, in my experience, tend to be well educated, but not necessarily in Historic Theology and Divinity (although there are some notable and distinguished exceptions.)  They value the past, but their orientation is to the future.  They tend to take the latest findings of the scientific community very seriously, and seek to understand the traditional Christian message in light of God's revelation in the natural world.  They can tend to be a bit trendy in a past tense sort of way (remaining permanently ensconsed in 1968 or in the expansive 80's.)   They love resolutions and really do believe that people care what they think.  They often see themselves as the appointed voice of those who cannot or will not speak for themselves.

Groups two and three in my opinion represent the heart and soul of historic Anglicanism.  Both groups say that Scripture trumps and that occasional pastoral consideration should characterize our work among those God has created.  Two tends to look to tradition as they remember it while Three looks to the present and future as they would like to imagine it.  Both groups are so similar that they fight like siblings, which they are.  But at the end of the day, both fit within the framework of Classic Anglicanism, because at the end of the day, they seek to live within the framework of a proper understanding of Scripture (even though they may disagree on what that proper understanding is.)

Group four is in my opinion a real problem for our Communion, because at the end of the day it replaces the authority of Scripture with other sources of authority.  The argument often goes something like this: "I know what the Bible says, but I have a friend who does that or is that, and he is a really good person.  I can't believe that a loving God would exclude him from fellowship in the church.  We must accept and honor my friend and people like him as they are."  Then follows a demand that in the name of justice, the main body of believers must accept the behaviour of the friend as normative and acceptable.  Those who refuse or hesitate are called judgemental  and rigid.  Many in group four are motivated by a high level of evangelistic zeal, and tend to be emotional and coercive.  Their emotional vitality sways many, particularly in group three, with non-sequitor and anecdotal arguments.  They tend to be long on rhetorical skills and perhaps a bit short on logical order.  They are politically astute and tend to flourish on committees and commissions.  They thereby obtain influence far beyond their actual numbers.  While they do call the larger Church to remember the disenfranchised and marginalized, which is a good thing, they also depart from the historic Anglican understanding by removing Scripture from its place of authority and declaring it to be advisory in nature.

Herein lies the problem with the Episcopal Church, in my humble opinion.  A group of folks, group four to be specific, along the way have jettisoned the primacy of Scripture, and have organized and agitated so successfully over the last few decades that large numbers of people have agreed to hear their public message without considering their presuppositions and methodologies.  The result has brought a rot to the heart of Western Anglicanism, (indeed it could be argued to the heart of Protestantism in general,) which transcends any agruments about sex or political endorsements or liturgical and structural reform.  We have replaced the authority of Scripture with the concensus of the culture, or at least of a portion of it.  I believe our problems will only worsen until we correct the heart of the matter and affirm clearly (and submit to regularly) the authority of the Bible as God's revealed will for his church and for all mankind.

Rector's Rambling- August 2012

The heat is more bearable today, down to a very seasonable 90 degrees from the 105 to 107 degree readings of a week or two ago.  The morning started with about an hour and a half in the garden and at the barn.  I don't do farm work on Sundays unless an emergency is involved, because I really do believe in keeping the sabbath as much as possible.  As a result of my "sabbath observance," the straw bale garden on the north-west side of the barn had gotten a bit dry and a couple of winter squash plants were looking extremely droopy this morning.  The good soaking they received will doubtless have the desired impact by mid-day, but the event gave me reason for reflection.  As a general rule, it is not the great events that distinguish my life, or build my walk with God.  Rather it is the mundane, the repetitive, and even the boring sameness of every day which truly demonstrate my character and bring me success in the spiritual as well as in the secular realm.

Since mid May, those squash plants have been watered nearly every day that it did not rain, and that is most of them.  They are large and flourishing, covered with blossoms and fruit.  And yet missing water for a day and a half could have been fatal to them.  Their health and well being depends on being watered and tended every day.  Continued neglect could not have been corrected by even the most heroic efforts.  It is the same in my life.  If I decided not to return calls or not to go to work for just a few weeks, my reputation and my business would suffer.  If I decided not to pray or read the Bible or receive the Sacrament for half a month, my walk with God would suffer, not because He thought any less of me, but because I had deserted Him.

Someone once said that character is the sum total of many consistant and regular small decisions made over many years.  I believe they are absolutely spot on.  A student who exhibits irregular attendance and only submits every other paper will certainly fail.  A workman who comes to work only when he feels like it will soon find himself on the unemployment line.  A Christian who prioritizes sports or hobbies or sleeping in or another object or person, over time with God in Word and Sacrament and Prayer will soon find his or her faith languishing and withering like my winter squash vines. 

The grace bestowed in Baptism and past Communion received is mighty indeed.  The direction from and intimacy with God that comes from reading the Bible and praying in months or years past should never be devalued.  But the Christian who neglects the regular cultivation of their spiritual life through those disciplines given and modeled by our Lord Jesus Christ is literally endangering their walk with God and giving Satan an entre into their spiritual life.  Before long, attendance on the holy ordinances of God are absent from the person's life.  Other spiritualities and forms of self-reliance replace those life giving springs in which we all agreed to participate in our baptism and at our confirmation.  While the person in question might remain a very nice person and a good neighbor, their faith in the immanence of the Living Christ dwindles, and like my squash vine, their Christian witness withers away and dies.

Jesus often told stories from the natural and the farming and the laboring world to make a spiritual point.  We call these stories his parables.  They have been defined as earthly stories with heavenly meanings.  With all my heart, I believe that they are an indication that a loving Father has built his truth into creation itself, that we might be drawn to him, and empowered to discover his truth.  Scripture tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the Earth shows forth his handiwork.  Even the humble winter squash has so much to teach us about ourselves, and our walk with God.  Let us all open our eyes to the prophetic design which is God's gift to us, and let us labour every day to draw closer to him by making those things which he modeled and commanded a regular part of our lives.

Bill+

PS: It occurs to me that there are real emergencies or situations in our lives which on occasion prevent our daily watering of our souls.  If you find yourself in such a situation, call me at 740/215-3900.  We have a priest, a deacon, and at least four licensed lay eucharistic ministers who can come to your home and help with the watering when real emergencies come into your life.

What Really Matters

General Convention is now over for three more years.  There were some things that saddened me greatly, like the legislative attempts to legitimize scripturally prohibited behaviour by authorizing a liturgy of blessing for same sex relationships, and the several resolutions and canonical changes designed to accept transexual and transgendered behaviour in the church.  More angered me, such as the endorsements of domestic and foreign political movements, and the pronouncements on technology and social organization, any of which might be acceptable for a Christian to hold, but then the opposing political opinions might also be legitimate for a Christian to hold in the eyes of Scripture.  I will never understand why any religious body endorses political or theological opinions upon which the teachings of Scripture are not clear and decisive.   It only drives people away from the Church and the life giving sacraments which are her's to distribute to God's faithful people. There were a couple of bright points, both of which were supported by our bishop, Bishop Breidenthal.  I was glad to see some tenative steps taken to break up or restructure the authority of the National Church hierarchs, although I am doubtful the resolutions will fully answer to their promise.  The one shining example of faith and doctrine to come out of General Convention was the decision by the House of Bishops (accepted reluctantly by the House of Deputies) to affirm the ancient Christian doctrine that Holy Baptism in the Name of the Trinity is the necessary introduction to the Eucharistic Meal.  But if past history is any guide, the question will arise again in three years, and again after that until the representative democracy of the Episcopal Church manages to change even this most ancient of doctrines.  Such is the curse of modern Protestantism.

But that is all in the past now.  Those who favor the changes and resolutions will point to them again and again, and a few will use them to bully those who disagree.  More will ignore what they do not like and blandly repeat the mantra that resolutions are non-binding, and that the canonical changes only acknowledge what is already going on in some places.  A few will leave, but most of the folks who would leave are already gone, along with over a million others in the last 25 years or so.

But the things that really matter in my life are of a different nature.  I spent yesterday at the barn with Squirt, the Shetland pony.  The heat has been oppressive to this little gal, and as ponys are wont to do in extended heat, she began to founder.  Founder is a dreadful condition, which at it's worst can cause the bones of the lower leg to drive through the sole of the hoof.  Fortunately, we caught this case early.  We walked her and kept her up all day, cooled her feet off with cold water from the hose, and the vet came and administered bute, one of those wonder drugs for which horsemen are so thankful in this modern era.  She is fine now, resting in her stall with daily bute applications, hoof cooling soaks, knee deep straw bedding, and no grain until the middle of next week.

And today was Margaret's fourth birthday.  Grammy and I got to skype with her, Momma, and sister Helen tonight.  It is such a blessing to see this small person grow into all that God has created her to be, and every moment spent with her and her sister, electronically or in person, reminds us how blessed of God we truly are.

Church today was full of friends, friends who walked the extra distance occasioned by the annual downtown Corvette show, which took most of our regular parking places.  As I looked across the congregation, I saw folks I baptised and married, whose loved ones I buried, and with whom I had shared the joys and sorrows of this life.  One of the great joys of my life is being able to minister in a single region for so long, first as a professor, then as a prison and military chaplain, and finally as a parish priest.  There is for me a very real sense of belonging here, and for that I give thanks every day.

In the grand scheme of things, what really matters are the relationships that God has given me in the here and now.  Many things on the world stage can aggravate me with regularity, and have the potential to change my life unalterably, but those things which really matter are closer to home.  In this place, I have found contentment, and purpose, and a sense of the living presence of the true God.  How could I ever in good conscience allow those things of the broader world to distract me from the blessings all around me?  It just wouldn't be right.

Response to General Convention Resolution A049

For the sake of my soul as a watchman of the flock of Christ, I hereby publically reaffirm my commitment to the ancient Christian teaching that intimate sexual relationships are not proper except between a man and a woman who are married to each other.  On the authority of Scripture and Holy Tradition, I believe that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting in Indianapolis, has erred greviously by passing Resolution A049, which authorizes liturgical resources for blessing same-sex unions.  May God have mercy on us all, and guide us to ammend our lives in accordance with the clear teachings of Scripture as received by our Holy Mother the Church from Apostles, Prophets, and our Lord.
Faithfully, and with a broken heart,
Bill+

Surviving the Great Summer Storms of 2012

What a week it has been! Thunderstorms knocked out power for about a half million homes in our area, and the power companies are estimating it will be the end of the week before power is restored to everyone affected.  We lost a lot of beautiful old trees all across the region. The picture above is taken from Dr. Rykman's front yard looking across High Street towards the Sheriff's office and the Court House.  Briarwood is running on generator power, which means that we can have the freezers on, or the water, but not both.  Storms always slow me down a bit, and call me to notice the things around me that really do matter, and now I am pleased to pass them on to you.
1. I was gratified to see how polite and helpful everyone has been here in our town of Lancaster.  Neighbors go out of their way to help each other, and even with all of the traffic signals out, people wait their turns patiently at intersections and in fuel lines at the gas stations.  There have been no reports of looting or angry confrontations anywhere in our county to my knowledge.
2. With all of the electricity going to freezers and the well, we spend our late afternoons and evenings sitting on the back porch in the sultry 90 degree heat reading and laughing with our Dominican and Puerto Rican friends the Macanudos and the Bacardis.  With dogs draped everywhere, and the day fading, the setting lends itself to noticing more of the world around us.  The Monarch butterflies have returned and now flutter with their friends the Sulphers and the Whites around the over-tall clover under the great apple tree.  Hummingbirds zig and zag between feeders.  The crash of a deer down in the woods, or the flash of a chipmunk or squirrel  occasionally stirs the dogs to action, except for faithful old Pat, the white hound, who is just too old and too hot to be bothered by the antics of terriers a quarter or half his age.  Even in the heat of the day, the tree tops sway lazily in the breeze, and the soft enchantment of the wind chimes eases the sticky discomfort.  I daresay such beauty is always around us, and what a shame we miss so much of it because we imagine ourselves to be too important or too busy to take the time...
3. Someone asked me about the inconvenience of running things on generator power.  Upon reflection, I realized that all of the discomforts of the week are luxury compared to service in the Army when we were in the field.  My bed is soft, I don't have to wear those incredibly uncomfortable fatigues and boots all of the time, and my decisions about time and movement are my own.  And...the generators belong to me.  I can re-deploy them at will, and not have to argue with some surly First Lieutenant who is stuck being Battalion Motor Officer and hates his life as well as his job, just to get a light set turned on for half an hour someplace in the forest of Northen Michigan or in the desert of West Texas.  As bad as it might have been, it is still better than Camp Grayling or Fort Bliss.  Everything is after all somewhat relative, and the miseries of what might be make the realities of the present just a bit more bearable.
Those are my reflections on the great storms of 2012 here in Ohio.  May God bless them to your edification and entertainment as he has to my own.