People are talking $h1t about me, as the kool kids would say. Snitches and busy bodies are amusing themselves at my expense. In a shoot first ask questions later environment, I'm on the defensive. I really wish that it would be the environment that Rob Neway Ters fosters and promotes, SHINE, but it's not.
FATHER Help Me
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Women Deacons
So, The Pope has made a public enforcement for allowing women to be deacons. This is great news. It may be a step to women priests, bishops, and cardinals. What about St. Paul's writings about women not being allowed into positions of authority in the Church you ask? (Was St. Paul speaking to a specific Church in a specific time, as liberal proponents of exegesis suggest? Was St. Paul speaking to all Churches of all time, as traditionalists suggest? Do I care?) Well, as with many Bible oil patches on the tri-oval track of faith, I say follow your heart and do what your conscience will allow. I go back to Romans 14 again. READ IT. Do not judge your brother (obviously if she has a vagina, she is a sister folks...duh), do not put a stumbling block before your brother, do not argue with those weak in the faith either, and be all thing to all men (vagina again) to win them for Christ.
Basically if somebody tells me that it's a sin, and they're obviously p1$$ed, I'm not going to stand there and argue with them. I think it's a good thing, but it's going to happen anyway. I'm not going to tell them they're wrong, sinning, hateful, or anything like that, either side. As Mother Teresa said, "No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work."
Basically if somebody tells me that it's a sin, and they're obviously p1$$ed, I'm not going to stand there and argue with them. I think it's a good thing, but it's going to happen anyway. I'm not going to tell them they're wrong, sinning, hateful, or anything like that, either side. As Mother Teresa said, "No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work."
Ask Not
I remember Canon Farr saying that he hated the ultimatum, people saying they were going to leave the Church if it didn't marry gay couples, people saying they were going to leave the Church if it did marry gay couples. I think he was more of a ask not what your Church can do for you, ask what you can do for your Church kind of guy. I think it may have been part of the reason he retired, the pressure of the controversies, he and a lot of other clergy.
Volumes
I think that maybe the power block at Church have resigned themselves to the fact that the parish is final generation, even if they won't admit it publicly. Rather than let younger people into positions of authority in the Church--which may be the spark that ignites renewal--they are determined to hang on to the bitter end. Maybe that's all they really want, a Church for them. It's kind of like the saying that you can tell what a person values by looking at their check book. Acta non verba. What they do speaks volume, and the power block continues to consolidate power.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
People Vote With Their Feet
Dad said something interesting today. I've talked many times about how the Church is making changes to fill the pews. Dad said that the United Church made these kind of changes, and that at a deanery type level meeting that he was a delegate at, he said that "all we are doing is rearranging the deck furniture on the Titanic." He also said that the United Church is the fastest declining denomination in Canada, and that it is because they are at the center of every controversy and that there is no democracy. Every decision is made at the General Council level, and there is no say for the congregations, no appeal process, and no referendum process. He said that the people aren't leaving the Church, that the Church is leaving the people. The doctrinal changes that are being made go against the beliefs of those who have sat in the pews for years.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
St. Gregory's Abbey
I loved the Church at SGA. It was somber with an atmosphere of reverence. It had a particular smell to it, wood and incense? I really liked the side chapels, little rooms for private prayer/devotion. The red light district, they had a switch on the inside so that you could let people know the room was in use. I really liked the feel of it.
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Established
Cindy and I went to Brantford on Sunday to visit Chanda in her new apartment. She has a new place with her boyfriend. She had a nice place and some nice things. It's nice to see her establishing herself. |
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Good & Bad
I had mixed feelings about the AFP prayer conference today. There have been better. What was good?
It was great to be with the same group of friends from St. Paul's. We've been to at least four AFP prayer conferences. Our talks in the car there and back are as good as the actual conference. It was also great to see Fr. Andreas again.
They didn't give me an AFP executive name tag today, and that was good; because, I shouldn't have one and didn't want one last year. It's been years since I helped plan the conference and I have little involvement in the work that goes on, none this year. So, I shouldn't have a AFP executive name tag.
The music was great. It's so moving and powerful to be in the cathedral with a good crowd belting out a traditional hymn with gusto. When that pipe organ roars and the people give 'er, it's something special.
I could have done without the Greenpeace spiel. I think that was the topic of the last Fall gathering. I was looking forward to a good Celtic theme, and we went back to environmentalism. It started with the Celts being one with nature and bla bla bla and transitioned back to stewardship of the Earth. Environmentalism is a political movement, and politics has no place in the Church.
And, again there was a call for the ACC to get rid of the old hymns and structure, liturgy and rigidity of what is to embrace what they hope will grow the Church. I'm so sick of all these winter of their life Anglicans trying to undo everything that makes the ACC Anglican--and what they're enjoyed for decades--to replace it with what they will hope will save it when they will no longer be here to endure it.
P.S. The problem with the Church now is that it is acting like a business rather than a Church. In the 1950's, when it was a sellers marked with people looking for salvation, the Church could dictate the cost. Now, in a buyers market, they have to ask the buyer what cost they're willing to pay in order to buy the product, and with what features. As Toyota would say, the customer decides what value is.
- Thin Places
- Friends
- Name tag
- Music
- Environmentalism
- A call for an end to structure
It was great to be with the same group of friends from St. Paul's. We've been to at least four AFP prayer conferences. Our talks in the car there and back are as good as the actual conference. It was also great to see Fr. Andreas again.
They didn't give me an AFP executive name tag today, and that was good; because, I shouldn't have one and didn't want one last year. It's been years since I helped plan the conference and I have little involvement in the work that goes on, none this year. So, I shouldn't have a AFP executive name tag.
The music was great. It's so moving and powerful to be in the cathedral with a good crowd belting out a traditional hymn with gusto. When that pipe organ roars and the people give 'er, it's something special.
I could have done without the Greenpeace spiel. I think that was the topic of the last Fall gathering. I was looking forward to a good Celtic theme, and we went back to environmentalism. It started with the Celts being one with nature and bla bla bla and transitioned back to stewardship of the Earth. Environmentalism is a political movement, and politics has no place in the Church.
And, again there was a call for the ACC to get rid of the old hymns and structure, liturgy and rigidity of what is to embrace what they hope will grow the Church. I'm so sick of all these winter of their life Anglicans trying to undo everything that makes the ACC Anglican--and what they're enjoyed for decades--to replace it with what they will hope will save it when they will no longer be here to endure it.
P.S. The problem with the Church now is that it is acting like a business rather than a Church. In the 1950's, when it was a sellers marked with people looking for salvation, the Church could dictate the cost. Now, in a buyers market, they have to ask the buyer what cost they're willing to pay in order to buy the product, and with what features. As Toyota would say, the customer decides what value is.
Friday, May 6, 2016
Wedding
I didn't really enjoy my wedding. I was so preoccupied on all the people and the pressure of the situation that I didn't savor this very special day. I was very nervous and didn't appreciate this milestone.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Intolerance
Some of the most intolerant people in the world other than liberals are found on University campuses. But then, they're one and the same. |
Prayer/Meditation
I'm going to a prayer conference on Saturday. I can't remember the theme, but need the prayer/meditation/escape. I've also been thinking that I need to get back to the abbey in Michigan. Prayer/quiet/peace, I need more of it, if in small quantities. I need it more often. I'm aware of a meditation group that meets at St. James' Anglican Church. Prayer and meditation do wonders for your soul and mind, and I don't do enough of it. I really liked my retreat at the abbey. It was very difficult, but very rewarding. The solitude and quiet and stillness that I sought was more than I could stand in a five day block. I was ready to go home on day two. It was a unique and powerful experience that I will always remember and hope to often repeat. |
80s
I want it to be the 80s again. Things made sense. Life was easy. Sure, we lived with the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction; but, there was an order to it. There were understood rules. There was more freedom, less red tape, less policy, and for a kid it was great. The toys were great. The music was then awesome. The girls were cute. Less stress from not being constantly available 24/7 due to technology and less hoops the jump through, there was still stress. The technology that was supposed to get rid of paper work and make work easier did neither and allowed one person to the the work of 1 1/2 people for less cost than 1 person because of unemployment rates and third world labour costs. The family was the social unit. People were allowed to operate outside the endless red tape that is regulations and policy, from how you lead people at work to the governments invasive incursion into child rearing and the private life. Socialism was wrong, not gaining a stranglehold. Churches were at their pinnacle and Christians were not persecuted in the West. We knew who we were and didn't apologize for it. The economy was strong, jobs were plenty. Freedom of speech trumped political correctness. We were offended if we chose to be. Things were not perfect, and looking back I can see how righting those imperfections with good intentions became the vehicles of destruction for much of the social issues we face now. The divisiveness seems deeper, stronger, more passionate and often more hateful.
They say that romanticizing the simplicity of a better time is an illusion. But, there is truth in it. Things were more simple, as our lives become more and more complicated. I look back to the 80s fondly. Things were great, even without the internet. We played outside. We used the phone and made plans with friends. On the farm, we worked hard in the summer; and, I miss it now. Golden Age Syndrome I think they call it, may be an illusion. However, I believe it is an illusion based on truths. An escape, maybe it is. Just feelings, are feelings not relevant? I have always valued logic over feelings, which are also--as I understand it now--very important. And, I don't think the 80s were a golden age. If I had to pick a golden age, I'd pick the 1940s or 50s, The Greatest Generation. Or, I'd pick the early to mid Victorian Age. A great time to romanticize, people were civil and polite, and dueling kept people from being too offended. Elegance and beauty, women too, were things perfect? No, they weren't; but, they never are. If I could go back to any age, a la Star Trek TOS episode All Our Yesterdays, I would live as a sea officer in Nelson's Navy.
They say that romanticizing the simplicity of a better time is an illusion. But, there is truth in it. Things were more simple, as our lives become more and more complicated. I look back to the 80s fondly. Things were great, even without the internet. We played outside. We used the phone and made plans with friends. On the farm, we worked hard in the summer; and, I miss it now. Golden Age Syndrome I think they call it, may be an illusion. However, I believe it is an illusion based on truths. An escape, maybe it is. Just feelings, are feelings not relevant? I have always valued logic over feelings, which are also--as I understand it now--very important. And, I don't think the 80s were a golden age. If I had to pick a golden age, I'd pick the 1940s or 50s, The Greatest Generation. Or, I'd pick the early to mid Victorian Age. A great time to romanticize, people were civil and polite, and dueling kept people from being too offended. Elegance and beauty, women too, were things perfect? No, they weren't; but, they never are. If I could go back to any age, a la Star Trek TOS episode All Our Yesterdays, I would live as a sea officer in Nelson's Navy.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
For those in Anxiety
ALMIGHTY God, who art afflicted in the afflictions of thy people: Regard with thy tender compassion those in anxiety and distress; bear their sorrows and their cares; supply all their manifold needs; and help both them and us to put our whole trust and confidence in thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
You Don't Want to Go Goofy
Some people try to do too much. Take Bishop Bruce for example, a good man who cared (maybe too much). The stress and the workload he had taken on were too much for him, the situations and the pressure. Were there warning signs? How much is too much? How can one tell? When the advice and the help doesn't work, and you keep doing too much, what gives first? Stress seems to be underestimated and very poorly understood. It's causes, management, and effects are not fully understood. Yes, it can make you sick; I think most people understand that. What seems to be the worst case scenario is the individual for whom stress management is ineffective and for whom the workload and burden is greater than they can deal with, self induced our otherwise. Being told to let it go or not to let it get to you is not helpful at all. When all those helpful people with advice just don't understand, it's all the more frustrating. My advice to people who have not gone goofy yet? If you can't manage the stress, remove it. Because, once you go goofy, you're not serving anybody anymore.
Pray for Bishop Bruce and all those in anxiety and distress. FATHER help us. I ask this in the name of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Pray for Bishop Bruce and all those in anxiety and distress. FATHER help us. I ask this in the name of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
More on I don't fit
Should I be in an Anglican Church like ANIC who are so anti gay and live with it; or, should I stay in the ACC that does everything else wrong, pushing every liberal agenda. |
Bathroom Nuts
With men in girls' bathrooms and pedo sex ed curriculums, I can't help thinking that society is moving toward justifying pedophilia. P.S. They're going nuts in the States over this bathroom issue. |
Synod
So, gay marriage is back on the agenda. It's being pushed hard. But, is it what's best for the Church? Is it socially driven or Spirit driven. P.S. What do I want to happen. A new Church canon should exist that allows gay weddings and protects decenting voices from being forced to participate. A canon on this divisive issue should respect both sides. |
Logistics
The West has aircraft carriers, troop carriers, jump ships, c-130s, and globemasters. They have liberal governments. |
Sunday, May 1, 2016
My Lament
When will we be rid of politics in the worship place! Today, in the prayers of the people, our soon to be deacon prayed for the Syrian refugees in relocated countries and those there who oppose them through fear and ignorance. It's actually through security, safety, and prudence. Shouldn't we fix the problem there first? More importantly: Couldn't we just pray for them? Why must we always make it political?
P.S. I do not fit in the ACC.
P.S. I do not fit in the ACC.
NDD
The noon day demon is back and I'm thinking about my job and what I should be doing instead again. Where should I be?
The Advocate and the Accuser
In today's readings, the Holy Spirit was refereed to as The Advocate. Satan is refereed to as the accuser. Interesting...
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