Road Warrior

C'mon kid, let's roll, which roughly translated means, hurry up, we're walking to school with the dogs via the Pick 'n Steal for coffee and I don't want you late.

Soon enough we were over the start line and heading for the Shamrock, staffed by Nepalese, thank you very much and mind the kukri, with Friday gamboling along like a puppy and Blue following at a more sedate pace.

Blue Valhalla's getting on in years and someone's been stealth feeding him when I'm not looking, so he's getting a bit portly. This isn't fair on the furry protector and means I'll have to put a lock on his feed bin or maybe a sign, "DON'T OPEN THIS. IT WILL EXPLODE AND DESTROY YOU."

Coffee, school, and dog walk objectives reached, I relaxed on the front office porch and thought about the effect of various bullets on my YETI mug; a range day's obviously in order. Then, Daily Office said, I drove to Fort Worth down good old I35W.

It's not a bad drive until you get to the metrosprawl, then it's a nightmare. What evil satanic geniuses convinced the American public to live in vast plastic sided suburbs, intersected by highways roaring past decaying strip malls. It's bad enough now, imagine the future.

One day the plastic will sag, decay, and fall, leaving square miles of chipboard houses to quietly implode back to nature while the highways collapse; the sheer slum of it will challenge all but the bravest explorers. Remortgage that, I dare you.

Regardless, I made it to the clergy day at Holy Apostles and very edifying it was too. Bishop Iker gave a good presentation on the state of the litigation against the Diocese and Dr. Stephen Noll talked about marriage. 

After lunch, I headed back to the compound, picked up the kid, drove him to work, drove back to the Compound, drove to Lake Whitney to say Mass and watched a film because it was the church's film night.

We watched the Gospel of John, which is just that, the Gospel of John narrated, with actors doing their thing in the background. I love John's Gospel. Then, kid being delivered to the church, it was time to brave TX-22 and get back to base.

The dogs were excited to see us. The pack was back, and I tell you, several hundred miles worth of driving aside, it all made for a good break from watching WWIII unfold in Syria and the slow moving coup against the President.

I file this exciting story under "road warrior."

God bless,

LSP

Fort Worth Loses -- For Now

The 2nd Court of Appeals has ruled against the Diocese of Fort Worth, finding in favor of the Episcopal Church, which claims all the property and assets of the Diocese along with its Corporation.

This appears to go against a previous decision by the Texas Supreme Court, which was in favor of the Diocese and led to the Tarrant County Court ruling against the Episcopal Church.

The Diocese of Fort Worth split from the Episcopal Church in 2009 over the denomination's endorsement of gay marriage, women priests and associated heterodoxy. The Episcopal Church then proceeded to sue the Diocese of Fort Worth for its buildings and money.

Bishop Iker anticipates that the final decision in this ongoing litigation will lie with the state's Supreme Court. The full text of his statement follows below and if the Episcopal Church finally wins, what will it do with a diocese full of empty churches. Sell them for mosques or translesbian theater workshops?

You, the reader, be the judge,

LSP

+++++++

The Second Court of Appeals has issued its long-awaited ruling in our litigation, and the Court has found in favor of TEC’s arguments that TEC decides who belongs to their Diocese and that their Diocese controls the Corporation Board of Trustees, as well as all property and other assets.

Our attorneys are reviewing the 178-page opinion, and I will have a conference call with them tomorrow to discuss how to proceed. As we have said in the past, we have anticipated all along that the Texas Supreme Court will make the final decision on this matter.

As the legal battle continues, let us remain focused on the Risen Jesus and our mission to proclaim the Good News to all people.

The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker

Bishop of Fort Worth

April 5, 2018

A Good Sunday

Dick Harries Possessed by a Margarine Demon?

I've served in several dioceses where Anglicanism was pretty much new normal, i.e. tenuously Christian. In Oxford, for example, we were led by Bishop "Dick" Harries (how'd he get to be a "Baron" anyway?), who despite being a Green Jacket was possessed by a margarine demon. Then there was Jane Dixon (pro tem) and, and I won't go on. All fine, of course, if you're into praying to the Goddess, or walking labyrinths, or whatever neo-Unitarian, quasi-gnostic  nonsense you feel like inventing at any given moment. It's all OK if you're a Pelosianite Episcopalien, not so good if you're a Christian.

Bishop Iker, Good Man

So you can imagine my relief at having a bishop like Jack Iker; when he visits the Missions to Confirm and Baptize it's all good. The Word preached, the Sacraments administered and it's the Faith of the Church and I tell you, that's at a right premium.

Rare

Today's Confirmations went well, so did the Baptism. A parishioner gave me a "brick" of .22LR by way of thanks. Shooters will understand that that's not shabby.

God bless,

LSP

Chrism Mass

Iker

I took a break from exotic game hunting to go to this morning's Chrism Mass at our cathedral, St. Vincent's, in Bedford; Bedford is a kind of suburb of Fort Worth. The Episcopal Church (TEC), which is suing our diocese for daring to say no to gay marriage, is keen to get its pink mitts on the cathedral. 

Pyrrhus

It'll be a Pyrrhic victory if they do. Millions of dollars spent on lawsuits to get an empty church, to say nothing of the moral downside.

Judas Betrays

Regardless of that, Bishop Iker preached an excellent sermon on the Last Supper, reminding us of our Lord's statement that one of those eating with Him would betray Him. "Is it I, Lord?" they asked. Apparently every one of them considered themselves capable of the crime. I'll leave you to draw the personal application, and the solution? Our Lord's Mandatum, to love one another as He loved us, acted out in the parabolic washing of feet. Powerful medicine against the snake pit of wickedness.

On that note, you may be glad to know I made my Confession. Not before time... all should, some must...

Blessed Holy Week,

LSP