Ecumenism Restarts In The North

Rood Screen at Nashotah

Back from Nashotah House Seminary, Wisconsin, and the first meaningful Anglican-Orthodox dialogue since the 1970s and the descent of Western Anglicanism into the pelosian spectacle it is today. Now that traditional Anglicans have split from the pelosianites talks can begin again, and they did, in the frozen wilds of the North. I found Metropolitan Jonah, leader of the OCA (Orthodox Church in America), compelling; here's an excerpt:

“We stand at a crisis which threatens to undermine the very basis of our culture… only by standing together, united by one Faith, one Heart one Church, will we be able to withstand the onslaught of licentiousness... and fight against it. There is in materialism, there is in secularism only despair.”

Powerful words and, I think, true.

Bishop Melchizadek & Metropoloitan Jonah

I liked what the Chancellor of St. Vladimir's Seminary had to say as well, for example, “A heavy diet of low-cal theology has left our Church emaciated and thin.” Well said, Fr. Hatfield; I hope the discussion between the two Churches continue and that 'low cal' turns into something more substantial. You can read more about the event at Virtueonline if you like.

God bless,

LSP

Its In The Numbers

'Bonnie' Anderson, President, House of Deputies

Still in Wisconsin at the Anglican-Orthodox conference at Nashotah House Seminary; compelling addresses by Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America. His theme is that we can't afford disunity in the face of increasingly aggressive secularism and resurgent Islam, to say nothing of Our Lord's prayer that we should "all be one." Jonah gets my vote, unlike the pelosian Episcopal Church, which is being cagey about it's numbers. As found at Bible Belt Blogger via Stand Firm:

That didn’t match what I’d been led to believe by a very reliable source. So I asked Anderson and the Presiding Bishop about the numbers during the press conference. Here’s what they said:

BIBLE BELT BLOGGER: The ASA and membership figures for 2008 have been compiled. I’m wondering if those were shared with the Executive Council this week and what the ASA and membership figures show for 2008 for the domestic dioceses.

PRESIDENT ANDERSON: Yes. (Clears throat). Excuse me, yes, they’ve been, um, circulated to the Executive Council via electronic means but we’re not going to be talking about those per se. Our agenda’s pretty full and we’ll probably be taking those up in the future at our next meeting.

BIBLE BELT BLOGGER: Can you share, though, what the results are?

PRESIDENT ANDERSON: We don’t know. I mean we have it written out but we’ll be posting it I’m sure as soon as we’re, they’re, approved and available. But yes, you’ll be able to get them.

LOCKWOOD: But presiding bishop, can you tell us what they show?

PRESIDING BISHOP JEFFERTS SCHORI: I, I’m sorry. I’m not able to comment on that at the moment. I don’t have it in my head.

BIBLE BELT BLOGGER: Do you know approximately? Can you give an approximation? Are they up or down?

CHURCH PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER NEVA RAE FOX: Frank, we need to move on now. Um, I believe the presiding officers have indicated that the figures will be available at a later time, but not right now. Thank you.

So there you have it. The numbers have been circulated, not passed out. The figures have been shared with the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, but the theologian/scientist can’t comment on them because “I don’t have it in my head.”

Based on the above, do you think the statistics — if they were in the presiding bishop’s head — would be good news or bad news for this badly divided denomination?

Thing's don't seem to be going too well for Boy Bishop Schori and her friend "Bonnie". Hopefully they'll be better for trads in the Diocese of Fort Worth and the OCA, but more of that anon.

God bless,

LSP

Hunt, Church, War

I'm a little jealous of my friend's trout catch but made up for it with some decent shooting - beautiful overcast early evening and enough action to supply a goodish snack for the LSP table; as always, powerful medicine to get out in the field.

Off to the frozen wilds of Wisconsin tomorrow for talks with the OCA (Orthodox Church of America), the Diocese of Fort Worth and ACNA (Anglican Church of North America). The hope here is that some sort of concordat or 'communion statement' will be reached, but more of that later. In the meanwhile...

Why does our government seem set on some sort of 'half mission' in Afghanistan, against the advice of General McChrystal? Seems to me that we should either fight to win, or not at all - an in between effort is surely a tragic waste of lives. Just a thought.

God bless.

LSP

Churches I Don't Like

H/T Hermeneutic of Continuity/Fact Compiler

The trombone at the beginning of the Obamadolatry is especially

good.

Every blessing,

LSP

Riding Logic

Hugely enjoyable morning's ride practicing "flying changes", which is when a horse changes leads at the canter or gallop without transitioning down to a trot. All very equestrian and, for me, a lot of fun, helped in part by Wilhelm Museler's book, Riding Logic. There's an awful lot to take in but Museler's Teutonic precision is softened by his occasional romanticism. Here's an example, in which the author warns us not to jump horses too young:

"...their legs are tired and they just do not want to jump. These are truly sad creatures, the ones who are victims in their adolescence to man's unthinking vanity and selfishness!"

Again:

"...it must be treated with tolerance or one will turn it into something worse than a dead machine."

So, treat the horses right.

Cheers,

LSP

The Light

A good armed stroll about the countryside but my shooting was pretty desultory; still, it was good to pull the trigger and hear the shotgun do its thing. The cows, Polled Herefords, seemed mostly oblivious.

After visiting with parishioners I got on the dirt road and headed for home. By the time I got to asphalt the sun was huge and seemed to fill everything with a fiery golden mist. So I put the LSP Technical on autopilot and took a picture, which doesn't do the thing justice but gives a glimmer.

I tell you, it was hard to see - very "Golden Void" and "Warrior on the Edge of Time." Certainly made up for sub par shooting.

I understand that The Sun has come out against the Labour Party. Go figure.

Space is Deep,

LSP

Well Done That Man!

After my final Mass of the day a parishioner gave me battered old brown briefcase. I said, "Thank you very much!" and took it home. Inside was a...

.38 Special and...

A box of ammo.

Result! As SBW used and might still say.

I love Texas, my Missions and their people.

Good shooting.

LSP

Vicarious Hunting, Part I

Many thanks to the Provincial Secretary of the Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) for this Elk bow hunting guest post; he was fortunate enough to get out to Southern Colorado for the experience and if I said I wasn't a little envious I'd be lying, which is a sin, so...

We left Texas at 4:30 a.m. Sunday. On the drive up P. and I partook of the Blessed Sacrament as there was no opportunity to attend Divine Service, but I had brought my pyx. We followed D. and D. as they were pulling a travel trailer. We arrived at Forbes Park, Colorado about 4:30 p.m. On arrival, we rendezvoused with B. and J. at the campsite, unpacked our gear, and got the tents pitched. Called it an early night – 10,00 feet above sea level takes some adjustment.

Monday we awoke to the yapping of young coyotes. It was a very eerie sound. After a hearty breakfast, we went up to the salt lick and hung our stands. The remainder of the day we rode around and continued to get acclimated to the altitude. I had not come prepared to hunt. I didn’t bring a bow, I brought a camera. I was prepared to watch and enjoy the action...

At full dark, we went down to the meadow in the truck to look for wildlife. We stopped at the meadow at the prairie dog town to enjoy the splendor of the starry sky. What a sight! From horizon to horizon, we were captivated by the glory of the heavens. We went on and at the next meadow we spotlighted a herd of cow elks numbering about 40 head. As we rounded the corner by the prairie dog town heading back, our headlights captured a magnificent 6x6 bull elk. He was obviously looking for the ladies in the next field over. He was tremendous!

Despite early promise the Elks didn't cross the sights of the bows - but deer did (Ed):

...On the down side of the mountain we stopped to investigate a wallow that I had looked at last year. Sure enough, we found much evidence of recent elk use. As we headed down the back side of the mountain we also came across more tracks of elk, deer, and even that of a possible mountain lion in the mud from the previous day's rain. When we arrived back at camp, three and a half hours after our departure, we discovered that J. had downed a ten point mule deer buck still in velvet. They had field-dressed the deer and packed up the meat by the time we returned. In fact, J. and B. had had to leave for the airport right after the had taken care of stowing the meat.... (to be continued)

That strikes me as a tremendously good time - though I have to admit that I would have wanted a bow as well as a camera, not that I really know how to shoot either.

God bless and good hunting.

LSP

Saint Lawsuit

Pelosian Skulduggery in Passedena

I know its strange, but the more pelosian The Episcopal Church becomes the fewer people it attracts and the less money it has. Has for what? For suing departing Dioceses and Parishes of course and make no mistake, that can be pretty costly. So to make ends meet TEC has enlisted the help of St. Ives, advocate and patron of the poor. Here's an excerpt from TEC's latest begging letter sent to law-firms in the hope of enlisting money to take Christians to court:

"The recent 76th (2009) General Convention allocated $3 million for legal assistance to Dioceses... A substantial amount has already been expended... in support of Diocesan property litigation.

In order to reduce the pressure on a budget already strained... the St. Ives Fund was established... We are asking for your support of the St. Ives Fund."

You can read the whole thing at Stand Firm along with an interesting link to the financial disaster that property litigation has brought to the Diocese of Colorado. But who knows, maybe St. Ives is going to turn it all around for his newfound LGBT, abortionist supporters? Somehow I doubt it.

LSP

Dies Irae

I came across a description of late seventeenth century Pennsylvania life on Woodsrunner's blog. Daniel Pastorius (founder of Germantown, Philadelphia) writes:

"They (American Indians) listen very willingly, and not without perceptible emotion, to discourse concerning the Creator of Heaven and earth and His divine Light, which enlightens all men who have come into the world and who are yet to be born, and concerning the wisdom and love of God, because of which he gave his only-begotten and most dearly-beloved Son to die for us. It is only to be regretted that we can not yet speak their language readily and therefore cannot set forth to them the thoughts and intent of our own hearts, namely, how great a power and salvation lies concealed in Christ Jesus. They are very quiet and thoughtful in our gatherings, so that I fully believe that in the future, at the great Day of Judgment, they will come forth with those of Tyre and Sidon and put to shame many thousands of false nominal and canting Christians."

I found that pretty humbling and something of a warning. You can read the whole thing here, if you like.

LSP

Churches I Like

I love the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem because I believe its the authentic site of Our Lord's Crucifixion and Burial; also because the Byzantine architecture of late antiquity soars - the dome pictured appears to float, which is no mean feat and right ethereal. You'll meet monks there, begging for money; give it to them, far better value than various other taxes.

I know it sounds 'sexist' but the women of the parish(s) don't want to pay these anymore and talk angrily about 'secession'. They're very fierce and radical.

Keep the Holy Places safe,

LSP

Horse & Snakeshot

Had a really enjoyable ride, which seemed to include cantering around tractor tires and three tall plastic bollards, or pillars, then sitting and posting trot followed by more cantering without the discipline of the 'bollards'. Huge fun and yet another positive movement forwards in The Plan of going at a furiously fast pace across country and jumping over obstacles. Not there yet but making steady progress.

After Horse it was time for Gun, so I went to the Stock Tank for some impromptu ranging about at 50 yards. Good shooting was interrupted by a snake that foolishly made its way across the tank. They're dangerous things so I shot it as it left the water on the target side of the tank; it flailed about for a moment then died.

Speaking of which, the once flailing Weathermen (Weather Underground) didn't die, as I'd thought for years. No, they continued to make their mark in Chicago, not that that has anything to do with the current administration and radical, bomb throwing Marxism.

Have a great Sunday and good shooting.

LSP