It is nice to be home for Christmas. I went to my parent’s church for their Christmas Eve service. It might be similar to the traditional Anglican service of Lessons and Carols, except that they are probably clueless about what that service is.
I’ve been going most Christmas Eve’s for the last, I don’t know, 15 years. Since becoming an Anglican, this service has become less and less meaningful, primarily because it is really just Christmas entertainment. That probably isn’t far, in fact I know it isn’t because it is quite meaningful to many, but it isn’t for me. My parents attend a Christian & Missionary Alliance church – a squarely American-Evangelical Church born out of the Wesleyan Holiness Movement through A. B. Simpson. My former tradition, Pentecostalism (of the Southern California sort), also began within the Holiness Movement. Now, I suppose, some would say I’m just a “snooty Episcopalian.” (Of course, that would mean I have money – HA!)
Anyway, I’ve changed. I met over lunch with a very long and close friend of mine near Cleveland before making my way to my parents. She and I both met during my graduate studies at Kent State and have been close ever since. We both commented on how much we have changed over the last 16 or so years, particularly concerning the way we engage with our faith, as if we can separate our “faith” from our “selves.” I have been changed by this tradition that I have given myself to – that I believe God has called me into.
The problems the Episcopal Church is having these days are of its own making, to a great degree. I can’t say that I am opposed to some of the changes, but I do see the direction the Church has been heading and it troubles me. I have become more aware of the notion of “catholicity,” particular due to my education at The General Theological Seminary in New York City, and at my field placement and current parish of St. Paul’s Carroll St., an Anglo-Catholic parish (probably somewhere between a Nashotah House and an Affirming Catholicism form of Anglo-Catholicism). I have changed, and it makes life difficult.
I think about this day when God became man, the Incarnation, and think about how all of humanity changed. The Creation changed. All things changed. This change in all things was and is a glorious thing, but the reasons for its happening are tragic. As a result, this change has been fraught with difficulty and anguish. Humanity has honored this fundamental change in the way we understand ourselves and God in not so good ways. As a matter of fact, the Church universal has been pretty bad in its attempts to uphold the high standards and calling resulting from this most significant event. The Mystical Body of Christ continues, but the Church, which is supposed to be the physical manifestation of the Mystical Body, has screwed-things-up more than it has not. Yet, it is this Church universal that God chooses to work through in all its fallible and imperfect ways. All things changed. All things continue to change. Are we able to see the changes encouraged by God and those encouraged by some other thing? Are we able to correctly or properly discern change?
My hope and prayer as I think about his most significant change and day is that in all my changing I will live into the real life understanding of what life in Christ Jesus is supposed to be. My hope and prayer is that my life will be a reflection of that most significant change, and that somehow, in some way, I can be an example in some simple way – an encouragement to others and a vehicle through which God can work to continue the work began so long ago – to reconcile us all to God, to one another, and to all of Creation.
So, whether I get anything out of a Christmas Eve service at my parent’s church is really moot. The meaningful thing is whether this event, the significance of this day, has changed me for the better, for the good, for the reasons God has ordained for my life.
It is nice to be home for Christmas. I wish the local Episcopal Church had not been closed. A Christmas mass would be nice, but that is another story.
Merry Christmas!

This is a test.

I ended up having to change hosts for my website. I’m slowly getting things in order, but it’s taking time. At some point, I will change the look and feel.

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It was bound to happen – doctors are seeing a dramatic increase in the hearing loss of teens. A primary reason is the increased use of devises such as iPods and other MP3 players. An article appears today in the Wall Street Journal reporting on doctors’ new concerns. A new understanding of what is going on that makes this round of concern different from the concern expressed during the early ’80’s over Sony’s Walkman headsets is that the new “earbuds” feed the sound directly into the ear (direct feed) and does not block outside noise. Go buy a sound-minimizing headset (sound-isolating or sound-canceling earphones).
What I thought interesting is that the hearing loss is associated as much with the duration of listening than the volume of the music.

From today’s Daily Dig, from the Bruderhouf Communities:

Wisdom of a Sadhu
Sundar Singh (1889-1929)
Both water and oil come from the earth. And though they are similar in many ways, they are opposites in their nature and their purpose. One extinguishes fire, the other gives fuel to the fire. Similarly, the world and its treasures are creations of God along with the soul and its thirst for spiritual truth. But if we try to quench the thirst of our soul with the wealth and pride and honors of this world, then it is like trying to extinguish fire with oil. The soul will only find peace and contentment in the One who created it along with its longing. When we turn to the living Master, we receive water that satisfies our soul. This water is a well of spiritual life that springs up deep within us.
Source: “Wisdom of the Sadhu: Teachings of Sundar Singh” (Plough, 2000)

From “What’s New” at Netscape. It pays to be married, partnered, or at least have a roommate!

“Lonely, single men in their 30s, especially those who are living alone, are much more prone to developing high blood pressure than married men of the same age who live with their families, according to new research from a team of doctors in Japan, reports Tokyo’s Mainichi Daily Times.
“Researchers from Chuden Hospital in Hiroshima surveyed 1,570 male employees of a Japanese company. Among this group, 217 of the men lived alone, including some married men who were living apart from their families. They found that the number of men in their 30s who lived alone and suffered from high blood pressure was 3.6 times higher than the men of the same age who lived with their families. Specifically, 14.9 percent of the 30-something men living alone had hypertension, compared with 4.1 percent of the men who lived with their families. By the time they reached their 40s, 21.4 percent of the men who lived alone had high blood pressure, compared with 13.8 percent of those who lived with their spouses.
“Why? The doctors theorize that men who live alone do not eat as well, specifically missing out on fruits and vegetables, and did not exercise as frequently. Also, because they tended to dine out more frequently, they often consumed foods with too much salt. Excess salt is a known cause of hypertension.
“The study results are noteworthy because they clearly show the damaging effect irregular lifestyles can have on health. “The ratio of those in their 30s living alone who have high blood pressure is almost equal to that of those in their 40s living with their spouses,” study leader Dr. Hiroyuki Hiraga told the Mainichi Daily Times. “Men living by themselves are prone to suffer from diseases caused by irregular lifestyles. They should be careful to take a balanced diet.” The study findings will be presented on Thursday to a study session of the Japan Society of Internal Medicine in Osaka.”

My friend John sent me a link to another weblog containing this joke. So true, but by the grace of God hopefully not for much longer!
Episcopal Squirrels
A joke I’ve seen several places on the internet . . .
Three churches in a small town found that their church buildings had become over-run with squirrels.
The Presbyterian church decided that it was pre-destined that the squirrels would be there and therefore left the squirrels to their own devices.
The Unitarian church decided the best measure was to humanely trap the squirrels and take them to a nice place in the woods. Naturally the squirrels returned three days later.
The Episcopal church decided to have the squirrels baptized and confirmed. Now the squirrels only come to church on Christmas and Easter.
—-
I suspect that a certain segment of Pentecostals/Charismatics would rebuke the demon of squrrel infestation and cast them out into utter darkness.

From the House of Bishops/House of Deputies Listserv:
A priest wrote a post presenting a portion of writing from Dr. John R. W. Stott (see below) on substitutionary atonement (which brings worth much consternation here at General). A second person commented on “substitutionary atonement” and the way we do theology. Here is his comment:

“> A substitutionary sacrifice … we are obliged to conclude …
When we apply logic to metaphor, parable, poetry, image or symbol, we oblige ourselves to conclude strangely. That God first loved us is not logical. It is counter-intuitive, counter-deductive and counter-cultural. My gut, my head and my world each “conclude” in their own way that substitutionary sacrifice makes more sense than the no-strings, upside-down Good News of God.
Substitutionary sacrifice, however, is neither Catholic nor catholic
tradition. It was enshrined in popular piety by a tradition of preachers, long before Mel Gibson, who discovered how easy it was to preach and to use in a manipulative way.
We do well to observe the traditional distinction between positive and speculative theology. The former seeks to discover creedal kernels of the church catholic, e.g., Trinity, Incarnation, Atonement, Resurrection, Real Presence. The latter has to do with past and continuing attempts to gain some insight into those beliefs in our necessarily limited way. To canonize one or another way of understanding those beliefs is to conclude strangely.
“For us and for our salvation” I truly believe. That’s positive theology.Substitutionary sacrifice? That’s speculative theology… far from anything all are obliged to conclude… There’s a huge difference. Destructive divisions occur when people don’t get that.
Bill Lewellis, Communication Minister/Editor, Diocese of Bethlehem

Click below for the text of the origional post.

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I’m in the process of upgrading MovableType and have yet to get the anti-spam software to work properly. As a result, I can’t accept comments due to the extremely large amount of SPAM comments that would appear on my weblog.
Really, SPAMing is evil!
I don’t particularly like this format style, either. When I have a little more time I will be attempting to return to the old style.

This is Bishop Marshall’s response to the Windsor Report:
Insitution over inspiration?
Initial reflections on the Windsor Report from Bishop Paul
October 19th, 2004
Dear Colleagues,
In preparation for our November Bible study, please read the Windsor Report at http://windsor2004.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm.
On our own website you should also read the gracious words of our own Primate and the Primate of Canada in response to the report. Two African archbishops have also expressed their appreciation for the work of the commission, and I’m sure that others will be reported on the Bethlehem of PA electronic list. Considering the dire threats and gloomy predictions that have been abroad about the content of the report, we can all rejoice in its overall moderation. Its constant emphasis on “bonds of affection” is a great blessing to me personally.
As you read the report and the early responses, however, I think there remain some hard questions to be asked of this document in the nine months or so during which it will be processed at various levels in the Anglican Communion. I offer some initial reflections to assist the discussion of the document in our November clergy Bible studies and in your parishes or study groups. A more detailed commentary and response will be the work of time and patience. I will join the bishops of the Province in responding on November 19.

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