About a Certain Sermon on Women Bishops . . .

When I heard that a Dr. Ann Paton of the Diocese of Pittsburgh gave a sermon urging that the new Anglican Church in North America allow women bishops, I was flabbergasted. And I am still flabbergasted. I am amazed that a supposed conservative (So we are told by reputable people.) would propose this when it would so clearly tear the new church asunder.

This isn’t just a women’s ordination matter. I would be saying similar things if a sermon urged the acceptance of lay presidency in the ACNA. A lot of work has gone into creating a unified orthodox Anglican church. And a lot of work will be needed to maintain and strengthen it. So for Dr. Paton to push something which would so obviously trash all that is . . . well, it’s more Episcopalian than Anglican.

A link to the sermon with lots of commentary may be found here.

The only good thing I can say about the sermon is that it illustrates the need for the issue of women’s ordination to be resolved and resolved well at the first provincial Synod this summer. The current course seems to be heading toward prohibiting women bishops and stating that no parish or jurisdiction will be obligated to recognize the validity of the holy orders of women. I think that is at least part of a good resolution.

Still, any such resolution needs to be very clear and in the canons. Both traditionalists and the likes of Dr. Paton need to see that women bishops and the like will not happen in the ACNA for the foreseeable future.

And if that means some who put their pet uncatholic causes above unity would migrate back to the Episcopal Church . . . then both jurisdictions would be improved.

CofE Women Bishops Draft Linkfest

Having read more on the Further Report on women bishops in the Church of England, I think my instincts yesterday were on target – the non-binding nature of a Code of Practice is a BIG problem. It invites an uberliberal bishop to act like an Episcopalian and make life very difficult for traditionalist parishes.

The draft as a whole has a number of good points. But I suspect in practice it will not protect traditionalists because it does not tell liberal bishops that they must allow for adequate provision.

But enough of my thoughts. Here’s some links:

Fr. Jeffery Steel cuts right to the heart of matter here and here.

Massinformation is following this closely and has a number of posts.

David Ould is more upbeat than I and links to all the documents in question.

Ruth Gledhill has written both a news article for the Times and a blog post which includes a fun poll .

Fr. Edward Tomlinson also cuts to the heart of the matter on why
“A Code of Practice Will Not Do.”

Further thoughts on the Code of Practice may be found at Anglican Wanderings.

Feel free to alert me to further relevant links.

Further Report on CofE Women Bishops Out

Today in the Church of England, the Further Report of the Women Bishops Legislative Drafting Group is out.

I’m no expert on UK law, so I will reserve comment for now. But this – Any person who exercises any functions, whether Episcopal or other functions, shall be under a duty to have regard to any Code of Practice issued under this Measure -- doesn’t sound like much protection of traditionalists to me.

A hat tip to massinformation for the alert.

A Heartwarming Anglican Christmas Story

If you’d like a good chuckle or two, then go over to Hot Rod Anglican for An Anglican Christmas Story.

And, seeing that it’s still Christmas, a Merry Christmas to all my good readers!

Channel 4’s Christmas Outrage

I’m at a loss for words.

In the UK, Channel 4 (not to be confused with BBC 4) has invited President Ahmadinejad of Iran to give an alternative Christmas Day message.

. . .

Like I said, I’m at a loss for words.

Hat tip to Damian Thompson.

About the Lambeth Attack on +Nazir-Ali

By now most of my good readers have surely read of Lambeth Palace’s juvenile attack on The Bishop of Rochester. Here are the stories on the sordid matter from The Daily Mail and from the Independent, which actually broke a religion story for once.

The most directly responsible perpetrator has been found and sacked. To most, that’s the end of the matter. And perhaps it should be. But I’m not so sure.

For Lambeth Palace is full of hostility to traditionalists and to orthodoxy. It is just usually not so overt as the noted slur. It is a passive-aggressive brand of hostility that doesn’t call traditionalists names, but does oppose them, even ignore them on everything that matters – very politely, of course. Even key decisions of the Primates Meeting have been ignored by the Lambeth crowd.

Given this record, the naughty word is almost an improvement.

In any case, Lambeth is such a politely poisonous hothouse of hostility toward traditionalists that someone felt comfortable letting the polite façade drop and put such a slur on a document to be distributed to the Prime Minister and all 43 of the Church of England’s diocesan bishops. (Perhaps the perpetrator intended to remove the offending word before document actually went out, but that is speculation.) Yes, the person is question is surely a rogue maverick; but I suspect he is so only in method, not in attitude.

And guess who is ultimately responsible for the atmosphere at Lambeth being so poisoned? That’s right. Dr. Rowan Williams.

And I much prefer he fire himself.

More “Anglican” Churches Coming Your Way in 2009

Expect to see more “Anglican” churches around in North America in 2009. The new Anglican Church in North America has a missionary mindset. But also, some of the parishes already in the new church will want to change their names to make their identity more clear.

Many of those will be Reformed Episcopal parishes. Our bishops are gently encouraging us to change our parish names to “Anglican” in part because the E-word leads to confusion. Bishop Grote visited my parish yesterday and said as much. I wish I remembered the delicate way he put difficulties with the E-word. :)

And that has been my personal experience. When I say I go to a Reformed Episcopal Church, people are polite and all. But it’s clear they think it’s Episcopalian. So I have a choice to let it lie or right away give an explanation of what we are not. Not a pleasant choice. It’s hard to be winsome given that.

It seems my parish agrees with our bishops’ wisdom though we are proud of our Reformed Episcopal identity. We haven’t decided yet, but I expect we will change our name (or at least our sign) from “Reformed Episcopal” to “Anglican.” We won’t be alone.

Boris Saves Christmas!

Heartfelt jolly Christmas kudos to London mayor Boris Johnson for ditching a lot of politically correct rubbish that gets in the way of celebrating Christmas. And it sounds like more is to come next year.

Predictably, there’s carping from the Guardian and elsewhere. The Guardian gentleman, Dave Hill, misses the point. This isn’t about being necessarily Christian individually; it’s about being Western, especially English. A hearty celebration of Christmas is a wonderful part of English heritage. Heck, the English practically taught the rest of us how to celebrate Christmas with their wonderful carols, King James Bible readings, and numerous traditions. To water down that thoroughly enjoyable heritage or push it aside to appease the easily offended is nuts. Again, kudos to Boris Johnson for ignoring such madness.

CANA Parishes Win Virginia Church Property Case

I’m glad to see that Falls Church and other CANA parishes won in the church property battle in Virginia. For the Episcopal Church to make a claim on parish property even when the parishes predate the Episcopal Church was utterly absurd.

Of course, the Episcopalian Diocese of Virginia, which has demonstrated a total lack of class ever since they broke off what were fruitful negotiations under pressure, continues to demonstrate such by planning to appeal.

Much more here.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing!

Cranmer joins the angel chorus with an edifying take on the history and delightful political incorrectness of this beloved carol.

Are You Aiding and Abetting Baby-killing?

If you are a member of the Episcopal Church or of one of several mainline denominations and contribute without strict conditions, you likely are through their support of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

Here is their latest effort.

Evil such as this helped push me out of the mainline Presbyterian Church in the late 80’s, by the way.

(And sorry if my question is so blunt as to offend. But sometimes a serious reality check is in order.)

Idiots Mess with Christmas Carols

Well, Christmas is near, and you know what that means – yes, idiots vandalizing and/or trashing good Christmas traditions in the name of inclusiveness, multiculturalism, political correctness and other abominations.

Carols are among their targets. Here’s some sordid examples and discussion of such.

Some botched versions of carols even avoid acknowledging that Jesus was *gasp* a boy. Or worse, they deny that Christmas is about Christ coming!

At a post-Christmas service a few years ago, shipmate Margaret encountered a massively-bowdlerised version of Joy to the World which began: Joy to the world, for peace shall come, let this be our refrain! "It continued for three verses," she recalls, "avoiding all reference to Jesus but exhorting us to exult in the coming of a whole clutch of abstract nouns."

There’s nothing like Christmas to bring out the cultural luddites . . . and the “Christians” who can’t bring themselves to join our forebears in the faith and sing joyfully of the coming of Christ and wish to spread their affliction to others.

A Good Church Calendar Companion

Sorry I haven’t posted yet this week. I am slightly under the weather and am using that as a good excuse to be slightly lazy.

But I do want to bring your attention to this church calendar companion which focuses on feasts and festivals, especially the various saints’ days. I haven’t looked at it in detail, but it looks very helpful. I like how it has the collects handy.

Kudos to St. Paul’s (Reformed) Episcopal, Baton Rouge for making this available.

Not One Dime for Greedy Auto Unions!

I’m glad to see the attempt to pay off UAW and pour money down a rat hole to bail out the auto companies failed last night in the U. S. Senate.

It’s clear from this timeline and from this statement that the stubbornness from the auto unions is what brought the bail-out down.

How appropriate. These greedy unions have gotten their way for years. And they thought they would get their way again even as the auto industry is falling apart. That hubris is what made GM and Ford uncompetitive, and now that hubris may drive GM and Ford into bankruptcy.

Well, bankruptcy is the best thing that could happen to these companies in the long run. For that is the only way to break these rapacious unions. That’s certainly a better route than rewarding the unions’ greed with taxpayers’ money.

There’s pressure on the White House to give the auto companies TARP money from Treasury. I’ve already e-mailed the President to urge him to say NO.

(And by the way, the breakdown of the bail-out is costing me money at the moment. And I drive a GM vehicle. I don’t care. That’s how strongly I feel about this.)

Kudos to the Network

The Anglican Communion Network, having fought the good fight and having served its purpose, is shutting down and handing off the baton to the new Anglican Church in North America.

Kudos to the Network! They fought a difficult and often thankless battle. And now that their purpose is served, they have the humility to bow out. Would all organizations so conduct themselves.

More commentary over at Stand Firm.

Trouble for the Dennis Canon?

In its efforts to strip leaving parishes of their property, a big club the Episcopal Church has used is the infamous Dennis Canon.

There’s one small problem. It is questionable whether General Convention ever passed the Dennis Canon. If it did, the proof is rather difficult to find.

And now the Dennis Canon is being challenged in court.

This will be worth watching.

Newsweek Digs Itself in Deeper

As if Newsweek hasn’t let its bias show enough with its latest cover story on the Bible and homosexuality, editor Jon Meacham, who happens to be a liberal Episcopalian, really flaunts it. A sample:

No matter what one thinks about gay rights—for, against or somewhere in between —this conservative resort to biblical authority is the worst kind of fundamentalism. Given the history of the making of the Scriptures and the millennia of critical attention scholars and others have given to the stories and injunctions that come to us in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament, to argue that something is so because it is in the Bible is more than intellectually bankrupt—it is unserious, and unworthy of the great Judeo-Christian tradition.

I’ve heard that one before – if you believe the Bible, you are “unscholarly.” End of discussion. Further, you are a bigot:

One era's accepted reality often becomes the next era's clear wrong. So it was with segregation, and so it will be, I suspect, with the sacrament of marriage.

Christopher Johnson and, once again, GetReligion give Meacham’s piece of crap the fisking it so richly deserves.

“Staggering” Indeed: Illinois Gov. Blagojevich Arrested

I know there’s a lot of corruption in Illinois politics (And if you think the Chosen One is untouched by it, I have a U. S. Senate seat to sell you.), but this is indeed “staggering.”

Among the accusations against Democrat Gov. Blagojevich – putting up Obama’s vacant U. S. Senate seat for sale and trying to extort the Chicago Tribune into firing unfavorable editorial board members. Wow.

And you thought I was kidding about selling you a Senate seat.

MORE: The “mainstream” news media is having trouble in bringing themselves to admit Blagojevich is a Democrat. I love it.

GetReligion Takes Newsweek to the Woodshed

Since my youth I have frankly detested Newsweek. Even at a young age, I was perceptive enough to see that it’s a glorified glossy lefty prop sheet.

Well, its puerile cover story on the Bible and homosexuality fits well in Newsweek’s sorry history. GetReligion rightly takes Newsweek to the woodshed over this – and does a darn good job of doing so. So I will defer to them.

But I will add that this isn’t a article that slipped past the editors harried by a deadline. This is a cover story written by a senior editor who oversees Newsweek’s religion coverage. This swill is exactly what they want to feed us.

Well, I’m not buying. I’ve never had a formal policy of boycotting Newsweek, . . . but now I do.

Oxford U. Press Does Its Part to Miseducate Children

Oxford University Press has released a new edition of its Junior Dictionary. And it’s quite clear they have joined efforts to rid English children of pernicious Christian heritage and to make them less, well, English.

Gone are such basic words as bishop, chapel, monk, sin (Mustn’t have children think that exists.), monarch, carol (Mustn’t have them think Christmas is real either.), and much, much more.

These are replaced by such words as chatroom, tolerant (of course), interdependent, EU (snicker), cope (double snicker), and trapezium.

I could give a good rant about this, but I’ll defer to Cranmer, who is incandescent.

Santa Claus, Scourge of Heretics

No, I’m not talking about the phony Santa foisted on us every year. I’m talking the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. He kicked heretic butt.

Not only was Nicholas intolerant of pagans, he was also intolerant of Arianism. Nicholas is listed as a participant in the First Council of Nicaea. There according to legend he became so angry upon hearing the views of Arius that he rushed over to the heretic and gave him a tremendous box on his ears, sending him to the ground.

So on this St. Nicholas Day, let us honor the man by contending for The Faith and against heresies which dare oppose the word of Christ.

Key Global South Primates Meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury

I find intriguing the news that, at their initiative, the Primates of the Southern Cone, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda are meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury today. These are the key primates behind Anglican interventions in North America. Inquiring Anglicans would like to know their intent in asking for a meeting with ++Rowan Williams as well as to be a fly on the wall during their time together.

Some speculation: Perhaps, they wish to commend a new North American province as the best way to provide for orthodox North American Anglicans and to bring interventions, aka “boundary crossing”, to an end.

In any case, just that this meeting is happening and so quickly after the birth of the Anglican Church in North America is interesting indeed.

The Anglican Church in North America is Born

Yesterday, with the approval of a Provisional Constitution, the Common Cause Partners in effect became the Anglican Church in North America. And I’m glad to be part of it!

Of course, it’s not perfect. Even the initial Eucharist was a bit evo for me. But if one wants a perfect church too much and too soon you end up with the One Holy and Apostolic Church meeting in your apartment cathedral. Christ will make His church perfect on His timetable. Our part is to strive to be faithful, orthodox, and unified.

Besides, the first provincial Synod will be at St. Vincent’s in Bedford, Texas. They will show them how to worship!

I do heartily agree with the priority on mission repeatedly voiced last night. That is particularly needful as most of North America does not have an orthodox non-TEC Anglican church nearby. In the meantime, Hills of the North has a wise suggestion to accommodate orthodox Anglicans who don’t have a suitable Anglican church yet available – at-large membership in the new church.

Chris Johnson has some cogent comments. I agree that this new church/province will likely bring matters in the Anglican Communion to a head when ++Rowan will actually have to make a decision – on whether to admit Archbishop Duncan to the Primates Meeting or not.

But we’ll focus on that on another day. For now, I feel like a Solemn Te Deum!

Bishop Adams’ Ordination Standards

Homosexual fornicators may apply for ordination. Heterosexual fornicators need not bother.

I am not kidding.

English Roman Catholic Dhimmis

Roman Catholic bishops of England and Wales apparently want to begin handing over their schools to Islam. In that process, they wish to provide special and expensive accommodations for Muslim prayers.

I understand people of different faiths go to Catholic schools. But whatever happened to making it clear they are Catholic schools? And that if students and families don’t like it, there are other schools available? If I were a headmaster at a Christian school and a Muslim asked me for special rooms and plumbing for their evil religion, I would (try to) politely explain that this is a Christian school and therefore will not make special accommodations for Islam. That’s called having a backbone.

Oh I forgot. We’re talking about English bishops here.

Traditionalist Roman Catholics are rightly appalled. And, as Damian Thompson points out, the irony is rich here. These RC bishops are eager to accommodate Islam, but drag their feet in obeying the Pope’s directive to provide for those who desire the pre-Vatican II Mass.

Liberal dhimmi asses.

Government-Owned Newspapers!

What a great idea!

Not.

This is the U. S. of A., not the U.S.S.R. No Pravdas please.

Besides, the “mainstream” news media is bad enough already.

A Big Week

As Baby Blue notes, this is a big week for Anglicanism, particularly concerning the formation of a new orthodox Anglican province in North America.

Pray.

Christmas Lights Are My Downfall

Those who know me know I’m a liturgical Nazi, especially when it comes to Christmas. Christmas music before Advent? Bah, humbug! As I frequently remind people, Christmas starts on Christmas Eve (with the beginning of Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings College Cambridge if you wish to know the exact hour) and doesn’t end until Epiphany. When I sing the Twelve Days of Christmas, I mean it! I mock at those who celebrate Christmas before its time. I mock them as they sing their Christmas Carols when it’s not yet Christmas. And I merrily mock them with my proper celebration of the real Christmas season when they are sick of it all with their premature debauched celebration of faux X-mas.

Last year, I didn’t even allow myself to play my glorious English choral Christmas carol CDs until right before Christmas. For Advent is the time for Advent carols. And when doing my Advent lector duties, I don’t dare wear red or green like the ignorant. I proudly wear Advent blue, as the Lord intends.

But this year . . . this year, something’s wrong. First, I noticed I was getting into a Christmasy mood in mid-November. I considered that strange but didn’t think much of it. But then, then there were those Christmas lights. After a couple friends helped me put up my Christmas lights, I actually turned them on . . . and kept them on. Oh, I did it to test them out and so those who helped me with my lights could enjoy them. That was my excuse.

But then Sunday evening, I gave in to the urge to turn them on again. I thought, Hey it’s Christ the King Sunday, that’s worth turning on some lights, right? – as if the Lord wouldn’t see right through that dissembling.

Then Monday night . . . I turned them on again. Hey, it was St. Clements Day. Isn’t that good enough reason? Isn’t it?

But tonight, my liturgical calendar is blank. It's just the green of ordinary time mocking me. What will I do? I will stand firm tonight. No lights for me! . . . Yeah, right. I’ll probably drink my Winter Warmer and give in to my weakness and turn on the lights again.

And it’s not even Advent yet.

How weak I have suddenly become. I am so ashamed.

Dean Munday Responds to Ephraim Radner

Ephraim Radner once again is undercutting those orthodox who are seeking to be faithful Anglicans apart from the Episcopal Church by poo-pooing the coming new province.

It’s quite difficult for me to respond graciously to Dr. Radner anymore. I once highly respected the man and his efforts. And I would still do so if he stuck to his knitting, to his “inside” strategy of striving for the faith within the Episcopal Church. I think staying in the Episcopal Church is a mistake, but I honor those orthodox who do so out of conscience, as I have stated before.

But he, along with the ACI, doesn’t stick to that strategy, but for some reason feels he must undercut those orthodox who out of conscience pursue an “outside” strategy of realignment outside the Episcopal Church. I fail to see the point of that persistent undercutting to say the least.

Well, Dean Munday, surely being a more patient, gracious man than I, has posted a response both gracious and cogent to Dr. Radner’s missive. I commend it to you and heartily concur, particularly with the conclusion:

I have not criticized and would not want to see anyone criticize the work the ACI is doing on an "inside strategy" to the same degree that they apparently feel obliged to criticize those who are working on an "outside strategy." I can imagine the frustration that members of the ACI feel with those who are leaving existing Anglican structures while they are trying to save them. But I believe the ACI's efforts would win the support of a greater number of people if they spent more time telling us how they propose to save the ship and less time knocking holes in other people's lifeboats. It remains to be seen whether the ACI's strategy can be successful; and, if not, there may come a day when we are glad the lifeboats are there.

NBC Has Green Egg on Their Face

Those who watch NBC at all surely have not been able to escape their big green emphasis of late. Hell, they spent much of a football game I was watching pumping it. Crap, can’t a red-blooded Texan watch his football without being propagandized by the lib’rul news media? It’s un-American!

Anyway, their cloying environmental push is back-firing a bit. Turns out they sent a 52-year-old with little climbing experience and little prep to go up Mt. Kilimanjaro with predictable results.

You’d think the brilliant, erudite people of NBC would have more sense than to send an inexperienced 52-year-old up Mt. Kilimanjaro.

But, then again, we are talking the same people who handed over MSNBC to a left-wing sports broadcaster.

George Soros, Al Gore Helping Franken Steal Election (UPDATED)

Yes, that focus of evil George Soros is funding Al Franken’s effort to steal the Minnesota U. S. Senate election. Al Gore is joining in, too.

On a less contentious note, this is a very interesting sample of some of the ballot issues Minnesota recounters face. Even if you are a not a former election judge like myself, you might want to check it out.

UPDATE: More on the ballots and recount here. Coleman's lead over Franken is now down to 136. Why am I not surprised?

Abortion Fanatic Sebelius In Line for Obama Cabinet Post

As if Obama’s cabinet isn’t sordid enough already, word is getting around that Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius in line for an appointment.

Sebelius is the pro-abortion fanatic who hosted a reception at the Governor’s Mansion for the notorious late-term abortionist, George Tiller. Not only that, she has twice vetoed increased regulation of abortion clinics.

Now one of her excuses for the reception is that it was given as a donation to the Women’s Political Caucus for the WPC to auction off, and that she had no control over who won.

But that is a bit like donating a reception to the National Bocialist Party and being surprised when men conversing in German accents and wearing funny armbands show up.



Her scruples certainly haven’t kept Sebelius from accepting multiple large political donations from Tiller.

This is the sort of quality people Obama is appointing.

Obama Administration Already Ethically Impaired

I really didn’t expect to be blogging about Obama for a while, at least until Inauguration Day. But the Messiah man is amazing. He is two months away from taking office, and already his administration is ethically impaired, to put it nicely.

For he has appointed some real sleazes to his Cabinet. Tom Daschle, who engineered the vote fraud riddled election of Tim Johnson to the Senate, will head Health and Human Services.

But even worse is Obama’s selection of Eric Holder to be Attorney General. He played a key role in Bill Clinton’s outrageous pardon of Mark Rich. Yes, Holder was knee-deep in that great vomit of sleaze at the end of the Clinton presidency. He even gave a big assist to the pardon of FALN terrorists.

This selection begs for a big confirmation fight in the Senate. If Republicans have any backbone, there will be one.

As for Obama, Jennifer Rubin says it well at the first link:

When one looks to the people Obama in turn has selected as mentors (e.g., Reverend Wright, Father Michael Pfleger), friends (e.g., Tony Rezko), and now key advisors (e.g., Eric Holder), voters may begin to question whether Obama possesses the judgment necessary to run an effective and scandal-free administration. If Holder is emblematic of Obama’s personnel decisions and an example of what is to come, the answer is “no.”

Why Do Traditionalists Put Up With the Church of England?

Christians of a conservative bent, particularly from the Western side of the pond, may wonder why Christians of a conservative bent in the U.K. put up with the Church of England in spite of its many enormities.

This post over at Anglican Wanderings illustrates one reason why – the ecclesiastical atmosphere is just different in Britain. We Americans tend to be church hoppers and even church splitters with little denominational loyalty. Some even dislike denominations and prefer independent churches (as I did for almost twenty years). Heck, many churches do their best to conceal their denominational affiliation.

Apparently, it is not so in England, at least not for the most part. Andrew Teather:

People are loyal to the Church of England, as I have seen in a couple of Parishes where the Priest has retired and the new Vicar has been a lady - parishes where people said most vehemently that they would 'not stand for it' and the rest of the verbiage and then stayed because it is their home, where that have always worshipped and where their friends and family have always worshipped. Nothing would stop them going (and who would want to, really). For this reason, I am firmly convinced that solutions which may seem natural and workable overseas would not work here. This is a small island dominated by two main Churches and I am certain that any move by orthodox Anglicans which, in peoples eyes, takes us away from either of those two bodies is doomed to failure.

Indeed, the Free Church of England, the English sister church to the Reformed Episcopal Church of long standing, is small and struggling even while the REC grows in the U. S. And that’s not for lack of leadership. One of their bishops is John Fenwick, an excellent, energetic churchman with whom I had the pleasure to enjoy lunch in Victoria at the REC General Council recently. But he freely admits the Free CofE is in difficult straits. Churches that flourish in the U. S. usually struggle in the U. K. if they are not Church of England or Roman Catholic. It’s a different climate in the U. K.

But my U. K. readers surely can speak more knowledgably to this than this Texan. Feel free to comment.

Episcopal Bishops Give Democracy the Ring Finger

Granted, this is rather predictable. But I still find it irksome that the Episcopal Bishops of Los Angeles and Northern California have chosen to give democracy and a majority of California voters their ring fingers.

They prate about “rights” in calling for the arbitrary overturning of Proposition 8. But to say the “right” of gays to marry each other trumps democracy is fatuous at best. Further, to use ecclesiastical office to push such views and to undermine democracy is an intolerable abuse of said office.

CORRECTION: A helpful commenter at the above link has pointed out that the AP article is mistaken. The bishops in question are California (Andrus) and Los Angeles (Bruno).

Fr. William Davage: “They threw us a Code of Practice on the etiquette of begging.”

Fr. William Davage of Pusey House gave a sermon a week ago on November 11th for the Patronal Festival of St Martin of Tours, Brighton.

Not being a Tractarian, I don’t necessarily agree with every aspect of Fr. Davage’s sermon. I’m not quite as Catholic as he. (Who is?!) But the sermon is pure Davage, both wonderfully and appropriately combative.

I particularly like his critique of the General Synod:

Flowing from that was the impetus for S. Martin to share his cloak with a beggar: “I was naked and you clothed me.” Unlike S. Martin, however, the General Synod and the Bishops of the Church of England did not share their cloak with us, rather they passed by on the other side and threw us a Code of Practice on the etiquette of begging.

Perhaps I have intruded a note of contention. But in this year of anniversary the Movement which began in Oxford in 1833 is facing what might be its final crisis and the year seems ablaze with ironies: an inclusive church has no room for those of conscientious dissent . . .

New Province to be Formed on December 3rd! (UPDATED)

This was a big weekend, was it not?

First, the Diocese of Ft. Worth left The Episcopal Church. Texanglican reported along with photos.

I love the Diocese of Ft. Worth and am looking forward to being in the same province with them.

Speaking of which, word came out and was confirmed by Bishop Duncan himself that there will be a constitutional convention on December 3rd at Wheaton to form a new Anglican province, d. v.

I have yearned for orthodox Anglican unity since the day I was confirmed – and even before! So thanks be to God!

UPDATE: The Anglican Communion Network has now posted more details.

Two Important Meetings This Weekend

There will be two important Anglican meetings this weekend. The Church of England House of Bishops will meet. Task one will be dealing with what General Synod has wrought on women bishops and provision – actually, lack of provision – for objectors.

The bishops are feeling pressure from all sides on this. Some positive pressure comes from this open letter. And then there’s pressure from the “inclusive” crowd.

The second meeting will be that of the Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth. They will likely decide to leave The Episcopal Church and join the Province of the Southern Cone. Shortly before this meeting, Stand Firm has an interesting interview with the Bishop of Ft. Worth, Jack Iker.

Please pray for both meetings.

Also pray for a youth retreat of my parish tomorrow night. The theme is “What is the Gospel?” And we do expect non-Christians to attend.

GM and Ford Should Be Allowed to go Bankrupt

There’s a lot of talk around that the feds should bail out GM and Ford. I’m dead set against that. They should be allowed to go bankrupt.

The biggest reason these companies should be allowed to go bankrupt is their worker compensation is irrational and not sustainable. An UAW auto worker gets paid around $70 an hour! Toyota and Honda auto workers get paid around $45 an hour. How can GM and Ford compete with that disparity? Bailing out and propping up such an operation would be pouring money down a rat hole.

Bankruptcy, if done right, can rationalize now irrational worker compensation. A bail out will just perpetuate it.

Now some say that Obama and the Democrats are pushing a bail out of GM and Ford in order to pay off their union supporters. Surely not!

U. S. Catholic Bishops Cut Off Funds to ACORN

Kudos to U. S. Roman Catholic bishops for cutting off all funds to ACORN. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (There’s a scary title.) had been making grants to ACORN.

Now I could ask why the heck the Cartholicks were giving uberleftist pro-abortion subverters of democracy like ACORN money in the first place. But I’m trying to be charitable this morning.

Scumbag Price Gougers Ticketmaster Earnings Down

There is a bright side to the current economic difficulties. Ticketmaster’s earnings are down.

Now if only those price gougers would go out of business.

It’s Time to Say “Enough!” to the Gay Rights Crowd

There are some acts that make me so angry, I make a point to wait until the next morning to post on it in order to avoid saying something I’ll regret later. This attack by gay activists on a Michigan church is such an act.

Now that I have calmed down, I’m convinced my gut reaction last night was correct – it’s time to say “Enough!” to the gay rights crowd.

They can push for their perversions to receive special status in society. That is wrong, but it is their right in a democracy. They can peacefully protest as much as they want. They can even try to overturn elections in the courts. I very much oppose such contempt of democracy, but it is their right to address perceived wrongs in the courts. The best way to deal with such efforts is to make sure judges are appointed who will rule against such anti-democratic, anti-constitutional efforts (which we have royally botched for now by electing Obama, but anyway . . .). And no one can deny that gays have made much progress through such efforts.

But in attacking, disrupting and vandalizing churches, the gay rights crowd has crossed the line. Society should emphatically say no to such acts, just as it has said no to the “God Hates Fags” nuts who picket the funerals of soldiers. Such should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and the laws against their acts strengthened if necessary. For one thing, I think strong laws against disrupting services at churches where one is not a member are in order.

And this act is by no means isolated. Particularly in the aftermath of voter approval of Proposition 8 in California, churches and Mormon temples are being threatened and vandalized.

A more difficult question (discussed at the first link) is how should churches respond when under such attacks. We should certainly rejoice when we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake. Of that there is no question. But how should to respond to the activists? We should love our enemies, but in what way? Jesus said we should “turn the other cheek.” And the Michigan church mentioned in the first link responded with admirable restraint and grace. But Jesus also forcefully cleaned out the temple. And certainly there is a time to defend our church, our brethren, and our children.

I don’t have any easy answers. And I suspect there are none.

Coleman Won the Election, But Will Franken Win the Counting?

Last week, I mentioned I was still a little nervous about the Coleman-Franken count in the Minnesota U. S. Senate race and that I expected Franken to try to steal that election.

It appears my paranoia was justified. For some reason, votes keep being found . . . for Franken, of course. This example takes the cake – 32 absentee ballots have been “found.” They had supposedly been riding around in a Democrat official’s car for several days.

Yeah, right.

In any case, the integrity of those ballots is doubtful. They should not be included in the count. But they are, of course.

I’m praying we don’t end up with yet another illegitimate Democrat U. S. Senator.

“Three Private Meetings” Between Obama and Gene Robinson

Ruth Gledhill recently had an interesting interview with Gene Robinson. In it, Robinson claims he and Obama met privately three times during the campaign, and at Obama’s initiative.

Now Robinson is *understatement alert* a bit of a self-promoter. So I wouldn’t take his claim completely at face value. But nevertheless, this doesn’t bode well as to the sort of input to which Obama will listen most closely.

Oh, and by the way, if you dared to question Obama’s background during the campaign, you’re a racist. Bishop Gene:

But because some of the claims have been so outrageous - that he's a Muslim, that he wasn't born in the United States, his associations with various incendiary people - I have to wonder if because people couldn't outright say they weren't going to vote for a black man that this became a way of objecting to his presidency, that that was more defensible than racist attacks.

Again, if this is the sort of moonbattery Obama is listening to . . .

Utah May Be Boycotted Over Prop 8

This looks like a good excuse to plan another trip to Utah!

Revelation 7

Wednesday, it was my turn to do lector duty for Evening Prayer. And the second lesson I read was Revelation 7.

Wow. Reading that chapter in a church setting is electric, awesome beyond words

MSNBC’s Matthews Still in the Tank for Obama

Anyone who thinks complaints about the news media being in the tank for Obama were overdone should take a good, hard look at this video from MSNBC. In it, Chris Matthews frankly professes his purpose to be to do “everything” he can to make Obama’s presidency successful.

Not only is that just slightly biased (Did he purpose to make Bush’s presidency successful?), it is incredibly unprofessional. That is not the role of a journalist.

On a personal note, I used to be a fan of MSNBC and Matthews. MSNBC was my favorite TV news outlet, and, when something political interested me, I would tune to Matthews’ show Hardball. I was well aware of Matthews’ Democrat background, but he hid his bias well and ran a pretty good show.

Then Keith Olbermann came to MSNBC. And under his poisonous influence MSNBC has become a propaganda arm of the Left with Matthews gladly going along.

It’s sad really. But it’s also one more reason I am passionate about the role of blogs to get the truth out. They are needed now more than ever. For the “mainstream” news media not only cannot be trusted to be evenhanded; they cannot even be trusted to be professional.

Not-so-by-the-way, I’m also passionate about the role of conservative talk radio in informing people. Under the guise of “The Fairness Doctrine,” look for a lefty attack on that important exercise of freedom of speech. I haven’t warned of dangers to free speech for nothing.

The Right Has More Class

Remember how the lefty blogs responded to their defeat in 2004? Yes, it was rather . . . unseemly.

Now compare how the righty blogs are responding to their present defeat. Methinks it obvious who has more class.

By the way, I love this reaction to the election:

Ok, so we just re-elected Carter.

How bad were the late 70's, anyways? They gave us the Sex Pistols, Blondie, and The Talking Heads. And Star Wars. And Apocalypse Now.

And the Ayatollah Khomeni. And long, long gas lines. And runaway inflation. And disco.

Dear Lord, can this country stand four more years of disco?

Christina Rees is at it again.

Christina Rees continues her drive to make practicing traditionalists extinct in the Church of England. She even calls the accommodation of flying bishops “modern day Donatism.”

Well. I’m so gratified to see Ms. Rees’ concern about heresy.

Fr. Jeffery Steel responds to Rees’ latest efforts with erudite restraint of which I am not capable under such provocation.

Massinformation, though also erudite, is not quite as restrained.

Tropical Storm Paloma??

What’s this? A tropical storm likely to become a hurricane . . . in November??

Apparently so.

Good News for Conservatives

It may surprise my readers that I’m actually in an upbeat mood this bright morning. Yes, Obama won by a greater margin than I expected. The polls were actually right! What’s with that?

(Unless I missed something, I was also wrong in predicting that a Missouri judge would once again try to rig the election by holding polls open longer in Democrat areas. I’m glad to be wrong on that one.)

But I was right in predicting election night wouldn’t be a disaster. Democrat gains in the Senate were even less than I feared/expected. The race I cared most about, the Minnesota Senate race, has been called for Coleman by AP and CNN over Franken. And right before I post this, the unofficial results are all in with Coleman ahead. It is very close though, and there will be a recount. Franken and his team are lowlifes who will still try to steal this election if they can. So I am still a little nervous. But let’s keep this post upbeat.

Another Senator I’ve thought well of for many years is Gordon Smith of Oregon. But Oregon in this election year . . . I didn’t think he had a chance. But it looks like he will pull it out. (Due of Oregon’s mail-in ballot regime, the vote count is very slow in coming in.)

(UPDATE: Gordon Smith has fallen well behind now. I guess that was too good to be true. *sigh* He’s a good guy, too.)

Now someone I don’t think much of is (I’m embarrassed he’s a) Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska. He’s long been an obstacle to needed spending reforms and is just flat out sleazy. It looks like he will pull this one out in spite of just being convicted of taking illegal gifts from a crook. Hopefully, he’ll be kicked out of the Senate and Gov. Palin will appoint a replacement, which would be a good outcome in the end.

So the Senate won’t even get close to filibuster proof for Obama. It looks like Democrats 56 - Republicans 44 (now 57-43). Heck, if Obama overplays his hand, the Republicans might even have a chance to take the Senate in 2010. (I say that without previewing the 2010 Senate races, however.)

There are other reasons to be encouraged. For one thing, anti-gay marriage referendums passed across the country, even in California.

So last night was no disaster. And it could have been with the financial crisis. With God’s help and mercy, if we all do our part and fight well, we can persevere and recover and be better as a nation for it.

Good Advice for Conservatives

Bob Krumm has good advice for conservatives in the aftermath of the election.

I think the financial crisis is what put Obama over. Remember that McCain was ahead before it fully broke out. But Republicans and conservatives do need to get their act together and quickly. Heck, America needs for them to get their act together. I hope this election provides enough impetus for that.

Out-of-State Obamatrons Voting in Swing States

More election-rigging from Obama supporters: Obama campaign workers have voted in swing states where they don’t live (at least not on any permanent basis). That’s right – New York Obamatrons voting in Florida, etc. And it’s quite brazen. Details here and here.

The legality of this differs from state to state. As far as ethics are concerned . . . well, The Dear Leader is so much more important than trivial things like ethics and fair elections.

A Warning About Exit Polls Today

Mark Steyn gives a timely warning about exit polls that will surely show The Dear Leader way ahead. Remember the exit polls leaked in the middle of Election Day that made it look like it would be a landslide for Kerry? They were wrong, obviously, and there are reasons exit polls skew Democrat as a prescient McCain campaign memo spells out. And, as I pointed out yesterday, with Obama being both a Black man and the Chosen One anointed by the media, the polls are skewed all the more.

So when you first hear exit polls numbers leaked or come out, don’t give them much weight. There will be plenty of time to freak out after the real numbers are in.

The Preface for All Saints’

The Preface for the octave of All Saints’ really grabbed me yesterday during Holy Communion.

Who, in the multitude of thy Saints, hast compassed us about with so great a cloud of witnesses, that we, rejoicing in their fellowship, may run with patience the race that is set before us, and, together with them, may receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away.

I’ve continued mediating on it since. It, and the celebration of All Saints’ as a whole, certainly is a good reminder that it isn’t just about me, nor is it just about now.

My Useless Election Predictions

For what it’s worth, I think Obama wins tomorrow. However, he and his worshippers will sweat at least a little. I think most of the polls are off in part because some people, um, dissemble to pollsters when you have a Black candidate or when you have a media-anointed candidate. Combine the two . . . well, then rely on polls at your own risk.

Also, Obama’s hostility to coal is more fully coming out at the last minute. (Why did the SAN FRANCISCO Chronicle sit on this? Hmmm.) That will hurt Obama, particularly in Pennsylvania.

In Congress, Democrats will make significant gains, but it won’t be an utter disaster in part because enough people 1. don’t appreciate the sorry job Congressional Democrats are doing as polls reflect and 2. don’t want to give Obama too much of a majority in Congress.

And don’t forget that I’ve already predicted a Democrat Missouri judge will hold polls open longer in that state . . . in heavily Democrat areas only, of course.

MORE: Bob Krumm has made some provocative and detailed election predictions. He also predicts a Democrat judge will try to rig Missouri, btw.

REC Passes Anti-Abortion Resolution

Virtually the last act of the Reformed Episcopal Church's General Council last week was the passage of the following resolution:

Forasmuch as the Reformed Episcopal Church has affirmed the teaching of God's Word that abortion is the taking of an unborn human life, and inasmuch as we have recognized the duty of all faithful Christians to work to protect the unborn and restrain the sin of abortion on demand, we hereby move that the General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church direct the clergy and laity of the Reformed Episcopal Church to make a political candidate's position on the Sanctity of Human Life the highest priority in discerning for whom to vote regardless of political party represented or office being sought.

The resolution passed without opposition although there was a quiet abstention or two.

I supported it although I do quibble with one matter. The resolution was sprung on us without notification and without a written version of it in front of us. (It was read to us.) Although I think it an excellent resolution and am proud of the REC for taking this stand, that’s not the way resolutions of this importance should be handled.

Has Obama Committed Massive Election Fraud?

More than a few Democrats think his campaign already has.

A Pilgrimage

I’m a bit groggy but back home now after driving a record 1100 miles yesterday. It's a spectacular morning here.

On the way home, I made a pilgrimage . . . to an In and Out Burger.

Thanks be to God!

Presidential Race Tightening

Don’t look now but Obama-McCain has tightened. And I agree with Dick Morris that it is likely to tighten further with undecideds breaking for McCain.

Obama has let his Leftism slip out with comments past and present about redistributing the wealth and about supposed flaws and blind spots in our Constitution. And those not deeply committed to The Chosen One just might like our Constitution along with being able to keep their “wealth,” thank you.

The REC Prays for Our Sovereign Lady

REC General Council is now over. Other than endorsing GAFCON and the Jerusalem Declaration, perhaps our most notable act was a very strong pro-life resolution towards the end. When I get the exact wording, I’ll post it.

In our Book of Common Prayer, we have a wonderful prayer for “Our Sovereign Lady, The Queen,” which, among other things, asks that she may “vanquish all her enemies.” The thought of Elizabeth II vanquishing all her enemies warms my heart.

Well, she is still the Queen of Canada. So we got to use that prayer during our Daily Offices – one of the special perks of meeting in Canada.

BREAKING: REC General Council Approves GAFCON Statement and Jerusalem Declaration

Upon the hearty recommendation of Presiding Bishop Leonard W. Riches, the 52nd General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church has just affirmed the GAFCON Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration by a rising vote. There was no opposition.

Today is a great day.

MORE: In his comments on GAFCON accompanying his recommendation, the Presiding Bishop said with emphasis, “Within a few short weeks it is expected that this new alignment will be represented domestically in the formation and recognition of a new Province of the Anglican Church in North America.”

At REC General Council

Yes, I did make it here to Victoria, B. C. for the 52nd General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church. The weather is spectacular. Sorry I haven’t posted much. I haven’t had much extra time.

We’re meeting at the Church of Our Lord, the oldest original REC church in existence, built in 1875. It is a beautiful, unusual building.

Two people I’m particularly glad to see here: APA Presiding Bishop Walter Grundorf and my favorite Northern Californian Anglican, Fr. Brian Foos. He and his choir will be leading us in choral evensong later today. Bishop Grundorf just gave a brief warm address that debunked some of "exaggerations" of difficulties between the APA and the REC.

My rector has just created a photoblog of his time at (and to) this General Council. Yes, there may be a pic or two of me there.

Well, I better pay attention to the first business meeting now in progress.

This is getting silly.

I’ve said many things about The Episcopal Church. But I don’t think I’ve ever called them silly until now.

Meanwhile, I’m forming the Diocese of Me. All who don’t join will be deposed, excommunicated and anathematized . . . even laity. I’m preemptively deposing them, just to be safe.

The Sacred Service of Excommunication and Anathematization will be celebrated in my apartment cathedral at a time to be announced.

Obama Lies About Abortion . . . Again.

I would not have been good company Wednesday night. For I was listening to the final Obama-McCain debate on the radio while I was driving. (Usually just driving is enough to make me ill tempered!) And I blew my stack a time or two, particularly when Obama lied about abortion . . . again.

It is well known that Obama and Bill Clinton aren’t exactly fans of each other. But they do share one thing in common. They lie with faux sincerity very well.

Obamedia Double Standard

Notice how the Obamedia (aka the “Mainstream” News Media) goes after those who might give a boost to the McCain campaign while giving Obama a free pass? Joe the Plumber is a case in point. The media goes after him and finds he owes a fairly trivial amount of taxes. Horrors!

But what about Obama’s tax returns?

Don’t think this sort of thing will end with election day. It’s a taste of the coming Obama thugocracy. Those who oppose The Chosen One will face the consequences!

Holy Ghost Recreation Area

Seen on a sign along US 550 in New Mexico:

“Holy Ghost Recreation Area”

November’s Aftermath

Whatever happens in the elections, the aftermath will not be pretty. The Cold Civil War “might get a tad warmer”:

However this election turns out, there will be turmoil. If Obama wins, a large part of the country will feel angry and powerless against the will of the left leaning blue states, the news media, Hollywood and academia. (In fact, they already feel that way, I assure you.) They will believe that ACORN created enough false voter registrations to put Obama over the top. If McCain wins, the left will riot and claim, "The Diebold machines were hacked!" The blue states, the news media, Hollywood and academia will resent that the will of the "dumb hicks" in flyover country overruled that of their "betters". And we will hear the cries of, "Racism! Racism!" ad nauseam.

Now, if Obama wins as I expect, I doubt it will be close enough to smell of election fraud (although there likely will be a lot of vote fraud). But I do think this nation’s divisions will worsen.

And not just in the short term. When Obama governs like the Leftist he is, I think even many who voted for him will feel they were sold a bill of goods. There will be not a little anger.

A “uniter” Obama is not.

John McCain Was Right on Cox and the SEC.

John McCain took some flak when he called for the firing of the head of the SEC, Christopher Cox. But sadly events have proved him right.

Since McCain’s call for Cox’s firing. Cox has allowed the short sale ban on financial stocks to lift. Now that needed to be done eventually.

But it was lifted yesterday morning. Notice what the markets have done since then? Notice the obvious short raid on Morgan Stanley?

If that raid succeeds, God help us. God help us all.

Obama Is Funding ACORN Vote Fraud

First, I give the “Mainstream” News Media some much deserved bashings. So when much deserved kudos are in order I will give those, too. So kudos to CNN for investigating and reporting on ACORN’s vote fraud.

I saw their excellent report over lunch just now. One of the items it mentions is that the Obama campaign paid ACORN $800,000 earlier this year for their voter registration drives. So Obama is funding their vote fraud.

CNN: Despite its past, the Obama campaign gave $800,000 to ACORN to help fund its primary registration drive, and ACORN has endorsed Barack Obama for president. The Obama campaign reacted this afternoon, saying, it is “committed to protecting the integrity of the voting process and said it has not worked with ACORN during the general election”.

Yeah, right. But ACORN sure is working for them, using that $800,000 to corrupt our election.

There is no excuse for Obama’s complicity in this as ACORN has a sordid history of vote fraud in past elections as well documented here. Obama cannot with any credibility say, “We didn’t know.”

So I’ll say it again – Barack Obama is funding election fraud.

The Rest of the Month (and REC General Council)

Good morning. I want to give my forbearing readers a heads-up on the rest of the month for this blog. I will be quite busy, so it is uncertain how much I will blog. So if I don’t post for a few days at a time, don’t be alarmed. But, as always, if sufficiently provoked, I will blog.

But more importantly, the week of October 20th, I will be attending the General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church as a delegate. So I will be sure to make some reports from there. It should be an interesting Council, given this year’s developments with GAFCON and Common Cause, including a Common Cause leaders meeting this past week.

All prayers for the REC and for me would be appreciated. And thanks for putting up with me.

In 1996, Obama Was a Member of a Socialist Party.

More is coming out on Barack Obama’s connections with the Socialist “New Party.” In spite of efforts to scrub incriminating sources from the internet, multiple archives have been found that document that Barack Obama was a member of the New Party in the 1990’s. And these sources are very friendly to Obama. Details may be found here and here.

It’s quite damning. So the “Mainstream” News Media will ignore it.

ACORN Registers Dallas Cowboys to Vote . . . in Nevada

Obama’s favorite community organizing group, ACORN, has once again been caught engaging in voter fraud, this time fraudulent voter registrations in Nevada.

The phony names used included the starting line-up of the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas sports talk radio is having a bit of fun with that.

This excuse takes the cake:

“The fact is, this is hard work and there were some people that probably sat down on a couch and filled out names out of a phone book,” said Matthew Henderson, Southwest regional director for ACORN. “That’s really what we’re talking about here — not an attempt to steal an election.”

Of course not. And, of course Obama wouldn’t support any such efforts. No, not at all.

Obama and Socialists

As if Obama and his news media friends aren’t hiding enough of his radical background, here’s more – his participation in and support from Socialist political parties, and not as a callow youth, but in the 1990’s.

A personal aside: I know most of my good readers come here for things other than reading up on Obama. And, to be honest, I now expect he’s going to win regardless of what comes out on him. People blame the Republicans more than Democrats for the current economic mess (which is a serious error given that it’s mainly Democrats who pushed risky mortgage loans), and the McCain campaign has waited too long to expose Obama’s radicalism. Any attacks now are likely to be seen as desperation and will be so dismissed no matter how accurate. Given those factors, I cannot foresee any development that would turn the tide.

But even if Obama is elected, I want to be able to say I did my part to warn people about him. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Sometimes, fighting for a losing cause is the most honorable course.

Edwardtide!

This morning as I drove, I began singing a hymn in praise of St. Edward the Confessor when it occurred to me – his feast day is upon us. Later I looked, and, sure enough, The Feast of the Translation of St. Edward the Confessor is October 13th.

A year ago I very much enjoyed a Sung Eucharist on the Eve of the Translation at Westminster Abbey, which St. Edward founded. For those who can, I strongly recommend attending a service or two at Westminster Abbey during Edwardtide.

(Wow, this year is different. First thing this warm, humid, and still morning I caught some waves. This evening I will likely get some barbeque with a friend. South Texas and England are different worlds.)

Flying Bishops for CofE Traditionalists?

Over the weekend, word came out via The Telegraph that a revised arrangement of flying bishops for CofE traditionalists is in the works.

Hardly anyone seems to be pleased about this. Damian Thompson (who wants every traditionalist Anglican to cross the Tiber) is dismissive. Cranmer doesn’t think much of it. Fr. Jeffrey Steel, in a typically thoughtful post, is also typical of his fellow Anglo-Catholics in thinking that this wouldn’t go far enough.

Among the more liberal, Canon Jane Shaw’s opinion is common.

Canon Jane Shaw, Dean of Divinity at New College, Oxford described the proposals as ludicrous and a betrayal of Synod's earlier vote. "If they enshrine in law legislation that puts flying bishops in place they'll be going against the will of the Synod," she said. 



"This would be totally undemocratic and completely inappropriate."



She said it was "absurd" that a diocesan bishop shouldn't have oversight over all the parishes in their diocese.

On a personal note, I am disappointed, though not shocked, at Dr. Shaw’s stand. I very much respect her leadership of New College Chapel. Of the three choral foundation chapels in Oxford, New College was the only one where I could worship with good liturgy without having liberal excesses shoved in my face. She leads the chapel in a manner where all just about Christians can worship and feel welcomed. I do wish she supported the Church of England being so led.

However, she does raise good questions about the governance of the Church of England, a root issue in the current situation. Namely, to what extent should (and is) the Church of England be a democracy? How much authority does (should) Synod really have?

Here’s one view that will rub many the wrong way, but I suspect is correct:

Bishop Reade spoke against the Synod becoming parliamentary with two competing sides: “Ideally I think the House of Bishops should be there, and we should be listening to the debate, and we should go away and make the decisions.” 



He said the clergy and laity should vote, but that it should simply be used as information for the bishops. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, had also spoken in July against using General Synod as a parliament, emphasising that the Church was managed by synod, rather than governed by it.

Lately, it seems if a church becomes too much of a democracy, you get The Episcopal Church, The mainline Presbyterian Church and the latest CofE Synod, in which the most committed activists take over from the less ardent but more sensible and more orthodox mainstream. (Note that “more” isn’t saying much at times.) For all its faults, the Church of England has a long record of thwarting the designs of activists of various sorts who would take the whole church overboard with them. Making the CofE too much of a democracy ala Synod would diminish that moderating tendency. (Not that “moderate” is necessarily good, but it sure as heck is better than what Synod wrought.)

Having said all that, my opinion of the flying bishops proposal? I still think traditionalists should be given their own dioceses, but I am sanguine about the current proposal, at least what we know about it. It is a step in the right direction for a change. And it may slow the exodus of Anglo-Catholics to Rome, maybe. (And if Rome appoints a loser to be Archbishop of Westminster, which may happen, that would slow the exodus that much more.)

We shall see. I’m watching and praying with interest.

A Shoot-em-up at My Place

No, I didn’t shoot any liberals. This past summer, some guys I know from a home school co-op shot a Western short for the Corpus Christi 7-day Film contest. Though the youngest team in the contest, they won a number of awards. You may see their movie with more background info here. (Be warned that it contains realistic shoot-em-up violence in the spirit of Westerns.)

By the way, at their request, they shot most of the movie at my place.

Calling Good Evil and Evil Good . . .

. . . and pro-abortion pro-life.

From The Episcopal Church, of course.

MSNBC Caught in Palin-Bashing Falsehood

It seems MSNBC is so busy bashing Palin they don’t bother to get their facts straight. And they’ve been caught.

Where is Obama’s Campaign Money Coming From?

That’s a very good question. For the sources of nearly half of Obama’s campaign donations don’t appear in Obama’s fundraising reports. (Yes, small donors don’t have to be reported. But did small donors give that much?) And a lot of Obama money is coming from overseas. Now, overseas U. S. citizens can contribute, but it’s illegal for foreigners to do so.

The FEC certainly has had some questions.

A Newsmax review of the Obama campaign finance filings found that the FEC had asked for the redesignation or refund of 53,828 donations, totaling just under $30 million.

I freely admit I don’t know if any election laws are being willfully violated. And in any campaign, honest mistakes will be made. But Obama’s campaign is not passing the smell test. More here.

Some Moderator

The moderator for Thursday night’s Veep debate is no moderate. She’s in the tank for Obama.

Will she be even-handed anyway? We’ll see, but I’m not holding my breath.

What Caused the Current Financial Crisis?

I don’t want to oversimplify the causes of the current financial mess. There is more than one cause and a lot of blame to spread around. For one thing, mandated mark-to-market accounting certainly has – and is – contributing. And allowing bond insurance to be separated from the underlying bonds (enabling people to do the financial equivalent of buying life insurance on their enemies) certainly has thrown fuel on the fire.

But probably the biggest problem is the great push, practically mandated by the federal government and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to make massive amounts of sub-prime mortgages. These were an accident waiting to happen – waiting for the next housing downturn. And, sure enough, the first significant housing downturn caused many of these sub-prime mortgages to fail.

Democrats are trying to blame Bush for this (Doesn’t he get the blame for everything?) and to blame McCain, too. But the facts are Bush tried to reform mortgage lending back in 2003 as reported by the New York Times(!). And in 2005, McCain co-sponsored housing finance reform with this prescient warning:

If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

If you want to go further back – and you should – here is one of the better explanations of the sources of the sub-prime mess I’ve come across. Pay particular attention to the following excerpt (I haven’t formatted the links. Those can be found at the above source.).
----
A home of your own. It’s part of the American dream. Work hard, save up for a down payment, pay your bills on time and, presto, you, too, can buy a home.

For decades the government has done things to help Americans to realize the dream, e.g., graciously allowing citizens to keep some of their own money to help pay for the interest on a mortgage (the official term for this is a “tax deduction,” but I prefer my locution since it emphasizes the fact that it is YOUR MONEY we are talking about).

But what about people who do not work hard (if they work at all)? What about people who have not saved up for a down payment? What about people who do not pay their bills on time (if they pay them at all)? Why shouldn’t they get to live the American dream?

That was the question that led to
”The Community Reinvestment Act” (see here for more).
* The original Community Reinvestment Act was signed into law in 1977 by Jimmy Carter. Its purpose, in a nutshell, was to require banks to provide credit to “under-served populations,” i.e., those with poor credit.
The buzz word was “affordable mortgages,” e.g., mortgages with low teaser-rates, which required the borrower to put no money down, which required the borrower to pay only the interest for a set number of years, etc.
* In 1995, Bill Clinton’s administration made various changes to the CRA, increasing “access to mortgage credit for inner city and distressed rural communities,” i.e., it provided for the securitization, i.e. public underwriting, of what everyone now calls “sub-prime mortgages.”

Bottom line? It forced banks to issue $1 trillion in sub-prime mortgages.

$1 trillion, i.e., a thousand billion dollars in sub-prime, i.e., risky, mortgages, in order to push this latest example of social engineering.

But wait: how did it force banks to do this? Easy. Introduce a federal requirement that banks make the loans or face penalties. As Howard Husock, writing in City Journal way back in 2000 observed: “Bank examiners would use federal home-loan data, broken down by neighborhood, income group, and race, to rate banks on performance. There would be no more A’s for effort. Only results—specific loans, specific levels of service—would count.” Way back in 1994, for example, Barack Obama sued Citibank on behalf of a client who charged that the bank “systematically denied mortgages to African-American applicants and others from minority neighborhoods.”
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And guess who else made big contributions to this mess? Among the villains are Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd, and – Surprise! Surprise! – Obama and his favorite community organizing group, ACORN.

Are there Republicans to blame for the current troubles? Oh yes. Did eeeevil Wall Street people contribute? Well, yes. What about predatory lenders? Well, I’d personally like to see some in prison.

But facts are facts. The big push behind the policies that led to the sub-prime mortgage mess came primarily from Democrats . . . though Democrats try to demagogue and distract from that and though the “Mainstream” News Media ignores it.

Bishop Iker: 10 Reasons Why Now Is the Time to Realign

Bishop Iker has written to his Diocese of Ft. Worth with “10 Reasons Why Now Is the Time to Realign.”

Some time back, I made a number of “No Safe Place” posts on why staying in the Episcopal Church is a very doubtful option for orthodox Anglicans. I think Bishop Iker’s letter merits reflection from all orthodox who still remain in TEC, particularly these points:

4. If we do not act now, we will lose our momentum and lose our God-given opportunity. Many laity and clergy who have been standing with the Diocese, as a beacon of hope, will give up and leave for other Anglican bodies. We will never be stronger than we are right now! We will never have another chance to act with such a strong majority. The Episcopal Church many of us were born into or became members of many years ago no longer exists! It has been replaced by a liberal, revisionist sect that does not deserve our allegiance or support any longer.

5. TEC is not turning back and matters will only get worse. General Convention is out of control and beyond reform. The Deputies seem to think that they can do whatever they want as long as they can muster a majority vote, even if what they propose is contrary to Holy Scripture. We will not accept majority votes of the General Convention that compromise the Christian ?faith. The more they change the teachings of the church, the less tolerant they are of dioceses such as ours. By the time I retire (in the next 7 to 13 years), this diocese will be unable to elect an orthodox bishop to succeed me.

6. TEC is coming after us, and they are the ones that brought on this crisis. In October 2006 the chancellor to the PB wrote a letter to our diocese demanding that we change our Constitution to remove the clause that says that we will not accept General Convention dictates that are contrary to the Bible and the apostolic teaching of the church. In addition, we were instructed to remove provisions stating that all church property in this diocese is held in trust for the use of our congregations and to state instead that our property ultimately belongs to TEC. If we don’t make such changes, the letter asserted that the Presiding Bishop would have to determine what actions she must take “in order to bring your diocese into compliance.”

7. At this time there is nothing in the Constitution or Canons of TEC that prevents a Diocese from leaving. Oh, I know that General Convention officials claim that dioceses cannot leave TEC, but you will not find that anywhere in the Constitution and Canons as they presently stand. So we have this window of opportunity to do what we need to do, for you can be sure that the next General Convention will close off this option by adopting amendments that will make it even more difficult to separate in the future.

In short, the Episcopal Church is very soon coming to the point, if it’s not already there, where it will not allow you to be an orthodox Anglican in peace.

Let me again say that I respect those orthodox who, out of conviction (and without undercutting those who leave TEC), feel they should stay in the Episcopal Church and contend for the faith within it. But I do think they are mistaken. There is a time for separation, and it is now.

More on Pelosi’s Failure (Sabotage?)

A number of sources indicate that while she was playing brazen partisan politics with the Treasury Asset Relief Plan, Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave many, maybe all, of her Democrats a free pass to vote how they please. While she was bashing Republicans, she did little to nothing to round up the necessary Democrat votes. Heck, that’s her job!

It truly makes me wonder if she sabotaged the bill in part to bash Republicans with it. Redstate thinks that is indeed to case. I don’t know. But to completely fail to do her job, then to bash Republicans for it is beyond inexcusable.

The Gateway Pundit is on this, particularly here.


MORE: Even one liberal agrees that it’s time for Pelosi to go.

The “Mainstream” News Media and Obama: “The Fix is in, and it’s working.”

The Instapundit has received a revealing e-mail from a major newsroom:

Off the record, every suspicion you have about MSM [i.e. the Mainstream News Media] being in the tank for O[bama] is true. We have a team of 4 people going thru dumpsters in Alaska and 4 in arizona. Not a single one looking into Acorn, Ayers or Freddiemae. Editor refuses to publish anything that would jeopardize election for O, and betting you dollars to donuts same is true at NYT, others. People cheer when CNN or NBC run another Palin-mocking but raising any reasonable inquiry into obama is derided or flat out ignored. The fix is in, and its working.

Pelosi Blows It. (UPDATED)

Nancy Pelosi should resign as Speaker of the House.

Today she utterly failed to lead in by far the most important matter of this Congress. It’s bad enough that she failed to get over 90 of her fellow Democrats to vote for the compromise Treasury plan. But then she just had to give that obnoxious partisan floor speech to ensure that any leaning Republican would say, “To Hell with it” and vote against the bill. Her behavior was beyond bizarre.

And then she dares to come out after her failure and babble about “bipartisanship.” What a two-faced [self-censored]!

There are plenty of fools on both sides of the aisle. But this woman has no shame. Her conduct makes me wonder if she tried to sabotage the bill. I fear the world economy just got sabotaged.

It will be an interesting night in the markets.

UPDATE: It’s come out that some of her most partisan remarks were ad lib departures from her prepared speech. She just couldn’t restrain herself!

What a fool.

Obama’s Missouri Legal Thugs Attack Free Speech

The truth doesn’t reflect well on Barack Obama. So, as I’ve mentioned, one of the ways he’s trying to suppress it is through attacks on free speech.

Well, he’s at it again, this time through legal goons in Missouri.

Kudos to the Governor of Missouri for calling out Obama on this.

Mark Steyn sums matters up well:

. . . this pattern is well established: The Obama campaign's response to uncongenial allegations is not to rebut them but to use its muscle to squash the authors. This is especially true when it comes to attempts to lift the curtain however briefly on the Senator's mysterious past.

More may be found here and here. This has really set the blogdom on fire. Funny, the “Mainstream” News Media isn’t saying much about it.

There's been enough backlash that at least one of the legal goons is now backpedalling:

As a citizen, I believe that elections should be about issues. I also have enormous respect for our First Amendment and freedom of speech. My sole purpose in participating in this initiative is about getting truthful information to the voters.

Yeah, right.

This has never been or never will be about prosecuting people.

Maybe. But it sure as Hell was about chilling the free speech of those who want to tell the truth about Obama.

I’ve noticed in my experience that the Leftist version of free speech is free speech for them, NOT for those less enlightened. This Leftist quality is all too evident in Barack Obama and his thugs.

Something else I’ve noticed. There is a cabal of Democrat lawyers in Missouri that has no problem using the courts to rig elections. For example, it seems every big Election Day, some Democrat judge uses long lines as an excuse to keep the polls open longer . . . only in Democrat areas of the state, of course. Here’s one sordid instance from 2000.

I fully expect Missouri Democrats to use one of their corrupt judges to pull this again on November 4th. You heard it here first.

ACORN’s (and Obama’s) Role in Creating the Current Mess

Here is an interesting article on the role ACORN, with Obama’s support, had in pushing banks to make the bad loans that help lead to the current financial mess.

A Visit to Smokey Matt’s

I’ve mentioned how much I love Smokey Matt’s in Dallas. A friend has now gotten to experience the joy of worshipping there and tells about it here.

Obama Lies Update . . . from the New York Times?!?

You know the untruths in Obama’s ads are over the top when even the New York Times takes them to task.

McCain Blinks on Debate.

CNBC reported just now that McCain has decided to debate tonight.

I’m disappointed.

Not One Effing Dime for ACORN! (UPDATED)

I support the Paulson Plan to deal with difficult financial instruments that are clogging up the financial markets. And some of the alterations proposed by Democrats are reasonable. (I bet you thought I’d never say something like that.) But two things have me livid.

One is the performance by Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid just now. He played brazen partisan politics with this at the worse time, blaming John McCain for the difficulties in getting something passed. What I said to the TV is not printable on this blog.

Meanwhile (#2), the Democrats are trying to use this to funnel more money to ACORN. Yes, the same radical corrupt “community organizing” group favored by Obama repeatedly caught engaging in vote fraud. And that may be the real deal killer.

Republicans and reasonable Democrats should demand support for ACORN and similar groups is stripped from this measure now!


UPDATE: Good news. One report says the ACORN slush fund has been removed. Let’s hope so.

McCain is Doing the Right Thing on Campaign Suspension (And Obama Isn’t).

I heartily agree with John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign and seek to delay Friday’s debate in order to focus on getting a good financial asset relief plan passed. He is still a Senator, and the best way he can demonstrate leadership is to focus on his Senate duties while by far the most important matter of this Congress is up in the air.

Obama is also a Senator, but he opposes delaying the debate and wants to go on with his perpetual campaign. I think that speaks volumes as to who is a man of substance and who is not.

Frankly, if the debate goes on Friday, I hope McCain refuses to show up.

By the way, McCain tried to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago. Obama? Well, he did take a lot of donations from those two agencies.

Is the Duncan “Deposition” Backfiring?

Ruth Gledhill seems to think the “deposition” of Bishop Duncan is backfiring. In wry language, she opines that PB Schori’s act has created a martyr and has given that much more impetus to a new North American province for the orthodox.

It has crossed my mind recently that Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is secretly one of the "orthodox". That can surely be the only reason that she has created a martyr who is now being venerated by evangelicals worldwide, and who is poised to become the sanctified leader of an orthodox movement that is demanding, and might well get, its own province.

It is amazing how evil does backfire.

Gledhill’s Times story on support for +Duncan and pressure to create a new province may be found here.

+Rowan remains silent on all this though he is certainly busy pushing the Millennium Development Goals, of course.

Frankly, I think Our Lady could appear to His Grace and demand a new orthodox North American province, and he would neither create nor recognize one.

He is too much in another lady’s pocket.