Treasures and Trash

One man's trash is another man's treasure.  I was reminded of that while cleaning out lately.  I ran across the program for the ECVA Visual Preludes and realized what a treasure of a memory this is.  I guess that's why I still have sketches I made when I was a kid.  When downsizing to move to a cottage I pitched expensive furniture and china.  But I kept my treasures.

My work is the icon of Mary Magdalene at the bottom left and the fire mandala in the middle left.  All work can be seen in the ECVA archives linked above.

Wielding A Sword For ECUSA

Concerning the possibility of the Episcopal Church sanctioning same-sex union ceremonies,  The Dallas Voice reports that Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori spoke optimistically about the possibility: 

"'I don’t think it’s going to happen this year,' Jefferts Schori said, adding that the national church’s General Convention undoubtedly will revisit the issue when it meets again in 2009. 'I think it certainly will happen in our lifetimes.'”

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It's hard being an Episcopalian in pockets of the deep South.  It's hard to be an Episcopalian anywhere thinking is discouraged.

This week my local Episcopal Church began a study of  Ray Vander Lann's Faith Lessons produced for the James Dobson Ministries.  It is a program that carries the viewer along on a tour of the holy land, referring to the Old Testament and deriving lessons of faith from the experience.  What most horrifies me about the study is the fundamentalist call to intolerance, the political call to take control of culture and the battle cry to get sinners (as defined by the Old Testament) under control least we all end up being punished for their sins.  This is Fallwellism repackaged. 

Examples of Fallwell der Lann teachings:

"God abhors abominations. An abomination was anything associated with the worship of other gods, or any behavior that distorted the standard of living God intended for humans.  Leviticus 18 included a list of improper behaviors such as adultery and homosexuality. As God demonstrated by sending the Flood and the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, he will punish those who practice these unlawful behaviors." [note:  a couple having sex during the time of a woman's period is one of the Levitical abominations Vander Lann forgot to mention here] 

and

"When we look at the history of Lachish, we realize how important this calling is: If we do not persuade our culture to obey the standards found in God's Word, God may send earthly judgment on the entire culture—not just those who persist in doing wrong."

and

"But imagine what would happen if every Christian became a shephelah person remaining faithful to God while actively confronting the evil around us. With God's blessing, we could effectively transform the world."

and 

"Law, education, music, politics, the Internet these are just a few of today's irons.  If Christians will seize these tools and combine them with their unique God-given gifts, there's no telling what kind of mark we can make on our world.

What kind of iron will you take hold of?"

and

"The battles are numerous. Pornography, injustice, abortion, and greed—these are just a few of the evils that we must defeat. These evils are deeply entrenched in our culture, making them difficult battles for Christians to fight."

It is most interesting that Vander Lann admits that " Jesus did not confront sin in the same way, but he challenged it nonetheless by sacrificing himself for others."  Yet the ultimate conclusion he draws is not that we should follow Jesus' lead, rather we should recognize that "God's standards for sin never change, he is just as angered by abominations today as he was during biblical times." 

I'm no Bible scholar, but I do wonder a few things.  Firstly, how does Vander Lann know what God feels?  Secondly, I do know that Christ did not mention abortion or homosexuality as sin.  A thinking person has to wonder if fulfillent of the law through the New Covenant did, in fact, change God's standards for sin.  I know that under the New Covenant  substance replaced form and Jesus taught that there is nothing that enters a person from the outside which defiles; rather things that come from the inside are what defiles a person (Mark 7).  And as for Christian politics, I think that there can be no doubt that Jesus taught us to seek the kingdom of heaven rather than take over the next election.

I joined the Episcopal Church because it is a church that does not teach its members to judge other people or get them under control by condemnation. It is the only church I know that teaches the love and tolerance of Christ, and it has traditionally taught members to think.  It recognizes that culture today is not culture of ancient Israel, and the Jewish Levitical code cannot be our standard for morality.  When I was confirmed I was pretty sure that no one would require me to wield the sword of the Spirit, so to speak. 

What to do?  Not much.  I will say what I think, and I will not financially support my local church as long as it engages in fundamentalist teachings; instead I will give my money to ECUSA.  I think that these are legitimate swords to wield in a free society.

Christ Victorious

From the altar of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Birmingham, Alabama.  Thanks once again to "The Anonymous Photographer". 

Peace on Earth, Good Will To Men...and Women

Here's some more Peace on Earth, Good Will for you.  The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Fort Worth is bent out of shape over the Christmas card sent by our Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to the bishops of the Episcopal Church, including Fort Worth's Bishop Iker.  In fact, they got so upset about Janet McKenzie's image of three wise women, they had to do something with all that upsetness.  So they spread the good cheer with their clergy and delegates as follows:

 To the Clergy and 2007 Convention Delegates,

The members of your Standing Committee thought you should be aware of this.

The Presiding Bishop has done something which defies explanation. This is the Christmas card she sent to Bishop Iker and presumably other TEC bishops. Given the increasing polarization in TEC (and the Anglican Communion) today, the only reason we can see for her to make this choice is that she is only interested in pushing the polarization just that much further.

The Presiding Bishop is an intelligent woman, so this reinterpretation of Scripture to exclude masculine images must be intentional. This card illustrates in many ways the core problem of the General Convention Church. Scripture cannot be made to conform to us, we must conform our lives and our faith to Scripture. We will continue to stand for the traditional expression of the Faith.

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth

Commentary on this silliness can be seen at Lisa Fox's blog entry Fort Worth Outraged at My Manner of Life which provides links to some other very entertaining articles.  Be sure to check out  Danger! Wise Women Ahead! by Andrew Gerns at Andrew Plus and Katie Sherrod's hilarious joke Can't Even Swim at Desert's Child.

Shocking as it may be, Fort Worth is a diocese that does not ordain women.  It would appear that the image of a female magi sent by the female head of the Episcopal Church drove these guys into a tizzy.  You have to give it to Bishop Jefferts Schori.  She has spunk.  So does the thought provoking image of the artist lost in this frenzy.    

Bumper Talk

I don't usually get into vanity tags or bumper stickers because I figure most people on the road don't really care who I am or what I would rather be doing.  This one, however, is too good to pass up.  I would imagine that it will not be very popular at my small town Roman-Baptist Episcopal church (that would be an Episcopal church where the national Episcopal Church is not really honored or, for that matter, recognized as existing; rather a quasi-fundamentalist attitude rears its head occasionally discouraging diversity and encouraging leaving your brain at the door under the quise of orthodoxy). 

Alas, I am proud to be a disobedient Episcopalian.

Transparency

It is nice to see situations where people own their words and take responsibility for the seeds they sow.  I was very impressed this week with a post on this topic by my virtual priest, Fr. Jake, of Father Jake Stops the World blog.  Taking a prompt from Episcopal Cafe's policy of asking folks to post in their real names, Fr. Jake decided to reveal his identity and provide some background information on himself.  See his article on Transparency on his blog.  It is nice to know more about one of my favorite priests.