Always be nice to a competent cook

...especially if you're married to her.

Or else.

Note to the Archbishop of Canterbury:

Yes, we really would like you to come visit.

Not only was there a unanimous resolution from our House of Bishops extending the invitation, but there are also apparently some additional incentives being developed.

Never underestimate Episcopal ingenuity.

Lorica

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

-att. St. Patrick (ca. 377)

Matthew, Mark, and . . . um, those other guys. . .

In the Episcopal Church, the Board of Examining Chaplains in each diocese is charged with evaluating candidates for ordination, and certifying that they are "proficient" in seven different areas required by canon. In this diocese, our bishop does not have his seminarians take the national General Ordination Exams, or GOE's. Instead, he has them take diocesan canonicals, administered by our local board. For reasons known only to God and my bishop, I was appointed a member of that group; one of the areas for which I have been given responsibility was examination in New Testament Scriptures.

Recently we have had occasion to examine someone preparing to graduate from seminary in June. As part of that process, we inquired: what sort of coursework had the seminary offered in biblical studies?

The answer, apparently, was, "not much." Biblical studies, it seems, consisted of preaching and teaching classes-- where scripture was referenced, but not studied in significant detail. For example...

• Some of the Wisdom books were read, but not the Psalms.
• OT prophets were touched upon... some of them, anyway. When they were written, or which communities they addressed, not so much.
• Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John were read, in part; but not Luke.
• Skimmed through some of the Epistles, sort of; any distinctions (Pauline or not) or themes were largely left unclear.
  
• Textual and some small amount of historical criticism were the only critical methods to which the student was exposed.
  

I'm sorry... but Whatthe#$%? What are they thinking? No Psalms?? Exilic vs. Post-Exilic distinctions don't matter?? HOW DO YOU SIMPLY SKIP A GOSPEL???

No, I am not making this up. And neither did the seminarian-- I checked the seminary's course catalog to be sure.

I am not naming the seminary, only because I do not care to get into the possibility of having this come back on the student in question. I will note clearly, however, that this is not my alma mater. Seabury has its faults, and as an alum I know them as well as anyone-- but I will state clearly that our education in the Holy Scriptures was solid, and any lacks in my knowledge base are due to my own inadequacies in memory or effort, and not in any way the fault of insufficient opportunity or lack of concern or challenge provided by superlative professors (thank you, AKMA and Frank!).

By the time I got done listening that afternoon, I was seething-- at the sort of school which would graduate a candidate for Holy Orders without offering the basic, foundational grounding in scriptural studies that any priest needs to serve the church in any capacity.

In the Episcopal Church an ordinand is required to certify that "I do believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, and contain all things necessary to salvation." With this sort of "preparation," how can one even be prepared to take those vows honestly? And if our clergy cannot find their way around the Word of God, how in heaven's name can we encourage others to do so?

Elections and consents

The big news flaming around the Anglican Communion this morning, of course, is the declaration as null and void of the election of the Rev. Mark Lawrence as the next bishop of South Carolina. Insofar as I can understand, this was a close thing: 56 diocesan standing committees (a majority) needed to give consent by the extended deadline, which was Monday. The diocese initially said that 57 appeared to have done so, a number having apparently changed their votes at the last minute. However, it seems that several standing committees had not followed the necessary canonical procedures, so only 50 were actually able to be recorded as consents.

I feel badly for all concerned-- and especially for Fr. Lawrence and his family, who have no doubt waited on tenderhooks while the process ground inexorably on. However, that is the way our church governs, and while painful, it is also appropriate. A bishop is a bishop for the larger church as well as his/her own diocese.

That said, I could wish that our diocesan standing committees had gotten their individual acts together. This is not a tricky process, people! From our National Canons:

Each Standing Committee, in not more than one hundred and twenty days after the sending by the electing body of the certificate of the election, shall respond by sending the Standing Committee of the Diocese for which the Bishop is elected either the testimonial of consent in the form set out in paragraph (b) of this Section or written notice of its refusal to give consent.

(b) Evidence of the consent of each Standing Committee shall be a testimonial in the following words, signed by a majority of all the members of the Committee:

We, being a majority of all the members of the Standing Committee of ______________, and having been duly convened at ______________, fully sensible how important it is that the Sacred Order and Office of a Bishop should not be unworthily conferred, and firmly persuaded that it is our duty to bear testimony on this solemn occasion without partiality, do, in the presence of Almighty God, testify that we know of no impediment on account of which the Reverend A.B. ought not to be ordained to that Holy Order. In witness whereof, we have
hereunto set our hands this _____ day of _________in the year of our Lord _________.
(Signed) _______________

In other words... have a meeting within 120 days (that's four months), sign the required consent form or a letter saying you refuse, and move on. The last minute politicking and arm twisting that I know went on is inappropriate. Likewise, not responding at all, as some apparently chose to do, is wholly unacceptable.

So if we must play the blame game, folks, I would suggest that starting with our Presiding Bishop is not appropriate here. She did not arbitrarily "decide" to declare the elections void; she is bound by canon to do so. Check to see how your own standing committee voted-- heck, make sure they even bothered!

Those who do not care for the results do have recourse. The Diocese of South Carolina will be holding another election, and they are certainly free to elect the same man again if they choose-- and if he cares to submit to the gauntlet again.

I will admit that, had I been a voting member, I would not have given my consent to this election. Put simply, what I had read of Fr. Lawrence (including such of his own writings as were available) led me to believe it was not inconceivable that he would consider trying to lead the diocese away from the larger church-- and we have enough "Lone Ranger" behavior, thank you, in both polar extremes of our church.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure... this would not be the first episcopal election to which I would have refused consent. The last was in 2006: the bishop of Northern California, a man twice divorced and three times married. I'm sorry... no. And by the same token (and though I have some friends who will find this hurtful), I do not believe I would have consented to the election of Bp. Robinson. Even if one is willing to consider the validity of same-sex relationships, one needs to acknowledge that he is living in a relationship not yet sanctioned by our collective theology, liturgy and canons. Electing him to the episcopate puts the cart before the horse.

That's what it boils down to. We have not done what we need to in the way of prayer and study and theology and teaching and listening and learning that still desperately needs to be done-- and obdurate, polarizing behavior on both sides of the issue is not the least helpful.

Interested in other news and views? Check out the listing of articles at Episcope, or Reverend Ref, or Tobias Haller.

Okay, I'm done.

This is my personal blog, where I have for the past four-plus years posted musings both trivial and weighty, as the mood strikes me. It is not intended to be anything beyond that. Friends, family, and random passers by are welcome to read it or not, and comment or not, as they choose.

However, I will not tolerate vulgar, rude, or otherwise inappropriate commentary.

Yesterday's post, as you will notice, was an innocent piece of frivolity, nothing more. And yet, some vindictive soul (our old friend, "anonymous") chose to post a couple of comments that were ugly and sarcastic, and wholly inappropriate. Apparently the existence of a blog maintained by a moderate, female Episcopal priest is justification enough for vulgar attack.

I have deleted them, of course. People are not permitted to talk that way in our home, and that includes this little electronic annex.

I have also, after avoiding it for months, turned on the comment moderation. If you still wish to post a comment, please do. You are even still welcome to disagree with things you read here, if you feel inclined to do so. After all, it is in the tension of such that we all learn the most. However, if you cannot do so in a civil manner, then do not bother, because I will hit the delete key and not blink twice.

Please-- play nicely.

I don't know as I'd go that far. . .

...but since I'm supposed to be an examining chaplain for our diocese, I'd sure be embarrassed if I'd blown this one.

You know the Bible 100%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
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Props to the Angry Dwarf for this one.