Because all the cool kids are doing it...

The End-of-Year meme-- the first line from the first post of each month of 2007.

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January: Duct tape: As soon as I find it, here are a couple of candidates for its application.

February: Well... this is interesting...

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

April: Things we never covered in seminary: Completing parochial reports for the national church, which ask for membership figures not noted in any record book, anywhere ("Oh! Is that what those blank pages were for?"); covering more than $1000 in monthly parish expenses with a checking account balance of $92.00; calling on a shut-in while simultaneously fending off the advances of an overserved family member; and calming fears which arise over a parishioner finding a lump in a breast-- by suddenly remembering the presence of a pacemaker.

May: In honor of the joys of springtime... a little youthful versification to warm the cockles of your heart (clicking on the photo will make it larger and easier to read).

June: Today is Seabury's graduation day!

July: One of the right things about the experiment that is American Democracy is that I can post to this blog without fear of retribution.

August: In one sense, I suppose our recent vacation (Parts one, two, three and four) could be termed a sort of pilgrimage-- intentional "getting to know you" time, in this part of the country that was wholly new to us until last year.

September: That was the theme this morning.

October: The officer on the right is a seminary classmate and dear friend.

November: The Lead has a word of correction to offer, today.

December: Please pay particular attention to the young man on the far right.

We loves hobbitses, we does...

You're The Hobbit!
by J.R.R. Tolkien

All you wanted was a nice cup of tea when some haggard crazy old man came into your life and told you it was time to do something with yourself. Now you're all conflicted about whether to stick with your stay-at-home lifestyle or follow this crazy person into the wild. While you're very short and a little furry, you seem to be surrounded by an even greater quantity of short folks lately. Try not to lose your ring, but keep its value in perspective!

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Cody, Wyoming

We didn't make it back to the midwest this holiday season-- travel costs are too high this year,

and work & school schedules made timing difficult (this is the thing people forget about clergy-- our time off is wholly different than most foks). So, we took a short family vacation the last few days, and went down to Cody.

The picture you see here was the view from our hotel room, on the outskirts of town (If you click on it, you can see more photos in the set).

We checked in Thursday, then spent a couple hours at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. It's a cluster of museums (5 of them, actually!), and was very nice-- much smaller, of course, but I thought it (they) compared favorably with anything I visited back in Chicago. The tickets are valid for two days, which was good, because there really is too much to see in just one.

We also stopped by the local Episcopal church, but we didn't get to see the inside-- the buildings (both of them-- the original church is still on the property, alongside the current larger building) were locked up tight, both days we were there. I assume that everyone was off for the holiday week, just as we were.

On Friday we went back to the museum complex, and saw a lot more of it, though still didn't quite finish. We'll have to go back some time; we really enjoyed it.

We also made a short stop at a little yarn shop I spotted, where I bought some sock yarn to play with. It was a cute little shop, but the woman working that day was rather less than helpful; I can't say as I'd be in a hurry to return there.

Then we finished Friday night by catching a movie (Alvin and The Chipmunks-- utterly silly), at the old theatre in town.

Then we spent a lazy Saturday morning sleeping in. Even I slept late-- didn't get up until 7:30! The rest of the tribe stirred eventually, then we got packed up and went out for brunch before heading back home. A short little getaway, and we were glad to have it.

Reality distortion fields

I've been away for a few days (post about that to come!), and pleasantly out of touch. Then I came back to the blogiverse, and found that, not surprisingly, the dustup has continued in California. The short summary-- a vicar in Atwater, CA was visited by Bp. Schofield (formerly bishop of that church, in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, and now by his own actions canonically resident in the province of the Southern Cone). Ugly exchanges occurred. Then, on Christmas Day, the bishop sent a brief missive to the parish dismissing the priest and instructing the leadership to change the locks, etc. You can find the details here, or here, or here. Or lots of other places, for that matter.

But I'm finding it remarkable that, as of this writing four days later, you won't find any details here, or here. Two of the largest "conservative" blog sites, who are usually very quick to jump on the very latest goings on-- and not a mention, not a breath, not a word.

And it's not as though they haven't been made aware. Or that comments haven't been posted to them, mentioning it. But any comment or question about the incident has been deleted from these blogs, almost as soon as it goes up-- erased as though it never existed. I know, as I wrote one of them.

Anyone who has visited here with any regularity, knows the rules under which I operate my blog-- the basic expectations of civility that exist in this corner of the cyber playground. No vulgarity, no personal attacks, no sarcastic nastiness... If you want to play that way, there are other places to do it; but as Fr. Jake says, if you behave in such a way that I would show you to the door in my home, that is what will happen here as well. It's the reason I use comment moderation-- I got tired of coming back to my blog to find that someone had been spewing ugly in my absence (rather like returning home to find the dog has left a calling card on the living room rug). Disagreement is permitted, of course; but insults are not. You must play nicely.

Of course, that means I try to maintain those same standards when I visit other places. If I don't like it, I shouldn't do it, right? Treat others as I would be treated, etc. So I was very concerned that my post over at SF be nothing less than polite and respectful. Goodness, if anything I was treading especially carefully, knowing that it was likely to be touchy turf. I finally ended by simply asking a question.

My total comment (on a blog post asking for Outrageous Stories in 2007): "What about the actions of Bishop Schofield at St. Nicholas, Atwater?"

And I was deleted. Quickly-- less than half an hour later, it was gone. Erased, like some errant troll. And worse, I don't even have a copy to share with you as proof, as I didn't expect to get zapped for a simple question.

The good news is, I seem to be in good company. I'm not alone in having polite questions or comments shoved under the rug.

Even Mark got into the act (and, being forewarned, I did make a copy of this one):

I find it odd that a bishop who decides to leave the Episcopal Church (and I’m not condemning or approving, that was his decision), then tries to continues to influence Episcopal missions. It seems at least a little outrageous to say that he’s left, but then continue to try to exercise authority within the church he’s just left, doesn’t it?

Again, not defending him or condemning him… It just seems like he’s not “standing firm,” but trying to have it both ways.

[85] Posted by ChaplainJ on 12-28-2007 at 11:23 PM

But the elves have been vigilant, clearing out that as well-- and later, even banning one commenter.

Apparently Standing Firm means not allowing questions, and pretending unpleasant realities do not exist. If that's the case, I'll lean the other way. I do not care to be assimilated by the Thought Police.

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Update: The folks at T19 have posted a link to an article in the local paper covering the incident. Glad to see the acknowledgment; thank you, Kendall Harmon.

From SF? Naught but the following:

We’re on a no-warning, immediate ban policy regarding this issue, as we have clearly and repeatedly explained the policy, and as revisionists have repeatedly and deliberately violated this policy by using our blog-space to attempt to promote whatever various humdrum stories they are touting.

What a silly, sad, pathetic way to behave.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning, with kids and laughter and some presents and way too many cookies and just the right amount of silliness... blessings abound at Chez Hoosier.


And now, dinner's in the oven, and I'm off to watch a movie with the tribe. May you all see God's abundance surrounding you this day as well!

Dateline, San Joaquin: Atwater vicar asks bishop to clarify planned visit

Someday, I want to meet this priest:

The vicar of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Atwater, California, in the Diocese of San Joaquin has written to Bishop John-David Schofield questioning his plan to visit the congregation December 23 and asking for clarification about his status as a bishop in the Episcopal Church...

"We would like you to state to us your pastoral and canonical relationship with St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, and myself," Risard wrote in his letter. "You publicly stated at our diocesan convention that you no longer are the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, and instead you are a Bishop within the Province of the Southern Cone. As such, we understand your visit is simply to worship with us; there will be no liturgical role for you, neither celebrating nor preaching. The Episcopal Church welcomes all, and you are most welcome to worship, with the purpose of seeking transformation and reconciliation."

Win an MRI for the Hi-Line

I read the following this morning, and I thought to pass it along. You don't have to live in Montana to help... and an extra click or two would be much appreciated.

Received an e-mail with information about how you - yes, YOU - can help Liberty County Medical Center win a brand-new MRI machine to serve their patients! Chester is a small community along the Montana Hi-Line, and is more than a hundred miles away from the nearest MRI. It serves a huge geographic region, covering north-central Montana and southern Alberta. Liberty is the ONLY facility in Montana to have made it to the “final round” of voting. Right now, it is ranked #15 (out of more 100 finalists!), and has an uphill battle against other, larger facilities - but if we can get hundreds of Montanans to visit Win An MRI and cast their vote for Liberty and Chester, we just might do it! You have to watch a brief (2-min) video and then you can click the “Vote” button, and then enter a five-digit code to validate your vote. And here’s the best part: you can vote once each day until the contest closes on December 31.

So please - visit Win An MRI and cast your vote for Liberty, Chester, and Montana - do it again tomorrow and the next day and the next day - and forward this to all of your Montana family and friends!

Big Sky Map

This morning, I received a link to the following in my email:



It's a fair attempt... but not really accurate. "Militia groups" need to be further north, and the "pseudo-cowboys" are more south and east-- they tend to cluster over near Bozeman these days.

Desperate Measures: I Can See Clearly

Please pay particular attention to the young man on the far right. We are related only by mutual love and affection, and a goodly number of late night conversations; but I could not be prouder of him if he were my own.