My, how times have changed

Once upon a time, one of my cousins was a gifted athlete who loved doing anything sports-related. She caused a real stir at her small country high school because she wanted to play basketball-- and since there was no girl's basketball team at her school, she had to be allowed (under what were then fairly new Title IX regulations) to try out for the boy's team. She was good enough to make the team (translation: way too good for the coach to have any legitimate reason at all to cut her). As you might imagine, it resulted in a generous share of community commentary and a fair amount of really sappy local press coverage.

I was put in mind of this because of an article in today's paper:

TEN SLEEP - They play sick, they play tired, they play hurt, they play no matter what.

They play because they have to. And they accomplished something the Ten Sleep Lady Pioneers haven't done since 1988.

The "Ten Sleep Five," consisting of Rissa Berger, Shelley Gerstner, Sarah Taylor, Aimee Able and Anja Reinecke, a German exchange student who before this season had never played the game of basketball, have been playing every minute of every game this season, which will culminate at the State 1A girls basketball tournament this weekend in Casper.

This will be the first trip to the state tournament for the Ten Sleep girls in 20 years.

Over and above the incredible grit they demonstrate, one of the remarkable things about this article (at least from my perspective) is the unstated assumption that these young women should be rightly recognized simply and solely as athletes who have gotten where they are by giving it everything they've got. Period.

Congratulations, Pioneers. Keep on keepin' on.

Anniversary Waltz

A bit belated, really. It was actually five years ago Friday that I put up my first post on this blog.

By comparison to many, mine is a tiny corner of the blogiverse. Though he started a few months later, I'm a few entries short of the 1000 that Rev. Ref noted last on his blog last week (I've posted much less frequently since I took this call-- four churches will do that to you!). Nor am I anywhere close to the numbers and readers that some other beloved friends can claim. However, what I once termed an "insidious form of online coffee klatsch" has enriched my life and widened my world in ways I could never have imagined. I'm glad I decided to call this bit of cyberspace home.

Thanks, folks.

"Goin' to the chapel, and they're gonna get ma-a-a-ried"

AKMA's already posted this, so I guess it's fair game!

When I went to seminary, I met a boatload of new people, some of whom became very important to me-- my Seabury family, bound by ties that bind indeed. Among those was a sweet, delightfully geeky young man with a wonderful sense of humor and a penchant for loading a wide variety of sometimes inappropriate music on my (then) brand new iBook.

This weekend, my auxiliary son became engaged to an equally sweet, equally delightful young woman, and I couldn't be more thrilled for the both of them.

Congratulations, Si and Laura!

My place in the patriarchy?

You’re Origen! You do nothing by half-measures. If you’re going to read the Bible, you want to read it in the original languages. If you’re going to teach, you’re going to reach as many souls as possible, through a proliferation of lectures and books. If you’re a guy and you’re going to fight for purity … well, you’d better hide the kitchen shears. Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

My dad calls me "Father Daughter," but I don't think this is what he means.

(Props to the Crimson Rambler for this one)

Sigh...

This came out today. The heart of the message includes:

February 20, 2008

To: Students, Faculty, and Staff of Seabury.

The Board of Trustees of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary spent two days at its regular February meeting in discussion of the immediate opportunities and challenges before the seminary...

Like many other Episcopal Church institutions, over the past two decades Seabury has both confronted and thought hard about how it can adapt to the challenges and opportunities of the present moment. We have come to the realization that we cannot continue to operate as we have in the past and that there is both loss and good news in that...

After consultation with the faculty, students, and staff, the Planning Committee met on Tuesday, February 19, 2008. The Planning Committee asked the board’s Executive Committee to clarify its understanding of the long-range educational mission of Seabury, and it proposed two resolutions which the Executive Committee passed in the following form on Wednesday, February 20, 2008:

The Executive Committee affirms that Seabury will no longer offer the M.Div. as a freestanding 3-year residential program. This does not preclude offering the M.Div. in other formats.

The Executive Committee accepts the 3 following recommendations of the Planning Committee:

1. That Seabury will immediately suspend recruitment and admissions to all degree and certificate programs in this time of discernment.
2. That Seabury will enable all current D.Min. students to complete their programs.
3. That Seabury will assist all current M.Div., MTS, MA, and certificate students to find alternative arrangements for the completion of their programs as may be required.

The Planning Committee will continue its schedule of weekly meetings so that it can produce a financial and programmatic plan in time for a special board meeting to be called in April. In the meantime, Seabury’s administration is at work talking with potential partner institutions both to enable the school to move forward in the future and to enable all those affected by these decisions to make the transitions they may be required to make as plans emerge.

Not entirely a surprise, and yet it is. I'm still absorbing, I guess. And wondering. And sad.

(Yes, AKMA. I'm praying. For all those involved.)

Never a dull moment

Most Tuesday mornings in one of my small towns, there is a small group of women who gather for breakfast and prayer at the local cafe. They are an ecumenical group-- a couple of Episcopalians, a couple of Lutherans, an occasional Roman Catholic. I join them most weeks, and really enjoy their company. When I'm there, I'm the youngest person present by many years-- decades, really.

One of the ladies has had a rough several months, healthwise. "Mabel" first had a bad fall, slipping on the ice and breaking both wrists. She required surgery, spent several days in the hospital, and then had some extensive therapy. Not long after, she was hospitalized for some pulmonary issues that resulted in her being permanently on oxygen. Now she is quite recovered and (with the eager support of lots of small-town neighbors) back in her home. This was an impressive bit of healing, but not so surprising as you might think. Mabel is a feisty, determined woman.

How feisty?

Today she was telling us of her first visit to an orthopedist after her release from the hospital. "He was mean," she said firmly (she says everything firmly). "He hurt me when he examined me, and when I told him, he didn't care." Her speech was accented by the soft sounds of her portable oxygen pump, which did nothing to minimize her emphatic indignation.

So at her next checkup, she told her regular doctor to find her a new specialist. "I will not go back to him, and you can't make me-- so don't even think of trying."

The regular doc complied, of course, but expressed surprise, and wondered what the other guy's problem was.

"I told him I bet I knew," she said, in a voice that carried across the cafe. "I bet he wanted sex that morning, and his wife said no-- so he took it out on me."

Tempest in a teapot

Yesterday I got an email from my father that was a bit different than the daily dose of internet humor that usually comes from his direction.

Hi Jane,
Update me. Has the Archbishop lost it? Here in AZ the news has him wanting the English to change their government to the Koran?

Love you, Dad

*********************************

Dear Dad,

The short answer is No-- so far as I can tell, the Archbishop has not lost his mind, though I can see where you'd think so, given the reporting. As far as I can determine, the tempest has arisen from critics taking ++Rowan's words out of context, misunderstanding what he said, and putting on a spin that was not intended.

Now, for the long answer...

It first helps to understand that Sharia (Muslim law) is not wholly equivalent to civil law, even in Islamic countries. In some ways, it moves beyond "law," as it extends into the whole of an observant Muslim's life, religious, social, private as well as public-- not unlike the way that Torah and Talmud will govern the life of a practicing Orthodox Jew. In other ways, it is less than "law," because a good portion of it would not be applied to a non-Muslim, even in an Islamic country which bases its government on Sharia. Likewise, I am told there are provisions which do not apply to a Muslim traveling outside an Islamic country. You can read more about it here, or here, or here.

So... Abp. Williams gave a lecture and an interview where he spoke about the increasing Muslim population in Britain, and about similarities and conflicts between current British civil law and the religious laws followed by practicing Muslims. In reading the transcripts, I do not see anywhere that he made proposals for shifting British law to Sharia in either the lecture or the interview; and he certainly did not call for the substitution for any portion of British civil law.

As to the lecture, the Anglican Communion News Service offers a summary that is as clear as anything I could write:

In his lecture, the Archbishop sought carefully to explore the limits of a unitary and secular legal system in the presence of an increasingly plural (including religiously plural) society and to see how such a unitary system might be able to accommodate religious claims. Behind this is the underlying principle that Christians cannot claim exceptions from a secular unitary system on religious grounds (for instance in situations where Christian doctors might not be compelled to perform abortions), if they are not willing to consider how a unitary system can accommodate other religious consciences. In doing so the Archbishop was not suggesting the introduction of parallel legal jurisdictions, but exploring ways in which reasonable accommodation might be made within existing arrangements for religious conscience.

In the interview, Abp. Williams did observe to the reporter that “as a matter of fact, certain provisions of Sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law.” He also agreed when the reporter asked if “the application of Sharia in certain circumstances - if we want to achieve this cohesion and take seriously peoples’ religion - seems unavoidable?"

In other words, it seems to me that he was exploring ways that British civil law already allows for some religious exceptions and special provisions (notably for Orthodox Jews), and suggesting there could be a legitimate expectation that similar provisions for Muslims might also be made-- with consideration of Sharia (especially learning where it already dovetails with current British law) as a starting place for understanding what might be appropriate.

This would not make the Qur'an the basis for the law of the land, not even close-- except perhaps in the eyes of some folks looking to stir things up.

Now... aren't you glad you asked?

Love,
Jane

And in other news...

Another soul has succumbed to the siren song of the blogiverse. Fr. John is a friend and colleague, with a great sense of humor underlying that Anglo-catholic heart. One of the good things about moving to Montana has been getting to know him.

Stop by and say hello!

Ash Wednesday

Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,
Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

*from the Book of Common Prayer.

Games people play

The Super Bowl is not the only game being played tomorrow, it seems...

U.S. Airman 1st Class Chadwyck S. McDaniel, an engineer serving in Iraq, has won a brief reprieve from the war zone: an all-expense-paid trip to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale and a reunion with his family.

McDaniel, 23, who hails from Oldsmar, Fla., was randomly selected from thousands of servicemen and -women stationed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, about 100 miles northwest of Baghdad.

Read the rest here.

I don't begrudge the young man a trip home, certainly. And I'm sure the folks who put this together had some good intentions. It will be a wonderful day for him, and and a gift for his loved ones to treasure.

The drawing, created by Phoenix non-profit Packages From Home, is unprecedented in that the military rarely allows troops to return home during their tours of duty...

Just one serviceman from Iraq will get the chance to watch the Super Bowl in person, but his attendance symbolizes the nation's gratitude for those serving in theaters of war...

Symbolic gratitude. Perhaps that's why this brings out the cynical sour grapes in me. Because somehow, this seems to me to be more of a case of looking like we're caring for those who are in harm's way, than actually doing so.

Cranky ol' pastor...

Goodness...

I'm sure that this was a powerful, holy moment for all involved; but they are not going for the understated look, are they?