Big Manly Knives and Swords Sunday!

The New York Times had an article this morning about the pastor in Kentucky designating an "open carry Sunday." He has invited his congregation to bring their openly displayed handguns to church. If you don't want to register with the folks at NYT, you can also read about it here.

One of my local colleagues also took note of the event; Gary sent out the following suggestion, reprinted here with his permission:


Let's have our own Big Manly Knives and Some Swords Sunday. Just think of the cool PR. Guys could wear big hunting knives, fishing gutting knives, Bowie knives... and we could have a sword or two (probably old Knights of Columbus Stuff from RC grandfathers - maybe the Masons have some cool old swords).

This is actually cooler than guns because Big Manly Knives and Some Swords are in the Bible! We could use lectionary readings from Genesis where Abraham almost sacrifices Isaac with a Big Manly Knife! We could have a reading about Solomon getting ready to slice the baby in two with Some Sword! We could have a workshop afterward on matching the color of your knife sheath and scabbard to the liturgical colors of the season. Just think how that Big Manly Knife would look on Christmas with a white sheath and gold stitching and tassels!


We are not a sexist church so women need equal time. Of course not all women have Big Manly Knives let alone Some Swords. Rather than emphasize Judith and Holoferenes (clearly a Big Manly Knife was involved in his beheading) we could emphasize Jael and Sisera in which the latter was dispatched by the former with a Very Womanly Tent Peg. We could give away cute little tent peg necklaces and the like. Maybe we could have tent peg self defense classes!



Never a dull moment out here in Big Sky Country.

A Girl's Best Friend...

...just in time for General Convention!



Props to Bosco Peters.

Neighbors

From a ranch near Nye, MT:

It's also the third Sunday after Pentecost...

I'm fortunate that way.

Love you back, Daddy. Happy Father's Day.

Blasphemy

From today's New York Times:

Mr. León and his wife made the two-hour trip by train and subway to Corona to meet with one of the two pastors, Gregorio Gonzalez. He told them that all they had to do was to fill out a form and provide $8,000 each in cash and some personal identification documents, Mr. León recalled. The green cards would be ready in a month.

It seemed too good to be true. And it was, according to prosecutors in the Queens district attorney’s office.

Mr. León and his wife are among at least 120 illegal immigrants in the New York region, most of them Ecuadoreans, who the authorities say were defrauded out of a total of nearly $1 million by Mr. Gonzalez, 56, and two accomplices who were arrested in March and April. The authorities say it was one of the region’s largest cases of immigration fraud in recent years.

You can read the rest here (registration required).

To deliberately use the guise of Christ to abuse, defraud or harm others... I think this may be as close as it comes to the one thing scripture calls unforgivable: sin against the Holy Spirit.

Oh, the places you'll go!

My list today:

• Bank: Deposits and withdrawals, the usual.
  
• Library: Return regular and audio books.
• Ubiquitous Package Shipper: Send off the wedding present that has been sitting here waiting patiently for 2 weeks now.
• St. Alban's Chapel: Set up for the lovely and talented Fr. Jerry, who will be officiating in my absence this Sunday.
• Airport: Whisk back to Chicagoland for two Significant Occasions: my nephew's high school graduation and the Wedding of the Century.

Off we go, into the wild blue yonder!

Straight outta Compline