So, the big visit today was a success. All the pictures are on a Flickr set here. We did go out into the neighborhood around St Nicholas to distribute shopping bags for a toy drive, and Bp. Scantlebury was a good sport about going door-to-door. We even had a couple of reporters there taking pictures for local papers. This picture shows the baptistry of St Nick’s, with their fancy running-water font. Originally, this was an altar that was cut down and refashioned, and the worship space is completely flexible. Today, for example, all the chairs had been re-arranged to face…
-
-
The Sit-In at the Altar: No ‘I Do’ Till Gays Can Do It, Too – New York Times Whether it makes sense or not, some heterosexual couples, mostly in their in 20s and 30s, are protesting the inability of gay and lesbian couples to marry by putting off their own marriage. Unless wedded bliss is available to everyone, in every state, they say, they want no part of it.
-
Episcopal Diocese Votes to Secede From Church – New York Times One interesting clause in their amendment supposedly erases borders so they could absorb disaffected parishes from more liberal dioceses. That cuts both ways, my brothers and sisters.
-
The Swamp – Chicago Tribune – Blogs. This is the text of the Democratic Party's radio address (audio link here): "I’m Jim Wallis, author of God’s Politics. I was surprised and grateful when Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called to say his party wanted to set a new tone and invite, for the first time, a non-partisan religious leader to deliver their weekly radio address and speak about the values that could unite Americans at this critical time. "So, I want to be clear that I am not speaking for the Democratic Party, but as a person of faith who…
-
One Utah » Blog Archive » I Forgot to Eat Ice Cream: Thoughts on Community In the course of the post, I ran across a mention of a book I read about a year ago, when I was trying to figure out what people were looking for when they were thinking of joining any kind of social group. Bowling Alone, by Robert D. Putnam I needed the reminder. I've been meaning to mention this book to Steve, our vicar at church… which at least for the moment will be known as St Nicholas with the Holy Innocents, but it will…
-
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington has theirs online.
-
I just received a bulletin in the mail for Holy Moly and St Nicholas – it’s the Advent newsletter, which is traditionally mailed out just before the beginning of the season by someone at St Nick’s. Something caught my eye, and I went looking for a definition. At the outset, we are going to seek to develop two strong liturgies — a more mainstream one i n the tradition of Holy Innocents and a more inculturated one using the platform of the current St Nicholas liturgy. Which of course, confuses me – there is no such word. Yet, the word…
-
I just received a bulletin in the mail for Holy Moly and St Nicholas – it’s the Advent newsletter, which is traditionally mailed out just before the beginning of the season by someone at St Nick’s. Something caught my eye, and I went looking for a definition. At the outset, we are going to seek to develop two strong liturgies — a more mainstream one i n the tradition of Holy Innocents and a more inculturated one using the platform of the current St Nicholas liturgy. Which of course, confuses me – there is no such word. Yet, the word…
-
Posted by a commenter at Father Jake Stops the World I've lost track over the years of the citation, but there was a book published in the last generation that reviewed growing congregations across denominational lines (including Episcopal churches). That study found five factors as important: 1) good preaching; 2) good music; 3) good adult Christian education; 4) opportunities for hands-on service ministries; and 5) small group interactions. (Interesting, considering the attention it has always gotten, that Christian education of children wasn't afactor.) As a frequent supply priest over the years, I've been really surprised and saddened at the…
-
Posted by a commenter at Father Jake Stops the World I've lost track over the years of the citation, but there was a book published in the last generation that reviewed growing congregations across denominational lines (including Episcopal churches). That study found five factors as important: 1) good preaching; 2) good music; 3) good adult Christian education; 4) opportunities for hands-on service ministries; and 5) small group interactions. (Interesting, considering the attention it has always gotten, that Christian education of children wasn't afactor.) As a frequent supply priest over the years, I've been really surprised and saddened at the…