The Arrow's Path

One of the things that drove me batty about the seminary experience in the Anglican tradition and the clerical culture of Anglican priests in general is the penchant that many Anglican clergy have to give no offense to anyone about anything. We were taught not to offend anyone because we were constantly supposed to be “pastoral.” “Being Pastoral” is one of those nice sounding buzzwords that clergy like to throw around. I found that many parishioners likewise expected their clergy to “be pastoral” as well, though no one could seem to coherently define the term in any useful sense. If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know how well company, cultural, or churchy buzzwords and catch phrases sit with me: they cause an instant and immediate gag reflex. My mental processes go into what I call buzz-aphylactic shock like a reaction to a bad bee sting. I realize most buzz words are usually founded or coined for some productive purpose initially. A company or a church nee...

This is the first real three day weekend of my married life (excluding vacations.) What ever will I do?

One of the primary things that completely caused me to burn out as a clergyman at my last parish was the fact that I was never "off the clock." Even on weekends, I was never really "off the clock." Clergy never get weekends. They occasionally get a day off, but when one lives in a rectory right next to the church building, you either live where you work, or work where you live. In either case, people know where they can find you, and you cannot escape. Something always came up when normal people would be "off the clock," whether it was last minute obsessing about a sermon, or (more likely), a parishioner calling to want something done or fixed. They always expected it to be done right then and to their satisfaction. Occasionally, this was legitimate, if someone was in the hospital and needed the priest to come by or something like that. I was always more than happy to call on people in the hospital or do some sacramental function. I was a priest; that wa...

We (or rather I) have a custom in our house when our (my) daughter asks a extremely obvious question about someone like, "Who did that?" or "Who ate the cake?" Usually the answer is either my daughter herself or else someone else in the immediate household. To irritate my daughter, I will usually respond with, "Bobo!" or "Bobo did it!" I do not know who Bobo is, as it was just a silly name I picked at random one time, and the name just stuck as a one word answer to silly questions. I guess that is until this morning when I happened upon who Bobo is. It is my daughter's birthday this week, and I was randomly looking up saint days on the site Angels and Saints, which is a good resource. Apparently my daughter's birthday by sheer happenstance (or perhaps the Divine sense of humor) apparently shares a minor feast day with...you guessed it...Saint Bobo. No, I am not making this up. Read about St. Bobo here . He is apparently the patron...

"We must, each of us, be willing to sacrifice our own will, even at a heavy cost. There is no need to sacrifice one’s health or money or to undergo privations, penances, or extraordinary fasts. The sacrifice that is needed is the sacrifice of the will. Each of us must be equally prepared to preach or to cook, to teach or to sweep, to catechize or to pray, to supervise or to obey. Such an attitude shall obtain God’s blessing on us because then we shall be true, faithful disciples and servants. As Samuel said to Saul, “Does the Lord desire holocausts and victims and not rather that the Voice the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of rams.” We are therefore to hearken and generously follow our superior’s voice, for he represents God and the call of duty. Thus we shall achieve the purpose of our vocation, earn many merits, and save our own souls and those of others." -Don Bosco

Having been ordained clergy for so many years, I am in the middle of my first real weekend in years. Two consecutive days off...in a row...all in the same week. It's like a mini-vacation. Every week! I don't think most people who have never been clergy or have never been related to clergy really understand the sacrifices that most clergy make. They think the clergy person shows up on Sunday and preaches and whatever and the rest of the week they sit in their office with their feet up. Usually, giving up their Sunday is on top of 40 to 50+ hours spent in the regular week. By the same token, I don't think clergy realize how screwed up their life is on a weekly scheduling basis. They might get one day off on Monday or Friday. They might get Saturday off, though that is rare in its entirety. Certainly, they work weird evening hours on top of having to work regular office hours in the day. Be sure to take your Sabbath. It is important.

I am back in action on the blog, now that I am beginning my new life in a new town, with a new house, and a new job. We have decided to move back to Nebraska to be closer to family. So far, it has been a blessing. It was time for a change.

I have not been doing much blogging the last few weeks due to some personal and family reasons that I have not heretofore been ready to divulge. My wife and I have made the decision to move back to her hometown in Nebraska to be closer to her parents. We both feel it is time for a change. I would appreciate any prayers during this time of transition.

As an amateur civil war historian (my Master's thesis was largely on an aspect of the American civil war), I was curious to see how this Hollywood film was going to play out. I think this country has turned the romantic ideal of Lincoln into myth, and has not seriously engaged all his political maneuverings, idiosyncrasies, and suppression of constitutional rights that have been fairly well documented by historians. He did some great things, do not get me wrong, but he also had a dark side that most people don't want to talk about. Combined with that, modern American culture (Hollywood in particular) loves to denigrate and stereotype the South as redneck racists and whatnot. So, I was curious to see how fair and balanced historically this film would be. There have been many numerous historical critiques of this film. There are well documented reviews out there that some scenes of this film are sheer fiction. I won't go into that. You can read other reviews on that on y...

I have returned. What was initially a quick trip to Nebraska to visit the in-laws turned into a blizzard lay over as we couldn't get back to South Dakota due to the never ending April blizzard. Nothing like driving 6 hours to come home and have to shovel 1+ foot of heavy, wet snow to get the car in the garage.

Matthew 11: 21-24 ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?    No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.’ ------------------ Jesus brought the hammer down on these cities for failing to believe in him despite the works they witnessed him do. If you ever want to know what befell Chorazin, it is now a pile of rocks.Notice the dark rocks typical of the area north of the sea of Galilee:

The BBC posted this very interesting editorial  on the British class system. The title of the article is "An American View on the British Class System," though the article is himself British. How exactly the article came by this title, I have no idea. It seems to be based on some research done by various American newspapers, but the article seems to take that research seemingly applied to Americans and pastes it haphazardly onto the British social scene. I don't quite understand the methodology, but it is interesting nonetheless, particularly the Great British Class Calculator that is interactive. Americans have some historical fixation (one might say morbid curiosity) with the old British class system, which no doubt explains the popularity of TV shows like Downton Abbey and farther back in time  Upstairs, Downstairs . Having lived in Britain for a time, I have a unique perspective on the current state of the British Class system. Before I go into that, let me prefa...

I survived Easter, but then everyone came down with illness this week. We are slowly digging out. I hope to post more later.

This is the actual tomb, which is now an encased shrine.

This is actually walking into another of the tombs in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The actual tomb is now encased in a shrine, but this tomb you can walk into.

The lighting here was bad, so you may just have to listen. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre also houses the site where Jesus was crucified. It was all in a Roman quarry at the time...Calvary and the Tomb were on different sides of the quarry. The building is built around both sites.

Care to guess who owns the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? It's a commentary on Ecumenical relations...he's a Muslim because none of the Christians trust each other.

I deleted part 10 of these videos, as Ezra was on a tangent about Islam not related to the Stations.