The Arrow's Path

I felt like it was time to post a random picture. I took this picture while I was scuba diving off Cape Town about 4 to 5 years ago. Cute, ain't he? 

Here is my review of the book: On Job: God Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent by Gustavo Gutierrez I. Summary of Basic Argument Gustavo Gutierrez, renowned for being in essence the father of liberation theology and a native and advocate of the poor in Latin America especially Peru, writes a basic treatise on the book of Job which is insightful and yet does not manage to use Job as a soapbox for any largely political aims or agenda, save for a scant few pages at the very end of the book. Largely, the critique of Job is one of a positive nature, much unlike many commentaries I read in doing research for the Job paper due earlier in the quarter. A majority of the commentary and argument of the book focuses not so much expounding on the meanings of the reply God gives from the whirlwind. A majority of it sets up interesting definitions of the theologies espoused by the various characters in the book of Job, mainly including Job's wife, Job's friends, and Job himself. The firs...

If you all are still not understanding what the ACC is, here is something that come across the ENS earlier... Daybook, from Episcopal News Service February 25, 2005 - Friday Forum Explanatory note: The Anglican Consultative Council [ACNS] In reference to the Primates Meeting communiqué, 24 February 2005:There are four instruments of unity that serve the world wide family ofAnglican/Episcopal churches. They are: The Lambeth Conference (meets every 10years, for bishops); the Primates Meetings (regular meetings for the seniorarchbishops and bishops of the 38 Provinces); the Anglican Consultative Council(meeting every 3 years or so, includes laity, bishops, priests, deacons); andthe Archbishop of Canterbury in his international role as primus inter pares.The communiqué issued 24 February mentions the Anglican Consultative Council(ACC) in particular and its meeting set for June 2005 in England. (The meetingsare held in different parts of the Anglican Communion, the last meeting in 2002was i...

Some of my non-Anglican friends have asked exactly what are the "instruments of unity" and the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC- not to be confused with the American Anglican Council, which is an evangelical political group within ECUSA). To answer these questions, I am posting something that the BBC did a few months back. I think it will explain the hoohah concerning instruments of unity: Q&A: Anglican church split By Alex Kirby Rowan Williams warned the Church could split over gay bishopsAnglican leaders want US and Canadian Churches to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council until 2008 because of their stance on homosexuality. The move comes after the US Church backed an openly gay bishop and same-sex unions began to be blessed in Canada in 2003. Q: What is this row about? The trigger is the disagreement over gay and lesbian Christians. This came to a head when US Anglicans (their church is called the Episcopal Church of the USA, Ecusa) chose an openly gay pr...

Here is an interesting article from the BBC on the crisis. I think they summed it up well...One observer said: "The primates have handed the North Americans a pearl-handled revolver." Another interesting blurb from CNN is here . They pretty much ripped what the ENS was saying. So, in summation, we've been given the left foot of fellowship in regards to the Anglican Consultative Council. This pretty much means, barring a miracle, the ECUSA is out of communion come Lambeth time in 2008. Welcome to the real world, boys and girls. I will blog more on this later, but right now, I am sick of it all. I come back from a nice retreat at a monastery to find the Communion in tatters...I should go on retreats more often.

From the ENS: Thursday, February 24, 2005 Primates' Meeting communiqué The Primates’ Meeting, February 2005 Communiqué 1. As Primates of the Anglican Communion and Moderators of the United Churches, we gathered at the Dromantine Retreat and Conference Centre, Newry, in Northern Ireland, between 20th and 25th February, 2005, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. Thirty-five of us were present at this meeting. We are extremely grateful for the warmth of the welcome to Dromantine that we have received from members of the Roman Catholic Society of African Missions who run the Retreat Centre, and from the Church of Ireland, and especially the Primate of All Ireland, the Most Revd Robin Eames and Lady Eames, who have been our hosts. 2. Our meeting was held within the context of common prayer and worship, including Evensong at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, when we were formally welcomed to the Church of Ireland. On the Monday and Tuesday mornings, we spen...

Well, there has been much secrecy going on as to the Primates of the Anglican Communion and their wing-ding in Ireland about the goings on in the ECUSA concerning gay bishops and what not. Rumors have been flying, ranging from some Primates refusing to receive communion with others to "things cooling off." Somehow I doubt that. Whatever is going on, apparently it will come to the head tomorrow as the Primates will issue a statement, according to the Belfast Telegraph . What exactly was decided is anyone's guess. I have heard from quasi-reliable sources that the Primates are going to divorce themselves from the ECUSA and Canada. The smart money is on the purple elephant, with ArchBishop Eames as the darkhorse, with the spam hitting the fan after the last furlong. 5 gets you 10 that 100 years from no one will care.

Well, as most of you know, I have spent the last few days at St. Gregory's Abbey in Three Rivers Michigan. We sort of had a week off from school, so I planned to take advantage of it. Its about a 3 hour drive from Chicago, so I got my little road trip excursion. The Abbey (Episcopal) was founded in the 1940s and currently has 8 or 9 monks (I counted 8 but one was away on business). Its a beautiful place on about 100 acres in downstate Michigan. If you need some time away in quiet, I would recommend it. I do have to say that the most absurb thing I have ever witnessed occurred, however. I have to relate this because its a great story. One evening after Vespers, we had all gone into the refectory for dinner. As is Benedictine custom, everyone eats in silence while a brother reads from a book. The meal was an odd linguine pasta. Apparently, the monks give up any form of meat during the entirety of Lent, so to bolster protein, they apparently use a lot of peanut butter. So, to answer ...

I need a new pic

There has been a Primate sighting in Ireland, and, yes, the 800 pound gorillas in pointy hats are meeting. Refereed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in hopes of avoiding schism, the 38 primates (heads of the 38 world provinces of the Anglican communion of which the Episcopal Church USA is but 1) are apparently having a grand ole time trying to deny each other community and threatening walk outs. For a pessimistic but truthful account, read this account of the London Telegraph. Another good article is here from the London Times . I think this article nails it on the head with the quote, "But unless the primates can agree on a way forward this week, there will not be a truly international Anglican Communion within which to conduct the debate." Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

As some of you know (and a lot of you have wanted me to comment on) the synod of the Church of England is meeting this week to discuss, amongst other things, the idea of women bishops. The C of E already has women priests, so I assume this will eventually happen in England. My prayers go with them, I know how contentious Anglicans can be when it comes to change.

Well, I just joined (and subsequently added to my HTML) a blogring for Blogging Episcopalians (For unrelated kicks, I also added a site counter and a clock at the bottom.) To my surprise when I signed up, I got an e-mail from the ringmaster saying she to is a graduate of Seabury Theological Penitentiary and grew up at the church I am now attending in Chicago and her parents (whom I know) are still going there. {cue the musak!} Its a small world after all...

Well, just for random kicks, here is a good picture of my favorite theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer...Kyle, you will appreciate this 

The book of Job is perhaps one of the most baffling and yet humbling books of the Old Testament. In essence, the book of Job asks the question that every one and every age is forced to answer for themselves. In the post-modern American context, especially in light of the resent tsunami in South East Asia, the need to know or understand theodicy or the concept of why bad things happen to good people is as important now as during the time of the book of Job. As God's answer entails, such questioning of the Almighty is not about morality and rewards but about hubris. Only in the context of the first and last prose form chapters of the book does the answer that God gives from the Whirlwind really come into significant fruition in the mind of the reader. We see from age to age many examples of human rationality trying to work out this issue. We see these issues addressed in such works as Jude the Obscure and King Lear. But perhaps the best more modern example of the question being asked...

Here is a very interesting little movie blurb from the BBC talking about the new right and business in Atlanta. Its worth the time... (You probably need RealPlayer to play it.)

Here is an interesting little blurb from the New York Times about the Church, Marriage, and St. Valentine. It seemed appropriate since today is the sheer commericial love fest of St. Valentine's Day

In case you have not noticed, I have been tinkering with my HTML and have added some links to blogs and websites of religious natures. Please feel free to peruse them; I feel I have added some very interesting and helpful links...

Some of the People at Seabury took a visit to St Aidan's church on the South Side of Chicago... 

For all you Anglo-Catholic boys (and girls) out there, we are doing the Anglican Breviary as Thursday Night 10 PM compline at Seabury if you want to swing by and dare to be old school. (I apologize for the crime against humanity that is the new Seabury website...I had nothing to do with it.) If you are interested in learning about the Anglican Breviary, click here . Its an interesting English translation of the classic Roman Catholic liturgy of the hours. Since I have been going to an Anglo-Catholic church , I have developed an interest in things Anglo-Catholic. I am still pretty low church, but I appreciate the rich history of the Oxford Movement, etc. Blessings+

Here's an interesting little article that came across the Episcopal News Service earlier. I think its a good description of Lent. [ENS] Today, February 9, 2005, is Ash Wednesday, the first of the forty days ofLent, named for the custom of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads ofworshipers at Ash Wednesday services. Ash Wednesday is observed as a fast in thechurch year of the Episcopal Church. The Ash Wednesday service is one of theProper Liturgies for Special Days in the BCP (p. 264). Ashes are blessed for useon Ash Wednesday as a sign of penitence and a reminder of mortality. The OTfrequently mentions the use of ashes as an expression of humiliation and sorrow.Ashes for use on Ash Wednesday are made from burned palms from previous PalmSunday services. Ashes are imposed on the penitent's forehead with the words,"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (BCP, p. 265).Imposition of ashes at the Ash Wednesday service is optional.The season now know...

Today is Ash Wednesday so the season of Lent begins. I will try to post a little more about this later. I would say Happy Lent, but that's not really appropriate.

New pic

I need a new profile picture...so here we go. I had trouble linking the picture (not actually myself) to another site so I loaded the picture onto the blog and linked the user profile back to itself. How's that for jury rigging?