The Arrow's Path

Former Speech Writer (and native Nebraskan) Ted Sorensen died today at age 82 . I got to meet him once; he was a truly thoughtful and very nice man. He wrote all of JFK's great speeches. Having been forced to listen to the rabble of nebulous campaign blips and attack ads as I drove across 3 states this weekend, I can say speech writers that can write with style and substance are a rare species anymore. Rest in Peace, Mr. Sorensen.

I've been largely not blogging this week because I was on a mini-vacation. I should be back to regular programming in this blog shortly.

Some theology by James de Koven: "The one great question of the day is how they may be made at one again. If the presence of Christ is the hope of the world, if this presence is found in the Church and through the Sacraments, then the question of the restoration of the lost unity of the Church becomes the most practical one into which they who are interested in the real progress of mankind can enter. Ay, and it will come. When, in His last priestly intercession, our Saviour prayed on the very night of His Passion that "they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they all may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou has sent Me," it could have been no fruitless prayer. It must be yet fulfilled. The day may tarry long, and obstacles be many; but already the cock-crow gives signal of the morning, and the watchman on the walls of Zion, as the cry goes round, "Watchman, watchman, what of the night?" makes answer, "The morning...

From the St. Paul's Newsletter: "Bishop Tarrant visited St Pauls on October 24 to lead the Sunday service and have brunch with us. When Sr. Warden L. Taylor announced that the Vestry had approved an elevator project, Bishop Tarrant surprised us by announcing that all monies collected that day for the Bishop‟s Discretionary Fund would go to our elevator fund. Photo shows Fr Hall and the Bishop having coffee after an “egg bake” brunch."

I think I have done this little meme before a while back, but its always fun to try it again. Apparently the rules are: " The Rules:  Don't take too long to think about it. The fifteen books which have most influenced you and that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag at least fifteen friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing what authors my friends choose." 1. The Bible 2. De Oratore by Cicero 3. 1984   by George Orwell 4. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 5. Dune by Frank Herbert 6. The Book of Common Prayer 7. A Christmas Carol   by Charles Dickens 8. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare 9. The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis 10. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (This is really a collection of short stories.) 11. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 12. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes 13. Les Miserables by Victor H...

In my previous posts , I laid out the background of Bishop Henry Whipple, the Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota for the later half of the 19th Century. I also attempted to lay out a coherent Theology of Mission that I believe is consistent with the Bible and the Tradition of the Church, particularly the Anglican Tradition. As I lamented previously, a lot of the Theology of Mission we were were taught in seminary was primarily an endeavor not to go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them, but to see how God was already at work in any given culture, religion, area, etc., and somehow go from there. I found this paradigm problematic on a number of theological and biblical areas, which I will not go into here. Suffice is to say that I think such a theology (at least as it was force fed me at seminary) smacked of relativism and seriously undercut the primacy of the revelation of Jesus Christ. I believe first and foremost that any period of Church history, be it the Apostolic Era...

You are cordially invited: This Sunday  to the annual visitation by  The Rt. Rev. John Tarrant,  Bishop of South Dakota,  to  St Paul's Episcopal Church  in Brookings, SD. The visitation will include 2 Confirmations. Sunday Nursery and After Church Brunch will be provided.  I hope to see you there. 

In my previous thoughts on Bishop Henry Whipple (found here and here ), I tried to lay out his biographical sketch as well as a primary example of how his theology informed his views of the Missionary Work of the Church from an actual sermon he had preached to the Clergy of Minnesota in 1862 . In some ways, I feel like that sermon of his speaks for itself. I would like to add a few general and closing comments for consideration by the modern audience. The first point I would make is how do we in the 21st Century define Mission theology, and subsequently, how does having a theology of mission affect who we are as Christians in our day to day ministry? This, of course, assumes we are concerned with Mission theology at all. Many churches claim to be "Mission minded" or "Missional churches." First of all, what do we mean by this, and what is the theology behind these claims? I would argue a difference between a theology of Mission and a Missionary theology. I kn...

Apparently, JoePa weighed in in favor of getting rid of the face mask . I'd be somewhat in favor of the move. I think face masks do more harm than good. It couldn't hurt the sorry state that is tackling in both college and pro football. And Rugby doesn't use helmets of any kind, and they have a lower incidence of head injuries than does American football. Food for thought.

The following is an abridged sermon of Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple's Missionary Theology from his Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Minnesota, 1862. His actual words will be in bold face. A few words of note: Firstly, these articles are written at the behest of another blog page where I have been asked to be a contributor. This text will appear on that blog facebook page as well. Secondly, being a good Victorian, Whipple did refer to Native Americans in what now appears to be highly politically insensitive (read: offensive) language. To be true to the sermon, the beliefs of his era, and to perhaps generate a bit of discussion on race relations particularly in South Dakota, I am including that point, noting them as [ SIC ]. Before you jump off your PC bandwagon to condemn him, however, you need read my previous blog entry and other testimony here, as I think Whipple was light years ahead of others in terms of treating Native Americans with incredible respect as Children of ...

(Image courtesy of TheHockeyWriters.com ) Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple was a truly remarkable man; he was one of the finest examples of what a Bishop of the Episcopal Church can be and do on a number of levels, both within the Church, as emissary of the Church, and as a public citizen of the United States of America. Bishop Whipple was born in February, 1822 and lived to see the dawn of the 20th Century, dying on September 16th, 1901. His life encompassed what is now known as the Victorian Era and spanned the tumultuous times in Americana that included Indian Wars, the War between the States, and the closing of the American frontier to which he had been a missionary bishop for so many years. He is, to my knowledge, the only American Episcopal bishop to be thought well enough of by both the Native Americans, who referred to him as "Straight Tongue" by more than one Native American tribe at the time, and Whites as to also have a Federal building named after him. (See my b...

Starting on Wednesday, I am going to be posting a series of articles on the same subject. As I have previously communicated, I have been asked to be a contributor on another blog. This week's theme is historical mission history of the Episcopal Church in the US. I have written up a series of articles pertaining to one person in particular having to do with that topic, who has a tie to the Northern Plains. Stop back by on Wednesday. I think it will be interesting. I will give you one hint, the building in this picture is named after this individual (Photo courtesy of Alta blog):

My parish the morning was brimming with toddlers today, which is fabulous. This parish was without any young'uns for a good many years.. Two of them even "helped" me with announcements. Our Wednesday evening church school also had a good core of kids for our kick off last week. God is good...

Care to guess where? Click here to find out. According to the Diocesan newsletter: "This outpatient clinic will focus primarily on treating the complicated consequences of diabetes among the people, open to all people regardless of faith. The need is great. It estimated that 10% of women suffer from the condition. Vascular health is a critical component for diabetics who require qualified medical staff and the appropriate equipment for diagnosis and treatment."

I have been asked to be a contributor on topics of Anglican moral theology and history on another blog and facebook page. The problem with the new way Facebook is doing its group pages, all the Admins appear to be the same person. As such, I am writing my blurb about the Feast Day of Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer, who share a feast day on the Anglican Calendar of Saints for October 16th. I will upload this page to the other Facebook blog page, and we will see how that works, which is why I am posting this a day early. I have always been somewhat baffled as to why Latimer, Ridley, and Cranmer all get crammed into one feast day given their prominence as English Reformers, when we have feast days on the calendar devoted solely to people like Robert Grosseteste and Wulfstan (who I have to look up on their respective days to refresh my memory on). I won't even get into the bizarre gumbo of new saints the Episcopal church is trying to push through buckshot in the Ho...

"The Church is pledged to influence society and to criticise society. "In this task its deepest influence should always be upon persons in their character as persons. Christ himself lived and died and rose again in a world full of social abuses, including the appalling abuse of slavery. But Christ's chief method was not to attack institutions, but to transform people. And there can be no substitute for the impact of Christianity upon people at their deepest level, always remembering that a person never lives in a vacuum; he is always a bundle of social relationships, both private and public, and these relationships all need to be Christianised. "So the Church's mission to change personal lives cannot be separated form its critique of wrong attitudes in society." -Former Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey on "The Church's Task" from Through the Year with Michael Ramsey: Devotional readings for every day , Margaret Duggan, editor, p. 85...

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 2 ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. 4 ‘Where were you, O Mortal, when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? 8 ‘Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?— 9 when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, 11 and said, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped”? 12 ‘Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13 so that it might take hold of t...

I ran across the following prayer from a little book I recently picked up at our Diocesan Convention freebie table. The book is entitled  Manual of Eastern Orthodox Prayers  and   was published by the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius by Anglican publisher SPCK in 1945. I had never heard of this Fellowship, but apparently it still exists as some sort of informational cooperative between the Anglican and Orthodox churches in England. Given the sad deterioration of relations between us and the Orthodox within the last 30 years, I don't care to make a guess as to how active or relevant this Fellowship is. In any event, the prayer is actually a  Kontakion in Orthodox liturgy, which, as I understand Orthodox liturgy, is a type of anthem in rhythmical prose and set to music. In Anglican terminology, I believe its the cross between a canticle and a collect prayer. The prayer is under the heading of "prayers for our enemies:" "As thy first martyr S...

Bishop Alan Wilson of the C of E wrote a really interesting piece for the Guardian here about "the joy of being a miserable sinner" and the Book of Common Prayer. For a Guardian clip, it actually has quite a bit on Anglican understanding of Original sin in its own way.

"Nothing is more potent than the conscience: letters inscribed on it are indelible. I mean, even if everyone mounted a case to his or her conscience supported by favorable evidence, the conscience itself cannot tolerate the wickedness of falsehood. It is pricked and goaded and delivers its verdict incorruptibly. He says this here, too: the facts accuse you, and the conscience joins in testimony against you. He reminds them also of the groves, the altars, and what was done on them, and th threatens to give to the enemy all the wealth along with the idols." -Theodoret of Cyr, On Jeremiah 4.

The current Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a warning that the Sudan might be descending back into Civil War. My parish supports the work of a Sudanese man in his home village, and he has told me that he is afraid of what's going to happen with that referendum vote. The region involved has oil, and that's usually a bad sign. Continue to keep the Sudan in your prayers.

Next year will be the 150th Anniversary of the start of the American War between the States, or more commonly called these days: the Civil War. As such, I am beginning to see a bit more on Civil War history beginning to filter in through the media. No doubt, much more will be made of the whole thing next year. As an amateur Civil War historian (my master's thesis was largely on the topic), I like this turn of events. I know so many people under 40 who can't tell me thing one about the Civil War other than that it was about slavery, which is not technically a fully correct answer. The official title of the conflict in the official US Congressional annals is The War of the Rebellion. I personally believe the war was about just that: rebellion, or the Right of States to secede from the Union or not. Granted, the major issue of why the Southern states wanted to rebel was primarily though not exclusively over slavery, but that is an indirect cause, not a direct cause. But, then ...

My first prediction about the baseball playoffs proved correct. The Giants won the NL West with the Braves in the Wild Card. The Rays won the AL East with the Yankees winning the Wild Card. For my next feat, I will predict that Alabama will beat Florida 31-6. (I can't possible get that wrong.)

In my previous baseball prognostication (which is turning out to be completely wrong), I thought that it was looking likely going into this weekend's regular season ending series, that Atlanta would win the Wild Card and the Padres would be eliminated. Atlanta has lost 2 to Philadelphia, squandering their nearly ironclad Wild Card lead. The Padres have won 2 against San Francisco. If the Padres sweep the Giants and the Braves win the last game against Philadelphia, the unthinkable could happen today in Major League Baseball: The Padres, Braves, and Giants will all end up with identical records. This would mean the first three-team, two-game playoff in baseball history. The Giants and Padres would have to play a one-game playoff Monday in San Diego, with the winner claiming the NL West. The loser would then have to fly to Atlanta and play a one-game playoff for the Wild Card. The winner of that game, should it be San Diego or San Francisco, would have the unenviable taste of ...

Why does professional cycling have such a problem with steroid abuse? Another fine example came to light today when a racer claimed a positive test was the result of (get this) eating a small steak . I am not a biologist or drug expert, but that seems a trifle...uh...ridiculous to me. Why is it, though, that world cycling has such an issue with steroid abuse? Lance Armstrong has been accused of it for years, though nothing to my knowledge has ever been proved there. To an extent, I can understand sports like American football or baseball players that need huge amounts of strength and body mass. But, cycling? I don't understand the need or desire for it in that kind of a sport. But then again I don't really understand the Tour de France crowd either that riots over a bicycle match.

The regular season of Major League Baseball boils down to this final weekend. I have seldomly been a fan of the Wild Card system since it was introduced back in the 90's. I think it largely makes divisional pennant race lackadaisic and moot down the stretch. The American league has pretty much been set in terms of whom is making the playoffs. Minnesota and Texas have wrapped up their divisions easily. Minnesota by 8 games and Texas by 16. The only question in the AL is whether the Yankees or Rays will be the AL East Winner. The other will be the Wild Card team. The Yankees have the unenviable task of playing their last series at Boston. Boston would love nothing better than to make the Yankees be the Wild Card team. I presume there will be a one game playoff if the Rays and Yankees have identical records after their respective 3 game series. The Rays get to play the KC Royals for their final three games. Neither team has been that inspiring over the last 10 games, ...

Would the yahoo that is floating my name in various Episcopal bishop searches please stop! I've been contacted twice now in the last month from two different dioceses for the primary survey (feeler) of potential interest. I know I'm old enough now to technically be eligible, but my wife made me promise never to run for bishop when she accepted my marriage proposal. I intend to keep that promise. I have no desire to ever be bishop anywhere. I like to be home weekends. Thank you, -The Archer

That sort of boggles my mind, really. I thought summer went by in a hurry, but we are now all the way through September, less than three months from Christmas. I've already seen the Christmas supplies up at Lowe's here in town. (Witches, cauldrons, and Christmas trees are always a surreal tableau.) I do love fall though. This year has been a relatively nice one. We've had some gorgeous weather and the leaves are just about to peak. Last year, it snowed before the peak, and all the leaves froze off. I felt like my fall last year was a rip off. This year is prime leaf crunching goodness. Hurray!

Having had dinner once with the Bishop of Swaziland, I find this report disturbing. Keep them in your prayers. -Hat tip: T19