New Mexico AIDS Walk 2008

The parish to which i belong has put together a walk team for the local AIDS Walk, which will take place tomorrow (Saturday, March 29) in Albuquerque. This annual event raises money for the provision of services by New Mexico AIDS Services (NMAS) to people living with HIV/AIDS and also many prevention programs aimed at people at risk for exposure to the virus. Please consider supporting this worthy organization by donating through the secure online site which you can reach via the widget below.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to ask for donations, huh? Well, better late than never as the cliche goes!

Easter Sunday

Luke 24:13-35 (NRSV)

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

Holy Saturday

Matthew 27: 62-66 (NRSV)
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, “He has been raised from the dead”, and the last deception would be worse than the first.’ Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’ So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

Good Friday

John 13: 36-38 (NRSV)

Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterwards.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.

John 19 (NRSV)

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.’ The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.’

Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters* again and asked Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’ From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, ‘If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.’

When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, ‘Here is your King!’ They cried out, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but the emperor.’ Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew* is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says,
‘They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.’
And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows* that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘None of his bones shall be broken.’ And again another passage of scripture says, ‘They will look on the one whom they have pierced.’

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Maundy Thursday

Mark 14:12-25 (NRSV)

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’s disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Wednesday in Holy Week

Mark 12:1-11 (NRSV)

Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?”

Tuesday in Holy Week

Mark 11:27-33 (NRSV)

Again Jesus and the disciples came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” They argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Monday in Holy Week

Mark 11:15-19 (NRSV)

Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written,

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

Old spilt milk

On March 12, the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops voted to consent to the deposition of two Bishops. As my readers (all one or two of you!) likely know, one was John-David Schofield, former bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin (DSJ), the other, William Cox, retired assistant bishop of Oklahoma.

The Anglican world being no vacuum, this action has been met with various reactions. From those folks in the DSJ who remain committed to the Episcopal Church, relief. From those who have been disturbed by the actions and pronouncements of schismatic bishops, renewed hope at seeing justice served. From the neo-"orthodox" camp, derision and gnashing of teeth.

Catching my eyes recently are the claims by pedantic schismatics that the vote to consent to the depositions was invalid, based upon what appear to be an arguable ambiguity of TEC canons. The folks who make these claims are apparently the same people who have been proclaiming to their respective choirs that nothing the TEC Presiding Bishop does has any validity anyway.

While i'm not a canon lawyer, professionally as an officer of a non-profit corporation i've gained a reputation as having an accurate insight when it comes to legal matters, at least for a layperson. Spot-on guidance regarding parliamentary procedure is also something for which folks have been coming to me during the past ten years.

From my armchair it appears that the TEC leadership has proceeded prayerfully, reluctantly and with consistent respect for the constitution and canons of TEC. This is in stark contrast with the righteous indignation of the sometimes theiving, victim-mentality oathbreakers who seek to split the church.

Still, i wish the canons were so clear that questions about the validity of the vote could never have arisen. But that's how i feel about nearly every charter or set of bylaws with which i've ever had to deal.

According to the latest report in Episcopal Life Online, the PB's chancellor consulted with the HOB parliamentarian prior to the vote. I'm certain they both reviewed applicable precedents and relevant canons. It's likely they also discussed the matter with others well-versed in canonical procedures. Their confidence that the vote was valid is good enough for me.

There's also the fact that there's been no reports of any bishop present at the meeting objecting to the vote itself, which is when such a procedural objection would have had the most validity.

The cries of "FOUL" from those determined to split the church, and who prior to the HOB meeting claimed the vote wouldn't matter regardless of the outcome, only serve to underscore the importance and validity of the HOB vote. If it really didn't matter i doubt their rhetoric would be so shrill.

While the vote was obviously necessary it just seems so sad that those who want to restrict the mission of Christ only to those they deem worthy apparently feel compelled to behave so dishonorably, and to injure so many fellow Christians in the process. How this must cause pain to the sacred heart of Christ.

Pray for the church catholic. We are all brothers and sisters. Even those who reject us, who spit on us, who seek to do us harm.

New Mexico AIDS Walk

Tyler, a member of my chosen family, works at New Mexico AIDS Services (NMAS). He's soliciting donation pledges for their annual fundraising AIDS Walk, which will happen on Saturday, March 29, 2008 in Albuquerque. Please consider supporting the invaluable services that NMAS provides to its clients.

The bilious Devine

Lesson learned in Sunday school:
"Love your neighbors as yourself"

Guess the Rt. Rev. Devine missed that Sunday. Perhaps he was away seeking treatment for his delusional paranoia.

Former San Joaquin Bishop Deposed

Episcopal Life has announced that the House of Bishops has voted to consent to the deposition of two Bishops, one being John-David Schofield, formerly the diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin and the other William Cox, former suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Maryland.

The statement from the House of Bishops can be read here.

While reading through comments on a blog yesterday, a commenter reported seeing Mr. Schofield at a Requiem Mass recently. She said that she was shocked at how unhealthy he appeared. Please pray for this man, who while due to his own actions is no longer the Bishop of San Joaquin, is still a brother in Christ to us all.

Bishops, bishops everywhere

Less than a month after +Terence Kelshaw, retired diocesan of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande (DRG), announced his reception as a bishop of the Church of Uganda, reports are being heard in our diocese that another Ugandan bishop, +John Guernsey arrived March 6th in the DRG to visit the community of Farmington, NM.

Perhaps this flying bishop is just enamored of our beautiful skies and decided to provide some dollars to our tourism industry.

Meanwhile, our Standing Committee continues to function as the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese, following the September 27, 2007 resignation of former Diocesan Jeffrey Steenson. It was announced in their March 7 update that +William Frey, retired from the Diocese of Colorado, will be our Assisting Bishop until a new Diocesan is called.

Also included in the Standing Committee's recent announcement: "Bishop Kelshaw has been received as a bishop into the Province of Uganda. As such, he has chosen to accept an invitation to preside at a service of Confirmation for St. Clement’s Church, El Paso as reported in their most recent newsletter. By his choice, he will therefore not be available for Episcopal services in any congregation of the Diocese of the Rio Grande."

Years ago there was a television show host (Arsenio Hall?) who used to present a regular segment called "things that make you go hmmmmmm."

So I sit here and say, "Hmmmmm."

Ignorant, hate-filled rhetoric alert!

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund is a GLBT political action organization that aims to increase the number of openly GLBT elected officials at all levels of government.

This morning they released audio of an anti-gay speech by an Oklahoma state legislator. She was speaking to a group of 50 people and apparently didn't know she was being recorded. Don't follow the link if you don't feel up to hearing her spew phenomenal hate-filled ignorance. She doesn't stop at slandering gay folks - she eagerly demonstrates that her bigotry is wider than that by making a swipe at Muslims, too.

The Victory Fund hasn't released her name, for reasons given on the linked page. However, i'll give you a hint. Her initials are S(ally) K(ern). She's an extra-special bundle of hate-filled crazy, kind of like the New Mexico state legislator Gloria Vaughn.

Oklahoma blogger Middle Raged Punk gives her take on Ms. Kern here, and demonstrates that Ms. Kern doesn't represent all Okies.

UPDATE:
Today (3/09/08) i ran across a blog post relating to Ms. Kern's anti-gay rant. Here's the link. Would that i were as mature and compassionate.