for my wife on her birthday.
For a little less than a quarter century she has been companion, friend, lover, angel, and a candle in the night. My years with her represent the best years of my life and the dinner and presents shared on this day are small payment for all that she has been and is to me.
Happy birthday Jane and all my love.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A prayer request....
for all those who are going to the Midwest Diocesan Parish Life Conference. Pray for safe travel and a sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit in and among us.
Monday, June 29, 2009
I'm on the road...
to Cincinnati this week for the Midwest Diocesan(?) Parish Life Convention. It could make for an interesting week.
Bloggers and media personalities...
can be jailed for their comments if the new hate crimes law moving through Congress is approved.
Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce [radio, TV, internet] any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. (HR 1966, SEC 3, Sec. 881a)
Perhaps a few phone calls to a Legislator would be good?
Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce [radio, TV, internet] any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. (HR 1966, SEC 3, Sec. 881a)
Perhaps a few phone calls to a Legislator would be good?
The ghouls are already...
circling about the remains of Michael Jackson. All I know is that it seems like a sad end for a sad life and I hope he finds the rest in God that apparently eluded him in his 50 years here.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Humor...
A boy was watching his father, a Priest, write a sermon. "How do you know what to say?" he asked. "Why, God tells me" his father replied. "Oh", the boy said, " Then why do you keep crossing things out?"
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Now it appears that...
the documents presented at antiochian.org, which, by implication were assumed to be the "official" statement on the issue of the status of diocesan bishops from the recent meeting of the Holy Synod and sent directly to the chancery, are not what they were purported to be by antiochian.org and since the Patriarchate itself has produced both an official Arabic original and English translation antiochian.org has moved its original posts to a side menu and now states that it will wait until there is a version with all of the signatures of the Holy Synod, not just the Patriarch's, before posting anything as "official".
Tennis anyone?
Tennis anyone?
The Patriarchate of Antioch...
has released it's official English version of its June 17 decision which you can see here. The English language document is in agreement with its official Arabic translation and the first two pages of information presented in the antiochian.org pdf still posted as of this morning are not official.
The most notable difference is that there is apparently no Arabic word, and hence no English word translated as "auxiliary" , the Bishops are referred to as "bishops who assist the Metropolitan". We'll see, of course, what that means in practical terms and my guess is that this discussion is not closed but at least we have official Arabic and English translations to work with.
The most notable difference is that there is apparently no Arabic word, and hence no English word translated as "auxiliary" , the Bishops are referred to as "bishops who assist the Metropolitan". We'll see, of course, what that means in practical terms and my guess is that this discussion is not closed but at least we have official Arabic and English translations to work with.
The Patriarchate of Antioch...
has the official Arabic version of its decision here. The document is identical to page three of the Antiochian Archdiocese's pdf. The first two pages of that document, which at the time of this post are still being presented at Antiochian.org, are therefore apparently not official but somehow found their way into the pdf.
We'll find out in time how the first two pages got there but at least now we have an official version of the Arabic to deal with for the sake of translation. The key, as I understand it, is a single word variously translated "assistant" or "auxiliary". In the fax presented by the Archdiocese, a fax whose first two pages have been in dispute, it was clearly translated "auxiliary" so now we have to wait and see.
This is not to overlook the fact that somehow the fax sent to the Archdiocese has been compromised with two extra pages, one an English translation now apparently disavowed by the Patriarchate and the second an Arabic version also disavowed. It is an understatement to say that this is a serious matter that does need to be addressed.
Please pray for the Antiochian Archdiocese as it may be a long, hot, summer.
We'll find out in time how the first two pages got there but at least now we have an official version of the Arabic to deal with for the sake of translation. The key, as I understand it, is a single word variously translated "assistant" or "auxiliary". In the fax presented by the Archdiocese, a fax whose first two pages have been in dispute, it was clearly translated "auxiliary" so now we have to wait and see.
This is not to overlook the fact that somehow the fax sent to the Archdiocese has been compromised with two extra pages, one an English translation now apparently disavowed by the Patriarchate and the second an Arabic version also disavowed. It is an understatement to say that this is a serious matter that does need to be addressed.
Please pray for the Antiochian Archdiocese as it may be a long, hot, summer.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
There may be a problem...
with the statements attributed to the Holy Synod of Antioch on Antiochian.org. The link is here but remember the evidence is still speculative and may not be conclusive.
Lord have mercy x 40
Lord have mercy x 40
Monday, June 22, 2009
The statement...
posted on the antiochian.org www site has been translated to call the bishops of the Antiochian Archdiocese "auxiliaries". The rub is in a word in the Arabic that is translated as "assistant" or "helper". The post appears to have the Patriarchal seal although I am unfamiliar with what it actually looks like. More to come.
I was playing bass...
last night at the SOS Club, an alcohol free place where people can relax and listen to music, and it happened again.
The jam was small and tight. Often there are a dozen or more players and the sounds can be overwhelming but this time there were just a few and we were locked on to each other and the music was better than average. And then it happened.
A couple of the guitarists decided they wanted to take a whack at the bass. I usually let folks like that give it a try because they basically find out its tougher than in looks. Sure enough they ran through a few lead guitar lines on the bass and decided they could handle it. That usually happens and then I remind them. Noodling lead guitar lines on a bass is not the same as being a bass player.
Bassists lay foundations and merely mimicking the lead is not a foundation. The foundation of a song is a combination of root notes, passing notes, rhythm, and the ability to create a mixture of time, notes, and silence that allows the rest of the group to explore and move in the superstructure. The essence of being a bassist is to think like a bassist and make that alchemy work and its more then just playing a guitar with the last two strings removed. I guess its can be summed up in a t-shirt (isn't that an American thing) I saw in a shop for bassists. The shirt said "You'd notice if I quit playing."
Enough said.
The jam was small and tight. Often there are a dozen or more players and the sounds can be overwhelming but this time there were just a few and we were locked on to each other and the music was better than average. And then it happened.
A couple of the guitarists decided they wanted to take a whack at the bass. I usually let folks like that give it a try because they basically find out its tougher than in looks. Sure enough they ran through a few lead guitar lines on the bass and decided they could handle it. That usually happens and then I remind them. Noodling lead guitar lines on a bass is not the same as being a bass player.
Bassists lay foundations and merely mimicking the lead is not a foundation. The foundation of a song is a combination of root notes, passing notes, rhythm, and the ability to create a mixture of time, notes, and silence that allows the rest of the group to explore and move in the superstructure. The essence of being a bassist is to think like a bassist and make that alchemy work and its more then just playing a guitar with the last two strings removed. I guess its can be summed up in a t-shirt (isn't that an American thing) I saw in a shop for bassists. The shirt said "You'd notice if I quit playing."
Enough said.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The statement from the Holy Synod...
"The Holy Synod of the See of Antioch, after long discussion and deep deliberation of the Synodal decision of February 24, 2009, and with the recommendations of His Beatitude, the Patriarch, it affirms that the nature of the Episcopate is one and the same to all those who are consecrated as bishops. The Holy Synod of Antioch affirms and reminds that all bishops of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America are bishops who assist the Metropolitan, and that, furthermore, any diocese of the one united Archdiocese, under any circumstances, cannot be considered an independent Archdiocese. The Holy Synod of Antioch alone has the prerogative to establish Archdioceses in the See of Antioch."
It appears that, on quick review, the statement affirms there is only one kind of episcopacy. This is in line with Orthodox polity that bishops vary in jurisdiction but not in standing. In other words there are not some who, for lack of a better term, are "more bishop" than others even though they may have a broader jurisdiction of responsibility.
While the term "auxiliary" is not used the wording "...bishops who assist the Metropolitan..." is not defined as to what that "assistance" is or what its scope is. Does "assist" mean "subordinate" or "auxiliary" or does it mean they are a synod of diocesan Bishops with a Metropolitan as president?
I'm missing the point on the phrase related to the dioceses except to think they are admonishing dioceses to be collegial and unified within the larger context of the Archdiocese. This seems odd, on first reading, because I was not aware that any of our dioceses were in the process of attempting to become an archdiocese.
Such are the difficulties of creating documents in the byzantine tradition and then also making the translation from Arabic to English. It would have been easier, frankly, for them to have simply said "All formerly diocesan Bishops are to remain as auxiliaries to their Metropolitan" or "All formerly diocesan Bishops are restored to their thrones and diocese to serve."
Oh well. Let the parsing begin...
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
One site on the www...
theantiochian.com is reporting that the Holy Synod of Antioch has reaffirmed the February 24th decision altering the status of all diocesan bishops to auxiliaries. The official site antiochian.org is silent and so is the more reliable site ocanews.org. We''ll have to wait and see.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
I used to think...
that Saints were some kind of aberration, a once in a generation event where holiness met physicality and produced theosis. Things have changed.
Saints are, in fact, the only normal people around. All the rest of us spend our time trying as best we can to get to normal, to get to what we are supposed to be and for most of us this normality will elude us. We'll have moments of it, of course, but never experience the permanency of it and those moments will leave us simultaneously desolate and hopeful.
On a good day we will feel the presence of God within us, the sense that we are connected to something, someone, so much larger than ourselves. It occurs to us in different ways, in different times, and in different stages in our life but it does happen. When it does there is a sense of rest and calm within, a kind of understanding that heaven and earth are aligned even if for a moment. Precisely when this happens is the moment we are also most human, most like what we were supposed to be, most alive in the best sense of the word, most normal.
The great agony of being human is that we are always aware we spend most of our existence at odds with the truth of who we are. We were meant to be so full of the presence of God that those who encounter us would recognize our form, know that we are human, but see only God. The Saints, alive with the presence of God, are a reminder of what we were created to be.
Now most of us may not get there in this life, at least like the luminaries we call Saints. But we will have our moments, those places in our lives where time seems to stop and we understand we are in the presence of the Holy One. Hold on to those moments because they tell us that despite our struggles we are still on the journey and that one day we will, like the Saints, find our way home.
Saints are, in fact, the only normal people around. All the rest of us spend our time trying as best we can to get to normal, to get to what we are supposed to be and for most of us this normality will elude us. We'll have moments of it, of course, but never experience the permanency of it and those moments will leave us simultaneously desolate and hopeful.
On a good day we will feel the presence of God within us, the sense that we are connected to something, someone, so much larger than ourselves. It occurs to us in different ways, in different times, and in different stages in our life but it does happen. When it does there is a sense of rest and calm within, a kind of understanding that heaven and earth are aligned even if for a moment. Precisely when this happens is the moment we are also most human, most like what we were supposed to be, most alive in the best sense of the word, most normal.
The great agony of being human is that we are always aware we spend most of our existence at odds with the truth of who we are. We were meant to be so full of the presence of God that those who encounter us would recognize our form, know that we are human, but see only God. The Saints, alive with the presence of God, are a reminder of what we were created to be.
Now most of us may not get there in this life, at least like the luminaries we call Saints. But we will have our moments, those places in our lives where time seems to stop and we understand we are in the presence of the Holy One. Hold on to those moments because they tell us that despite our struggles we are still on the journey and that one day we will, like the Saints, find our way home.
Friday, June 12, 2009
16 new HIV cases...
in the porn industry. No judgments, just sadness at the reality of people getting a fatal illness while having make believe sex. The stuff has always killed souls but very few people know it takes bodies too.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
And now we wait...
for the Holy Synod of Antioch to meet next week and perhaps come to some kind of resolution on the questions and issues raised by thier decision to change our Diocesan Bishops to auxiliaries. Just wait and pray and hope.
The reports back from Bishop Mark and Bishop Basil are, of course, vague because private things were said and that confidence needs to be maintained. Yet the tone seemed positive and I hope that the concerns brought to the attention of our Patriarch will be addressed. If you can imagine a whole Archdiocese holding its breath you've probably sensed what we're doing right now.
One of the larger questions is the one of fallout. Which ever way it goes someone will be unhappy and working on whatever step is next. My feeling is there may be some kind of compromise where all the parties involved are given some piece of the pie but that remains to be seen. I'd prefer, of course, to see the Bishops restored, but everything is out of my hands now. it's a vulnerable place to be but also a place where everyone needs to simply rest in God. In the end that may be one of the lessons of all of this.
The reports back from Bishop Mark and Bishop Basil are, of course, vague because private things were said and that confidence needs to be maintained. Yet the tone seemed positive and I hope that the concerns brought to the attention of our Patriarch will be addressed. If you can imagine a whole Archdiocese holding its breath you've probably sensed what we're doing right now.
One of the larger questions is the one of fallout. Which ever way it goes someone will be unhappy and working on whatever step is next. My feeling is there may be some kind of compromise where all the parties involved are given some piece of the pie but that remains to be seen. I'd prefer, of course, to see the Bishops restored, but everything is out of my hands now. it's a vulnerable place to be but also a place where everyone needs to simply rest in God. In the end that may be one of the lessons of all of this.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
It's been very dry...
in May and June and we're over 5 inches below the average rainfall. Grass is going brown and lakes and ponds are shrinking from their banks. It's the day before Pentecost and we need rain.
So it is with the world and myself as well. We both need water from heaven and the rain of the Spirit to come and touch our dryness. The winter was cold and long and spring has been stingy with her fruits. We, I, need rain to soften the ground, to give life to that which is in us, and to quench our thirst.
Let the clouds roll in, even if they are only the size of a man's hand, and let the first drops fall. Whatever falls will be taken. Whatever comes will be absorbed. Each drop will have value.
It's the day before Pentecost and we, I, need rain.
So it is with the world and myself as well. We both need water from heaven and the rain of the Spirit to come and touch our dryness. The winter was cold and long and spring has been stingy with her fruits. We, I, need rain to soften the ground, to give life to that which is in us, and to quench our thirst.
Let the clouds roll in, even if they are only the size of a man's hand, and let the first drops fall. Whatever falls will be taken. Whatever comes will be absorbed. Each drop will have value.
It's the day before Pentecost and we, I, need rain.
Monday, June 1, 2009
These past months...
since February have been some of the hardest in my decade of being Orthodox.
The decision of the Holy Synod of Antioch to change the status of our Diocesan Bishops to auxiliaries has ignited a firestorm in our Archdiocese. Leaders are troubled. People are asking questions. Old wounds have been opened and new ones inflicted. Speculation abounds and people are still struggling to understand. Why was this necessary? What does this mean? What are the grounds for this decision? Many, including myself, hope for the best but answers, at the present, are few and far between.
There is a kind of fear among us as well. Some are afraid to speak because they imagine the consequences. News and rumors float about on competing websites. Angry words are being written and spoken. The future seems uncertain. The rationale behind this change, according to official sources, was the unity of the Archdiocese but the result has been exactly the opposite as people are divided and hurt and trying to make sense of it all. I can't imagine what the diocesan and national conventions will be like if this is not resolved.
When I was first a Baptist Pastor I was given these words of advice, "God leads, the Devil stampedes" and I feel we're being stampeded in many directions in the aftermath of this decision. Satan is creating havoc among us and God is allowing us to be challenged. Wheat and chaff are being separated and fire is in the process of burning out impurities. Yet while this happens people will be lost, people who will grow tired and disillusioned and give up and walk out the door and people who, looking at us from the outside and seeing this shameful mess, refuse to step in the door. Hard lessons are being learned.
This is wrong. This is sad. We need to be better.
So many, myself included, were hopeful that our new dioceses and self rule would be the seeds of a united American Orthodox Church, another step towards a correct canonical status and a shared Orthodox voice in this country. We hoped that disunity and chaos would someday end. We thought our leaders wanted this too but one day it was there and the next it was gone. Who can we trust? What set of events would require such a change? I feel confused, sad, and perplexed.
I love the Orthodox Faith so I could never walk away but I despair for all this has brought. Whether the Holy Synod's decision on the status of our Bishops stands or is changed there will be a great silent undercurrent of fear, hostility, and lack of trust that will cripple us regardless of the proclamations and documents that follow. The things said and done in this time will hobble us and scandalize both the faithful and those who are searching for the Faith. We need trust to work together and that trust has been terribly strained.
I'm just a Priest from a small church on the western edge of Wisconsin, what I have to say doesn't matter much. But I do pray for our Bishops, our Metropolitan, and our Patriarch and hope they see the sad results of what has happened and think deeply and spiritually about all of this. I especially pray for Bishop Mark who has endured so much before and after this and Lord knows what he may have to face in the future. All of our Bishops, agree or disagree, should be in our prayers. As we see what is happening we need to be prayerfully, respectfully, involved, seeking out the truth and acting on it as best sinful people can.
Yet in all my struggle with these things I have hope as well. I've seen men and women rise to the occasion and thoughtful people stand and be counted. That this is all worth fighting over says something about how we value it. If the weeks past are any indicator we may be in for a difficult journey but I have confidence in God. Somewhere in all of the shouting we will hear the still small voice.
And as part of this I've already expressed my opinion on this to my Dean and Bishop and they know that I believe that for practical, spiritual, and canonical reasons we need to retain our diocesan Bishops. Beyond the pastoral and canonical issues it just makes sense. I say this with no malice, no disrespect, and no anger towards anyone who may differ from me. Future events may reveal this opinion to be wise or I may have to be accountable for it. Regardless I will stand here and trust that God will care for me and the Church as needed.
That is where my hope is. I would like amicable resolution, the reattachment of sundered bonds, a Christian way to work through disagreements, and a drawing from the deep well of our Tradition for wisdom in troubled times. Our world needs the truth of Orthodoxy. But if those fail I still believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to take even these hard days and make something holy of them. Somewhere on the other side of this all is where we need to be and God will help us find our way home.
For that I wait, and pray, and hope.
The decision of the Holy Synod of Antioch to change the status of our Diocesan Bishops to auxiliaries has ignited a firestorm in our Archdiocese. Leaders are troubled. People are asking questions. Old wounds have been opened and new ones inflicted. Speculation abounds and people are still struggling to understand. Why was this necessary? What does this mean? What are the grounds for this decision? Many, including myself, hope for the best but answers, at the present, are few and far between.
There is a kind of fear among us as well. Some are afraid to speak because they imagine the consequences. News and rumors float about on competing websites. Angry words are being written and spoken. The future seems uncertain. The rationale behind this change, according to official sources, was the unity of the Archdiocese but the result has been exactly the opposite as people are divided and hurt and trying to make sense of it all. I can't imagine what the diocesan and national conventions will be like if this is not resolved.
When I was first a Baptist Pastor I was given these words of advice, "God leads, the Devil stampedes" and I feel we're being stampeded in many directions in the aftermath of this decision. Satan is creating havoc among us and God is allowing us to be challenged. Wheat and chaff are being separated and fire is in the process of burning out impurities. Yet while this happens people will be lost, people who will grow tired and disillusioned and give up and walk out the door and people who, looking at us from the outside and seeing this shameful mess, refuse to step in the door. Hard lessons are being learned.
This is wrong. This is sad. We need to be better.
So many, myself included, were hopeful that our new dioceses and self rule would be the seeds of a united American Orthodox Church, another step towards a correct canonical status and a shared Orthodox voice in this country. We hoped that disunity and chaos would someday end. We thought our leaders wanted this too but one day it was there and the next it was gone. Who can we trust? What set of events would require such a change? I feel confused, sad, and perplexed.
I love the Orthodox Faith so I could never walk away but I despair for all this has brought. Whether the Holy Synod's decision on the status of our Bishops stands or is changed there will be a great silent undercurrent of fear, hostility, and lack of trust that will cripple us regardless of the proclamations and documents that follow. The things said and done in this time will hobble us and scandalize both the faithful and those who are searching for the Faith. We need trust to work together and that trust has been terribly strained.
I'm just a Priest from a small church on the western edge of Wisconsin, what I have to say doesn't matter much. But I do pray for our Bishops, our Metropolitan, and our Patriarch and hope they see the sad results of what has happened and think deeply and spiritually about all of this. I especially pray for Bishop Mark who has endured so much before and after this and Lord knows what he may have to face in the future. All of our Bishops, agree or disagree, should be in our prayers. As we see what is happening we need to be prayerfully, respectfully, involved, seeking out the truth and acting on it as best sinful people can.
Yet in all my struggle with these things I have hope as well. I've seen men and women rise to the occasion and thoughtful people stand and be counted. That this is all worth fighting over says something about how we value it. If the weeks past are any indicator we may be in for a difficult journey but I have confidence in God. Somewhere in all of the shouting we will hear the still small voice.
And as part of this I've already expressed my opinion on this to my Dean and Bishop and they know that I believe that for practical, spiritual, and canonical reasons we need to retain our diocesan Bishops. Beyond the pastoral and canonical issues it just makes sense. I say this with no malice, no disrespect, and no anger towards anyone who may differ from me. Future events may reveal this opinion to be wise or I may have to be accountable for it. Regardless I will stand here and trust that God will care for me and the Church as needed.
That is where my hope is. I would like amicable resolution, the reattachment of sundered bonds, a Christian way to work through disagreements, and a drawing from the deep well of our Tradition for wisdom in troubled times. Our world needs the truth of Orthodoxy. But if those fail I still believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to take even these hard days and make something holy of them. Somewhere on the other side of this all is where we need to be and God will help us find our way home.
For that I wait, and pray, and hope.
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