a priest's musings on the journey

Read about it here

Dalit Madonna by Jyoti Sahi



Hail Mary, full of grace, Our Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, our Lord, Jesus Christ. O Virgin Saint Mary, O Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at all times, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
( from the Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church)

Tune in to BBC RADIO 4 tommorrow- or later in the archives to hear the Sunday Lambeth Eucharist. Of course the ABC is preaching, but more importantly, Luiz is leading the Intercessions. :)
(He looks like the perfect Southern getleman with that bowtie)

Seems to fit the week....

I received this in a listserve of which I am a member... I'm posting it here because there is great wisdom in this letter. We can not allow the statements made by the Archbishop of Sudan regarding human sexuality thwart our committment to working for peace, justice, and freedom for the Sudanese people. No matter what Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul and other conservative Christians think of me, we are bound together in Christ: I belong to them, and they belong to me because we all belong to Christ. I can only return the pain that their personal views about gays and lesbians bring with prayers for their continued transformation in Christ. I asks God's blessings on the Primate of Sudan and I pray for peace among the people there. And in the mystery of the love of God, I have hope that through my prayers for justice and liberation for them, the Spirit will bring justice, peace, and liberation to us all.

pax to you all


Dear Ones,

There's been a lot of talk about one statement made by Sudanese
Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul yesterday at Lambeth. It has caused much pain
and consternation. What has been completely lost in that hubbub is the
other statement made by the Archbishop on behalf of the Episcopal Church
of Sudan. It is a critical statement and I commend it for your prayer
and study. It is ample evidence why our companion relationship with Lui
continues to be a good and important and life-saving thing.

I encourage you to go to the EGR blog -- www.e4gr.blogspot. com -- and
read the whole statement, which we've fitted with links so you can more
easily learn more about the various provisions. We've also provided a
link to a document developed by our Diocese of Missouri's Companion
Diocese Committee in consultation with the Episcopal Office of
Government Relations ... a "Sudan Advocacy Action Guide" that addresses
the points in this statement and has talking points and a letter
template as well as contact information for senators Kit Bond and Claire
McCaskill, as well as information about how to find and contact your
representatives.

The statement's key "asks" are:

*International pressure for peace in Darfur as part of a "whole Sudan
approach" to conflict in Sudan, realizing that the conflicts in Darfur
and in the South are inextricably linked.

*Continued education and political pressure around the Referendum of
2011, which would provide the opportunity for independence for Southern
Sudan.

*Continued political pressure to abide by the Abyei protocol of the CPA.

*Support for the Church in the North in the face of religious
persecution from the government.

*Continued pressure on peace talks with the Lord's Resistance Army and
Ambororo.

*Support in terms of relief and development, to help communities provide
clean water, security, health and education for returning refugees and
internally displaced persons.

*Support from the Lambeth Conference and Anglican Communion to "stand in
solidarity with the Sudanese Church and people."

*Prayers and fellowship to encourage and support the Church in its mission.

Please read and disseminate this statement widely. It is no surprise
that the statement dealing with issues of sexuality has gotten
high-volume play and the statement dealing with people being murdered
has gotten almost no play (I spent much of the morning searching the
internet for any text of it at all, and fortunately a wonderful deacon,
the Rev. Timothy Spannus of Royal Oak, MI, sent me an email when ACNS
finally posted it.).

Don't let the cries of the Sudanese people get drowned out. Please take
the time to read this statement and respond with your prayers and advocacy.

Christ's peace,

Mike+

--
The Rev. Mike Kinman
Executive Director, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation
MKinman@gmail. com + 314.348.6453
http://www.e4gr. org + http://www.e4gr. blogspot. com

I'm always the very last person to discover things, but I made a new discovery this morning and it is giving me a liturgasm. Please check out Chant Blog. if you haven't discovered it yet.

Tommorrow The Archbishop of Canterbury and some 600 bishops will participate in the Lambeth Walk of Witness, meant to be a symbol of the Church's committment to working towards accomplishing the Millennium Development Goals. You can read more about the walk of witness here and here.

As the bishops walk in London, concerned Episcopalians in Fredericksburg, VA will walk with the bishops in our own walk for witness downtown Fredericksburg. We will gather at Trinity Episcopal Church, on the corner of College and William, at 6:00 AM. We will make a station at the Micah Hospitality Center- the ecumenical ministry to the homeless temporarily housed at Trinity Church- and offer prayers for Micah's work- and then walk downtown to St George's Episcopal Church, where we will offer Eucharist and offer prayers for the poor and those who help them. Those participating in the walk will also contact local and national leaders and ask them to do more to end poverty in our community, the nation, and the world.

We gather in this impressive awesome magnificent cathedral as
representatives of several nations, several cultures, several tongues
and as representatives of several Christian denominations and other
living faiths. This is a joyful and a sacred moment. And I would like
to suggest that we keep a pause in our worship to express our
gratitude to God for all those responsible for shaping our Anglican
identity, for nourishing our spirituality and for helping in the
formation of our common life through the centuries and in many parts
of the world.

The ninth verse of the twelfth chapter of 2 Corinthians. “My grace is
sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul is confessing and proclaiming the paradox of grace in the
Christian gospel. It is as we increasingly recognise and acknowledge
our vulnerability in our journey of discipleship in Christ and with
Christ that we receive grace to be and to become faithful disciples.
I want you to hold on to this text because it is the idea that will
undergird our thinking through the rest of this reflection. The
recognition of our vulnerability makes growth possible in Christian
discipleship.

There are two realities that encompass us as we meet as a world
family of the Anglican Communion. I would like to draw your
attention to both these realities without which our conference and
our forward journey will become meaningless.

Our world is torn and divided. Bishops are expected to bring their
dioceses with them to the Lambeth conference. Bishops whose dioceses
strive to be faithful through the challenges that come through God’s
word will bring along with their dioceses the pains, injustices,
struggle , evil, and hostility that men and women encounter in
today’s world. It is true saying that God gives the church an agenda
out of the crises of the world. And so my dear sisters and brothers
in Christ, the world Anglican Communion must always give the highest
priority to participate with Christ in transforming God’s world. To
bring healing, peace, justice, reconciliation and abundant life where
there is oppression hostility, and strife.

This concept of the world in pain must run through this conference
for the conference to receive the energy and spirituality of our
church. No other priority can contend for that place. God has called
us and placed us in God’s world so that we might participate with him
in bringing this transformation.

The second reality is that we are a wounded community. Some of us are
not here. And that is an indication that all is not well. Certainly
the crisis is complex. It is not a conflict that can be resolved
instantly. The journey ahead is a long and arduous one, that will
demand our prayers and faithfulness, our mutual trust in each other
and of course our trust in God who makes reconciliation possible.

I would like to draw your attention to the parable read as the
gospel. The words of the master were: let them grow together, there
must be no uprooting, simply because if we attempt this game of
uprooting the unrighteous, none of us will remain. We are all a mix
of the wheat and the weeds. The wisdom of these words suggests that
we stay together because we have grown from a common soil, tradition,
and heritage. We are what we are regardless of our differences.
Transformation comes in this interaction and transformation must come
from within.

In Jaffna a church is being converted into a centre for conflict
reconciliation and peace: Christ Church Jaffna. It has been
renovated. Something is emerging, an agenda for peace and
reconciliation in this place. We have decided to retain the marks and
scars on the wall of this church. Transformation comes from within.
The old gradually converts as men and women pray and talk and
dialogue and disagree as we must. Disciples of Jesus stay together
and journey together.
There are three challenges to leave with us as we address the
objectives of this Lambeth Conference. To strengthen our Anglican
identity, and to enable bishops to be leaders in God’s mission.

Here are three thoughts that could contribute to identity and
mission. First, our communion must return to the discipline and
practice of self-scrutiny. We have a rich tradition that supports
this discipline: the retreat, the quiet time, contemplation,
spiritual counsellors. All of which enhance the practice and
discipline of men and women coming to God in stillness to evaluate
and examine their lives. The parable of the plank and the speck of
dust. Christ calls us to be hard on ourselves and calls us to
consider him only as our measure and our standard. So we stand and
evaluate our ourselves in relation to the fulness and the abundance
of life in Jesus. Then when shortcomings are detected we work with
the Spirit to overcome, to grow, to become beautiful and faithful in
the eyes of Christ. The standard is always Christ. It is not that
bishop who is giving you trouble or archdeacon whose theology always
irritates you. Self scrutiny is possible in the Christian journey as
we stand naked before Jesus the Christ.

The second challenge that I would to leave with you is one we would
like to declare again and again. The challenge of unity in diversity.
As I look around and see you I see this wonderful unity in diversity.
When the sacrament is administered, lips from numerous countries and
nationalities will touch the same cup. We are united in support of
the fact we are different in Christ , we are equal. There is enough
to go around if none will be greedy. Here my sisters and brothers is
an insight of what the church is called to be. an inclusive communion
where there is space equally for everyone and anyone, regardless of
colour, gender, sexual orientation, ability. Unity in diversity is a
cherished Anglican tradition a spirituality which we must reinforce
in all humility for the sake of Christ and Christ’s gospel.

The third challenge that I have for you is that of the prophetic
book. It is not complete unless we address and deal with the
injustice of the world. And so the world Anglican Communion must
articulate this prophetic voice regardless of where we serve in the
world. Now as many of you will be aware, the prophetic voice has two
strands, and it is imperative that these two strands are held
together. First the prophetic voice is the voice of the voiceless.
There are those who for political, cultural, economic, and military
reasons cannot speak for themselves. Or if they do, they do so at
tremendous peril. And so the Anglican Communion must speak on their
behalf, whether it be on the crisis in Sri Lanka, in Zimbabwe, in
Sudan, or Afghanistan, or Iran. The voiceless must be given a voice
through the leadership of the Anglican Communion.

The second strand which goes with a voice for the voiceless is the
calling into accountability of those who abuse power. To
authoritarian regimes who oppress and suppress the people the
prophetic voice will ask pertinent and relevant questions. Two other
comments about the prophetic tradition. In a sense the prophetic
voice is monotonous. It is the same thing as long as the problem
remains. And so you do not need to worry that you are not saying
anything new. Relentless monotony.
Then there is no self interest in the prophetic voice. We speak for
justice and order in Gods world and and we speak on behalf of those
who cannot speak for themselves.

I want to conclude by quoting one of my favourite archbishops. Not
Rowan Williams as yet. Archbishop William Temple who once said hat
the church is the one institution that does not live for itself. My
dear sisters and brothers as we move from this wonderful retreat
through this beautiful eucharist into our conference, let us hold on
to these words. Here is the crux of Anglican identity and
spirituality. We do not live for ourselves, and all our gifts are to
be directed towards abundant life for the other.

at KANTINHO DO REV

"... that they may be One, even as the Father and I are One..." prays Jesus

There is something so beautiful about this......

There is a small restaurant near the University and the Canterbury House that I sometimes frequent for lunch, mainly because it's close, and because it is one of the few Chinese restaurants to have a a good selection of veggies on the buffet. It's a sweet little family run place, where many Hispanics and students hang out for meals. Today, it is closed- not because it is Sunday- but because the family and the community are in mourning for the death of the son of the owners, who was abducted and murdered recently while delivering an order. Last night, there was a community vigil to pray for him and the family, and to pray for peace in our little town.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event. On Wednesday a woman was attacked while running (just yards away from the Church). the man was armed and tried to bind her hands, but she resisted and he fled (and is still at large). On July 1 a university student was also attacked by a man fitting the same description, while she was running along Hanover St (on the trails I usually like to walk on).

Fredericksburg is normally a quiet, peaceful town, where neighbors still know each other and speak with each other, where one feels safe walking alone on the streets at night... until now.... this bucolic Mayberry is becoming plagued by a stream of violence.

Part of the Canterbury Clubs mission is to pray and work for peace. In fact, we chose to name the chapel, Prince of Peace Chapel to remind us of our call to be peacemakers. There is a cross in the chapel on which those who suffer from persecution and violence are named and prayers are offered for them. The idea was that we would pray for Iraq, Sudan, The Middle East, etc. I do not think any of us dreamed we would be naming people who had been victims of violence outside our door. It is clear that our mission for peacemaking is becoming "real" and "at home"- of course we will pray and speak out against violence, but I am praying about what else we can do to stand against the rise of violence in our neighborhood and in the world. Part of me thinks this is the fruit born from the violence our country has been sowing throughout the world: Now is the time to sow peace, love, and justice. Now is the time to cry with those who mourn, to rage with those who are sick and tired of the power given to violence by those who have the ability to act against it but who sit complacent in the face of it, to resist the evil within ourselves that feeds the evil in the world, to pray for mercy, and to act for a transformed world that looks more like the world Jesus proclaimed was coming among us as God's Reign.

Stay tuned.... I can't wait to see what ideas the students have when the gather back here in August....

You see a clip of the vigil here.