felix hominum

Pan-Fried Jesus

Too good not to share (via Leighton Tebay):

Update: in case you want to go further in this direction, you can always log on to Pancakes for Jesus.

Be Not Afraid

Two contrasting articles caught my attention recently.  One is a piece on Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche - which I've blogged about a few times.   The second is an article from the Daily Mail about abortion based on relatively minor (and often correctable) 'deformities'.  (Both via T19). 

Let me tell you a story.

Benotafraid.net is an online outreach to parents who have received a poor or difficult prenatal diagnosis. The family stories, articles, and links within this site are presented as a resource for those who may have been asked to choose between terminating a pregnancy or continuing on despite the diagnosis. The benotafraid.net families faced the same decision and chose not to terminate. By sharing our experiences, we hope to offer encouragement to those who may be afraid to continue on.

Our story is up on  benotafraid.net  - if you are interested you can have a look.   The site is what it is - stories of ordinary people facing difficult choices in real life- nothing more and nothing less.

In February of 2001 my wife were expecting our second child. We had gone for the usual routine ultrasounds, and were waiting for the standard commentary from our obstetrician. What we heard instead was that the baby appeared to be having some difficulties. There were signs of congestive heart failure. It was explained to us that there were several possible factors which might be causing this. One factor was the possibility of a genetic abnormality. We consented to having an amniocentesis – a genetic test. The results of the test confirmed to a high degree of probability that our second child had Down Syndrome, or Trisomy 21. We were asked if we would like to terminate the pregnancy...

you can read the of our story rest here.

the proof that I am not a plumber

is now slowly draining away into the basement...

when WWJD just goes south

Last night at sol cafe we had an enjoyable conversation that went all over the place.  I want to pick up on a single thread:  hearing God.   This whole business of discerning who or what it is that God wants me to be. 

There are sometimes a few stages to questions & conversations.  I'm prone to using any of the following methods of "answering".  I'm not saying that any of these kinds of answers are good or bad (kinda depends), but here's my short list:

A]  the "versified" answer ("look at this little passage - it solves everything!")
B]  the "deep" answer (it's all about becoming the full vision of humanity in Christ blah blah blah)
C]  the "rabbi" answer (I have figured this out in my life - just listen to me)

Ya know, there are times when posing the WWJD question won't give a satisfactory answer.  Like if said, hmm...  should I take my wife out on a romantic date this weekend?   WWJD?  I trust that Jesus wouldn't, as that would be fairly unethical of Him to do that sort of thing with another man's wife.  Think about it.

How do I discern what God is calling me to?

Two contrasting bits of story from this morning's readings;  Gideon looking for a sign, and the letter to the Hebrews.   First Gideon (Judges 6:17) meets up with an angel of the Lord who tells him to do this and that.  And Gideon wants a bit more confirmation:   "Then he said to him, ‘If now I have found favour with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me."  And a sign is given, along with a few other signs to come. 

Does God guide us this way?  Does He show us unmistakably what we are to do, where we are to go, who we are to be?  Well, sometimes yes.

Then the author of the letter to the Hebrews takes things in a different direction & starts talking about "those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil." (5:14).   What is this about?  You mean that some of us need to "practice" figuring out what the right thing to do is?  It just isn't automatic?  Or is there a season of growth where we need to sharpen our spiritual wits in order to figure out, discern, judge what the best course of action is?

Either/or;  both/and - Pentecost is coming up...gift of the Holy Spirit

oops - gotta go and will pick this up later - building maintenance has arrived to replace the ductwork in the offices at this end of the building, I'll edit later.

CUPE votes to boycott Israel

The Ontario divison of Canada's largest union has voted to support an international campaign that is boycotting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians... 

Delegates to the Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario convention in Ottawa voted overwhelmingly Saturday to support the campaign until it sees Israel recognizing the Palestinians' right to self-determination. The Ontario group represents more than 200,000 workers.

read the rest at CBC

"give it to the people and let them eat"

A man came from Baal-shali-shah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, "Give it to the people and let them eat."

But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" So he repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, 'They shall eat and have some left.'"

He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

2 Kings 4:42-44

Sometimes it not so much about how God will provide for me, as how God asks me, in faith, hope and love, to provide for others.

does "the world" hate Christians

I was chatting with a colleague who was working on that passage where Jesus talks about how much "the world" hates him, and so "the world" will not like his disciples much and yada yada yada.

I don't think that it matters all that much to many of us whether or not we are popular with the general public.  In a sense we take for granted the protections of a secular society in which we are general shielded from the effects of someone's dislike for us.

What this got me thinking about, though, are the places where people can be and are persecuted simply for being Christian.  Places where a bad attitude toward Christians can and does translate into action against Christians.  Now I'm sure we are familiar with the cross and suffering and all that stuff, but it strikes me that there is something about loving my neighbor that includes my Christian neighbor as well.  Even to the point of recognizing that there are still places where being a Christian can get you into a lot of hot water.

There is some thought provoking reading over at Voice of the Martyrs.

the original "Left Behind"

The original "Left Behind" happened almost 2000 years ago.  Forty days after the first Easter, to be precise.  People who like to keep tabs on this sort of thing and give out titles call this Ascension Day - remembering when Jesus "ascended" into heaven, leaving the rag tag disciples behind.

He told them to wait for the Spirit.   Don't leave home with it.

But really, what are we supposed to do now that we've been left behind?  Well, carry on the work that Jesus gave us to do.  "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven?".  It is actually time to start looking around.  Looking around to see what he has called us to do.  Looking around to see him in the least of his brethren.

We are left behind.  Like John the Baptist, we might protest that we need Jesus to do something for us, and yet he comes and asks us to do something for him,   "Let it be so now", Jesus said, "for it is right that in this way we will fulfill all righteousness".   We?  We?  What is this "We will fulfill all righteousness"?   Jesus has left us behind, because he invites us to be partners with him in his continuing ministry.   It is really quite a remarkable thing - that Jesus issues this invitation at the very beginning of his earthly ministry (with John the Baptist), and then he issues the invitation again at the end of his earthly ministry.  We are to be "witnesses", in Jerusalem (where we are), in Samaria (where surely they don't deserve anything), and even to the ends of the earth (beyond our asking and imagining).

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

UPDATE:  it has been brought to my attention that there is a "Left Behind Video Game" in the mix somewhere, which one commentator has called "Grand Theft Auto for Christians".  I will leave judgment to my discerning betters.

Dame Julian, Jesus and procreation

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings…   Luke 13: 34

What I want to talk about is this:  in our anglican discussions‚ around marriage & blessings and all that good stuff, there is a not much discussion about the place & purpose of children in this whole marriage thing.  Now I’m not going to say there is cause to coin a term like paedophobia – the irrational fear of bringing children into the world.  But I want to gently remind myself that whole business we so technically term “procreation” is a means of grace, an opportunity to imitate God, and a part of the order of creation as intended by the Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit.  I want to explore some of this in our current approach to marriage as articulated in two documents which I am slowly trying to wrap my head (and heart) around:  more a "voyage of discovery" than a set treatise.

…procreation is no longer portrayed as the primary end of marriage in our Anglican liturgies of holy matrimony (Book of Common Prayer, p. 170; Book of Alternative Services p. 528)

St Michael Report

That the procreation of children has become a bracketed option is telling. Whereas the 1662 liturgy had listed procreation of children as the first purpose of marriage, and the 1918 version had moved it into the second position  (following “the hallowing of the union betwixt man and woman,” no  less), the Book of Alternative Services lists it as the third, and clearly optional, place. This speaks, of course, to the  current pastoral realities of remarriage and blended families, as well  as to the marriage of older, post-menopausal persons. It also reflects,  however, the fact that even younger couples may choose to forge a childless  marriage; it reflects this, but neither the liturgy itself nor the introductory  rubrics offer any reflection on the meaning of such a monumental shift… 

Rev. Jamie Howison, in Thinking Faithfully about Sex and Marriage

In the two papers recently posted from members of the Primate’s Theological Commission, there is much reflection on the relational nature of marriage, with emphasis upon the two individuals who comprise the relationship.  In both of these papers, and in the St Michael Report itself, the language around the relationship of the adults in question has been fairly positive.

The language used of children, while accurate, is not nearly so involved, personal or appealing to the emotions.  The texts speak of “procreation”, and the possibility of how “procreation” (it’s actually people we are talking about here) form a fundamental aspect of the broader experience and intention of human sexuality is often left unexplored.

There are probably several reasons for this.  First is that the writers recognize that not all marriages will produce children.  Fair enough; and I don’t have much to add just yet to observations already made on that particular aspect of the topic.  Second, children as seen (or at least written of) in a fairly “objectied” manner.  They are not actually spoken of as persons with whom one has a relationship that can be transformed into something “God-ish”;  that kind of language is reserved for the sexual partner.  And that is something that troubles me.

What is missing from the addendum of children, what Jamie Howison notes as the “bracketing” of this in the BAS, is the essentially relational quality of the act of procreation. Just as the Eucharist is not simply the objects “bread” and “wine”, so procreation (such a technical piece of terminology) is not simply the act of having sex and producing a small copy of something that looks like a human being.  It is the creation of life with a view to a new kind of relationship – parent/child; mother daughter; father/son.   And it is not a “one off” event.  It is a transformative event stretched out over a lifetime (and beyond). 

AND thus I saw that God rejoiceth that He is our Father, and God rejoiceth that He is our Mother, and God rejoiceth that He is our Very Spouse and our soul is His loved Wife. And Christ rejoiceth that He is our Brother, and Jesus rejoiceth that He is our Saviour. These are five high joys, as I understand, in which He willeth that we enjoy; Him praising, Him thanking, Him loving, Him endlessly blessing.

Julian of Norwich, in Revelations of Divine Love

Lady Julian recognized something in Jesus that “mothers” us, as the Church has discovered in the language of Jesus, via the Scriptures, a God whom we call “Abba”.  The relationships within the Trinity of the Father and the Son are themselves revealed to us in terms which are given meaning only as we know (either specifically in our own experience or generally by observing such relationships in the wider community) what the relationship of father and son is, or, (to take up Lady Julian’s imagery and that of Scripture) of mothering and nurture.

Why are children not primarily a “bracket” in marriage?  Because the having of children expands the relationships within the marriage.  And in so doing these persons (yes, children are persons) give us insight into the Fatherhood of God, into the Sonship of Jesus, and into the imitation of the creative and life giving God which is offered us through relationship with these people.

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings…

L'Arche event

This Friday, May 26, at St Thomas D'Aquin Church (83 Ave & 89 St), 5:30 pm.

If you've never been to a L'Arche event, come along to this one.  This will be an evening of food and fun, games, singing, and whatever else can be used to express the joy of the Lord.

L'Arche is an international community of persons with developmental disabilities and their friends.  The local L'Arche community is on the lookout for some volunteers, as well as live-in assistants.

ps -  you can also join us for prayer and worship at the same address on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month, at 7 pm.

Why I don't follow cricket

Simple.  Because I don't speak the language.   After I master Ugaritic, I'll try my hand at "CricketScoring".

Ramnaresh Sarwan's 98 helped the West Indies to 198-9 but despite India's openers going cheaply, Yuvraj looked to be guiding them towards victory.

But when Chris Gayle had Harbhajan Singh caught and bowled in the second last over, it set up a dramatic finale.

Yuvraj was bowled for 93 and India were all out for 197 with two balls left.

It was a remarkable scoreline considering the West Indies had been 1-2 in the early stages, with Gayle out for a duck and Runako Morton for one.

Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul pushed the score to 43-4 before Sarwan and Marlon Samuels steadied the ship with a partnership of 60, which ended when Samuels was caught out for 19.

from the BBC sports

I was going to post a scorecard, but the file is just too large.  You can look at one here.

I just barely manage things like Oilers beat Mighty Ducks, 3-1.

Why David is a man after God's own heart

Here's where David "gets it":

That day Gad came to David and said to him, ‘Go up and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.’ Following Gad’s instructions, David went up, as the Lord had commanded. When Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming towards him; and Araunah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. Araunah said, ‘Why has my lord the king come to his servant?’ David said, ‘To buy the threshing-floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be averted from the people.’ Then Araunah said to David, ‘Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him; here are the oxen for the burnt-offering, and the threshing-sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.’

And Araunah said to the king, ‘May the Lord your God respond favourably to you.’But the king said to Araunah, ‘No, but I will buy them from you for a price; I will not offer burnt-offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.’

2 Samuel 24:18-24

David was a man after God's own heart.  Not because of all the rotten stuff he did (like arranging murder and adultery), but because there were some moments where he "got it".  This is one of those moments.  David, I suppose, was well within his rights, and certainly within his power, to simply take this piece of real estate away from Araunah and use it to build an altar.  After all, Gad did not relay a message that said "buy it" or "rent it" - the message simply said to erect an altar here, on this spot.  Maybe you think:  well, this doesn't really cost him all that much - he's a king, he's rich!  That could be, but I think there is something conveyed by this little story that is worth pondering.

This is where David gets it:  I will not offer burnt-offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.   There is an attitude here that is really only summed up by the words themselves.  I think it says something to us about the nature of what we offer to God - does it cost us?  Not in that nit-picky sense of look-at-my-tax-receipt and see what I've given in the offering envelope this year.  I mean in that deeper sense of knowing that this offering really "cost me".

It's an attitude of sacrifice toward God.  It's a display of Christ-like-ness in David.  Would that I had the same attitude.  And not just with money (although that is as good place to start as any), but with all that I have and all that I am.   I suppose I am willing to sacrifice for those I love.  Hopefully I do it without really questioning - because I love them, I am willing to sacrifice, to let it cost me something.  And if I love them, then there can even be joy in the sacrifice. 

Like, and unlike, the Cross.

Heart, soul, mind and strength - does this offering cost me nothing?

I will not offer burnt-offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.

just of bit of gardening

They say it's called the "Slow Food Movement", but at the end of the day I simply prefer a vegetable garden.  One of the secrets of the soil that I bring to many hip discussions on campus is the fact that the square footage of our garden is greater than that of our house.  Almost gets you as many points as driving a hybrid or smart car.  But much less technology is involved.  Mainly just arms and backs, fingers and such.

There is the great pleasure and discipline of patient tending.   Things grow slowly (except for weeds).  Watering must be done deeply.  Shallow watering produces shallow roots. 

The business about weeding is tricky.  It is hard to say just how much water and nutrient the small weeds take away from the crop you want.  It is very easy to simply let them grow another week, thinking that "when they get bigger I'll deal with them."

And of course there is the weather.  We are at the mercy of something beyond our control...

"The Grace of Eros"

"The primary question which the church must decide, then, is whether it  can recognize, in the phenomenon of two people of the same gender falling in love, a potential gift and sign of God’s grace."

from the Rev Paul Jennings of the Primate's Theological Commission.

find the links listed here.

update:  It seems that upon a re-reading of the Rev Jennings paper, his bottom line is really this:  that the idea of "falling in love" should propel us to

…new emphases for our understanding of what the marriage liturgy is  about. Firstly, it suggests that one purpose of the wedding is an  act of celebration and thanksgiving for the love that the couple has found.

I will have a bit more to say about this paper and the other papers produced by the PTC sometime in the future.  But for now let this suffice.  It appears that the theology of marriage, based on what the Rev. Jennings is writing about, is focused on bringing a blessing on that which is already, naturally present.  The focus is not on what God brings by grace to the couple, but on the church blessing whatever phenomenon is already present and active in the lives of the people there.

It is in some ways attractive:  who doesn't want to say that being in love is a good thing?  Especially if it's with your wife or husband?  Of course, many people have left their spouses because they have fallen in love, but that is another story.

What is a sacrament, and what has all this to do with our sacramental notions of marriage?  Is baptism only a celebration of what I bring to it?  Is the Eucharist only a celebration and thanksgiving for the communion I already have with Christ and with His people?  Is marriage only a thanksgiving for a kind of love which is already present?

Or is marriage something more?
 

ecclesiology of the emerging church

Jordan has a piece up on his blog from Jaren Siebert of life cycle project entitled:   

The Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church.

will read & think about...

Augustine & Monica vs. Da Vinci & Judas

A] Sketchy outline:

One of the differences between Christianity and its gnostic cousins is highlighted by St Augustine in the ninth book of his Confessions.  Augustine spent a number of years as a follower of the Manichean sect, a group that had a gnostic bent.

A hallmark of gnosticism is that the path to God went mainly through the intellect.  Images of 'enlightenment' abound in gnosticism, as does a disparaging of attempting to reach a vision of God by other means, such as physical activity.  Remember second year philosophy and the Platonic ascent?  You get to God through your mind - leave this earthly stuff and its activities behind.

In the ninth book of the Confessions, Augustine (the intellectual) sits down with his mother Monica (the faithful Christian mother).  As they sit and talk together, they have a vision of God.   What happens in this vision?  Well, two things.  First, as might be expected by the philosophers, Augustine grasps something of God - this is not news for the ancient world, nor for the gnostics in general.  We get to know God by enlightenment, right?

Well, Monica has the same vision of God that Augustine does.  Now how do the gnostics/ the ancients/ the philosophers explain this?  One answer is to discount it.  "This can't possibly be true.  Only the enlightened, the ones with the knowledge, can see the true God".  BZZZ .  Wrong answer.

Monica has been a faithful Christian.  There is something about simply living the Christian life in all its practical, earthy demands and details, that brings you closer to the living God.  It's as if "doing the truth", as exemplified by Monica, is how she "gets to see God".   The gnostics would never understand this.   How can this fool of a woman who "merely" goes to church and prays and lives a rather ordinary life of charitable works with no intellectual training get to have a vision of God?  Impossible, they say.   Yet there it is.   For the Christian, 'knowing the truth' and 'doing the truth' go hand in  hand.  Augustine and Monica sit down together, and together they see God.

Part B] later:  "mystical vision" in the early church.

Census Day

Which I think must be a national holiday for Canadian blogger Magic Statistics, aka Scott Gilbraith.

Council of General Synod highlights

Since these are the sorts of things that interest only me and about 3 other people in the world, I've put the highlights that caught my eye over here.

Stop the Insanity! "Baby TV"

My friends, the end is near:

Doctors riled by launch of TV channel for babies

BabyFirstTV is available via satellite from DirecTV at a cost of $9.99 US a month. It will not be available in Canada.

Thank the Lord.

The channel is safe, commercial-free and has appropriate content for children under age two.

'Appropriate content' for children under two?  You mean, like the channel is full of parents and love and stuff?

A 2003 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 68 per cent of children under two watch TV or videos daily and 26 per cent have a TV in their bedroom.

What's up with St Paul's laundry?

From this morning's readings:

"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them."

Acts 19:11-12

lessons on generosity & stewardship

Tim has given me the advice that I should catch some music at a club, rather than give a workshop at our diocesan gathering around "stewardship" this weekend.  I'm tempted...

On Thursday afternoon Mrs Felix was out and about with daughter #1, at some sort of school picnic thingy.  Part way through the event it was discovered that daughter # 1 was going about giving small amounts of cash away to other 7 year olds, much to their mutual delight and satisfaction.  Word of this got around.   It turned out upon maternal investigation that she had about $40 in bills and coins on her person.   She was happily distributing this to other kids at the playground, and pointing them in the direction of the concessions, ice cream, etc.

"Where did you get all this money?"

"From Daddy"

"He gave you all this?"

"Kind of, no, but I know where he keeps it, and I knew he wouldn't mind.  He has lots.  There is always some on his desk, and in the little thing in the front of the van, and sometimes in his pants, and in the top little pocket of his knapsack.  He has tons of it.  And I thought he would like me to share it.  Do you want a hot dog?"

I think I'm going to use this as my opener tomorrow.

Democracy in action at General Synod?

The number of delegates a diocese elects is based on the number of licensed clergy in the diocese. In 2004, for instance, heavily-populated Toronto sent 24 delegates.

from the Anglican Journal

Now I haven't really looked into this very much, but is this the case?  Or am I missing something in translation?  So if you have 100 clergy and 100 people in the pews, you get more representation than if you have 10 clergy and 10000 people in the pews?  Seems odd to me, and doesn't make sense given the second line, which would seem to indicate proportional representation.  Will have to look into this a bit at some point.

diocesan gathering - stewardship

This weekend I am giving a workshop at a diocesan gathering.  The title for the conference has to do with "Stewardship".   If anyone has a ready made presentation, please send it along.  Personally, I've always felt that the best examples of 'stewardship', or at least diligent tithing, was to be found in cults.  Any thoughts?

"I wish Sarah was different", or, I know that my redeemer lives

I suspected that it would happen eventually.  One day, our oldest daughter let something out.  "I wish Sarah was different.  I wish she didn't have this."

Yes, so do I.  How does one begin to respond to the questions of a 7 year old on such things?  I suspect that over the last few years, as Emily has grown and become more aware of a sibling who is "different", many questions have arisen in her mind.  Why is she like this?  Why can't she do this, or that?  Why does she see the doctor so much?  Will she get better?

Emily:

It is true, she will get better.  How can I begin to explain?  You know about Jesus, and you remember Easter?  How Jesus died and then God raised him up to life again?  Well, we all need to be raised up again.  None of us are really the way the God wants us to be.  We all have parts of us that are broken and need God to help us.  Some of it is on the inside, and some of it is on the outside.

Well, you see, with Sarah it looks like a lot of it is on the outside.  The world and all the people in it need God, because we all need fixing.  That's what Jesus came to do.  He's helping us get fixed.  He fixes us on the inside, where our hearts are.  He helps us love God and each other.  But he also is going to fix us on the outside.  And that's part of Easter, too.  Jesus promised that he would fix people who are broken on the outside too.  And he will help Sarah to get better on the outside.  It just won't happen right away.  It will happen later on, when Sarah gets a new kind of body from God. 

What will that be like?  Well, all the good things that Sarah tries to do and can't  -  she'll be able to do all those things then.  Like when she tries to sing along but can't keep up, or can't say the words?  You know she wants to on the inside but her outside just doesn't work as well.   When God gives her a new body - her outside will be fixed just like her inside.  She'll be able to sing all those songs to God - maybe she'll even sing better than you and me!  And she won't have to go to the hospital anymore - her outside will be happy and healthy and she won't need to

But for now we have to wait.  It might seem like a long time, or it might seem like a short time.  I don't know.  But I do know this:  Jesus has promised to give us new hearts, and someday he will give us new bodies to put our new hearts in. 

part one...

new members for UN Human Rights Council

China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia and Saudi Arabia were among 44 states confirmed on the 47-strong council, elected by the UN General Assembly.

The new body replaces the Human Rights Commission, discredited for having members with terrible rights records.


full story at the BBC

Now, I'm not an expert or anything.   And in the world of blogging, that fact in and of itself qualifies me to say stuff on just about anything.   Does anyone else see even a hint of irony in all of this?  I'm just sayin'. 

a day in the life of Darfur

in pictures

via mere comments

From The New Republic, photos by Brian Steidle.

We've used up our thousand words...

Some thoughts from Brian Steidle:

Our mission was to document violations of the cease-fire agreement--attacks on villages, troop movement, and military operations. This is what we witnessed: villages of up to 20,000 inhabitants burned to the ground with nothing left but ash frames; scores of dead bodies with bound arms--males had been castrated and children had been beaten to death; evidence of execution-style deaths. In the village of Um Louta, which was destroyed in November 2004, many of the 37 people who had been killed had been locked in their huts before being burned alive. We interviewed women who had been gang raped--one report alleged that there had been approximately 70 rapes in a group of refugee camps during a period of only a few days.

My conscience would not allow me to stand by and take no further action. I became convinced that I must tell the story of what I witnessed to the world.

ps:  if you want to contact your MP, you can locate him/her easily here.

have your kids ever caught you at it?

It's late in the evening, and you think you have a little bit of private time all to yourselves.  The last time you checked the kids were all asleep.  And so you begin.  Sometimes it has seemed lately that there just hasn't been enough time, or energy, or even desire for this as there was in the early years.  And trying to do it with a 5 week old semi-sleeping next to you, well, you get the picture.

You start, and it takes some warm up time because there is so much on your minds.  Finally, the peace, the space,  and then - because your minds are focused elsewhere, you didn't even hear the small footsteps creeping down the hallway.  Before you know it 3 kids have stumbled into the room, and caught you in the act.  And there the two of you are -  praying.

Have your kids ever caught you at it?

a soldier, a pacifist, and a manager of violence

There is no doubt that I was trained in the art of violence (the politically correct term is to say I was a 'manager of violence' which should curl your toes) but I always considered myself a pacifist.  Is such a combination possible?

read the rest

Satan; fact or fiction, pt II

I ran across an interesting piece over here which relates to the topic of the earlier post on this question.

how I hope I am being shaped

I think one of the first times I met the then future Mrs Felix she was singing in tongues or something like that.  It might be said that we still have our own personal flavours...be that all as it may.   The impetus for this brief reflection was a conversation over at the sol cafe.

This is only a partial answer to a series of questions, but in general, what are some of the ways in which I believe God has and is shaping me? This is a rather technical sort of post - blah, blah blah yes there is all that most important stuff about people and community, but the reality of those things is hidden perhaps by the language of what I'm trying to relate.

Well, speaking of formation, the ways in which I trust God has shaped me are found in what the Anglicans call a "rule of life" - sort of a personal and yet corporate kind of Christian formation. The center of my spiritual formation is the practice of "daily offices" - an old monastic tradition of prayer and Scripture reading at various times of the day. I was introduced to it about 23 years ago.

We are essentially formed by God's choice to live and act in us through his Spirit. This is one way that I believe God has done this with me. I open up the floor for others to join in and tell how they believe/trust/suspect that God shapes and forms them, if they even see that as part of whatever is happening...

The goal? purpose? achievable spiritual commodity outcome of a rule of life is to be shaped by the various ways I/we trust that God wants and intends to shape us. So from my liturgical Anglican spirituality, here is an outline taken from the Book of Common Prayer:

Every Christian man or woman should from time to time frame for himself a RULE OF LIFE in accordance with the precepts of the Gospel and the faith and order of the Church; wherein he may consider the following:

The regularity of his attendance at public worship and especially at the holy Communion.
The practice of private prayer, Bible-reading, and self-discipline.
Bringing the teaching and example of Christ into his everyday life.
The boldness of his spoken witness to his faith in Christ.
His personal service to the Church and the community.
The offering of money according to his means for the support of the work of the Church at home and overseas.

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At some point I want to delve into the topic of prayer a bit more, and this is just a start. 

"Lord teach us to pray";  how has he taught you?