felix hominum

General Convention 06

Hey, I just remembered.  Didn't the Episcopal church down in the states get together for something recently?

I musta missed it.  I wonder if anything happened...

I'll have to look into it, one of these days.

in the meantime, there was some sort of grade 1 science project happening in our kitchen which involved hatching chickens.  rather ugly at this stage, wot?

...BBQ in 6-8 weeks...

Anger, God, and Psalms

A question posted on another site by a youth group:

"We were talking about the Psalms and it was kind of surprising to find out that the Psalms weren't all about kissing up to God trying to get on God's good side."

And the question that came out of our conversation was "Is it wrong to be angry at God? Do we have to always praise God, or can we really tell God how mad we are at Him when things go wrong or when bad things happen?"

Is it wrong to be angry at God?  Which is slightly different from telling God you are angry at Him.

One of the reasons I love the psalms is they allow me to give expression to things that I sometimes just can't find my own words for.  Perhaps one can safely say that it is "wrong" to be angry at God, but I would have to add that it is never wrong to be honest with God.   I am most open about who I am with those I trust.  With those whom I believe love me.  And it is a measure of the quality of friendship that one can be honest.  So expressing to God our honest feelings, be they joy and contentment or fear and anger, is part of our trust in God.  It is part of growing in the security of God's love for us.   And the psalms help us express such a wide range of experiences, including anger and frustration. 

But let me tell you a story...

When we first heard the news that Sarah Joy, our second daughter, was suffering from congestive heart failure in the womb and might not live, I turned to the psalms.  We were told that it was likely that she had some genetic defect (later determined to be Down Syndrome) and that there were major complications with the development of her heart.  She was suffering before she was born, and we were at that time unsure if she would live at all.  What can I tell you?

I knew that I needed someone else to help me speak what was inside - the sadness, the mourning, the sense of complete helplessness and complete love.  And that where the psalms become a gift from God to us.  I did not read the psalms.  I prayed them.  And that is where we find the treasure of the psalms.  For in the act of taking up the prayers of ones who went before me, I found myself praying the common prayers of humanity - of all God's people through the ages.  It is something akin to being surrounded by "so great a cloud of witnesses" - these are the prayers of the communion of the saints...

Incline your ear , O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy...
In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me...

Yes, the psalms (as great songs do) help give voice to our lives, including the anger and the loss.  But I must also confess that the psalm which brought me greatest relief was not, in the end, a lament.  It was a psalm of praise.   And In the middle of the night, kicking through the debris of my heart, I found relief in praise, and in declaring back to God the greatness of the One Who Is.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!


You have set your glory above the heavens.
   Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
   to silence the enemy and the avenger.


When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
   mortals that you care for them?


Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
   and crowned them with glory and honour.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
   you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
   and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
   whatever passes along the paths of the seas.


O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8

sol cafe this week

is happening, but I don't know what we are doing, so I should find out  by asking people in the know.

and remember you have all summer to drop by the sculpture from Rob, Ryan,  and that other guy

it's up at the Royal Alberta Museum - a cohort from sol was there for the opening reception, and I think we need at least one more meander some afternoon.

and ps - leva was nuts during the Australia - Italy game.  Antonio & company were sweating...

new bishop for Calgary

Archdeacon Derek Hoskin, of Red Deer, was elected Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Calgary on the second ballot by 279 delegates at the 69th Synod, a special electoral synod. The all day conference began with Eucharist celebrated by the Metropolitan at St. James Anglican Church, Calgary.

story, etc.

church anger management

While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, ‘Brothers, up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God.’ Then the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth. At this Paul said to him, ‘God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?’ Those standing nearby said, ‘Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?’ And Paul said, ‘I did not realize, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, “You shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.” ’Acts 23: 1-5

I find this one of the most challenging passages in the New Testament.

It is too easy to express anger at the various targeted leaders of our churches because, well, we all know that God should surely strike them, they are doing things contrary to the law, and they are whitewashed walls.  (You can read that previous sentence as literal or as tongue in cheek, depending on the day of the week, the particular leader you want to talk about, or your sensitivity to any particualr issue being discussed).

Paul exhibits an extraordinary amount of grace in this episode.   Here he is, being treated unjustly by the high priest.  Paul knows that the high priest is breaking the law.  He knows that the high priest is not on "his side".  So how does Paul respond?

...it is written, “You shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.”

I suppose there are really only two options.  First, I can say that Paul was being sarcastic;  he didn't really mean what he was saying.  So of course this is not an example to follow.  Surely leaders who are in "violation of the law" need to be called out as "whitewashed walls".  The well being of their flocks is at stake.   Secondly, I can say that he actually means it.

I am confronted by Paul's response.  If he really means it, well, that shows an extraordinary amount of grace.  Perhaps Paul really does have the Spirit of Christ in him.

It seems to be a course in miniature for church anger management.   I'm just sayin', that's all.

That night the Lord stood near him... 23:11

send your wife away!

No, really;  send her away.

I mean that in the good sense.

There comes a point in every healthy marriage (with children) when you realize that one of your roles as husband is to be the guardian of your wife's sanity.   Not that Mrs. Felix is going crazy, mind you.  Oh dear, I'd better try to explain.

One of the gifts which we try to give each other is the space to get away.  Sometimes the young and the starry-eyed think that every waking moment must be spent together.  Which maybe is okay, and it is the way to go for some folks.  But there is also the need to be refreshed, especially when life is busy and sleep is a rare commodity.  And sometimes the gift that we give is not so much ourselves, but a chance for the other to be herself or himself.  The gift of time, and space, and quiet.

So Mrs. Felix is going on a bit of vacation to the east coast for several weeks this July, taking #1 and #4 with her.  The pater familias of the Felix clan has a lovely place in Nova Scotia, overlooking the ocean.   So grandpa and grandma will do the necessary pampering, and help look after our eldest and our youngest.

Which means, of course, that I'll be looking after these two for three weeks in July.

• casseroles may be dropped off any time between July 3 and July 25
• baths will take place only in the context of "the sprinkler" on hot days
• household cleaning supplies may be dropped off on the evening of July 24

read

a couple of book reviews in the works:

The Secret Message of Jesus (Brian McLaren)
The Da Vinci Codebreaker (Garlow, Jones et al.)

yeah, yeah

reminder

Sidney
(1994-2006)

South Side
8310-104th Street
3:30 pm

on choosing Godparents

It's a fairly narrow topic, and one that is of concern only to those who meet the following criteria:

• You have a kid that you want to get baptized
• You belong to a church that baptizes babies
• Your relatives are coming so you want to get the kid "done"
• You think that baptizing the baby will make him/her less fussy, by an infusion of grace
• You want to pick Godparents like some people pick their wedding party - sort of a token to say that you're my friend/ best loved uncle/got drunk with me in college

So assuming you meet the above criteria, how should you go about selecting Godparents?  We are in the position of having to go through this process for the fourth time in 7 years.  Since we have accumulated such a vast amount of experience, I thought it only fair to share this wealth of insight with those of our readers who find themselves in need.

One of the first things that I want in a godparent for our kids is prayer.   Above all else, I want our kids' godparents to be people of prayer.  I think prayer is the lifelong gift which a godparent gives.   Above Christmas and Easter presents, confirmation books, birthday cards or whatever else you can think of.  When you choose a godparent, choose a person of prayer.  I believe that the people we have chosen as godparents for our first 3 kids are, at heart, people of prayer.

Asking someone to be a godparent is not the same as asking them to have a place of honour at a banquet, or showing them in some way that you like them.  It is about asking them to have an active participation in the life and growth of the child as member of the Kingdom, a disciple.  It is a (hold your breath) responsibility, carried out with love, which lasts for a lifetime.

Later:   horror stories from the baptismal font...things I've seen in person

the curious petitions of Dr. Margaret Somerville

The matter of granting honorary degrees is a piece of academic hoop-jumping which has eluded me for some time now.  It is with interest that I am following the current case of Dr. Margaret Somerville,  a professor at McGill and founding director of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law. 

It seems that Ryerson has her slated for an honorary degree, but there is a bit of opposition to that proposal.  The opposition was organized into an online petition, asking Ryerson not to grant the honorary degree.   Four reasons are listed in support of the petition:

-Margaret Somerville is a McGill University ethicist who is renown (sic) for her controversial views on same-sex rights.
-her views on reproductive rights are anti-feminist.
-she holds anti-gay sentiments and is an outspoken critic of same-sex marriage and families.
-she seeks to restrict access to insemination and methods of "assisted fertility".

There is also a counter petition on the go as well.  (Side note:  it's great to have a free online petition service whenever you need one.)   There are a number of issues bubbling around this one.   It is also quite interesting to read the various comments which accompany the signatures on the two opposing petitions.

On dividing up sculpture

thankfully this sort of thing has not happened to the fine sculptors of studiosavant

An artist's sculpture has been rejected by the Royal Academy of Arts which has instead opted to display the wooden support it was put on.

David Hensel, 64, from East Grinstead, West Sussex, was told the laughing head would be part of the summer exhibition.  But at a preview he found that just a piece of wood intended to support the head was on display on the plinth.

The Academy said the judging panel assumed the two pieces were separate and decided the support was better.

Mr Hensel assumed staff had accidentally left the sculpture in the basement where it was being stored.  In a statement, the Academy said Mr Hensel's work, One Day Closer To Paradise, was submitted as two separate pieces.

"Given their separate submission, the two parts were judged independently.

"It is accepted that works may not be displayed in the way that the artist might have intended."

from the BBC

I have more to say, but I'm at a loss momentarily...

back in town

Well, I'm back in town after the conference, which Tim has summarized from his perspective.  There are a few things to wade through, including seeing what our American friends are up to in the Episcopal church this week.

And other important things like mowing the lawn, if it stops raining.

how a word dies: "inclusive"

I like language.  Those of you who know me understand that I find parsing verbs to be fun.  I have followed for some time the career of a certain word:  "inclusive".  I have watched how it has been used by various groups.  I'm fascinated at how contexts slowly but surely grind away at the expansiveness of meaning and a word becomes, in certain contexts, less than what it was.  I find myself watching this word "inclusive" on the ropes of meaning sometimes. 

Some of my old thoughts on a word I like:

What is “inclusive”?  It is a buzzword that has been floating around Christian circles for some time now, and particularly in the Anglican Church.

The most inclusive community I have been privileged to be a part of is one in which brokenness is most up front and obvious.  It is the faith community of the mentally disabled as I have encountered it in L’arche.  What makes for a Christian vision of inclusiveness?  True Christian inclusiveness admits two things:  an acceptance and profound awareness that each human being bears the image of God, and an acceptance and awareness that each human being lives with a brokenness which can only be healed by the person of Jesus Christ.

If we take the first thing seriously, we cannot but offer that reassuring truth to each human being we meet.  To see another human being is to see that which is nearer to myself than anything else in creation.  A fellow human being is the most glorious thing I will encounter outside of God.  I have more in common with a fellow human being than with anything else in the universe.  I am kindred to every person.  That is the beauty of the faith community of L’arche.

We need also to take the second point seriously.  For that is also close to the heart of the Christian faith.  True Christian inclusiveness, and hence true community, happens when we acknowledge our brokenness before God and one another, and center ourselves around Jesus.  The most fully inclusive Christian community I have been a part of is one where brokenness is so obvious that it cannot be denied.  There is no point in trying to hide it.  Because it is not hidden, it is not shameful.  Hidden or denied brokenness often results in shame.  It is simply there; to be lived with, to be acknowledged, and to be offered up to Jesus for healing in his fashion and in his wisdom.  To have true inclusiveness, we must look to Jesus.

"clergy conference"

yes, it's that time of year again.  what happens when you get a bunch of anglican clergy together for a conference?... will be back again on Friday...

samaritans, pacifism & intervention

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among thieves.

As they were in the process of beating and robbing him, there came a Pharisee, who looked upon the scene.  The Pharisee decided not to intervene, and to come back later when he could offer humanitarian aid, that is, if the man would be alive.

Next, a Levite came by on the same road.  He was horrified by what he saw, and immediately set out to gather the council together and write a letter of protest to the Robbers' Guild, and to put out a press release.

Lastly, a Samaritan came by...

I wonder what the fate of the man who fell among thieves might have been, had someone stumbled across his situation.   Tim has a post up entitled "Living the Disarmed Life", which challenges us to think about a Christian position of pacifism.  Tim has some interesting things to say from time to time on this sort of thing.  Not always exactly in agreement with my own sentiments, but thoughfully put forth nontheless, and worth engaging.

I do wonder, however, what a parable might be like had someone been in the position to prevent the man from being beaten in the first place, and failed to do it.

I'm just sayin', that's all.

the Trinity made easy

Time, space and motion are the created analogs of the Father, Son and Spirit.   Once you understand the mutual relations of time, space and motion, you will have a clearer insight by analogy into the nature of God as Trinity.

It's that simple!

the beginnings of youth ministry

The Church Fathers had a distinctive approach to youth ministry.

Now, don’t jump to conclusions. I haven’t uncovered any evidence that St. Ambrose led teens on ski trips in the nearby Alps. Nor is there anything to suggest that St. Basil sponsored junior-high dances in Pontus. (There’s not even a hint of a pizza party.) In fact, if you check all the documentary evidence from all the ancient patriarchates of the East and the West, you won’t find a single bulletin announcement for a single parish youth group.

Yet the Fathers had enormous success in youth and young-adult ministry. Many of the early martyrs were teens, as were many of the Christians who took to the desert for the solitary life. There’s ample evidence that a disproportionate number of conversions, too, came from the young and youngish age groups.

How did the Fathers do it?

They made wild promises.

They promised young people great things, like persecution, lower social status, public ridicule, severely limited employment opportunities, frequent fasting, a high risk of jail and torture, and maybe, just maybe, an early, violent death at the hands of their pagan rulers.

The Fathers looked young people in the eye and called them to live purely in the midst of a pornographic culture. They looked at some young men and women and boldly told them they had a calling to virginity. And it worked. Even the pagans noticed how well it worked...

some interesting stuff from here

the rise and fall of christian poets

FOR the last century, serious poetry has been largely secular. Literary types see religion as something literature has gotten over. Poets who fail to vanquish any Christian spirituality beyond what is quaint are usually condemned to "inspirational poetry," except poor old T.S. Eliot. But it's his angst that people take seriously, not his prayer.
LA Times

I have several unsupported and false theses:

a]  there must be people whose calling is to be both poet and Christian
b]  they are not on the best seller list in the local Xian book store because sometimes poetry requires work on the reader's part
c]  if the church were more familiar with poetry, we would have more depth in our reading of scripture
d]  the church has conceded the arena of the arts to the "secular", and chooses to engage only in the realm of science and "facts"
e]  if the church does engage in the arts, it is mainly to force the arts to be a supporting argument for a theological position  (a liturgical dance showing the badness/goodness of my cause)

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

John Donne
Holy Sonnet XIV

A scribe on his way to Jerusalem
thought his words were sure to bamboozle them.
for the metrical word
has never been heard
since the age of the blessed Methusalem.

Joseph Walker
Holy Limerick I
(on second thought, I think I've just proven that I am not this generation's answer to the question; although the article offers a few authors for your consideration)

how to speed up police response time

via Shawn

memorial

a service in memory of
Sidney
1994-2006

June 21 at 3:30 pm
location TBA

cappacino & ...

There was a sympathy card on the counter, along with a jar for donations to the Stollery Children's Hospital.  There were signatures from many of the regulars at the cafe.   I had gotten to know him over the last little while, as we both would come by first thing in the morning to get our latte.

"Trisomy 21 is also one of the most common acquired cytogenetic abnormalities in childhood leukemia. Thus, constitutional trisomy 21 may represent a first genetic event in the development of leukemia."
National Cancer Institute.

On some mornings, our conversation would meander to one of the things we have in common.  We are members of an exclusive club:  we are dads of kids who have Down Syndrome.  We sometimes would share a laugh at things that can only be funny or joyful to an "insider", and to an outsider might seem crude or unkind.  We also both knew the variety of obstacles that our kids would face.  We both knew the list of statistics that come with the territory - the border markings that often say  "here, and no further". 

The statistics which haunt.

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DOWN SYNDROME--LEUKEMIA & DOWN SYNDROME
Abstract
DESCRIPTION: The environmental aetiology of Down syndrome (DS) is largely unknown. DS children are at nearly a 20-fold increased risk of developing leukemia compared to children in the general population.

He was not in the cafe this morning.

Outcome for Down syndrome children with A.L.L. has generally been reported as poorer than that of non–Down syndrome children. 
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Donations in memoriam can be made to the Stollery Kids foundation.

Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

And I must confess,
there are times
when I look at her,
and wonder,
will it be me
who buries you?

National Cursillo Conference

Is happening this weekend here in Edmonton, hosted at King's College.  Blogging will be light, as I think I have some duties because I have a name tag and a title (Spiritual Director).   The theme of the conference is "Scattering Seeds". 

Some general info on Cursillo can be found at our local site.   Actually, just scanning the site to see that it is actually up and running, I came across a blurb that I had apparently written for the Cursillo community, and hey, since it's mine, I'm just going to be lazy pro-active and copy here as a post.  There is some jargon, but you'll figure it out.  It's about intentional gatherings of a few fellow travellers to listen, pray and encourage.  It's called "group reunion" (which I'm sure is just a bad english rendering of some nice sounding spanish phrase.

Gathered in His name

Jesus once said that "wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them". The basis of group reunion is just this: we gather together as fellow disciples "in the name of Jesus". What make grouping different from all those other times we get together with friends is that little phrase "in my name". While it is always good for a few Christian friends to get together and enjoy each other's company, and we can often get together "in his name", grouping is about getting together for a specific purpose.

Group reunion reminds us of the great commandment: We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Learning to love God
Learning to love God with all our heart means to love with all that we are, at the very core, the very heart, of our being. Jesus used the term "heart" very often in the Gospels. It is the work of the Spirit to give us "new hearts", as the Scripture says "I will take away your heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh". We depend upon the grace of God to give us new hearts.

Loving also involves three other things: soul, mind, and strength. I find it helpful to think that the three legged stool of Piety, Study and Action corresponds to soul, mind, and strength. And it helps to be a bit specific in looking at the ways we are learning to love God. Just as an athlete might look at different exercises for different muscles in order to achieve overall excellence and health, so we look at different ways in which God calls us to love him. How do we exercise our different spiritual "muscles"?

Piety

In Piety we learn to exercise our soul - what helps our soul to love God. This includes many things: worship and prayer, confession and self examination, how we deal with temptation, how we offer praise and thanks. It could also include our emotions and feelings, and how we use those in ourselves and in our personal relationships. How do we exercise our soul? Jesus said "take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble, and you will find rest for your souls."

Study
In Study we exercise our minds - what helps our minds and our thinking to love God. This includes taking a look at what we put into our minds. We look at how we think about God, and how we think about our place as Christians in the church and the world. How do we exercise our minds? Scripture tells us to "put on the mind of Christ", and to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind".

Action

In Action we exercise our strength - our ability to "do something". It is when we take what we have experienced in worship and prayer and learning, and then we apply it in our daily lives. It is a "lead in" to the second great commandment - when we begin to love our neighbours as ourselves. There are many opportunities to exercise our strength in the church and in the world: "Go and make disciples", "the Son of Man came to serve", "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me."

Of course the first great command is followed by the second - we are to love our neighbours as ourselves. I have a feeling this is because it is easy to fake my way through the first - after all, how would you know how much I'm loving God? But it's not so easy to fake loving my neighbour. I actually have to do something.

In all these things we are not alone - grouping is a way of fellow disciples to share and encourage each other in learning to love God and neighbour, and in all things we depend upon the grace of love and example of Jesus, who calls us to gather "in his name".

sculpture exhibit by NESW

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From June 3 to October 1, 2006,
the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop presents

Big Things 4,

the fourth show in the NESW's ongoing "Big Things" series of outdoor contemporary sculpture exhibitions, at the Royal Alberta Museum (12845-102nd Avenue).

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A free public reception with refreshments will be hosted by the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop,  Sunday, June 11, from 1-5 p.m.,  giving the public a chance to meet the artists, and join in this celebration of the continuing tradition of ambitious sculpture in Alberta's capital city!

...for more information, contact Ryan McCourt at the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop, (780)482-2685, email [email protected], or visit our website, WWW.NESW.CA.

follow it to Studiosavant