Seven whole days

Last spring I wrote a series of posts called “Episco-Upgrades“. Most of them explored various ideas to strengthen the Episcopal Church for its work of building God’s kingdom. I got lots of feedback on this series, both in the comments on the posts and by email. I’d say it ran about 65-35 positive. Those who objected sometimes focused on limits to my (admittedly half-baked) ideas. Fine.

What really surprised me, however, was the intensity of objection from what I’ll call the “General Convention establishment.” (I realize this makes me sound like Jack Iker, but please humor me.) Wow. There are some people in the Episcopal Church who really don’t want anything to change. They especially do not want anything to change if the something is connected to General Convention, church committees, legislative process, or programmatic staffing levels at HQ.

Last week I spent a couple of days with leaders in the Episcopal Church who are ready to move past our “stuck system” and to hit the reset button. These folks love the Episcopal Church. They are bishops, cardinal rectors, associate clergy, and rectors of small churches. They love Jesus and want the church to share the Good News and to be Jesus in the world. They mostly would agree that our church needs some serious rethinking if we’re going to do those things to which we’ve been called as a church.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about a cruciform USB hub. Well, today I’m sharing the next step in Electro-Jesus mojo. Yes, friends, it’s the cruciform power strip. It’s not only practical, ready to accomodate all shapes & sizes of transformers and cords, but it’s holy. Or at least it looks holy.

Check out the details here. If you get one of these and your stuff still doesn’t work, then I’m afraid you’re the problem.

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Christ draws us into a new creation, but that means something has to go. As Christians, we are called into death — the death of our old selves. You can’t have resurrection without death. In the developed world, many of us are pretty comfortable. The thought of dying to ourselves seems challenging, if not impossible. ASBO Jesus captures this:

I don’t pretend to have it figured out. There are moments, however, when God’s grace burns brightly in my life — and plenty of times when I can see it in the lives of others. Maybe we Christians need to celebrate new life more often. Maybe we could start by being honest about how hard it can be to let go. Dying is not easy, but the new life it brings is surely glorious.

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Our Christian faith is tested not when things are easy, but when life is challenging. We Christians profess to love everyone, but what does that really look like? If you want to see Christ-like love in action, read the story of Julio Diaz. It’s been around for a bit, but Facebook friend Matt Gunter posted a link to it this morning, and I was glad to learn of this extraordinary encounter.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife. “He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go,’” Diaz says. As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”

It gets even better. Go read the whole thing (or you can listen to Julio tell you the story).

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Well, dear readers, it is that time once again. With this post, I officially apologize for neglecting 7WD for so long. You see, I’ve had some other things going on. For example, since my last post, I’ve been to Maine for a family trip; to Maine again for a parish wedding; to Newport, RI as I was chaplain for a Royal School of Church Music camp for young choristers; to Tanzania on a consulting project (using technology to improve primary education); and to Seattle for a clergy leadership conference. Zoinks. I’m tired just writing all that.

That’s the bad news, but you already knew all that since you could see the cobwebs all over the blog. The good news is that my blog hopper is full and I have lots of ideas of things about which to blog. Look for various rants, comments, and humorous bits over the next few days. We are gearing up for a fantastic program year at Christ Church, and I hope to share that with you too.

In the meantime, summon your friends & neighbors. Start staring at this blog. There will be more blogtastic stuff here before you know it.

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While most readers of 7WD are going on about business as usual, things are not so great in Iraq. Have a look at this photo roundup from the Big Picture for a stark reminder.

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As I embark on a vacation, I’m trying to empty out my blog hopper. Here are a bunch of things I might have blogged about, given more time. Enjoy!

• You all those bits about firmament and sheol in the Old Testament? Next time you are leading a Bible study, this stunning graphic will help explain how the writers of the Bible saw the world. There’s nothing that wasn’t in my Bible 101 class in college, but this graphic is way more beautiful. Thanks to The Lead.
• Grieving is always hard work, and everyone’s grief is unique. I was moved by the vulnerability of my colleague in writing about her own grief. Beyond her willingness to open up a well of emotion and struggle, there is great strength and faith in her blog post. Have a read, and say a prayer. Hankering for the Holy, indeed.
• When is the last time you used a floppy disk? Do you miss them? Of course not! So why is that in the rest of our lives, we are willing to let things go, but in the church we insist on clinging to outmoded things? I’m not talking about matters of faith, but simpler things. Service leaflet? Bound hymnals? Printed newsletters? Pews? Let’s allow the church to move on, shall we?
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Is your computer misbehaving? Maybe prayer will save you (or your computer). If you need a reminder to pray, this USB hub might be just the thing.

Wave of the dongle to Yanko Design.

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I’ve been following the Church of England’s General Synod, meeting now in York. If you made it this far into the post, you’re probably a church geek, so I’m going to use some insider language. If you are the odd ecclesiastical curiosity seeker, this will give you the basics of what’s happening with Synod’s debate about women bishops. This contentious debate, as interesting as it is, is actually an outward manifestation of some deeper problems, including a massive trust deficit.

Saturday brought some stunning news, in that Synod narrowly voted down an amendment that had been proposed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. As it is worded, the provision for women bishops would allow a parish to request pastoral care from a male bishop if their diocesan bishop is female. This is unacceptable to many conservatives, who do not want to have to request delegation from their female bishop; they would like to deal only with male bishops. There were various amendments to deal with this in different ways. The archbishops’ amendment was perhaps the most subtle, but it was unacceptable to many, including a bare majority of the House of Clergy, which voted it down on a vote by orders.

Some saw this as a defeat for +Rowan Williams as a leader, but I don’t know enough of the situation to gauge that. For Synod as a whole, there has been a fairly consistent desire to enact the ordination of women bishops in a way that provides for those who do not accept the ministry of woman while also ensuring that there are no second-class bishops. The defeat of several amendments to weaken the measure as it emerged from committee is largely, I think, in line with what Synod has been saying for some time now.

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The General Synod of the Church of England is meeting in York this weekend (more info here). As I write this, they are engaged in debate about women bishops. It seems that most Synod members favor the ordination of women to the episcopate, but there is great division about how to provide for those who do not accept the ministry of ordained women. Just a few minutes ago, an amendment that would have created “flying dioceses” for conservatives was roundly rejected. I’m pleased to report that I have the perfect solution, and I’m happy for someone in Synod to move this suggestion with no need to call it the “Seven whole days Plan” or to mention this blog’s URL in the session.

Here’s my idea: simply allow parishes who don’t care for women bishops to transfer their allegiance to the Church of Nigeria! That way, they’ll be guaranteed to have a bishop who is not a woman and who won’t have touched them in the course of ordinations. The Church of England won’t have to deal with complicated flying bishops, flying dioceses, or flying anything.

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Tomorrow and throughout the weekend, as time permits, 7WD Action News Live Team Coverage!! will be monitoring the goings on at the Church of England’s General Synod. If you are a church geek, you’ll already know what’s up. If you’re not a church geek, they’re debating women bishops and going through doors at key moments. Here’s some background on what to expect with the debate on women bishops. Blog posts might appear here at random or important moments. Tweets are very likely over here, and you might want to keep an eye on the #synod hashtag. If you are following, this realistic illustration by the ever-wondrous Dave Walker should help you visualize what’s happening:

You can check the proposed schedule here (PDF). Papers are online here and here. Excellent blog posts are likely to appear here and here. The latter link could also feature cartoons. Live streaming audio should be available here. Thinking Anglicans is probably the best catch-all to follow what’s happening. Except for this esteemed bastion of journalism/silliness, of course.

By the way, here’s some info on how different things are in the C of E. Yes, someone could swoop in and compel everyone to practice their archery skills. That is the law, friends.

Wave of the quiver to Ember Days, who noticed the bit about weapons.

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Have you ever wondered if bad liturgy angers God? Maybe the Almighty doesn’t want to look at spectacularly bad vestments? And then there’s the other category: those who disregard liturgy through their behavior during services. I’m happy to report I have found video proof that God does not stand idly by while people prevent others from worshiping through their annoying actions. Here is God in action, smiting a wedding photographer. He deserved it.

Tip of the biretta to the FAIL Blog and to the Bad Vestments blog.

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