Seven whole days

It’s easy to take things for granted. Take, for example, the quintessential coffee cup. It wasn’t always the quintessential coffee cup. Someone had to design it, and that someone was Leslie Buck. Mr. Buck died on Monday, and the New York Times has an article about Mr. Buck and his cup.

It was for decades the most enduring piece of ephemera in New York City and is still among the most recognizable. Trim, blue and white, it fits neatly in the hand, sized so its contents can be downed in a New York minute. It is as vivid an emblem of the city as the Statue of Liberty, beloved of property masters who need to evoke Gotham at a glance in films and on television.

It is, of course, the Anthora, the cardboard cup of Grecian design that has held New Yorkers’ coffee securely for nearly half a century. Introduced in the 1960s, the Anthora was long made by the hundreds of millions annually, nearly every cup destined for the New York area….

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Here’s a roundup of links to things that didn’t quite make it onto the blog. Perhaps, dear reader, they will bring you some amusement.

• Religious controversy isn’t unique to the Anglican Communion. It turns out that even Buddhists can get themselves worked into a frenzy. This one’s over women’s ordination. Check it out on MetaFilter.
• If some women get sacked, they might want to go to Nigeria. You heard that right. According to BoingBoing, It turns out that buried deep within the home of aggressive patriarchy is a kingdom ruled by women. Whenever men try to rule this kingdom, they die. Very quickly.
• Sure, you saw the article in the New Yorker about the Church of England. But did you see the fashion review of the priest in the photo illustration? The Rev’d Helen-Ann Hartley comes under the merciless gaze of Beauty Tips for Ministers.
• Speaking of beauty, the excellent Liturgy blog has the story of a man who is building his own cathedral — for many decades. He feels compelled to do this, to glorify God in this way.
• Creedal Christian shares results of a survey. I am not shocked to learn that “most young adults today don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible.”
• What’s the opposite of helicopter parenting? Knife-throwing mommy! One of many strange and wonderful delights from BoingBoing.
• Let’s go back to the Liturgy blog, where Bosco Peters is developing a theology of priestly ministry. This post is about presiding & preaching and their relationship to one another.
• Speaking of preaching, if you are in the pulpit, make sure it’s good. Or else. George Conger has the story of an angry mob who chased a preacher out of the pulpit. For realz.

Until next time, enjoy!

Photo from Flickr user Victor Solanoy.

This timely gem (from this Sunday’s readings) comes from Agnus Day.

Another bunch of conservative Anglicans got together (in Singapore) last week. GAFCON? FCA? “Global South”? Who can keep track of them all? I hadn’t really paid much attention, since this seems to happen every month or so. More photo ops, more threats, more dire predictions, more frequent flier miles, and more words in irascible communiqués. This time they added more quotes from Revelation 8:12.

A couple of things got my attention. First of all, the rhetoric has changed considerably. They are now saying, “The crisis moment has now passed.” That’s a big switch from the usual swagger from the likes of David “Good Fight” Anderson, Phil “Special Forces” Ashey, and Bob “Take it to hell” Duncan. This got me curious. What has changed?

It turns out they’ve decided they’re done with the Anglican Communion. Read through their statement, and you’ll see a consistent disregard for the Instruments of Communion, for the Archbishop of Canterbury, and even for the Anglican Covenant that they urged. Having been unable to bully their way to the results they wanted (a la the legislative coup from Lambeth Conference 1998), they have decided to walk away. That’s sad, but perhaps the Body of Christ can begin healing and everyone can get on with mission.

There are a few places in their final statement that are worth a closer look:

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This is the sixth post in a series. Click here for the previous post or here for the next post.

I enjoyed the privilege and the pleasure of serving as a Deputy at General Convention in 2009, and I attended the previous General Convention to do communications work for my diocese. Mostly I had a great experience both times. It’s glorious to worship with thousands of Episcopalians and to see the diversity of our church in action. However, I have some concerns about how our church has chosen to structure its governing body.

One question that’s always worth applying to most anything is the classic “So what?” question. So what does General Convention do that might affect your average Episcopalian who sits in a pew on a random Sunday? Sure, we know that it’s great for church geeks like me and those who enjoy committee work, but what about the wider church? How does this help us serve God’s mission for the church?

While one could make connections between our mission and the work of General Convention, it’s also true that the work of most local parishes would be unaffected by the absence of our triennial gathering if it were canceled. Much of the work could be carried out by various and sundry committees and other bodies, such as setting budgets and establishing policy. The question then becomes: if we are going to hold a discretionary gathering, how shall we maximize our churchwide mission and connections to local congregations?

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Inspired by a post on the excellent blog of Andrew Plus, I give you the accompanying video. This one is part of a whole gallery of Rube Goldberg contraptions from Wired.

I subscribe to Leading Ideas, a fantastic weekly email newsletter. Nearly every week brings a useful and thought-provoking idea. This week focuses on “Getting Your Congregation’s Story Right“.

A snippet:

Today many clergy are still called or appointed to—and many lay leaders inherit—congregations with weak stories that are products of a remembered past that had position and resources. Some leaders still wrestle with the memory of the sanctuary filled every Sunday, while they now measure the increasing distance between fewer worshipers who scatter themselves across the pews in the same sanctuary. Many congregations tell their stories using measurements of how many people used to attend, how many programs they once had, how they once did mission using the resources from an over-subscribed budget. They also “remember” how their clergy once knew everyone in the church, were well known in the community, and never preached a bad sermon.

Amen, brother. I’m sure most clergy have been there, hearing about how things used to be just fine and why can’t we go back to that way of doing things. Oh, and why don’t you priests visit everyone like they used to?

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This one is straight-up leftist politics. If that’s going to annoy you, then move along. There’s nothing else to see here.

I am tired of reading in newspapers headlines such as this one in the Washington Post, which should know better: “Republican senators again block vote on financial regulation”.

No, that’s not what happened. The article, in the second paragraph, says this:

A procedural vote to consider the measure on the Senate floor fell short of the 60 votes required to overcome the threat of a filibuster. Fifty-seven senators voted in favor of advancing the bill, while 41 voted against it.

Republicans did not block anything (yet). Democrats failed to force the Republicans to step up. C’mon, Democrats, it’s step to force the actual filibuster!

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A friend’s husband has died much too young, and I was reminded of this text. I think it contains just about anything I might wish to say about death and hope. Below, find John Tavener’s hauntingly beautiful setting of the text, which comes from an Orthodox funeral liturgy.

May the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Why these bitter words of the dying, O brethren,
which they utter as they go hence?
I am parted from my brethren.
All my friends do I abandon, and go hence.
But whither I go, that understand I not,
neither what shall become of me yonder;
only God, who hath summoned me knoweth.
But make commemoration of me with the song:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

But whither now go the souls?
How dwell they now together there?
This mystery have I desired to learn,
but none can impart aright.
Do they call to mind their own people, as we do them?
Or have they forgotten all those who mourn them
and make the song:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

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Any Pope serves as one of the world’s leading moral teachers. It goes with the job. While many of us won’t agree with papal teachings on this or that, we can usually respect the person who holds the office. Of course, there’s a flip side. The person who holds the office has to be a serious grown-up. Harry Truman said (more or less), “If you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen.” As I sometimes say to leaders, “If you don’t want anyone to go after you, then don’t sit in the big chair.” The Pope has a very big chair. It doesn’t seem like some of his minions are ready for the responsibility that comes with being a papal minion (or whatever the correct Latin/Italian term is).

It should not have been surprising then when a low-level paper-pusher in the British government had some fun at the Pope’s expense. In preparation for a papal visit, all manner of triplicate forms and lengthy documents are being produced by government officials high and low in Britain, I am sure. One of those documents was written in jest, saying that Britain “should mark the visit by asking the Pope to open an abortion clinic, bless a gay marriage and launch a range of Benedict-branded condoms.”

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This is the fifth post in a series. Click here for the previous post or here for the next post.

Sorry for the delay since the last post in the Episco-upgrades series. We’re actually practicing a little of what I’ve been preaching where I serve, and that work was all-consuming for a few days. I hope to blog about some big things we’re doing and bigger things we’re contemplating in the next few weeks. Life is exciting and at times a bit frightening, but always good. Pray for us!

In any case, John Shepherd’s rant about “trite music” has been making the rounds of Blogospheria Anglicana lately. And with good reason. Shepherd says that our liturgical offerings matter, because they can point us toward God — or distract us away from God.

This is why music of quality is a critical element within the life of the Church. It is a necessity, not a luxury. It is neither a frivolous confection nor an elitist distraction from the real business of faith. Music of quality, in the context of worship, does not entertain or divert. It reveals. [snip]

Music of this calibre draws us into an engagement so profound that its sense can never be exhausted. Any work of art, be it sculpture, painting, literature, poetry or music, whose implications are immediately obvious and can instantly be grasped can never enlist our imagination, and so cannot equip us for mystery; and what cannot equip us for mystery cannot equip us for God.

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How easily we forget that Christianity was never really meant to be easy. Why is this so hard? Oh, right, we’re human. Thanks, ASBO Jesus, for the brilliant reminder.