Sad, but Confident

As one who I am blessed to call a brother in Christ aptly called it, this past week (Lambeth 1) has borne some real resemblance to a roller-coaster, and not just for those who find themselves in or near Lambeth.

Cause for real joy yes, primarily in the wondrous work our sisters and brothers at St. Stephen’s Hall are daily publishing The Lambeth Witness
http://www.integrityusa.org/lambeth2008/index.html
Magnificent work & witness!

No, I’m not going to tout any individual articles, but would rather encourage you to have your own ‘Lambeth Witness’ experience.


Sadly of course, Lambeth week 1 brought us a lot more than that- ending not with the witness of the Millennium Goals March, but with the ‘Faith & Order’ proposal, with more to come next Monday apparently. (See Mark+ Harris’ usual great analysis at Preludium ) http://anglicanfuture.blogspot.com/

Not that we should have been too surprised. In my opinion at least, the noise and chaos too often being inflicted on our beloved Communion has correctly called as ‘the last gasps of patriarchy.’ Only a fool would expect them to give up their centuries of privilege without a fight, and elsewhere I’ve detailed Who and what I believe its is they’re taking on.

That said, I admit to still being shaken.... no make that deeply saddened by the ‘Faith & Order’ proposal, and even more by ++Rowan’s public support for it.



Taking all of this to the bench of my practice I’ve sat long and hard ( no cushion on my meditation bench) praying for understanding, mindfully breathing myself into that unconditionality where insight sometimes happens.

A seamless, confident attentiveness.


Those who know me, if only from previous writings, understand that much of my appreciation and understanding of current events in our beloved Communion is influenced by the my reading and work in organizational transformation perhaps most succinctly embodied in the word ‘process.’

As noisy, threatening and confrontational as things may appear at times, we are part of and in an on-going process, which if we truly believe ourselves to be the Living Body of Christ, is being overseen and supported by the Holy Spirit Herself.

A dance, where the music might not always be audible.

A process, where some perceptions or understandings are outgrown, others re-contextualized; where some things fall away and in other, perhaps less-appreciated quarters new life and growth appear.

Process: alive and as on-going as the dance of life itself.


That said, I continued to sit- hoping for some real insight.


Reflectively back-peddling on the course of the last week; at one point, I sat with the fact that even with all goodwill and earnest prayers many have brought with them, the millions spent, the carbon footprint of the Conference, the Big Top, the wonderful work of the stewards, the faithful blogging of a surprising number of Bishops; week 1 has perhaps been most remarkable for its avoidance of what’s really going on in the Communion: the real context of Anglican life these days.

Two, not one elephants in the room, as several media have suggested.

And neither of them bare the slightest resemblance to the much beloved Bishop of New Hampshire, whose Christ-like exile has only invested him with greater moral presence and authority.

Elephant #1 (Under a throw of finest Episcopal purple silk) the pronouncements, provincial poaching, and public contempt heaped on both the Episcopal Church and its Presiding Bishop and the Anglican Church of Canada by the several forces working so very hard to do damage to the Church.

Elephant #2 (Under a generous rainbow-hued throw) The Episcopal Church’s sense and engagement with its vocation to grow into an ever more inclusive embodiment of the unconditional love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I could wax long on the list of those faithful Christians insulted or erased by the simplistic misrepresentation of what’s going on in both North American Churches as the consecration of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, but I’ve done that elsewhere.


As obvious as it might appear to many of us, I would suggest that it is only by throwing off the over-organized, polite denial this current exercise appears to be built on, inviting the ‘elephants’ into the centre of the room, thanking them for their presence, trusting in the Holy Spirit and joining them in colegial prayer; listening in non-accusatory judgement, and sharing the fears that some may have, that the real work of our Church can begin.

As conscientiously as many good people may be prayerfully trying within the precincts, more than 200 brother bishops are boycotting Lambeth, showing real contempt for this exercise in faith. And I would suggest that it is only by owning this loss, by grieving for much of the posturing and rhetoric of the past months that this Conference will find itself capable of realizing any real gifts for the future of our Communion.

Likewise with the prayerful, faithful on-going experience of the Episcopal Church. In any real-life context, the loving, graceful response to someone one does not understand or appreciate would be to engage one’s friend or sibling in dialogue, perhaps even prayerful dialogue.

Haven’t see too much of that from our Primate and Bishop’s though, have we?


A conference built on denial and avoidance- even polite denial and avoidance, I would suggest, has about as good a chance as the house built on sand cited in Scripture.

As to this infamous ‘Faith & Order’ proposal, and the other ‘bomb’ anticipated in so many quarters, currently undergoing the effects of monolithic bureaucracy in another quarter of my life, I can’t say I’m surprised so much as saddened by their predictability.


That’s what patriarchy does:
pronounces instead of working to consensus
legislates instead of listening
outlaws instead embracing the gifts of diversity & ambiguity
manages instead of trusting
defines rather than opening itself to the grace and life of a ‘situation.’


Was this the only Lambeth possible?

Hardly, I would suggest-

But of course anything else would have required the prelates, collectively and individually to step beyond the precincts of the patriarchy so many of them find themselves trapped in
to own the grief and loss of the boycott;
to graciously, attentively receive and listen to the struggles and experience of the North American Churches;
To trust,
and to faithfully wait upon the Holy Spirit for insight an understanding.

Such a Lambeth would have been built on a humble, honest ownership of the brokeness
of our Communion-
the same brokeness which, with God’s good grace leaves us open to be possibility of the Holy Spirit’s partnership at work and at play in our individual lives.


Faith & Order?
Whatever it is which threatens to land on our heads and hearts Monday?


As sad is it would be for Lambeth 2008 to be known primarily for the reports which weren’t endorsed, for the proposals which failed and at least one headline about an ’aborted Anglican Inquisition;’ as sad & confusing as things might seem at times, my faith is in the very real presence & working of the Holy Spirit, and in the essential goodness of the 1,000+ brothers and sisters meeting in Kent (Bishops & spouses, LGBT brothers and sisters, even the media-) all elements in a sacred, on-going process of living transformation.)

Is there a future for the Anglican Communion?
What does it look like? http://www.integrityusa.org/lambeth2008/index.html

In closing, I’d offer the words of the blessed & blessing Bishop of Colorado, the Right Rev. O’Neill, writing on the day in London.

While there is no disagreement on the sentiment of opposing global poverty, our collective will is sadly lacking. If we, the Church, do not speak a powerful word of compassion and equality and justice (the very words of our Lord) into the indifferent structures of our government and society, then who will? Is that not what the prophet Micah meant when he wrote, “and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

It gets back, I think, to the fact that when it comes to participating in God’s mission “the road is made by walking it.” Period. End of sentence. This is what our world longs to see—not spectacle, but women and men of faith standing together courageously, without condition, in Love.

Until we Christians are willing quite literally to stand in complete solidarity to the poorest of the poor in our world, we bear witness to nothing more than a garden party and we have no good news to share with a world that is starving to hear it.

Let the people of God say Amen!

Enough!

Have these bullies of the patriarchy no shame?

They selectively not only mis-represent the Holy Scriptures, publicly tie the love of our blessed Saviour into knots, alienate faithful Christians from each other in their own interests; they judge and discount the working of the Holy Spirit in an Independent Province of our Church, abuse the gracious patience of the Primate of that same Province, ferment discord and disrespect centuries old Provincial boundaries, now n their latest assault, they try blaming the dear brother who has born the brunt of their vitriolic ugly behaviour for their shameful public displays and lack of control.

And this right on the heels of the dissembling performance by ++Rowan at his press conference yesterday. An example which might have given +Daniel implicit permission for his little stunt today- joined by+Jack Iker.

Of ++Rowan, Jim Naughton of Episcopal Café: The Lead reports

‘but Williams seems to be arguing that bishops not only represent their diocese, but participate in a worldwide ““fellowship,”” that Gene’’s membership in that fellowship is ““questionable”” for reasons that Williams did not elaborate upon, and that he had been excluded for those unexpressed reasons.’

‘Questionable?’

The only thing questionable as a reflection of Anglican faith and tradition, as far as I can see is

the total absence of respect towards the people of New Hampshire and the working of the Holy Spirit among them;

the election, the confirmation of their choice of their candidate for the Episcopacy by the requisite number of American bishops- themselves duly elected, confirmed & consecrated, and the Spirit-filled consecration of that same brother Christian

the discourtesy and shameful public rudeness repeatedly carried out towards the Primate of that same independent Province because of her gender and the grace and intelligence she has shown in execution of her office.

the complete disregard for the autonomy and boundaries of the Episcopal Province of the American Church; fostering dissent, poaching parishes and one diocese to date

the threats, verbal violence & lack of courtesy heaped on one of their own brothers- duly ordained, duly elected, confirmed and consecrated

the willful, selective use of Scripture to misrepresent the Good News of Christ Jesus

and then there’s the whole shameful handling of Lambeth by which ++Rowan’s cowardice; failing as ‘first among equals’ to call those who persist in exposing themselves as bullies of the patriarchy to accountability implicitly confirms all of the above and discounts our LGBT lives of faith as ‘necessary collateral damage’ once again.

If all of this is not questionable Christian behaviour, I’d like to know what is?


Will nothing stop these men in the shame they cause our Church, the scandalizing of untold numbers of laity who have spent their who lives faithfully worshipping and supporting our Church, and the spectacle they make in the media?


++ Rowan’s performance however was old news today, and two of his brother prelates stepped up to take his place- both equally shamefully.


brother ++Daniel, I guess it would be an understatement to say you positively break my heart, and that we disagree on perhaps everything but the punctuation in your statement.

++ Daniel wrote ‘We believe that human sexuality is God’’s gift to human beings which is rightly ordered only when expressed within the life-long commitment of marriage between one man and one woman. We require all those in the ministry of the Church to live according to this standard and cannot accept church leaders whose practice is contrary to this.’

++Daniel, of Christian charity I respect this to be your belief, and even that of the Church of Sudan, which is the only quarter in our Communion for which you are duly consecrated to speak. That said, might I not expect the same courtesy from you as a fellow Christian, and a life-long Anglican?

++Daniel wrote ‘We believe that God created humankind in his own image; male and female he created them for the continuation of humankind on earth.’

Coming from a continent struggling with poverty, starvation, AIDS, over-population in urban centres & drought in too much of the countryside how can you possibly perpetuate such a primitive understanding of our humanity?

++ Daniel wrote, ‘Women and men were created as God’’s agents and stewards on earth.’

Brother if we are in accord on this, why aren’t you speaking to the exploitation, the pollution, the extinction of the same resources of this precious earth, rather than interfering in the life of the Holy Spirit in another province of the Communion, as equally autonomous as yours?

++ Daniel said in his interview ‘God is not making a mistake creating Adam and Eve,”” Deng said, asserting that homosexual activity contradicted Biblical teaching. ““He would have created two Adams if he wanted.’

But did God’s involvement and blessing stop with the creation of Adam and Eve?
Or is God not implicitly present in the blessed birth of all his sons and daughters, made in the image and likeness of the one true living God?

++ Daniel wrote ‘We reject homosexual practice as contrary to biblical teaching’

That dear brother in Christ Jesus is your opinion. But I might also add that it is an opinion which is not informed by the presence of a identifiable gay and lesbian community in your life, by your own admission. Which perhaps has not witnessed the violence, prejudice and lies these same people have suffered, most often at the hands of purported Christians. Or likewise witnessed the wondrous acts of healing and redemption being carried out by the Holy Spirit as these brothers and sisters consecrate their love and their lives to God within our Churches

++ Daniel wrote ‘We strongly oppose developments within the Anglican Church in the USA and Canada in consecrating a practising homosexual as bishop and in approving a rite for the blessing of same-sex relationships.

This too is your prerogative, dear brother, but in the context of our Church’s life and transformation it stands as nothing more than a personal opinion or the practice of your Province. To use this as grounds for passing judgement on the working of the Holy Spirit in another Province is an insult to all parties involved, and hardly becoming of one who loves the Anglican tradition.

++ Daniel wrote ‘The unity of the Anglican Communion is of profound significance to us as an expression of our unity within the Body of Christ.’

I would suggest that this is true for every, faithful living Anglican, and for anyone to set themselves up in judgement by suggesting to the contrary would be a great act of disrespect, both for our Communion and its members.

++Daniel wrote ‘It is not something we can treat lightly or allow to be fractured easily.’

And just who would you suggest is treating our Church in this manner, ++Daniel?

++Daniel wrote, ‘Our unity expresses the essential truth of the Gospel that in Christ we are united across different tribes, cultures and nationalities. ‘

I have yet to meet a living, breathing Anglican who does not believe and embody this- inspite of unsightly behaviour in some quarters of the Church. And here, let me clear, I am not referring to our American brothers and sisters in Christ.

++Daniel wrote ‘We have come to attend the Lambeth Conference, despite the decision of others to stay away,’

Brother this is where, sadly, we start to part company. ‘Despite the decision of others to stay away-‘ sadly, that was THEIR decision, and the discourteous manner in which they carried out that decision, did not, I would suggest bring any glory to our Church.

++ Daniel wrote ‘to appeal to the whole Anglican Communion to uphold our unity and to take the necessary steps to safeguard the precious unity of the Church’.

How, dear brother, can those present at Lambeth be expected to singlehandedly uphold our unity without the presence of those same partners who have chosen to boycott & dishonour the current fraternal exercise of prayer, worship and Scripture, without single-handedly capitulating to their opinions and demands?

++Daniel wrote ‘This has not only caused deep divisions within the Anglican Communion but it has seriously harmed the Church’’s witness in Africa and elsewhere, opening the church to ridicule and damaging its credibility in a multi-religious environment.'

With all due respect, Whoa Daniel!

We obviously have two different recollections of the course of the past months in the life of the Communion.

It was not the voices of full inclusion for all baptized who threatened or called schism?

It was not the witness of the transformative Church which publicly dishonoured the gifts and ministry of American Primate, of the Archbishop of Canterbury, of the people of New Hampshire, of the Lambeth gathering, of the polity and people of the American Church and of election of one of their duly elected & consecrated brothers.

Do I need to remind you? Sadly, it was our brothers who decided to set themselves apart from Lambeth, and who invoked GAFCON- mis-representing & insulting the government of Jordan in the process of inventing their own mythology.


So, sadly dear +Daniel, it will come as no surprise to you that I completely repudiate your call for our blessed, radiant brother +Gene to step down from is Episcopacy and to renounce his calling as Bishop.

A scandalous suggestion under any circumstances, but particularly disappointing coming from a Christian brother at a time when in so many quarters it has become so abundantly clear that our beloved Church, upheld by the unfailing grace and compassion of the Holy Spirit is undergoing a transformation and reconciliation to the ‘love beyond our wildest imagining’ of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And with unwavering faith in that same Love, I will carry you in my heart brother ++Daniel


Sadly ++Daniel, you are quoted as having ‘called on the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson to resign to preserve the unity of the Anglican Communion.’ elsewhere you are further quoted as telling him to resign and go home to be a ‘normal Christian’.

Brother, it is this statement, more than any other which moves me in the Spirit to challenge you.

Not only is such a suggestion an insult to the Holy Spirit and Its working in the American Church, we both know it is only the unfailing grace of that same Holy Spirit which can preserve any unity within the Body of Christ.

And it was NOT the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson who engendered this threat of schism in the first place, but those who refuse to recognize that the Holy Spirit could possibly ever act outside the limits of their experience and understanding , those whose witness and practice has repeatedly dishonoured the Communion.

Holy Scripture tells us ‘by their fruits ye shall know them.’

I would invite our GAFCON brothers to cast off their jeuvenile genital fixation and look at Bishop Robinson, the man and the fruits of his ministry, and then to own their own shameful part in the long suffering our Communion has undergone.


As to your comment about ‘normal Christian’ as your brother in Christ, I would dare to remind you that there is nothing ‘normal’ about our lives or vocations as Christians; that in Christ Jesus we are all equal before God and man, having been equally redeemed by the same sacrifice on the Cross.


‘Transformation,’ ‘reconciliation’ & ‘renewal’ it’s not hard for me to imagine how frightening these words must be for some, especially when it’s being carried out in lives the ‘establishment’ prefers to reject, abuse or ignore. But this too, I would suggest dear brother is only further proof that this work of redemption & renewal I speak of is clearly from God, in accordance with our Lord Christ Jesus’ ministry and His promises to the Church.


So of course dear brother, confident in that same ‘love beyond our wildest imagining,’ I will remember affectionately in prayer.


your brother in Christ Jesus, whose Love is indeed beyond our wildest imagining.


David@Montreal

How often are we able to make such a concrete difference

You know I wouldn't be bothering you if this wasn't essential

To one degree or another we've all lived reminders of just what a scary place the world can be at times.

Some of us have paid a very real price for the violent fear of others
And some of us have also been mightily blessed to meet others who have paid, and who continue to pay that price in larger, more real ways than we will ever have to.

I'm referring to the Bishop +Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire who, with his beloved partner Mark was obliged to live with bodyguards in the weeks and months between his election and his Consecration as Bishop of New Hampshire. Who with Mark had to wear full body armour under their vestments at his Consecration.

The same man who continues to live and preach the unconditional love of God for all creation- a passionate love 'beyond your windest imagining.'

The same man who continues to speak love to those who curse and abuse him, the same man who offers to meet and share with those same 'brothers in Christ.'

The same man who has put up with the cowardly waffling of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and yet who has urged his brother bishops to turn up for a key church event he is being excluded from.

Well +Gene and Mark, with a great crowd of LGBT witness of faith are going to be at Lambeth.

Not protesting, witnessing.

Willing to meet, to share, to witness and to pray with those present.

Lambeth yes, but out there in the same world which continue to include regular death threats against these two brothers.

Lambeth yes, but out there in the same world where gay and lesbian men and women continue to pay with their lives, continue to suffer curses and condemnation in provinces of the church.

Lambeth yes, but even before the first prayer's been invoked, the threats have not only been made against Mark and +Gene on two continents, they've even invaded their home via their answering machine.

So this is where you come in...

A sad and scary world which requires body amour for a rite of Consecration...

Unfortunately one of the necessary costs for the LGBT presence at Lambeth is protection for +Gene and Mark, and that costs.

Canon Elizabeth+ Kaeton (part of the Lambeth Initiative) and the good folks at St. Paul's Chatham have made it possible for us to have our own presence at Lambeth- by contributing to the cost of security for +Gene, Mark and our LGBT brother and sisters of faith.

Details can be found at Elizabeth+'s blog http://telling-secrets.blogspot.com

And this is legit.

I'll personally vouch for Elizabeth+ and her long involvement in the cause of full inclusion of LGBT folk.

And I'm not asking anything I haven't already done myself.

As strange as it might seem, as much as it's about amounts, it's the initiative which is essential here- you can make a difference by doing the do-able.

For me personally, it was also an act of faith in that same 'Love beyond our wildest imagining.'

As some of you will already know my employment at the University is being 'phased out' in a month, as part of the exercise to balance a fourteen million dollar deficit.

So as I said, it's doing what you're able which is essential here.

Paypal or personal cheque.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender folk have too long a martyrology already- and you CAN make a difference, by doing what you are able.

This isn't just about +Gene and Mark- it's about birthright- our birthright as sons and daughters of the Living God- about claiming the blessings of our baptismal covenant- about embodying that 'Love beyond our wildest imagining'- it's about being 'truly alive' which we're told is only to the greater glory of that same Living God.

Amen

Woah! Time for a reality check?

Quite the week, and it's rare that the causal connection between two of their stories has been writ so large in the media.

The 5 primates boycotting Lambeth, whining about how they have 'not been able to take communion' with Presiding Bishop ++Katherine Jefferts Schori and their inability to tolerate the presence of duly elected, confirmed and consecrated Bishop V.+Gene Robinson and his partner at Lambeth; and the murder of a 15 year old gay man in his high school cumputer lab. Does anyone else see a connection here?

I'm not for a moment suggesting that Brandon David McInerney has even heard of Lambeth, the pouting Primates, ++Katherine or +Gene; but he did pull that trigger because Lawrence King was 'freaking the guys out,' to quote one of their female class-mates.

What we're talking about in both instances is violence- and nothing less. A violent intollerence of difference,a refusal to learn or enrich their own lives by recognizing the Divinely-made humanity of that difference.

Bullies, through verbal or physical violence trying to impose their handicaped version of reality on others.

As if that wasn't enough the Primates go on to complain about the anticipated presence of 30 LGBT activists a Lambeth; Baptized Anglicans, many who are daily paying a price for their visibility and ministry as people of faith. And yet the 'purity police of the patriarchy' complain 'We would be the continual target of activist campaigners and media intrusion. In these circumstances we could not feel at home."

You bet your sweet corziers you would be!
And deservedly so- because the spectacle of violence, threats, mysogeny and homophobia in the name of God are such shameful scandals in this day and age they are worthy little more than the Entertainment News in the mind of many disaffected and recovering Christians.

As if this weren't enough, the week ended with this final insult, from +Cantebury himself, speaking of the pouting Primates' decision to boycott.

'Williams said the decision of some to be absent from Lambeth "not only shows the deep differences over theology and ethics that have so strained our connections; it also reflects, uncomfortably for us, some of the legacy of hurt that is felt by some of our provinces at what is experienced as patronizing or manipulative or insensitive actions and attitudes on the part of many of the churches of the 'West' or 'North' -- not only the Episcopal Church in the USA...That's hard to hear, but we have to hear it and to offer apologies and seek for better understanding. Lambeth can't be the end of the story."'

Excuse me?

What about the generations of violence, fear & homophobia spawned by the purple-shirted patriarchy and their kind?

What about the LGBT lives terrorized, cut short or handicapped by centuries of objectification, hatred and violence of LGBT people?

What about the countless lives of faith, hurt, confused or alienated from their own spirit because of the hatred and objectification of LGBT people of faith practiced by their priests and bishops?

Never has it been clearer- to me at least, what a rediculous spectacle these men are making of the redemptive love embodied in the life and ministry of our Lord's incarnation.

Ignoring, more than a hundred years of science, psychology & law they make a shameful spectacle of themselves by displaying just what an archaic artifact their understanding of the Gospel and Christian faith is.

Shame on them!

Incapable of understanding or dialoging with contemporary understanding of human nature, they insist on the subjegation of more than one half of humanity and a medieval condemnation of anything inconsistent with their hetrosexually-challenged masculinity.

Shame on them!

And shame on ++Rowan Williams too.

It's not as if there's ever a lack of human suffering to justify any argument, but once again ++Rowan, you, as our currently most visible embodiment of patriarchy have dismissed by omission the role of our Church in centuries of homophobic violence and discrimination; you've devalued the prayerful execise in faith of the people of New Hampshire; you've objectified and discriminated against a duly elected and consecrated brother Bishop and discounted the lives of all American Anglicans.

As if that weren't enough, your cowardly inaction and ineffective pronouncements have tolerated Episcopal piracy, the virulent oppression of LGBT men and women of faith, the scandalization of countless others & the public ridicule of our faith.

When is enough, enough ++Rowan? When do YOU draw your line in the sand.

Of course we LGBT folk have gained two more saints this week:

Saint Lawrence King pray for us
Saint Jody Debrowski pray for
Saint Matthew Shepard pray for us
Saint Mychal Judge pray for us
Saint Aaron James Light pray for us
Saint Billy Jack Gaither pray for us
Saint Barry Winchell pray for us
Saint Dejsn Nebrigic pray for us
Saint Steen Keith Fenrich pray for us
Saint Arthur Warren Jr. pray for us
Saint Marcus Wayman pray for us
Saint Danny Lee Overstred pray for us
Saint fred Martinez Jr. pray for us
Saint Arthur Warren pray for us
Saint Jeff Wahlen pray for us
Saint Edgar Garzon pray for us
Saint Gary Matson pray for us
Saint Winfield Mowder pray for us
Saint David Buller pray for us
Saint Harvey Milk pray for us

All you LGBT saints unknown to us,but martyrs to difference pray for us

And pray that the Anglican Communion learn to repent of its role in the homophobia & violence which murdered each one of you.

I'm tired of the martyrdom of my people at the hands of frightened homophobes, the gossip & objectification of my brothers and sisters by the insecure and imature, the discrimination and oppression of difference... because in the end fear is what it's all about... fear (or the inability to live & interact with) difference.

All of us should be praying for Brandon David McInerney- the poor, misguided 14 year old, 'freaked out' by Lawrence's difference, who probably doesn't even understand the forces at play that day- even less does he understand himself.

One thing the patriarchy is always very good at- condemning and punishment. Brandon is charged with 'murder, with hate crime and firearms enhancements- 25 years inprisonment, with an additional 25 years for the 'enhancements'.

And just where is the redemption in all this legal efficiency?
Is anyone even speaking with the boy- because a boy is what he is?
Is anyone ministering to his fear, his pain and witnessing to the unconditional love of Christ Jesus for him personally- a love beyond his 'wildest imagening'?
Is anyone even trying to understand what he was feeling and thinking?
Anyone showing him how he's been duped by the frightened lies of a bunch of impotent bullies?

All you gay saints and martyrs pray for Brandon David Mc Inerney.

Amen.

Excuse me?

O.K. I know it's been a while...
Honestly?

I've been taking a necessary time-out to deal with the accumulative wear-and-tear of so much patent dishonesty, self-righteous mis-representation and posturing directed at the friends of full inclusion and radical hospitality within our Communion.

I've been spending a lot of time in silence, in prayer & meditation and in dharma study.

As I confessed to a dear friend recently once again it's the Church doing violence to my spirit, causing me to bleed from a thousand and one cuts and leaving me exhausted. And its my non-religious Zen practice which not only gets me through, but keeps me sane and hoping. And before anyone calls me a heretic for praticing outside the Anglican canon, I'd invite them to plant their butt on my meditation bench or a while and see what I'm talking about.

But that's not what's got me back here this evening.

You might have guessed- it's +Rowan- once again.

Today brought news that the eminent gray beard of Cantebury has reitterated he will not be reversing his decision to exclude the Right Rev. and Very Honorable Bishop of New Hampshire from the upcoming Lambeth teaparty. (my original source 365gay http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121407bish.)

And I quote...

Archbishop Rowan Williams' office said he had also not changed his mind about refusing an invitation to Martyn Minns, a traditionalist U.S. priest who was consecrated as a bishop in the Church of Nigeria.

EXCUSE ME?

Has the gray eminence never heard of a categorical error? Perhaps that's why he's making such an embarassingly colossal one himself.

There are absolutely no.... make that NO POSSIBLE GROUNDS for including the prayerfully, duly elected, consecrated Bishop of New Hampshire and Rev. Martyn Minns in the same discussion or decision. One, as I said was duly elected, confirmed and prayerfully consecrated; the other participated in an irregular act of consecration orchestrated by an ecclesiastical bandit acting in comtempt of both the Windsor Report and the Tanzania Declaration (a.k.a known as our brother in Christ +Peter).

That +Rowan persists in what is so obviously a patent whitewash of the real situation is bad enough, but he then resorts to Scriptural imagery when referring to possible boycots by some of the Lambeth invitees.

"I have said that the refusal to meet can be a refusal of the cross - and so of the Resurrection," Williams said.

Except that as we only too well know, it's not +Rowan and his invitees who are bearing the pain of the cross in this situation, it's my radiant LGBT bothers and sisters in faith throughout the world who are being objectified, vilified, railed against threatened and excluded- not only in their daily lives but within the living Body of Christ.

By excluding +New Hampshire from Lambeth +Rowan himself is himself refusing Chist's invitation to become an even more vital and honest embodiment of Our Saviour's redemptive love for all humanity.

By objectifiying the lives of faith of my radiant brothers and sisters in keeping our radiant brother +Gene from his rightful place at the table, +Rowan himself is perpetuating passive-aggressie homophobia and caving in to the ravings of the bullies of the patriarchy.

Yes, +Rowan, homophobia, because that's how it would be viewed in my country, Canada, and those of you who know we will understand how strange it is for me to resort to the 'rights argument' when for so long I have insisted the core issue of the current struggle is one of baptismal validity.

And of course the saddest thing of all is that the longer this goes on, the more irrelevant +Rowan's cowardly dithering is making the Church to so many observing us from any sort of a distance outside the Church.

All of which brings to mind a living saint Harry, who once again this Christmas will not be in the pew after a lifetime of extraordinary service by himself and his late wife to the parish I grew up in. And then there's my chance encounter this week with Jen, a street person carrying psychic bruises from the Church... but tonight +Rowan is more than enough, and he makes me so very, very sad.

I sit- in silence- with Willie the wondrous daschund nearby, and that's where Love finds me, with tears of gratitude not sadness as I remember another man who did a lot of harm to my radiant tribe, but who also give me the words for my defiant insistence on our Communion being open to God's greatest blessing for God's Greatest Glory:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

'Love beyond our wildest imagining' to quote another Living Blessing.

Amen