We have a remarkable calling in this era to think about our relationships not only with other Christians, but with other human beings across this planet, and indeed with the rest of creation. Perhaps you might focus your Lenten discipline this year in attention to how you live on this earth.
Do you live like the Son of Man, who travels continuously with never a place to lay his head? Who doesn’t carry two bags or an extra lunch or an extra pair of sandals? That is what he encouraged his disciples to do, to travel light.
Are you traveling light on this earth?
Ugh. Can’t someone please ghost write her missives?
Right from the first sentence she stretches the truth: “The Episcopal Church observes Lent [i]in solidarity with Christians throughout the ages[/i]. Her pseudo-Christianity is just a vehicle to talk about her true Gaia religion. At least she didn’t mention cow flatulence. Rising sea levels. I read one of the greeny sites that estimated the sea is rising 2.1 mm/year. It will be nearly 500 years for the sea to rise a meter. I doubt anyone currently living in Polynesia will be around for the sea level rise to make a difference.
And a meter equals approximately 3.27 feet. 1,635 feet over a 500 year period? Compare that figure with those for the North American Atlantic seaboard for the past 500 or so years and see what you come up with……beach erosion, storm surges, disappearing coastal islands, etc. Not much difference that I can find.
To be honest, I’m glad she’s speaking about what she knows (biology) in a Christian context rather than trying to be heavily theological, which isn’t her strong suit (to put it mildly!). I think her “Mother Jesus” fiasco taught her that.
It’s not a bad beginning but I wish she had taken on Country Club Christianity more extensively. We DO need to pay much more attention to the example Jesus taught us in not spending an inordinate amount of time, money, and effort/energy on material goods and wealth.
I find it a bit curious when folks point to the rich faith and commitment of Christians in the Global South but don’t connect with their material poverty and utter dependence on Christ. If our lifestyle and materialism are making their lives more difficult, then I do think it’s our Christian duty to amend our habits and walk with them, not merely send them aid.
And we should care deeply about the natural world God created and our responsibility to it.
Want to check that math, #2? If #1’s estimate of the sea rise is correct at 2.1 mm per year, it would take about 476 years for the sea to rise one meter. (1000mm/2.1mm = 476.19 years)
Solidarity: “unity (as of a group or class) that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards.” (Merriam-Webster)
[b][i]”think about your solidarity with those who walk the way of Christ, with those who walk the way of Jesus” [/b][/i]
Please explain the difference.
[b][i]Do you live like the Son of Man, who travels continuously with never a place to lay his head?[/b][/i]
I read in an old book once that Jesus actually spent the night with friends on many occasions, even eating with them. I must have misunderstood that part.
[b][i]We hear about the concerns of people in Africa who find corn too expensive to buy for food because we are using it here to produce ethanol so we can drive our cars.[/b][/i]
I read this several times, interpretting her as saying that we import African corn for our ethanol production. That is probably not what she meant but it took me several reads to come up with a different interpretation.
And it is not like we don’t export plenty of corn overseas.
(http://www.fas.usda.gov/export-sales/corn.htm)
(http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Corn/trade.htm)
Grandpa,
No, she’s not a great writer but her points are OK. The part about the Son of Man having no place to lay his head is a quote from Scripture. She just paired it awkwardly in that sentence.
And she’s right about way too much corn being diverted from the food supply in favor of ethanol production. But, again, she doesn’t make her point clearly.
LOL, this is actually one instance in which she does make a few good points but they’re lost (or not developed enough) because of the poor writing. I’ll admit to being a bit more receptive to her message because Jane Goodall came to town the other night and was just so wonderfully inspiring. They set up a little store where you could support organizations helping to ease poverty in Africa and I picked up a bracelet and some info on Bead for Life in Uganda.
It’s an impressive organization. The women make beads/jewelry and shea butter products. They earn a good wage which allows them to send their children to school, build homes, and even start their own businesses based on their talents and training. I’m going to see if we can organize a Bead Party at church next month to help them out.
Here’s the website, if anyone is interested:
http://www.beadforlife.org/
OT comment – I bought some of those beaded necklaces and bracelets when I attended a retirees’ Christmas luncheon with my in-laws in LA two years ago. Glad to see they are making inroads – good gifts.
TACit,
They’re lovely, and reasonably priced, too! I took a peek at their sponsors and partners and the organization is promoted by a lot of well-known, respected groups so it seems very sound.
I don’t think this is off-topic, really. It’s what came to mind for me when I read Schori’s message — a good way of helping, learning and caring about our brothers and sisters around the world.
The PB doesn’t even know her own Prayer Book. Seems she forgot the study of God’s holy word, self examination and self denial. The message she proclaims is secular humanist message which is all about self and the self’s importance. Lent, as held by the larger church is the emptying of self in order to draw nearer to and be renewed in Christ. The simple fact that she omits the marks of what her own church calls the observance of a holy Lent, places on display the great chasm between her thought and any semblance of orthodox teaching. There is nothing redeeming in this message, nor can any attribution of her good intentions redeem it.
You’re right, Katherine……I was estimating, but the results would still be fairly accurate, I think.
And the chasm between Schori’s thought and orthodox teaching is so vast as to be incalculable.
I thought by Katherine Schori’s standards, it was quite good. In other words, eminently forgettable.
Not really, Cennydd. It’s just that her thoughts are so esoteric. She doesn’t say anything profound; my guess is that it’s because she’s trying so hard not to offend or be criticized. But since her role is more like CEO, I certainly don’t look to her or expect anything profound. We’ve got some good theologians for that. Still, she needs to grow and she hasn’t.
I find myself viewing her as I did the occasional students in my classes who felt behooved to blurt out odd random comments during discussion. Ignoring them didn’t work because they’d always have a following who would titter and encourage them. So, I would ask them to repeat their comments and question them quite calmly and seriously, spinning the comment into something relevant.
At first, the other kids would laugh and say, “Oh, ma’am, he’s just being stupid” and the perpetrator would try to back off. I wouldn’t let him. He had to give a reasoned answer and/or valid opinion pertaining to our discussion. He quickly learned not to blurt out things for attention but my real goal was to get him to see that he was intelligent and did have good ideas to contribute to the discussion but he needed to take the time to develop his ideas and expand on them. It worked really well.
That’s what folks need to do with Schori. Not dismiss her offhand because that gives her a pass. Her fan club loves whatever she says and does, and that gives her a pass, too. No, the few decent bits in her messages have to be extracted and she needs to be pushed and challenged to develop them into something meaningful. She’s gotten away with platitudes for too long; the libs love her platitudes because they sound good and the cons love to assert that she’s unorthodox because of them. In reality, there’s not enough substance to be either inspirational or unorthodox.
Teatime, you are in fantasy land if you think that “holding Schori accountable” is going to change her. Her fawning fan club won’t have it. I am so glad the revisionists have chosen someone so very talentless. The few open eyed revisionists must cringe but hold their tongues. She is now about half way through her tenure. Apparently for her second half of her reign, she is preparing to battle South Carolina – the only diocese that has shown consistent growth. What folly. Certainly she is leaving her mark.
There’s not enough substance to be unorthodox? See then [url=http://www.standfirminfaith.com/?/sf/page/1503 ]The Presiding Bishop’s Top Five[/url] thread.
[b]And she is now here in Albany enlightening us.[/b]
Please pray for our diocese to be spared the Great Delusion.
…and so, does this mean TEC will witness to its ‘traveling light’ by letting congregations depart with their buildings?
🙄
robroy, perish the thought, but what makes you think she won’t declare Herself PB for life, declare emergency powers, and refuse to step down? Her fawning fan club would absolutely drool on themselves in delight.
robroy,
The beauty of the situation is that she IS such a lightweight on theology and Scripture that she could be challenged and exposed so easily by even moderate lay people — but it’s so rarely done. Meanwhile, it’s becoming clearer, even to her fan club, that she’s not “all that” as a spiritual leader and she’s on a power grab at 815. Recently, even the most ardent libs were questioning her meaning and motives as she sought to “redefine” the roles of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies.
I don’t believe she will be able to languish for the rest of her tenure. Leaders like herself tend to either have to step it up (which is risky for them) or fade into irrelevance, at which point the center of influence is up for grabs. And the vast sea of moderates-to-conservatives need to be ready to grab the wheel.
No fantasyland here. 🙂 I just refuse to give in to the pessimistic, all hope is lost thing. And if she does decide to take on SC, she will be vividly exposed for the lightweight that she is. That could be a very defining and tide-turning time in the life of this church. SC has prepared painstakingly, prayerfully, and methodically. They have the principled, committed, and experienced leadership to fight the good fight and it just may turn out to be on behalf of us all. My money is on them.
“No fantasyland here. I just refuse to give in to the pessimistic, all hope is lost thing. And if she does decide to take on SC, she will be vividly exposed for the lightweight that she is.”
I am not pessimistic about SC, either. I have all the confidence that Bp. Lawrence will lead his diocese in a godly, pastoral fashion. However, the coming storm will be ugly. [url=http://babybluecafe.blogspot.com/2008/01/standfirm-katharine-jefferts-schoris.html]If you saw the video deposition of Schori in the Virginia case[/url], you saw what a nasty, vindictive person she is.
I am pessimistic that Schori will turn from her Christianity-lite heretical, power hungry ways in the fashion you did with your students. And I have no hope for the rest of the TEClub. But having no hope for the TEClub in Michigan or San Diego is a good thing.
A good example of her nasty vindictiveness is the way in which she is so desperately trying to undermine the ACNA. Apparently, she really thinks she can get away with it.