Major Meltdown

By Shelby Lin Erdman
CNN Radio

US. scientists monitoring shrinking glaciers in Washington and Alaska reported this week that a major meltdown is under way.

The Gulcana glacier in Alaska is one of three glaciers considered a benchmark by the U.S. Geological Survey. A 50-year government study found that the world's glaciers are melting at a rapid and alarming rate. The ongoing study is the latest in a series of reports that found glaciers worldwide are melting faster than anyone had predicted they would just a few years ago. It offers a clear indication of an accelerating climate change and warming earth, according to the authors. "We feel it's definitely the signature of global change and climate warming," Josberger said.

The melt of glaciers is resulting in higher sea levels and affecting ecosystems and the rivers that emanate from these glaciers, Josberger said. "In terms of water supply available for people, Anchorage is fed by two glacially fed lakes. There are some very strong impacts that could happen."

"We've been using this 50-year record to interpret the changes or the response of glaciers to climate change," Josberger said. "Basically, in the past 10, 15 or 20 years these three glaciers are wasting away. The melting has far exceeded the amount of snow that falls on them in the winter, so they're retreating far up valley. And this retreat is taking place all over the Pacific Northwest and Alaska."

Glacier melt will likely continue and, as it does, sea levels around the world are expected to continue rising. And that could affect people in low-lying coastal communities, forcing them from their homes and further inland, experts say.

This sounds a bit alarming!Maybe that beach condo is not such a good idea after all!!!! Wonderful inspiration for late weekend movie choices though! Waterworld and Day after Tomorrow, a nice Cabernet, tres leches , and a blankie for a bit of perspective! Now where did I put those floaties?

Blessings

Seraph

Common Prayer ..That is Enough!

We Pray Together..That is Enough

By W. Nicholas Knisely

A few months ago one of the staff here at the Cathedral forwarded an email to me with a request that I answer the question it posed as he had no idea what he should say. The email was very simple. It was from a person in the community who was looking for a new church home. But, before he would consider a congregation, it was very important for him to know where we stood on the question of blessing same-sex couples.

There wasn’t any hint in the email about whether or not the sender wanted us to say we were for blessing same-sex couples or opposed. Just that it was critically important to him that we give the right answer so that he wouldn’t waste his time unnecessarily.

I get letters or questions like this quite commonly. I think most Episcopal clergy do these days. It’s the BIG question that seems to be used as a way to sort through congregations and dioceses so that we can determine which ones are right-thinking and therefore worthy of support and which ones are wrong and worthy of nothing. What was different about this letter though was that I simply couldn’t figure out what the person wanted me to say.

So rather than trying to be pastoral and sensitive in trying to respond to the question behind the question (as is my wont), I decided to be bluntly honest.

“There are people in this congregation who are fully supportive of the Church’s blessing of same-gender unions. There are people in this congregation who are opposed to the Church’s blessing of same-gender unions. While the Episcopal Church as a denomination is on record as calling for equal protection under the law for all citizens, if you’re looking for a congregation that is of one mind on this issue, you’re going to be disappointed with this one. We don’t have agreement internally on this particular - or many - issues. Instead, we just agree to pray and worship together”

We don’t agree with each other. We pray together.

Friends of mine who are involved in the church growth movement offer me their sympathy every three years or so following our denomination’s General Convention. “It must be really hard to grow a church that spends so much time fighting” they say. In the past I’ve agreed with them. But I think I’ve decided that it’s time we as Episcopalians tell the truth about who we are though in a way that tries to explain to others why our struggles are not a “bug” - they’re a “feature”!

The Elizabethan Settlement, which for me is modeled at every Eucharist when I present the host to a communicant with the paradoxical words (to a person of Tudor England) “the body of Christ, the bread of Heaven”, is fundamental to our identity as Anglicans. We are willing to be in relationship with people who will gather with us around Jesus; whether they by free or slave, man or women, Jew or Greek. We are the anti-puritans caring less about clarity of theological categories than we do about loving relationship. “If you will pray to Jesus with me, I will pray to Jesus with you.”

At least we try to when we’re at our best. Which isn’t always that often admittedly.

In my mind, as an Episcopalian of catholic leanings and ecumenical enthusiasm, if there’s one thing that argues for the continued existence of an Anglican witness in the Universal Church - it’s our charism of holding firm to praying with those with whom we disagree no matter how hard that is to do.

Eusebius writes that in the latter days of his life, St. John the Evangelist would respond to repeated requests of visitors to “tell of us of Jesus” by only repeating again and again “Little children, love one another.” When asked by those caring for him why he would only say that he is supposed to have responded “Because if they do only that, it is enough.”

Episcopalians don’t agree to agree. We pray with each other. Because if we can manage to just do that, it seems to me, that we will have done enough.

I really like this post , it is insightful yet speaks to the heart. I specially love the idea of a charism of "holding firm to praying", even with those we disagree. It speaks to the reality of where we all are as Christians!!! For me this is no theory! When you come from a 21 st century Hispanic family where Roman Catholics, Baptists, Charismatics of several stripes and Episcopalians share your life, laugh, love argue, disagree, and pray together, the wisdom of this words really resonate. Often all we can do is pray together and that has always been enough!

Blessings

Seraph

Wise Latina In Supreme Court

By Julie Hirschfeld Davis
Associated Press







WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate has confirmed Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.

Falling well into the anticipated range, Thursday's vote was 68-31 for Sotomayor as President Barack Obama's first high court nominee. She becomes the 111th justice and just the third woman to serve.

Democrats praised the 55-year-old Sotomayor as a mainstream moderate. But most Republicans voted against her, saying she'd bring personal bias and a liberal agenda to the bench.

Nevertheless, several Republicans broke the GOP ranks during Thursday's vote.

Senators took the rare step of assembling at their desks on the Senate floor for the historic occasion, rising from their seats to cast their votes.

Sotomayor replaces retiring Justice David Souter, a liberal named by a Republican president, and she is not expected to alter the court's ideological split.

Still, the battle over her nomination highlighted profound philosophical disagreements that will shape future battles over the court's makeup as Obama looks to another likely vacancy — perhaps more than one — while he's in the White House.

Blessings

Seraph

Gay to Stay...?

There is no firm evidence that sexual orientation can be changed through therapy, so mental health professionals should not tell conflicted gay clients that they can become heterosexual with such treatments, the American Psychological Association declared today.

In adopting a resolution, the APA's governing council said some research suggests such "reparative therapy" could induce depression or suicidal tendencies.

A task force recommended that mental health professionals "avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation change efforts when providing assistance to people distressed about their own or others' sexual orientation," usually as a result of religious doctrine.

Here's what Judith Glassgold, chair of the task force, said in a statement:

"Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation. Scientifically rigorous older studies in this area found that sexual orientation was unlikely to change due to efforts designed for this purpose. Contrary to the claims of SOCE [sexual orientation change efforts] practitioners and advocates, recent research studies do not provide evidence of sexual orientation change as the research methods are inadequate to determine the effectiveness of these interventions.

"At most, certain studies suggested that some individuals learned how to ignore or not act on their homosexual attractions. Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects. Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started out only attracted to people of the same sex."

The APA urged therapists to consider multiple options — celibacy or switching churches, for instance — for helping clients live spiritually rewarding lives in instances where their sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.

No surprises here!

Blessings

Seraph

Episcopalians grow Hispanic Ministry

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, eighth Episcopal Bishop of Florida, will receive the Revs. Monica Bosque and Janssen Gutierrez as deacons in the Episcopal Church during a 5 p.m. Sunday service at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on University Boulevard, Jacksonville. Bosque will assist in serving the Hispanic congregation at St. Luke's, also known as Iglesia de San Lucas, where Sunday services are held at 10a.m. in English and at noon in Spanish.

The Rev. Janssen Gutierrez will be ordained priest at that same service and will serve the growing Hispanic congregation at St. Francis in the Field located off of highway 210 in Palm Valley. The Rev. Michael Ellis and the congregation of St. Francis in the Field have supported and encouraged this fledgling congregation. Sunday services at St. Francis in the Field are at 10 a.m. in English and at 5 p.m. in Spanish.

The Rev. Miguel Rosada, who is the rector of St. Luke's/Iglesia de San Lucas was the first Hispanic priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida to offer services in both English and Spanish, and he will be coordinating the ministries of the new clergy. "All of us in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida rejoice in the ministries of Deacon Bosque and of Father Gutierrez," said Bishop Howard "and we celebrate our rapidly growing ministry among those for whom Spanish is a first language. St. Luke's/San Lucas with its dual English-Spanish ministries has created a pattern for what true bilingual worship will look like in the future."

http://www.staugustine.com/stories/080709/religion_1822104.shtml

By MYRIAM MARQUEZ
mmarquez@MiamiHerald.com

Padre Alberto's fall from Roman Catholic grace has all the makings of a TV movie and, unfortunately, all the trappings of a circus.

Alberto Cutié, the charismatic 40-year-old priest and book author, was captured frolicking on a Florida beach with a woman -- their pictures on the cover of a Mexican magazine sold here. He has stepped down from his Miami Beach church, immediately apologizing for his misbehavior but vowing to keep serving the Lord.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, which has rightly come under fire for years for taking its sweet time to investigate allegations of child abuse among pedophile priests, worked quickly to strip Cutié of his duties while he prays and contemplates his future.

For the most part, Miami's Spanish-language talk radio and TV shows have been sympathetic, recalling all his good works and lamenting that the Catholic church requires celibacy of the clergy. Over and over again, callers have said: He may be a priest, but he's still a man. The church rule is the problem, not the priest. Maybe so, but what happened to personal responsibility? Had Padre Alberto gone to his bishop as soon as he felt like straying from his vows, he would have been honest with himself, God and the church.

Padre Alberto long had championed celibacy as an option, not a requirement.

In truth, it's not church dogma, such as the divinity of Jesus Christ or the Holy Trinity. It's a rule required centuries ago, in part because the Vatican worried that the priests' widows and children were taking riches from the church.It's an outdated requirement in a church that is scrambling for priests and nuns, who also are to remain chaste.

While Catholics struggle with this latest scandal, Padre Alberto surely has options.

He can become an Episcopalian priest, for instance, where men and women -- yes, they allow women to lead churches, Praise Jesus! -- can go to the beach and cuddle up and not be castigated because they can marry. Episcopalian Bishop Leo Frade, who oversees the Southeast Florida Diocese of almost 300 priests (including five former Catholic priests) told me Thursday that he would welcome Padre Alberto with open arms...The apostle Peter, after all, was married.

The idea of celibacy is that a single man can devote his entire life to his flock.

''I say, sure, he or she will have more time, but a single person will have to spend a lot more time than our clergy turning away God's gifts, suppressing their sexuality,'' Frade said. ``We have chaste priests. That's OK. That's their prerogative.''

For many years this Cuban American priest has been the poster boy for South Florida Hispanic Catholicism. He is handsome, well spoken and very down to earth! His many virtues and work in the favor the church have gained him the admiration of many in and out of the Catholic Church.

My prayers for padre Alberto, his relationship with God and his family. One should not have to choose between the priesthood and love, both are gifts and callings of God.

The Episcopal Church has married priests, he certainly would be welcome...and it appears bishop Frade is wasting no time in extending the invitation!

Padre Alberto la Iglesia Episcopal te da la Bienvenida!

Blessings

Seraph

'Etiquette guide' for Thai monks

A Buddhist preacher in Thailand has announced plans for new guidelines aimed at curbing the flamboyant behaviour of gay and transgender monks.

The "good manners" curriculum - the country's first - is being introduced in the northern province of Chiang Rai. The senior monk told the BBC he was particularly concerned by effeminate activities among novices such as the wearing of make-up and tight robes.

Senior monk Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedhi told the BBC he would address issues like smoking, drinking alcohol, walking and going to the toilet properly, which are all detailed in the traditional 75 Dharma principles of Buddhism, and the 227 precepts for monks. He was especially concerned, he said, by the flamboyant behaviour of gay and transgender monks, who can often be seen wearing revealingly tight robes, carrying pink purses and having effeminately-shaped eyebrows.

Thailand has a very large and visible population of transgender men, and Phra Vajiramedhi acknowledged that it was difficult to exclude them from the monkhood but he hoped his course could at least persuade them to curb their more extrovert habits. If successful, the "good manners" course, at the Novice Demonstration School, would be replicated at other Buddhist monasteries and seminaries, he said.

Hmmm and I though Episcopalians were having troubles...

Blessings

Seraph

Do Unto Others...?

The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according to the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified -- more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.

The analysis is based on a Pew Research Center survey of 742 American adults conducted April 14-21. It did not include analysis of groups other than white evangelicals, white non-Hispanic Catholics, white mainline Protestants and the religiously unaffiliated, because the sample size was too small.

The survey asked: "Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?" Roughly half of all respondents -- 49 percent -- said it is often or sometimes justified. A quarter said it never is.

The religious group most likely to say torture is never justified was Protestant denominations -- such as Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians -- categorized as "mainline" Protestants, in contrast to evangelicals. Just over three in 10 of them said torture is never justified. A quarter of the religiously unaffiliated said the same, compared with two in 10 white non-Hispanic Catholics and one in eight evangelicals.

Speechless

Seraph

Less Christian...More Honest?

America is a less Christian nation than it was 20 years ago, and Christianity is not losing out to other religions, but primarily to a rejection of religion altogether, a survey published Monday found. Seventy-five percent of Americans call themselves Christian, according to the American Religious Identification Survey from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1990, the figure was 86 percent.

William Donohue, president of the Catholic League said he thinks a radical shift towards individualism over the last quarter-century has a lot to do it. "The three most dreaded words are thou shalt not," he told Lou Dobbs. "Notice they are not atheists -- they are saying I don't want to be told what to do with my life."

The survey also found that "born-again" or "evangelical" Christianity is on the rise, while the percentage who belong to "mainline" congregations such as the Episcopal or Lutheran churches has fallen. One in three Americans consider themselves evangelical, and the number of people associated with mega-churches has skyrocketed...

The rise in evangelical Christianity is contributing to the rejection of religion altogether by some Americans, said Mark Silk of Trinity College. "In the 1990s, it really sunk in on the American public generally that there was a long-lasting 'religious right' connected to a political party, and that turned a lot of people the other way," he said of the link between the Republican Party and groups such as the Moral Majority and Focus on the Family. In an earlier time, people who would have been content to say, 'Well, I'm some kind of a Protestant,' now say 'Hell no, I won't go,'" he told CNN.

As I read this, it seems to be good news for evangelical and non-denominational churches experiencing significant growth, Catholics, despite all the bad publicity of late, are holding steady, classical Protestants are in freefall.

Religions whose adherents do not seem to have the wherewithal for their faith to survive the political cycles of our society really should re-examine their message and methods. Christianity, after all is about Christ and his message! Political persuasion and activism is very peripheral, minor even, when compared to the daily commitment to love and follow Christ, serving Him and our neighbor with courage, gladness and singleness of heart.

From another perspective, to be perfectly honest, “I am some kind of Protestant” sounds like a profession of faith most pastors pray their parishioners do not grow up into!The kind of devotion that seems unable to give a more clear explanation of faith and denominational affiliation is definitely not what churches aspire for in their congregants. In my opinion, when it comes to faith, clarity is a lot better than ambiguity.

Maybe more Americans are finally to a point of greater honesty! With increasing social acceptance of the non-religious, why is it necessary to be a member of churches whose basic tenets you reject, or claim to be followers of a teacher whose teachings are objectionable?

I fail to see how that is a bad situation at all. America may be no less Christian, just more honest!

Blessings

Seraph