CHOO CHOO TUNES (PLATFORM TWO)

Okay. For Mimi, BooCat, Dah • veed and That Other Jean,
here's the Chattanooga Choo Choo (original recording and
off a really brilliant Japanese pressing - dig the sound
quality, man).

Mimi writes:

Seriously, "Chattanooga Choo-choo", because it's a great old
song. The Glenn Miller version is very good. Bill Hailey
recorded the song, and I believe that Doris Day did a not-bad
version. The production number from the old movie musical
"Sun Valley Seranade", in which the song was introduced, was
terrific. Of course, it's very US, which may prejudice you
against my choice.

Gene Wilder paid homage to the song in "Young Frankenstein"
with dialogue that goes something like this:

Is this the Transylvania Station?
and gets Yah, yah, track twenty-nine...

And there's even a shoe shine boy in the scene.

BooCat writes:

I nominate Chattanooga Choo Choo, because it is the
first train song I can remember. I heard it as a baby in
my crib on an old wooden Philco that I wish we still had.
We gave it away at some point when an AR-FM tuner
and hi-fi component system came into the family. Too
bad, I cannot even imagine what it would be worth now.



Then we have Grandmère Mimi's main request. I kid not.
I am not winding her up. And I will award 100 days off
purgatory for the first person to tell me who is performing it.
AND NO CHEATING BY LOOKING IT UP!

Chug chug, poo! poo! Off they go!

UNEQUAL EVEN IN DEATH

Good to see the Catholics are getting their priorities right in
Haiti. I don't know, it's enough to make you want to swing a
live chicken round and round your head.

THE DVANT DISCO

Here's another brilliant performer who I have only just come across and about whom I know very little. In fact, all I really know is that he's from Sweden and that I find the mix of a big sound with his ever so slightly flat vocals rather exciting. He reminds me at times of The Righteous Brothers or, more specifically, the English band from back in the day, Wah Heat.



MYSPACE

THE JESUS CRUNCH

From THE TIMES:

The Church of England has been hit by a new slump in its congregations, with the latest figures showing its fifth year-on-year decline.

Also, the Church’s first analysis of its worshippers showed that nearly half are pensioners.

The established Church has lost more than 40,000 worshippers since 2003, shortly after Dr Rowan Williams became Archbishop of Canterbury in December 2002. Average weekly attendance fell from 1.187 million in 2003 to 1.145 million in 2008. In spite of a rise in the number of children and young people at services, the average age of a member of a Church of England congregation is 61, according to statistics published yesterday.

The figures also show a slight acceleration in the rate of decline in the past 12 months, indicating that there may be even worse news in years to come.

COMMENT: In England we are living in the end times of state Christianity. The government and the people of England no longer regard faith groups as moral agents but see them only as political organisations. As The Church of England causes the government few headaches politically (we don't riot, vote as a block, use violence to get our way or play the martyr card convincingly) we are hardly on their radar anymore. The "man in the street" finds Christianity embarrassing. He has come to this conclusion because of the two stereotypes of contemporary, English Christianity - wishy washy, trendy liberal vicars and happy clappy evangelicals.

Unfortunately the church is run by completely the wrong sort of people to reverse the decline in its membership. Its theologians and leaders are, on the whole, divorced from the vast majority of the people they are supposed to serve and have very little understanding of the lives of people who are not from their social and academic backgrounds. For example, the theologians of Radical Orthodoxy have many interesting things to say about secularisation and the power of the Kingdom, but they are so caught up in academia and the language of academia that their message will never become popularist. And the church hierarchy is responding to the numbers crisis by battening down the hatches. More and more power is being grabbed by fewer and fewer people at the centre and they are using their power to control and conform. This is so wrongheaded and will lead the church into meaningless obscurity.

What the church should be doing is embracing freedom. The grass roots should be allowed to flourish without constant pruning and weeding from above. Imagination and creativity must be encouraged. Mistakes will be made. Wrong avenues will be pursued. But the good will also spring forth from such freedom.

Above all we need to sever the link between the episcopacy and stuffy academia, and between the episcopacy and the conformist middle class. Bishops should be raised up from the parishes. They should be people who have lived among the people of secular Britain, who understand their concerns and aspirations. The last thing we need is more trendy vicars but we do need streetwise vicars and streetwise bishops. Our paradigm for this is Christ and his disciples. A group without political power. A group made up of working people from the unprivileged grass roots of their society. A group always on the road. A group with nothing to lose.

The powerful in the Church of England have not just turned their back on the Holy Spirit, they have assumed its authority for themselves. Worse still, they are stifling the work of the Spirit among the rank and file. This must stop. Cowardly retrenchment is not the answer. In stead, we should bravely and foolishly go over the top and charge the enemy head on with all guns blazing.

THE PRAYER LIST

From SCG:

One of my earliest mentors and friend has breast cancer in both breasts and will be going in for surgery next Friday.

Please go to Susan's blog, WAKE UP AND LIVE, for more details. her friend is aware that many in the internet commuity are praying for her and is "feeling the love."

***

Go and read "The stone which the builders rejected..." at our good friend, Alcibiades' blog, CALIBAN'S DREAM. Then pray for all those who have had their lives and ministries ruined by The Family Firm. And also pray for Alcibiades and his involvement in the setting up of a support group for these people.

***

Paul has posted a new prayer list at BYZIGENOUS BUDDHAPALIAN.

***

Recently we were asked to pray for the wife of our friend, ARKANSAS HILLBILLY, who was suffering from a bout of depression. Thanks be to God that she seems to have ridden the storm:

"... she's doing much better, thank you. Sleep, sunshine and medicine combined to pull her out of it. "

***

Do feel free to add your own prayer requests in the comments to this post or email them to me at MadPriest Towers.

CHOO CHOO TUNES (PLATFORM ONE)

From ginny s:

Dear MP,

I think most train songs are improved by association & emotional attachment. I love Steve Earle's stories & especially his song about the Texas Eagle, but I've never ridden that train: just drove through San Antonio once on the way to CA.

My earliest memory of Sunday mornings is my dad walking through the house, singing his gospel quartet version of "This train is bound for glory" at full volume. It was our 2nd alarm: the call to get out of bed, get dressed for church, & get into the car. He had a great bass voice, but the song was ruined for me later after hearing the Peter, Paul, & Mary recording.

Everyone knows Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans", but not everyone got to ride the old version of that train. I never thought the song did it justice anyway. The AMTRAC line is still there, though, from Chicago to N.O. The tracks were a block away from my mother's stepmother big house in a dusty little town. Whenever we heard the whistle, my brother & I would sprint down to watch the mailbags being thrown off or to stare at the rich folks on the way to the big city, Chicago.

My first ride on that train was at 18, after my first Mardi Gras in N.O. I arrived back at school after 2 hours' sleep, just in time to write an essay for my 8 AM English class: an essay on N.O., of course! Strangely enough, it was probably the highest mark I got that semester. My prof also showed remarkable detailed knowledge of the geography of the French Quarter & its bars, which shouldn't have surprised me, but did.

The last time I took that route--from Toronto to Chicago, then Chicago to N.O.--was in April after 8 years of living out of the South. Toronto was still knee-deep in dirty slush, but as we moved west through Michigan, there were a few buds & signs of spring. After Chicago, things slowly thawed & leaves were opened. By dawn, somewhere near Memphis, it started to look like full spring. Into Miss., then more leaves, magnolias, azaleas. People started boarding for N.O., & there was more talking & laughing. The train slowly moved through the lime-green cypress swamps north of N.O. By the time we arrived, it was full summer and the party awaited. The whole trip was like moving through time-lapse photography.

I still don't like the song so much, but it does get me choked up these days, especially after Katrina.

My favourite train song might be Norman Blake's "Southern Railroad Blues", mostly because I like everything he's recorded, and it sounds like a real period piece. Now, I'm not sure if he's talking about the SR in the southeast, but I used to think it was the Southern Pacific--which was probably wrong. My dad got a job with the SP in 1929 and was sent to west Texas. Later he claimed that the depression hadn't been all bad for him, since it got him out of west Texas when he lost his job. He went back home to La., went back to school, & taught in one-room schools during the depression: lots of kids with overalls, no shoes, & lard biscuits in an empty syrup can. Anyway, all of Blake's songs resonate with me. And he sounds like one of my favourite uncles who told great stories, too, mostly of their strange, eccentric neighbours.

OK--enough rambling memories. Enough nostalgic train songs. Thanks for the post, & hope you get some killer songs. My musical tastes solidified before punk, but maybe there are more recent ones: "Train to Hell", "Trains in the Brain"? May they be discovered!



Well hopefully I can bring back some happy memories for you, ginny.

I've found a live version of Norman Blake singing "Southern Railroad Blues" recorded at the Take It Easy Ranch Bluegrass Festival, Callaway, MD on July 20, 1974. The whole concert can be downloaded legally and for free from THE INTERNET ARCHIVE.

Second up is Sister Rosetta Tharpe singing "This Train" which will hopefully restore your love of the song.

Then, just to be completely different, a reggae version of "This Train" sung by the brilliant roots group of the late seventies, Culture.

And finally, Linde Nijland from the Netherlands gives the song a go on her "Sings Sandy Denny" album.

Enjoy - but don't miss your train!

THE DVANT DISCO

I know nothing about Will Varley other than what it

says on his MYSPACE page. It appears that he has not

released anything before and that this album is only

available on download from the usual sources.

However, I think he is a genius. He has taken up the

mantle of Billy Bragg and has reinvented it for the

London of 2010. And he looks good as well.

AROUND THE BLOGS

The following are all must reads:

"A Patchwork Quilt For Gracey-Blue" at KNOW YOUR "IT'S"

"Encouraging Words" at STRAIGHT, NOT NARROW

"Requiescat in Pace, Kate McGarrigle" at EXACTLY WHAT I AM

THE PRAYER LIST

Great news, everybody. It wasn't just wind - she was pregnant.

Posted by Tim at TO SEE AND TO FOLLOW:

The Stork has landed...

Noah Taliesin Chesterton was born at about 10.00 a.m. Thursday January 21st. He weighed in at 9 lbs 14 oz.

Mom (Sarah) and baby are both well.

Thanks for all your prayers.

***

Posted by WORMWOOD'S DOXY:

I got word that my father died early this morning.

Please, please go and read Doxy's post on her own blog. Please.

***

Posted by Cecilia at (UN)CLOSETED PASTOR:

My back is out.

Here's how it happened.

Fast forward to last Saturday. I am wearing my clogs, carrying a big pot of chili to a church supper. It's a little slippery out. I under pronate, and I twist my ankle.

By Sunday morning my ankle really hurts. Tuesday. My back starts to feel funny. I've been favoring my right ankle, so my back ends up going badly out of alignment.

I'm toughing it out. Yesterday I tried to lie down on the couch in my office, but I realized I needed a different book (I'm trying to prepare for my sermon). I tried to get up, and then I went into such a spasm I thought, Oh my Baby Jesus, lying in his Graco playpen and chewing his little divine/human toes, do I need to call an ambulance???

I managed to get up. And home. Where I lay on the couch until Beloved brought me dinner. I groused and complained and generally made a nuisance of myself until she said, GO TO THE DOCTOR. So. Today I will do that.

***

Posted at PLANETTRANSGENDER:

TG Woman Murdered in the Montrose

Does anyone know a a transgender woman named Myra Ical… around 50 years old? If so, please call the Transgender Center number at 713-520-8586. Any information you have about Myra can be very helpful!

Myra was murdered just off of Richmond on the 4300 block of Garrot in the Montrose area. She went down fighting; she had a lot of bruising and defensive wounds when her body was found around 2 PM on Monday the 18th. Her legal name was Ruben Dario Ical.

She was last seen in a black blouse, black jeans and a black sweater. Her body was found partially clothed.

As of right now, HPD has ZERO leads. Any information could be useful at this point! Please forward this information far and wide. It is important that we break the chain of unsolved transgender murders in Houston.

Please call: 713-520-8586
Thank you,
Cristan Williams

***

Posted by Ormonde Plater at THROUGH THE DUST:

The following people were murdered this week in the New Orleans Metro area:

1/13 Tyrone Turner, 50, Male, Shot, Orleans
1/15 Cyril Watlington, 21, Male, Shot, Orleans
1/16 José Sanchez, 22, Male, Shot, Orleans

Please pray for the victims, their families, and their murderers.

***

Posted by UKVIEWER at JOURNEYOFDISCOVERY:

I had a small disappointment in that a meeting with a DDO was not going to happen as early as anticipated. The delay in seeing a DDO, effected me more than I had thought and I had a few hours of self doubt and human weakness, wondering whether it was just me, and was I really upto the role and this was perhaps a subtle way of letting me down gently. However, after some reflection (and chats and communications with others) I saw that I was really over reacting and had forgotton the key thing - where is God in this, and what is his will? I forgot momentarily I suppose that he knows what he wishes me to do, but will only let me know when he feels I am ready. I can feel as ready as I like, but until He is ready, it is for nothing.

***

Posted by Joelle at SKATING IN THE GARDEN:

I went to the eye doctor today. I have always been VERY nearsighted. Like I cannot get up and go to the bathroom without my glasses. And then when I was in my 40s I couldn't see up close either. That seemed really unfair to me. I took having to get bifocals very hard.

It seemed like both the nearsightedness and the up close problems had gotten a LOT worse in the last few months. So I'm expecting a new prescription and everything will be fine. Instead the doc says about the near sightedness "I'm afraid we can't improve that anymore." WHAT? And the up close was only a tiny improvement. "Oh" she says cheerfully, "You have some cateracts in both your eyes. That's normal with aging. It will cloud your vision a bit. We don't have to do anything about it yet."

Yes I know I have to put it all in perspective. I can still see. I can drive. And I am grateful that when the time comes, I will be able to have surgury to remove the cateracts. It's just that my arthritis is coming back in my knee and it's not only painful to walk, it's painful to skate which really is worse. And I was so sure they could get my eyesight back to normal. What I fear I am seeing clearly is my future and I don't like it.

***

Father Kenny is having a simply awful time with the move to his new rectory. It's a nightmare.

Read about it HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

But, on a similar problem we do have some good news:

Dear Jonathan,

Please forgive me for taking so long to give you an update but I wanted to wait until things were fairly definite. There were some leaks in the pipes. But unless there are more leaks underground we don't know about my husband was able to fix them all. Thank God, and thank you so much for all of your prayers and good wishes. This is the best internet community out there.

Bluebird

Saint Vincent of Saragossa.

Deacon and martyr c.304.

Patron saint of

drunkards and winegrowers.

Pray for us.

A BOY NAMED LOL

I listened to an interesting conversation on the radio this morning concerning the problems people such as Lol Coxhill, the English saxophonist, have nowadays if they need to send somebody an email. For instance, take the "dead cat" scenario:

HI SUE

I'm afraid the cat you asked me to look after while you were on holiday got ran over by a bus.

LOL

Ouch! Yes, I can see the problem.

LIKE FLIES TO POO

From QNOTES:

An historic Episcopal church regarded as the “mother church” of Anglicanism in South Carolina will play host to an anti-LGBT conference for orthodox Anglicans this week. The “Mere Anglicanism” event will be held at St. Philip’s Church, Jan. 21-23, and will feature several high profile and anti-gay theologians from across the U.S. It’s theme this year is “Human Identity, Gender, and Sexuality: Speculation or Revelation?”

Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence has endorsed the event in a letter on the diocese’s website.

“As you know the institution of Marriage and questions of Identity, Gender and Human Sexuality have become intensely debated and divisive issues not only within the Church (and far beyond merely The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion), but within the larger culture as well,” he wrote. “For this reason I hope many of us within the Diocese of South Carolina will take advantage of the upcoming Mere Anglicanism Conference held in Charleston on January 21-23, 2010. I have attended this conference for the past three years and have been surprised by how few clergy and lay persons from within the diocese participate or avail themselves of this annual opportunity to hear some of the major shapers of Anglicanism in our day.”

Bishop Mark Crostfingers' full letter

can be read at FOOTNOTES.

CHOO! CHOO!

ginny s. has left a new comment on your post

"NUN MISSES TRAIN":

Great musical comment, too. Now, MP, could you play Steve Earle's "Texas Eagle" for Dah-veed? Lots of great train songs, if not so many great trains left.

Okay then, I accept the challenge.

But I will need everybody's help.

Either in the comments below or, preferably, by email, let me know your favourite train songs and any that you think might be interesting for one reason or another. If you email me and give me a good reason for playing your chosen song, or songs, that I can use to make the post interesting, then you stand a far better chance of your song being chosen.

And don't forget who

I am

(clue left).

I will derail anybody who causes me any trouble.

THE PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH

THE DVANT DISCO

This is really good.

A couple of tracks of brilliantly performed retro soul by "about to be huge," Milwaukee band,

Kings Go Forth.

If you like the second track you can download it for free from their MYSPACE PAGE. The link is down the bottom of the page on the right.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH:BEATING THE LOVE OF GOD INTO THE IRISHSINCE THE TWELTH CENTURY

From CONTACTMUSIC.COM:

Irish actor, Gabriel Byrne, was sexually abused and viciously beaten during his training to become a Catholic priest. The "In Treatment" star joined the Irish Christian Brothers as an 11-year-old altar boy, and undertook his seminary to become a priest for over five years.

In an interview with Irish broadcaster, Gay Byrne, he reveals, "Unfortunately, I experienced some sexual abuse. It was a known and admitted fact of life amongst us that there was this particular man, and you didn't want to be left in the dressing room with him. There were certain boundaries, sexual boundaries, that were crossed. It didn't go on over a prolonged period but it happened at a very, very vulnerable moment. I feared being beaten, and I was beaten very regularly. It did affect my sense of myself."

HEADLINE OF THE DAY

From THE SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS:

Christ Church Episcopal unveils seal

PROPOSED LEGISLATION PUTSBISHOP'S NOSE OUT OF JOYNT

From THE TELEGRAPH:

COMMENT: I was just wondering, bishop - does "public sector jobs" include, let's say, the post of chaplain at a state university? It's just that the ones under your authority seem more worried about becoming unemployed due to religious agendas rather than secular ones.

BONGOPHOBIA HITS SPAIN

Full story at TYPICALLY SPANISH.

NUN MISSES TRAIN

From THE LEMONT REPORTER:

Maria Goretti, 76, a Roman Catholic nun, narrowly escaped her vehicle before it was obliterated by a passenger train Monday, Jan. 18, in downtown Lemont. She was driving a white, Chevy Malibu north on Stephen Street. Attempting to make a left turn onto Main Street, she overshot the road and ended up on the railroad tracks that run parallel to the street. After overshooting the turn, the car hit a fire hydrant and was pushed onto the tracks. The car lay stuck across both tracks. A train in either direction would have struck the vehicle.

Three men working nearby came to the woman’s rescue and escorted the woman out of the car. Less than a minute later, an eastbound train struck the car, pushing it two blocks before coming to a halt near Holmes Street.

Sister Maria was uninjured and refused medical attention, police said. Nobody was injured on the passenger train that was traveling from San Antonio to Chicago.

COMMENT:

DARWIN STRIKES AGAIN

From TYPICALLY SPANISH:

A 24 year old Slovakian man has died after getting trapped inside a street container which had been put in place in the Benimaclet area of Valencia to collect clothes for the third world.

Police received a tip-off about the body just before 8am on Wednesday. They think that the man had tried to get inside the container for some reason, but had then been trapped by the complex opening and closing system and was half in and half out of the container when found.

MUSLIMS - ARE THEY DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES?

From THE GUARDIAN:

British values are under threat because the government's attempt to combat terrorism has left whole communities "stigmatised", the National Association of Muslim Police has told MPs. The Prevent strategy, designed to stop radicalisation, focuses too much on Islamic extremism rather than the threat posed by the far right, claims the association, which represents more than 2,000 police officers.

"Never before has a community been mapped in a manner and nor will it be," the association said in evidence to a Commons select committee on the strategy, known as Preventing Violent Extremism. "It is frustrating to see this in a country that is a real pillar and example of freedom of expression and choice. Our British system is a model for the world to follow, yet we have embarked on a journey that has put this very core of British values under real threat. The hatred towards Muslims has grown to a level that defies all logic and is an affront to British values. The climate is such that Muslims are subject to daily abuse in a manner that would be ridiculed by Britain, were this to occur anywhere else."

There was a sense of frustration among Muslims and "some serious damage" may already have been done, it said.

COMMENT: It must be really frustrating if you are a law abiding, Islamic peacenik having to face being searched every time you go through customs and having people eye you very suspiciously every time you walk into somewhere carrying a bag or briefcase. It's bad enough being a bog standard, "live and let live" Christian and having to put up with people assuming that you believe that the world was created in six days and that you want to castrate gay people.

However, there is a difference between Christianity and Islam that leaves Muslims open to the charge that they want to have their cake and eat it too. The thing is Muslims do go on about being organically one people in a way Christians do not anymore, if they ever did. Muslims make a big thing about how, if one of them is attacked, they are all attacked. They also tend to place this unity higher than their duty to their fellow citizens whatever their nationality. Therefore, although I sympathise with their predicament, I also think they should revamp their own public profile a bit. You see, it is not unreasonable for people to come to the conclusion that if one Muslim is attacked means all Muslims are attacked, then one Muslim attacks means all Muslims are involved in the attacking.

SICK "JOKE" SHOCKS SWEDES

From THE LOCAL (Sweden):

More than 200,000 Swedes joined a Facebook group claiming to be collecting donations to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Initially named "2kr per medlem till jordbävningsoffren i Haiti" (‘2 kronor per member to earthquake victims in Haiti’), the group promised to send 2 kronor ($0.30) per member when the group reached 200,000 members. However, charity-minded Swedes who joined the group thinking they were helping earthquake received quite a shock when the 200,000-member milestone was reached and it was revealed that the Facebook group had been created by a made-up group calling itself the Swedish Necrophilia Association .

“As many already know, it is the Swedish Necrophilia Association which is now sending 500,000 kronor to ensure that the bodies which are brought home from Haiti are in as good shape as possible,” read the group’s Facebook page.

The page also included many disturbing photos, as well as additional text in which the group described the types of bodies its members wanted to have sex with.

In an email to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper, one of the founders of the fake Facebook group explained that the hoax was “to get a good laugh and teach people about critically reviewing their sources”.

COMMENT: I am uneasy at the thought of censoring humour. However, this hoax is not just a spoken or written joke, it is a practical joke and, as such, involves people, not connected to the joke, in the action of the ruse. Jokes are often insulting and that you may be the butt of a joke is something that people who value the freedom of speech put up with. But there is a big difference between being insulted and being conned. An insult is, at least, given openly. A con is dishonest. If this artifice had involved money being handed over by the duped victims it would have been a crime and, from a Christian point of view where intention is taken into account, this "joke" is just as morally repugnant. Bunch of sickos.

EAT MOLTEN DEATH SAITH THE LORD

From THE GUARDIAN:

The US military claims it didn't know the raised letters and numbers on the side of its gunsights were anything more than a stock number. And ­neither did the Ministry of Defence: it has just ordered 480 of the ­American-made sights. Then, last week, a US campaign organisation, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, received an email from a soldier complaining that the inscriptions referred to passages in the Bible. One, JN8:12 – chapter eight, verse 12 in the Book of John – reads: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" Another refers to a verse from Second Corinthians, which reads: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." The company who makes the sights, Trijicon, was founded by a devout Christian and its website says its "morals" are based on "biblical standards".

COMMENT: That should go down well with the Muslims we are supposed to be helping. The directors of the company who made the sights should be prosecuted for treason.

BUCKIE BROTHERS BLAMED FOR BAD BEHAVIOUR

From 9NEWS:

A monastery in the UK has come under fire after wine it makes has been linked to around 5000 incidences of crime in Scotland in recent years. The tonic wine Buckfast has been mentioned in thousands of crime reports by Scottish police in the past three years, including 114 cases of the bottle being used as a weapon, the BBC reported.

Nicknamed Buckie, a standard bottle of the popular drink is 15 percent proof and contains more caffeine than eight cans of Coca-Cola. But despite widespread condemnation, including from a Scottish bishop, the monks who make the tonic wine have denied any responsibility for the anti-social behaviour it has been linked to.

Episcopalian bishop Bob Gilles said by making the wine, the Benedictine monks are betraying Christian values.

"What sort of moral double-take is there that these monks can be so closely associated with that product and knowingly aware of the social damage as well as the medical damage it is doing to the kids who take it in such vast volumes?" he said.

"St Benedict, I would have thought, would have been very, very unhappy with what his monks are doing nowadays."

Though produced in southern England, Scottish drinkers purchase A$88,000 a day of Buckfast. More than half of reported litter in Scottish housing estates are broken bottles of the tonic wine.

The monastery-made drink also goes by nicknames such as Wreck the Hoose Juice, Commotion Lotion, Bottle of beat the wife and Brewed by Monks for Drunks.

The Buckfast Abbey has been producing the drink since it was introduced by French monks in the 1890s.

COMMENT: Yes. But on the other hand it's great for ecumenism. In fact, it's the only thing that unites the Prots and the Catholics in Scotland.

LITTLE MUSSOLINI

A church in Sydney's Redfern neighbourhood has become the battleground for a clash of traditions, following a row over a baptismal font and removal of chalk writings referring to an "Aboriginal Christ". The row reflects a deeper clash between traditional Catholicism and the more vernacular version practised in St Vincent's parish in Redfern, says the Sydney Morning Herald.

A group of St Vincent's churchgoers has accused Father Clesio Mendes, a Perth-trained priest, of disrespecting local Aborigines by scrubbing the line of hand-scrawled poetry - that had been on the wall for years - from the wall of the church. They also say he has removed a baptismal font that was brought to the church by the late Father Ted Kennedy, the beloved former parish priest whose shoes his successors have struggled to fill.

Father Clesio says he cleaned the writing off the wall "because it was critical of the church". He said he was just trying to uphold the teachings of the church in the face of some parishioners who openly disrespected Catholic traditions.

"When Father Ted was there, he ran the church to make the Aboriginal people feel comfortable. (Mendes) acts like it's his church, not the people's church. We just want to have a normal priest who is understanding towards Aboriginal people." Ralph Townsend, 52, an Aboriginal parishioner of about 18 years, is quoted saying.

WHO YA GONNA CALL?

From THE SWARM at "The Sacramento Bee":

NO BURNING BRIDGES FOR BURNHAM - JUST YET

From THE BBC:

A leading opponent of women bishops in the Church of England says he has put back a decision on converting to Rome after a vote on the issue was delayed.

Andrew Burnham, Bishop of Ebbsfleet, said he had "not taken bookings" after the General Synod vote next month. But after the Synod vote was put off to July, Bishop Burnham said he was now "not taking bookings" after then.

He and other opponents of women bishops are concerned that the Synod will not grant their leaders enough autonomy. The disagreement centres on the powers of those bishops - like Andrew Burnham - who are appointed to minister to parishes which oppose women priests. Those like Bishop Burnham do not want such powers to be granted at the discretion of the local diocesan bishop - who may in future be a woman.

COMMENT: I used to know Andrew when he lived in Nottingham. He bought me and Mrs MP lunch once and I went to his farewell mass when he left St. John's, Carrington Street. I'll give him his due, he was a big, straight Anglo-Catholic priest (married to a large, Jewish lady) and he did look after the gay clergy in the diocese and their partners. Nowadays he pretends they don't exist when he makes his reactionary pronouncements to the press. But of course, they still pay his wages.

When he was at St. John's he bullied his PCC into signing up to all the anti-woman resolutions. Within weeks of him leaving to become the principal of St. Stephen's college (another gay stronghold - predominantly misogynist at the time) the PCC overturned every single one of the resolutions.

It is unlikely that Andrew would ever have got to be a bishop if it wasn't for the schismatics. He is a big fish in a small pond so, no wonder, he wants to put off the loss of his moment of fame until the last possible minute. To be honest, even if the Synod votes against him, I still won't believe his threats until he's actually lying on his face, paying obeisance to some Roman bishop. Even then I don't think we should clear out his room. He is too full of his own self importance and used to getting his own way to remain a good little catholic for long.

THE PRAYER LIST

From ALISON:

Elliott woke up on Saturday, the first time in nine days, so they were able to remove the breathing tube. It was still a rough day, since he had a bad staph infection of the blood, was running a fever, and the breathing tube had bruised his vocal chords so he wasn't able to speak. But by Monday things were much better - fever down, able to speak a little, able to move around a little because they swelling had subsided. He was supposed to be out of ICU yesterday, but I haven't heard from my nephew yet.

Thanks, again, for all your prayers. Please keep them coming - the worst is over but there is still a long way to go.

***

Please add your own prayer requests in the comments to this post.

Richard Rolle

pray for us

AND NOW FOR SOMETHINGCOMPLETELY DIFFERENT

NOSTALGIA TRIPPING

Wayne County first came to work in England in 1971 when she starred in Warhol's play, "Pork," which was a major influence on serious glam rockers like David Bowie. I was, of course, far too young at the time to notice. She returned in 1977, when I was down in London, and lived here for a couple of years. I don't know if she intended to or not but the rumour was that she was gigging flat out to get the money together for reassignment surgery (or a sex change as we used to call it back then). But she never did get around to it. Whatever, she was one hard working lady. She was always on stage somewhere. Quite often supporting big American bands, like The Ramones, when they came over and the rest of the time dragging The Electric Chairs round every provincial rock dive she could get to book them. I must have seen her at least half a dozen times and I didn't go out of my way to. She was a bit too rock and roll for me. Very much in the style of The New York Dolls and just not punk enough for my musical tastes.

The last time I saw her (I think it was at the cricket ground in Northampton) she was called Jayne and she looked like shit. But then, I think she'd just had a nose job. So, when I came across this video on YouTube, of a New York gig with The Fast, recorded shortly after the Northampton concert, I was happy to see her looking so good. She's put a lot of weight on since then - but then so have we all.

MORE NEW STUFF

It's going to take me a long time to get everything that I want

to save from out of the old OCICBW... archives. But I have

now made a start.

There are now two more sections open where you can keep

up with this task:

NOT THE WORST OF OCICBW...

and

MADPRIEST'S BOG STANDARD SERMONS

Check out the sidebar for details and links.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH...

I have received the following from Tim, up in Canada, along with a note saying this young lady should be a "Brick of the Day" - to which I wholeheartedly concur.

From THE EDMONTON JOURNAL:

As Canadians are urged to head toward the embassy in Port-au-Prince and evacuate earthquake-ravaged Haiti, Devon-raised Sarah Wallace will stay amid the chaos in an isolated city to the south and search for survivors.

Wallace moved to the port city of Jacmel in 2008 to work as a midwife and establish a registered charity, called Olive Tree Projects. The city of 40,000 is her home now, and though devastation in the country's capital dominates headlines, Jacmel is likewise in shambles. Many people are dead. Many more are struggling to survive.

"Haiti needs help and that's why I moved here. I wanted to help them before the earthquake. Now they need the help even more. Why would I stop now?" says Wallace, 24.

Wallace has spent every night sleeping outside since the earthquake, her "adopted" four-year-old daughter Dada by her side. For a while they made their beds on the runway of the local airport, where the UN set up a camp until planes started flying in again on Friday.

In the morning, Wallace hops into the Ford Ranger she bought last month. The truck was meant to transport pregnant women to the maternity centre Wallace was working to build before the earthquake. Now, sometimes alone, sometimes with Dada, she drives out in search of the injured or lost, at times to hand out food, at times to transport others from the rubble to the overwhelmed hospital or camp.

Over the last five days, Wallace, who speaks fluent Creole, has been surrounded by horrors.

"Broken houses; people sitting outside their homes waiting for the word that it's all over; people hysterically crying because of lost ones; dead people on the street or in the backs of trucks. I have asked if the UN has organized anything for children who have lost their parents, but nothing has been set up yet. I think all orphaned children are probably still in the care of neighbours, relatives or strangers," she says.

The catastrophe has only strengthened Wallace's resolve eventually to open an orphanage.

Her family is proud of her activities under such dire conditions.

Her older sister, Yvonne, says, "People are reading the news and they're reading about mass graves and dead bodies and it seems so hopeless. Today Sarah and her friends fed 200 people rice ... She has been making a difference in small ways."

For all that Sarah has done, and continues to do, in "small ways," she is, most definitely, our:

BRICK OF THE DAY

Find out more about Sarah's work at OLIVE TREE PROJECTS.

If you feel we ought to do something as a community
to help Sarah financially, let me know.

VATICAN PRODUCES CHRIST'S DEATH CERTIFICATEBUT STILL HANGS ON TO MARRIAGE LICENCE

This is truly amazing. Especially as it has been made
public in the same week that Professor Indiana MadPriest,
fundraising manager of The Newcastle Upon Tyne Museum
Services, released details of his latest discovery,
The Holy Driving Licence Of The Lord.

GOOD NEWS FOR GAY PEOPLEWHO ARE CRAP AT IT

From CHRISTIAN WEB NEWS -the headline of the day:

Homosexuality Taught in Faith Schools!

So there you go. There is no longer any excuse for being useless at homosexuality. Get yourself down to your nearest faith school and learn to do it properly!

IN THE CULTURE WARS THERECAN BE NO WINNERS - ONLY LOSERS

I despise multiculturalism. I believe the cultures of specific groups of people too easily become false gods and a cause of idolatry that leads to violence of one sort or another.

It is true that we are born into the particular culture of family and situation. But after that we should be free to choose and create our own culture. Here are two personal examples of what I mean:

From the age of twelve I have been fanatical about black music, especially soul and reggae. Initially I just enjoyed the music but this led me to learn about where the music came from. I found out about the history and experiences of the people who produced it and from there, I formed an abstract relationship with those people (and "relationship" is the key to my thinking on this matter). Personally, I believe that in many ways I have a closer cultural relationship to the soul singers of 1960s Detroit than I do to a heavy metal fan living in Penzance (many ways, but not all, as I have much in common, culturally, with the heavy metal fan in other areas of my life).

Another example is a more recent cultural adaptation in my life. In the last four years I have formed a cultural link with the Episcopal faction of the Anglican Communion that is now a closer relationship than I have with the Church of England.

I admit it, I am a melting pot hippie by nature. As far as I can see there is good and bad in all cultures and I can see no reason why we shouldn't all ditch the bad and share out the good. Worse still, from a PC point of view, I believe that we should have a pick and mix attitude towards culture. We should create our own personal culture by shopping around and choosing the bits of culture that are relevant to us. At the moment our rigid cultural settings divide us and keep us apart. Each culture has its gate keepers that are there to keep others out. If we did not hold culture as sacrosanct, if we could each choose from the smorgasbord of culture, then the number of possible links between different people, from different backgrounds, becomes almost infinite.

God did not create culture (unless you hold the Tower of Babel story to be literally true). It is a human invention. And what is more it is always evolving even within the most rigid of cultural groups. Therefore, culture can and always does change, so there is no reason why we should regard our inherited cultures as set in stone. Once we free ourselves from the bondage of our false view of culture we can start to enjoy culture. And not just the culture of our own family, religion and geography, but the culture that is our universal heritage - the culture of being human, created in the image of God and playful in our own creativeness.

WHERE DOES HE FIND THEM?

There is something very wrong about this record. And I'm
not just on about the rather worrying photo on the sleeve.

200 days off purgatory for getting all the way through it.

NO CRYING IN THE CHAPEL

From THE STAR (Canada):

In a Newmarket veterans' hall, that stands in as a church, Archbishop Dorian Baxter has channelled the King of Rock `n' Roll each Sunday for the last seven years. On Sunday, an eclectic mix of more than 300 people gatheredto mark the breakaway Anglican church's anniversary and celebrate what would have been Elvis's 75th birthday on Jan. 8.

But as Baxter, who also performs as impersonator Elvis Priestley, is quick to point out, the main reason they assemble in the Spartan surroundings of the Royal Canadian Legion hall is to praise God.

"We honour Elvis's commitment to the Lord. Like Elvis, the King of Rock 'n' Roll, we worship Jesus, the King of Kings," said Baxter.

It was Baxter's Elvis act, his long sideburns and big black pompadour that got him in trouble with Anglican Church bishops in the first place. He was removed from his parish in 1998 and stripped of his right to perform marriages. After battling the church hierarchy for years, he formed Christ the King, Graceland Independent Anglican Church in 2003. Anglican bishops gave his fledgling church just a few months, but Baxter's congregation has continued to grow.

"It's deeply religious, but it's fun, too. It's not all about sinning and repenting, it's uplifting. The reverend is amazing. I smile all the time," said Teni Stevens, who has travelled from Brampton to attend the services for four years.

Each service features an Elvis gospel warm-up with Baxter performing one or two of Presley's gospel tunes to get the crowd in the mood for prayer. Sunday's service also had an organist, a couple on keyboard and guitar, and a bagpiper. The congregation included a section of ladies from the Red Hat Society, war veterans and several children, who were called to the front to receive a multicoloured lei from Baxter as a remembrance of Elvis and "the colours God brings into our lives."

Baxter even managed to squeeze in the ordination of two new ministers and a talk by native Indian leader David "Grey Eagle" Sanford into the three-hour affair.

Baxter's church sponsors a breakfast program, Christmas hampers and 92 orphans. He said he thinks Elvis would have liked that. He's also made peace with the main body of the Anglican Church, but has rejected offers to rejoin it.

COMMENT: Yes. Not my cup of tea. But, why not? Unless somebody can show me that this crazy priest is doing more harm than good he'll remain a chart topper as far as I'm concerned.

MUST READ ARTICLE OF THE DAY

She said she experienced hostility from whites many times that summer.

Once, she said she and a couple of other female volunteers tried to worship at the local Episcopal Church. They wanted to participate in Communion.

Soon after they'd sat down, she said, the elders of the church tapped them on the shoulders and told them they weren't welcome.

They walked out to the church's lobby and spoke to the elders there.

Duncanwood said she explained she'd been raised Episcopalian and that she wanted to join in Communion.

She said the men reiterated they should leave. Then they pulled their hands out of their pockets, revealing that they had on brass knuckles. The women went outside and found the tires on their car slashed.
(Interview with Karen Duncanwood in

THE OROVILLE MERCURY-REGISTER)

FROM THE BBC NEWS 1ST. MARCH 2010:ENGLISH PRELATE LINKED TO MILITARY COUP

Oh dear, dear, dear. What is he up to now?

From NEXT:

Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Peter Akinola, at the weekend in Akure said a non-violent revolution is the only solution to the constitutional crisis created by the ill-health of President Umaru Yar’Adua. Speaking after the inauguration of the Diocese of Ido-Ani in Ondo State and the enthronement of Ezekiel Dahunsi as the new Bishop on Sunday, he said the “powers that be” in the country have made nonsense of the nation’s constitution because of their selfish interest.

“I am in support of the call. Nigerians are a very docile people and have been so manipulated over the years by the leaders; hence things are getting worse every passing day,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to wake up from their slumber, saying, “I think that one day, these people who are so docile and have been so manipulated, will wake up and say, we have suffered enough and resist the injustice in a non violent way.” Mr. Akinola said violence will only make things worse, adding that “whatever the people can do constitutionally as a nation with the fear of God, the Anglican mission will welcome it as a church. Such a peaceful revolution is not planned or programmed. It will be a spontaneous reaction.”

Earlier in his sermon, Bishop of the Etsako Diocese of the Church in Edo State, Jacob Bada accused past and present leaders of being the architect of the nation’s misfortune.

“Our leaders are the enemies of this country,” he said. “They are too selfish. The major problem with our country is leadership,” he said.

COMMENT: Well, Jacob has hit the nail on the head with
that last point, at least.

WE'LL GIVE YOU PENSION RIGHTSIF YOU VOTE TO RECOGNISE ACNA

Of course, the title is just a joke. I am sure (as sure as I am that there will always be a Church of England) that there are not spin-doctors working out of Lambeth brokering voting deals so that they can push through their boss's own agenda more easily.

From THE TELEGRAPH:

Bishops and senior clergy will debate at next month's General Synod whether the Church should provide same-sex couples with the same financial benefits as are awarded to married couples.

Traditionalists have expressed strong opposition to the move, which they claim would give official recognition to homosexual relationships. They warn that affording equal treatment to heterosexual and homosexual couples would undermine the Church's teaching on marriage. Liberals believe that the motion, to be unveiled this week, could be a major breakthrough in securing rights for gay clergy.

At present, the Church bars clergy from being in active gay relationships, although it bowed to pressure to allow them to enter civil partnerships on the condition that they are celibate.

DON'T MENTION THE FOREIGNERS!

It is rare for me to side with the former Archbishop Carey and I don't agree entirely with what he has to say about immigration. But, at least, he is trying to get the subject talked about openly which is something that I've pushed for many times on this blog. Bishop Packer's attempt to shame him into silence is also a prime example of how our freedom, in my country, to discuss controversial issues (e.g. anything that might lose the government votes) is deliberately curtailed by those in authority by the political correctness they have instilled in our society over the last 40 years or so.

My stand point on this issue is clear. Keeping stum about immigration, an issue that is of major concern to the "silent masses," may keep the lid on things temporarily, but in the long run leads to frustration and, in the end, possible violence. It is much better to allow everybody to talk openly about what worries they have without fear of censure. This might be unpleasant to begin with but should hopefully lead to everyone involved understanding each other better and, maybe even, all groups concerned learning to willingly (not because they are forced to) accommodate each other and respect each other's grievances as being valid.

From THE MORNING STAR:

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds the Right Rev John Packer said the views of Lord Carey and the parliamentary cross-party group on balanced migration could lead to a lack of tolerance and welcome towards asylum-seekers. He added that the emphasis should instead be placed on issues surrounding poverty and unemployment in the run-up to the general election.

Bishop Packer was speaking after 19 MPs and peers, including Lord Carey, backed a call for all the major parties to make a commitment in their general election manifestos not to allow Britain's population to reach 70 million.

He did not "believe Lord Carey or the group are racist but their approach can play into what becomes a racist opposition to people who are not from a white, Anglo-Saxon background. The sorts of concerns they raise can lead to a lack of tolerance and welcome towards those seeking asylum. I believe we ought to have a culture of hospitality towards asylum-seekers," he said.

Earlier this month, Lord Carey said he was not calling for a ban on immigration into Britain but warned that, if concerns were not addressed, it could play into the hands of the far-right British National Party.

NEIGHBOURS

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Four blogs. Four sets of photographs well worth checking out.

ERUPTIONS AT THE FOOT OF THE VOLCANO

BAILEY'S BUDDY

LITTLE BANG THEORY

FORKS OFF THE MOMENT

THE PRAYER LIST

We continue to pray for the people of Haiti. And we pray for those elsewhere who have already received bad news concerning friends and colleagues and those who are still suffering the pain of waiting for news. These include members of our own little community. I know ELIZABETH KAETON has lost friends and that KATHY'S congregation is waiting for news from a sister church in Haiti. There will be others.

The high death toll is down to the extreme poverty of the people of Haiti and the people of the developed world are responsible for that. When I look at the video coming out of Haiti I see Africans. I doubt that they emigrated there of their own accord. Once upon a time somebody forcibly removed them from their own land and put them there to reap obscene profits out of their enslavement. We are not guilty for the original sin but we do inherit a duty of care and restitution. So, how will we handle our guilt for our deliberate sins and our sins of omission? We will congratulate ourselves on our generous response to the relief effort. We will try to offset our guilt by pointing our fingers at the pre-existing problems in Haiti. But civil unrest, gun rule and gangsters come out of poverty not wealth. We could have and should have done so much more to prevent the consequences of the natural disaster. Why do we think Jesus told us to give our coats to those without coats? Do we think his words were a metaphor telling us to give more money to the rich, the usurers,
the CREDIT CARD COMPANIES?

***

Posted by Themethatisme at PEN AND PAPER:

Dear all, husband here. I'm afraid her ladyship is rather unwell at the moment and occupying the bedroom with great wailing noises. I shall offer what tender ministrations I can over the next few days and hopefully she will be back soon.

***

Posted by Gail at KNOW YOUR "IT'S":

Today I had to share one of my intuitions with one of my daughters. I was quite frightened because no one really wants to hear the truth, or in this case, my intuition of the truth. I was very happy she listened - and she also agreed with much of what I felt and thought AND she is aware from within her own intuitive self of one particularly tragic possible scenario happening if interventions are not initiated and put in motion. Her struggle is that she feels her hands are tied and that she has done all she can do to "run interference" and that t he "system" is such that until tragedy strikes her shared concerns are dismissed. Regardless of her position, truthful or not, I spoke from my heart. I put my intuitive fears out on the table and offered to be part of any further initiation for interventions she chooses.

That is the best and the most I can do. Meanwhile - I will hold her close and pray she moves forward knowing that she is not alone. And So I place her as well "In The Arms Of The Angels"

***

Posted by Dino at ADVENTURES WITH GOD:

We were just off for a walk with Rose when Joel put his arm through the gate moments before it opened. Ouch!

Having managed to get the mangled arm out of the gate Daddy bundled him into the bakkie and shot around to the medi-clinic where we were seen immediately. Thankfully the medi-clinic is a stone throw from our house.

We were whisked off for an Xray (see left) which showed a fracture in his right upper arm. Thankfully the fracture is only on one side of the bone so it should heal well and quite quickly.

***

Posted by Malcolm at SIMPLE MASSING PRIEST:

It seems odd to talk about celebrating a new ministry when I've been with these people for three years already. But later this afternoon (Sunday), we will have a Celebration of a New Ministry and I will be inducted as the new incumbent of the parish where I currently hang my biretta.

It certainly wasn't something I had planned, even when I re-entered active ministry a few years ago. Vocation is a funny thing - and often the only way to test a vocation is to try and walk away from it. In this case, it pursued me - to the point that one wise priest advised me to "get to Ninevah before you end up in the belly of a fish."

So here am I.

Your prayers are requested.

***

Posted by Mibi52 at REV MIBI:

My nephew Peter was away on a teen ski trip and sustained a head injury. He is still unconscious, is intubated, and is being sent by helicopter to the trauma center in Green Bay.

I covet your prayers for him and for his family.

***

Posted by Sharecropper at

23 ACRES OF BLACK DIRT:

Yesterday I attended a funeral at my former church in Winston-Salem - St. Anne's. I had returned to that church only once - to bury my god-son, Bill, a Vietnam Vet with COPD and a few years older than me. Now I returned to bury a friend, lost some years ago to Alzheimer's.

I cried. I cried for my own loss. And, in psychological terms, I processed a pain so that I can move along. My spiritual development was arrested when I fled; now I begin to feel the presence of God again. My lack of perception has been replaced with a quiet comfort and a gentle jogging: "Okay, back into the evangelism business, back into the pastoral care business." I call it business - because it is a busy-ness instead of the inertia of fear of being rejected, fear that I have failed.

Now the time is near for doing justice, assisting God in making the divine mercy recognized. I will walk humbly with my God as I have done before, but I will add doing justice and loving mercy as I am physically and emotionally able. Thanks be to God.

***

Posted by Kathy at

KNITTING WITH MY SHOES OFF:

I'm still in a sleep deficit: two whole hours last night. I managed to just doze off when I woke up from pain. It takes a while for the tramadol to kick in so I was gritting my teeth and being very restless for a couple of hours. I didn't want to take two of them so I just waited it out. Eventually I felt the pain ease off and I was able to doze off. And the cat decided to wake me up at least three times wanting to curl up in my arms. The last time was 8 minutes before the alarm went off. I'm resigned to interrupted sleep the rest of my life.

***

And finally, a Thanks Be To God item:

Posted by Kevin at A VIEW FROM THE EARTH:

Today at the Bishop's Committee meeting at Church of the Saviour in Clermont, Iowa, we received some very good financial news. It seems that the total amount of pledges has risen by over 26% as compared to last year. It is truly a Godsend to be part of a small but growing congregation that doesn't have to worry whether there will be enough money to keep the lights on and the toilet flushing.