Saturday, 24 March 2012
Friday, 23 March 2012
LOUD FRIDAY
Here's some rather nifty, Suicide style, retro-minimalist, grungy noise
to get you psyched up for a weekend of looking cool in black denim
(or whatever).
BAND'S MYSPACE PAGE
.jpg)
A QUESTION FOR ROWAN
WHILST HE'S STILL AROUND
I need some clarification regarding this covenant thingy. If it goes through will we be defrocking all the existing women in holy orders or will we be demoting to the second tier of membership all those parts of the Anglican Communion that do not allow the ordination of women at present? And if the answer is neither because female ordination is already a done deal and received by the laity in some provinces will the argument regarding the ordination of gay people, especially to the episcopate, be completely off the table as it is already a done deal and received by the laity in some provinces.
I need this cleared up as the wording of the covenant as it stands could result in the Anglican churches being open to accusations of being illogically selective and, if I dare say it, a bit hypocritical.
I need this cleared up as the wording of the covenant as it stands could result in the Anglican churches being open to accusations of being illogically selective and, if I dare say it, a bit hypocritical.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
SUPPORT YOU LOCAL STRUGGLING LITURGIST
For a sample CLICK HERE
Available by monthly subscription at a cost of just £2.49 (slightly less than $4.00 U.S.) per issue. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. Click on the button below to order. You do not need your own PayPal account to do so.
For a single copy (also priced at £2.49) use this widget:NOW AVAILABLE IN KINDLE FORMAT
For those of you who are technologically advanced this format is ideal for church services as it reduces the paperwork you have to carry around in church to zero.
For the US edition CLICK HERE.
For the UK edition CLICK HERE.
It should also be available on other Amazon sites. Just go to the Kindle section and type "New Words For Holy Communion" in the search box.
MORE DETAILS AT SAINTLAIKA.COM
THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING IN THE SKY
JIMMY ELLIS
Singer
Member of
The Trampps
The Trampps
November 15, 1937- March 8, 2012
BIG WALTER PRICE
(THE THUNDERBIRD)
(THE THUNDERBIRD)
Blues singer
and pianist
and pianist
August 2, 1914
- March 8, 2012
- March 8, 2012
JOE BYRD
Jazz bassist
and pianist
and pianist
Led the
Joe Byrd Trio
Joe Byrd Trio
1933 - March 6, 2012
MICHAEL HOSSACK
(BIG MIKE)
Drummer
Member of
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers
1971 - 1973
October 17, 1946
- March 12, 2012
BUGS HENDERSON
Blues guitarist
October 20, 1943
- March 8, 2012
EDDIE KING
(LITTLE EDDIE KING)
(LITTLE EDDIE KING)
Blues singer
and guitarist
and guitarist
April 21, 1938
- March 13, 2012
BODJIE DASIG
Singer
Married to songwriter,
Odette Quesada
Died March 13, 2012
BENJAMÍN ESCORIZA
Singer
Member of
Radio Tarifa
December 20, 1953
- March 9, 2012
ANDY BROWN
Afro-pop
musician
March 15, 1962
- March 16, 2012
CEDRIC SHARPLEY
(CED SHARPLEY)
Drummer
Worked with
Tubeway Army
December 31, 1952
- March 13, 2012
Karl Roy
Rock singer
Member of Kapatid
Died
March 13, 2012
March 13, 2012
aged 43
GARY CORNELL
Singer
Member of
Pyramid Of The Coyote
Died
March 17, 2012
aged 34
MATTHEW SMITH
Guitarist
Member of
Marbles For Eyes
Died
March 11, 2012
aged 28
ROBERT SHERMAN
Songwriter
Songwriters'
Hall Of Fame
Inductee
December 19, 1925
- March 5, 2012
Disco Inferno - The Trammps
Pack Fair And Square - Big Walter
Saw Your Old Lady - Joe Byrd Trio
Jesus Is Just Alright With Me - The Doobie Brothers
She Feels Good - Bugs Henderson
Why Does A Man Have To Cry - Eddie King
Zero Gravity - Bodjie Dasig And Odette Quesada
Oye China - Radio Tarifa
Tozarire - Andy Brown
Are Friends Electric? - Tubeway Army
Pagbabalik Ng Kwago - Kapatid
Hail To The Monkey - Pyramid Of The Coyote
Tribute To Earl - Marbles For Eyes
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- Cast Of The Film "Mary Poppins"
MADPRIEST'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY(2)
As we approach death we look back on the story of our life, not its science which is as incidental as the food that sustained us in our unravelling tale.
MADPRIEST ON THE EXEGESIS OF SCRIPTURE
I am, in no way, a post-Christian. I am a postmodern Christian. And when I say "postmodern" I mean pre-pre-modern. I take all my cues from the gospels and from the early church. In regard to scripture, I perceive very little difference between the postmodern understanding of the Bible as being predominately made up of narratives (mega and micro) and the understanding of most of the early Church Fathers that much of the Bible is allegory that can be interpreted and used by the reader to illuminate the life of Jesus Christ, completely out of context if you so wish. Both ways of relating to scripture bring freedom and joy, which are gifts from the Holy Spirit without whom reading the Bible is like reading a book whilst wearing a welding mask.
MADPRIEST'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Scripture is a living being which,
whilst it still breathes,
has been embalmed by the Church.
whilst it still breathes,
has been embalmed by the Church.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
DUTCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS GUILTY
OF UP TO 1000 MORE CASES OF SEX ABUSE
From DUTCH NEWS:
There was another group who ended up in the psychiatric wards: the boys who were sent there by a priest. Chances were that they would end up talking to psychiatrist Aimé Wijffels who specialised in castration, so much so that he became known nationally as ‘the castrator’. Wijffels himself claimed he did not castrate more than 35 men. Historian Marnix Koolhaas doubts very much whether this is true. "There must have more than 1,000," he insists.
In the fifties, doubts began to emerge about the voluntary nature of castration. Koolhaas spoke to Wijffels shortly before he died in 1991. He said the boys were sent to him by the priests they had confided in during confession. He would then speak to them about sterilisation, not castration. Wijffels thought his catholic faith justified his actions.
There was another group who ended up in the psychiatric wards: the boys who were sent there by a priest. Chances were that they would end up talking to psychiatrist Aimé Wijffels who specialised in castration, so much so that he became known nationally as ‘the castrator’. Wijffels himself claimed he did not castrate more than 35 men. Historian Marnix Koolhaas doubts very much whether this is true. "There must have more than 1,000," he insists.
In the fifties, doubts began to emerge about the voluntary nature of castration. Koolhaas spoke to Wijffels shortly before he died in 1991. He said the boys were sent to him by the priests they had confided in during confession. He would then speak to them about sterilisation, not castration. Wijffels thought his catholic faith justified his actions.
GOD BOTHERING - WEDNESDAY 21ST. MARCH 2012
CALLING ALL NEIGHBOURHOOD BLOGGERS
Every morning, before I do anything else, I check out all the bloggers on my blogroll and read their latest posts if they look interesting. Often I will leave a comment. But I'm telling you, if you do not have a "notify me of any comments" or "Subscribe by email" facility on your posts then there's no need to reply to my comment because I won't read it. I simply cannot remember all the comments I leave each day and I need the email reminder.
You may have originally enabled the email option on your blog, but Blogger has recently revamped its format and you may need to adjust your settings to get the follow up facility back on line. Check out my post CALLING ALL BLOGGERS for more details.
You may have originally enabled the email option on your blog, but Blogger has recently revamped its format and you may need to adjust your settings to get the follow up facility back on line. Check out my post CALLING ALL BLOGGERS for more details.
MADPRIEST'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God placed Adam in a room with no windows and just one locked door. Adam asked himself, "What is in this room?"
God placed Eve in the same room. Eve asked herself, "What is beyond that door?"
We are a species divided by the questions we ask.
God placed Eve in the same room. Eve asked herself, "What is beyond that door?"
We are a species divided by the questions we ask.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
GOD IS FOR REAL, MAN
Dogs see the world in shades of grey. They do not have the technology to observe the parts of the spectrum their eyes cannot see and they do not have the mental capability (as far as we know) to imagine that there might be other colours. However, none of this means that the full spectrum does not exist. It most certainly does.
I believe it is the same with our understanding of God. I have always stated on this blog that I am confidant that God is a scientific reality. That God is potentially observable using scientific methods. That faith and science are NOT two different things. That God is as real as the chair I am now sitting on. The fact that we may never be in a position to observe God scientifically does not mean that God does not have a scientifically provable reality. It simply means we are like dogs, unaware of the true nature of existence and incapable, at least at present, to even imagine it.
I believe it is the same with our understanding of God. I have always stated on this blog that I am confidant that God is a scientific reality. That God is potentially observable using scientific methods. That faith and science are NOT two different things. That God is as real as the chair I am now sitting on. The fact that we may never be in a position to observe God scientifically does not mean that God does not have a scientifically provable reality. It simply means we are like dogs, unaware of the true nature of existence and incapable, at least at present, to even imagine it.
QUANTUM HERMENEUTICS
What if scripture is about possibilities and not about facts? What if scripture only fixes itself into one definite position on being observed and that the position of the observer affects the position of scripture? It would be a modern allegorical method. It would explain why Jesus applies the prophecies of the Isaiahs to himself whilst being aware that they were originally written to address contemporary events. It would explain how Christ can be both 100% human and 100% divine at the same time without being two or a mixture of two (maybe he was quantum entanglement writ large). It would explain the kingdom of God now existing at the same time as the kingdom of God in the future. It would turn accusations that humans created God into an acceptance of the reality of God. God is fixed in reality when we observe God. This would give credence to universalism being both reality and non-syncretic at the same time.
Heck, what if everything was about possibilities becoming fixed on being observed? What if we are a possibility observed and fixed in one place by God the Great Measurer. Scientists have no idea why there is uncertainty at the quantum level whilst there is apparent certainty at the classical level of existence. Perhaps creation and observance are the same thing. That would certainly back up the creation out of chaos idea.
If God is fixed in reality by our observation of God at the same time that we are fixed in reality by being observed by God, then the question "Then where did God come from?" becomes redundant and would not have to be answered by claiming an infinite existence for either God or the universe (multiverse).
Why if in theory time can travel forwards or backwards does it appear to always travel forwards? Answer: Because God is a clockwatcher.
Please send me my Nobel Prize money now via PayPal. I can wait for the medal to arrive through the post.
Oh, and another thing. If this is true then we can alter our theology and practice to fit in with the modern world without any qualms (in fact it becomes our duty to do so). This is because it allows for the position of God to remain constant whilst the position of the observer (us) changes. What we observe (our view) can alter without what we view intrinsically altering.
Belief becomes observation. Those who observe God are saved by God because they fix their salvation through observation. Those who observe something different fix their own futures without my God having any culpability in their decision. Richard Dawkins has killed God but only the God he chooses not to observe. He cannot kill the possibility of God. Therefore, God is not dead. God is eternal potential, just waiting for people to notice God.
Heck, what if everything was about possibilities becoming fixed on being observed? What if we are a possibility observed and fixed in one place by God the Great Measurer. Scientists have no idea why there is uncertainty at the quantum level whilst there is apparent certainty at the classical level of existence. Perhaps creation and observance are the same thing. That would certainly back up the creation out of chaos idea.
If God is fixed in reality by our observation of God at the same time that we are fixed in reality by being observed by God, then the question "Then where did God come from?" becomes redundant and would not have to be answered by claiming an infinite existence for either God or the universe (multiverse).
Why if in theory time can travel forwards or backwards does it appear to always travel forwards? Answer: Because God is a clockwatcher.
Please send me my Nobel Prize money now via PayPal. I can wait for the medal to arrive through the post.
Oh, and another thing. If this is true then we can alter our theology and practice to fit in with the modern world without any qualms (in fact it becomes our duty to do so). This is because it allows for the position of God to remain constant whilst the position of the observer (us) changes. What we observe (our view) can alter without what we view intrinsically altering.
Belief becomes observation. Those who observe God are saved by God because they fix their salvation through observation. Those who observe something different fix their own futures without my God having any culpability in their decision. Richard Dawkins has killed God but only the God he chooses not to observe. He cannot kill the possibility of God. Therefore, God is not dead. God is eternal potential, just waiting for people to notice God.
AN INCLUSIVE ENDING TO THE BLESSING
... and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you
and everybody else,
not just those who you love,
for evermore.
Amen.
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you
and everybody else,
not just those who you love,
for evermore.
Amen.
TRULY ORTHODOX
Those who seek to twist and corrupt the words, the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ to fit in with their own prejudices and worldly desires, have turned the word "orthodoxy" into something it most definitely is not. They have made it into a list of demands. But orthodoxy does not contain any rules and regulations. It is not a book of law. It is, instead, a library of words solely concerned with the nature of the divine, the actions of the divine within creation and the relationship between the divine and that which it has created.
Therefore, orthodoxy gives us freedom. It does not bind us with the Law. Through it we are given the information that we need to decide for ourselves how to live our lives. Orthodoxy talks of things that extend beyond our comprehension and imagination but it is also very straightforward. It is more difficult to misunderstand it than to accept its simple message. It is more difficult to to render it ambiguous than to accept it on face value. That is why those who would mould orthodoxy from that which it is to that which they want it to be write so many words about it, whilst those who accept orthodoxy in its purity write so many words about what their belief in it impels them to do.
Above all, orthodoxy is a promise.
Therefore, orthodoxy gives us freedom. It does not bind us with the Law. Through it we are given the information that we need to decide for ourselves how to live our lives. Orthodoxy talks of things that extend beyond our comprehension and imagination but it is also very straightforward. It is more difficult to misunderstand it than to accept its simple message. It is more difficult to to render it ambiguous than to accept it on face value. That is why those who would mould orthodoxy from that which it is to that which they want it to be write so many words about it, whilst those who accept orthodoxy in its purity write so many words about what their belief in it impels them to do.
Above all, orthodoxy is a promise.
GOD BOTHERING - TUESDAY 20TH. MARCH 2012
If you have a moment please pop over there and do light a virtual candle as it shows those we are praying for that we do care.
If you have a prayer request that you want including on tomorrow's prayer list, please let me know in the comments to this post, go to St. Laika's and leave it on the Our Prayers forum or drop me an email at madpriestx@sky.com.
Monday, 19 March 2012
BUST UP IN THE TEMPLE OF MAMMON
From THE CHRISTIAN POST:
Ten of the 22 members of Trinity Church's board of directors have been forced out or quit over alleged subversion of the institution's mission and extravagant spending by the rector of the Episcopal church in Lower Manhattan, the Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper. Former directors accuse 67-year-old Cooper, who heads the world's richest Anglican parish with over $1 billion in Manhattan real estate, of departing from Trinity's original mission and wasting money, New York Post reported Sunday.
Accusations against Cooper include misreporting of numbers of worshippers on Sunday services; demands for a $5.5 million SoHo townhouse; an allowance for his Florida condo and a fat salary; trips around the world at church's expense; wasting more than $1 million on development plans for a luxury condo tower; and spending $5 million on a publicity campaign. His compensation was worth $1.3 million in 2010 and it included a salary of $346,391 and deferred compensation of $507,940.
A former board member alleged that Cooper concentrated on studying the condo development, "not at all paying attention to the principal focus of those that hired him, which was try to solve the problem and try to make the church more of a powerful force in the philanthropy world."
COMMENT: WTF?!
There's a priest in the Episcopal Church of the USA who earns all that dosh and there's a church in the Episcopal Church of the USA that is that rich? I'm telling you, if the African bishops were at war with TEC about this complete antithesis to the message of Jesus Christ, I would be backing them up to the hilt (although they probably wouldn't approve of that particular turn of phrase).
Ten of the 22 members of Trinity Church's board of directors have been forced out or quit over alleged subversion of the institution's mission and extravagant spending by the rector of the Episcopal church in Lower Manhattan, the Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper. Former directors accuse 67-year-old Cooper, who heads the world's richest Anglican parish with over $1 billion in Manhattan real estate, of departing from Trinity's original mission and wasting money, New York Post reported Sunday.
Accusations against Cooper include misreporting of numbers of worshippers on Sunday services; demands for a $5.5 million SoHo townhouse; an allowance for his Florida condo and a fat salary; trips around the world at church's expense; wasting more than $1 million on development plans for a luxury condo tower; and spending $5 million on a publicity campaign. His compensation was worth $1.3 million in 2010 and it included a salary of $346,391 and deferred compensation of $507,940.
A former board member alleged that Cooper concentrated on studying the condo development, "not at all paying attention to the principal focus of those that hired him, which was try to solve the problem and try to make the church more of a powerful force in the philanthropy world."
COMMENT: WTF?!
There's a priest in the Episcopal Church of the USA who earns all that dosh and there's a church in the Episcopal Church of the USA that is that rich? I'm telling you, if the African bishops were at war with TEC about this complete antithesis to the message of Jesus Christ, I would be backing them up to the hilt (although they probably wouldn't approve of that particular turn of phrase).
MADPRIEST'S TOTALLY SERIOUS SUGGESTIONS
The Church of England will have female bishops very soon, which means it is only a matter of time until we have a female Grand Tufti. So why not get everyone used to the idea with a few years of a man in a skirt in charge?
Bishop Mark Strange is a holy fool with a plan that might just work. He gets totally embarrassed if put on a pedestal and likes nothing better than getting down to the grass roots and doing some actual work. If nothing else, if he gets the job it will be a laugh.
Blogging Bishop Alan Wilson (on left in photo) is everybody's darling. Colossus of the internet tubes, he actually lives in the present day and is not scared stiff by talk of wirelesses and valves and other modern technological inventions. Anyway, why shouldn't we have a nice person in charge for a change?
Bishop Alan has the distinct advantage of having met Grandmère Mimi (The Kingmaker).
Bishop James Jones (the sixth Beetle) is currently running the Liverpool franchise and a very good job he is making of it too. It is not unusual to have a person of James' high intellect in Lambeth Palace. What would be a precedent is having a clever bloke who people can understand when he says something. It would be completely unique to have an archbishop who will happily change his mind on issues (heck, it's a rarity among priests of any order, full stop).
It is likely that the next Tufti will be of an evangelical persuasion. If it has to be let it be Bishop James.
Bishop David Chillingworth (on left in photo), presently Grand Stove of All Scotland, is a diplomat of the highest order. Anybody who can pastor a parish stuck in the middle of one of the worst areas for sectarian nastiness in Northern Ireland for eighteen years and not get himself killed by one side or the other, is a man who can be trusted to diffuse an atomic bomb. Diffusing the troubles in the Anglican Communion should be a piece of cake for him.
Bishop John McIntyre of Gippsland Diocese (Australia) stood up to the Head Of The Family firm recently and definitely bested the old bigot in the media kuffufle that followed his appointment of a gay priest in his own diocese. A good scrapper with a heart for inclusiveness, he qualifies for the appointment as he is a citizen of the Commonwealth.
No doubt, you lot will have your own suggestions and I would love to hear them. Do bear in mind that this is a serious post (honest) and so your choices will have to be male, Anglican and a British citizen or citizen of a commonwealth country (tough luck, Americans, but you can't really complain with your "president must be born in the USA" rule, can you?).
GUMBY OF THE DAY
Many people will have appreciated Rowan’s great courtesy in dealing with people of different views within both the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion. But his departure opens up the potential for a new leader to heal the deep divisions within the Anglican Communion. What is needed is someone who will hold firm to biblical truth in areas such as human sexuality in order to promote the gospel and unite the church in the face of militant secularism.
Well done Rod Thomas, chairman of Reform! You talk bollocks with such magnificent aplomb.
GOD BOTHERING - MONDAY 19TH. MARCH 2012
If you have a moment please pop over there and do light a virtual candle as it shows those we are praying for that we do care.
If you have a prayer request that you want including on tomorrow's prayer list, please let me know in the comments to this post, go to St. Laika's and leave it on the Our Prayers forum or drop me an email at madpriestx@sky.com.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
WORSHIP AT ST. LAIKA'S
A SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
MOTHERING SUNDAY
All are welcome to join me in taking communion.
The order of service is posted beneath the audio file so that you can join in with the service. The words in bold type are the ones we say together.
If you want to physically partake of communion you will require a small piece of bread and a small amount of drink (preferably made from grapes and containing alcohol). How you view the nature of this part of the service is completely up to you.
Click on the arrow on the player to stream.
Download via the MP3 icon below the player.
Download podcast via iTUNES.
MP3 File
CLICK HERE for order of service and credits.
A service like this costs me about £15.00 to put together. As my internet ministry is my only source of income I invite you, if you have enjoyed it or found it useful, to make a small donation to allow me to continue this work. I would suggest £1.00 ($1.50) as being appropriate, but more or less is okay with me. In fact, nothing at all is okay with me. I'd rather you listened than didn't listen because you are unable or unwilling to donate anything at this time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)