All photos HERE
Sunday, 31 January 2010
MacWinter Magic
Brilkliant Friends' Do on in the hall tonight to get rid of the "winter blues". Rolls and square sausage, good singin' and a brilliant wee man who played his celtic harp beautifully. Usual bingo, raffles, wine and lots of other things the evangelicals love to hate! And we raised £150 to boot!
All photos HERE
All photos HERE
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Inverness 2 Partick Thistle Nil 1
Football at times can be a very cruel sport with today's game with Inverness providing a perfect example of that fact. A hard working performance looked set to bring a point back to Glasgow only for a late, highly contentious, refereeing decision, awarding Inverness a penalty with 2 minutes to go, to rob Thistle of that point. Referees? Who would have them? However, their assistants are worse seemingly!
According to the Thistle Nil manager Ian McCall, "As disappointed we were with the decision to give Inverness a penalty the thing that is really concerning us at this moment is the conduct of the assistant referee, He has sworn at my players and I find that totally unacceptable behaviour. To make matter worse he is now denying that he did so yet I have 8 players who are adamant that he did. I don't like criticising match officials, it's something that I try to avoid doing but they need to realise that football is an emotional thing for players and managers. It's our living that we are talking about. I'm not sure if there is anything formally we as a Club can do but I will discuss the situation with the Chairman at the start of the week with a view to launching a complaint."
Again, Nil Points!
According to the Thistle Nil manager Ian McCall, "As disappointed we were with the decision to give Inverness a penalty the thing that is really concerning us at this moment is the conduct of the assistant referee, He has sworn at my players and I find that totally unacceptable behaviour. To make matter worse he is now denying that he did so yet I have 8 players who are adamant that he did. I don't like criticising match officials, it's something that I try to avoid doing but they need to realise that football is an emotional thing for players and managers. It's our living that we are talking about. I'm not sure if there is anything formally we as a Club can do but I will discuss the situation with the Chairman at the start of the week with a view to launching a complaint."
Again, Nil Points!
Dad
Saw dad this afternoon, and although he was as miserable as ever, I couldn't help feeling that he's beginning to settle in to his new(ish) surroundings.
It was even suggested that the problems in the new rectory were due to the curse he had put upon me! Correcting himself, he agreed that he was not that powerful, but he had "powers" which would be passed on to my brother rather than me.
Ah! Well! I can put away the Batman underwear!
It was even suggested that the problems in the new rectory were due to the curse he had put upon me! Correcting himself, he agreed that he was not that powerful, but he had "powers" which would be passed on to my brother rather than me.
Ah! Well! I can put away the Batman underwear!
Don't Blame Me - Blame MadPriest (2)
A police officer pulls over a speeding car. The officer says, "I clocked you at 80 miles per hour, sir."
The driver says, "Gee, officer, I had it on cruise control at 60; perhaps your radar gun needs calibrating."
Not looking up from her knitting the wife says, "Now don't be silly, dear -- you know that this car doesn't have cruise control."
As the officer writes out the ticket, the driver looks over at his wife and growls, "Can't you please keep your mouth shut for once!!?"
The wife smiles demurely and says, "Well dear you should be thankful your radar detector went off when it did or your speed would have been higher."
As the officer makes out the second ticket for the illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his wife and says through clenched teeth, "Woman, can't you keep your mouth shut?"
The officer frowns and says, "And I notice that you're not wearing your seat belt, sir. That's an automatic $75 fine."
The driver says, "Yeah, well, you see, officer, I had it on, but I took it off when you pulled me over so that I could get my license out of my back pocket."
The wife says, "Now, dear, you know very well that you didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you're driving."
And as the police officer is writing out the third ticket, the driver turns to his wife and barks, "WHY DON'T YOU PLEASE SHUT UP??"
The officer looks over at the woman and asks, "Does your husband always talk to you this way, Ma'am?"
"Only when he's been drinking!!"
The driver says, "Gee, officer, I had it on cruise control at 60; perhaps your radar gun needs calibrating."
Not looking up from her knitting the wife says, "Now don't be silly, dear -- you know that this car doesn't have cruise control."
As the officer writes out the ticket, the driver looks over at his wife and growls, "Can't you please keep your mouth shut for once!!?"
The wife smiles demurely and says, "Well dear you should be thankful your radar detector went off when it did or your speed would have been higher."
As the officer makes out the second ticket for the illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his wife and says through clenched teeth, "Woman, can't you keep your mouth shut?"
The officer frowns and says, "And I notice that you're not wearing your seat belt, sir. That's an automatic $75 fine."
The driver says, "Yeah, well, you see, officer, I had it on, but I took it off when you pulled me over so that I could get my license out of my back pocket."
The wife says, "Now, dear, you know very well that you didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you're driving."
And as the police officer is writing out the third ticket, the driver turns to his wife and barks, "WHY DON'T YOU PLEASE SHUT UP??"
The officer looks over at the woman and asks, "Does your husband always talk to you this way, Ma'am?"
"Only when he's been drinking!!"
Inspires Online
Just got this in from the Inspires team, via Mother Ruth's Blog . If you want to be in the know then I suggest you sign up for it…
I’m writing on behalf of the Information and Communication Board of the Scottish Episcopal Church with some information about Inspires Online which will be launched next week.
You may be aware that the I & C Board has decided to make the printed magazine of the Scottish Episcopal Church (Inspires) a quarterly publication, thus reducing it from 10 times a year to 4 times a year.
This will be supplemented by an online newsletter. The initial expectation that this newsletter (Inspires Online) will come out monthly. This will contain more up to date news than the printed magazine has been able to do and it is hoped that it will go some way to solving a problem that some have perceived in our church,
of it being difficult to get news flowing around the Province.
The online newsletter will launch next week. All clergy whose e-mail addresses are known to the General Synod Office have been signed up to receive it. (If you don’t wish to receive it, there is an unsubscribe
link at the bottom of this e-mail and on every issue of the newsletter).
However, this publication is for our whole church, not just for clergy. For that reason, I’m writing to ask for your help in letting others know about it.
If people who have not been signed up already wish to receive this newsletter, then they need to go to
http://www.inspires.org.uk/subscribe and fill out the simple form there.
I would appreciate any help you can give in getting this information out. It could be included in congregational/diocesan publications, websites, blogs, notices in church, service sheets etc.
I hope that this new communication tool will be useful and would like to thank those who have been working on it.
The Provost adds:
Inspires has become a quarterly print publications supplimented by a monthly online newsletter. The content will be different. Inspires online will concentrate on time sensitive news. Inspires in print will still contain articles and reflection on the life of our church.
Now I'm corrected; I just didn't get the correct info, I owe aplogies to those confused by the earlier post!
I’m writing on behalf of the Information and Communication Board of the Scottish Episcopal Church with some information about Inspires Online which will be launched next week.
You may be aware that the I & C Board has decided to make the printed magazine of the Scottish Episcopal Church (Inspires) a quarterly publication, thus reducing it from 10 times a year to 4 times a year.
This will be supplemented by an online newsletter. The initial expectation that this newsletter (Inspires Online) will come out monthly. This will contain more up to date news than the printed magazine has been able to do and it is hoped that it will go some way to solving a problem that some have perceived in our church,
of it being difficult to get news flowing around the Province.
The online newsletter will launch next week. All clergy whose e-mail addresses are known to the General Synod Office have been signed up to receive it. (If you don’t wish to receive it, there is an unsubscribe
link at the bottom of this e-mail and on every issue of the newsletter).
However, this publication is for our whole church, not just for clergy. For that reason, I’m writing to ask for your help in letting others know about it.
If people who have not been signed up already wish to receive this newsletter, then they need to go to
http://www.inspires.org.uk/subscribe and fill out the simple form there.
I would appreciate any help you can give in getting this information out. It could be included in congregational/diocesan publications, websites, blogs, notices in church, service sheets etc.
I hope that this new communication tool will be useful and would like to thank those who have been working on it.
The Provost adds:
Inspires has become a quarterly print publications supplimented by a monthly online newsletter. The content will be different. Inspires online will concentrate on time sensitive news. Inspires in print will still contain articles and reflection on the life of our church.
Now I'm corrected; I just didn't get the correct info, I owe aplogies to those confused by the earlier post!
iPreach
Apple's new device for clergy: The iPreach! (Thanks Susan!)
The iPreach......for the priest who needs just one more thing! Features include:
* 16-point font for easy reading
* Stores your sermons for up to 50 years
* app for Bible readings of the day
* app for Biblical commentary on said readings
* app for poems that sound like they could have been Biblical commentary
* app for dog whistle-like tone to wake up sleeping congregations
* app for soothing music to counter dog whistle to keep babies pacified
* app for canned laughter at joke you *know* is funny
* app for disrupting cell phone signals so they don't ring during the service
* one touch button that writes the whole thing for you, keeps attention, and removes distractions
My credit card is in my hand as I write!
The iPreach......for the priest who needs just one more thing! Features include:
* 16-point font for easy reading
* Stores your sermons for up to 50 years
* app for Bible readings of the day
* app for Biblical commentary on said readings
* app for poems that sound like they could have been Biblical commentary
* app for dog whistle-like tone to wake up sleeping congregations
* app for soothing music to counter dog whistle to keep babies pacified
* app for canned laughter at joke you *know* is funny
* app for disrupting cell phone signals so they don't ring during the service
* one touch button that writes the whole thing for you, keeps attention, and removes distractions
My credit card is in my hand as I write!
Today
Checklist:
Parish Coffee Morning
Antivirus to be installed in two computers
Got to visit new rectory, clean up, try to warm up
Sheets for tomorrow to print and fold
Sermon to write - ha!
Dad to visit
Partick Thistle Nil at Inverness: Big worry!
This time next week, I hope, we can combine all of this and have everything in the new rectory! The Care Home can drop dad off, and everyone can help with the redecorating, apart from moi, who will be busy in the office!
Parish Coffee Morning
Antivirus to be installed in two computers
Got to visit new rectory, clean up, try to warm up
Sheets for tomorrow to print and fold
Sermon to write - ha!
Dad to visit
Partick Thistle Nil at Inverness: Big worry!
This time next week, I hope, we can combine all of this and have everything in the new rectory! The Care Home can drop dad off, and everyone can help with the redecorating, apart from moi, who will be busy in the office!
Friday, 29 January 2010
Jammies in Tesco
A Tesco store in Cardiff has banned customers from wearing pyjamas while shopping.
Mother-of-two Elaine Carmody, 24, was refused custom when the policy was introduced at the St Mellons store.
Ms Carmody says she can't see how tracksuit bottoms are that different from pyjamas. She spoke to Mark Hutchings.
You need to listen to the interview!
Mother-of-two Elaine Carmody, 24, was refused custom when the policy was introduced at the St Mellons store.
Ms Carmody says she can't see how tracksuit bottoms are that different from pyjamas. She spoke to Mark Hutchings.
You need to listen to the interview!
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Absence...
It seems I was elected Convenor of the North West Glasgow Regional Council last night in my absence! I think I'm chuffed!
Boiling
Well, it had to happen. After several days of trying to save the boiler in the new house, the Heating Engineer gave up and told me we have to replace the boiler. Oh Joy! However, he made himself scarce before telling the plumber he wouldn't be back until Tuesday!
And I wanted to have moved in before my birthday! (Choking fits of giggles from the evil bit inside my head....)
And I wanted to have moved in before my birthday! (Choking fits of giggles from the evil bit inside my head....)
Yes! We Had a Really Good Walk Today
Despite the house problems, Archie continues to surpass himself! Ready to serve at the Eucharist indeed. Just a little sacrajel needed!
So, Where are the Episcopalians?
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Bill Hewitt, and members of Scottish Clergy against Nuclear Armaments (SCANA) have launched an initiative at Holyrood seeking to place nuclear weapons and Trident at the heart of the General Election campaign.
Church leaders from the Roman Catholic Church, the Religious Society of Friends, the United Free Church, the United Reformed Church and the Methodists have been joined by the Kirk in the initiative.
For a long time, the Christian community has led the way in challenging the morality of nuclear weapons, say the churches. They believe that the forthcoming General Election offers an opportunity, in a way that has rarely been seen before, to challenge the philosophy that nuclear weapons are necessary for modern warfare.
Mr Hewitt explained: “There is a real chance that the renewal of the Trident system, which is due very soon, could be overturned if enough political pressure is applied. Especially, at a time when voters are asking hard questions about how we best use our tax revenues for the benefit of the maximum number of citizens.”
The initiative also includes a specially produced postcard for members of congregations to send to prospective candidates and MPs in the run up to the election urging them to put nuclear weapons and Trident at the forefront of their campaign.
Church leaders from the Roman Catholic Church, the Religious Society of Friends, the United Free Church, the United Reformed Church and the Methodists have been joined by the Kirk in the initiative.
For a long time, the Christian community has led the way in challenging the morality of nuclear weapons, say the churches. They believe that the forthcoming General Election offers an opportunity, in a way that has rarely been seen before, to challenge the philosophy that nuclear weapons are necessary for modern warfare.
Mr Hewitt explained: “There is a real chance that the renewal of the Trident system, which is due very soon, could be overturned if enough political pressure is applied. Especially, at a time when voters are asking hard questions about how we best use our tax revenues for the benefit of the maximum number of citizens.”
The initiative also includes a specially produced postcard for members of congregations to send to prospective candidates and MPs in the run up to the election urging them to put nuclear weapons and Trident at the forefront of their campaign.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Nicked from MadPriest - who Nicked it from Elsewhere!
“A dog in church — I know it doesn’t sound right and doesn’t seem right,” Buhr said. “But this dog is a gift from God.”
When Buhr came to the church, he asked the parishioners if it would be all right if Elijah attended Mass. He said he didn’t want anyone’s prayers to be disturbed. So far, he said, no one has complained.
Buhr’s last assignment was at a country parish where Elijah was allowed to roam the fields and woods. The dog has made a smooth transition to the inner city. He is the terror of squirrels and other animals that trespass on the parish grounds. Inside the church, however, Elijah is as gentle as a lamb. During Mass, he tends to quietly meander. He may stroll onto the altar to sit beside Buhr or server Brittany Pfaffenback, 16. Elijah occasionally wanders down the aisle and sticks his nose into the pews, seeking affection. In the summer, he prefers lounging on the cool terrazzo tiles of the high altar. On a recent cold Sunday, he favored a spot beside a radiator to the side of the altar. When the crowd lined up to receive Communion, he took up his regular post in front of the first pew on the left. From there, he watched as Buhr distributed the Holy Eucharist.
“He loves that little space and plants himself there every Communion,” said a parish deacon, Gerry Quinn, 63, of Affton. “We do worry sometimes that someone will trip over him, but we’ve all adjusted fine.”
At the end of Mass, Elijah trotted ahead of the servers, deacons and priest as they filed down the main aisle.
At Our Lady of the Holy Cross, the congregation has embraced Elijah, said a longtime member, Charlotte Flowers.
“We have a true church dog,” said Flowers, 68. “He’s a joy and so well-behaved. The children especially love him. And he never barks in church.”
Well done, the people of Our Lady of the Holy Cross for realising that Elijah is a blessing and not an inconvenience. I would not be surprised if their congregation grows because of this gentle (except when it comes to critters) dog of God.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Ecumenical Partnership
It was really a damp squib, since it was badly reported and advertised, but the weekend saw an agreement signed by the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Methodists and the URC. What will this mean?
A take on this can be read about in Fr Kelvin's Blog.
A take on this can be read about in Fr Kelvin's Blog.
In the Bad Books
It is to my eternal shame that I had not completed my Diocesan Returns until last night. They were due in early December. I'm never really "on-time" with this annual chore, but it's not great to be the only parish in the Diocese that has not sent in the vital statistics!
I am pleading insanity, coupled with the fact that life in general has not been the best since way before December!
However, there's something quite daunting about sitting down with your register of services and counting all the communions made, number of services, how many wimmen, how many men, reserved sacrament figures, Sunday next before Advent, etc etc. Is it the fear that when you add them all up your parish will show up as being one in decline? Fear of forms? Fear of calculators? Maybe none! Just that returns tend to be the sort of thing you can procrastinate with.
However, they're all off today, and I feel like a good boy again!
Oh! And the fear of "decline" was lifted. The numbers actually looked OK!
I am pleading insanity, coupled with the fact that life in general has not been the best since way before December!
However, there's something quite daunting about sitting down with your register of services and counting all the communions made, number of services, how many wimmen, how many men, reserved sacrament figures, Sunday next before Advent, etc etc. Is it the fear that when you add them all up your parish will show up as being one in decline? Fear of forms? Fear of calculators? Maybe none! Just that returns tend to be the sort of thing you can procrastinate with.
However, they're all off today, and I feel like a good boy again!
Oh! And the fear of "decline" was lifted. The numbers actually looked OK!
Serious Discrimination Continues in the Church
Human rights campaigners, trades unions and several religious groups have reacted with dismay to a House of Lords vote on the Equality Bill. Peers narrowly voted for amendments that will allow religious organisations greater exemptions from anti-discrimination law in matters of employment.
Critics say that this will weaken protection for the staff of religious groups, as well as those who apply for jobs at them. It is as yet unclear how the government will respond to the vote.
Full story HERE.
Critics say that this will weaken protection for the staff of religious groups, as well as those who apply for jobs at them. It is as yet unclear how the government will respond to the vote.
Full story HERE.
Ooops!
The weekend had another highlight which I'm only now beginning to be able to talk about. My trusty laptop, we were such good friends, was cast from my kneee rather hastily and managed to make contact with the floor! Disaster time again, as the LCD screen went haywire and has not worked since.
A computer doctor has taken it under his wing! I only hope he can heal it!
A computer doctor has taken it under his wing! I only hope he can heal it!
Monday, 25 January 2010
New Rectory (Cont)
Another day of high drama with a few more leaks found, and Mr Nobody putting a foot through the living room ceiling! However, the joiner is getting on with repairs and the glazier made all the windows good this afternoon.
I'm being positive, simply because now we are going to some nice people asking them for "goodwill" money! I mean we ARE a church committed to the community! They will be asked nicely by my little regiment of women who are extremely persuasive at times!
Meanwhile the money clock keeps ticking away and I dread the final invoices. I guess we could run a wee sweep to guess the date the new home becomes habitable!
I'm being positive, simply because now we are going to some nice people asking them for "goodwill" money! I mean we ARE a church committed to the community! They will be asked nicely by my little regiment of women who are extremely persuasive at times!
Meanwhile the money clock keeps ticking away and I dread the final invoices. I guess we could run a wee sweep to guess the date the new home becomes habitable!
Holy Water Scare! - from SKY
More than 100 Russian Orthodox believers have been hospitalised after drinking holy water in Irkutsk, Siberia.
Those affected, including 48 children, are being treated in hospital for acute intestinal pain after drinking water from wells around a local church last week.The believers were celebrating Epiphany which is traditionally commemorated by Orthodox Russians on January 19.
Spokesman Vladimir Salovarov said a total of 204 people required some medical treatment. However it is too early to say exactly what caused the illness. Many Russians consider any water obtained on Epiphany to be holy. The water is typically bottled for consumption later. Tap water in most of Russia is undrinkable.
Those affected, including 48 children, are being treated in hospital for acute intestinal pain after drinking water from wells around a local church last week.The believers were celebrating Epiphany which is traditionally commemorated by Orthodox Russians on January 19.
Spokesman Vladimir Salovarov said a total of 204 people required some medical treatment. However it is too early to say exactly what caused the illness. Many Russians consider any water obtained on Epiphany to be holy. The water is typically bottled for consumption later. Tap water in most of Russia is undrinkable.
Sunday, 24 January 2010
PTNIL 1 Dunfermline Ath 4
Defeat is something that is never easy to accept. When you lose 4-1 thanks in no small measure to a second half capitulation there is absolutely no hiding place with the team's inadequacies, on the day at least, exposed for all to see.
At least the manager was honest
"That was the worst performance and worst result we have produced since I became manager here."
You bet Ian, you bet!!!!
At least the manager was honest
"That was the worst performance and worst result we have produced since I became manager here."
You bet Ian, you bet!!!!
Saturday, 23 January 2010
It was 28 years Ago Today
Twenty eight years ago today, I was presented with my boychild, my only child! (On a Saturday too, because I remember Thistle Nil winning and I couldn't get to see them! He was beautiful then, and he's turned into a really nice, polite, respectable man, full of fun, with a Uni Degree and a very decent job.
He inherited the genetic illness of being a Partick Thistle Nil supporter, and this afternoon we will sit together at Firhill and together rue these genetics! (It was my grandfather's fault, and my dad's too!)
But first of all to Girvan for Diocesan Council! I used to go there on holiday as a child, and it seemed really far away! It does this morning too!
He inherited the genetic illness of being a Partick Thistle Nil supporter, and this afternoon we will sit together at Firhill and together rue these genetics! (It was my grandfather's fault, and my dad's too!)
But first of all to Girvan for Diocesan Council! I used to go there on holiday as a child, and it seemed really far away! It does this morning too!
Friday, 22 January 2010
Getting There
Some of the despondency and gloom is lifting over the new rectory. The Diocese has promised a loan to get us up and running, the plumber reckons he's found all the leaks, the boiler is fixable and doesn't need replaced, and the joiner delivered new flooring for the upstairs landing last night!
It's going to be a long haul, but perhaps we are turning the corner now!
It's going to be a long haul, but perhaps we are turning the corner now!
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Demonising Haiti - from Ekklesia
In what has now become a much-circulated clip, tele-evangelist Pat Robertson makes sense of the catastrophic Haitian earthquake as the latest in a string of curses delivered by God to Haiti’s people. Robertson’s interpretation of this catastrophe, whether we find it repellent or compelling, offers an excellent example of one of the ways religion functions: Robertson reiterates a reassuring framework of meaning in the face of experiences which call such frameworks into question.
The earthquake, rather than evidence of the random and senseless nature of human existence, provides for Robertson evidence of God’s existence and ongoing, partisan involvement in human history. Robertson’s theology provides comfort, too, in its categorization of the victims of this tragedy as deserving of their fate, insulating Robertson from the agony of identifying too closely with these wounded, mourning, homeless, and hungry fellow humans.
Robertson may be moved by this suffering – his remarks were delivered as the Christian Broadcasting Network raised money for earthquake relief – but his religious anthropology renders this suffering, in his words, “unimaginable,” a stark contrast to anthropologies that urge empathetic relations.
For Robertson, the Haitian people are markedly 'other', a tone that carries through his version of the nation’s history: “They were under the heels of the French,” he says, “You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French. True story. And so the devil said, OK, it’s a deal. And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other.”
This story is, of course, far from true. Robertson offers here a typical demonization of the Voodoo religion and a Christian distortion of the legend of the 1791 Bois Caiman ritual. Yet Robertson, one imagines, finds animal sacrifice and blood vows repellent, and he has no reason to be accepting of any religion other than his own, ruling them all false and therefore damnable.
In the clearly defined narrative Robertson insists upon, the followers of God can expect rewards while to the followers of the devil come destruction, blood, and wailing. The troubling aspect of Robertson’s remarks, however, is not the myths he offers to make sense of the world, but what he leaves out of his thumbnail history of Haiti: Unmentioned in his summary is the word “slavery.”
The “true story” that Robertson occludes is that Haiti, the first country to be founded by former African slaves, owes its origin to armed uprising. What began as raids on plantations became full scale revolutionary war, with people who had been regarded as chattel claiming their liberty via the blood of their former “masters.”
From Nat Turner to Fred Hampton, the armed, independent black person has remained a nightmare image to those who benefit from white privilege in America, an image, indeed, not unlike Cotton Mather’s description of Satan incarnate in New England, that “Black Man” with the power to destroy the social order.
Haitian Independence was an event interpreted by much of the white, slave-owning world of the time as catastrophic. That “they” would dare – and be able – to seize power called into question preexisting systems of meaning-making as surely as any earthquake.
The image of black slaves shedding their chains and taking up arms contributes far more than any hobgoblins of the evangelical imagination to the historical “curses” that have kept Haiti poor and troubled. The history of American relations with Haiti has been indelibly tainted by America’s true devil – the lingering effects of our own schizophrenic founding as a nation insistent on liberty yet practicing slavery.
Just as racist terror helped shape the stereotype of Voodoo as devil worship, so too racist attitudes have dominated the history of American relations with Haiti, from the fearful to the patronizing, from clandestine political machinations to occupation by military force. Hopefully, the current attention on Haiti (for those of us who reject dismissive metaphysical explanations such as Robertson’s) will prompt Americans to examine the racism embedded not just in foreign and domestic political history but, indeed, in our own minds.
Without honest confrontation of the legacies of our past as a slave society, some “they” will always be demonized and some “devil” will always be imagined as a mask for our earthly hatreds and fears.
The earthquake, rather than evidence of the random and senseless nature of human existence, provides for Robertson evidence of God’s existence and ongoing, partisan involvement in human history. Robertson’s theology provides comfort, too, in its categorization of the victims of this tragedy as deserving of their fate, insulating Robertson from the agony of identifying too closely with these wounded, mourning, homeless, and hungry fellow humans.
Robertson may be moved by this suffering – his remarks were delivered as the Christian Broadcasting Network raised money for earthquake relief – but his religious anthropology renders this suffering, in his words, “unimaginable,” a stark contrast to anthropologies that urge empathetic relations.
For Robertson, the Haitian people are markedly 'other', a tone that carries through his version of the nation’s history: “They were under the heels of the French,” he says, “You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French. True story. And so the devil said, OK, it’s a deal. And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other.”
This story is, of course, far from true. Robertson offers here a typical demonization of the Voodoo religion and a Christian distortion of the legend of the 1791 Bois Caiman ritual. Yet Robertson, one imagines, finds animal sacrifice and blood vows repellent, and he has no reason to be accepting of any religion other than his own, ruling them all false and therefore damnable.
In the clearly defined narrative Robertson insists upon, the followers of God can expect rewards while to the followers of the devil come destruction, blood, and wailing. The troubling aspect of Robertson’s remarks, however, is not the myths he offers to make sense of the world, but what he leaves out of his thumbnail history of Haiti: Unmentioned in his summary is the word “slavery.”
The “true story” that Robertson occludes is that Haiti, the first country to be founded by former African slaves, owes its origin to armed uprising. What began as raids on plantations became full scale revolutionary war, with people who had been regarded as chattel claiming their liberty via the blood of their former “masters.”
From Nat Turner to Fred Hampton, the armed, independent black person has remained a nightmare image to those who benefit from white privilege in America, an image, indeed, not unlike Cotton Mather’s description of Satan incarnate in New England, that “Black Man” with the power to destroy the social order.
Haitian Independence was an event interpreted by much of the white, slave-owning world of the time as catastrophic. That “they” would dare – and be able – to seize power called into question preexisting systems of meaning-making as surely as any earthquake.
The image of black slaves shedding their chains and taking up arms contributes far more than any hobgoblins of the evangelical imagination to the historical “curses” that have kept Haiti poor and troubled. The history of American relations with Haiti has been indelibly tainted by America’s true devil – the lingering effects of our own schizophrenic founding as a nation insistent on liberty yet practicing slavery.
Just as racist terror helped shape the stereotype of Voodoo as devil worship, so too racist attitudes have dominated the history of American relations with Haiti, from the fearful to the patronizing, from clandestine political machinations to occupation by military force. Hopefully, the current attention on Haiti (for those of us who reject dismissive metaphysical explanations such as Robertson’s) will prompt Americans to examine the racism embedded not just in foreign and domestic political history but, indeed, in our own minds.
Without honest confrontation of the legacies of our past as a slave society, some “they” will always be demonized and some “devil” will always be imagined as a mask for our earthly hatreds and fears.
Thanks to Simon....
for this gem.....
Notice at Zoo: "4 people a year die from sharks, 271 die from toasters."
Notice at Zoo: "4 people a year die from sharks, 271 die from toasters."
Powerlessness
It's the powerlessness that is getting to me. Standing in the living room of a house you were responsible for buying with water cascading through the ceiling as another burst is found. Watching good, no beautifully tiled walls and floors, being destroyed is just too much. There's nothing I can do, and powerlessness always frustrates me.
Step forward the good folk in my congregation who, today, are taking up the cudgel with lawyers in the hope we can get some recompense. It's a responsibility that's been taken off my shoulders and for that I'm very grateful.
Powerlessness is something we all experience from time to time. We cannot control or change the weather, natural disasters, or even other people, although I've tried that often! It's at times like this where you simply have to hand it over to God and let God take care of it! It'll all work out, and one day we'll look back at this and laugh. I think.
Step forward the good folk in my congregation who, today, are taking up the cudgel with lawyers in the hope we can get some recompense. It's a responsibility that's been taken off my shoulders and for that I'm very grateful.
Powerlessness is something we all experience from time to time. We cannot control or change the weather, natural disasters, or even other people, although I've tried that often! It's at times like this where you simply have to hand it over to God and let God take care of it! It'll all work out, and one day we'll look back at this and laugh. I think.
Cheesed Off!
I dread to think what the company that brought us cheese in a spray can will do to Cadbury, but I think I can guess.
Nice to hear that Cadbury, a long-term client of RBS, 84% owned by the British taxpayer, was only told at the last minute that RBS would be backing Kraft's takeover bid with a £630 million loan.
Nice to hear that Cadbury, a long-term client of RBS, 84% owned by the British taxpayer, was only told at the last minute that RBS would be backing Kraft's takeover bid with a £630 million loan.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
New Rectory (cont)
The pain continues! We bought a house in "showhome condition", ready to walk into with so many attractive features, and now it is just a soaking wet shell with tiles ripped off walls to gain access to burst pipes, holes drilled in ceilings to let water through, holes cut into walls, again to access pipes, carpets ruined, two shower units, a combi boiler and possibly a bath needing to be replaced. It was a spa bath that I was looking forward so much to relaxing in. Today it may be totally gubbed.
The extreme cold has caused 15 burst pipes and a central heating system disaster. We are not insured for this, and because the house was a repossession we have no comeback on the sellers.
Today I weep..... Oh! and the plumber can't come back until Monday!
The extreme cold has caused 15 burst pipes and a central heating system disaster. We are not insured for this, and because the house was a repossession we have no comeback on the sellers.
Today I weep..... Oh! and the plumber can't come back until Monday!
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Monday, 18 January 2010
Miserable Day!
With high hopes that the plumbing problem would be rectified quickly, it was with a spring in my step as I went down to the new Rectory at lunchtime. Disaster loomed! As we fixed one pipe, another joint elsewhere popped out and in no time the place was swimming with water. Coming through the living room ceiling, from under the sink, behind the bath, behind the bidet in the ensuite, (yes, we have one of those), and eventually the water all had to be turned off and we just had to leave it!
The plumber will come again tomorrow!
At least the electricity is safe, although I'm not in a hurry to put on lights when water is pouring through the fittings! The gas fire is on, although it's a low energy, save-the-planet job, and the heat from it is minimal. To be fair, it does say that it cannot be used as the main heat supply in a room. Very decorative, though!
Just desperate now to get the water on, the central heating going, and see what damage can be fixed quickly!
The plumber will come again tomorrow!
At least the electricity is safe, although I'm not in a hurry to put on lights when water is pouring through the fittings! The gas fire is on, although it's a low energy, save-the-planet job, and the heat from it is minimal. To be fair, it does say that it cannot be used as the main heat supply in a room. Very decorative, though!
Just desperate now to get the water on, the central heating going, and see what damage can be fixed quickly!
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Letter from Satan
Following on from this morning's sermon, I came across this beauty from another blog....
Dear Pat Robertson,
I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll. You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.
Best, Satan
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Too Much Excitement!
In the excitement of electing a new bishop I thought PTN were playing at Dunfermline rather than Kirkcaldy, and hadn't quite anticipated that anyone would be elected bishop quite so quickly and dramatically. Prayers for Gregor Duncan, elected Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway today!
As a member of the Preparatory Committee who recommended all three candidates as worthy to be elected, I'm glas Synod reached a decision today. All three would have made excellent bishops. For the others, I have no doubt that their day will come!
As a member of the Preparatory Committee who recommended all three candidates as worthy to be elected, I'm glas Synod reached a decision today. All three would have made excellent bishops. For the others, I have no doubt that their day will come!
Slight Problem...
Eventually got the keys to the new house yesterday. Managed to get the gas on and the electricity reconnected, then the plumber arrived to put on the water. Floods through the kitchen/dining room ceiling! The whole system was drained, but the really cold weather has still managed to "pop" some pipes. Monday afternoon before we lift upstairs floorboards and find the offending pipes. So, we're marking time!
Meanwhile, Glasgow & Galloway Diocese elect a new bishop today, hopefully, and Partick Thistle Nil travel to Dunfermline. I'm looking for two good results this wet & windy Saturday!
Meanwhile, Glasgow & Galloway Diocese elect a new bishop today, hopefully, and Partick Thistle Nil travel to Dunfermline. I'm looking for two good results this wet & windy Saturday!
Friday, 15 January 2010
Overheard in Glasgow...
Lovely wee online Group I visit. Two beauties brought to my attention today...
Someone describing a friend with a visual squint:
Someone describing a friend with a visual squint:
"He's goat wan eye goin' tae the van an' the other comin' back wi the change"
"Not the full shilling" has developed into "50 nectar points short of a toaster"
New Rectory
The household, RW, cat, dogs et al, are on standby at the moment. The church has bought us a new house to live in, an extra bedroom and a study too, and all going well, we get the keys today. Panic is rising in my throat as I contemplate the days ahead as we clean, decorate, plan what to take and what to put in a skip, and generally get ready fot the day of "The Move".
First up today will be trying to get services, gas, water and electricity into the property, and with plumbers as scarce as hen's teeth, this may prove difficult.
However, we have still to get the keys, so we wait for the phone to ring......
First up today will be trying to get services, gas, water and electricity into the property, and with plumbers as scarce as hen's teeth, this may prove difficult.
However, we have still to get the keys, so we wait for the phone to ring......
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Dad Update
Things are not brilliant for now to say the least, and a visit on Sunday was a waste of time as dad refused to speak to me. After all, it's me who has committed him to this dreadful place and me who is responsible for declaring him unable to look after himself.
He had managed to escape on Saturday, and the police had to be called to find him and bring him back to the home, and his behaviour has been somewhat erratic of late. One of the carers, K, is just wonderful, and has him wrapped around her little finger, but I know it's often hard to know how to deal with him.
The psychiatrist has been called in, and they are hoping that a few tweaks to his medication might just help. However, the hospital still has his medical records, since June, and it's proving hard to get a hold of them. I have a lot of faith in this psychiatrist and I'm hopeful that we can at least cut down the sudden mood swings which are prevalent just now.
His four week "trial" is nearing an end, and it's with gratitude that I'm told that he'll be given another wee while yet before a decision is made. The Care Home want to give him a try with the revised medication. If this doesn't work out, goodness knows where he'll go, but I need to cross that bridge if and when we come to it.
I feel for him so much just now, but there's little else that can be done. He's just so unhappy and confused about why he has to be there.
Meanwhile, a house move is on the horizon. We get the keys to the new Rectory on Friday, and are planning to move in by the end of the month. At the moment I could see the upheaval far enough!
He had managed to escape on Saturday, and the police had to be called to find him and bring him back to the home, and his behaviour has been somewhat erratic of late. One of the carers, K, is just wonderful, and has him wrapped around her little finger, but I know it's often hard to know how to deal with him.
The psychiatrist has been called in, and they are hoping that a few tweaks to his medication might just help. However, the hospital still has his medical records, since June, and it's proving hard to get a hold of them. I have a lot of faith in this psychiatrist and I'm hopeful that we can at least cut down the sudden mood swings which are prevalent just now.
His four week "trial" is nearing an end, and it's with gratitude that I'm told that he'll be given another wee while yet before a decision is made. The Care Home want to give him a try with the revised medication. If this doesn't work out, goodness knows where he'll go, but I need to cross that bridge if and when we come to it.
I feel for him so much just now, but there's little else that can be done. He's just so unhappy and confused about why he has to be there.
Meanwhile, a house move is on the horizon. We get the keys to the new Rectory on Friday, and are planning to move in by the end of the month. At the moment I could see the upheaval far enough!
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Pie of the Month!
Going to watch Partick Thistle Nil soon? Take advantage of this offer:
"The Pie of the Month for January will be the Burns Pie, essentially Whisky and haggis on a base of crushed Neeps and Tattie." - from the PTFC website.
"The Pie of the Month for January will be the Burns Pie, essentially Whisky and haggis on a base of crushed Neeps and Tattie." - from the PTFC website.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Dad
Strange visit yesterday, in which dad has, I think, had a moment of clarity and realises that his memory has gone and is bewildered as to why this should be and why he is in this Home. He asks, quite seriously if he's had an anurism or something cerebral that has made him like this. I feel for him. Suddenly there is the realisation that something is wrong and that is why he is where he is. I wonder if it is better this way... better than feeling that he's fine and the world is conspiring against a perfectly fit and rational pensioner. However, we have a good visit, piecing together some of the things that have happened, including Christmas which he'd forgotten about already. I came away knowing that he's in the right place, but knowing that the next visit could be very different indeed.
Friday, 1 January 2010
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