Devotional: Whenever a man has seen the glory of God...

Whenever a man has seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ...at once he comes right into a head-on collision within his own personal living, with all of his principles and motives upon which he has lived until this moment.... if there is to be a continual manifestation of Holy Spirit life, there must be a constant submission to the crucifixion of the flesh, not simply sometimes, but always. ...Alan Redpath  image

Woman marries her dead fiancé

By STAFF REPORTER
24 Jun 2011

A GRIEVING woman has married the love of her life — two years after he was killed in a car crash.

An obscure law allowed Karen Jumeaux, 22, to wed Anthony Maillot even though he is dead.

She was granted special permission to tie the knot because she could prove she and Anthony were already planning the ceremony.

They had got engaged after meeting in 2007 and had a baby boy in 2009 — shortly before Anthony died aged 20.

Karen finally had her big day in Dizy-le-Gros, eastern France, yesterday after president Nicolas Sarkozy granted her request. the rest image

(Isn't he/she lovely?)

Now that we have homosexual marriage in NY, why stop there...

Woman marries Eiffel Tower  ...Berlin Wall  ...roller coaster

Australian Man Marries His Pet Dog

German Man Marries Dying Cat

Japanese Man Marries Virtual Girlfriend

Man marries his Pillow

Paving The Way For Human-Robot Marriage

The woman who married herself

No Satisfaction in Same-Sex Marriage

Friday, June 24, 2011
Kevin Staley-Joyce

It’s no secret that one major undercurrent of the same-sex marriage movement is the desire to change the marriage culture—family and childrearing norms, for instance—not simply to realize the practical benefits of marriage. But once a redefined marriage culture is in place, one wonders whether marriage will continue to matter at all to those who at one time touted it as the panacea for same-sex woes.

In yesterday’s Times, Columbia Law School professor Katherine M. Franke opined that, while some gay couples may wish to get on board with marriage, others don’t see the “one-size-fits-all rules of marriage” as the ideal setup for the kinds of arrangements some same-sex relationships demand. She goes on,

Here’s why I’m worried: Winning the right to marry is one thing; being forced to marry is quite another. How’s that? If the rollout of marriage equality in other states, like Massachusetts, is any guide, lesbian and gay people who have obtained health and other benefits for their domestic partners will be required by both public and private employers to marry their partners in order to keep those rights. In other words, “winning” the right to marry may mean “losing” the rights we have now as domestic partners, as we’ll be folded into the all-or-nothing world of marriage.

After “winning the right to marry,” Franke argues, couples uninterested in marriage risk being “forced to marry” in order to keep their domestic partnership rights. She wonders further why couples should have to seek marriage at all if they seek mainly to have their relationships “recognized and valued.” the rest

In New York, Marriage "Altered Radically and Forever"

Friday, June 24, 2011
At 10.30 tonight, after weeks of heated debate and charged negotiations, the New York Senate approved a same-sex marriage bill by a 33-29 vote, making the Empire State the sixth -- and, by far, most consequential -- Stateside jurisdiction to enact full legal status for gay unions.

Within minutes of the result -- signed into law an hour later by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (above) and slated to take effect in 30 days' time -- the following statement was released by the New York bishops, who provided the measure's lead institutional opposition:

The passage by the Legislature of a bill to alter radically and forever humanity’s historic understanding of marriage leaves us deeply disappointed and troubled.


We strongly uphold the Catholic Church’s clear teaching that we always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love. But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union that is open to children, ordered for the good of those children and the spouses themselves. This definition cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths. the rest

What same-sex "marriage" has done to Massachusetts

It's far worse than most people realize
October 20, 2008
by Brian Camenker

[NOTE: For a 4-page printable version(PDF format) CLICK HERE.]

Anyone who thinks that same-sex “marriage” is a benign eccentricity which won’t affect the average person should consider what it has done in Massachusetts. It’s become a hammer to force the acceptance and normalization of homosexuality on everyone. And this train is moving fast. What has happened so far is only the beginning.
On November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court announced its Goodridge opinion, ruling that it was unconstitutional not to allow same-sex “marriage.” Six months later, homosexual marriages began to be performed.

The public schools

The homosexual “marriage” onslaught in public schools across the state started soon after the November 2003, court decision.

• At my own children's high school there was a school-wide assembly to celebrate same-sex “marriage” in early December, 2003. It featured an array of speakers, including teachers at the school who announced that they would be “marrying” their same-sex partners and starting families either through adoption or artificial insemination. Literature on same-sex marriage – how it is now a normal part of society – was handed out to the students.
• Within months it was brought into the middle schools. In September, 2004, an 8th-grade teacher in Brookline, MA, told National Public Radio that the marriage ruling had opened up the floodgates for teaching homosexuality. “In my mind, I know that, `OK, this is legal now.' If somebody wants to challenge me, I'll say, `Give me a break. It's legal now,'” she told NPR. She added that she now discusses gay sex with her students as explicitly as she desires. For example, she said she tells the kids that lesbians can have vaginal intercourse using sex toys.
• By the following year it was in elementary school curricula. Kindergartners were given picture books telling them that same-sex couples are just another kind of family, like their own parents. In 2005, when David Parker of Lexington, MA – a parent of a kindergartner – strongly insisted on being notified when teachers were discussing homosexuality or transgenderism with his son, the school had him arrested and put in jail overnight.
  
  Second graders at the same school were read a book, “King and King”, about two men who have a romance and marry each other, with a picture of them kissing. When parents Rob and Robin Wirthlin complained, they were told that the school had no obligation to notify them or allow them to opt-out their child.
• In 2006 the Parkers and Wirthlins filed a federal Civil Rights lawsuit to force the schools to notify parents and allow them to opt-out their elementary-school children when homosexual-related subjects were taught. The federal judges dismissed the case. The judges ruled that because same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, the school actually had a duty to normalize homosexual relationships to children, and that schools have no obligation to notify parents or let them opt-out their children! Acceptance of homosexuality had become a matter of good citizenship!
  
  Think about that: Because same-sex marriage is “legal”, a federal judge has ruled that the schools now have a duty to portray homosexual relationships as normal to children, despite what parents think or believe!

the rest

Devotional: God is often silent...

God is often silent when we prefer that he speak, and he interrupts us when we prefer that he stay silent. His ways are not our ways. To live with the sacred God of creation means that we conduct our lives with a God who does not explain himself to us. It means that we worship a God who is often mysterious - too mysterious to fit our formulas for better living. It means that God is not our best friend, our secret lover or our good-luck charm. He is God. ...Craig Barnes image by Laurence Edmondson

Peter Falk, Rumpled and Crafty Actor on ‘Columbo,’ Dies at 83

By BRUCE WEBER
June 24, 2011

Peter Falk, who marshaled actorly tics, prop room appurtenances and his own physical idiosyncrasies to personify Columbo, one of the most famous and beloved fictional detectives in television history, died on Thursday night at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 83.

His death was announced in a statement from Larry Larson, a longtime friend and the lawyer for Mr. Falk’s wife, Shera Danese. He had been treated for Alzheimer’s disease in recent years.

Mr. Falk had a wide-ranging career in comedy and drama, in the movies and onstage, before and during the three-and-a-half decades in which he portrayed the slovenly but canny lead on “Columbo.” He was nominated for two Oscars; appeared in original stage productions of works by Paddy Chayefsky, Neil Simon and Arthur Miller, worked with the directors Frank Capra, John Cassavetes, Blake Edwards and Mike Nichols, and co-starred with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis and Jason Robards. the rest image

Determination...

Delta Adopts Saudi Arabian Airlines' No Jew Policy

06/23/11

For a long time in Michigan, Northwest Airlines had its hub at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. That meant an essential monopoly on domestic flights in and out of Detroit. A few years ago Delta Airlines took over Northwest Airlines and now the vast majority of domestic flights at Detroit Metro are operated by Delta. That fact makes it especially troubling to learn that Delta will add Saudi Arabian Airlines to its SkyTeam Alliance of partnering companies and would require Delta to ban Jews and holders of Israeli passports from boarding flights to Saudi Arabia. The partnership was originally announced by Delta Airlines in a press release on January 10, 2011.   the rest

Added: Airline to Jewish rumor: 'Delta does not discriminate.'

Dream Act: This is outright lawlessness from Obama admin

Charles KrauthammerJun 23, 2011

Obama is trying to use his executive powers to enforce the Dream Act even though Congress couldn’t pass the legislation. Chris Wallace lays out the details:

I.C.E has announced changes to its deportation program. Agents are now specifically urged to consider whether an illegal is studying in high school or college or is serving or did serve in the military.

Krauthammer says that this is outright lawlessness on the part of the Obama administration because they are doing the same thing with the Dream Act that they did with Cap and Trade, using the EPA to enforce it anyway. He says we have a rule of law where the Congress creates the laws and the Executive executes them. By forcing agents to not deport illegals who are studying in high school or college is running an end around Congress. Further, he adds, by not basing this on the rule of law, the criteria that agents and prosecutors will use to make these judgments becomes arbitrary and unfair which means someone may get to stay that should be deported and visa-versa.

When addressing the political implications of this, that the Republicans risk becoming the party of deportation as suggested by his colleagues, Krauthammer simply states that the Constitution trumps politics. He adds that if we secure the border and then try to work out some type of program to give illegals a path to citizenship, then the American people will be generous if they know this is the last batch that will need this type of program. But if the border isn’t secured and illegals just keep pouring in, then the American people won’t go for it. the rest-video here

Church Congregations Can Be Blind to Mental Illness, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily
June 22, 2011

Mental illness of a family member can destroy the family's connection with the religious community, a new study by Baylor University psychologists has found, leading many affected families to leave the church and their faith behind.

The study shows that while families with a member who has mental illness have less involvement in faith practices, they would like their congregation to provide assistance with those issues. However, the rest of the church community seemed to overlook their need entirely. In fact, the study found that while help from the church with depression and mental illness was the second priority of families with mental illness, it ranked 42nd on the list of requests from families that did not have a family member with mental illness.

"The difference in response is staggering, especially given the picture of distress painted by the data: families with mental illness reported twice as many problems and tended to ask for assistance with more immediate or crisis needs compared to other families," said study co-author Dr. Matthew Stanford, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor, who is an expert in mental illness and the church. "The data give the impression that mental illness, while prevalent within a congregation, is also nearly invisible." the rest

"Families with mental illness stand to benefit from their involvement within a congregation, but our findings suggest that faith communities fail to adequately engage these families because they lack awareness of the issues and understanding of the important ways that they can help," said study co-author Dr. Diana Garland, dean of Baylor's School of Social Work.

Sexual Revolution: Built Upon Sand

by Anthony Esolen
June 24, 2011

The body has a language of its own, and the sexual revolution is founded upon a lie.

Recently in Public Discourse, I challenged readers to defend the sexual revolution on the grounds that it has conduced to the common good. No one took up that challenge. It would be, I suppose, rather like asking someone to defend the forced collectivization of farms in the Ukraine, while speaking to ten thousand people in Kiev. It is not going to happen.

Still, I might have given the impression that the sexual revolution is to be rejected on utilitarian grounds. Since I believe that utilitarianism is a serpent that consumes itself—that it is a disutility to believe in it—I’d like now to base my opposition on something far more fundamental than, say, the harm of wrecked families and bursting prisons. The sexual revolution is a house built upon sand. It is founded upon a lie.

Let us consider the one form of sexual behavior that almost nobody defended before the sexual revolution, and that almost nobody opposes now: fornication. A few pastors may take the sin seriously, but mostly we all shrug and say, “Everyone’s going to do it, so there’s no sense making a fuss over it.” And yet what we are talking about is deeply destructive, because it is fundamentally mendacious. When we lie, we harm not only those we deceive. We harm ourselves. If we continue in this deception, we become hardened liars, in the end perhaps deceiving no one but ourselves. The thief knows he is stealing. The liar ceases to know that he is lying, and is trapped in the emptiness of unmeaning. The thief crucified at the side of Jesus knew he was a thief, and repented. The liars walking freely below no longer recognized their lies, and did not repent. the rest

Church seeks assurance of religious freedom on civil partnerships issue

by Karen Peake
Friday, June 24, 2011

The Church of England told the Government yesterday that it should have “unfettered freedom” to decide whether to permit civil partnerships on church premises.

In its submission on the last day of a Government consultation on the issue, the Church said its objective was to ensure that amendments to existing legislation continue to provide “unfettered freedom for each religious tradition to resolve these matters in accordance with its own convictions and its own internal procedures of governance”.

The consultation follows Parliament’s announcement last year that it planned to lift the prohibition on the registration of civil partnerships in places of worship.

The decision was welcomed by some faith groups, including the Quakers, but strongly opposed by some Christians who expressed fears that churches would be forced to conduct the ceremonies against their will. the rest

Afghan Christian beheaded as Islamic terror spreads against converts

By Mark Tapscott06/22/11

Another Afghan convert to Christianity has been dragged out of his home and beheaded for his faith, this time on video, according to World Magazine editor Mindy Belz. The poor man's name was Adbul Latif.

"In the two-minute video, the men, wearing explosive belts (or suicide vests) and kaffiya head scarves to cover their faces, recite verses from the Quran while forcing Latif to the ground and pinning him with their feet," Belz reports in the latest issue of her magazine.

“'You who are joined with pagans . . . your sentence [is] to be beheaded,' read one of the militants in Farsi from what looked like a paper decree. 'Whoever changes his religion should be executed.' The passages refer to Sura 8:12 ('I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks . . .') and the hadiths, or sayings of Mohammed," she wrote. the rest

Mexico nabs ex-governor accused of stealing $9 million

Evangelical pastor is charged with pocketing funds meant to rebuild hurricane-struck villages6/8/2011

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico — A former governor was arrested Tuesday on suspicion that he embezzled more than $9 million (about 100 million pesos) in federal disaster fund money meant to rebuild hurricane-struck zones in southern Mexico.

Pablo Salazar, formerly governor of Chiapas, was detained in the airport of the Yucatan resort of Cancun by Chiapas state police, said Raziel Lopez, the state attorney general. Police flew him to Tuxtla Gutierrez, capital of Chiapas, Tuesday night to be presented before a judge.

Lopez said Salazar used relief money offered by the federal government to enrich himself instead of rebuilding Indian villages that were destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Stan. Then President Vicente Fox had offered $780 million (8.5 billion pesos) in federal disaster fund money for Chiapas. the rest

After 93 years, Corpus Christi procession to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia

Jun 23, 2011

(CNA).- The mayor of St. Petersburg, Russia has granted permission for the first Corpus Christi procession to take place in the city since 1918.

The announcement was confirmed by the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, reported Vatican Radio. The procession will take place on Sunday, June 26, through the Prospettiva Nevsky Avenue, the city’s main street.

The avenue has traditionally been called the “way of confessional tolerance,” as it is lined with Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Armenian churches. According to archdiocesan officials, the last time a Corpus Christ procession took place on the avenue was in 1918. the rest

Ex-boss of Naral, pleads guilty to stealing $75,000 from the org.

BY Melissa Grace
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, June 22nd 2011

The ex-boss of a leading abortion rights group pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing $75,000 from the organization - using donor money to pay her high-flying lifestyle.

Kelli Conlin, who left Naral Pro-Choice of New York after two decades in January, used the political cash to cover part of a $30,000 a Hamptons rental, a car service for her kids and to buy designer clothes, officials said.

"Yes, your honor," Conlin told Judge Larry Stephen when asked if she was pleading guilty to felony falsifying business records - a deal that keeps her out of jail.

The fake charges began in 2007 and came to light after an internal audit last year, officials said. the rest

Church of England to allow civil partnerships – if synod agrees

Church ceremonies for same-sex couples unlikely to be given go-ahead owing to traditionalists' opposition to homosexuality
Riazat Butt
Thursday 23 June 2011

The Church of England has said it would allow civil partnerships in its buildings but only if the General Synod agreed to the move, an unlikely prospect given the staunch opposition of traditionalists to homosexuality.

In response to the government's Equality Office consultation on the subject, the church said the "present objective" was to ensure that amendments to existing legislation continued to provide "unfettered freedom for each religious tradition to resolve these matters in accordance with its own convictions and its own internal procedures of governance".

Some religious groups welcomed last year's House of Lords decision to lift the ban on religious premises holding civil partnership ceremonies. The amendment to the equality bill, tabled as a free vote by Lord Alli, received overwhelming backing, including from several bishops.

But William Fittall, general secretary of the Archbishops' Council and member of the synod, which would decide whether to allow civil partnerships in churches, wrote: "For most Christian denominations, as well as other faith groups, the issues involved are set to remain sensitive and, to varying degrees, contested." the rest

CBO: Stimulus almost doubled U.S. debt

By Conn Carroll
06/22/11

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) finds that President Obama’s economic stimulus program helped nearly double U.S. debt.

The 2011 Long-Term Budget Outlook, released Wednesday morning, reports that the “the combination of automatic budgetary responses” and Obama’s stimulus “had a profound impact on the federal budget.” According to CBO projections, before Obama’s stimulus became law, federal debt equaled 36 percent of GDP and was projected to decline slightly over the next few years. Instead, thanks in large part to the stimulus, debt reached 62 percent of GDP by 2010.

Other lowlights from the report include: the rest

US to Lose Second Place in World Trade to India

Dutch Court Acquits Geert Wilders of Defaming Muslims

By Jurjen van de Pol
Jun 23, 2011

Dutch Freedom Party Leader Geert Wilders was acquitted by a court of charges that he made remarks defaming Muslims, ending a three-year prosecution that he described as a bid to restrict his freedom of speech.

Wilders, 47, was charged with inciting hatred and discrimination and insulting Muslims for calling the Koran “fascist” and comparing it to Adolf Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” in a 2007 Dutch newspaper editorial. A year later, he released his movie “Fitna,” in which he urged Muslims to rip out “hate-preaching” verses from the book. the rest

Provincial Council 2011: ACNA Adds Two Dioceses, Two New Dioceses in Formation

Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic and Diocese of Cascadia Welcomed, Congregations Forming in the Carolinas and Southwest
posted June 22, 2011

The Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America unanimously voted to grant admission and full diocesan status to two new dioceses today. In addition, the Council also unanimously voted to admit two groups of congregations in the Carolinas and the Southwest (West Texas and New Mexico) to begin to form dioceses in their respective geographic locations.

The newly-admitted Diocese of Cascadia has grown from seven congregations in the northwest region of the U.S. to 21 congregations in a little over one year. The Anglican District of Virginia will become the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic and consists of 31 congregations and 9 mission fellowships.

In discussing dioceses and the role of the Anglican Church in the life of congregations, Archbishop Duncan told Council attendees, “If we are to ‘reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ’ the principal way we will do this is through the local congregation. We understand that congregations are where disciples are formed and that it is through congregations that surrounding environments are changed. Bishops, archbishops, dioceses, structures, programs all exist in order to make the local congregation strong.”the rest

Albert Mohler: When the Church Bows to the State: Gay Bishops in the Church of England

American churches and denominations had better take note. When a church or Christian institution bows to the authority of the state on a matter of such direct biblical importance, it is destined to lose biblical fidelity.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

As if the Church of England does not have enough troubles, word is leaking out of Lambeth Palace that the church is about to allow the appointment of openly gay bishops, so long as those bishops remain celibate.

The news has emerged in the form of a leaked internal memorandum prepared for the Archbishop of Canterbury by the church’s highest legal adviser. The legal guidelines are intended to bring the church into compliance with Britain’s Equality Act of 2010, even as the church is considering new criteria for the appointment of bishops. That law prohibits discrimination on the basis of several characteristics, including sexual orientation. The Equality Act has already been used to force some British churches to hire youth ministers and other workers who are openly homosexual. the rest image by Nick

"Finally, a truly ominous issue is the Church of England’s subservience to the state on the matter of the Equality Act. As an established state church, the Church of England is hardly in a position to reject the government’s laws or to claim the high ground of religious liberty. Thus, it is in a trap from which it seems incapable or unwilling of extricating itself.

American churches and denominations had better take note. When a church or Christian institution bows to the authority of the state on a matter of such direct biblical importance, it is destined to lose biblical fidelity. The proposed guidelines for the Church of England should serve as an alarm to all churches concerning this real and present danger."

The 'Jim Crow' Lie

The 'Jim Crow' Lie How could asking for ID be discriminatory only when it comes to voting?
JUNE 21, 2011

Excerpt:
Likewise, these days there is a good chance you will be asked for identification when you check into a hotel. You need ID to board an airplane or to drive a car. Recently we visited a doctor whose office is in a hospital. Just to enter the premises, we needed to present ID to a security guard.

If black people have trouble producing identification, how come nobody ever claims that these requirements are discriminatory?

Another important aspect of civil rights is equal employment opportunity. Under the 1986 immigration law, when you are hired for a job, you are required to provide your employer with documents proving both your identity and your citizenship or legal residency. How come nobody ever claims these requirements discriminate against blacks?
.
It is possible that the ID requirements for planes, trains, automobiles, hotels, hospitals and jobs have justifications so compelling as to justify discrimination. It is also possible that by contrast, as Dionne maintains, preventing election fraud is not a sufficiently compelling justification. The point here is that no one has ever had to make the former argument, because nobody claims ID requirements are discriminatory against blacks except when it comes to voting.  the rest

Why the Jobs Situation Is Worse Than It Looks

We now have more idle men and women than at any time since the Great Depression
By Mortimer B. Zuckerman
June 20, 2011

The Great Recession has now earned the dubious right of being compared to the Great Depression. In the face of the most stimulative fiscal and monetary policies in our history, we have experienced the loss of over 7 million jobs, wiping out every job gained since the year 2000. From the moment the Obama administration came into office, there have been no net increases in full-time jobs, only in part-time jobs. This is contrary to all previous recessions. Employers are not recalling the workers they laid off from full-time employment.

The real job losses are greater than the estimate of 7.5 million. They are closer to 10.5 million, as 3 million people have stopped looking for work. Equally troublesome is the lower labor participation rate; some 5 million jobs have vanished from manufacturing, long America's greatest strength. Just think: Total payrolls today amount to 131 million, but this figure is lower than it was at the beginning of the year 2000, even though our population has grown by nearly 30 million.

The most recent statistics are unsettling and dismaying, despite the increase of 54,000 jobs in the May numbers. Nonagricultural full-time employment actually fell by 142,000, on top of the 291,000 decline the preceding month. Half of the new jobs created are in temporary help agencies, as firms resist hiring full-time workers. the rest

Medicaid for the middle class?

by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
 Associated Press
Tue Jun 21, 2011


WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed.

The change would affect early retirees: A married couple could have an annual income of about $64,000 and still get Medicaid, said officials who make long-range cost estimates for the Health and Human Services department.

After initially downplaying any concern, the Obama administration said late Tuesday it would look for a fix.

Up to 3 million more people could qualify for Medicaid in 2014 as a result of the anomaly. That's because, in a major change from today, most of their Social Security benefits would no longer be counted as income for determining eligibility. It might be compared to allowing middle-class people to qualify for food stamps. the rest

‘Europe is dying’ U.S. population expert tells Senate hearing

by Thaddeus Baklinski
Tue Jun 21, 2011

(LifeSiteNews.com) – Given the precipitous decline in the birthrates of European countries, all anti-natal programs funded by the United States should immediately be replaced by pro-natal programs, one top population expert recently told the U.S. Senate.

“It doesn’t matter whether we call them reproductive health programs, family planning programs, or population control programs,” said Stephen Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute (PRI). “They all have the same effect: they force down the birth rate in countries that are already dying. Such programs are only making a bad problem worse.”

The hearing before the Senate Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe focused on the implications for the security, as well as the economic and social developments in Europe, due to demographic decline marked by diminishing and rapidly aging populations, in most of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) 56 participating states. the rest

Mosher agreed. “Five centuries after the Black Plague devastated Europe, a White Pestilence is now decimating that same continent,” he said. “Many nations, especially in Europe, are already in a death spiral, losing a significant number of people each year. Listen closely, and you will hear the muffled sound of populations crashing.”

Provincial Council 2011: Archbishop’s State of the Church Address:

[Given by the Most Reverend Robert Duncan, Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, on 21 June A.D. 2011, at Long Beach, California.]

Your love, O Lord, forever will I sing;
From age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness. Psalm 89:1

These words from the first verse of Psalm 89 are our words as this Provincial Council opens. Our God has been so abundantly good to us – despite all the challenges we have faced – that we are profoundly aware of His love for us and His faithfulness to us. My task in this annual State of the Church Address is to rehearse some of what has happened, especially in this last year, and to remind us of how God’s hand of blessing has been so obviously upon this movement to rebuild a biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America.

The Anglican Church in North America came together at Bedford, Texas, when its Constitution and Canons were adopted two years ago this week. Since then, the Provincial Council has met at Toronto, Canada; at Amesbury, Massachusetts, and now at Long Beach, California. We have covered a great deal of territory, both literally and figuratively. the rest

I will just share one final detail. It is a small one, and hidden in the statistical reports. (There is so much to be found in the materials prepared for this meeting. I commend it all to you.) According to the data submitted in the Annual Parochial Reports there were, in the year 2010, 987 baptisms of adults over thirty, 424 baptisms of young people aged sixteen to thirty, and 1647 baptisms of children in the ACNA dioceses, not including the congregations of our Ministry Partners. What is so stunning about this data is that the number of baptisms of those 16 and older is almost equal to the number of children baptized. What this says is that we are reaching adolescents and adults who have never known Christ, never been part of a church. This is to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ, one sign among many that something quite extraordinary is unfolding. To God be the Glory!

Culture of death silences opposition in New York

6/20/2011
Alan Sears

Excerpt:
Just consider the full frontal assault NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and others have been carrying out against pregnancy centers in places like New York City throughout this year. With the help of all-too willing accomplices like Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city council, these profiteers of death have secured passage of a law which forces such pregnancy centers to post signs in English and Spanish telling women a long list of “disclosures” mandated by the city, including whether they perform abortions, whether a licensed medical provider is on staff (even though New York state law does not require medical providers at non-medical centers), and that the city health department encourages women to consult with one.

The law requires the signs to be posted in various locations throughout the pregnancy centers and replicated in any advertisements issued by the centers. Moreover, counselors working at the pregnancy centers must provide the same message “in person or over the phone when a client requests or inquires” about certain services.

Clearly, the purpose of the signs is to dissuade women from going to pregnancy centers instead of abortion mills. In effect, the signs are part of larger push to regulate pro-life help providers in order to deny choice to women who want to pursue solutions other than abortion when a need arises. the rest

AU: Banal liturgies 'drove Anglicans away': ex-Anglican theologian

Wednesday, 22 June 2011
  By Anthony Barich

THE Anglican patrimony of the new ordinariates due in Australia next year will likely enhance the liturgical culture of the post-conciliar Catholic Church, leading Australian theologian Tracey Rowland said.


In November 2009, Pope Benedict announced his decision to erect personal ordinariates (non-geographical dioceses) for former Anglicans who wanted to enter into full communion with Rome while preserving liturgical and other elements of their Anglican heritage, including a certain amount of governing by consensus. Dr Rowland, the author of Ratzinger’s Faith: the Theology of Pope Benedict XVI and Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed, said many commentators have observed an affinity between the Anglo-Catholic approaches to liturgy and the Pope’s own liturgical theology.

“In particular, (Pope Benedict) is very concerned about what he has variously described as ‘parish tea party’ liturgy, ‘pastoral pragmatism’, ‘emotional primitivism’, ‘Sacro-pop’ and ‘utility music’,” Dr Rowland told an Anglican Ordinariate Festival in Melbourne on 11 June.

Dr Rowland, a former Anglican, said that, in her personal experience, the barriers to full communion with the Catholic Church are primarily cultural rather than doctrinal.

“They have been reluctant to seek full membership of the Catholic Church because of a not unreasonable belief that they would have to abandon whole elements of their Anglican cultural heritage,” Dr Rowland said. “It is precisely this problem Pope Benedict hopes the creation of an ordinariate will overcome. the rest

Muskego WI: Randy Roadbots

These guys are popping up all over Muskego, Wisconsin as a way to advertise businesses. Here is one for a tire store, one for a bar, and one for a pizza take-out place. A decent use for the summertime appearance of highway barrels which line our roadways as road construction season is now in full swing. (pictures by Raymond Dague)

Chamber Rolls Out Randy
Barrel man mascot just the start of events designed to have a little fun with road construction.

The War Against Girls

Since the late 1970s, 163 million female babies have been aborted by parents seeking sons
JUNE 18, 2011
by Jonathan V. Last

Mara Hvistendahl is worried about girls. Not in any political, moral or cultural sense but as an existential matter. She is right to be. In China, India and numerous other countries (both developing and developed), there are many more men than women, the result of systematic campaigns against baby girls. In "Unnatural Selection," Ms. Hvistendahl reports on this gender imbalance: what it is, how it came to be and what it means for the future.

In nature, 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. This ratio is biologically ironclad. Between 104 and 106 is the normal range, and that's as far as the natural window goes. Any other number is the result of unnatural events.

Yet today in India there are 112 boys born for every 100 girls. In China, the number is 121—though plenty of Chinese towns are over the 150 mark. China's and India's populations are mammoth enough that their outlying sex ratios have skewed the global average to a biologically impossible 107. But the imbalance is not only in Asia. Azerbaijan stands at 115, Georgia at 118 and Armenia at 120.

What is causing the skewed ratio: abortion. If the male number in the sex ratio is above 106, it means that couples are having abortions when they find out the mother is carrying a girl. By Ms. Hvistendahl's counting, there have been so many sex-selective abortions in the past three decades that 163 million girls, who by biological averages should have been born, are missing from the world. Moral horror aside, this is likely to be of very large consequence.  the rest

Despite the author's intentions, "Unnatural Selection" might be one of the most consequential books ever written in the campaign against abortion. It is aimed, like a heat-seeking missile, against the entire intellectual framework of "choice." For if "choice" is the moral imperative guiding abortion, then there is no way to take a stand against "gendercide." Aborting a baby because she is a girl is no different from aborting a baby because she has Down syndrome or because the mother's "mental health" requires it. Choice is choice. One Indian abortionist tells Ms. Hvistendahl: "I have patients who come and say 'I want to abort because if this baby is born it will be a Gemini, but I want a Libra.' "

Marriage Wins Again in the Court of Public Opinion

Wendy Wright
June 18, 2011

Don't buy it. When people say that same-sex "marriage" is inevitable, recognize it for the peer-pressure, crowd-mentality, intimidation tactic that it is. And respond, "Did you know that 62 percent of Americans nationwide believe marriage should be defined only as the union of one man and one woman? Only 35 percent disagreed."

This is the result of a nationwide survey by Public Opinion Strategies which polls for NBC News/Wall Street Journal, Fortune 100 companies, and members of Congress. The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) commissioned the survey.

This poll reflects the poll booth as well. In the 31 states that have voted on marriage, voters in all 31 have upheld the true definition of marriage - by an average vote of nearly 68 percent! the rest

Albert Mohler: A June surprise: Is President Obama about to endorse gay ‘marriage’?

by Albert Mohler Mon Jun 20, 2011

Is President Obama about to endorse same-sex marriage? The possibility was the subject of open speculation on the front page of Sunday’s edition of The New York Times. Reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg quoted an unnamed Democratic strategist close to the White House, who said that the President’s advisers are considering the political costs, if any, of such an action.

When President Obama ran for office in 2008, he stated that he was opposed to same-sex marriage, but he ran as an ardent supporter of the homosexual community. This week, he will host a $1,230-a-plate “Gala for the Gay Community” in New York City. Stolberg also reports that the President will host a gay pride reception at the White House on June 29. The issue of same-sex marriage will inevitably be discussed, especially given the fact that the New York legislature may be poised to legalize same-sex marriage as early as this week.

Interestingly, Stolberg cites the fact that, even as candidate Obama ran as one opposed to same-sex marriage, “he may have been for same-sex marriage before he was against it.” the rest

Nevertheless, an open endorsement of same-sex marriage by an incumbent President of the United States would be a very significant and troubling development. If he were to do so, President Obama would not only repudiate his former position(s), he would push this nation toward the unraveling of civilization’s most central institution — marriage.

Pakistan: Christians demonstrate, call for Anglican pastor’s release

June 21, 2011
Christians took to the streets of Attock--a city of 260,000 in Punjab province in northern Pakistan--to call for a more serious police investigation into the May 14 kidnapping of Robin Javed, an Anglican pastor.

“We do not know the reason why he was kidnapped, nor have we been asked for a ransom,” a local Christian told the Fides news agency. “This silence worries us greatly.”

Members of the Taliban are suspected of carrying out the kidnapping. the rest
Appeal for an Anglican Pastor who has disappeared, a victim of radical groups (Fides)

Traditional, pro-family Anglicans lose churches in Canada

One of the churches affected by the Supreme Court's decision is the historic St. John's in the upscale neighborhood of Shaughnessy in Vancouver.by Thaddeus Baklinski
Mon Jun 20, 2011

(LifeSiteNews.com) - The Supreme Court of Canada said last Thursday that it will not hear an appeal by a group of traditional Anglican parishes in British Columbia that had been threatened with the loss of their churches after they broke away from the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) due to its endorsement of homosexuality.

In November 2009, Mr. Justice Stephen Kelleher of the British Columbia Supreme Court issued a decision saying that the four parishes in the Vancouver area may not keep their buildings if they remove themselves from the jurisdiction of the ACoC.

The four parishes in question, including historic St. John’s in the upscale neighborhood of Shaughnessy in Vancouver, had voted in 2008 to disassociate from the Anglican Church of Canada and join the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), a recognized separate diocese in the Worldwide Anglican Communion affiliated with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. the rest

Devotional: No distant Lord have I...

No distant Lord have I,

Loving afar to be;

Made flesh for me, He cannot rest

Until He rests in me.

Brother in joy and pain,

Bone of my bone was He;

More intimate and closer still—

He dwells Himself in me.

I need not journey far

This dearest Friend to see;

Companionship is always mine;

He makes His home with me.

...Maltbie D. Babcock image

Dad Life

Happy (late) Father's Day!


NY Gay Marriage Bill: Will Parent’s Day Replace Father’s Day?

Congress: Hearings Show Widespread Islamic Radicalization in U.S. Prisons

Written by Daniel Sayani
Monday, 20 June 2011

The House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday conducted its second hearing on Islamic radicalization in the United States. Under the leadership of Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y., left), the committee hearing focused specifically on processes of radical Islamic proselytizing in the American prison system.

King stressed that there “is no doubt” that fanatical Islamists are trying to radicalize U.S. prison inmates. And he castigated the “vacuous morons” at the New York Times and elsewhere who contend that his hearings are politically incorrect. King made the comments on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday, the day after he convened the second in a set of hearings into the radical Islamist threat in the United States.

“We’ve had a number of cases where they’ve gone on from prison to a post-prison radicalization and then to carry out attempted jihad,” King said. “This shouldn’t even be debatable: There’s no doubt it’s there — we could have a question about the extent of it, we could have a question about how far we should go as far as dealing with it.” the rest

Church warnings of vigilante violence in Nigeria

June 20, 2011
By George Conger

Church leaders in Nigeria have urged the government to act swiftly in combating terror attacks on Christians.

The murder campaign in the North waged by Islamist Boko Haram sect known as the Nigerian Taliban could ignite a sectarian war in the South with Christians seeking revenge against Muslims, the Anglican Bishop of Awka warned.

Last week, the fundamentalist sect bombed a Roman Catholic Church and a police station in Maiduguri, killing eleven people, while on June 7 a Church of Christ in Nigeria pastor the Rev. David Usman and the church secretary were gunned down by members of the cult. Last week’s murder follows a 2009 attack on Mr. Usman’s church by Boko Haram militants, who burned it to the ground and killed several members of the congregation.

Boko Aram, which is a Hausa phrase meaning “non-Islamic education is a sin,” is a militant Islamist group founded in 2002 in Maiduguri by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. In 2004 the group began an armed struggle against the government that culminated in a pitched battle with the security forces in July 2009 that left over 700 people dead. After the revolt, the police reported Yusuf had died in custody while resisting arrest. the rest

UK: Anglican Church clears the way for gay bishops

By Thomas Costello
June 20, 2011

The Anglican Church is to set approve controversial guidelines allowing openly homosexual clergy to become bishops. Guidance that will be carried before the Church's General Synod in July will set out proposals for the Anglican Church to fall in line with European and UK equality acts. The paper entitled ''Choosing Bishops - The Equality Act 2010'' will provide legal guidelines for those members of the clergy looking for promotion within the Anglican Church must not be discriminated against because of their sexuality.

"A person's sexual orientation is in itself irrelevant to their suitability for episcopal office or indeed ordained ministry, given the clergy member has been celibate during priesthood, the document will outline.

However, there is a fear among campaigners that the document does not go far enough and these measures will in fact serve to do nothing for the promotions of any openly homosexual clergyman attempting to climb the ladder of the Anglican Church. The document itself is not in support of openly gay bishops and has a number of grey areas. For example, the document sets out ways in which the Anglican Church will be able to oppose any homosexual promotion.

The Anglican Church will have the right to turn down an applicant if they feel it will cause deep-rooted conflict within a community. As one of the most controversial topics Anglican Church leaders have had to grasp with for decades, the likelihood of there being no get out clause seems minimal. the rest

Church of England to allow gay clergy to become bishops

Church of England to OK Gay Bishops, But Only If Celibate