Anglican Church of Canada: General Synod 2010

On June 3, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada opened its triennial meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  You can follow the events of the General Synod 2010 online through the Synod's website.  The communications that come out of the Synod are great.  I followed the 2007 Synod with great interest and I believe it is important to pray for and support our Canadian brothers and sisters while they are meeting in their major legislative body.

Click here for the daily video files.

New Liturgical Movement: Reforming the Reform

Reforming the reform?  Huh?  Well, if you believe that the Second Vatican Council went too far in its *cough* liturgical reform, than the New Liturgical Movement (NLM) blog may be for you.  Actually, I rather like the information, its attention to detail, and of course all the lovely pictures and videos of all things liturgical throughout the church catholic.  If you can stomach it's decided slant towards all things "Benedictine," then you will treasure the wealth of resources compiled together at NLM.  It took this old-hearted Anglo-Catholic some time to discern that Benedictine was not in fact monastic, but referring to Pope Benedict XVI's zeal for the ancient liturgical tradition of the church.  

There has been, for instance, an interesting thread going through the blog considering what liturgical tradition the new Anglican ordinariates will follow and as such examining the Sarum use along with many other English forms.  The trailer above for the Solemn Requiem in the Dominican Rite (which is a religious order!) is an example of the rigor with which this spirit for "reforming the reform" has and continues to build.

Regardless of your position, and take heart, I am an ardent 1979 BCP man myself (with a high ceremonial), NLM is a rather interesting blog to check out from time to time.  

Me, Age 6

My parents are to thank for this photograph, taken in May 1986.  I used to stand on the dinning room chair and pretend it was my pulpit.  I would make my parents sit in the living room and listen to me preach!  I even passed around a bowl asking for a collection, though I padded it with pennies to pretend that money was in there.  I thought of everything, down to the grape juice and saltine crackers for the Eucharist.

In Sunday school class at St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Huntington, WV) where I grew up, we made these felt stoles which all the children wore in a grand Palm Sunday procession.  We even had a wooden donkey on wheels that some lucky child got to ride!  While I don't think that I would do this now, liturgically speaking, it was something to behold as a child.

The lesson, I suppose, is that you never know what can really speak to a child about holy things.

New York or Bust: Preparing for the 2010 NYC Marathon

It begins today.  On Sunday, November 7th, me and 40,000 of my closest running buddies will be zigzagging through all five boroughs of New York City in the 40th running of the New York City Marathon.  How many miles is a marathon, you ask:  26.2 glorious, painful miles!  Founded in 1970, the NYC Marathon is considered one of the "majors" in the marathon world.

I started running--seriously--during my first year of seminary.  I ran a 5K during sunset in Key West in 2008, I've run Central Park, and added cycling to the mix of activities.  Last year, I ran five half-marathons (13.1 mi.) across Tennessee and Alabama.  I over did it, you could say, and got burned out. Logging over 500 miles was sometimes fun, sometimes painful, but always exhilarating.  I took much of this past year off from running and the weight crept back on. Running quickly became more than just a physical release from stress--it became an important part of my prayer life.

I won the lottery in order to secure my spot in 2009.  Because of burnout, I was able to delay my acceptance until 2010.  Last year, I was asked to serve as one of the Chaplains for the ecumenical service prior to the start of the race.

In just 116 days, I'll have completed my first full marathon.  NYC, the Big Apple, will be mine!  The race begins on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island and finishes in Central Park.  I am excited, a bit nervous, and looking forward to commencing the long training schedule to get ready.  No more sweets, extra nibbles here and there, no more good beer.  Nope, it all starts today.