There was a brief clip of this on our news a few nights ago, now the radio stations are full of this here in Australia. I am sure any British readers will have seen it but perhaps not yet in America. I may be a little biased as for me "I dreamed a dream" is the most beautiful song in the most wonderful musical of all time "Les Miserables".
However it also teaches us a lesson not to judge anybody by their exterior.
Embedding is not allowed but if you have not seen this, please watch. Susan Boyle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
I think these videos are great. Most of my readers will have seen them as I pinched them from other bloggers more widely read than me but I want to have them easy to find in order to cheer me up occasionally. First thanks to Wild Reed for the following summarised version of the talk by Dr John Corvino. I am impressed by his amusing but succinct dealing with the arguments. I would like to see the whole DVD but probably it would not work in the Australian zone and I have no one to whom to show it although I can think of a lot of Anglican priests in Sydney who would benefit. However it seems nothing will get through the thick heads of some people anyway. I have never been able to understand why some people hate us so much.
And thanks to Counterlight for the next one which perhaps tells the same message in a more concise way to get through those thick heads.
As I have noted before, Sydney is particularly cursed in its Archbishops, both Catholic and Anglican. Cardinal Pell naturally agreed with the Pope in an interview at Easter and as reported by David Marr in Pell rides papal bandwagon of death "They encourage promiscuity," the cardinal told Sky Television. "The idea that you can solve a great spiritual and health crisis like AIDS with a few mechanical contraptions like condoms is ridiculous."
It's hardly news but in the face of this ridicule it has to be said again: Australia waged the world's most effective war on AIDS by ignoring the Catholic Church. We did not heed the demands of John Paul II and his successor, Benedict XVI. We encouraged people to use condoms, we distributed clean syringes and we saved thousands of lives.
Of course there has been plenty of criticism from people who actually know what they are talking about like medical practitioners especially those dealing with AIDS patients.
Archbishop Jensen has not been so controversial this year but one does cringe when the TV news shows him preaching on Easter Day from the Cathedral pulpit in a coat and tie. If he is ashamed to wear the vestments of an Anglican bishop he could just resign from the Anglican Communion and make us all very happy, he would not be missed.
His brother the Dean, however, who is an even bigger twit (and was when I knew him at university in the 60's) managed to comment on the same matter by admitting Anglicans are not opposed to condoms but blaming the whole thing on Virginia Woolf who apparently brought all the evils of the sexual revolution upon us.
"In terms of adultery, in terms of divorce, in terms of grandchildren [???], yes we are in big trouble as a society because of the sexual revolution," he said.
"It came out of Virginia Woolf and that crowd (in England in the early 20th century)."
Apparently such things did not happen before then.
Have to tell that to my Great Grandmother who in 1857 at age 17 gave birth to my grandfather (Father Unknown). Of course it is all her fault that I am having trouble finding my ancestors. Apparently this was a common problem at the time long before Virginia Woolf.
I see next Sunday the preacher at St James, King Street is to be the Very Reverend Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark Cathedral. I googled him and found an interview on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission, our national broadcaster) in 2005 at the time of the furore over Canon Jeffery John.
Some of his comments are delightful.
"I think his (Archbishop Jensen) role in particular has been really quite reprehensible because for any Archbishop anywhere, to interfere in the affairs of another province, or as he did, in the affairs of another diocese, namely the diocese of Oxford, is completely out of order.
The association of independent provinces, the 38 of them around the world, has always depended upon mutual trust and freedom of action and for people from around the world, and the Archbishop of Sydney isn't the only one to have done so, to get involved in another country's activities is actually breaking with Anglican tradition and very un-Anglican. ........
the Sydney diocese is well renowned around the world as being a very maverick place where the Archbishop can appoint his own brother as dean, where he can extend his own tenure, where all sorts of strange things can happen that haven't happened anywhere else in the world."
I look forward to his sermon but guess he will not actually criticise Jensen while preaching in the Sydney Diocese, more's the pity.
However Peter Jensen is quite capable of making a fool of himself as seen in the following:
I will not wish that the Easter Bunny visits you. Well, not if you live in Australia anyway.
Here in Australia, rabbits are a menace. While some came from Europe with the first fleet, the first "successful" introduction was in Victoria in 1859. They were introduced to feed the foxes which were also introduced to provide hunting sport??? "The unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable" (Oscar Wilde) The result has been a disaster to our grasslands and to our native animals.
For a number of years there has been a push to replace the Easter Bunny with the Easter Bilby. A bilby is a type of bandicoot. It has a black tail with a white tip and eats insects and fruit. They have greyish fur and ears a bit like a rabbit's. Being marsupials they have a pouch for their young which, of course, can also be used to carry Easter eggs!!!
They are an endangered species because of competition from rabbits and also attack by foxes and feral cats.
Therefore I have, as usual, purchased chocolate bilbies for my sister and brother-in-law for Easter (see right) and expect to receive one in return. Our family is a no-easter bunny zone.
I have purchased my chocolate bilbies from Darrel Lea which gives a donation to Save the Bilby Fund with every sale.
When I was in Finland, the mother of my host who is a chef asked me what was the national dish of Australia. I could not really answer. I suggested a barbecue steak. It is certainly not kangaroo. I have never tasted kangaroo although I believe it is very nice and certainly low in cholesterol. When I was young, the Sunday lamb or beef roast was an essential part of the week. I rarely eat a roast now, mainly because I cannot cook ,and the ones you buy from the supermarket freezer are very bland. Last night on the TV news there was a report on a survey of changes in Australian culture. It said the meat pie was once our national dish and it has been replaced by spaghetti bolognese. I still have a meat pie with peas one night per week and very occasionally buy one for lunch. I like spaghetti bolognese and can cook it (okay, with bottled sauce) but it is not good for my hiatus hernia so I again occasionally buy the much blander variety from the supermarket but do not really enjoy it.
I was on much safer ground with our drinking habits. Once Australians were the largest beer drinkers in the world but that has changed markedly. Wine has now overtaken beer but our most frequent drink when out is a cappuccino. Apparently Italians, from whom we copied, are horrified that we drink cappuccinos all day while they only drink it up until (I think) 10am.
I occasionally have a beer when out but do not really enjoy Australian beers. I make up for this when in Germany where I love the beer. I love to drink wine. However I rarely go anywhere without buying a cappuccino. While I drink black expresso at home, I always ask for a cappuccino when out.
Has arrived here in Australia. I have had my first 2 hot cross buns. I absolutely refuse to eat any before Good Friday although they have been on sale in the shops since the beginning of January.
I am always bemused that Good Friday is not a public holiday in the USA. It is here and not only are all offices closed so are all large retail stores. Hotels are now allowed to open after 12 Noon. When I was young, there was a lot of fuss over opening the Royal Easter Show on Good Friday. I feel a little guilty that I must use the train to go to church. I would not go to a shop and so will have another Hot Cross Bun and coffee before leaving at 9.30. The service is from Noon to 3pm so I will probably not get home until 6pm and will fast for that time. For me Good Friday is the most sombre and holy of days and I could not imagine working.
In NSW and Queensland, shops are also closed on Easter Day. There was an attempt to open them here this year but unsuccessful. However I think this was more union rather than religious pressure. I do not see the need for shops to be open all the time. The only other days they are closed are Christmas and Boxing Days and the morning of ANZAC day. Small shops can still open so people can buy bread or milk if they run out.
I learnt today that the Rector announced at the Vestry meeting last week that we would continue to have 3 services most Sundays. See previous post.
7.45 Said Eucharist 9.00 Sung Eucharist and 11.00 Choral Eucharist.
Great news, I can stay at St James and probably more importantly, my sister is more likely to stay after I move to Dunedin.
Today, being Palm Sunday, we had the one 10 am service which began with blessing of palms, then processed around the block singing "Ride on, Ride on in Majesty". Followed by a choral Eucharist which, as usual, meant lots of standing and listening to the choir. The church was packed. All this meant it finished about 12.15 so I caught the 1.18 train and ate a hamburger while travelling home where I arrived at 3pm. Not something I would want to do regularly.
However my American Episcopalian readers may be interested that the preacher was Reverend Martin Smith, Senior Associate Rector at St Columba's Church, Washington DC. He was very good and is preaching for the whole of Holy Week (He will have Saturday off) so I will hear him again on Good Friday and Easter Day.
We also got to sing (rather than listen to the choir) 3 other great Passiontide hymns All Glory, laud and honour
As I could not find the last on Youtube, I have included "Lift High the Cross" obviously sung as a recessional hymn on Palm Sunday with the shrouded cross. However at St James we process out in silence on Palm Sunday. I love the contrast with the entry. To a person who grew up in evangelical churches these details are so new to me and so full of meaning.
As we walked out there was a young man standing at the entrance who said to someone behind me. "This is High Church Anglican, am I allowed in?" I felt like saying "Of course, All are welcome at St James not like in many of the low churches in the diocese."
I have been reading posts and listening to the funeral sermon for Lee Davonport. I never had the pleasure of visiting his blog. First I read about him at Culture Choc then at Franiam. Fran led me to My Manner of Life where I read the following comment from Lee. "For many years, I have dealt with feelings of self-loathing, primarily because I never lived up to my parents' rigid standards and, more recently, because I committed the ultimate betrayal, coming out to them as what Dad calls a "queer" in an effort to shame and hurt. But his words don't shame and hurt. He's not my judge, and neither are the people who would deny me the right to be exactly the person God created me to be."
At the same time I have been reading comments on Preludium, Madpriest and Thinking Anglicans about whether Liberals can be as nasty as Conservatives. A particular commenter has been Obadiah Slope who I know to be from the Diocese of Sydney. I do tend to see red when the so called Anglican Diocese of Sydney is mentioned.
Much of it comes from my anger at the damage evangelical teaching has done to so many young gay people.
While Lee seemed to have a lot of problems, the condemnation of his parents was certainly one of them.
In the film 'The Bible Tells Me So' I was most moved by one lady who is now working for gay acceptance in the church but only after her daughter committed suicide. The mother had rejected her daughter. Similarly the book 'Prayers for Bobby', recently made into a TV documentary not yet shown in Australia, tells the story of a mother who, guided by her church, condemned her son and only came to realise how wrong it was after he committed suicide.
One of my closest friends has a gay son who only came out to his family later in life because he expected condemnation from his church going parents and siblings. Fortunately he was wrong and today his father is very active in working for gay acceptance in his church but laments the fact that his son (unlike his other children) has left the church. When we were together at university, the father had been liberal in his religious views and I had worried about the state of his soul, how ironic.
I have a number of friends from my evangelical days at Sydney University who, I now know, were struggling like me with the conflict between their sexuality and their religion. One committed suicide, most of the others rejected the church.
I do not blame the parents who have learnt so tragically. I do blame and will continue to react in anger to those who continue to preach their dogmatic views.
Thankfully when I was in great conflict over my sexuality, I had the complete love and support of my Mother (I never told my Father). Many times, when I thought death would be the easy way out, the thought of what it would do to Mum held me back. My Mother never understood and preferred not to talk about it but I know she had a long talk about me with my sister a few days before she died. She was so concerned I would be alone in the world. Her love for me overrode any teachings she heard from the church. Sadly other parents do not see things that clearly.
My prayers for Lee and his children and for all young gay people who do not receive the support of their parents.
My Monday U3A walking group went to a town south of Sydney called Stanwell Park. I knew this beach well when I was teaching geography and used it as a field exercise. This time we climbed to the top of the cliffs behind known as Mount Mitchell (about 250 metres a.s.l.) from where we could look down on the village and beach. While eating our lunch at the top we were entertained by the hang gliders.
I have been waiting for Archdeacon Kelvin Wright to report on the latest results from his doctor and was a little worried at no news but he has now reported that his PSA levels are going down which is a good sign that the Cancer has been eradicated. I will keep praying as the Big C can be illusive but remove him from the list and give Thanks to God.
I am also thankful that the Doctors are very pleased with Jill's kidney transplant. I saw her a week ago and she looks much better than she has for over a year. Her sister who donated the kidney is also doing well and therefore their Mother is very happy. More Thanks.
Father Bosco Peters is blogging again about the Liturgy but I am sure he, his wife and son will need continued prayer.
The Fire Victims will need prayers for a long time. There is a flood emergency just north of me now, I live in a country of extremes. We have had torrential rain but for me to be flooded up here in the Mountains would be a flood of Noah proportions. However I have just spent over half an hour slowing down traffic on the bends near my house after a young man skidded in the wet and crashed into the power pole in front of my house. Thankfully he and his companion were only shaken but too many people think that a narrow winding mountain road should be treated like their private race track.
Father Geoff Farrow and Bishop Gene Robinson are in continual need of prayer as they represent the gay community in their respective Churches.
I will add Rance's partner Marty who needs comfort at this time.
A retired teacher librarian who loves travelling especially by train and wastes a lot of time on the Internet.
An Anglican who knows God loves me as a gay man.
Moved at the beginning of 2010 from the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia to Dunedin, NZ.
One of the best things I ever did.
I became a New Zealand citizen on 2nd March 2016
I will always be an Aussie by birth but am proud to be a Kiwi by choice.
