They Could Have Been . . .

Found this on another blog:

There was a theologian who, when discouraged, would keep repeating to himself, “I [am] baptized.” Since the Prince of Lies has discouragement as his chief strategy and purpose, the Rite of Baptism includes an exorcism: an explicit renunciation of Satan, and all his works, and all his empty promises.  . . .

Ever since the legalization of abortion in our country, the Church has resisted the temptation to discouragement in defending innocent life. January 22 will mark the 41st annual March for Life in Washington. The March has gone on in weather fair and foul, whether government administrations have been friend or foe. In those years, more than 56 million babies in our country alone have been destroyed in their mothers’ wombs.  . . .

Last year at this time, I cited a statistical abstract using the ratio of professions to population and the number of infants aborted. The resulting estimate showed that in the last 35 years, those lives destroyed could have included: two U.S. presidents; seven Supreme Court justices; 102 U.S. senators and 589 congressmen; 8,123 judges; 31 Nobel Prize laureates; 328 Olympic medalists; 6,092 professional athletes; 134,841 physicians and surgeons; 392,500 registered nurses; 70,669 clergy, including 6,852 Catholic priests and 11,010 nuns; 1,102,443 elementary and high-school teachers; 553,821 truck drivers; 224,518 maids and housekeepers; 33,939 janitors; 134,028 farmers and ranchers; 109,984 police officers; and 39,477 firefighters.

None of those infants lived to be baptized, and they are entrusted to the mercy of God. Our nation now has the lowest birthrate in its history, and may be approaching the demographic winter that is destroying many other countries. The good news is that contending for life year in and year out has raised consciences, and the rate of abortions is at an all-time low. So when facing Satan and all his works and all his empty promises, say with good courage: I [am] baptized.

HT: Father Z

Liturgical Schizophrenia

In my area (and I suspect in many areas of the country) people are working longer hours, which makes attending midweek services and Bible studies difficult. The traffic in my area around DC compounds the problem. So the question is: what to do with those festivals of the church year that fall during the week? If they are important festivals I want my people to commemorate, is it better to observe them on the nearest Sunday or stick to my liturgical guns and keep them on a weeknight?

Hi, my name is Pastor Peasant, and I am a "liturgical schizophrenic."

What I mean is that I do both. Some festivals (like Epiphany) I observe on the nearest Sunday, but some (like Ascension) I thus far have resisted moving and continue to celebrate on either Wednesday or Thursday night. As I think about it, I have no set of criteria I use to determine this - just some I do and some I don't. I know churches and pastors of many denominations wrestle with this also. So if you are reading this, what do you think? What should be done? And why? What criteria should be used?

I have spoken to some pastors who will stick to their guns - no. matter. what. A festival is a festival that is to be celebrated on. that. day. and will be - even if no one comes. I am sympathetic to them, but also ask why? Yes, we are teaching our people the importance of the church year and liturgical celebrations and the proper rhythm of Sundays and festivals, but if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it . . .

I am also sympathetic to those who observe festivals on the nearest Sundays. The people are then there to celebrations these, though it does displace the Sunday, which robs the people of those part of the church year.

So what to do? I don't have a good answer and will probably continue in my schizophrenic state. But it is on my mind . . .

The Nativity of Our Lord

A blessed Christmas to you all!

What Does Pastor Do on Christmas Eve?

Well . . . paint the bathroom, of course! Really, I did. Since we moved into our house last year (which needed some work and painting) we've managed to paint and fix many things - all except the master bath. It was painted a really bad orange color and had gaudy and ugly fixtures. So, I've been trying to get it done for Christmas - kind of a gift for my wife. We had the shower re-done, finally got someone to install the new shower door (long story), and now I've been trying to replace the vanity, mirror, light, fixtures, and repair and paint the walls.

Been making slow progress, working around everything else that needs to get done this season. But yesterday, I really wanted to get the new vanity installed and working. So had to finish painting where it goes. Done. But then when I went to install it, the drain on the new sink does not match up with the drain coming out of the wall! UGH! I really don't know why - we bought a very similar vanity and sink combo (shape and size-wise) to the one we're replacing, but the drain's far enough off that I couldn't get it done yesterday. :-(  So I need to wait until tomorrow to go to Home Depot and see if I can get what I need to fix it.

But - good news! - larger than expected attendance at church last night! As I've written here before, my congregation gets smaller at Christmas, not larger. In DC, everyone is from somewhere else, so many of my congregants travel over the holidays. Add to that some nasty illnesses going around, and my expectations were pretty low. But I was wrong! :-)  Still not as high as a usual Sunday, but nice to have as many as we did. Now looking forward to the Divine Service this morning . . . but first, to cook breakfast for my family! Started a new tradition last year of doing this - cooking a really big breakfast for everyone.

So a merry and blessed Christmas to you all!

Stupid Quote of the Day

From the Associated Press:

The Shahada translates as "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger." It is considered the first of Islam's five pillars of faith, and is similar to the Lord's Prayer in Christianity.

First, get the translation right. "No god but God" - really?
Second, similar to the Lord's Prayer? You're kidding me, right?

No.

What Happens at Pastor's . . .

What happens at your pastor's open house? You never know . . .  Here are pictures of one of my confirmands:

Before

After!

Symphony Selfie

Here is a picture of the symphony my daughter plays in - they took a group selfie after their concert a week or so ago.  :-)