The eye of the tiger: The LSU Tiger that is ...

The 2011 LSU Tiger football team has exceeded every expectation that I had this year, a perfect 12-0 season and the undisputed #1 ranked team in the country and the champions of the SEC Western Division.  Today we stand on the eve of the 2011 SEC Championship game against the SEC East Champion Georgia Bulldogs.  Assuming that the Tigers do what they are capable of doing, tomorrow should end with LSU being crowned SEC Champion and seeded for the BCS College Football Championship game on January 9, 2012 as the #1 ranked team. 


I have resisted the temptation to comment on LSU football this year and I'm glad that I did.  What the Tigers have done on the field was better left developed there rather than through the commentary of observers from afar.  Tiger Nation is proud of our team and we look forward to these next two games.

GEAUX TIGERS!

God's peace. <><

Redemption for TEC: Disciplinary Board's appropriate action regarding Bishop Lawrence

Albeit a tad surprising given some of the bizzare actions of TEC's leaders in recent years, I'm pleased to read that the Title IV Disciplinary Board has declined to certify the charges levied against Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina.  Dissent, even strong dissent, is anything but abandonment of "this Church", to the contrary it is participation in the life of the church.  How many times have I read quotes from Presiding Bishop Jefferts-Schori challenging all Episcopalians to see the face of Christ in each other even as we "live in tension"?  So also let each of us as Episcopalians, and more importantly as disciples of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, give ground to our brothers and sisters in Christ as each of us seek a "safe place" within The Episcopal Church to practice our faith as we understand it.

As we begin the Season of Advent, a season in which we are called to remember that our faith in Jesus the Christ is one which celebrates both new beginnings and hope, may all Episcopalians pray for the renewal and unity of Christ's Church as we await the His coming again.

A blessed Advent to all. <><

Title IV Investigation of +Mark Lawrence: A new low for TEC ...

News of an investigation of Title IV charges against +Mark Lawrence of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina draws me back into a quagmire that I have intentionally avoided for many months now (preferring to lift my eye's to the hills and to keep my focus on heavenly things and Lord's mission for His Church - - making disciples) and I am loathe to again enter this place.  However, as much as I may find it distasteful, because I have long admired +Lawrence and found in his leadership (along with that of my own bishop) a reason to have hope for a future in The Episcopal Church, I step back into the foul and polluted mud pit that is national Episcopal Church politics to express my confidence in, and support of, a good and godly man and bishop of Christ's one holy and apostolic church.  I join Dr. Ephram Radner of the Anglican Communion Institute (see his full response to the reports of the charges here: http://www.anglicancommunioninstitute.com/2011/10/a-response-to-the-reported-title-ivdisciplinary-process-begun-against-bishop-mark-lawrence/) and adopt his words in saying:

"I personally stand beside Bishop Lawrence and the people of South Carolina. If he has abandoned TEC, then it must mean that I have as well. Will you drive all of us out, Bishop Jefferts Schori? I say as clearly as I can: Presiding Bishop, you have bankrupted your apostolic office, broken your vows, and sullied this church, of which I and others are still members despite your folly, and of which I am still proud to be a member precisely because of bishops like Mark Lawrence whose witness proves that God, in his mercy, has at least not abandoned us."

Bishop Lawrence, please continue to stand tall and walk upright and with your head held high.  I offer the words of Psalm 62:7 as a source of comfort and strength for you and for all Episcopalians who, like you, are proud to call themselves Episcopalians, but who are ever committed and bound to the historic and ancient faith handed down from Christ himself to the apostles and to which The Episcopal Church has heretofore always been committed:

"My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge."

God's peace. <><

Ten Year's Later: Remembering 9/11, Continued ...

As we approach this Sunday and our pause as nation to honor the lives of those lost ten years ago, I thought it fitting to revisit a very moving Super Bowl commercial produced by the brewers of Budweiser beer.  I only recall seeing it once but I will never forget how moving it was.  Well worth viewing again.  Thanks to the good folks at Budweiser.



God's peace. <><

Ten Year's Later: Remembering 9/11, In God We Trust ...

Visual images are frequently the best way to reconnect with past events and this video clip from the National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral on September 14, 2001 which features the grand hymn, "O God Our Help In Ages Past," is a great one.

9/11 taught all of us in a brutal way just how uncertain and fragile life is and how foolish we are to think that our way of life is secure and unthreatened.  Ten years beyond that fateful September morning in 2001, the world is likely less safe rather than more safe than it was in 2001; and this even with the elimination of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden.  To underscore the uncertainty of life and how little control that we have over it (we really have none), one need only consider that the venue for the 2001 prayer service, our magnificent national cathedral in Washington, D.C., is today closed to the public due to damage sustained in the recent earth quake that struck the eastern United States. 

God has always been our help, our rock and the one constant in our lives.  His steadfast love for us and our trust in him is the source of our strength in difficult times.  Lest we never forget this truth!



God's peace. <><

Ten Years Later: Remembering 9/11, The Bush Interview

Sunday brings us to the tenth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.  Across the country and no doubt in many countries around the world, people will pause to remember that day, and reflect. 

George W. Bush was in the first year of his presidency, and September 11th changed the course of that presidency.  I think it fair to say that it changed George W. Bush.  For those who may not have seen it, I offer former President Bush's 9/11 interview with National Geographic.  Let us never forget!



God's peace. <><

Football Is In The Air . . . Death Valley Awaits The Faithful ...

College football begins again this weekend and for fans across the country, and certainly for fans in the Southeastern Conference and most especially the Fighting Tigers of LSU, it is our favorite time of the year.  Saturday night in Tiger Stadium is an experience that is very difficult to describe to someone who has never experienced it. 

This season LSU begins with a non-conference game at Cowboy's Stadium in Arlington, Texas against the #3 ranked Oregon Ducks (LSU is ranked #4).  This promises to be a great football game (no one can say that LSU is padding their non-SEC game schedule with easy win's) and with all of the distractions associated with a number of our players off campus activities over the past few weeks, this Tiger fan is trying to be positive and optimistic about how our team will handle this game. 

LSU is blessed to have an incredibly talented cartoonist who produces wonderful cartoons throughout the season both before and after games.  Tom Slyvest, Jr. is his name and he produces these cartoons under the trade name "TigerToons."  One of his offerings for the Oregon game is especially wonderful and I offer it as the proper perspective for Tiger fans as we approach this game.  Thanks to Tom!

Can't wait for Saturday night and a return to Tiger football.  GEAUX TIGERS !!!!

God's peace. <><