The Uganda situation and more

A Ugandan politician who is a member of The Family has proposed legislation in Uganda which would send LGBT people, those who associate with them, even those who don't turn them in to prison and possibly death. Research has traced the incitement of hatred against LGBTs in Africa to religious and political leaders in the US. Sometimes it is difficult to love and pray for those who seem to have no idea how to read the Gospels. The thought that people who call themselves "Christian" would support any legislation which discriminates against other people who do no harm to society or themselves is repulsive, even unimaginable. If there were the hell so often preached about, the preachers who exclude any of Godde's creation will be the primary occupants. I wish their purpose on earth weren't making life hell for others.

Meanwhile I'm tired of those who condemn "homosexual behavior". It sounds to me like marriage is for sex which results in pregnancy. Men (mostly) keep clamoring about the Biblical injunctions against men lying with a man as with a woman. For them it is all about sex. Does anyone marry for love? They shouldn't be allowed according to these men-who-would-play-God. I wonder if they have sex at every opportunity as that is the only thing they seem to think is a legitimate reason to marriage. For those (mostly) males, homosexuality is all about anal sex. Perhaps they fear it because they might find it enjoyable? Why all the concentration on sex and none on relationships?

If two people love each other enough to want and promise to spend the rest of their lives together, shouldn't they be allowed to do that with all the rights and privileges that legal unions have? Many male-female combinations have no kids in their futures for a variety of reasons yet they aren't subjected to public voting on whether or not they should be allowed to marry.

Sometimes it is difficult to be associated with a "church". Get a clue, haters of the world. Get your minds out of the darkness of the gutter of sexual obsession. Get rid of hell. Learn to love.

Reading and watching:
Religion Dispatches here and here
Rachel Maddow here
Politics Daily here.

Friday cat blogging

If you really need to see a cat on Friday, check out Simon.

Friday shuffle

1. A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum
2. Lucky Man - Emerson, Lake and Palmer
3. I Am Not a Whore - LMFAO - you'll have to look this up yourself
4. Land of 1000 Dances - Cannibal & the Headhunters
5. Golden Ring - Dry Branch Fire Squad
6. 98.6 - Keith
7. One Bad Apple - The Osmonds
8. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross
9. Twilight Time - The Platters
10. Make Me Smile - Chicago
Can you tell I added some to my collection?

Friday dog blogging

No cats this Thanksgiving. This is Trinka. She was a little apprehensive to meet me.

She is a loooooooonnnng dachshund.

We wore her out.

Puritans...

Hat tip to Padre Mickey

Things for which I am thankful

In no particular order and far from complete...

Family - biological and via marriage, church, school, internet, activities, et al. All friends are part of my family.

Music - especially a voice which has been tolerated by choir directors all my life

Faith - how else could I deal with my own stupidity, the foibles of others, the loss of loved ones and the everyday challenges of life

Laughter - a gift which allows me to recognize the absurdities in life and not get hopeless and depressed

The internet - so many new friends, so much to learn, such an easy way to keep in touch with loved ones

Pets - especially the "feral" felines who now live here and keep me hustling to shelter and feed them

RIP Roseann Allen-Matthews

Roseann went peacefully without pain to the other side Saturday night after a valiant fight for life. She had to wait too long for a kidney transplant. Many of us have traveled the long journey to this place and marveled at her determination, endurance and, in the end, amazing grace. Our prayers are with Gary and those who now have a huge hole in our lives. I suspect she would tell us to get over it and get on with life.

Presumption

RC Bishop Tobin has denied the eucharist to Patrick Kennedy because Kennedy respects the rights of others to choose abortion as the best solution to a nasty problem. As others have asked and so do I, what right does anyone have to deny access to the eucharist? The invitation is from Jesus, not some clergy type who thinks he, especially a he, can pick and choose who may sit at the table and share the meal. Clericalism drives me nuts and this is clericalism at its worst tho not the only "worst" possible. How anyone can presume to judge another unworthy to accept Jesus's invitation is beyond my understanding of the Gospel message. But then, I seem to misunderstand much according to certain others.

A day to match my mood

These are color photographs, in case you were wondering.

Friday cat blogging on Saturday

There are remnants of a feathered creature on the cathouse roof. This is a first. Nobody has ever carried a protein supplement up there. I suspect the murderer is in the photo. Once he moved I could see lots of tiny feathers on the towel. I don't know who taught Little One to hunt but it might have been PuddyTat as I often see him in her nest under the feeders.

Friday shuffle on Saturday

1. Stoned Love - The Supremes
2. One Promise Too Late - Reba McEntire
3. Baby, I'm Yours - Barbara Lewis
4. I Remember You - Cal Tjader
5. Skylark - Scott Hamilton
6. arr. Sametz: Shenandoah - Princeton Singers
7. Barnwell: No Mirrors in my Nana's House - Bach Choir of Pittsburgh
8. Stoned Soul Picnic - The 5th Dimension
9. Share the Land - Guess Who
10. The Irish Ballad - Tom Lehrer

Why?

The New York Times featured an article on the food bank service All Saints Episcopal Church in Chicago provides every Tuesday night. This is the last paragraph in the article:

Oh, the couple across the street just put the Abbott House on the block for $2.3 million. Buy it and the porch will provide a box seat view of our complex economy. And, if so inclined, consider walking into a place like All Saints and keeping fellow citizens from drowning.

Apparently someone read the article and thought it would be a good idea to actually try to drown them out of the neighborhood. They broke a stained glass window, fed a hose thru the window and flooded the nave. I seriously doubt that any of the Tuesday night people would have ever considered doing that.

It's hard to pray for the person who did this and be charitable.

Bland funeral, St Paul's, Weston, WV

A rather grey, rainy day in Weston, WV to send George Bland home to Godde.

A piper accompanied the casket and pall bearers.

Ann read the first lesson and led the psalm.

Janis read the second lesson.

St Paul's is a pleasant, rather simply decorated church.

The painting on the right and the Stations of the Cross were all created by George and donated to the church.

I tried to capture the incense but it is far too blurry to blog. It was a lovely mostly Rite I service - some of us weren't always looking at the BCP. I suspect George smiled.

Choices - corrected - and made

Thursday 19 November 2009

Weston, WV - George Bland, Janis's father - service 2:00 pm, visiting Wednesday 6:00 to 8:00 pm - funeral home had it wrong
Utica, NY - Jim Jensen, Kathy's husband - visiting 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, service 7:00 pm.

I've done some pretty impressive traveling lately but this is impossible.

Grump.

I think I like the idea of visiting hours after the funeral however.

Over the years we have known each other on the internet from the Anglican/Episcopal board on beliefnet.com thru the blogs and Facebook, Janis and I have become friends, sharing our lives usually via Instant Messaging and several times in person. I would feel like I was avoiding family if I didn't attend her dad's funeral. So I will be going to Weston, WV Thursday. And praying for the Jensen family all the way.

Say No to divorce

And now for something completely different but with a familiar flavor...

RIP George Linn Bland, Jr: July 3, 1917 - November 15, 2009

My WV beliefnet/blogger/Facebook friend Janis's father died this evening after a long vigil. He was an artist. You can learn more about him here. I met him once. He was a fellow scotch drinker with a great sense of humor. May Janis, her mother and the rest of the family find peace.

Please Godde, don't allow the funeral on Thursday!

RIP the Very Rev. James M. Jensen 1946 - 2009

From Kathy Jensen on Facebook:
My husband, the Very Rev. James M. Jensen, rector of Grace Church Utica, NY died unexpectedly late this afternoon. We were at an ordination and he had chest pains and we went to the hospital and he did not make it. His aorta ruptured and it was all over. Nothing more I can say now. We are in shock.

I stayed with the Jensen family on the way to Montreal in June. Prayers for the family and those of us who love them.

UPDATED: The funeral will be at 7 pm with visiting from 3 till 6 at Grace Church in Utica. I hope to go.

UPDATED FURTHER: The newspaper article is here.

Please, Godde, don't schedule Janis's father's funeral at the same time!

Cathouse roof project - updated

This messy plastic cover over my cathouse has lasted since last fall. Needless to say, it will not survive another winter. The last good cover was lexan and lasted several years. I had to remove it when the house was sided. It is now a leanto against the shed that one or another cat sleeps in. This time I bought some clear corrugated roofing to try. I will add to this blog entry as I go along rather than start a new one. That is PuddyTat about to leave.
So far I have cut the 1 x 2s I use as supports and have them primed. I will get a coat of paint on them in a bit.
Eventually I hope to have a conservatory built to provide a vestibule of sorts and a better cathouse. The doubling of the cost of the garage and the decline of the value of my investments has forced me to put that off indefinitely. Hopefully this will last a couple of years as a new water pump, tanks and filters seem to have a higher priority.

UPDATE: The supports have their first coat of paint. I should have chosen different paint as this has to dry overnight. I have two space heaters going in the garage to help the drying process. I will turn them off later and on again early tomorrow morning. The forecast is for a significantly cooler day tomorrow. I hope they can raise the temperature high enough to paint!

I have received some flak about waiting so long to do this project. The primary reason is frustration. I have always used very heavy clear plastic shower curtains from Walmart. They are no longer available. The ones I can buy are far too thin to hold up under frigid cold and heavy snow. If I use anything other than clear material, I have a very dark kitchen. The cathouse is nestled between the back door and a bit of an el where the garage once was. I often open the kitchen window and pet the cats. They would like to come in but are too wary and only stick noses in fortunately. I can't have them in the house as I am allergic.

Anyhow I had some spare time in Pittsburgh after one of my ear appointments and wandered thru Home Depot looking for ideas as I had often done here. I was surprised that corrugated plastic was available in clear panels. That could solve the light problems and also channel the rain and snow which tend to ruin the usual flexible plastic.

After the insanity of running east, convention and concerts were over I measured the space and my car to make sure they would fit, got online to find where I could buy the panels and went shopping Friday. Will continue in a new post when the cover is assembled. Still don't know how I will prop up the open end.

Mid-November photos

My flags are faded. They have been up for more than a year. I need a new US one and I need to raise the pole a bit so I can use the larger rainbow one.

I hate the barberry hedge most of the year but the cardinals like it as long as the berries are there. This is an especially prolific berry year - maybe because I never trimmed it this year?

This apple tree doesn't want to let go of all its apples. The deer will eventually get a treat.

The silver maple is the only tree left with greenish leaves.

The two oaks will hold on to theirs till spring. Really nasty winds stripped the top of the one but the lower limbs are still full of dead stubborn leaves.

I know. Burning is not good for the environment but I burn paper a few times a year, usually when I have accumulated a pile of fallen branches.