Povey Prattle

Readers of this blog, being of above average intelligence and knowledge,  will remember that Spencer Perceval (1762-1812) was the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Ireland 1809 - 1812. Wikepida says this of Perceval.   A follower of William Pitt , Perceval always described himself as a "friend of Mr Pitt" rather than a Tory . Perceval was opposed to Catholic emancipation and reform of Parliament ; he supported the war against Napoleon and the abolition of the slave trade . He was opposed to hunting, gambling and adultery, did not drink as much as most Members of Parliament, gave generously to charity, and enjoyed spending time with his twelve children. You may not have known that, but surely you remember that Perceval is the only British Premier to have been assassinated . He was shot in the lobby of the (old) House of Commons on 11th May 1812, and died immediately. But I do not wish to write about that Spencer Perceval. You ask " was there another? "....

The more things change, the more they stay the same .  (Or more famously plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose   an epigram from Jean-Baptiste Alphones Karr.) THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME . In 1830 there were food or "Swing" riots" in England.  These  so-called  riots were in fact legitimate protests by agricultural workers who found themselves out of work, impoverished, and starving,  as a result of  increased mechanization of farm work.. It was said of them " The Swing Riots had many immediate causes, but were overwhelmingly the result of the progressive impoverishment and dispossession of the English agricultural workforce over the previous fifty years, leading up to 1830.  In parliament Lord Carnarvon had said that the English labourer was reduced to a plight more abject than that of any race in Europe, with their employers no longer able to feed and employ them" Lord Carnarvon apart there were other responses from middle...

(No Super Bowl rant today -   I’ll store that up for tomorrow). So, I get all manner of “alarm stories” via e-mail or on Facebook. I wish to heck that the senders would use their brains. First there has been an impassioned plea from a very respectable Bishop in the Episcopal Church about human trafficking and the Super Bowl. See:   http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2014/01/28/anti-trafficking-efforts-intensify-in-advance-of-super-bowl/ I know and like this Bishop (he and I were at Taize together in 1999 when we were both priests in Western Massachusetts). I know that human trafficking is horrendous and evil.   I know that it corrupts souls and destroys lives. That being said, the issue of trafficking and the Super Bowl has been over played and greatly exaggerated    Bishop Beckwith seems to accept these exaggerations without question.   As the following piece points out, campaigns such as the one in the Diocese of Newark may in th...

What is dismal and exhausting is the way in which the American  Government has lurched from crisis to crisis since 2008. Maybe the U.S.A. has become as ungovernable as Greece, or Italy, or Iraq, or Somalia,  Who'd have thunk that? But there are worlds beyond Washington D.C.  or Wall Street.  After all  I am Miss Pollyanna Ostrich  (maybe!)   I n my world  -  the world of religion/faith/belief (whatever?)  I see stuff which the Congress and Wall Street are too blinded by their  pride to see.  Viz: 1.  The exhausted old women and men who will not allow the Diocese  to close down their declining Church,  because it has a food pantry and a day care centre for wee children. 2.  The stubborn Nuns who insist that rapists and murderers on death row are children of God. 3. The tough women who care for 15 year old girls who are pregnant AND terrified. 4.  The republican minded business men who ...

The modern oppression of the poor    is nothing new.  Here is a protest from the New Testament letter of  James  (First or Second Centuries A.D.) James 5 5 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you.  2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.  3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure *  for the last days.  4 Listen! The wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.  5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter.  6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

The modern oppression of the poor   is nothing new. In the 14th Century a  Church of England Priest named John Ball raised this question: When  Adam  delved and Eve span,  Who was then the  gentleman ? John Ball went on to say:  "F rom the beginning all men by nature were created alike, and our bondage or servitude came in by the unjust oppression of naughty men. For if God would have had any bondmen from the beginning, he would have appointed who should be bond, and who free. And therefore I exhort you to consider that now the time is come, appointed to us by God, in which ye may (if ye will) cast off the yoke of bondage, and recover liberty." See     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ball_(priest)

No one can remain insensitive to the inequalities that persist in the world!. No amount of peace-building will be able to last, nor will harmony and happiness be attained in a society that ignores, pushes to the margins or excludes a part of itself

To my Republican/Tory friends: I respect that you are "right of centre" by honest and prayerful  conviction. I know that you too respect my "left of centre" stance. But we, as Christians,  (Republican or Democrats)  should be very concerned at this video which mocks and disparages the poor, see: http://youtu.be/eK2TSBz8OiU  (please  cut and paste this link to your browser)   (video via my friend Karen N) There is nothing gracious  in the sentiments it expresses. It is not biblical. See for instance -   Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" . Indeed the video explicitly denies the teaching of Jesus who said   " Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God . Luke 6:20 And the video is in direct opposition ...

Story via  http://www.postandcourier.com/ Imagine the scene: The Diocese of South Carolina’s bishop was in his office at St. Philip’s Church in downtown Charleston when one of his own priests stormed in, unhinged by rage. The armed priest was irate about Bishop William Alexander Guerry’s efforts to advance racial equality in the church. The priest shot Guerry. Then he shot and killed himself. Guerry died four days later at Roper Hospital, reportedly uttering Jesus’ words: “Forgive him, Father, he knew not what he did.” The tragic scene took place on June 5, 1928, 85 years ago this past week. To honor Guerry, Grace Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston is celebrating a “feast day” today and is dedicating a chapel in the church to the bishop’s memory. Guerry is not officially on the list of “Holy Women, Holy Men,” a compilation of church saints published by the Episcopal Church. However, Grace members and others are taking early steps to get his story ou...

At long last I discovered why the current Congress and President induced fiscal crisis is called “sequestration”. It means that funds which have been approved in a budget (and God knows when the USA had a budget) could be sequestered by the treasury, and thus not released for spending, in effect making huge cuts in government expenditures. This mad cap idea was agreed in the Budget Control Act of 2011.   The thought was that the sequestration idea was so crazy, and the automatic  ($85 billion) cuts so unthinkable, that the Senate, House and President would come to agreement for a budget for 2013. (It was a bit like the President Obama, House Majority Leader Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Reid saying “we’ll get into a car together, set the cruise control to 85 mph, but there will be no hands on the steering wheel or foot on the brake until we are about to drive over a cliff, and at that point one of us will grab the wheel and step on the brakes”) ...

“Popular culture” says “do not speak ill of the dead”.  It’s been said for so long and for so many times that it has achieved the status of an axiom. But of course it is “popular baloney”. Unless we wish to live in a deceitful fairy tale world in which “everyone lives happily ever after” we must tell the truth about the departed, even if this truth goes against the mainstream grain, or disturbs the smug certainties of the ruling classes. At the heart of all the (almost world-wide) teary eyed hagiographies of Margaret Thatcher there are lies, and damnable lies - not about her character – but about her policies. She has been described as a friend of “freedom” and liberty.  In truth she was a friend of repressive rulers – Suharto in Indonesia; the corrupt Saudi Regime; Pinochet in Chile; Botha in South Africa; and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-death-etiquette Her dearest friendships...

I am certain that most of us who attended Church in these United States yesterday heard enthusiastic sermons about the new life which God offers through the death and resurrection of Jesus. I am all in favour of that! And yet ....  it can be a very selfish message - a message that says that "all's right with me and God", but which ignores the message of death which is promulgated by the American government. That message of death is exemplified in the profligate use of missiles fired from drones. George W. Bush began this policy, but it has been broadened and extended by Barack Obama (shame on him). The policy is promulgated in order to assure us of the targeted deaths of  the (supposed) enemies of America. (I doubt that any of these supposed enemies pose a real threat to our national security.) And as this video shows, the "targeted" missiles are incredibly inaccurate, and cause the deaths of children who do not even know a sing...

A follow up from yesterday's blog. Mental illness is illness.  It is not a choice. We in the United States have chosen to eviscerate (in the derivative meaning of that word) the medical, social and counselling services which are essential to mentally ill people.   Thus we have hundreds of thousands of ill people who are on the streets or in prison. (Incidentally in both places they are frequently the objects   not the perpetrators of violent behaviour). It is a national scandal – one amongst many. Once in a while  a mentally ill person will rampage. Because of another of our other national scandals -   e.g. the widespread availability of fire arms – including weapons which were designed for military usage,- those rampages can result in cruel and horrid murders –  shocking us to the core (for a week or two) when the murders take place in schools, and bringing us to despair when those killed are six and seven year olds. We are...

Regular readers will remember the story I posted to Povey Prattle on 10th October 2012, It was about a man who wanted me to officiate at a wedding, and his woken friend who was "not so sure".  see: http://jmichaelpovey-retiredpoveinsarasota.blogspot.com/2012/10/follow-up-on-yesterdays-post-when-faith. (cut and paste this URL if necessary) I had heard not a thing until Saturday morning (20th October 2012) when the woman called me to tell me that the man had tried to choke her with an electric lead on Friday night. She had called the police, not at the time of the attack, but on Saturday morning when the man had left for work. Reportedly the police told her that she could apply for a restraining order but not until Monday morning. So on Saturday she said that wanted to talk with me, (i.e. to “solve the problem”).  I ventured that the time for talk was far gone and that urgent action was now vital. Then she hurriedly and politely hung up on me, stating th...

Fundamentalist Christian, Jewish and Muslim expressions of faith have much in common with regard to their attitudes and beliefs about women. They are dangerous peas in a pod. Here is a story from my experience. He used to be a guest at the homeless shelter where I am a chaplain. He is now working full time so we do not see him at the shelter.  He "loves Jesus" and all that crap.  I bumped into him downtown the other week as I left the library. He asked if I officiated at weddings. I replied in the affirmative. He said that he and his “old lady” (I hate that term) wanted to get married. I agreed to talk to the couple. When I talked by ‘phone to the intended bride she expressed a wee bit of surprise that he had begun to make wedding plans without first talking with her. In subsequent conversations with her she revealed that he often got very angry, and that scared her.  She also told me that he had once hit her. Of course I said that...

In these United States there is an un-holy alliance between the “Tea  Party”  (the tail which is wagging the Republican Dog), and the Fundamentalist/Evangelical Churches. That alliance seeks to put women in their place –  a place of submission under men. The Tea Party/Fundamentalist alliance would say that women should have no “say” in their reproductive choices; that they should not exercise leadership in politics or religion; and that they should submit to male leadership –  at whatever the cost. Sadly enough even some men who claim to be religiously or politically “liberal” are tyrants in their own homes or churches. I know some of them. The idea of male supremacy has a wee bit of backing in the christian scriptures: see “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord ” (Colossians 3:18). But many Tea Party/Republican/ Evangelical leaders disdain the second part of the verse viz: “as is fitting in the Lord”. In so doing they have endorsed a...

My colleague, the Revd. Roger Alling preached at Mt. Calvary Episcopal Church, Camp Hill PA on June 10th. His sermon was about the call of Saul to be the first King of Ancient Israel (On June 17th I preached at All Angels Church, Longboat Key, FL  about the call of David to be the second King of Ancient Israel. Our sermons had interesting parallels.) Roger made this good and worthy observation.  He said: “I know that it is inappropriate to talk about religion and politics in the pulpit.  However I also know that it is essential that we talk about religion and human governance .  How do modern states relate or fail to relate to the truths and values we hold dear as a result of our religion and our faith “ I am grateful for Roger’s distinction between preaching “politics” , and preaching about human governance. It is a valuable and important distinction. (Do be in touch with me if you would like to read Roger’s sermon in its entirety)

On this May Day I remind myself that I am not a liberal. I am a Christian Socialist. United States citizens (limited as they are in their understanding of European history) may never have heard of the Christian Socialist Movement. It is a non-revolutionary and non-violent movement. It is deeply rooted in the teachings of the Bible. See http://www.thecsm.org.uk/ for more information. SO ON THIS MAY DAY, this day of solidarity with the workers (in europe) I, as a proud socialist, offer you the text of “The Red Flag” – an anthem for working people. PLEASE  NOTE  This anthem was written in 1889.  Thus its references to “The Red Flag” have nothing to do with Soviet State Communism (not the same animal  as Democratic Socialism); and the “Moscow” in stanza 2 is the Moscow of the tyranny of the Tsars. The lyrics of the song were written by Irishman Jim Connell in 1889.[There are six stanzas, each followed by the chorus. It is normally sung to the tune of "...

FROM   http://www.walesonline.co.uk COMMENTS please directly to the Archbishop of Wales  archbishop@churchinwales.org.uk   NOT TO ME The Archbishop of Wales has lent his support to gay marriage today, saying: “All life-long committed relationships deserved the welcome, pastoral care and support of the Church." In his presidential address to members of the Church in Wales’ Governing Body in Llandudno, Dr Barry Morgan said Christians "need to show how the Gospel of Jesus is good news for gay people". He said the church had to ask itself whether it would "protect and support pastorally, faithful, stable, lifelong relationships of whatever kind in order to encourage human values such as love and fidelity and recognise the need in Christian people for some public religious support for these". He said he was concerned about the welfare of gay people whom he feared could feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in churches over the coming months as Government prop...