tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216096762009-11-27T12:08:13.963-08:00<b>Sister Joan Chittister famously said, "We are each called to go through life reclaiming the planet an inch at a time until the Garden of Eden grows green again." Reflecting on that journey -- a blog at a time -- is the focus of this site.</b>SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.comBlogger2267125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-75600524774300235822009-11-27T08:58:00.000-08:002009-11-27T09:08:46.154-08:00

Louie Crew received the sad news of the passing on Thanksgiving Day of Grant Gallup ... presbyter in the church of God and the first Integrity chaplain. Here is Louie's moving tribute to a true Giant of Justice.======A friend just called to say that Grant Gallup+ died last night. He was a charter member of Integrity's first chapter, in Chicago, and served as chaplain to that chapter. For several

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-14709457465805742592009-11-26T21:24:00.000-08:002009-11-26T21:37:01.711-08:00

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-56105100615817982552009-11-26T13:20:00.000-08:002009-11-26T13:26:31.212-08:00

Almighty and gracious God, We give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-69585131288440369912009-11-25T11:00:00.000-08:002009-11-25T14:56:39.393-08:00

... as we gear up for "last minute prep" to make "Thanksgiving Now" happen!Thought I'd take a break from blogging-as-usual and take a moment to (dare I say it?) "Focus on the Family" ... that would be MY family ... or at least this part of it: this photo of "the kids" I found earlier this week of a Thanksgiving Past ... (I'm guessing 1989.)From left: son Jamie (the now Blackhawk crew chief

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-9289070440844947832009-11-24T18:22:00.000-08:002009-11-24T18:33:09.413-08:00

Author Jeff Sharlet was the guest on NPR's "Fresh Air" today.The 'breaking news' in the NPR broadcast was the direct link Sharlet was able to make -- by "following the money" -- between "The Family" (a fellowship of powerful Evangelical Christian politicians) and the leadership in Uganda sponsoring the proposed draconian anti-homosexuality law.Both Ugandan Legislator Bahati (who proposed the new

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-79653307838668218312009-11-23T11:57:00.000-08:002009-11-23T14:13:16.274-08:00

Thoughts from a Ugandan about the efficacy of the wider Anglican Communion speaking up to oppose the pending anti-homosexuality bill in the Uganda legislature. [From our Changing Attitude colleagues] “Funny, I am a Ugandan, desperately worried because of this Bill in parliament. If it passes, which most likely it will, I and my partner will face life imprisonment, or death, once caught.“Is it

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-62404478447398594712009-11-21T21:15:00.000-08:002009-11-21T21:23:37.329-08:00

This morning's webcast of the Q&A Forum with the candidates for the upcoming bishop suffragan election here in Los Angeles is now archived online here.Please do keep all our candidates ... along with the delegates to the December 4-5 Diocesan Convention and the whole Diocese of Los Angeles ... in your prayers as we prepare to elect two new bishops suffragan.

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-83789437921654735812009-11-21T20:58:00.000-08:002009-11-21T20:59:21.864-08:00

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-18469890408795799692009-11-21T13:38:00.000-08:002009-11-21T13:43:01.037-08:00

So here's my (kindergarten level graphics!) stab at an ad for TEC ... focusing on the good news we have to offer and focused toward those who have had every reason to be too disgusted by what they know about Christianity to want to bother with it.

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-74169578165764427512009-11-21T07:52:00.000-08:002009-11-21T08:06:35.518-08:00

No ... not the usual livid-over-imagined-apostasy "mad men" but the advertising kind from the hit show "Mad Men" (which if you don't watch I heartily recommend.)In a laudable effort to shift into proactive gear and start getting the word out the country-at-large that the Episcopal Church is a very cool place to hang out if you like your welcome radical, your theology incarnational and your

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-18477047406722106472009-11-20T21:27:00.000-08:002009-11-20T21:29:43.837-08:00

"It's getting harder to tell what's sicker: the people in this country we fail to take care of medically or the health care system itself."Read it all here ... in the National Catholic Reporter.

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-38184904331573766062009-11-20T20:54:00.000-08:002009-11-20T21:07:37.994-08:00

From the Diocese of Los Angeles website:The Search and Nominating Committee of the Diocese of Los Angeles invites you to a Nov. 21 live forum/webcast at Campbell Hall, North Hollywood, 9:30-11:30 a.m. (Pacific Time) with the nominees for the Dec. 4 - 5 election of two bishops suffragan in the Diocese.To log onto the webcast, click here ... to send questions for consideration for the candidate

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-45734350548609449372009-11-20T18:12:00.000-08:002009-11-20T18:21:32.295-08:00

In 2006 The Episcopal Church adopted Resolution D005 -- "Oppose Criminalization of Homosexuality." What's the point of passing resolutions we're not willing to work to make realities? And how do you "oppose the criminalization of homosexuality" and NOT speak up against the legslation pending in Uganda? What is this ... the ecclesial version of Professor Harold Hill's "think system" from "The

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-87350094226782813362009-11-20T16:56:00.000-08:002009-11-20T17:57:44.720-08:00

Episcopal Life Online files this story about the ongoing controversy over the draconian anti-gay legislation pending in Uganda, which begins:[Episcopal News Service] A proposed bill currently before the Ugandan Parliament that, if passed, would extend prison sentences for homosexuals and introduce the death penalty in certain cases has generated outrage from a number of religious groups while

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-88271064990858334132009-11-19T12:26:00.000-08:002009-11-19T12:27:43.059-08:00

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-38288923724782846512009-11-19T12:12:00.001-08:002009-11-19T14:00:31.130-08:00

From Matt Haines, Integrity's Province 8 Provincial Coordinator:Dear Friends,I am very sad to announce that our brother Bruce Mason of Portland died suddenly Monday morning. He leaves behind his beloved life-partner Robert Byrd, and a host of family and friends.Bruce was a kind, faithful and loving servant of Christ. For decades he has served in a large variety of ministries at SS Peter and

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-89770949633730106232009-11-18T10:49:00.000-08:002009-11-18T11:04:17.207-08:00

This is SOOOOO not "breaking news" to anyone who has been part of working for justice for LGBT folk in the Anglican Communion over this last decade-plus but it IS confirmation of what we've been saying all along!Read. Mark. Learn. Inwardly digest. And then ACT!A groundbreaking investigation by Political Research Associates (PRA) discovered that sexual minorities in Africa have become collateral

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-35911822824335072262009-11-17T10:39:00.000-08:002009-11-17T16:34:10.007-08:00

If you're not in the loop on this one, here's the summary from Father Jake:The Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill is a nasty piece of work which would make the death penalty the sentence for some homosexual acts.Anglicans have been urged to condemn this bill, but so far there has been silence from Canterbury and York. The Anglican Church of Uganda backpedaled just a little from their normal strident

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-60481063574355865862009-11-17T09:01:00.000-08:002009-11-17T09:14:32.608-08:00

Yes, it's "good tidings of great joy" ... but not the baby-in-the-manger kind -- it's the blessing-same-sex-unions kind.This just in on Episcopal Cafe:The Rt. Rev. Paul Marshall has released the following guidelines for clergy and congregations wishing to move ahead with pastoral provision for same sex couples. The same guidelines apply for all couples coming for blessing (counseling, baptism,

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-43574446463110604392009-11-15T16:41:00.000-08:002009-11-15T17:11:17.464-08:00

On Sunday, November 15, 2009 @ 4:06 p.m.PST (I know that because I "tweeted it" in real time!) I heard these words ... coming through the speaker on my computer here in the office ... as I listened to the audio stream of the in-progress ordination of Susan Slaughter as a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.Over my many years in the church I've sat through MANY ordinations ... two of my

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-76775973847655193242009-11-15T15:13:00.000-08:002009-11-15T16:40:40.808-08:00

from London's Sunday Times: Lesbians parents better at raising childrenby Maurice ChittendenLesbians make better parents than conventional couples, according to a director of the government’s parenting academy.Stephen Scott, director of research at the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners, told a meeting last week that the latest research showed that children of such couples did better

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-29042013878239619652009-11-15T08:02:00.000-08:002009-11-15T12:37:41.754-08:00

It's a big church day for me, as we participate in the "Charter for Compassion" movement at All Saints Church this morning. But first I wanted to share the joy of a VERY special day for our friends in the Diocese of Fort Worth:From the Diocese of Fort Worth website:Today's historic ordination of Susan Slaughter to the priesthood is a day long-awaited in our diocese.Please join us. And if you

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-512359848702591832009-11-14T10:58:00.000-08:002009-11-14T12:42:02.291-08:00

Noted theologian and biblical scholar Carrie Prejean recently made the following exegetical statement:I don't think there's anything wrong with getting breast implants as a Christian. I think it's a personal decision. I don't see anywhere in the Bible where it says you shouldn't get breast implants. In 500 words or less, defend or challenge that statement using source, form and redaction

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-39119030978612664362009-11-12T18:21:00.000-08:002009-11-12T18:31:30.325-08:00

Parishioner Patrick McDonald sent over these two "Letters to the Editor" recently published in the Crescenta Valley Weekly in response to the paper's feature on the return of St. Luke's to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.CHASTISES THOSE WHO “FOLLOW MISGUIDED LEADERS” (October 22, 2009)The people, and Fr. Bryan Jones of the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church cannot conceive the damage that has

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21609676.post-33446171195403907902009-11-12T17:01:00.000-08:002009-11-12T17:07:33.900-08:00

Our friend, Bishop Gene Robinson, had a great time on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" today on a show entitled:Gay Rights In America: Past, Present And FutureNovember 12, 2009Salt Lake City has unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment and housing. And a measure legalizing same-sex marriage is moving forward in Washington, D.C. Eugene Robinson,

SUSAN RUSSELLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01795717638621668638noreply@blogger.com1