Plantersville has gone to seed, according to Betsy. She and Richard just got back from their vacation to Kentucky. They took a detour through Lee Co. to see the old stomping grounds, and were sorely disappointed by the unkempt appearance of most of our hometown. I'm afraid she and I have the same 1950's image in our memories and anything different just doesn't seem right. Even though I say I'd like to move back there, I'd probably need to stay a very short while before moving back to the Rez.

The Beach Boys were on Imus this morning, so Mike has watched it through tears. Some things still affect him that way. One of the bands he played in back in the 70's mastered the Beach Boys' harmonization, so I'm sure it touched a very sensitive nerve. "The war protest songs are increasing", he told me, "so we'll be pulling out of Iraq soon. That's what got us out of Viet Nam." I hope he's right.

OCD now stands for obsessive church crisis disorder, according to one blogger. (Shouldn't that be OCCD?) Those of us who have been consumed by all the brouhaha must have it in spades. Googling B033 produced about 176,000 hits.

Yesterday's reading included the transcript of the Rector's Forum at All Saint's Pasadena. Ed Bacon talked about spiritual violence, which, he believes, was committed at the convention. I think it is taboo for anyone to coerce another person - in the name of religion, or of the betterment of the Church, or of anything else - to violate their conscience. I truly believe that many people were coerced to violate their consciences, and I truly believe that many people were coerced into voting against and speaking against where their conscience told them they should be, vis-à-vis, radical inclusion in this Church.

I, of course, agree with him. I'm reminded, though, of Hebrews 12 which describes how God, from time to time, shakes things up, to remove what can be shaken from that which cannot be shaken. If we are to make progress in this mission of "radical inclusion," there has to be a streamlining of the operation. Those who cannot commit to this mission need to be separated from those who can. Their consciences should not be violated either. Like Peter, when he asked, "But what about John?" Jesus may be saying to us, "Don't worry about John. If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you?" Some have one mission, some have another. It's our job to be about the mission he gave us. The others have a different mission. I just wish they didn't have to frame it in either/or terms, but could accept it as a both/and situation. Maybe, in time, they can.