Ever since we watched the kickoff of the NBC show “The Book of Daniel” the other day, I’ve been trying to figure out how to succinctly put down in words my feelings of utter disgust for the show. How refreshing it was to come across a blog entry that perfectly sums up my take on it. Check out “What NBC Thinks about Christianity.”

Here’s an excellent essay examining the leaked Via Media USA minutes. The document supposedly reveals this ECUSA-supported organization’s plans for doing damage control after General Convention 2006 should ECUSA not go far enough to heed the warnings in the Windsor Report. Well thought out and balanced.

Wow. Here’s a new twist. When Connecticut’s Episcopal bishop Drew Smith took over St. John’s Bristol claiming that their rector had abandoned the parish, he also dissolved the sitting vestry and assigned a new rector. The die-hard members of St. John’s started calling themselves “St. John’s in Exile” and are worshipping at nearby Trinity Bristol. When members of the “Connecticut Six” filed a lawsuit against Drew, the diocese, and the state, members of St. John’s in Exile were listed among the plaintiffs.

Now, the members of St. John’s who stayed behind have elected a new vestry that canonically speaks for the parish of St. John’s in all day-to-day matters. They have officially withdrawn from the AAC and the Anglican Communion Network, and have distanced themselves from the lawsuit. It should be interesting to see what happens now that you have two disparate groups claiming to represent the same parish. Many have claimed that Drew overstepped his authority in taking control of St. John’s. I’m sure similar charges will be levied claiming that he put a “puppet” vestry in place to do his bidding. I’m anxious to see what a court has to say.

Being involved with the vestry at my church, I’ve had a front-row seat watching what’s been happening in the Episcopal church since the approval of Gene Robinson as the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. Things are starting to heat up again as some of the more conservative parishes and dioceses begin to push back against the church hierarchy. I figure I’ll post links here as I come across interesting articles.

The first is an interesting read about some larger parishes breaking away from ECUSA completely. The writer may be using a bit of hyperbole, though, since I know something of the six parishes involved in the Connecticut lawsuit, and I wouldn’t exactly call them powerful.

I spent the past week at Cub Scout day camp with Andrew and we had a blast. This was our second year there, and he keeps getting better at BB shooting. Next year he should be good enough to earn a patch. Both years I had a den of eight boys ranging in age from 7 to 9. At the end of the day, when the adults could barely move, these guys still enjoyed running around the field tossing balls and Frisbees. This is my favorite picture from the week.

I think this is the second July 4th that certain fireworks have been legal in Connecticut. Growing up, we occasionally had access to illicit fireworks, mostly small firecrackers and fountains, and I remember that the fountains were pretty tame. Just a calm stream of sparks shooting four or five feet into the air, and that was it. So when I saw that fountains and sparklers were now legal here, I wasn’t too excited.

Last night Cindy brought home a small assortment of fireworks that she got for half price at one of the many fireworks tents that pop up around here in parking lots each year. I wasn’t expecting much, and started setting up chairs about ten feet back from where I was going to light them. She wanted to err on the side of caution, so moved them back to about twenty-five feet. I lit the first one and moved back a bit. Imagine my surprise when large sparks of many colors began shooting 10–15 feet into the air and landing close to 15 feet away, accompanied by pops and bangs almost as loud as small firecrackers. These weren’t the fountains of my youth. These were actually fun to watch. And they were legal. Next year, I think we’ll be looking into one of the bigger multipacks that I’ve seen at Sam’s and other stores.

We took a day trip to New York on Wednesday to see The Gates and to visit Emily’s polar bears at the Central Park Zoo. Aside from the $48 parking garage, all had a wonderful time. I’m not sure The Gates was worth $21 million, especially given its short display life, but I’m glad we went to see it. It really was something to see orange panels in all directions as we stood and looked around. I tried to take some photos, but a little point-and-shoot digital camera, no tripod, and an impatient crowd just don’t do it justice. I did find some cool panoramas on-line, though. Very nicely done.

I all the terrible news about the recent tsunamis, it’s neat to see a “good news” story related to the event. Check out how the actions of a vacationing 10-year-old saved many lives.

Always wanted to try this one… )

Update: I should have mentioned where you can get the pattern for this and many other designs. Check out www.pumpkinlady.com.