Round Up

Posted on by Fr. Peter
It has been so hot here the last few days that I have not felt like doing anything. The weekend was pretty calm and now the week looks the same.

Sunday after liturgy I rolled on back to the homestead for my nieces graduation party. She finished the 8th grade and now goes on to High School. That does not seem possible that she is old enough to attend high school. Left the party, went to a board meeting for the St. Andrew’s Society of Massachusetts, then back to the party for a few more hours. I don’t see my brothers all that often so it is nice to be able to spend some time with them.

Yesterday I came back to the rectory and had one more air conditioner to put in the window. Since the house was closed up for a day it took most of the day for the house to cool down, but it was still cooler then being outside. It is time like this that makes me think of people that have work outside. One of my parishioners works for a paving company. Imagine it is over 90 degrees and your working with hot tar! How about people that work on roofs! No thank you but thank you to those who do.

Today I am going to try and edit a podcast and perhaps record a new one. I have a parish council mailing to get done, a class to prepare for, and a community meeting at 5pm. Looking forward to that as it is being held at the new Irish Restaurant in town. I am also working a a few essays on church life so stay tuned.

Noisy nuns arrested

Posted on by Fr. Peter
A group of nuns has been arrested in Romania for being noisy during a religious procession and for cursing police officers.

The 17 Orthodox nuns received a caution for causing a public nuisance during a procession in Iasi for the naming of a new bishop.

Thousands of people attended the procession for the new bishop of Moldova and Bucovina.

Police spokesperson Virginia Pralea said: “The nuns were brought to the police station for nuisance and uncivilised behaviour. When addressed by the police, they called the officers ‘sons of Judas’.” The nuns were released two hours later after being identified and given a written warning.

They are known for their critical views of the country’s church leaders who they accuse of living in luxury while their followers struggle in poverty.

Envoy says Orthodox-Catholic unity unlikely

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Moscow, June 9, Interfax – A complete holy communion between Orthodox believers and Catholics is very unlikely, Russian Orthodox Church Representative to European International Organizations, Archbishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, said in an interview with the newspaper Soyuznoye Veche of the Russia-Belarus Union Parliamentary Assembly.

“I think we should not expect the complete unity of Orthodox and Catholic rites. The division occurred almost 1,000 years ago and it can hardly be repaired,” he said.

The archbishop said he does not think the differences between Orthodox believers and Catholics will evaporate in the third millennium.At the same time, certain theological differences do not hamper cooperation and possible joint protection of common values, he said. “We will not unite but we can learn to be allies and partners. We should not be rivals, we should be Christians who may differ in certain theological intricacies but have practically the same ideas about morals and social values,” he said.

IPS Teofan Savu Romania’s new Bishop of Moldova and Bucovina

Posted on by Fr. Peter
IPS Teofan Savu was officially installed head of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova and Bucovina on Sunday. The ceremony took place in Iasi and was officially held by Romania’s Patriarch Daniel, TV news stations inform. Teofan was elected for the position by the Holy Synod early in March. The seat was vacant after former metropolitan church head Daniel became Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church last year.

Teofan, 48, has run as head of the Metropolitan Church of Oltenia for the last eight years. Second in rank within the Orthodox Church, the Bishop of Moldova and Bucovina sees over most monasteries and churches. IPS Teofan will became the 80th bishop of Moldova. Hundreds of people gathered before the Cathedral in Iasi, North Romania, where the event was held especially that, during the ceremony, the relics of Romanian Saint Parascheva were to be shown.
Christians were able to see the ceremony on two big screens installed at the venue.

Some 150 police officers secured the area.

Marriage Protection Act

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Word has reached us here in the Village of an amendment to the United States Constitution called the Marriage Protection Amendment of 2008 (H.J. Res. 89).

Now without getting into the debate of the sanctity of marriage I will get into the debate of States Rights. Marriage is a state issue and not a federal one. The federal government has no business trying to regulate marriage or anything else that is a state and local responsibility. I believe, if my history is correct, we fought a war over this issue.

Perhaps we should amend this make divorce illegal! It seems to me that divorce is more destructive to families then two committed, loving, people marrying each other. Just my two cents.

If you wish to define marriage as between one man and one woman the place to do it is in the state in which you reside not in the Congress of the United States.

Only weeks after visit home, Taunton man killed in Iraq

Posted on by Fr. Peter

Please pray for this family in their time of need!

A Taunton soldier has died in Iraq only weeks after being honored during a stay in Massachusetts, Mayor Charles Crowley said last night.

Shane Duffy, a US Army sergeant in his early 20s, was killed after returning to a tour of duty in Iraq, Crowley confirmed. Duffy was serving a 10-month deployment.

“Shane Duffy has passed away, and we are all saddened by the loss of a young hero,” said Crowley, who received word of Duffy’s death yesterday. “Our prayers are with the Duffy family in this time of grief.”

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Church and State

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Much has been written and spoken about during this campaign season about the role of religion in politics. There is a great line from the West Wing where Martin Sheen is speaking with Alan Alda about Church and State. Martin says that the Constitution says there should be a separation of church and state but it does not say anything about a separation of church and politics. Candidates use church and yes my friends church uses politics as well.
The Establishment Clause of the US Constitution only guarantees that there will be no state religion it does not say that religion and American life should not be intertwined. The framers of the Constitution were very religious and many, if not all, were avid church goers.

I was listening to NPR this morning and the coverage of the Obama win. They interviewed a woman about why she switched from Obama to McCain and she said it was because of the comments made by Obama’s minister in Chicago. Well first off that is a stupid reason for not voting for someone. I cannot imagine that anything I would say would influence any candidate, if I had one in my church. Yes if you don’t like what I say you can leave the church, but then you don’t understand the nature of church! The Church exists not because of the preacher, and the members of the church do not always agree with everything that the preacher says. I have said things that my parishioners do not agree with so should they leave the church because of it?

Now on to the role of religion in politics. Should religion influence politics? I believe the answer is yes. Should preachers preach politics? I believe that answer is no. The preachers job is to teach what the church teaches on same sex marriage, abortion, war, peace, homelessness etc. The church should not preach a certain party affiliation. I was listening to a podcast from EWTN with host Fr. Mitch Paquawa. He said he is not the priest of the Republican Party of the Democrat Party he is a Roman Catholic Priest! Good for you Fr. Mitch! We clergy have an obligation to teach our flock. We are not called to be politically correct, we are called to preach the truth as our denominations see it, if we don’t want to do that, then resign from the pulpit and run for office. Clergy should not run for office either. I serve my town in an appointed capacity on the Historical Commission in the town. We deal with keeping the down town area nice and historic and that is it. I did not run, I was appointed. Okay maybe splitting hairs but that’s how I see it. I also feel that churches should not host candidates and allow them to speak to the congregations nor should church halls be used for debates and other rallies.

So there you have my thoughts on politics. I will continue to preach the truth because I can do nothing else! I have an obligation to do that, that’s my calling in life. Preach politics, no, vote for who you want but it should be someone who shares your values and your views. One last thought, I am not a single issue voter either. If I was there would be no one to vote for!

SCOBA – Time for a Reassessment

Posted on by Fr. Peter
The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) was founded under the leadership of Archbishop Iakovos, of blessed memory, anticipating the process of re-unifying the Orthodox Church in America later ignited by the establishment of the autocephalous Orthodox Church in America in 1970. Its most notable programs, however, such as the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF), have not been established through initiatives of SCOBA but rather have been the products of either strong lay leadership from several jurisdictions or the indefatigable efforts of individual priests and lay persons focusing on specific areas of concern. American Orthodox faithful of many jurisdictions cried out for unified action. SCOBA followed, while others have led. SCOBA’S greatest failure has been in carrying out its “prime directive”, i.e. to Unify the Church. In fact, in some respects, it has become an instrument for stifling the move toward Unity.

SCOBA is plagued with structural, theological, and political defects. Here are a few of the more obvious ones.

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BREAKING NEWS: Clinton to suspend campaign tonight

Posted on by Fr. Peter
After a day full of conflicting signals, Hillary Clinton’s campaign seems to be sending clearer ones today — that she will gracefully exit the stage and won’t take her fight to the convention.

The Associated Press is reporting that she plans to acknowledge in her speech tonight that Barack Obama has the delegates for the nomination. The AP is also saying advisers have said that Clinton has made a strategic decision to suspend her campaign and not formally end it, giving her leverage to negotiate with Obama on various matters including a possible vice presidential nomination for her. She also wants to press him on issues he should focus on in the fall, such as health care.

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