Collop Monday

Well, if you think people might ask you what a "Shrove" is, think of the blank looks you'll get when you inform them that it is "Collop Monday." What, you ask, is a collop? It is a slab of meat. A steak, if you will. The picture is of a collop of venison, sufficiently larded, and spitted. Today was the day when slabs of meat would be salted and hung up until Lent was over.

It was customary to have a collop of bacon and eggs today, as a way of using the stuff up, and as a way of easing into Lent on Wednesday, and as a way of getting the grease for the pancakes. Wow, you can just feel those ol' arteries hard'ning! If you don't need to make your confession yet, you're not trying.

And so it begins - The Questions, the questions...

Yippee, Shrove Tuesday is February 28th!
It seems that every year at this time, folks start asking questions about that most mysterious of days in the Church Kalendar, Shrove Tuesday. "What's a shrove, father?"; "Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?"; "I don't like pancakes, do I have to eat them? Will I go to hell if I do?" "Where can I buy a shrove, father?"And on, and on, and on it goes.

Shrove Tuesday actually has to do with being shriven of your sins. So, after you have found your priest and made your confession - take a look at some of these resources:

http://shrovetuesday.150m.com/index.html

http://www.chiff.com/a/shrove-tuesday.htm

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/shrove.html A particularly interesting one!

http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/pancake.html

I've always preferred the observation of Shrove Tuesday as the English "Pancake Day", rather than the French "Mardi Gras" (Fat Tuesday). Pancakes just seem so much more wholesome than the debauchery most of us associate with the annual goings on in New Orleans. Girls gone wild, indeed! We can do better, we are Anglicans after all! Pass the syrup, please..... and do have some of the sausage.

Panis Angelicus

Wouldn't you know it?!

Yesterday on the House of Deputies email list, a clerical deputy from Southern Virginia asked if anyone knew where she could get rice wafers for Communion.

Of course, I responded that the proper matter for the Eucharistic elements are wheat bread and grape wine. The immediate response did not disappoint - Oh how could I possibly be so insensitive? How could I possibly be so heartless toward those afflicted with celiac disease (Severe allergy to wheat gluten)? What if Jesus had been born in China? Wouldn't rice be okay then? One bishop(ess) opined that wasn't the point that we use bread of any sort, even spelt, maybe. And of course Louie Crew waded in with a gay anecdote about angel food cake.

Well, our Lord was not born in China. I don't have any control over that. And rice is not okay. I carefully explained to the list that to receive in one kind is to receive, period. If you can't handle wheat, drink from the chalice. If you can't handle drink, take the host only. For alcoholic celiacs, keep your lips pursed and touch the wine to them. If you have received a single molecule of the Sacred Species, you have received Jesus. You won't get any more if you drain the chalice to the bottom.

Lord, save us and protec' us, we musta been drinkin' whiskey fer breakfas'!!!

Pennsylvania Deans Respond

February 3, 2006

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The Council of Deans met with Bishop Bennison on Tuesday, January 31, regarding the Standing Committee's request for his retirement or resignation by March 31, and his January 26 email response, calling for a rigorous long-term process for addressing our problems. Many of you read the bishop's emails to your congregations, and heard the concerns and anxieties of your people who had seen the article in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

With the approval of the Bishop and the knowledge of the President of Standing Committee, the deans have called upon the national Episcopal Church's office of Pastoral Development for assistance. The Right Reverend F. Clayton Matthews has agreed to lead us through a process of mediation, beginning with a gathering of the diocesan leadership later this month. He is Bishop Griswold's chosen counselor for such situations; we need to give him time to assess and design our continuing conversations.

We know this is a difficult time, but also one of opportunity. Therefore, the Council of Deans encourages each member of the clergy to pray, not only to assure ourselves that God is present in our time, but to root and ground ourselves in the power of Christ to shape our words and actions, our present and future. We call upon you to continue to be good pastors and stewards of the manifold grace of God. Continue to proclaim the Gospel, study the Holy Scriptures, teach and shepherd your congregations, serve the world in Christ's name, make Eucharist, and be thankful. We will hold you in our prayers and will keep you informed.

Faithfully,

Ruth Lawson Kirk,

Dean of Montgomery on behalf of the Council of Deans