The Practical Parson

 20 days ago a young man was assassinated in front of his own children and a crowd of several thousand people on a college campus in Utah.  Almost spontaneously, our "progressive" brethren broke out in thunderous celebration for the death of this man; posting fictitious quotes attributed to him and calling him every manner of slander the left is capable of summoning as an insult against their opponents.  One of the more fascinatingly ironic facts of that phenomena for me personally, was a massive increase in downloads of/ internet searches for the song "no One Mourns the Wicked", from the titled movie "Wicked" which was released just a year ago.  The lyrics proclaim that the wicked die alone, the wicked's life is lonely, etc.; much to the delight of the liberals who played the song in celebration.   However the irony of them playing this song as a celebration of that man's death is overwhelming to those of us who have seen the movie and know the st...

 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ- Today the world witnessed a horrific act of targeted political violence, in the form of the assassination of a conservative commentator, Charlie Kirk, in Utah.  As people of Christian faith and charity, I ask you all to remember his family and friends in your prayers; and commend to your prayers the intention of the repose of his soul.  Before too long, media outlets will shift the narrative of this day away from the story of what happened, and will begin blaming inanimate objects and victims themselves for acts of horrific violence; in a spectacle that is a revolving circle of self-righteous grandstanding rather than meaningful discourse or transmission of fact.  As both a Bishop but first and foremost a Christian; I have been heartbroken and utterly sickened to see so many people who profess Christian faith and love, actively celebrating the death of a man whom they deemed “the enemy.”  While he may have held views that we...

 In May of 2023 a 28 year old man in Baltimore, Maryland viciously assaulted 2 pro-life protesters outside of a Planned Parenthood facility in Maryland.  The suspect, Patrick Brice; claimed to the court that he was only seeking to debate the initial victim on the concept of 'sin', when he (in his own words) "Just snapped" and decided to tackle the 84 year old man and beat him up.  He then did the same to another man who attempted to stop him; the entire ordeal being caught on surveillance video for the whole world to see.  In most situations and other cases, such evidence and confession from a suspect would be seen as evidence enough to Garner a conviction that would lead to substantial incarceration; however this time was different.  Yes, this time both the judge and the jury seemed unable to determine that any really serious crime had been committed, despite evidence and witness testimony which supported the case.  The problem?  Both judge and jury s...

 In the last few months, there has been much debate about ICE and immigration law enforcement in this country.  While there is a lot of high flying emotion and anger on both sides of the debate, it is important to remember first and foremost that we are all of us, human beings; and not deserving of the manner of filth and hatred that is spewing from the mouths and hands of protesters, both in favor and opposition of the enforcement of immigration law.  That being said, it is an extremely interesting paradox in which the American Democratic party and liberal followers find themselves with regard to the immigration enforcement.   After all, not too long ago we had Democratic governors, mayors, and civic leaders who ordered people to remain in their homes; and arrested people who dared violate "quarantine".  Leaders who ordered SWAT raids and violated people's homes in order to ensure that there were no more than 10 people at family gatherings. Police raids on...

You hear the call to arms from the liberal progressives every day: free food, free housing, free healthcare, etc.  Free?  Is anything in life ever truly Free?  The answer, much to the chagrin of our liberal neighbors, is sadly not.  Nothing in this world is ever free; not even the gift of salvation is truly free, since the price of salvation was borne by our Savior.  Yes we receive it at no cost to ourselves; but the price has been paid and most dearly, by someone else, somewhere else.   This is the answer to the great myth of the "free" anything.  There is nothing in life that does not come without cost, however you try to frame it.  The only thing one can do is to try to mitigate the appearance of the costs, and usually by transferring it to another person, and also usually another person as far removed from ourselves as possible.   In the secular state, 'free' programs are funded by taxpayer investment; which rise and fall accord...

They forced your businesses to close; but we have no kings. They forced you to stay home; but we have no kings. They forced you to mask; but we have no kings. They forced on you the so-called vaccine; but we have no kings. They forced on you social distancing; but we have no kings. They forced on you quarantine; but we have no kings. They forced your children out of school; but we have no kings. They forced you to sit by while radicals burned their cities; but we have no kings. They forced you to sit by while they arrested anyone not staying home; but we have no kings. They forced the elderly and infirm to die alone without family; but we have no kings. They forced the closure of houses of worship; but we have no kings. They forced the banning of family gatherings; but we have no kings. They forced clergy to stay out of hospitals comforting the sick; but we have no kings. They forced families to stay away from their departed loved ones; but we have no kings. They forced the closure of ...