The Practical Parson

 Recently, I was in town.   The town nearest my home is in many ways the epitome of small town America; a town in the shadow of a former manufacturing plant for Tobacco, with a community that isn't the smallest, but where everyone still seems to manage to know most everyone and everything going on in town at a given time.   Indeed, it was even a stop for country music star Justin Moore almost a decade ago when he was on his "Small Town USA" tour.   I have lived here for my entire life, and know intimately the community and many of the people; all good sincere people who have always had a place in my heart.   Judge my shock and dismay as I have borne witness over the last 3 years, as my hometown community has been forced into a situation that I am reliably well-informed, is not unique; given the current political and economic climate of our nation.  There have always been poor people in our community, our Lord himself said "the Poor you have always with you".  Bu

 President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently signed into law a complete ban on the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.   While that may seem and sound like a commendable action from the outside, banning a church that has a patriarch in Russia while there is an ongoing war with Russia; the reality of what the law invites is actually quite sinister, and I would dare say, diabolical.  Let's start with the foundational issue: banning Russian Orthodox anything in Ukraine.  While it might sound like they're just cutting off the Patriarch of Moscow, what is truly happening is the Ukrainian government is seizing church properties: monasteries, cathedrals, convents, churches, shelters for the poor and homeless- all being seized by the state.  However it doesn't end at seizing church property, oh no.  The government has now enabled themselves to seize the personal and private property of private citizens who are Russian Orthodox as well.  This level of land-grabbing greed has not been

 In Anglican Church circles today, as I suspect has been for some time; there is an ongoing debate as to the nature of the theology of provinces within the Anglican patrimony.  Some, like myself, tend more towards what might be called old-school Anglo-Catholicism; which others claim is a recent innovation.  Others tend more towards Calvinist theology; which the evangelicals in Anglicanism is the only "true" expression of the Anglican identity.  While I will not argue the value of churchmanship as part of theology, I have very good and solid friends on both sides of that spectrum who are theologically quite similar; it is worth noting that a principle cause for so many to claim Calvinism as Anglican has largely to do with an evangelical approach to the liturgy and church in general.  Being evangelical is not in and of itself a bad thing, nor does it denote an unnecessarily unfortunate tendency towards anarchy; however the notion of denying anything good about the Anglican Chur

 In a seemingly endlessly repeated story-line, we see headlines across the country proclaiming "books banned"; and subsequent outcry from (usually) the progressive side of politics, calling such things "un-american" and "Anti-freedom".   But what is the true issue behind the scenes here?   Well primarily speaking, virtually all of the accused "book-bans" have taken place in locations that are elementary and middle school libraries, or libraries that cater to adolescent children.  Now the progressive ideologues will go to war to proclaim that all books need to be available to all children regardless; but do they really mean that?   Does this mean we will soon be having Kama Sutra for Kindergartners?  Sun Tzu for second grade?  Mein Kampf for Middle Schoolers?   Of course not.  Not because there are not some who aren't crazy enough to push for them; but because at the end of the day those books do not reinforce the 'progressive' vision