Orthodixie

We believe in one God, the main God of a number of Gods(1), who acquired His place as Supreme Being over a long period of time by living a righteous life(2), the Father Almighty, Maker one of the Makers (3) of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible (and Who is married, by the way) (4);

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, one of the spirit children of God (Lucifer being another) …

Grace has it all (with notes) H E R E.

So, what’s the big deal about being Mormon and running for Prez anyway?

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Ancient Faith Radio will broadcast a new program beginning June 2, 2007, called, “Frederica Here and Now,” featuring weekly updates from noted Orthodox Christian author and speaker Frederica Mathewes-Green. “Frederica Here and Now” will be heard several times per week but will also be available via download on the Ancient Faith Radio website.

The broadcast will feature fresh reflections on Frederica’s travel and experiences. She will talk to interesting people, tell us fascinating stories and share unique insight into the changing world in which we live.

Frederica has also expressed her enthusiasm over this new project. “It’s an exciting time to be a writer, with the media continually transforming itself and offering new ways to communicate. The podcast concept offers fresh, flexible, and compelling possibilities of audio communication. I knew I didn’t want to record pre-written pieces in a studio setting. I wanted to go out exploring–to use the medium’s portability to create short pieces prompted by the things I see and hear and read, the people I meet, the places I go. I’m delighted that Ancient Faith Radio will host my podcast, ‘Here and Now,’ and looking forward to exploring this new medium’s capabilities.”

Plans include offering the weekly broadcast as a free download which can be played at any time. It will also be available as a podcast via RSS subscription for users of iTunes®, as well as users of iPods® and other MP3 players.

Here follows a portion of this week’s Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

I regularly get emails from folks, clergy and laity, who are disappointed and seemingly stuck where they are in their current church, denomination, communion, or whatever they call their non-denominational grouping.

Let’s just say they all go to Blank Church, within the Blank Communion.

Now at Blank Church, in the Blank Communion, things are looking kinda bleak. Many of these folks have sent me emails saying, “Dear Father, I still belong to Bleakidy Blank. What should I do?”

Or: “HELP! I’m a member of Bleakidy Blank. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

This is where the bad movie dialogue comes in. Did you ever see the movie TWISTER? Bill Paxton’s character spends a good part of the movie saying the same lines, over and over. They go something like this:

RUN! GET OUT! HURRY! RUN!

And, that’s my first reaction, my gut response, to these emails: RUN! HURRY! GET OUT!

Then the letter goes on to state, “I’ve been a member of Bleakidy Blank for most of my life” … or, “I’m a pastor with a wife and 4 kids” … or, “I’m ready for Orthodoxy but my wife isn’t” … or, “My sins are way too big to squeeze into narrow ol’ Orthodoxy” … etc.

So that’s when I think: RUN! GET OUT! HURRY! RUN!

But, I know better. It’s not so easy.

Besides, when you’re on the outside …

Listen to it all H E R E.

Image stolen from University of Pittsburgh.

A big ol’ white boy from a lil ol’ Mission in Texas is gonna be representin’ in Russia next week. (Look for him in the pics; he’ll “be the guy with the robes and the beard.”) In honour of this historic occasion, Ladies & Gentlemen, here’s John Whiteford & the Pips:

Midnight Train to Russia

Are Ooo Cee Aye … ‘s been good for the man,

But he’s leavin’ the life he’s come to know,

He said he’s goin’ back to find

Ooh, what’s left of the Church,

That Church they left behind

Not so long ago.

He’s leaving,

On that midnight train to Russia,

And he’s goin’ back

To a brighter place this time.

Pray God be with him

On that midnight train to Russia,

He’s gonna commune with him in this world

And pray God nourish this Vine.

He kept prayin’

That someday they’d come this far.

But he sure found out the hard way

That dreams don’t always come true.

So he poured out all his hopes

and never shrank from a spar

Bought some two way ticket packs

To the life he once knew,

Oh yes he did,

He said he would

Be leavin

On that midnight train to Russia,

But he’s comin’ back

To a brighter place this time.

And our prayers are with him

On that midnight train to Russia,

He’s gonna commune with them in this world

To grow toward that one in Thine.

Go, gonna board, gonna board,

Gonna board the midnight train …

Original lyrics source.

Pic is from 2001: Fr John and his Godson (my son), Basil.

Regarding this post — which some have attributed to me, but is actually a comment by Mark Krikorian found on National Review Online …

Here’s the response to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori from Nigerian Archbishop Peter J. Akinola:

“You speak in your letter of centuries old custom regarding diocesan boundaries. You are, of course, aware that the particular historical situation to which you make reference was intended to protect the church from false teaching not to prevent those who hold to the traditional teaching of the church from receiving faithful episcopal care. … I also find it curious that you are appealing to the ancient customs of the church when it is your own Province’s deliberate rejection of the biblical and historic teaching of the Church that has prompted our current crisis.”

tmatt’s penned the whole story H E R E.

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