Memorial Day Memories of a Drum Majorette

Memorial Day was a wonderful holiday in my childhood hometown. The highlight was always the parade, for which most everyone turned out. Some old soldiers, still able to fit into their uniforms, would lead the way carrying Old Glory and the Amercian Legion's banner. The high school band came next, followed by the Boy Scouts, followed by hordes of eager little kids proudly waving little American flags. The kids would also carry large bouquets of whatever flowers happened to be blooming, usually glorious lilacs in deep purple, the lighter purple color known as "lilac," and white. We would gather at the American Legion on Russell Street, the main street in town, and march all the way to the old town cemetery, probably a good two miles away. There, the children would decorate all the graves of veterans with the flowers they had carried, the band would play "The Star Spangled Banner, a few rounds of shots would be fired to honor our dead heroes, and then taps would be played. It was a wonderful, profound ceremony that has left its mark on my soul all these years. Although my turn as drum majorette at the head of the band my last year in high school supposedly was my "big year," it is the first year that I was old enough to march the entire length of the parade that I remember best; I was probably in first or second grade.

I would love for my children to experience something as wonderful and powerful as the small town parades of my youth. Before we moved to Minnesota, we lived near the grave of my husband Ben's Marine Corps buddy who lost his life during the 1984 attack in Beirut. We would journey to his grave, leave flowers, pray, and listen to Ben's stories about his friend and their days in the Corps. Now, far away from that grave, as well as from close family and small town rituals, we tend to be a little lost on Memorial Day. It was an exceptionally long winter this year, we're all yearning for sun and fun, and spring has yet to truly settle into Minnesota. We've scattered for the day, each to our favorite pursuits. Tonight--when everyone has returned home, we'll enjoy some potato salad and the first burgers of the season to hit the grill. I think we'll take a drive, find an old cemetery, and lay some flowers on the grave of a forgotten veteran. Ben, ever the Marine, must have a story or two yet untold. It won't be hard to persuade our kids to come with us.

A Call to Stand in the Breach

I've watched a number of predominantly orthodox TEC parishes wrestle with the question of whether or not to join the Anglican Communion Network. Zion Church in Oconomoc, Wisconsin, demonstrates how the decision need not be anxiety-fraught.

Zion's rector, the Rev. Thad Butcher, was interviewed by the Milwaukee Journal in the wake of Bishop Duncan's recent talk sponsored nearby the Southeastern Chapter of the American Anglican Council. Butcher explained that his church's intent in joining the ACN "was not to put political pressure on Milwaukee Bishop Steven Miller, but to stand in relationship with bishops who were speaking out."

When asked if Zion Church is considering breaking away from TEC, Butcher explained, "We're not even asking that question. What we're trying to do is to say what does it really look like to be a faithful Christian in the midst of this crisis."

So, to clarify a few things for churches still torn between a sense of calling to join the Anglican Communion Network, and a fear of what that entails:

1) No, ACN parishes do NOT commit to leave TEC; parishes can join ACN with the firm intention to forever remain within TEC;

2) No, ACN parishes are NOT required tithe to the Anglican Communion Network.

As the future break-up of the Anglican Communion approaches certainty, the need for bridge-maintaining churches to stand stalwartly in the breach becomes clearer. Like wise family members refusing to sever ties in either direction during even the ugliest of divorces, Anglicanism as a whole NEEDS parishes to keep both doors open. Becoming an ACN parish determined to stay within TEC, is one way to keep those doors open.

I have a dream: A TEC parish that would sponsor the church plant of a Common Cause Church. Here in Minnesota, St. Anne's in Sunfish Lake shares facilities with a conservative, non-denominational Hispanic congregation; why not a group of Hispanic Anglicans? On the liberal side, Church of the Apostles shares their facilities (and more) with some sort Old Catholic offshoot. For years, St. Augustine's parish in Washington has shared facilities with a synagogue. Why can't TEC parishes cooperate this way with its closer relations among God's people? Isn't that what faithful Christians should do in times of crisis?

Electing the Archbishop Revisited

Back in November of last year, Anglicat first wrote about Anglicanism's not-so-quaint anachronism of not being allowed the privilege of choosing its own leader: "Time to Reconsider How the Top Guy Gets the Job". Speaking at a Southeast Wisconsin AAC chapter meeting this week, Bishop Robert Duncan considered this same notion. Think how differently Anglicanism might be faring these days, he observed, if former Prime Minister Tony Blair had appointed--say Michael Nazir-Ali--rather than Rowan Williams as the Archbishop of Canterbury. Do you think things might be just a LITTLE more on track if a Pakistani-born evangelical Christian were the "first among equals" among all the bishops of the Anglican Communion?

This current article is a free-verse combination of ideas recollected from Bishop Duncan's talk in Wisconsin, and my own ruminations. Anything you like can be attributed to him; anything you don't can be attributed to Anglicat!

Roman Catholicism maximizes access to the best possible male leadership of the church by virtue of the way that the College of Cardinals elects the Pope: they choose from candidates across the globe. Who would have guessed that a brilliant and personable Polish Cardinal ever would be elected to fill St. Peter's shoes, and subsequently leverage his position to break the back of communism within a few short years?

In contrast to this election by religious leaders from a vast pool of candidates, faithful Anglican church folk throughout the former colonies are handed their leader by the decision of secular leaders. The pool of potential candidates for Anglicanism's "first among equals" is restricted to British citizens, and more particularly, those British bishops who do not offend the sensibilities of the upper-class Britons (think "Queen") who traverse the circles of influence surrounding the Prime Minister.

We can deeply regret that an ivory-towered academic liberal was chosen to be the Archbishop of Canterbury. Tony Blair escaped to Roman Catholicism after he stepped down from responsibilities as Britain's Prime Minister, while the Anglican faithful are stuck with Rowan Williams' ineffective leadership and embarrassing pontifications, such as his notion that sharia law ought to be established among Muslims IN ENGLAND.

Yes, we can regret that the British government gave us Rowan Williams, but we MUST enact changes to ensure that a secular leader is never again afforded the opportunity to foist an incompetent "first among equals" upon Anglicanism's faithful. A stronger, healthier, more faithful Anglican church awaits the overthrow of this last vestige of British colonialism.

Islamic School Director Assaults Newsman

TIZA Academy has been under investigation by Minnesota's Department of Education for reported Constitutional abuses regarding Islamic proselytizing at the publicly-funded charter school in the Twin Cities suburb of Inver Grove Heights. The Department of Education released a report that cited three kinds of repetitive violations that needed to be changed. News reporters seeking TIZA's response to the report were assaulted by TIZA Director Asad Zaman and a second male staffer. They wrestled the camera away from the photographer and held on to the camera for several minutes until police arrived. The police are investigating.

"Minnesota nice" is the the popular description here for the non-confrontational approach to life that local citizens purportedly adopt. It seems that the TIZA spin on "Minnesota nice" is a little heavy on the aggressive side. School Director Zaman, by the way, is the character who, when asked by a reporter several weeks ago why the American flag was not flying in front of TIZA as required by Minnesota law, responded that he did not know how to work the flagpole.

Anglicat previously wrote about the problems at TIZA: Islamic School . Minnesotans and Constitution-watchers everywhere can thank Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten for originally uncovering the abuses at this school.

You Say To-MAY-to; I Say To-MAH-to; Let's Call the Junta Off

The human rights spotlight turned to the abuses enacted by the brutal military regime in Burma again last September, when the junta started cracking down on pro-democracy protesters, killing at least nine people and arresting more than 100 Buddhist monks.

Confusion over what to call this struggling nation stems from a similar wave of protests in 1989. In crushing those protests, the military junta renamed the country, along with enacting other sweeping changes. The United Nations and other countries like France and Japan recognize the junta's crack-down and name-change; others, including the United Kingdom and the United State, do not. The protestors in Burma, according to linguist Richard Coates speaking to the BBC, "prefer to use the 'old' colloquial name, at least until they have a government with popular legitimacy."

The logic is quite simple: Myanmar - military junta = Burma.

Let's show our support for the brave Burmese protestors, both living and dead, by not using the name selected by their oppressors. That these same oppressors are turning away or confiscating international aid intended for the cyclone victims, now thought to number well over 100,000, renders their despicability beyond doubt. Without the international aid, health officers fear the spread of cholera and malaria among the cyclone's survivors.

For further explanation, see:Burma