Westminster Abbey

Before and after Buckingham Palace on Saturday, I attended three services at Westminster Abbey (Saturday morning eucharist, Sunday morning sung eucharist, and Sunday evensong--held at the scandalous hour of 3:00 p.m.!). I had read in a bookshop that the reform of Edward VI was very hard on the Abbey, and hundreds of vestments were thrown out, with the result that even today the Abbey has fewer vestments than one would expect, coming late to the party that is the High Church revival in the C of E. I saw this was true, everything matched but there were some disagreeable alb & stole combos--wearing just an alb and a stole stikes me as being half dressed, like wearing a necktie over a tee shirt. No sermon on Saturday, but a lovely job on Sunday morning by the Rev'd Deiniol Morgan, Minor Canon, who spoke about how we consistently approach God as if He were consistently in a Bad Mood. Less stellar job Sunday afternoon, too much use of the official parable of the day, the hardships faced by an Iraqi doctor in Baghdad (perhaps I am jaded because this is the official example for many lectures at school). Fascinating array of academic hoods present for evensong--I almost thought I was at Commencement! St. Paul's continues to be be my weekday worship site, but I expect that Westminster will serve on weekends as it is but a 10 minute walk, 20 if I am pokey.

Birthday Thanks

Thanks to you for your birthday wishes! I spent the day at Buckingham Palace, the first day it was open to the public as the Queen is at Balmoral for the rest of the summer. I am too much of a statistician not to be somewhat wan that 36 is "officially" the LATE 30s, and I have already been kicked out of the 18-34 demographic last year. But I cheered myself with the realization that THIS is the ageI should be when I am ordained deacon! Assuming we have our summer synod as early as we intended this year. The palace was lovely, 19 state rooms, like the White House only larger. My orignal destination was the Victoria and Albert Museum, a place which I did not see when last in London and one which has the seductive benefit of being free. Watch for the V&A in next weekend's postings.

Going 'Round the Pub

Had my first pub experience last night, a great time at this very posh bar, not the "90 pence pub" I was expecting. No pints at all actually, just bottled German and UK lagers and of course the mixed drinks of the moment. Great time talking to colleagues.

My London Address

Some of you have asked about my London address, and as far as I can tell this is it in its fullness:

International House, Room 301
1-5 Lambeth Road
London SE1 7DQ
England

St. Paul's Cathedral

As I've stated in a few postcards already, I pass by St. Paul's on my way to work each morning. They have an 08:00 eucharist each day, so I have added that to my daily regimen under the "Anglican pilgrimage" component. It was a lovely service, female priest in eucharistic vestments, helpful other clergy, tolerant Brits perfectly willing to model when to stand and sit. Several American college students present as judging from Pepperdine and Arizona State shirts in evidence. It is nice to have regular and even daily access to the eucharist again. One is a bit sad to be outside the Communion here--they have a well-ordered prayer system that seems to include not just the saint of the day (the same everywhere, Anne and Joachim, which the priest introduced well if a bit precipitously in the opening collect) but even a diocese du jour--today was the Sudan. The service itself took place in the north transept, and it will be interesting to see how well attended subsequent eucharists are.

"Benefit Thieves"

Something unexpected, the bus bench ad outside International House London and several others in the city are devoted to catching "benefit thieves"--"Can you tell which van is our surveillance van?" "Can you see our surveillance agent?" I assume benefit thieves are persons signed up for relief or unemployment whilst actually working (Do you like the "whilst"? I am learning already!). But at SSA and in American social policy circles we sometimes think that we are the only country to engage in this kind of surveillance or policing of benefit recipients, and the cheerful Orwellian nature of these ads was rather shockling to me.

First Impressions

These posts seem hurried and incoherent, but I will try to be succinct. London is lovely, and I feel somewhat familiar with where I am going. My walk to work takes about 45 minutes (50 today!), so I am getting at least 90 minutes of good exercise a day simply walking to and fro work, not to mention any interesting diversions. The prices are as terrifying as I feared they would be--the numbers are exactly the same as on American price tags, but I have to remember these are pounds and not dollars! The exchange rate is £1 to $2.25; I am very bitter about that 25 cents, because it means £4 is not $8 but rather $9, £8 is not $16 but rather $18, etc. I am being quite frugal, and so far am cheered to note that bananas cost about the same in both London in Chicago, so I am getting my potassium!

Je suis arrive'

In London, not Paris, but you will be impreseed to know that I was reading French on the plane. I am here, the trip was easy, the accomodations are rustic. More to come!

Departure Day!

When next I blog I will be in London! Wish me luck, I am not encouraged by distressing stories about how heavy rains in London are cancelling flights and closing Tube stations.

Harry Potter Parables

Some interesting buzz this weekend on how the Church of England is introducing a new booklet, Mixing it Up with Harry Potter by Owen Smith, as a youth ministry tool for children aged 9-13. The booklet is a twelve session discussion guide. It reminds me of the best traditions in Anglicanism, going back to Augustine of Canterbury, to use the familiar and the comfortable as a tool in evangelization. It also serves as a nice counterpoint to the Roman Catholic and Evangelical officials condemning the Harry Potter books as a paean to witchery. I am mildly cranky that
a 48 page booklet so far seems to cost more than the hardcover edition of the white hot Deathly Hallows book itself, but given the force of the Harry Potter phenomenon I cannot help but think that this will be money well spent for anyone in youth ministry.

Tonight Begins Pottermania

Tonight people will be on line in bookstores at midnight to purchase the first legal copies of the final Harry Potter book. I have generally been neutral on Harry Potter; anything that gets kids to read chunky 700 page books has some good to it. But those of you who have listened to me discourse on "what's good for kids" know that I have issues when kids are portrayed as unnaturally independent and in perpetual conflict with adults. I am less concerned about the "witchcraft" problems that fundamentalist Christians have oft mentioned; I tend to tally much of that brouhaha up to sheer sexism. Male "wizards" are seen as benign or at least neutral while female "witches" are seen as evil; even Glinda is suspect. But the day is here at last, the Potter saga is at an end, and soon enough we will have new controversies to debate.

Girls With Supportive Friends Still At Risk For Depression, Anxiety

Much discussion in the popular media recently about an interesting study on the effects of "co-ruminating" (excessive and repetitive discussion of problems with friends, constant venting) on both boys and girls aged 8-15. Both boys and girls seemed to form stronger friendships after this, but girls exhibited moderately increased depression and anxiety as well. Both boys and girls are likely to ruminate with friends when feeling depressed or anxious, but girls are more likely to fall into a circular pattern where ongoing rumination increases depressive and anxious feelings. The media are generally doing a decent job of presenting this, although there are several annoying headlines along the lines of "Girl Talk Bad." What stands out to me is that relatively young children can experience this kind of ongoing depression/anxiety cycle and they experience it even in the midst of a supportive friend network. As we adults do our yoga and guided meditation in efforts to "let go" of our stress, I wonder if this isn't something from which even younger children can also benefit.

What Kids Think of Adults' Jobs: Drinking Coffee, Using the Computer, Yacking on the Phone

Cute article in the WSJ about how the transition to an information economy has made it harder to explain to kids what Mommy and Daddy do at work. I immediately thought of the Tom Wolfe novel The Bonfire of the Vanities, where Judy McCoy provides a catty but not inaccurate description of her husband's job as a bond trader: "Just imagine that a bond is a slice of cake, and you didn’t bake the cake, but every time you hand somebody a slice of the cake a tiny little bit comes off, like a little crumb, and you can keep that."

But I have to say I am not sure I agree with the sentiment of the article. Even young kids know tons about computers, and they can certainly understand the myriad ways Mom and Dad do work on a computer. Not only can your son or daughter understand what work you do on a computer, chances are they could offer decent suggestions for improvement if you described it to them!

"The hospital can be a busy, lonely place..."

Great article in the New York Times on the Rev'd Margaret A. Muncie, an Episcopal priest working as a hospital chaplain. Hospital chaplaincy is one of the most popular and most rigorous forms of religious ministry, and it is great to see such good work recognized. As fewer people attend weekly worship services, I am convinced that hospital chaplains will increasingly provide the lion's share of pastoral care for many people in need.

Child Welfare Worker Burnt Alive By Boyfriend

In the short life of this blog there have been more macabre stories like this than I prefer to note.

Supply-Side Church Market?

Another interesting piece from the Wall Street Journal, commenting on the renaissance of at least some Christian groups in Europe. A bit weak on examples I would say, but it posits a worthy question on whether religiosity in an "open" religious market like the USA is helped by the wide array of options avaliable, suggesting this is occuring in Europe as well where state churches lose their monopoly and are out-competed by "lean and mean" new churches that receive no help from the state.

The Blog Turns 10!

Charming Wall Street Journal celebration of the world's past decade of the blog. This is my first real attempt at blogging, so I am arguably ten years late to the party, although I dabbled in a Yahoo 360 page that contained a pseudo-blog a year or so ago. I must say that I have found the past few blogging days more challenging than I had imagined. I certainly include links to other interesting online articles, per the WSJ the original intent of the nascent blog, but I also find myself buried under the avalanche of my own self-expression, blogging about too many things at once and about none of them very coherently (in writing as in speech, perhaps?). Other than a nifty Latin phrase, this blog might seem to have little structure or theme, but I will try to hew more closely to "the nexus of religion and social policy" (I must say, I do like how that reads!).

Shout Out to Brian's Charhouse in West Chicago

My church officers were kind enough to take me out to dinner last night, and I have to thank them and the delicious Brian's Charhouse as well. Great sirloin, au gratin potatoes, and chocolate lava cake for dessert! Not to be missed if one finds oneself in the far west 'burbs!

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Seen As Strenuous But Not Unhealthy

Something that caught my eye in the hard copy of the U of C Magazine is news of an encouraging study by our own Professor Linda Waite, suggesting that grandparents raising grandchildren face a strenuous but not intrinsically unhealthy task. Grandparents raising grandchildren are the most common form of kinship foster care, and it is encouraging to see the data so carefully parsed. Waite found that grandparents who were in ill health while raising their grandchildren were often already experiencing health deficits prior to becoming kinship carers, and that there were a fairly wide variety of potentially contravening variables that should be controlled for in researching the grandparents raising grandchildren phenomenon. This is not to dismiss the real problems that many such grandparents face, but it is an encouraging finding that may help prevent hasty assumptions about older parents.

Should Organ Donors Be Paid?

A great University of Chicago Magazine article asks this very question. I tend to be pretty attached to the con side, based especially on the "commodification of the body" principle (in the abstract) and the prediction that poor donors would not pursue or receive adequate medical care after donating/selling (in the concrete). The pro argument seems to me to be based on a radical utilitarianism that says that some life is always better than no life, so 6500 exploited poor people with missing organs are better than having 6500 people die per year due to inadequate organ donation. Instead I posit that for a Christian, the integrity of the body is a value equal to life, and so it is better to die than to farm human beings for their organs. What do you think?

PM to Nix Bish Picks

Is that a catchy title or what? UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a member of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland and in fact the son of a C of S minister, announced some time ago that he would largely surrender the power to appoint bishops of the Church of England. Reaction seems to be somewhat mixed, with many praising the theological propriety of the move while some worrying that this is a precursor to Disestablishment or simply that Anglicanism will have less of a public role in government.

In the reform of the House of Lords, the 26 bishops currently members so far have retained their seats (the Archbishops of Canterbury and York as well as the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester are always Lords, while the remaining 21 bishops are admitted by seniority of consecration). While the Erastianism of government appointment of clergy is certainly to be decried and historically has led to unfortunate theological anomalies (see John Henry Newman on the Jersualem Bishopric), it also served to preserve some measure of lay involvement in clergy appointments that I always thought had some theological value in itself. It will be interesting to see what comes of this, and years from now what would happen if an Anglican PM wished to take back these Erastian powers.

Russia Re-opens International Adoptions

Good news in today's Chicago Tribune: Russia has re-opened international adoptions. Evanston's outstanding adoption agency The Cradle is among the USA agencies re-certified by the Russian Federation. An astonishing 700,000 kids are in Russian orphanages.

Two Buck Chuck Wins Wine Award!

Wow. Charles Shaw Chardonnay 2005, known to Trader Joe's shoppers as "Two Buck Chuck," has won a prestigious wine award. I am not a huge fan of Two Buck Chuck myself, but I tend to drink reds far more than whites, and Chuck's reds tend to be a little ragged on my palette. But clearly the Grad Student Code requires that I immediately buy a case of this!

Childhood Obesity Still Rising

Amid a few encouraging trends (teenage pregnancies still declining), this report on the annual summary of child and family statistics notes that childhood obesity rates are still rising.

Anti-Gay Surgeon General Nominee Backtracking?

Another story to which I do not know how to react; should I be glad that overt anti-gay bias is a problem even for right wing politicians? Or should I be worried that the most extreme right wingers can be confirmed to high office with a little tap dancing?

Welcome to the YAWNs

Also in the Wall Street Journal, that bastion of fascinating reading, comes this inspiring bit on the new YAWNs--"Young And Wealthy Normals," self-made rich people under 50 who want to live fulfilling and healthy lives that are not given over to excess or vulgar display. A big connection seems to be parents who want to make sure their kids do not grow up to be Paris Hilton or Brandon Davis. Bonus: they are more interested in philanthropy than in partying.

Backlash Against Antidepressant Medication

Today's Wall Street Journal carries an interesting article on how a backlash against antidepressant medication is leading consumers to consider alternative therapies from accupuncture to yoga (not quite A-Z, but hey, I tried to sparkle).

These stories tend to unnerve me, because in my limited but non-trivial clinical experience, my impression was definitely that more people could benefit from antidepressants and that even when they were prescribed, people tended to take them only off and on and to stop taking them far too soon.

Accupunture is swell. Yoga? The cat's pajamas. Meditation? Absoloutely the best. But I can't help but think that all of these things in conjunction with a proper antidepressant would help lots of depressed people.

Mark Cuban Wants to Buy the Cubs

Not sure what I think about this; I definitely like the idea of a Cubs owner who spends money on the team, but I don't want to see Cuban become a distraction, and he easily could become one. Gotta love his comment that responding to random blogs are a waste of time! Fortiter In Re is here to serve!

So Basically, EVERYTHING Causes Heart Attacks?!

An annoying new study, especially for those of us with heart disease in the family.

The good news is that regular exercise seems to reduce the risk that exertion will trigger heart attacks.

New MCC in Chicago

This Sunday a new Metropolitan Community Church in development, AChurch4Me, ministering to the queer community of Chicago, is meeting at 11:00 A.M. at the Center on Halsted in the Lakeview neighborhood. The Center on Halsted is an amazing organization, and it is great to see them partnering with and serving LGBT progressive Christians. I am sorry I will miss the early meetings of this group while I am abroad, but I will look forward to seeing how they make out when I return to Chicago.

Live-In Intensive Care for Families?

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on how Emory University Hospital is revamping its ICU in recognition of the fact that families need to be close to loved ones undergoing medical crisis. Such a human face on modern health care is nice to see!

Overweight Kids' Have Cancerous Quality of Life

A new study suggests that overweight kids face so much stigma as early as age 3 that their quality of life is similar to children suffering from cancer. One more reason to focus on childhood obesity, although since this phenomenon is becoming so pervasive, I am somewhat surprised that the stigma of childhood obesity is so high.

Third Arrest in Florida Gang Rape

One of the most disgusting stories I can ever recall, but the good news is that a third arrest has been made. Scary to think that so far the perpetrators here are ages 14, 15, and 16.

Who's a Big Winner?

Yes, that sets the serious tone I was hoping for with this blog. But my new sandals arrived today and they are very nice. I broke down and ordered real Birkenstocks, despite being a notoriously cheap, cheap man, because my other generic sandals imploded into pieces. The Birkenstock Malibu Sport version is comfortable--they are a little big, because I was scarred for life by a single pair of too tight sandals and now tend to order them in snowshoe size, but that won't be a problem. Only $32 bucks for REAL Birkenstocks, no taxes, no shipping fees! Who's a big winner? Steve is!