Why the United States of America?

Written 243 years ago, the Declaration of Independence is more than stirring words. As the Bill of Rights Institute notes,

The declaration contained 3 sections: a general statement of natural rights theory and the purpose of government, a list of grievances against the British King, and the declaration of independence from England. More than 20 years later, the Second, Third, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution would contain prohibitions against the government to prevent the same forms of tyranny as were listed as grievances.

We read it today — and I like to post it on this day — not only to recall the nation's founding, but to see how well the nation continues to live by the principles by which she was established. That "general statement of natural rights theory and the purpose of government," is the key to this nation of states -- one that is routinely abused in so much of our current political discourse.
Reposted from Independence Day 2017, 2016, 2015, 2011, and 2009 this day on Pastor Zip's Blog, and originally a dozen years ago on my 21st Century Whig blog.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Behold, the Cross!

Behold, the life-giving cross on which was hung the salvation of the whole world.
Oh, come, let us worship him.

Resurrection Lutheran Church
Godfrey, Illinois, USA

It's Done

The clock in the Lower Parish Hall says 8:25 pm. Everyone has finally gone home.

On the table there are the worship furnishings and sacramental vessels that were carried out of the church in procession as Zion's final Mass (which began at 2 pm) concluded: the Processional Cross and Torches, the Altar Book, the bowl from the Baptismal Font, the Chalice and Paten, the Lectern Bible.

Zion was packed as members, former members, neighbors, and friends -- all people whose Christian faith had some tie or connection to this congregation. The ushers reported an attendance of 219. Some were even standing in the balcony to hear the Word of God read and proclaimed, to sing and speak words of our Christian Faith, to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ, to share in His peace. And to say, sometimes tearfully, good-bye.

No, it was not over 6 hours of worship. There were also food and fellowship, presentation of some gifts to Zion's pastor of 26+ years, and some clean-up before I was finally alone to take this photo.

I never, ever want to do this again. Nonetheless, it has been a Glorious Day. Alleluia!

When I Was a Scholar

[Originally posted in May 2017 on the Pacific Coast league 1930-1960 Facebook group, responding to this photo of the original editions of Richard E. Beverage's books on the Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. spt+]

The Stars book I bought in the early '80s directly from Richard Beverage through the mail, but when I inquired about the Angels book, it was long out-of-print and he had none available. Occasionally I'd inquire at used book stores in the San Fernando Valley, but no luck. In 1988 I headed up to the Lutheran seminary, which has graduate student privileges at Cal.

So in a University library one day on a lark I looked up "The Angels" and, sure enough, they had one copy -- at the Bancroft Library. That's a non-circulating, research library. No checking out books. You can't even go in the stacks to see it. One of the librarians gets it for you. You aren't allowed pens or pencils, even to make notes (they will make copies for a fee), and you don't leave until you return it. And they don't do this for just anybody, even a graduate student, holding a Cal library card. No you have to first register as a researcher, completing a form that remains on file declaring to the Bancroft who you are and your field of study! Gee, I just want to read something about the team my dad fell in love with when he was a boy.

Then it hit me -- I'm a divinity student at the Graduate Theological Union. And so I put down that I was researching angels. And I got to read the book.

17 Years Today

It was 17 years ago today that Sebastian joined Pastor Zip's household. So I drove him to the Peoria Riverfront to see, behind the Museum, Seward Johnson II's 31-foot-tall painted bronze Abraham Lincoln.

The sculpture, placed here about a year ago as part of the Illinois bicentennial, is called "Return Visit," because not far from this location in 1854 Mr. Lincoln gave an important anti-slavery speech. With Lincoln is a "contemporary man" holding a copy of the Gettysburg Address.

Sebastian, my 2002 VW Golf GLS TDI, is nearing 196,000 miles. I still enjoy driving him, and I think he's looking quite good after 17 years in Central Illinois.

Thank You for Shopping at Sears

Last month Sears declared bankruptcy. Today's news is that the company hopes to sell most of its profitable stores, perhaps to its biggest shareholder, to keep the business alive. We'll see how well that works.

I started working for Sears after graduating high school in 1977. (That's me behind the thick glass of the Cashier's Cage in this Spring 1978 Polaroid taken by a sweet CSUN coed working in the stationery/photo department across the aisle at the Sears in Northridge Fashion Center.) We were an "A" store, ranking among the biggest in the company. When something new happened at Sears, Northridge was among the first stores to do it. As an accounting student at CSUN I read the Wall Street Journal, which helped give me some insights into the company. Such as, Sears was already in trouble.

Granted, Sears was still the biggest department store by any measure. But K-Mart was moving up and Sears was not responding very well. I remember a front page WSJ story describing Sears' plans to overcome the competion. And then a year or so later, there was another front page story describing Sears' new plan, replacing the earlier, unsuccessful plan. I recall thinking as I read that new story, "Wait a minute; that earlier plan hasn't even been implemented in our store yet."

Throughout the '80s Sears tried several different strategies. The one that affected me most was the creation of the in-store "Sears Financial Network," where I spent the last 2½ years of my Sears employment at Sears Savings Bank, the company's California savings-and-loan, at the in-store Northridge SFC (Sears Financial Center) branch. SSB's branch operations that weren't sold to Citicorp or California Federal Savings were shut down at the end of 1987, shortly before I started seminary. Yes, I helped close a bank.

Kmart never caught Sears. Walmart would pass them both, becoming the top retailer in 1990. Kmart went bankrupt in 2002, emerging from bankruptcy the next year. In 2004, Kmart bought the now obviously struggling Sears, so today's Sears Holdings Corporation is, in a sense, really Kmart.

Among My Civic Duties...

Pastor Zip sneaking into a polling place?

Yes, I voted.

I have yet to miss an election since I was eligible to vote. The includes one primary election years ago when I lived in Van Nuys where the only matter on the ballot was a seat on the LA Community College Board of Trustees, a non-partisan office where the candidates were actor Jack Albertson's wife (the incumbent and a leader in the very liberal California Democratic Council) and an otherwise forgotten person who was a member of California's left-wing Peace and Freedom Party. Since then I've quipped that I once voted for a communist -- because she was more conservative than the Democratic candidate. Mrs. Albertson handily won her third term without my help. But I digress...

I arrived at the Neighborhood House, where the voters of my precinct (and two others) cast their ballots, about a quarter after four in the afternoon. Walking into the voting room, I was quite pleased to see people in nearly all the voting booths and a short line ahead of me. I was voter #247. That's a pretty good turnout for these precincts, which are reliably Democratic while having a low voter turnout. That suggests it could be a good election night for Illinois Democrats -- even better than the pundits have been expecting.

It's Leif Erickson Day

Yesterday, a Monday, was the Columbus Day holiday. The Post Office was closed. Columbus Day used to fall on October 12, recalling the day in 1492 when Christopher Columbus "discovered" the New World, but now the major holidays in the US usually fall on Mondays.

Today, October 9, is Leif Erikson Day, which commemorates the Viking pioneer who landed in North America some 500 years earlier. This photo is of the Norseman, a replica of the kind of ship he would have sailed. Here is President Trump's proclamation:

Presidential Proclamation on Leif Erikson Day, 2018
More than a millennium ago, Leif Erikson sailed across the frigid Atlantic and set foot on North America, likely becoming the first European to reach our continent. On Leif Erikson Day, we celebrate the extraordinary journey made by this son of Iceland and grandson of Norway with his crew and recognize the immeasurable contributions that generations of Nordic Americans have made to our Nation.

After converting to Christianity in Norway, "Leif the Lucky" set out to bring the Gospel to settlers in his native Greenland. During his extensive travels, he landed on the northern Atlantic coast, expanding mankind's knowledge of then uncharted territory. Centuries later, many Nordic families followed his example and set sail for America with the same determination and grit. After much struggle and sacrifice, these intrepid men and women arrived on our shores with hope for a better life.

Today, we recognize the descendants of immigrants from Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland for the tremendous role they have played in developing the indomitable spirit that defines the American people. Nordic Americans have traveled in space, crisscrossed the globe by single-engine monoplane, and advanced knowledge in science and engineering. Nordic Americans have won Oscars, Grammy Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and Nobel Prizes. They have fought — and died — in each of our Nation’s wars.

We also reflect on the deep and enduring ties we have with the Nordic countries. They are among our greatest allies in the fight against terrorism, and they are important trading partners. We renew our commitment to continue strengthening these transatlantic relationships.

To honor Leif Erikson and celebrate our Nordic-American heritage, the Congress, by joint resolution (Public Law 88-566) approved on September 2, 1964, has authorized the President of the United States to proclaim October 9 of each year as "Leif Erikson Day."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 9, 2018, as Leif Erikson Day. I call upon all Americans to celebrate the contributions of Nordic Americans to our Nation with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third.

DONALD J. TRUMP

For Leif the Lucky's discovery of North America, you can read this portion of The Saga of Eric the Red from 1387 (translated, of course). Or there is this more modern telling the life of Leif Erikson. While Leif himself only visited in the year AD 1000, Vikings from Iceland and Greenland soon settled in North America, as proven by the archaeological discoveries at L'anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, beginning only in the 1960s. But it seems that it was then a period of what we would currently call "global warming" (think farms in Greenland), and the outpost was abandoned as the pioneers went back to Iceland.

Oh, why October 9? According to the Leif Ericson Viking Ship organization [much of its site is currently broken, but this was their answer 11 years ago], October 9, 1825 was the arrival date of the first Norwegian immigrant ship, the Restauration, in New York.

So Columbus only re-discovered America. Which didn't stop me from visiting the replicas of the Niña and Pinta when they visited Peoria last year.

Note: This is an update of an earlier post from 2007.

Night Prayer Continues

And so Sunday night at Zion showed up the Community Service Officer and his wife, and three pastors who had been at the clergy-police meeting. I know others prayed, too, in their places, including some who responded to my Saturday night post's appearance on my Facebook page.

We followed the order for Compline (Prayer at the Close of the Day) as found in the Lutheran Book of Worship, during which I pondered (once again) just how appropriate the daily prayers of the Church are in our real lives. The service isn't designed to take an hour, but drawing upon my experiences with the 40 Days of Prayer, between the night collect and the Our Father I left space and time for free prayers -- spoken or silent -- by those there. Most Lutherans would, of course, be terrified by this. But the others were from black Protestant churches and, though there were moments of silence here and there, they had no problem filling the hour out with heartfelt prayer for the many concerns of those who live, work, and play on the South Side of Peoria. And for the sung parts of Compline, I did hear other voices join me for the hymns and canticles.

I also had some interesting conversations, both before and afterwards, as they wanted to learn more about what and who Lutherans are, how we are different and similar to Catholics and other Christians, and about my experience as a Lutheran pastor in a neighborhood very different from when the congregation was established 120+ years ago, or even 50 years ago.

So, what's next? I told them I'd be back again at 10 o'clock next Sunday night, they were welcome to join me, and I'll keep this up unless someone comes up with a better idea. The people of Zion had only learned of this during worship that morning; no one from the congregation showed up, but one person told me he's planning to join us this Sunday night if he's feeling well. (That's one of those issues with an aging congregation.) I also submitted an announcement to appear in the Faith Bulletin of Sunday's Journal Star.

So join (with) us in Night Prayer for the City, Sunday night from 10 to 11!

Night Prayer for the City

And so the Interim Chief of the Peoria Police Department invited the pastors of all the churches on the South Side of Peoria to meet Friday noon, in the hopes that we could work together in some way to "take a stand against violence in our community. During this meeting," he wrote, "we will provide information about how the police department believes you and your congregation can assist us." So I went, one of about two dozen church leaders, directly representing about 20 congregations (and indirectly several others), who attended. The invitation went out to 50 congregations, so that's actually not that bad a response.

This isn't the time for details of what we learned, but one little detail mentioned early in the meeting by the Community Service Officer was that the busiest hour of the week for our police is Sunday evening from 10 to 11. There was a lot more, of course, and in the ensuing discussion there several who recalled the 40 Days of Prayer 10 years ago. It did make a measurable difference in the crime statistics the two years we did it, but then some of the leaders wanted to take the effort in another direction and the broad participation of the 40 Days narrowed considerably. Some of the pastors noted the many times over the years this sort of thing as been attempted. And others lifted up efforts, usually by small groups of pastors or churches, that have been going on in the area -- sometimes for years.

Chief Marion's other hope, "to form an alliance," did not happen. And as our appointed time was running out, there was wondering how to continue the conversation started here. And that's when I finally spoke up, beginning by recalling Sunday night from 10 to 11 as the police's busiest time. And while I didn't know what else would come from this gathering, one thing I was going to do was go into Zion at 10 pm on Sunday and pray for an hour. And I invited others to join me, either at Zion or wherever they were. And if anyone wanted to discuss other matters, I'd open the place up at 9:30 for conversation and getting to know each other -- for some of us, again.

And so beginning at 10 o'clock Sunday night, I'll be praying Night Prayer (the Office of Compline as found in the Lutheran Book of Worship), with additional prayers for our city; our South Side neighborhood; those who live, work, and/or play here particularly during that hour; our police and other first responders; and anything else those who join me want to pray about. The doors will be open at 9:30, and you're welcome to join me -- in body if you're in Peoria, or in spirit wherever you are. I don't know what else will come of this, but starting in prayer seems the right thing to me.

And until a better idea happens, I think I'll keep this on the church sign and keep the hour, too.

Is This a Great Country or What?

Tuesday while standing in line at the Post Office, the clerk noticed me looking at the display card of the current commemorative stamps. "Would you like to see all the ones we have?" she asked. "Sure," I replied, and she handed me a binder with a larger selection. I was still thumbing through it when my turn came up and as I was telling the clerk I'd take sheets of Lena Horne and the Solar Eclipse, I turned to see an older commemorative I'd first bought and used over a year ago.

"Oh, and the one for the Stamp Act, too," I added. Seems to me it's the perfect stamp for a patriotic American to afix to his tax return and estimated income tax payment — two of the letters I was there to mail. So I did.

Fifty-Nine, Take Two.

Well look at what I am sitting in; the driver's seat of a Mustang! No, it's not at a Ford dealer, but at the Central Illinois Auto Show, which the local new car dealers put on every April at the Peoria Civic Center every April by the local new car dealers. I could probably get used to it, but the black interior is really too dark.

At least the Mustang is available in some real colors. So many of the cars seem to be available only in a few dull shades of black, white, grey, beige, red, or maybe blue. In addition to the 'Stang (and that $43,000 Focus RS behind it), the only really colorful cars at this show were an orange Dodge Charger and a yellow Kia Stinger. It's almost like we've returned to the days of Henry Ford's "any color you want as long as it's black."

It was a nice Friday afternoon at the car show, not a bad afternoon's entertainment for only $5. Of course, if I were 60, it'd have been only $2.50. But I'm still 59.

Christ Is Risen! Alleluia!

I've posted this Easter sermon from St. John Chrysostom before. It's worth posting (scheduled for local sunrise today) again. Happy Easter!

If any person is devout and loves God,
let him come to this radiant triumphant feast.

If any person is a wise follower,
let him enter into the joy of his Lord, rejoicing.

If any have fasted long
let him now receive refreshment.

If any have labored from the first hour,
let him today receive his just reward.

If any came at the third hour,
let him keep the feast with thankfulness.

If any arrived at the sixth hour,
let him have no misgivings for he shall not be deprived.

If any delayed to the ninth hour,
let him draw near, fearing nothing.

If any have waited even until the eleventh hour,
let him not be alarmed at this tardiness.

For the Lord will accept the last
even as the first.

Therefore, all of you,
enter into the joy of your Lord.

Rich and poor together,
hold high festival.

Diligent and heedless,
honor this day.

Both you who have fasted, and you who did not fast,
rejoice together today.

The table is full;
all of you, feast sumptuously.

The calf is fatted;
let no one go away hungry.

Enjoy the feast of faith;
receive the riches of God's mercy.

Let no one bewail his poverty,
for the fullness of the kingdom is revealed.

Let no one weep for his iniquities,
for forgiveness shines forth from the grave.

Let no one fear death,
for the savior's death has set us free.

He who was held prisoner by death
has annihilated it.

By descending into death,
he made death captive.

He angered it
when it tasted of his flesh.

Isaiah saw this, and he cried:
Death was angered when it encountered you
in the lower regions.

It was angered,
for it was defeated.

It was angered,
for it was mocked.

It was angered,
for it was abolished.

It was angered,
for it was overthrown.

It was angered,
for it was bound in chains.

It received a body
and it met God face to face.

It took earth
and encountered heaven.

It took that which is seen
and fell upon the unseen.

O Death,
where is your sting?

O Grave,
where is your victory?


Christ is risen
and you are overthrown.

Christ is risen
and the devils have fallen.

Christ is risen
and the angels rejoice.

Christ is risen
and life reigns.

Christ is risen
and not one dead remains in the grave.

For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, and to him be glory and honor, even to eternity.

Fifty-Nine

I have now lived 59 years. I was born in 1959. Apparently that makes it my "Beddian birthday":

A Beddian Birthday occurs when the age a person is turning, is the same number as the last two digits of their birth year. The Beddian birthday is named for NYC firefighter Bobby Beddia who noted this coincidence.

So yesterday I did something suited to a man my age. Friday is my "day off," and after going out to lunch and then taking advantage of the "going out of business" sale at the Bergner's in Sheridan Village (everything is 50% off; last week it was 40%, so we're getting closer) to get some towels, I headed over to the local Ford dealer to sit in a new Mustang.

No, I'm not looking to buy one (at least right now; I'm still quite happy with my 2002 VW Golf TDI), but earlier this week I saw the announcement of the return of the Mustang GT California Special for 2019, and that set a bit of a fire in my soul.

Mustangs do that to many people of my generation. When I was 5 my cousin Claudia bought new one of the first 1964½ Mustangs. And parked outside my 11th grade math class at Canoga Park High was this totally bitchin' original 1968 California Special, in white with blue stripes that a senior drove to school. That California Special had been truly unique to California, but I took notice when at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show Ford had a couple of new GT/California Specials on display. These newer ones aren't quite as different in appearance from a regular Mustang GT as the '68s were and, when it makes them available (2018 is one year the newer GT/CS hasn't been produced), Ford sells them across the nation.

So as I was pulling into the parking area of the Ford dealer's lot to sit in a new Mustang, a young salesman came out to greet me. But I was to be disappointed, for on the lot (he quickly told me) the only Mustang they have was that 2004 Mustang Cobra sitting a few feet away. That's right -- the Peoria Ford dealer has no new Mustangs. None! Nor any used Mustangs new enough to represent the "retro-future" Mustangs designed by J Mays that first came out in 2005.

Oh, well; I'm not looking to buy a new car.

Hating Autocorrect

Honest, I did not type "We Host These Truths..." to title my previous post of the Declaration of Independence. For heaven's sake, the "l" isn't close to the "s" on the keyboard, and for "t" and "d" I use different fingers. Nevertheless...

Grrr. At least I've been able to edit the title to "We Hold These Truths..." as it appears here. But those who find the post via the blogroll at Peoria.com

or on Facebook may still wonder (if they notice — after all, I didn't see it until today), "What is Pastor Zip thinking?"

I really hate autocorrect.

We Hold These Truths...

Written 241 years ago, the Declaration of Independence is more than stirring words. The Bill of Rights Institute notes,

The declaration contained 3 sections: a general statement of natural rights theory and the purpose of government, a list of grievances against the British King, and the declaration of independence from England. More than 20 years later, the Second, Third, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution would contain prohibitions against the government to prevent the same forms of tyranny as were listed as grievances.

We read it today — and I like to post it on this day — not only to recall the nation's founding, but to see how well the nation continues to live by the principles by which she was established. Reposted from last year, the year before, 6 years ago, and 8 years ago this day on Pastor Zip's Blog, and 10 years ago on my other blog.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Electing a Bishop, Again

Elections are stranger than I once thought.

[The first formal acknowledgement of a significant anniversary.]
The Central/Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the local church body ("judicatory") in which I serve, gathered in Assembly at 2 pm Thursday, June 1. After about an hour of the usual opening activities, the time came for the election of a Bishop. ELCA Bishops are elected for 6-year terms and, in our Synod, are eligible for re-election. Our current Bishop, John Roth, was first elected in June 2011, a time the ELCA was still in considerable angst. Some of that angst is reflected in posts to this blog.

Bishops are elected by what is called an ecclesiastical ballot. In our Synod there are no candidates or campaigning (at least formally) ahead of time. Sometimes there will be conversations here and there of possible pastors who might serve well, though even that tends to happen only when we know we are electing a new Bishop to replace one who has resigned office or has announced his intention to retire. Rather we gather in the midst of prayer and discussion, and speak of the Holy Spirit doing his work through the election process. Bishop Roth had earlier indicated he was willing to be elected to a second term.

On the first ballot, the eligible voters — the pastors and deacons of the Synod, along with lay voting members sent by the congregations (usually a male and female from each — may write the name of any pastor on the ELCA clergy roster, those in congregations, those serving in other settings, those temporarily not serving somewhere, even those who have retired. If one name appears on 75% of the ballots, that pastor is elected. If there is no election, that ballot serves as a nominating ballot. For the second ballot, voters write the name of one of the nominated pastors, and there is an election if one receives 75% of the votes. If not, the top 7 vote getters appear on the third ballot. (Note that 6 years ago I was the 8th top vote getters.) If one of these receives 2/3rds of the third ballot votes, we have an election. If not, the 4th ballot lists the top three of the third, and 60% are needed for an election. If there is no election, the top two stand on the fifth ballot, the pastor with the majority of votes being elected.

And so we cast the first ballot, and learned the results first thing Friday morning. Bishop Roth received 157 of 291 votes, or 54%. No election, with the next highest number of votes being 26, 22, and 12. All in all, 45 pastors received votes. (I was not among them.) A half-hour was given for those nominated to officially withdraw their names, and shortly after 10 am after doing other business, we were presented a list of 15 pastors remaining; in addition to the Bishop, one who received 4 votes, two who received 2 each, and the rest who'd been named on one ballot. We voted again, took care of other business, and then heard the second ballot results.

No election. Bishop Roth with 193 votes, but that was only 64.5% of the ballots cast, not the 75% necessary. The next highest received 22 votes, the 7th place pastor received 8. The top seven (which, interestingly, included 3 retired pastors) were given time (about 2 1/2 hours over lunch and a time for smaller forums on various subjects, and the approval of the Synod's budget) to fill a form with biographical information and a response to a couple of questions, and for each to prepare a 5 minute address to the assembly before the third ballot. And we voted again, this time using the electronic voting devices.

So we knew after a couple of moments that Bishop Roth had received 174 votes, but that was 61% of the votes cast, short of the 2/3rds needed for an election. Next came Pr. Ryan Anderson, who serves near Peoria (he's part of the weekly pericope study group of pastors who meet weekly at Zion) and who last month was elected Dean of the Northern Conference, with 41 votes, and Pr. Tony Metz of Quincy with 33. (The remaining four received 10-14 votes each.)

And so we listened to the top three respond to a few question that Assembly voting members had submitted, and then we voted for a fourth time. Bishop Roth received 154 votes, about 52%, followed by Pr. Metz with 75, and Pr. Anderson with 68. No election yet, as 60% is needed for a fourth ballot.

And we recessed for the banquet — that's where retirements and significant anniversaries are commemorated, thus my certificate above — and conversation (where many pondered the meaning of these votes) and sleep. And, of course, lots of prayers. The fifth ballot is scheduled for 8:35 inthe morning, after which the Bishop-elect will address the Assembly.

And if you're wondering, I've been voting to re-elect Bishop Roth. He has served the Church faithfully and well.

Ascension Day Worship

The Ascension of Our Lord commemorates the risen Christ's ascension to heaven. The coronation of Christ the King is celebrated, but so in him is the enthronement of humanity itself. As Saint John Chrysostom (ca. 347-407) declared in a sermon on the Ascension, "Our very nature ... is enthroned today high above all cherubim." Notice how this thought appears in the liturgy, particularly in the both the Collect and Proper Preface historically appointed for this Festival day.

Almighty God, we believe that on this day your only Son, our Redeemer, ascended into heaven.
May we in spirit also ascend to that heavenly home and there forever live.
Through the same Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord.
He lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all place offer thanks and praise to you, O Lord, holy Father, through Christ our Lord; who, after his resurrection, appeared openly to his disciples and, in their sight, was taken up into heaven, that he might make us partakers of his divine nature. And so, with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn...

The Ascension of Our Lord is one of the six principal Festivals of the Church Year celebrating the central events in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and of his Church&mdashthe other five being the days of Pentecost, the Holy Trinity, Christmass, the Epiphany of Our Lord, and Easter.

Following Saint Luke's account in the Acts of the Apostles, the Ascension of Our Lord falls on the fortieth day of Easter, and thus always on a Thursday. This festival day has been included on the Church's calendar since at least the fourth century.

If you are in the Peoria area, you are welcome to worship the Ascended Lord Jesus with us this evening. In addition to Zion's celebration, I am aware of two other Peoria Lutheran churches, Mt. Calvary (whose pastor is also a PLTS alumnus) and Trinity (both Missouri Synod congregations), that offer worship on the actual Ascension Day. St. Michael's and All Angels Anglican Church in Peoria, which offers Vespers and Holy Communion every Thursday, is also celebrating it. In the Catholic Church, Ascension Day is moved to next Sunday.

Repost: Black Friday

Today is the real Black Friday.

Originally posted here Good Friday 2015.

Hey Father!

So after eating, Todd and I are walking up University Street to the parking lot when we hear the shout, "Hey Father!" Todd spots her first, a black woman waiting in the left-turn lane who'd rolled down her window. The corner of University and Main is, especially at Noon, the most congested in Peoria. Hers is the only car with an open window and she's looking our way, waving her arm.

"Hey, Father, can you pray for my nephew? We lost him yesterday, he's 3 months old."

"Absolutely," I shout to her across the street.

"Pray for his family, too, Father" she continues. "His name is L... K.... Pray for them when you pray next."

"I will," I say as we start walking again and she thanks me and the light changes so she'll be able to make that left turn onto Main.

And I have. As I have for C..., who rang up my groceries at the market the other evening. Her request wasn't as specific, but she was appreciative that I would pray the Holy Spirit to watch over her.

This was only moments after Todd and I had prayed,

...I pray that all my intention, actions, and works of this day may be directed solely to the greater glory of God's Divine Majesty....

Does this happen to pastors who wear polo shirts?