A Bishop goes Blogging

I've just discovered that the Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher, assistant bishop of South Dakota with special responsiibility for indigenous peoples, has recently begun a blog. I've listed it in All Sorts and Conditions of Sites, but go there now to find out why she was given the portfolio she has.

RFSJ

On the Perils of Blogging

On the front page of thew NYT Magazine this week (which I wish the Times would publish on paper and send out - I'd pay for it!) was a provocative article about blogging and pouring one's entire life out online. I'm not sure whether it's an excellent piece of writing or merely a very long exercise in mental masturbation, but it was catching enough that I read the entire thing. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I know for a fact my own blog pales in comparison to others in its dearth of really personal stuff. Partly it's because I'm quite introverted and even the anonymity of the Internet doesn't shield me from my discomfort at opening up my life to all and sundry. I'd like to think, too, that partly it's because I'm perspicacious enough to realize that too much detail - even for someone as mundane as me - isn't necessarily a good thing to be spreading around. One never knows, after all.

But the reality is the Internet has changed everything. The comments on the article (when I read them there were over 1100) alternated from abusing the author to praising her for her candor to decrying what the Internet has become. And until we get the Next Big Thing, blogging is Here to Stay. People younger than I am think nothing of spending a lot more time than I in front of the laptop, blogging away. It's a wonder they have time to actually live a life to blog about!

I know I sound old and dated. Oh well!

RFSJ

I Added Snap-shots

Now there is a little screen icon next to every hot link, so you can get a preview of the site before you link to it. See what you think, and let me know how you like it (or not!).

RFSJ

Some New Sites

When I started my blog, I had a goal of adding a site a day to "All Sorts and Conditions of Sites." Well, that fell by the wayside pretty quickly. Nonetheless, there are some recent additions: Jim's Thoughts, Wounded Bird (aka Grandmere Mimi), Election 2008, (for all things related to this year's Presidential election, including polls) and Doorman-Priest, among others. Do check them all out!

RFSJ

Communion, in the best sense

Thinking Anglicans noted a new blog earlier this week, called Covenant. It's been put together by a well-known (at least in the Anglican blogosphere) group of correspondents, both lay and ordained. I have read many of theri own blogs, and was pleased to see the list. They are some of the most thoughtful commentors on the theologically conservative side of things, but always in a sense of Christian charity and Anglican humility. They describe themselves as evangelic and catholic, and their mission is:

cov·e·nant (kuv’en ent) from the Latin convenire: agree, assemble, summon, combine, be convenient or suitable, unite. [1250–1300; ME {}covenir {}convenire to come together, agree; see CONVENE]

We are evangelical and catholic Anglicans, and fellow travelers from the wider household of God, assembled and summoned to a common labor in the ecumenical Church of Christ, not least through the present struggles and gifts of our communities.

We recognize that the Anglican Communion—the first instance of ecclesiality with which we, in this particular online assembly, wrestle for a blessing—is incomplete by itself, because we have seen with our eyes and touched with our hands the wounds of our Lord’s body: the countless factions and disputes that do not bring Him glory, leaving us all together far short of our call to “share,” as sisters and brothers visibly united, in the “partnership” of His offering (I Cor 10.14ff.).

I commend Covenant to your regular reading!

RFSJ

A Blog and a Rant

I just discovered Jared Cramer's Scribere Orare Est. Check it out for yourself. He's an excellent writer and well worth checking in on from time to time.

He is friends with another blogger friend of mine, The Postulant, who writes in his blog Ember Days a very moving post about a recent Eucharist he attended. I encourage you to read it. It comes from a place of deep pain for him and for many, but it is in our pain that truth often emerges, it seems to me.

Both blogs are listed in All Sorts and Conditions of Sites at the left as well.

RFSJ