An Important Message from the Bishop
Dear Brothers and Sisters, As you may have heard by now the United States Supreme Court issued their decision in the Dobbs case out of Mississippi. This ruling effectively overturns the Roe v. Wade and the Casey decisions and turns the question of legalized abortions back to the states. For the majority of us who live in California there will be no real effect as State Law supports abortive medical procedures. Surely there will be those across the state, like me, celebrating the fact that across the country fewer babies will be killed. There will also be many who are hurt, angry, and upset by the decision. While we in the ACNA are clearly pro-life there will be those in our parishes who are upset and many of whom have had abortions. We need to remind people that we worship a forgiving God who can and does forgive women who have had abortions. I bid you to be in prayer and to receive this decision as a call to reach out to pregnant women to support them up to and through full term births and to redouble efforts to support Foster and Adoption ministries so that women have a viable option for the care and love of these children. We need also to redouble our education of our people that pregnancies are, indeed, avoidable if we live chaste lives with sexual relations bound to the covenant of marriage. Below you will find the response of the province. I bid you to alert your security teams to be extra vigilant over the next few weeks as threats of violence are up against pro-life churches and organizations.
Blessings and peace
Bishop Eric Menees
Delusional Thinking
Fr. Dale Matson
And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:17, ASV”
I am elderly (77) and perhaps some would say, “This guy is out of touch with the modern world.” “His thinking is so black and white”. “He is so binary.” I was raised in an analogue world not a digital world.
When I was working on my doctorate at Marquette University in Counseling Psychology in the 1980’s, I remember being asked by my advisor Dr. Kifmueller, what I would do if a homosexual wanted counseling. My answer was that I would refer the person to someone else, that I didn’t feel qualified to work with such a person. He encouraged me to finish my doctorate in the Educational Psychology program, which I did. I remember his bow ties. To me they are the sign of an expert or a crackpot.
While I was working on my master’s degree in School Psychology, I worked at a county mental hospital. I remember one adult patient who thought he was a woman and wanted to have his testicles removed and insisted on the county paying for it. He would often slip out of bed and wander the halls at night dressed only in a diaper. I used to hate it when the Grateful Dead came to perform at Alpine Valley. We would have scores of John and Jane Does in the hospital emergency room every night of the concerts.
I remember many delusional patients including a woman who insisted on the attendants calling her Mrs. Elvis Presley. The attendants were the only ones who had keys to the locked doors. And the key helped remind me that I was a worker and not an inpatient. I was surrounded by lots of folks who were firmly ensconced in their delusions. One young man that we had placed in a security room was convinced the world had ended. He was so convincing that I checked to see if there were still cars in the parking lot outside.
Cigarettes were behavioral rewards for those who obeyed the unit rules. I remember one of the movies we watched on weekends was “The Shining”. It seemed like an inappropriate movie for this group.
And then there were folks who did not fit into the DSM. These were scary people who had given themselves over to Satan. One lady said that all her problems were solved by Satan…but of course she was in a mental institution. A man on the unit saw a Time Magazine with a cover of Pope John Paul, went into a rage and tore the magazine to bits.
So many of these folks were fragile to begin with but would have made it in this world except for their drug involvement. The drugs pushed them into a madness from which most will probably never recover. John (not his real name) had a crucifix around his neck to protect him from the vampires that came after him in his sleep. He didn’t believe in drugs that the nurses offered but would accept any drug offered to him on the streets.
It seems like delusions are now mainstream and available on every street in every town.
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
Tom Spooner
“What Does A Protector Do When He Fails To Protect?”
I was watching a YouTube advertisement for the Black Rifle Coffee Company which is owned and run by military veterans.
There was a seven-minute video about a Special Forces veteran named Tom Spooner who also co-founded “Warrior’s Heart”
Tom was "living the dream" until an 82mm mortar shell exploded near him, killing and mortally wounding some of his comrades. He didn’t know it at the time but he had suffered TBI from the concussion.
When he was discharged from the military, he had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. He even needed to put his address into his GPS to get from his job to his home. He considered suicide.
He had a veteran buddy who told him to get help and in so doing, he discovered that he had extensive TBI. He is another example of God’s redeeming grace.
I wanted you folks to watch Tom’s story and be inspired by it. I have watched it at least five times and am re-inspired each time. Thanks for your service Tom. I have included the YouTube link.
Fr. Dale Matson
Church Of Cowards: A Wake-Up Call to Complacent Christians
Matt is truthful to the Gospel in his book. The Christian church in the West is now primarily involved in sweetening the time as we live out our earthly life. Since it has given up Jesus as God, the church can only major in minors. The social gospel is all the rage. The church is all too accommodating to culture. The church is no longer the church militant. It is the church that will go along to get along. I grew up in the 1950s in the U.S. In those days people were less likely to mistake evil for good. Stores were closed on Sunday. Profanity was rarely heard and tattoos were rarely seen. Matt's book describes the Christian religion as it could and should be. It is the one I understand and try and live by.
Luther once said we should love and fear God. I think the modern church no longer fears nor loves God. It all comes down to one question for me. "Who do you say that I am" (Matthew 16:15). The Nicene Creed is a summation of the Christian faith. It is an abbreviated Gospel, yet in the Episcopal Church I used to attend, most folks claimed they didn’t believe most of what was in the creed.
I found the first part of his book to be harsh but true. “Ask the average American Christian to tell you how his life would be different if he didn’t believe in Christ and he will struggle to provide a single example. And this fact will not trouble him. He is extremely confident in his own spiritual complacency. He laughs at the very idea that God might send him to Hell. He has no problem that some people are damned-a lot of people, even-but not him. He lives in a fog of cowardly and comfortable delusion and it grows thicker by the day.” (p.14)
“…the bad parts of ourselves should not be accepted by anyone, least of all by people who love us and who care about our spiritual well-being. This is why God will especially refuse to ‘accept us at our worst’ and why his church ought to follow suit. “…we are urged and besought and counseled to improve for our own sake, for the sake of growth, maturity and joy. This is the message the church should send. Come one come all, it ought to say, come in your sin and your weakness and brokenness. Come with all that is ugly and rotten about you. Come with all the darkness within you. Come and be healed.” “It is the message of Salvation.” (p.117)
This book is a welcome combination of faith and good works.
Hope
Fr. Dale Matson
At age 77, it is easy for Satan to attack my mind and buffet my body. He is called the liar and murderer and I would add the terms obfuscator and discourager.
I probably spend too much time on the internet in general and YouTube in particular, although I do have my own YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0G3jx2PLv6FOw2NM5Aa6Yw
My future daughter-In-Law once described the internet as, “The Devil”. At the time my younger son (her fiancé) was caught up in “EverQuest”. The role play game is aptly named. One of his friends had even dropped out of college to play this game full time.
I think the internet can be a source of edification, comfort and hope too. I recently came across a video about a young man afflicted with Cystic Fibrosis. He had given up hope and decided to stop his life sustaining treatments. His family and friends convinced him to resume his treatments and he joined a gym and hired a professional body building coach. The first photo of him at the gym is difficult to view. He eventually placed in a body building competition. I have included a link to this video and hope you will take the time to watch his heroic story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezIdwQKmLGA
Jared’s story breathed new life into me too. One of the thoughts that continually shuts me up is that I have nothing left to say. After watching that video, I was inspired to comment on it and have even more ideas in my mental cue. And that is how this old man again becomes a river of living water again instead of a stagnant pond.
Fr. Dale Matson
After a two-year hiatus because of Covid, we were again able to gather together for the Mass of Chrism. This is a holy obligation for our clergy and during this mass, we repeat our ordination vows and the bishop blesses the three oils. I go into more depth in a previous report.
https://sanjoaquinsoundings.blogspot.com/2019/04/anglican-diocese-of-san-joaquin-annual.html
I have retired from my regular duties but participated when not taking photos. You will not see me since I was the photographer.
It was good to have a meal with the clergy following the mass. The bishop then gave a state of the diocese message. A positive note is that we are still attracting younger clergy here and some were introduced by bishop Menees. The mass was held at the lovely campus of St. Michael The Archangel Anglican Church in Fresno CA. There are more photos this year and less of my talk.
Christ is the answer.
Dale+
Click on photos to enlarge
I have made full size file photos available to our diocese.
