A nice weekend

Friday (the day off) I went with the boys to rowing. They are really coming along! It was great to see, and also to spend time with another dad there - Todd Platt, who was married at St. John's and a frequent visitor. His daughter is in the rowing class. Todd rowed for the Detroit Boat Club in the late 70's/early 80's. Great hearing about the DBC in those days, and getting to know Todd.
Video of the boys rowing can be found here
www.youtube.com/kelfam48230

Then on Friday and Saturday afternoon we had an air show over our house. For the Gold Cup races on the Detroit River there was a fighter jet demo Friday and Saturday with a jet flying a few hundred feet over out house.
Video can also be seen of that at the above address.

But overall, it was a great time being with family, paying hardly any attention to what is going on at General Convention, and getting ready for the St. Michael's Conference this upcoming week.

Thinking baseball II - Sam

And here are some photos of Sam on the base-paths.

Thinking baseball I - Andrew

Last night was the draft for second season. Once again I am managing a team. And after a few weeks off we get back at it next week (although Sam and I will miss the first week due to St. Michael's Conference). I have Sam and Andrew on my team, and William will be playing for the same coach he had for first season that one the World Series for Grosse Pointe Park.

But I downloaded pictures today from my camera and found the following pictures from earlier in the year - so I thought I would throw them up here.

Here is Andrew's hitting routine. 1) Hold the bat out and up, 2) get ready to swing, 3) hit the ball.

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for the Episcopal Church

The General Convention (the every 3 year legislative gathering) of the Episcopal Church has started. LET US PRAY EVERYDAY!

For General Convention
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who by thy Holy Spirit
didst preside in the Council of the blessed Apostles,
and hast promised, through thy Son Jesus Christ, to be
with thy Church to the end of the world; We beseech thee
to be with the Council of thy Church assembled in Anaheim in thy
Name and Presence. Save them from all error, ignorance,
pride, and prejudice; and of thy great mercy vouchsafe, we
beseech thee, so to direct, sanctify, and govern us in our
work, by the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, that the
comfortable Gospel of Christ may be truly preached, truly
received, and truly followed, in all places, to the breaking
down the kingdom of sin, Satan, and death; till at length the
whole of thy dispersed sheep, being gathered into one fold,
shall become partakers of everlasting life; through the
merits and death of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

For the Church
O GRACIOUS Father, we humbly beseech thee for thy
holy Catholic Church; that thou wouldest be pleased to
fill it with all truth, in all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify
it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, establish it; where it is
in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for
the sake of him who died and rose again, and ever liveth to
make intercession for us, Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord.
Amen.

Deacon Jack Dolan - may he rest in peace

I was one of 6 Rectors of St. Mary's to serve at the Altar at St. Mary's Church in Charleroi, PA while Jack was the deacon (Canon Wittkofski, Bishop Ackerman, Fr. Visconti, me, Fr. Croft and Fr. Ilgenfritz). May he rest in peace.
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Jack V. Dolan, 82, of Richeyville, died Saturday, July 4, 2009, in Monongahela Valley Hospital. He was born Oct. 2, 1926, in Charleroi, a son of the late John E. and Mildred Sangston Dolan. Jack was a retired Manager and a Certified Life Underwriter for the Baltimore Life Insurance Company in Washington, Pa. He was a member of St. Mary's Anglican Church in Charleroi where he served as an Ordained Deacon for 45 years. He was also a member of the Charleroi American Legion and the Beallsville Lodge No. 237 F&AM. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Atlantic and Pacific Campaigns on the USS Core during World War II. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Betty Kruell Dolan; two sons and daughters-in-law, Thomas J. and Kelly Dolan, of Kingwood, W.Va. and Patrick S. and June Dolan, of Bethel Park; five grandchildren, Jason Dolan, Elizabeth Dolan, Mark Dolan, Tessa Dolan and Haden Cramer; and a sister, Grace Popson, of Roscoe. Friends will be received on Tuesday, July 7, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. in the CARL J. SPALLINO FUNERAL HOME, 819 Fallowfield Ave., Charleroi, where a Blessing Service will be held on Wednesday, July 8, at 9:30 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass at 10 a.m. in the St. Mary's Anglican Church in Charleroi with the Rev. William H. Ilgenfritz officiating. Interment will follow in Maple Creek Cemetery.
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www.valleyindependent.com

Clergy turn-over

A few years ago we had a group of clergy, all relatively traditionally minded, who gathered together periodically for fellowship and encouragement. Today I read that Fr. Kevin Warner of Advent West Bloomfield is taking a position in California.
Of our origininql group there are few left.
Geoff Piper moved to Massachusetts, Phil Jackson to Arizona, Trent Frazer to Rhode Island. The Rector in Dexter whose name I can't recall to Colorado. Steve Bancroft, Art Mack, and Fr. Bedford have retired.

Eight years later the traditionalists are fewer and farther between.

One up, one down

As we rejoice in the reforming of the Detroit Mounted Unit last week, am sad to read that as of yesterday the Boston Mounted Unit has been disbanded due to financial problems.

Rector's Rambling about the upcoming General Convention

Over the next three weeks things will be particularly hard for us as Traditional Anglicans in the Episcopal Church and at times embarrassing.

Every three years The Episcopal Church in the United States meets in a legislative gathering called The General Convention.

The reason this will be hard and embarrassing is that in recent decades the General Convention has gone from being a divinely inspired work of Church administration and legislation to a gathering of special interests groups that have chipped away at the foundations of the Church and her biblical moorings.

The idea of a Church electing delegates to represent each diocese and to have a bi-cameral house with bishops as well as clergy and laity was deeply inspired by the new government formed for the nascent United States. The understanding is that although there may be differences in ‘churchmanship’ (differences in how we worship), there was an understanding that all involved in that convention believed that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that they held a common understanding that the Bible is the Word of God and contains all things necessary for salvation.

Unfortunately in recent decades more and more clergy and laity, elected to be deputies, as well as some bishops, have deviated from that common understanding and belief. And as successive triennial gatherings occurred more and more deviations from “the faith once delivered to the saints” were legislated in or out of effect. Deviations to the biblically sound teaching of the Book of Common Prayer, deviations to the Sacrament of Ordination and now the attempt to redefine Matrimony has put the Episcopal Church outside of the Christian doctrines as the Church has received it!

A few General Conventions ago we printed up bumper stickers proclaiming that “Many Episcopalians still believe the Bible is true”. This was a small attempt to let other Christians know that even though there were going to hear many horrible things about the Episcopal Church from the secular media as they covered the General Convention, in fact there are many in the Church who still believe in THE FAITH.

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY FOR THE CHURCH that she may return to The Faith as has been revealed and entrusted to her!

GPPLL DOUBLE A CHAMPIONS!

Here is the video of the celebration!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IHhsaFJs-c

Congrats to William and The Rangers!

Great news for Detroit and Detroit Police!

The DPD Mounted Unit is back!!! I was their chaplain when an administration who wouldn't know police work if it snuck up on them and bit them!

I will have to stop by tomorrow when I drop the boys off at rowing to see the new digs!

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June 25, 2009
Mounted Patrol back in Detroit after 4-year absence

BY NICQUEL TERRY

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

D'wayne Stewart of Eastpointe felt a sense of warmth from Detroit police on Wednesday as he camped out on Belle Isle with his family for the 51st annual Target Fireworks.
Stewart, 32, said he was pleased to see officers riding horses across the island -- something he hadn't witnessed since his childhood.
"I loved it and would like to see more of it," Stewart said. "It makes the police seem more accessible."
The Detroit Police Department resumed limited use of the Mounted Patrol on Wednesday after a 4-year absence.
The Detroit Police Foundation provided money for the Mounted Patrol operations to return, though the foundation declined to say how much money was involved. The donations are to cover the costs of food, equipment and medical supplies for Mounted Patrol horses.
The Mounted Patrol -- which includes two sergeants, four police officers and three American quarter horses named Almo, Sunny and Cochise -- is to work events on Belle Isle and along the RiverWalk.
Mounted Patrol Sgt. Eric Eide said the department hopes the community will view police in a more positive light when they're on horses.
"I believe it's the most versatile tool in the whole department," Eide said.
On horses "you're highly visible. ... While kids are petting the horse, you can also be deterring crime."
Eide said horses are also more cost efficient than police cars, and they can maneuver through crowds quicker.
Howard Robinson, who set up a picnic for his family Wednesday morning on Belle Isle, said his children were thrilled when the horses passed by.
"I feel more comfortable with the police on horses," said Robinson, 56, of Detroit. "If you need assistance, they are right there."
Contact NICQUEL TERRY: 313-222-8774 or nterry@freepress.com

Catching up on baseball AND rowing

It has been a busy spring because of Little League Baseball!

I was elected to the board of our local little league, and in charge of the concession stand. This has kept Jennifer and I busy, particularly in the beginning Jennifer did lots of planning and organizing. Since then I have done most of the shopping - they have gotten to know me pretty well at Sam's Club and Dearborn Meats!

Sam and Andrew's team had an aweful year. We only won 3 games out of 18, including three play-off losses. In addition to this, despite Andrew having a team leading batting average and on base percentage he wasn't always an every inning player, didn't get to pitch except once in the second to last game, and never caught in a game (he caught in every game, most innings, last year). We did have other good catchers on the team. 5 kids on the team, all with lower batting averages and on-base percentages made the tournament teams in the 10, 11, and 12 year old groups but Andrew did not. I am really annoyed by this and will have to consider whether Andrew should bother to play little league at all next year. He perhaps should just play Fed Ball.
Sam got to pitch quite a bit, mostly as a finisher, and developed a wicked curve ball that had kids reaching out and swinging at air! At the beginning of the year Sam was talking about this being his last year playing baseball since it is the last year, age-wise, he can play little league. But he was greatly encouraged by the assistant coach Dave Feys in his pitching and is considering playing again next year.
Here is a video of Sam pitching this year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uznbMcD_rc
And Andrew playing third base
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_XyUn0FPlc&feature=channel
I didn't get a chance to video tape them much because I was the scorekeeper for the team.

William's team is having a GREAT run! They are in game three of the Double A local little league world series, having split the first two games. William's bat was ice cold all season, but when the play offs started so did his bat! He averages 2 or more hits a game since then, and for multiple bases too. And he has been pitching as well. And of course, winning is fun!
Here is William hitting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zuvWH8Posg&feature=channel
and William pitching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvm5Wqd5Dxo&feature=channel

Sam and Andrew have started rowing. They are taking a class on learning to row at the Detroit Boat Club's crew team. The DBC proper has been closed a long time, but the rowing team continues to use the crumbling building. This is very exciting for me since I was a rower in high school and college. They are really enjoying it.
The question is, will they be as interested in the Spring when practices are at 5:30am???
The boys rowing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeQFic3UpmI&feature=channel
The Detroit Boat Club building tour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBTfCN99-Bc&feature=channel

So that catches us up on the boys - baseball and rowing.
Now off to do some hospital calling....