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Day: February 1, 2010

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Christian Witness, Perspective, ,

Should have caught that

I absolutely got a kick out of the recent story of a plane that was “forced” to land because an Orthodox Jew was doing his morning prayers. The story from the BBC covers it succinctly. There’s a lot of other ones out there too.

My immediate thought is that Christians should know this. Not sure any of the flight crew was Christian, there’s fewer and fewer of us around anymore, but if they were they should have recalled Jesus words in Matthew 23:5

They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long

In other words, they should have known better.

Of course Jesus was talking about the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees who did things in big ways only to be seen and recognized, not because they believed in what they were doing. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely against Christians doing any type of Jewish ritual (we don’t need no Seders or tefillin for salvation), but we should know these things because our roots are in these very rituals. We should also take the time to know what Jesus was talking about, what He practiced, and what He was referring to.

For the uninitiated, from Wikipedia:

Phylacteries or tefillin (Hebrew: תפלין—Ž) are two boxes containing Biblical verses and the leather straps attached to them which are used in traditional Jewish prayer. This practice is derived from commands found in the Biblical books of Exodus and Deuteronomy (Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:16, Deuteronomy 6:8, Deuteronomy 11:18).

PNCC,

More on Rochester Parishes

A follow-on to my earlier posting, a new article from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, published on Sunday, January 31, 2010: Irondequoit churches to hear closing recommendations

IRONDEQUOIT —” Parishioners of the town’s five Catholic diocesan churches will learn the likely fate of their churches during Masses today.

Pastors will deliver messages about which churches are being recommended for closure, from a list of St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Salome, Christ the King, St. Margaret Mary and St. Cecilia. A pastoral planning group, composed of members from each church, has forwarded its recommendations to Bishop Matthew Clark, who will consult with the diocesan-wide Priests Council and ultimately decide later this year.

The churches are all part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. St. Casimir, part of the Polish National Catholic Church, is not affected by the decision, but that parish also is in danger of closing, for the same reasons affecting the diocesan churches: dwindling membership, priest shortages and financial problems…

But not really the same because the closing decision would be in the hands of all the people who are members of St. Casimir’s. The Bishop cannot close the Parish, only a vote of the membership can. See Articles V, Sections 8 and 9 and Article VI, Sections 3 and 4 of the Constitution and Laws of the PNCC.

Article V

SECTION 8. All of the funds, moneys and property, whether real or personal, belong to those members of the Parish who conform to the Rites, Constitution, Principles, Laws, Rules, Regulations, Customs and Usages of this Church, and subject to the provisions of this Constitution and Laws.
SECTION 9. No Parish shall be liquidated without the written consent of the Prime Bishop and the Supreme Council, unless prevented by the law of the State or Province of incorporation, this provision shall be clearly stated in the charter of every Parish of this Church.

Article VI

SECTION 3. In administrative, managerial and social matters, this Church derives its authority from the people who build, constitute, believe in, support and care for it. It is a fundamental principle of this Church that all Parish property, whether the same be real, personal, or mixed, is the property of those united with the Parish who build and support this Church and conform to the Rite, Constitution, Principles, Laws, Rules, Regulations, Customs and Usages of this Church.
SECTION 4. The administration, management and control over all the property of the Parish is vested in the Parish Committee elected by the Parish and confirmed by the Diocesan Bishop, and strictly dependent upon and answerable to the lawful authorities of this Church.

PNCC, , ,

Super Bowl chicken wing sale in Dupont, PA to benefit kids

Holy Mother of Sorrows PNCC annual Super Bowl Chicken Wing Fundraiser will be held on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7 from 11 to 4. New featured item on the menu this year is boneless chicken wings.

You can place your order by calling Regina at 570-457-2378 but you will need to hurry. Your sauce choices are: mild, hot, BBQ, honey mustard or plain. Orders are available in regular wings or boneless. Single order of wings: $7.00, Blue Cheese/Celery – $1.00 – Extra Sauce – $1.00. Bucket of 36 wings: $23.00, Blue Cheese/Celery – $3.00 – Extra Sauce – $3.00 or a Bucket of 75 wings: $44.00, Blue Cheese/Celery – $5.500, extra sauce – $5.50.

Orders are pick-up only at the parish hall on 212 Wyoming Ave., Dupont, PA from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. When you place your order you can choose a desired time for pick-up. Proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit Holy Mother of Sorrows PTO-Kids.

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