APPROACHING MIDNIGHT

The night is ever darkening. The pitiless plague is running rampant felling defenseless people by the thousands all around the world. We are moving ever more into the frightening blackness of the night. The scientists guiding us in this unparalleled crisis are telling us the next two to three weeks will be the worst, at least for America. After that, there is a glimmer of hope that the trends of the pandemic will start to slow in this country as a whole. Thus, if their best projections are right, the crux of COVID-19 will come in the month of April. This, however, is a "best case" scenario and that, unfortunately, is not something on which we can rely entirely. This is likely to be the worst April of any of our lifetimes. In fact, Dr. Birx advised a couple of days ago that no one should go to the grocery store or the pharmacy during the next two weeks.

In another way, we are also approaching midnight. This is Holy Week and Friday is midnight, the day of remembrance of our Lord's gruesome execution. At that time, the people all around him thought that the worst had happened, that all was lost. It was their darkest hour too.

The difference in these two avenues to midnight is that we know the other side of Good Friday in our faith while we do not, cannot, know the other side of this pandemic. We do not know how bad it will get or how long it will last. As the month goes along, we too may despair in this terrible hour.

Looking at the data, it is hard not to despair. According to Worldometer, in the last two days, over 150,000 people in the world have fallen ill with COVID-19, and nearly 10,000 people have died of it. In America, the upward trend of the disease is the steepest in the world. Here, nearly 60,000 people have fallen sick in the last two days and 2,214 have died raising the total dead in the U.S. to 9,620. In South Carolina, the last 48 hours saw 348 new cases and 10 more deaths. In Alabama, 326 new cases and 7 more deaths. The only good news in all of this is that the rate of acceleration of the number of new cases across has slowed slightly. The bad news is that these figures are probably very much under-reported.

I thank God every day for the public leadership that we do have. I pray for Drs. Fauci and Birx every day. They are our real leaders in this moment of national crisis. They are our momentary national treasures. I hang on every word they say because they are the experts. True leaders do two things: they tell the truth and they show empathy. Fauci and Birx do this brilliantly. If only our incompetent political leadership would get out of the way and let them alone.

Speaking of real leadership, did you catch the Queen's address yesterday? If not, find it here . She is the epitome of good leadership in difficult times. She should know. She is part of the Greatest Generation, those people who lived through the extremely difficult era of the Great Depression and the Second World War. She has embodied quiet strength, call to selfless duty, and resolve all along. In the War, Churchill tried to get the royal family, or at least the heir to the throne, to leave London in the blitz. The queen (Queen Elizabeth's mother) told him, the children will not go without me, I won't go without the king, and the king won't go. That was that.

Finally, I want to thank the clergy of the various local churches that provided electronic services yesterday for Palm Sunday. It is important to remind ourselves that the faith goes on, the church goes on, even in the darkest hour. There are some things that plagues cannot fell. Truth and goodness are two of them.

I have heard many good sermons of late, but still the greatest of the lot is the one from Bishop Mariann Budde at the Washington National Cathedral, on 22 March. It was the perfect homily for the moment we are in. I have viewed it several times and every time, I hear something new, thoughtful and comforting. So, if you have not watched this video of Budde's sermon, I recommend it to you. It is fifteen minutes long. Find it here .

As Budde says, we wish this pandemic had not come to us but that was not our decision to make. Our decision is how we react to it. There are forces for good and we must be part of that. We are here for the living of this hour. 

So, we are approaching midnight in two ways, the pandemic and Holy Week. Let us take Holy Week as our model. The worst comes on Friday. But, this is not the end of the story. Three days later comes the victory of life over death, resurrection. A glorious Easter follows the gloom of Good Friday. What we thought was the worst, what we thought was the end, was not in fact the end. Good did prevail over evil. And so I think we should take that thought over to the present plague. It will come to an end one day. Life will triumph over death. Good will win out over evil. 

The night is always darkest before the dawn. We are approaching the darkest of night. Keep in mind, dawn will come, a new light, a new day. Peace.

BACK TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA
SUPREME COURT DECISION OF 2 AUGUST 2017

There seems to be a lot of confusion among some people as to what the South Carolina Supreme Court decision of August 2, 2017 was. What did the SCSC say in its ruling? The best thing to do now to clear up this confusion is to go back and look at the words of the decision itself. They are plain English. Any one reading on the Sixth Grade level can read and interpret the meaning of the words perfectly. Therefore, once again, here is the last page of the SCSC decision giving the three agreements (click on image for enlargement):

For the whole document, click on here .

We see here there are three decisions and they are conveniently numbered (1), (2), (3). Let's take them one at a time.

(1) with regard to the eight church organizations which did not accede to the Dennis Canon, Chief Justice Beatty, Justice Kittredge, and I [Toal] would hold that title remains in the eight plaintiff church organizations.

What does this say? It says that a majority (3 of the 5) of the justices agreed that eight plaintiffs in the case are owners of their local properties. They are owners because they did not accede to the Dennis Canon.

(Two of the eight plaintiffs were of the same parish, St. Andrew's of Mt. Pleasant. Thus, there are seven parishes in all that the court recognized as owners of their properties.)

(2) with regard to the twenty-eight church organizations which acceded to the Dennis Canon, a majority consisting of Chief Justice Beatty, Justice Hearn, and Acting Justice Pleicones would hold that a trust in favor of the national church is imposed on the property and therefore, title is in the national church.

What does this say? It says a majority (3 of the 5) of the justices agreed that 28 parishes are property of the Episcopal Church. This is so because they acceded to the Dennis Canon.

(3) with regard to Camp St. Christopher, Chief Justice Beatty, Justice Hearn, and Acting Justice Pleicones would hold title is in the trustee corporation for the benefit of the associated diocese, whereas Justice Kittredge and I would hold that the trustee corporation holds title for the disassociated diocese.

What does this say? It says a majority (3 of the 5) of the justices agreed that Camp St. Christopher is property of the corporation of trustees in the Episcopal diocese.


See? These three majority decisions are not hard to understand at all. They are not unclear. They are in fact as precise and clear as possible. Seven parishes get their independence. Twenty-eight parishes are property of the Episcopal Church. The Camp is property of the Episcopal diocesan corporate trustees. This is simple to read and to understand.

The ONLY thing that matters in a supreme court decision is the majority opinion. Nothing else matters after the decision is rendered. 

The fact that each justice wrote a separate opinion: Irrelevant. Justices often write their own explanations. The fact that the justices may have differed in how they reached their conclusions: Irrelevant. Only the conclusion itself matters. So, how the justices reached what they reached is beside the point. Supreme court decisions stand only on the majority rulings. The fact that this was a split decision; Irrelevant. The vast majority of supreme court decisions are split.

The losing side petitioned for a rehearing. Denied. They asked SCOTUS for cert. Denied. This means the Aug. 2 decision is the law of the land. It cannot be changed or appealed. 


The self-styled Anglicans are the losing side. So, why are they refusing to accept the decision and move on? As I see it, their last ditch ploy is somehow to get the circuit court judge to declare the SC decision as indecision and to rule himself on the property issue. This would give them a glimmer of hope of holding on to the properties in question. They know they have nothing left. Thus, they are using tactics of confusion and obfuscation to cloud over the decision in an attempt to render it unclear and indecisive and therefore impossible to implement. This is their only hope to keep the decision from being put into effect. When it is implemented, they lose possession of 29 parishes and the Camp.

The SCSC denied the Episcopal Church lawyers' petitions for writ of mandamus and writ of prohibition. Does not this mean the SCSC is siding with the Anglicans? No. All it means is that the SCSC is leaving the matter to the circuit court judge. They sent him a Remittitur in November of 2017. It is his job to implement the SCSC decisions. If they had wanted the lower court to retry part or all of the case, they would have issued a Remand. They did not. They issued a Remittitur. This means it is the judge's job to carry out the majority decisions in the SCSC opinion.

Can the case be reopened and retried? My understanding is that the case is closed. The court decision, the denial of rehearing, the Remittitur, and the denial of cert mean that the lawsuit the secessionists brought against the Episcopal Church on January 4, 2013, is finished. The breakaways won 6 parishes. The Episcopal Church kept 29 parishes and the Camp.

Why has not Judge Edgar Dickson implemented the SCSC decision? That one we would have to ask of the judge. In fact, he has recognized the existence of the three orders on page 77 of the decision. In the second of the four hearings, he implemented the first, to recognize that seven parishes own their own property. No one knows why he has not implemented numbers two and three. The Church lawyers have repeatedly urged him to do so.

Simply put, we do not know why the circuit court has not implemented the last two orders of the SCSC decision in the nearly two and a half years since it received the Remittitur.

Back to the original point. The Anglicans are promoting the assertion that the SCSC decision is too unclear to be implemented. So, I say to everyone, read the actual words of the three rulings on the last page of the decision. They are perfectly clear to me and I think they are perfectly clear to everyone and that is the problem. The losers can read these three orders as well as anyone. They are desperate to find some how, some way, to hold on to the 29 parishes and the Camp. The pertinent question is why Judge Dickson has allowed them to get away with this for 26 months and counting.

In fact, the game is over. The breakaways lost. It is just a matter of time before the lower court does its job and returns the properties to the Episcopal Church. No amount of spin, no amount of confusion and obfuscation will change the ultimate outcome of this. The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled.

NOTES, 4 APRIL 2020

The plague spreads. The night darkens. Sickness and death surround us.  

The statistics are grim and frightening and no where in the world is this more true than in our own country. The U.S. has more cases of COVID-19 than any nation by far, three times as many as the point of origin, China, which has three times as many people as the U.S. The rate of the spread in the U.S. is alarming. In the last 48 hours, the death rate in the world was 24% (11,823 deaths) while in the U.S. it was 45% (2,293). At this rate, in the U.S., the number of dead will double about every four days. The death toll now in the U.S. is 7,406.

Figures from individual states are also alarming. In the last two days, SC has jumped 31% in cases and 31% in deaths. This would be a doubling about every three days. In AL, there were 37% more cases and 36% more deaths in the last two days. Again, this would be a doubling about every three days.

If these trends go on as is for the next few weeks, the outcomes will be catastrophic for our states and for our country.

A large part of our problem is the vacuum of leadership in Washington. In the worst national crisis of the past 75 years, the president is missing in action. In fact, one could argue he has made it worse by several crucial mistakes:  ignoring the coming pandemic for two months, failure to exert national control of policies, and failure to exert national control over supplies and distribution. As it is, every individual state and local government is on its own bidding against each other for the inadequate store of supplies. The latest small example of Trump's incapacity to direct is his announcement yesterday that he would not be following the CDC guideline on wearing a face mask in public.

Yet, there are heroes arising all around to lead the people in this hour of crisis. The hero of the day yesterday was Captain Crozier, the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt. A few days ago, he sent a letter to his superiors, and to the press, asking for help for the hundred or so men on board with the virus and the other 4,000 men and women probably exposed to the virus. He was summarily fired by the acting secretary of the navy for not following established procedures (strict chain of command). This is a classic example of institution over people. Watch this video to see the heroic sendoff the entire crew gave the good captain. They knew who was on their side.

In small ways too, people are stepping up to meet the crisis descending on us. Millions of Americans are now out of work, and out of income. Food pantries are in demand. My little town has a food bank which is coming under increasing strain. At my local church, the Daughters of the King keep a free food pantry in the church parking lot:

(Just before I took this picture yesterday, someone had deposited a dozen loaves of bread from Publix.)

The most touching thing about this little pantry is that as word spread around town of its existence, anonymous people, not connected to the church, began secretly depositing non-perishable foods. The Daughters still manage the box but have a lot of help from invisible hands in stocking it. Even so, the food disappears quickly.

It is only a couple of blocks from a public housing project. I am certain that within a couple of hours of this picture, every item here was gone. Usually can be found there: canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, beef jerky, bread, boxes of pasta, and cereal. This little gesture can mean a lot to people who have no money to buy food.

I think it is imperative that we find creative ways of taking care of each other in this dark hour. We are up to it if we only put our hearts and minds to it. Let's not kid ourselves, we are in a national, indeed worldwide, crisis that is on its way to becoming a catastrophe unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes. We will get through it, and when it is over, we want to be able to say we behaved as the Christians we claimed to be.

Bear in mind, we are here for the living of this hour. Peace.

A GARDEN WALK IN EARLY APRIL

My first impulse this spring was to forego showing pictures of my garden on this blog, something I like to do. I have a large and picturesque botanical garden on an adjacent building lot. It is an eclectic mixture of some 700 trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, ground covers, palms, grasses, and the like. I designed it myself. Tending it has been a therapy of mine for years now. This spring is unusually glorious as we had a wet and mild winter and warm weather arrived early. All the plants seemed to burst out in new growth at the same time.

However, this spring has also brought the ugliest plague in memory. So, somehow, it did not seem quite right to revel in the grand beauty of nature when people were falling sick and dying all around us. Is not our natural impulse in this terrible pandemic to rail against the injustice of it all? Yes, it is, and if that helps, I say go for it. Beat on the wall. Shout at the TV. Weep. Just do not take it out on the other people, or pets, living in your house. Then, for consolation go out and sit in your yard if you do not have a garden, or on your balcony or porch if you do not have a yard. Sit quietly and take in the essence of the season. That is good for the soul too.

So, for a moment, let's set aside the distress of the hour and walk around my garden in this first week of April to see the best of what is in bloom.

My garden is really two gardens separated by a central lawn. On the street side, trellises mark entrances to a walkpath. This one is covered in White Flowering Chocolate Vine (Akebia quinata 'alba'). The flanking shrubs are boxwoods. The tall evergreens are Japanese cedars. They provide a screen near the curb. Chocolate vine is strikingly aromatic in early spring when it puts our small white flowers.

Near the walkpath is a sunny spot facing south. On right is Lady Banks Rose (Rosa banksiae). The small tree in center is Grancy Gray Beard. The large tree is elm. The bare bush on left is Burning Bush.

Going on around the path, we encounter a tree of about 20 feet tall, a Chinese Fringe Tree (Chionanthus retusus). It is covered with elegant "fringe" flowers.

Stepping off the path and looking back toward it, we see a Windmill Pam (Trachycarpus fortunei) (it came from South Carolina) and Spartan Juniper. The green shrub on left is Pearlbush. It has finished blooming. Junipers thrive in my garden and I have many of them, some as ground cover and some as upright shrubs. Spartan is the best of the uprights. This palm and juniper are about about two-thirds grown. The palm is blooming now and will put out black seeds for the birds.

Owing to the wet, warm, and short winter, the roses are already blooming. This is Knock Out Rose. The central lawn is lined with a couple of dozen Knock Out Rose bushes. They are easy to grow, do not require a lot of care, and bloom prolifically from early spring to frost. Knock Out is now the most popular rose in America, for good reason. The purple shrub behind is Loropetalum.

Crossing the lawn, we enter the larger section of the garden. Here the winding walkpaths are lined with trees, shrubs, and perennials. This is a Bridal Wreath (Spiraea cantoniensis 'Reeves'). It is a old-fashioned, common shrub in the south. In early spring, its arching boughs are covered in flower clusters.

Farther down a path we meet Japanese Kerria (Kerria japonica 'Pleniflora'), aka Yellow Rose of Texas. It blooms beautifully for a couple of weeks. I have to admit, it is not my favorite plant because it spreads by underground runners. It is not a "good neighbor" and likes to invade other plants' spaces. I have to keep cutting it back.

Walking on in search of what is in bloom, we encounter a crabapple tree. Flowering fruit trees are glorious at this time of the year. This is Adams Crabapple (Malus 'Adams'), one of the best of the small fruit trees.

I hope you enjoyed our little garden stroll to see the best of what is blooming in my garden now in early April. 

So, here is a final thought. Let out your bad feelings against the virus wreaking death, destruction, and havoc on us. It is natural at this most difficult hour to experience fear, anxiety, anger, and hurt at the horror of the plague all around us. What is happening makes no sense to us. How is it that an incredibly tiny, microscopic organism could be doing all this? Worse, we do not know how bad the plague will get or how long it will last. We feel helpless and vulnerable. All of this is natural. It is therapeutic to let out our bad feelings in healthy ways, that is, in outlets not harmful to others. Just look at the usually stoic TV news people breaking down in tears at the monstrous injustice of it all. Tears are good. They wash the eyes and make us see better in more ways than one.

Then, go out and soak in the beauty of nature. The eyes of your soul will be refreshed. This will also help you see things better.

We do not know why God is allowing this incredibly destructive plague to sweep over us. The human mind cannot know that. What is relevant at this moment in time is that we know from the centuries of the compilation of Jewish and Christian wisdom and tradition God is always with us. God is here among us in this fearful hour. I find a refreshing reminder of this truth as I stroll around my garden. 

We all wish this thing had never come to us. We wish none of this plague had ever happened. But, that decision was not ours to make. The reality is it has happened, it is happening. What matters now is what we do with the time that has been given to us. I think our faith tells us we must be forces of light in this dark hour. We must do what we can to love God and each other, now more than ever in our lifetimes. This is our calling. Peace. 

NOTES, 2 APRIL 2020

April is indeed the cruelest month, this year for sure. A glorious springtime of beautiful new life contrasts starkly with the darkness of sickness and death all around us. It is as if morning and night are clashing in a titanic battle for humankind. The light will win, but God only knows how much suffering we will have to endure before then. It is looking worse and worse by the minute. April is cruel.

As all of my readers know, I am a great believer in information. One cannot have too much of it. This is because I have always believed the ancient Greek principle that it is better to know the truth even if it hurts because truth leads to wisdom. And, so, we need to pay attention to the statistics at hand and know where we are going in this terrifying plague.

Worldometer is reporting now nearly a million cases in the world (954,367) and a total of 48,555 deaths. In the last twenty-four hours, there were 81,359 new cases and over 5,000 deaths around the globe. This means the virus is doubling victims every three to four days. It does not take a mathematician to see where this is going.

The United States leads the world in infections by far, now with 215,357 cases, up nearly 27,000---in one day! As for deaths, a thousand Americans died of the virus in the last twenty-four hours, bringing the total of dead in the U.S. to 5,113. At this rate, the death figure is doubling every four days. If we do a little figuring, we can see the projections of 100,000 to 240,000 Americans dead is very low. According to my calculation, if the number of dead in U.S. doubles every four days, we will have 660,000 dead by April 30. The number of infected will be in the millions. This may seem unbelievable now, but look at what happened in the month of March when the case numbers in the U.S. moved from 86 to nearly 200,000. The virus is spreading geometrically. 

In the vacuum of national leadership in this hour of crisis, states and localities are on their own to go to war as best they can. We see a patchwork of local responses from strict to non-existent. The governor of Florida finally issued a stay-put order but included many exemptions, such as churches.

Should churches reopen now, at least in places as Florida where they are permitted to do so? Absolutely not. Ask the people of St. Andrew's church of Mt. Pleasant about what the virus can do. In Lee County (Auburn-Opelika) AL, doctors determined that the high rate of infections/deaths there was directly caused by church attendance. Near Tampa, a mega-church pastor defied local orders and called people to church where they embraced, shook hands and the like. They said defying the virus was a statement of "faith." The sheriff arrested the pastor. Who displayed common sense there, the pastor or the sheriff? It's a no-brainer. Bottom-line, churches absolutely should not hold in-person gatherings for the duration of the pandemic. Anything otherwise would be reckless, irresponsible, and possibly legally liable.

Finally, people are giving up lots of things in this crisis. Now comes the cancellation of the annual mullet toss at the Flora-Bama. This is always one of the wildest drunken carnivals on the red-neck riviera drawing hordes of people looking for an excuse to party. This year's toss, scheduled for April, has been postponed. This is wise. Louisiana is now paying big time for Mardi Gras as Florida is paying for the Super Bowl. We can toss mullets later. Find an article about the cancellation of this silliness here .

When I was a child and I asked my parents and grandparents how they got through the Great Depression and the Second World War, they all said the same thing, we got through because everybody was in the same boat. Everyone was suffering, everyone was sacrificing. No one sat and brooded over it much. They forged ahead. They did their duty for themselves and all the people around them. It has become a cliché that we are all in this together, but that does not make it any less true. We are all in this together. We do not, cannot, know what is on the other side of the plague but we Christians know that God will see us through to the end.

Remember that we are here for the living of this hour. Peace.

______________________________

In the "Say it ain't so" category, the story of the day is that Dr. Fauci is under security guard from death threats. Read an article about this here . We have known for some time that far right forces are out to get rid of Fauci because he dares to tell the truth. This probably means that Trump is under increasing pressure to dismiss Fauci. In reality, Fauci, and Dr. Birx are the only persons on the national scene standing between us and the abyss. If we lose them, we lose the war against the coronavirus. 

SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT REFUSES WRIT OF PROHIBITION

Yesterday, 31 March 2020, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a two sentence decision:

"Petitioners seek a writ of prohibition to prevent the circuit court from clarifying this Court's decision in Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of S.C. v. Episcopal Church, 421 S.C. 211, 806 S.E. 2d 82 (2017). The petition is denied."

The four participating justices signed.

On February 21, 2020, lawyers for the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina petitioned the SCSC for a writ of prohibition to prevent Judge Edgar Dickson, of the circuit court, from re-litigating the property issues that were settled by majority agreement in the SCSC decision of August 2, 2017. That decision ruled by 3-2 that 29 of the 36 parishes in question, and Camp St. Christopher, were property of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina. 

The SCSC sent a remittitur of its decision to the circuit court in November of 2017. Judge Dickson was assigned the matter in January of 2018. In the 26 months since, he has refused to implement the majority orders of the SCSC decision and instead has asked the lawyers of the two sides for information on the property issues that were resolved in the SCSC decision. 

The SCSC decision is the final law of the land. The SCSC denied a rehearing. The U.S. Supreme Court denied cert. This means the decision is final, un-appealable, unchangeable.

Dickson has now held four hearings on the SCSC decision. In the last one, there was some indication that he may be moving toward implementation of the decision but nothing has happened toward that since the hearing.

The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina has promoted the public message that the SCSC decision was five different decisions, was fatally fractured, and could not be implemented. This is not true. Each of the five justices wrote a different explanation. The fact remains very clearly that, on the last page of the August 2 paper, a majority of justices listed three decisions in plain English. It remains Judge Dickson's only duty in this matter to implement the three majority decisions in the court judgment. In fact, he has implemented the first one. Now he has only to implement the second and third.

The secessionist leaders have a long record of misinforming and misguiding their followers. They told them the diocese was sovereign and self-governing. Not true per the federal court. They told them they could negate and ignore laws of the national church. Not true per the federal court. They told them they could leave the Episcopal Church with all old names, rights and properties in tact. Not true per the federal and state courts. Now they are leading their followers to believe they have a good chance of keeping the 29 parishes away from the Episcopal Church. Not true.

In their press release today, the diocesan authorities wrote that the SCSC affirmed that "the Circuit Court is the proper venue to resolve the many uncertain issues arising from the August 2, 2017 decision." Demonstably untrue, as shown in the decision itself. All the denial did was to deny the petition. It did not say anything else at all. It absolutely did not "affirm" anything. In fact, there are no unresolved issues in the SCSC decision. The truth is that the state supreme court has awarded the 29 parishes and the Camp to the Episcopal Church. No amount of spin and misinformation is going to change that. The truth will prevail as it has all along. It is just a matter of time. The 29 parishes and the Camp will return to the Episcopal Church. 

  

A NEW MONTH,
with update

It is a new month on the calendar. In this hour of crisis, time is becoming skewed and distorted. It was just two and a half weeks ago that we began our stay-put policy. Surely it was six months. It surely feels like it. The days, the hours, all lose definition as our habits change to meet the needs of the moment.

Our guiding lights, our national treasures of the moment, Drs. Fauci and Birx gave us revealing but sobering news yesterday. The next two weeks will be critical as the plague gets worse and worse. After two or so weeks we may see a changing of "the curve" when the rate of spread starts to slow down, that is, if we practice stay at home and social distancing. They said overall, we can expect between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in America (4,000 have died so far). And, that is the "best case" scenario. It could be worse, even much worse. The Spanish Flu killed 600,000 Americans a century ago when the population of the country was less than a third of today. In today's terms, that would be about 2,000,000 dead.

Meanwhile, the numbers of the sick and dying continue to skyrocket everywhere. In the last twenty-four hours, the world has seen over 71,000 new cases, up to 873,000. Deaths in the world, in the last day, were 4,532, up to a total of 43,275. In the U.S., in the day, cases rose from 164,610 to 188,639. That is 24,029 new cases---in one day. In the U.S., there were 884 deaths in the day, for a total of 4,059. In general, numbers of sick and dying are doubling about every three days. Thus, in two weeks, we will see staggering numbers of plague victims in our country. (A good source for statistics is Worldometer. Find it here .)

In South Carolina, there were 100 new cases in the last twenty-four hours, for a total of 1,083. A total of 22 people have died there. In Alabama, cases went up from 925 to 999 in the day. A total of 23 people have died there. My native state of Florida now has 6,741 cases and 85 deaths. Experts say in a couple of weeks Florida will be reeling under massive numbers of the sick and dying, partly as an aftereffect of spring break, much as Louisiana is now paying for Mardi Gras. One worrisome factor about Florida is the high number of elderly residents.

In short, we are in for a difficult, tense, and stressful next few weeks. Then, the experts say, if everything works as well as we hope, things should start to ease up even though the down slope may last for many months to come and thousands more get sick and die.

It looks as if our stay at home is going to last much longer than we first thought. In Virginia, the governor has set June 10 as the prospective end. This seems to be realistic. No one wants to think about it, but we may be at home for more than two months to come. Even so, this is a small price to pay for keeping people from getting sick and from dying. We really must listen to what Fauci and Birx are telling us.

As for me, I am fortunate to have a large and pleasant garden. I am tending it as never before. I need it and the garden needs it. It is a mutual aid society and it works well. In spite of the descending night of the plague, spring goes on, not just in my garden, but around the world, bringing radiant light and life to a suffering world. I take it as God's way of saying, I am in control; there is an order in the universe; all will be well. That is a truth we need to remember at this dark moment in time.

Right now the star of my garden is "snowball." Every year at this time, without fail, it puts on a spectacular show of white light and beauty. It brightens up my whole neighborhood as all of my neighbors marvel in its glory.

Even in the gloom of a grey, cloudy day, as yesterday was, there is beauty in God's creation if you only look for it. This "snowball" viburnum is the unrivaled star of the garden in early spring. It is about to devour this dwarf palmetto.

Although snowball is a common shrub in the south, I have not seen one as large or as densely flowered as this one. This bush is obviously entirely content in this spot. I tend it very little and it still flourishes with countless "snowballs," which are actually flower clusters. It blooms for about two weeks, usually in early April. Somehow, this common shrub seems more beautiful than ever this year, perhaps because I need it to be.

So, what are we to do now? We should get prepared for a very difficult next few weeks. Life is going to get harder and harder as we see thousands, perhaps even millions of our compatriots, and people around the world, falling sick to the insidious bug. At the very least, we ought to do our part to stay at home as much as possible, and to practice social distancing. Through it all bear in mind, the plague will come to an end one day.

Above all, remember we are here for the living of this hour. Peace.

_________________________________

UPDATE. 4:00 p.m.

St. Andrew's Church, of Mt. Pleasant, just released this statement:
"Steve continues to recover in the hospital. He is no longer in ICU and is in a step-down unit. He is able to talk with his family and is now eating on his own. After being on a ventilator for over a week, he does need time in the hospital to let his body continue to repair and strengthen before being discharged."

NOTES, 31 MARCH

The plague spreads. The night darkens. The fears intensify. We are plunging evermore into the grip of a microscopic organism whose only will is procreation by any host possible. This is arguably the worst crisis in American (and world) history since the Second World War. No one wanted this. No one caused it. But, here we are. This is our hour. What matters now is how we, as individuals, nations, and collective humanity, respond to this emergency.

The numbers are grim. As of today, there are 801,400 cases of COVID-19 in the world. 38,743 people have died of it around the globe. In America, there are now 164,610 cases and 3,175 deaths. In South Carolina, there are 925 cases and 18 deaths while in Alabama, 947 cases and 11 deaths.

To give some perspective, just one week ago (Mar. 23) the U.S. counted 46,000 cases. That is a rise of 118,610 cases in one week, or nearly three times as many. In the week, SC went from 298 to 925 cases, three times as many. AL went from 196 to 947, four times as many. This trend is terrifying.

All signs indicate vigorous spread of the virus in the next few weeks at the very least. Predicting the future of this pandemic is very difficult, even for the great experts who deal with all the statistics all the time. On Sunday, Dr. Fauci said millions of Americans will become infected and between 100,000 and 200,000 may die. On yesterday, Dr. Birx said this is a "best case" scenario. She implied the numbers could be considerably higher. That should send chills up our spines. These are people who know what they are talking about.

Meanwhile, everything (most things) stays closed as is at least until the end of April. I suspect this will be extended to the end of May.

I think at the moment we need to concentrate on two things. One is to stay at home and otherwise practice social distancing. All the experts are in agreement this is the best thing we can do now to stop the spread. The second thing we can do is to see to it that our health care workers have all the equipment and support they need. They are our front line soldiers in this war. It is immoral and unethical to send these brave people into battle without all the material they need to fight this unforgiving enemy. If only our politicians would stop playing politics and unite to care for the care givers. At the very least, we church people should be praying for the strength, courage, and safety of the best among us right now. Without them, we will lose this war. Pray for all hospital personnel, from the CEO to the janitor, for the EMTs, for the police. We must have their backs.

I am interested in knowing what local churches are doing in this moment of emergency. Many churches are providing online church services. What about other activities? At my local church, we are keeping stocked the very popular free food pantry we have in our parking lot (a big box on a pole). Also, some church members are going down the roster calling each member just to check in and to ask if they need anything from the store, pharmacy, post office, or the like. What is your local church doing? Let me know and maybe we can pool ideas that others could use. We have to think long term. In SC and AL Episcopal churches are closed for the month of April. I would not be surprised if this is extended into May. 

I hope this modest blog gives you a bit of support for the day. You, dear reader, are important to me. I would not be here otherwise. Around 500 people click on this space every day. I hope I am making at least a little difference for you.

Always remember we are here for the living of this hour. We did not ask for this. We did not see it coming. No one caused it. But, here we are and here is God with us. As I said, what matters now is how we respond to this crisis as children of God. Peace. 

NOTES, 30 MARCH 2020,
with update

Today is Monday, March 30, 2020. The plague worsens. The dark night darkens. Fears deepens. The coronavirus continues on its sweeping track at a fantastic pace. It has sickened at least 738,000 people in the world, probably many more. In America, it has infected at least 143,000 and killed 2,500. These numbers too are probably very low in reality. In South Carolina, there are at least 774 cases. There, 16 people have died of it. Alabama is reporting at least 827 cases and 10 deaths. To give some perspective, in just the last 6 days, the number of infections in the U.S. went up 3 times, in SC 3 times, and in AL 4 times.

The most remarkable and sobering remark of yesterday came from Dr. Anthony Fauci who said on the talk shows that millions of Americans would become infected and between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans might die of the virus. If he is right, and we have no reason to believe this expert to be wrong, we are in for a very rough next few months. We have not seen anywhere near the worst yet. 

Unfortunately we have a president who sees everything in terms of public relations, his own. After Fauci's remark, Trump actually said on TV 100-200,000 deaths would be "a very good job." One hundred to two hundred thousand Americans dying would be a "good job"? Such a remark is beyond appalling. It is ghastly. What kind of a national leader would say such a thing? But then, this sort of thoughtless cruelty we have come to expect from our president. He is himself. We have no right to expect him to be anything else. In this hour of national crisis the nation calls out in agony for a Washington, a Lincoln, an FDR, or even for goodness sake a W. after 9-11. Instead, we have Buchanan, a diddler who watched helplessly as the nation fell apart. Trump is a follower, not a leader. Right now the fight in Washington is between the forces for people and the forces for property. Trump is vacillating back and forth between them. Drs. Fauci and Birx are leading the charge for people. Let us hope and pray the president follows them.  

Thank God for the many public officials who are arising to meet the public needs in this dark hour of national crisis. I pray for Dr. Fauci every day. I am not sure he can survive the concerted right-wing smear campaign arising on the Internet right now. The lunatic right is after Fauci because he has the nerve to go behind Trump telling the nation the truth.

As many of you I am sure, I watched church on the Internet yesterday. Thank you, clergy of Grace Church Cathedral for as good an electronic church as we are going to get. The readings of yesterday were eerily timely. The Valley of Dry Bones is one of my favorite readings of the year. Dry bones are as lifeless as imaginable. No skin, no muscle, no tissue at all, just naked bone. Yet, "the bones came together, bone to its bone." Multitudes arose alive, as the Lord said, "I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live." Thus, what seemed to be completely dead and ended was not. The spirit of God brought new life in order to lead His people back to Israel. Likewise, Lazarus was dead. His life was ended. Then Jesus appeared on the scene. Mary was none too happy with him, in fact, chided him---if you had been here he would not have died. How many times do we feel that God has abandoned us? Jesus replied to her, "if you believed, you would see the glory of God." Jesus then called for Lazarus to come out, and he did. As with the bones, what seemed to be hopelessly ended forever was not really. The divine power of the universe gives us the life that we may not be able to see until we have the faith to open our eyes to it. The bones and Lazarus found new life, and so will we. We  may feel "dead" right now because we are helpless against the merciless virus. Nevertheless, we have to know the plague will come to an end one day. The transcendent power of God will bring us new life as he brought to people throughout the Bible. We may not be able to see it now, but we must have faith that it will happen.

Let's keep in mind we were made for the living of this hour. Peace.

______________________________________

UPDATE. The officials of St. Andrew's Church, of Mt. Pleasant, released this statement today:  "Steve Wood is off the ventilator and breathing on his own. Give thanks for this good news and continue to pray for Steve, his family, and those who care for him." Indeed, let us remember all those at St. Andrew's who have tested positive and who have been exposed to the virus.

NOTES, 29 MARCH 2020

It is Sunday, March 29, 2020. The plague spreads. The night falls. However, no matter how dark the night, the light of the church shines. The church goes on as always through good times and bad. We are in a bad time, and it is going to get worse, much worse, I fear. 

The disease continues to spread in America unabated. As of yesterday, the known cases in the U.S. totaled 123,781 and deaths at 2,229. One week ago, there were 25,000 cases. So, in one week, the disease multiplied nearly five times. These are the known cases. Some expert say the real number is probably ten times the reported number because of lack of testing. If this is true, there are now actually more than a million people in the U.S. with the coronavirus.

The latest local figures also show skyrocketing infections. SC now stands at 645 cases and 15 deaths. Charleston County has 108 cases. The "hottest" spot in SC percentage wise is Kershaw County. This is worrisome personally because my only grandchild is there where her other grandparents live.

Alabama has quadrupled cases in one week, now up to 720 cases and 5 deaths. Birmingham is hard hit.

There is a news report that Florida officials are now stopping traffic going into the state and screening entrants for the virus. It should be the other way around, AL and GA should be stopping people leaving Florida since it is the "hottest" spot of the whole southeast.

My good friend who lives in downtown Chicago says the city is practically shut down in a desperate effort not to become the new New York. Even the famous lake front park is closed. He goes out only to get groceries. The CTA, public transportation, is still running although few people are riding.

There are some glimmers of good news here and there. My sister-in-law was tested and found negative to everyone's great relief. Bp Steve Wood seems to be improving in the ICU.

Anyway, it is Sunday, time to lift our voices and rejoice in God's blessings. They are all around us. For me, this is literally when I am in my garden. (Incidentally, my phone will not send pictures at the moment, so no photos of the garden. I am blaming this on the overload of the Internet. News reports say it is near capacity and may be on edge of crash.) I am going to watch church services on my computer and join in anyway.

My local church is offering a sermon on the Internet by the rector, the Rev. Robert Fowler. Catch it if you can here . St Luke's, of Jacksonville AL, is an historic church designed by Richard Upjohn, the architect of Trinity Church, Wall Street, and built in 1856 of heart-of-pine. The altar stained glass windows were made by the same company that made the windows of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, in Charleston. This is only the second time in all its long life that St. Luke's has been closed on Sundays (the first was briefly after the Civil War).

I intend to watch Grace Church Cathedral of Charleston and the Washington National Cathedral later.

Let us remember, friends, that even in the increasingly frightening darkness all around us, we were made for the living of this hour. Peace.

__________________________________

Video of the day. Thank God there are leaders arising to help guide us through this unprecedented crisis. As it is turning out, the moral spokesman of the hour is Governor Andrew Cuomo, of NY. His speech to the NY National Guard on 27 March will go down as a great one in this national emergency. Although he was addressing the Guard, he was really talking to all of us Americans. Evoking Churchill, he told us the truth, he told us how hard it would be, and told us we would prevail. These are words we desperately need to hear right now.

See a video of Cuomo's stirring speech here .

NOTES, 28 MARCH 2020

Life in the time of plague goes on. Greetings to you, dear blog reader. Here's a wish that you, your family and friends are well and safe. Mine are, at least so far.

Numbers of the disease continue to skyrocket with no sign of slowing down. As of this morning, there are at least 614,884 cases of COVID-19 in the world with 28,687 dead. The most deadly outbreak has been in Italy. The highest number of cases of infections is the United States, now with at least 104,837 cases and 1,704 deaths. South Carolina is reporting 539 cases and 13 deaths while Alabama is listing 639 cases and 3 deaths. In SC, Charleston County leads the list with 92 cases. To give some perspective of explosive growth, On March 1, the world counted 100,000 cases. That means in four weeks, the world has seen a six times growth rate, 100,000 to 614,884. There is no indication of slowing down although there are places that seem to be getting the spread under control, as South Korea.

The most chilling report on yesterday came from a study at the University of Washington that predicted 80,000 deaths in the U.S. by July unless drastic measures are taken soon to stop the spread of the virus. Find a report of that study here . If there have been 1,704 deaths so far, well, you can do the math. This is truly frightening. Let us pray to God this prediction does not come to pass.

Here in Alabama, the governor has finally ordered closure of all "non-essential" businesses in the state. Schools, colleges, beaches, restaurants, bars and the like had already been closed. It is interesting to see what the governor considered "essential," that is, the ones that could stay open. She declared essential to be: grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies, gun stores, and state liquor stores. Yes, in Alabama, guns, ammunition, and liquor are essential, at least according to our governor.

What to do with your $1,200 windfall? As churches remain shut down, consider giving at least a part to your local church. It is probably suffering a decline in revenue too and is struggling to meet its budget. 

Meanwhile, the rest of us living in this dark hour are trying to get by the best way we can. As for me, I am spending a lot of time in my garden. I am tending it as never before. The garden needs it and I need it. My family and I are doing OK, and I hope the same for you. Being quarantined as this makes one realize what is important and what is unimportant in life. Perhaps this is the benefit of this dark hour. I miss church, as I imagine you do too. I will not take it for granted again. Peace.

_______________________________

Creepy video of the day. Historically rats are associated with plague. The Black Death of the Fourteenth Century was spread by fleas on rats. Well, rats are popping up in this plague, but in a different way. On Bourbon Street, rats have "gone crazy" from the effects of closures. If you are squeamish about rodents do not watch this video .    

NOTES, 27 MARCH 2020,
with updates

Greetings, dear reader, as we descend ever more into the darkening night. The plague is sweeping over us. Over a half million people in the world are known to have been infected by the coronavirus. Thousands have died. Yet, we are no where near the turning point. The United States has become the "hottest spot" on the globe with at least 85,749 known cases and 1,304 deaths. SC yesterday reported 456 cases and 9 deaths. AL is listing 501 cases and one death. In the south, the plague is exploding in Florida and Louisiana.

There is no new word on the condition of Bishop Steve Wood, of St. Andrew's of Mt. Pleasant. The last public announcement from church officials came two days ago. Presumably, he is still in ICU on a ventilator.

South Carolina has not seen the worst of this. It is really only beginning. Although painful, it is wise of the authorities to order people to stay at home and to cancel Spoleto.

Churches should pay no attention to President Trump's dangerously foolish idea of seeing churches packed at Easter, which is just a couple of weeks off. The example of St. Andrew's of Mt. Pleasant should quash that notion. In Alabama, medical personnel are blaming the churches for creating one of the "hot spots" of the state, Lee County. See the report of this here . Common sense says all churches should remained closed to in-person gatherings until this plague has abated.

It is gratifying and comforting to see people all around the country stepping up to lead us in this moment of crisis. The president of the United States is simply incapable of wise leadership in this hour. In reality he is making things worse by his daily public relations performances of fantasy. I was disappointed to see Dr. Birx apparently fall victim to his bullying yesterday when she declared that NYC hospitals had all they needed when every single report from the hospitals themselves said the exact opposite. Now it looks as if only Dr. Fauci stands between us and the cliff. I pray for him every day.

In fact, all over America, the health care professionals are arising to the occasion: from the highest doctors, to the EMTs,  to the hospital maids and janitors. How fortunate we are to have these heroes. They are our first line of defense now and we should support them in every way we can.

A Prayer for Doctors and Nurses

Sanctify, O Lord, those whom you have called to the study and practice of the arts of healing, and to the prevention of disease and pain. Strengthen them by your life-giving Spirit, that by their ministries the health of the community may be promoted and your creation glorified, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

As the night of the plague darkens, many people may experience a crisis of faith. This is a natural and common reaction to such a situation. Where is God? If God is all good, why if He allowing this to happen? Why does not He stop the plague? Why does not He answer our prayers for help? All of these are thoughts we are likely to have. 

I am reminded of Elie Wiesel's report of an incident he attended in World War II. One night at Auschwitz, a group of Jewish prisoners put God on trial, in absentia. The charge was that He had abandoned His people, that is, He had unilaterally broken the Covenant with Israel. A full trial was conducted with arguments on both sides. In the end, they convicted God of the charge. Then, right afterwards a rabbi called for evening prayers and they all prayed to the God they had just determined had abandoned them. This is faith in the darkest possible hour. And this is what we have to keep in mind as our hour darkens. God is with us even if we feel abandoned and lost.

Finally, I see small acts of grace all around every day. For instance, my sister, who lives in Bay St. Louis, was driving down the road two days ago and encountered what she assumed to be a funeral. A police car with light flashing was leading a long line of cars. She realized it was not a funeral when the parade turned into a large apartment complex. It was the teachers of the local elementary school. They had decorated their cars with names and messages (we miss you, we love you, etc.), balloons and the like. They drove slowly around blowing their horns and shouting encouragement to the children who came to their apartment windows, balconies and yards blowing kisses back. It made the day for those kids. They realized they had not been abandoned.

Let us remember we were made for the living of this hour. Peace.

___________________________________

UPDATE, 9:45 a.m.

Bishop Lawrence, of the Anglican diocese of South Carolina, has suspended all in-person church gatherings in the diocese at least until April 6.

___________________________________

UPDATE, 5:00 p.m.

St. Andrew's Church of Mt. Pleasant released this statement at 4:00 p.m. today:

"Steve did a breathing trial this morning that went well, though he is not quite ready to come off the ventilator. They are encouraged by his progress and think he will be off the ventilator soon.

Continue to pray for Steve, his family, and those that care for him."

Bp. Steve Wood has been in the ICU on a ventilator for seven days. The last two reports of his condition are positive. This is good news indeed.

THREE SENIOR CLERGY

OF ST. ANDREW'S

HAVE TESTED POSITIVE

26 March, 9:00 a.m.

St. Andrew's Church, Mt. Pleasant SC, is now reporting on their website that three senior clergy have tested positive for the coronavirus. Find this information here . The three are:

Steve Wood, rector and bishop of the ACNA diocese of the Carolinas.

Anthony Kowbeidu, associate rector (on Mar. 23, DHEC said he was no longer infectious)

Randy Forrester, associate rector.

All three were presumably exposed to the virus on March 6 when attending a diocesan assembly at All Saints Church, Pawleys Island.

This means that hundreds, if not thousands of people at St. Andrew's may have been exposed to the coronavirus.

I will not give medical advice. All I can do is tell you what I would do as a parishioner under the same circumstances. If I had had communion from any one of these three clergy after 6 March or had had any close personal contact with any one of them, I would self-quarantine. I would get tested if any symptom associated with the disease manifests itself. Also, if I had attended the diocesan gathering on March 6, I would follow the same procedures.

As for Bishop Steve Wood, there is no new report today so far. The last report was yesterday. It indicated stability and some slight improvement. I will post new reports here as I receive them. Wood remains in ICU on a ventilator, now for the seventh day.

Wood obviously has a very serious case of the virus. Kowbeidu has been declared no longer infectious. For awhile it was thought Forrester may not have been infected. He is now listed as positive for the coronavirus.

If we needed any more evidence of why we should keep churches closed, the case of St. Andrew's is it. The Anglican Diocese of SC has not announced its closure policy after March 31. There has been no public word from Bishop Lawrence in the last nine days. The Episcopal diocese of SC has closed all churches to in-person gatherings until the end of April.

__________________________________

Meanwhile the virus is spreading as wildfire. Yesterday, SC reported 424 cases, 82 in one day. AL is now reporting 386 cases and 144 in one day (one day!). In NYC, a virus patient is dying one per hour (per hour!). More than 1,000 virus patients have died in the U.S. Infections and deaths are multiplying at a quickening pace.

The saddest picture of the day is the three desperate nurses at Mt. Sinai West dressed in garbage bags. Find it here . They have run out of protective equipment yet are soldiering on because it is their job. They are endangering their health. There is something very wrong when this is happening in the greatest city of the richest country in the world. The heroes of the hour are being reduced to desperate measures even as they face the peril of death. This should not be happening.

One ray of good news is that the U.S. Senate UNANIMOUSLY (96-0) passed the emergency funding bill. It is now in the House of Representatives awaiting final passage. When was the last time a house of Congress did anything unanimously? I take this as a sign of hope. Who would have thought it would take a microscopic organism to bring us together? 

Peace.