NOTES ON JULY 14

Having been away for a few days, I am back. I have a few items I want to mention today.

First of all, this is Bastille Day, not only the national holiday of France but also a great day for all of human history. The ordinary people gathered in the streets of Paris on July 14, 1789, and said collectively, "We are made as hell and we are not taking it anymore!" Boy, did they mean it, and rightly so. They arose against injustice, corruption, and exploitation. They proclaimed the great ideas of modern democracy: freedom, equal rights, and the brotherhood (and sisterhood) of all people. We today across the world who love democracy owe a great deal to the brave men and women who on that summer day a long time ago decided they were not going to take it any more. We are their heirs. We too proclaim Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for all human beings and we are still working out in our lives what that means, even in our church.

(Incidentally, the Bastille was an old fort along the medieval city wall of Paris that had been used for centuries as a (much despised) prison. Today, the key of the Bastille hangs on the wall of Mount Vernon. It was given to Washington by the marquis de Lafayette, who revered Washington as a father. Lafayette was commander of the National Guard in the early Revolution. 
Back at the Bastille, the people captured the fort, decapitated the garrison commander and proceeded to demolish the old place stone by stone. In many ways, it was the symbolic beginning of the revolution. Today there is an open space there called la Place de la République. It is a revered spot roughly equivalent to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.)

Second of all, France plays Croatia for the World Cup tomorrow, July 15, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. At least a billion people will be watching. France is the heavy favorite, but I expect a lot of people will be quietly rooting for tiny Croatia (David v Goliath). Still, I am cheering for France as a memorial for those brave people who, more than two centuries ago, gave us so much of what we hold dear in the modern world, the age of the common man and woman.

Thirdly, I want to remind everyone of the reconciliation conversations. 

1-CONWAY. Monday, July 16, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Conway Senior Center, 1519 Mill Pond Road.

2-CHARLESTON. Tuesday, July 17, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Citadel Alumni Affairs Banquet Hall, 69 Hagood Avenue.

3-BLUFFTON. Wednesday, July 18, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Rotary Community Center, Oscar Frazier Park, 7 Recreation Court.

Fourthly, There were two important events in the last few days that deserve commentary:  TECSC's court action to demand an asset accounting of the breakaway side, and the General Convention's decisions on prayer book and same-sex marriage. I will return to these later.