feature. It is almost like getting around the Second Life metaverse
without Second Life. Unlike the virtual reality, though, the
"meatspace" has more challenges, such as housing insecurity. It's not
like you can just log off from the grid, nor can you just exist
floating around -- or in those good ol' days, idling in one of many
"Money Chairs" or "Lazy Lindens" -- and not sleep.
Thus, in this side of reality sleep is a human necessity to sustain
life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, and thus a human right.
So, I found a reassuring sight of someone having a good sleep on a
sacred ground of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, much to the chagrins
of those who erected a metal fence and posted numerous "NO
TRESPASSING" signs a few years ago.
Dear Trinity and the Diocese of Oregon; especially +Johncy, +Sanford,
Bill+ and Kurt+, the Anglican theological heritage is deeply
incarnational and nothing speaks the incarnation better than a sight
of someone sleeping. So here's a testimony of an Anglican faith in
action:
1. Open Google Maps at http://maps.google.com/
2. Enter address 147 NW 19th Ave, 97209 -- or even better "271 NW 19th
Ave, 97209"
3. Select "Street View"
4. There are three big red doors. Red doors are one of the most common
distinguishing marks of an Anglican church. I read somewhere that all
but doors facing west are painted red (with notable exceptions of St.
Stephen's, Portland, and Grace Memorial, Portland) -- see below for a
discussion on the Anglican red doors.
5. Perhaps an angel of the Most High, wrapped up in a shining white
blanket, rests peacefully at the right side of the red doors.
V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And sustain us with your Holy Spirit. (BCP-1976 p. 121)
Almighty God, who hast created us in thine own image: Grant us grace
fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with
oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to
employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among
the nations, to the glory of thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen. (BCP-1976 p. 209)
Anglican red doors, found on Beliefnet:
"In the earlier days of the church it was understood that a soldier
could not pursue an enemy that had entered through the red doors of a
church. The red doors were a symbol of refuge and sanctuary for all
people who entered. To all concerned the red on the doors signified
the blood of Christ that had been shed so that all who came to him
could be saved. Anyone who passed through those doors was safe as long
as they stayed behind them. Over time, Christian people began to see
the red doors of the church as symbolizing not only physical refuge
and safety, but spiritual refuge as well. The blood of Jesus, and of
the Church's martyrs, that the red doors of the church symbolized,
would protect you from evil, both physical and spiritual. The red
doors spoke to the world of holy ground that existed inside those
doors, space that had been purged and made clean by God's Holy Spirit.
Today people choose to paint their church doors red for many of the
same reasons that churches did centuries ago."
http://community.beliefnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4199
A deep irony most people fail to see in this picture: The one seeking
a safe resting place is staying in front of the red door, not "behind
them."
Wikipedia on Anglican theology:
"Anglican incarnational theology emphasizes the importance of God
using the mundane and temporal as a means of giving people the
transcendent and eternal."
A discussion item for any future forum or workshop: Why does a human
being need sleep, or why did God create human to require sleep? In the
era of "Sleep Number Beds" and such, sleep has become a commercialized
privilege today. What does God teach us by using something as mundane
and temporal as a sight of a human being trying to catch a peaceful
sleep on the ground of a cathedral that represents all of Western
Oregon for a jurisdiction that is often perceived to be for and of the
rich and powerful (a.k.a. The Episcopal Church)?
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