October Thoughts

My dear friends and fellow workers in Christ:

It goes without saying; this has been one heck of a year. Marie and I came back from Florida at the beginning of March and from that point, nothing is the same. We have been shut down by the virus, shops closed, schools closed, and churches closed. Now we see things opening but not the same all over. I can visit this state but not that state.

We see civil unrest, shootings, riots, and looting. People losing their lives and their business. Protest is one thing, but lawlessness is another.

We also have national elections this year. No one knows the outcome, and what the future will bring with all of this.

Where do we go to find stability?

There is an English piece that I find comfort in during times of change. It is The Vicar of Bray, a priest serving his parish in times of change. The story is fiction but shows stability during troubled times. The Vicar of Bray.

”In good King Charles' golden time, when loyalty no harm meant,
A zealous high churchman was I, and so I gained preferment.
To teach my flock, I never missed: Kings are by God appointed
And damned are those who dare resist or touch the Lord's annointed.
 

And this be law, that I'll maintain until my dying day, sir
That whatsoever king may reign, Still, I'll be the Vicar of Bray, sir.

When royal James possessed the crown, and popery came in fashion,
The penal laws I hooted down, and read the Declaration.
The Church of Rome, I found, did fit full well my constitution
And I had been a Jesuit, but for the Revolution.
 

And this be law, that I'll maintain until my dying day, sir
That whatsoever king may reign, Still, I'll be the Vicar of Bray, sir
 

When William was our King declared, to ease the nation's grievance,
With this new wind about I steered, and swore to him allegiance.
Old principles I did revoke; Set conscience at a distance,
Passive obedience was a joke, a jest was non-resistance.
 

And this be law, that I'll maintain until my dying day, sir
That whatsoever king may reign, Still, I'll be the Vicar of Bray, sir
 

When Royal Anne became our queen, the Church of England's glory,
Another face of things was seen, and I became a Tory.
Occasional conformists base; I blamed their moderation;
And thought the Church in danger was from such prevarication.
 

And this be law, that I'll maintain until my dying day, sir
That whatsoever king may reign, Still, I'll be the Vicar of Bray, sir
 

When George in pudding time came o'er, and moderate men looked big, sir
My principles I changed once more, and I became a Whig, sir.
And thus preferment I procured from our new Faith's Defender,
And almost every day abjured the Pope and the Pretender.
 

And this be law, that I'll maintain until my dying day, sir
That whatsoever king may reign, Still, I'll be the Vicar of Bray, sir
 

The illustrious house of Hanover and Protestant succession
To these I do allegiance swear -- while they can hold possession.
For in my faith and loyalty I never more will falter,
And George my lawful king shall be -- until the times do alter.
 

And this be law, that I'll maintain until my dying day, sir
That whatsoever king may reign, Still, I'll be the Vicar of Bray, sir “

As with the good people of Bray there is a place where we can find stability, praise God, and that place is at St. Martin’s.

God bless you all,

The Rev. Glenn Duffy