Saturday, April 22, 2006

St. Luke's of the Mountains


My wife and I spent a lovely morning at a meeting with fellow Anglicans concerned about the state and direction of the Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA) here. In February of 2006, St. Luke's left the diocese of Los Angelese and aligned itself under the episcopal oversight of the Anglican Province of Uganda. As many Anglicans are considering the same move, or more likely do not have any clue as to how to respond to the growing apostasy within ECUSA, some lay memebers are seeking ways to reach out to like-minded, biblically orthodox Anglicans.

The chuch grounds are lovely, as you can see, but what is really exciting is the prospect of actually making progress in the renewal of the Episcopal witness in the United States. I have been wanting something like this to happen for decades, but, as an outsider, have been limited in how much I could do. The issue isn't really about homosexuality but about the authority of scripture and our need for grace and repentance. I will post more on the subject as I learn more.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Buy a Gun Day

NOTE: This post was actually created on 4/19 but I am backdating it to comply with the official date. I did mean to post earlier, but, being the day before Easter, there were quite a few higher priorities. I really bought the gun two weeks ago but, due to California's regressive 10-day waiting period (which should have gone away in '98 when the NICS replaced the Brady Act), I actually picked it up on the proper day.

I did buy a gun this year: a Springfield Armory XD Subcompact in .40 S&W. Nice little gun, but it took me awhile to get used to the boxey look of the front end. What finally persuaded me to prefer this one over the Glock 27 was that it is slightly heavier which is a plus when shooting a powerful cartridge from such a small gun. Also, it is slightly (0.03 inches) shorter, which makes it easier to conceal. Probably won't make that much difference in the long run, of course.

I was actually in the market for a Glock 33, having a long time infatuation with the 357Sig cartridge, but no one seems to be selling it. Not surprising, really, as the caliber never caught on.

My next gun will probably be a full-sized .45 of some sort. I wanted one this time around, but I needed something concealable and was tired of carrying around my old Jennings .22 (and frankly a little embarrassed). One of these would be nice, but only in my dreams.

Update: Cowboy Blob has a roundup of what other folks bought. (Via: Alphecca)