text:
The Puritans
Reforming the Reformation
'The Bruised Reed' by Richard Sibbes
Ron Frost
- Ron Frost is pastoral care consultant with Barnabas International and he is a mentor on the Cor Deo training programme , before which he taught historical theology and ethics at Multnomah Seminary in Portland, OR. View all resources by Ron Frost
The heavenly Richard Sibbesthe adjective serving as a virtual title for him in puritan circleswas famous for his affective spirituality. 1 During the reigns of James I and Charles I Sibbes flourished as an educator and preacher at both Cambridge and London until his death. His sermon series, The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax (in print from 1630 to 1658), was highly regarded for its distinctive voice among the pastoral books of the era. Richard Baxter, for instance, remembered receiving a copy of the book as a youth. It opened more the love of God to me, and gave me a livelier apprehension of the mystery of redemption, and how much I was beholden to Jesus Christ. 2 That Sibbes, who regularly left his works unpublished, took time to edit and publish the Bruised Reed suggests its importance to him. 3 The book, published when he was fifty-three, also offered his mature thought and epitomized his main theological concerns.
Introduction to Sibbes Ministry
Baxters testimony to the impact of Sibbes ministry was similar to many others who expressed a distinct sense of Gods love after hearing him speak or reading his sermons. A layman, Humphrey Mills, also expressed his relief at hearing Sibbes' unique message of grace.
I was for three years together wounded for sins, and under a sense of my corruptions, which were many; and I followed sermons, pursuing the means, and was constant in duties and doing; looking for Heaven that way. And then I was so precise for outward formalities, that I censured all to be reprobates, that wore their hair anything long, and not short above their ears; or that wore great ruffs, and gorgets, or fashions, and follies. But yet I was distracted in my mind, wounded in conscience, and wept often and bitterly, and prayed earnestly, but yet had no comfort, till I heard that sweet saint . . . Doctor Sibbs, by whose means and ministry I was brought to peace and joy in my spirit. His sweet soul-melting Gospel-sermons won my heart and refreshed me much, for by him I saw and had much of God and was confident in Christ, and could overlook the world . . . . my heart held firm and resolved and my desires all heaven-ward. 4
This gracious quality in Sibbes sermons has been seen to be a matter of personal dispositiona warm-hearted pastoral orientationwithout offering a distinctive theology. 5 Sibbes, however, was scarcely such a modest figure, whether as a theologian or as a religious leader. While he was certainly irenic and politically astute as he engaged the diverse views held by other puritans on the one hand, and preached virtually under William Lauds nose on the other, he was scarcely a modest or merely derivative theologian. Rather, he was a persistent but careful advocate of a distinctively affective theology that he recovered and developed from some of the earlier reformers, including Martin Luther and John Calvin. 6 In particular he emphasized the inherent community of the TrinityTrinitarian theologyrather than follow the more common Reformed emphasis on Gods simplicity and essential unity. 7 This distinctive orientation was translated into an applied theology of sanctification and personal assurance in The Bruised Reed.
In The Bruised Reed Sibbes portrayed God as reaching out to his elect people on the basis of his fatherly love for Christ, in whom the elect are united by the Spirits work. In taking this stance Sibbes also meant to challenge the tendencies toward destructive self-absorptionillustrated by Humphrey Mills testimonythat came from examining ones own behaviors for signs of grace in order to gain assurance of salvation. This theology of preparationism held that a person who is uncertain of his status with God could presume that any significant evidences of godly conduct can be used as evidence that Gods grace is at work in himsomething that pointed to a higher likelihood of election. This moralistic premise was being used rather widely in puritan circles. 8 But it amounted, Sibbes charged, to adopting the fig leaves of morality as the grounds for assurance. In a typical strategy of indirect confrontation Sibbes linked this error to the Roman Catholics rather than to his puritan colleagues. Yet, in case the point was missed, he also warned that such emphases on human-initiated morality offers [t]oo much respect to man [which is] one of the inlets of popery. 9
The need for Sibbes to include such nudges pointed to a growing divide among the puritans. William Erbery (1604-1654), a younger contemporary of Sibbes, saw that divide and held Sibbes to be a leader of the free-grace movementthe party of puritans who opposed any idea that grace is conditioned by human cooperation.
I observed four great steps of God's glorious appearance in men's preaching. First, how low and legal were their teachings as they learned the way of preaching from Mr. Perkins, Bolton, Byfield and Dod and Dike . . . . Next the doctrine of free grace came forth, but with less success or fruit of conversion by Doctor Preston, Sibs [Sibbes], [and] Crisp. . . . Thirdly the letter of scripture, and flesh of Christ hath been highly set up by both the famous Goodwins: . . . [Thomas] excels in spiritual discourses of Christ's death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession, yet much according to the flesh, for he meddles not with the mystery of Christ in us. . . . [The fourth step] is the knowledge of Christ in the Spirit. . . . 10
Erberys contemporary assessment was accurate. While Sibbes acknowledged some biblical support in calling Christians to obedience as a dutyErberys category of low and legal preachingSibbes clearly understood that duty can only be sustained if it is supported by the motivation of desire. Thus, Sibbes featured Gods winsome love more than his power: the Spirit accomplishes both conversion and sanctification by a single meansthrough the revelation of Gods attractiveness by an immediate, personal disclosure. This unmediated initiative was seen to by the means by which God draws a response of heartfelt devotion from the elect.
In this framework some additional theological assumptions were revised. For instance Sibbes understood grace to be Gods love offered immediately (rather than mediately) by the Spirit to the elect. 11 By identifying grace primarily as a relational characteristic of Godthe expression of his goodnessinstead of a created quality or an empowerment of the will, Sibbes insisted that God transforms human desires by the Spirits immediate love and communion. Faith, for Sibbes, is not a human act-of-the-will but a response to Gods divine wooing. Gods laws, Sibbes argued, must be sweetened by the gospel and offered within a framework of free grace. 12 He also held a moderately developed form of affective anthropology. 13
Others after Sibbes became sharper in their views, but he was the senior figure among them and their basic assumptions were the same. Thus, when Sibbes views are placed in the context of debates over nature and grace in his eraincluding the continued Calvinist-Arminian struggles, the Antinomian Controversy of New England (1636-1638), and the doctrinal upheavals of the English Civil WarSibbes emerges as a seminal figure among a small but energetic band of puritan ministers who pressed for a more Trinitarian and relational version of Reformed theology. 14
Biographical Notes
Richard Sibbes was born in 1577 to a wheelwright of moderate means in the village of Tostock, England. 15 An able student, Sibbes received the patronage he needed to gain a place at St. Johns College, Cambridge, in 1595, where he completed his sequence of Bachelors and Masters degrees in 1602. He began tutoring as a fellow of St. Johns in 1601 and was soon rewarded with positions of increasing responsibility and status. 16 In 1610 he was granted the Bachelor of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Divinity in 1627. 17 Along with his educational advancements Sibbes emerging skills as a preacher flourished when he was appointed Lecturer at Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, in 1610 (continuing until 1615), and then in 1617 as preacher at Grays Innone of the prestigious London Inns of Court. There he had a significant platform to speak to Londons sympathetic politicians. The dedication of Sibbes Bruised Reed, for instance, was to Sir Henry and Lady Mary Vere. 18 He also took the opportunity to engage with other Puritan ministers in the city to promote their common ambitions.
Sibbes was a moderate Puritanone who would still conform to the requirements of ecclesiastical uniformity. 19 Yet on two occasions he drew the unhappy attention of William Laudlater Archbishop of Canterbury: once for his part in trying to raise financial support for Protestant refugees in Germany and Bohemia (1627), and a second time for his part in leading a fundraising project to place Puritan preachers in teaching postslectureshipsamong parish churches (1632). Sibbes submitted in both cases and neither event diminished his freedom to minister. 20 In 1626 he was appointed Master of Katharine Hall, Cambridge University, a post he held together with his role as preacher at Grays Inn to the end of his life. 21 For more than a decade he shared his unique beliefs from these twin platforms with an impact that is still being measured by Puritan specialists. Sibbes book thus unfolds the substance of his unique insights in early Stuart England.
The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax
The Bruised Reed title came from Matthew 12:20: A bruised reed shall not he break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. Sibbes ambition was to lead his readers to a profound assurance of their salvation. 22 He intended to show how Gods free offer of grace was able to bring such comfort. 23 In his foreword to the book he took immediate aim at the false representations of Christ, against which he meant to offer the true Christ, all whose ways to such being ways of mercy, and all his thoughts, thoughts of love. 24 The distinction of Gods love in Christ as affectionate marked a Trinitarian distinction for Sibbes. William Perkins, whose preaching Sibbes would have heard as a student, offered an alternative view of God by starting with an anthropopathic premise. That is, the affections of the creature are not properly incident unto God, because they make many changes, and God is without change. And therefore all affections and the love that is in man and beast is ascribed to God by figure. 25 Perkins, then, would preach about Gods love to laymen; but in works meant for scholarsthose initially published in Latinhe was careful to define all of Gods works as functions of his self-concerned will. Sibbes, by contrast, believed that Gods immanent, intratrinitarian communion consisted of an eternally active love. This love overflowed to the creation as Gods centrifugal self-giving.
The Bruised Reed sermons were gathered, thematically, around the section of Matthews gospel (12:15-21) that applied segments of Isaiah 42 and 43 to the ministry of Jesus. The narrative of the gospel engaged two features of the messianic servant from the Isaiah text: a) Jesus refused to draw attention to himself, and b) he was sensitive to the fragile spiritual state of his followers: A bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 26 It was the second point that Sibbes pressed home as the main thrust of his sermons concerning Christ: He is a physician good at all diseases, especially at the binding up of a broken heart . . . . 27 The problem of sin and Gods solution to sin, Sibbes regularly proclaimed, are both matters of the heart. The solution to sin is a believers entry into Gods eternal love for Christ through the real but mystical union of Christ to the church, his body. His consciously Trinitarian framework ensured Gods love for his saints, not on the basis of their behaviors, nor strictly on juridical grounds, but in a relationship motivated by filial affection:
And what a comfort is this, that seeing Gods love rests on Christ, as well pleased in him, we may gather that he is as well pleased with us, if we be in Christ! For his love rests in whole Christ, in Christ mystical, as well as Christ natural, because he loves him and us with one love. Let us, therefore, embrace Christ, and in him Gods love, and build our faith safely on such a Saviour, that is furnished with so high a commission. See here, for our comfort, a sweet agreement of all three persons: the Father gives a commission to Christ; the Spirit furnishes and sanctifies to it; Christ himself executes the office of a Mediator. Our redemption is founded upon the joint agreement of all three persons of the Trinity. 28
Three themes emerge in The Bruised Reed. Sibbes began with a call for moderation in applying the moral demands of the Bible on young Christians and nonbelievers. Most parishioners, he believed, were already insecure enough about their standing with God! Ministers, instead, should point to Gods attractiveness. The second theme followed logically from the first. Since Gods plan is to redeem people by his own working, not by their efforts, the role of the Spirit in the Covenant of Grace needed to be unfolded. The final movement explored the nature of life lived under Christs rule and with the Spirits presencewhat Sibbes called Christs government of the soul.
Bruising souls for conversion
The first nine chapters of the book unfold the sources and meaning of what it means to be a bruised reed and smoking flax. Sibbes began by acknowledging the premise, shared by most of his puritan colleagues, that God uses the moral laws of the Bible to illuminate human immorality. Thus, the moral grief felt by Humphrey Mills, noted already, would not have been uncommon. Mills three years of feeling wounded for sins, and under a sense of my corruptions represented the bruising felt by many parishioners as their preachers pounded home the demands of Gods holiness. 29 Where Sibbes differed from many colleagues, however, is in his disease-and-cure solution. The solution to an unholy heart is the good news of the gospel rather than the fig leaves of morality. His implicit audience at many points of this section would have been his ministerial colleagues. Without naming names, Sibbes made it clear that he knew not all would agree with him.
Profane spirits, ignorant of Gods ways in bringing his children to heaven, censure broken-hearted Christians [as] desperate persons, whenas God is about a gracious work with them. It is no easy matter to bring a man from nature to grace, and from grace to glory, so unyielding and untractable are our hearts. 30
The challenge is to find a balance between confronting sin and offering the comfort of promised mercy: to preserve just bounds of mercy and severity which is only achieved by having a spirit above our own. 31 It was the parish pastor who bore the burden of bruising saintsand prospective saintsby using the law to call for godly obedience. But where should a minister look to find the Spirits just bounds in the work of confronting sin? Sibbes looked to Christ and his original choice of leaders to build the church. Mercy was his measure. Christ chose those to preach mercy, which had felt most mercy, as St Peter and St Paul; that they might be examples of what they taught. And even Christ himself came to earth, emptying himself of majesty in tender love to souls. Thus, Sibbes insisted, it is incumbent on ministers to show similar humility and care: Shall man be proud after God hath been humble? Failure to apply this truth would be to engage in the proselytizing efforts of the ministers of Satan and to be like the Jesuits. 32 Indeed, the perceived misuse of the moral law by Roman Catholics gave Sibbes one of his sharpest rhetorical points in warning overly-moralistic puritans.
Those fiery, tempestuous, and destructive spirits in popery, that seek to promote their religion by cruelty, show that they are strangers to that wisdom which is from above, which makes men gentle, peaceable, and ready to show that mercy [which] they have felt before themselves. 33
His point was not to avoid confronting sin, including the generic looseness of life which is cruelty to ourselves, and to the souls of others, but to avoid damaging other believers by hasty censures, especially in things of an indifferent nature. The question of motives, more than behaviors, was crucial both in confronting the sin and in offering restoration. Sibbes advice was that love should cover leaders like a mantle when making judgments on lesser errors. 34 The proper analogy for ministry is a common hospital, with believers considering what affection Christ the great physician would apply to the spiritual disease being addressed. Thus, Sibbes believed, the law may be used to display and confront sin, but the basic motive of ministry must be Christs love and mercy being used to drawrather than to coerce by threats or forcebruised souls to embrace holiness.
A Spirit-centered covenant of grace
In chapters ten through seventeen Sibbes offered the covenantal structure of his affective vision of faith, as well as some advice on how to be assured of Gods saving work. His covenantal language sounded similar to the emerging federal theology of his day if treated superficially. The federal model, suggested in the Golden Chaine of William Perkins, and later developed in the Westminster Confession of Faith, held that God offers two fundamental covenants, one of works and another of grace. Where Adam failed to maintain the covenant of works, Christ succeeded. Those who recognized their own Adamic failure to achieve righteousness through works and who took Christ in faith were given a better covenant in Christ, the covenant of grace. These parallel covenants were held to be in operation from Adam onward, with a proleptic certainty from Adam to the coming of Christ that the guilt of sin would be cared for; and after the cross all believers could look back to the cross for their confidence.
Sibbes used the language of two covenants in The Bruised Reedone of works and the other of gracebut he actually adopted Luthers polarity between the two chronological covenants of the Bible. That is, he held the Mosaic law of the Old Testament to be a covenant of works because of its conditional features. By contrast the coming of Christ and the Spirit brought a new era. Thus a believer must know how to distinguish between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, between Moses and Christ . . . . 35 And all those who were saved in the Old Testament era were saved not by works but by transformed hearts, a change that reflected an evangelical mitigation. 36 The fundamental requirement of both covenants is the samethe Shema call to love God in Deuteronomy 6:5. But in the Mosaic era it must be taken in the rigour that is, by human effort; while under grace it becomes delightful to the inner man . . . . 37
In distinguishing the two covenants Sibbes warned that it is the error of the Roman church to collapse the Mosaic law and the Gospel of Christs grace into one covenant. Sibbes Law-Gospel polarity was, in fact, much more Lutheran than Reformedwhich helps account for the charges by John Cotton and others of Sibbes offspring in the New England Antinomian debate that their opponents had, indeed, collapsed the two covenants into one.
The pastoral benefits of the Covenant of Grace were unfolded throughout this section of The Bruised Reed. Because the duty to love God is actually kindled in the soul by the gracious presence of the Spirit, a believer could relax with the assurance that their appetite for spiritual matters would grow because holy truths are conveyed by way of a taste and Grace alters the relish. Or, in a separate analogy, just as fire carries sparks upward, so the Spirit of Grace carries the soul heavenward. 38 The latter analogy captured the second phrase of Sibbes title and Smoking Flax that he believed to be Gods assurance to weak Christians that even the faintest desire for God displayed a work of his grace in thempromising to take believers beyond the stage of merely smoking into the status of the fully enflamed.
Christs government of the soul
In the final section of The Bruised Reed, chapters eighteen to twenty-eight, Sibbes invited readers to a vision of life under Christs government. This unveiled the main assumptions of Sibbes spiritual anthropology which, in turn, represented the most distinctive features of his applied theology. Some context is needed to understand how his approach set him apart from many of his puritan colleagues.
While Sibbes was a student at Cambridge, William Perkins was answering the question of how God reaches humanitythe relation of grace to natureby reengaging Thomas Aquinass thirteenth-century cooperative approach to salvation. 39 Aquinas, with Aristotle, believed that morality is determined by the will, so that virtue is gained by making the virtuous choice. In its Christian expression the human will must be engaged in a saving choice to believe. But Aquinas also held, with Augustine, that the will is crippled by sin. Aquinass solution was to synthesize the moral axiom of Aristotle and Augustines axiom of disability: God places a newly created gift of grace in the souls of the elect that enables the will to operate once again. By this means of gracious enablement the will receives the necessary power to embrace salvation by an act of faith. This enabling habit of grace allowed a person to make the saving decision, a decision God crowned with merit.
This cooperative scheme featured the human and divine wills working together, with the mind using information offered by God. When the will has a set of options set before it, its challenge is to overcome distracting affections. The greater the power of the properly-informed will, the greater its ability to defeat faulty passions. The act of believing is thus the premier work of the will, and is only accomplished by the prevenient enabling grace God had provided.
Sibbes anthropology, by contrast, held that the mind and will are merely instruments of the affections. This offered the compatibilistic solution to the question of how nature and grace are engaged in conversion: God works through the affections of the elect, drawing them to share his values by transforming their hearts. The fallen will, then, is not disabled and in need of more power, but disaffectedmorally opposed to Gods rule because of distorted passionsand thus in need of Gods love. In salvation the Spirit comes to the elect to disclose Gods love to them which then moves their wills to embrace Gods ways.
Christ and we are of one judgment, and of one will. He hath his will in us; and his judgments are so invested into us, as that they are turned into our judgment, we carrying his law in our hearts, written by his Spirit, Jer. 31:33. 40
If the believers affections and duty decline, the solution is to warm ourselves at this fire of his love and mercy in giving himself for us. 41 But even in this apparent initiative of the believer it is actually the Spirits work by which he draws us strongly and must subdue our hearts, and sanctify them to love him, without which all motives would be ineffectual. 42
This assertiveness by the Spirit was critical to Sibbes concept of Christs spiritual government, reflecting his Spirit-Christicisma belief that Christ, in his humanity, relied on the Spirit for his own spiritual conduct. The kenotic emptying of his divine power represented Christs purpose to demonstrate to all believers how life in the Spirit is accomplished. The common reliance of both Christ and his body on the Spirits presence and guidance in their daily conduct served as their bond of unionmaking the language of one body more than a metaphor.
Yet for believers, unlike Christ, the need for the Spirits immediate work is based, prior to grace, on a fundamental disaffection: God finds nothing in us but enmity which then must be transformed. 43 Thus Sibbes looked for the Spirit to function as an active presence in believers livesThe same Spirit that enlightens the mind, inspires gracious inclinations into the will and affections, and infuses strength into the whole man. 44 Judgments are thus born of a soft and pliable heart rather than vice versa:
For without a work upon the heart by the Spirit of God, it will follow its own inclination to that which it affects. . . . For the heart unaltered will not give [freedom] to the judgment coldly and soberly to conclude what is best . . . . Judgment hath not power over itself where the will is unsubdued, for the will and affections bribe it to give sentence for them . . . . 45
Thus, it is only in union with Christ, through the transforming work of his Spirit that Christ prevails and then he backs his own graces in us. Sibbes treats this relational theology of grace as a virtual formula: Grace conquers us first, and we by it conquer all things else; whether it be corruptions within us, or temptations without us. By this government of Christs Spirit . . . our wills are brought to his will. 46
In the penultimate paragraph of The Bruised Reed Sibbes recalled Luthers role as Gods man by whom he kindled that fire by which all the world shall never be able to quench. 47 The parallels between Luthers views and those held by Sibbes are intriguingincluding the polarity of law and grace, an affective anthropology, and a strong emphasis on the Spirits immediate work in believers. It points to Sibbes role in offering a bold but irenic counterpoint to the moralistic puritanism of his era. He perceived a shift within the English Protestant Reformation away from its roots in the century since Luther shook the world. In particular, Sibbes resisted the themes of cooperative theology that were emerging in federal theology. His goals, however, were mainly pastoralseeking to free his listeners from what he saw as a bruising use of the law in his day. The message of the gospel is freedom, the freedom and assurance of being loved by God while being unlovely. His ambitions in the Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax were well-summarized in the final sentence of the work in which he called upon Christ to let the prevailing power of his Spirit in us be an evidence of the truth of grace begun, and the pledge of final victory, at that time when he will be all in all, in all his, for all eternity. Amen. Finis. 48
1. Grosarts Memoir in Works of Richard Sibbes, 7 vols., Alexander B. Grosart, ed., (Edinburgh, 1862-1864; reprint ed., Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1973-1982), 1:xix. Grosarts edition is very reliable and serves as the standard source for Sibbes studies.
2. Baxter, Reliquiæ Baxterianæ, pp. 8, 4, lib. i., pt. 1, 1696, folio. Cited by Grosart, Memoir of Richard Sibbes, D.D. in Sibbes, Works, 1:xxi.
3. He notes in his forward (To the General Reader) that he was aware of a plan for the works to be published by an auditornot an uncommon activity in his daythus he wanted to defend the work by offering a reliable edition and to include some fresh thoughts. Sibbes, Works, 1:38. The dates for the sermons are unknown, thus this relative sense of urgency to preclude publication of an unauthorized version is taken to be adequate evidence that the sermons had been preached within a year or so of the 1630 publication. The great majority of Sibbes sermons were published by friends soon after he died. The works published in Sibbes lifetime constitute just part of the first volume of Grosarts seven-volume edition.
4. John Rogers, Ohel or Bethshemesh, A Tabernacle for the Sun (London, 1653), 410; this work is a collection of puritan testimonials. The particular sermons that affected Mills are not cited in the testimony.
5. E.g. Mark Dever, Richard Sibbes: Puritanism and Calvinism in Late Elizabethan and Early Stuart England (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000), ch. vi. Dever, evaluates Sibbes works by finding excerpts that affirm certain touchstone Reformed doctrines and endorses Sibbes as one of the last of the great Reformed preachers in England (134). The reader is left to infer that Sibbes was merely a subsidiary rather than a seminal theologian. For an alternative interpretation that informs this chapter, see R. N. Frost, Richard Sibbes Theology of Grace and the Division of English Reformed Theology (Ph.D. dissertation, University of London, 1997).
6. Frost, Richard Sibbes, 50-58.
7. Cf. Amy Plantinga Pauw, The Supreme Harmony of All: The Trinitarian Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002) who discusses a) Jonathan Edwards substantial engagement of Sibbes Trinitarian and affective theology, and b)as a separate discussionEdwards mere affirmation of Gods simplicity and his strong development of Gods Trinitarian nature (or, in Edwards neologism: Triplicity).
8. Sibbes heart-based anthropology, discussed later in the chapter, presumed a place for human spiritual initiatives as the fruit of supernaturally-transformed affections; and thus allowed for self-assessments of ones own affectionsbut not the behaviorsas grounds for assurance. This critical distinction has been missed by historians who have traced the doctrine of preparation among puritans; e.g. R. T. Kendall, Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), and Norman Pettit, The Heart Prepared: Grace and Conversion in Puritan Spiritual Life (2nd ed., Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1989; first published 1966).
9. Works, 1.44 & 53; cp. 55 & 59.
10. William Erbery, The Testimony of William Erbery (London, 1658), pp. 67-69; cited in Stanley P. Fienberg, "Thomas Goodwin's Scriptural Hermeneutics and the Dissolution of Puritan Unity", Journal of Religious History 10 (June 1978): 36.
11. E.g. Geoffrey Nuttall, The Holy Spirit in Puritan Faith and Experience (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1992; first published 1946), 14, for Sibbes role in promoting the Spirit. Additionally, a number of recent studies have pointed to Sibbes role in leading a more affective theology that challenged the intellectual or moralist theology of William Perkins and William Ames. These studies share a common starting point, namely the explosion of the Antinomian Controversy under John Cotton, who represented Sibbes views. See, for instance, Michael Schuldiner, Gifts and Works: The Post-Conversion Paradigm and Spiritual Controversy in Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts (Macon: Mercer University Press, 1991); Stephen Strehle, The Catholic Roots of the Protestant Gospel: Encounter Between the Middle Ages and the Reformation (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995); Janice Knight, Orthodoxies in Massachusetts: Rereading American Puritanism (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); Frost, Richard Sibbes.
12. Sibbes, Works, 1.59 & 39.
13. Augustines affective position emerged in the Pelagian debate. Augustine held sin to be concupiscence of the heartan enslavement to a love of self rather than God. In Augustines anthropology the heart is held to generate values; the mind uses the hearts values to consider its options and to offer its best judgments; the will uses those judgments to engage in action. Sibbes familiarity with Augustines views is evident in the Bruised Reed, including at least four citations or allusions to the Latin Father (57, 58, 68 & 70). For a summary of this tradition see R. N. Frost, Aristotles Ethics: The Real Reason for Luthers Reformation?, Trinity Journal 18 NS (1997): 223-241.
14. Sibbes was linked to the Antinomian Controversy, for instance, through John Cotton who had been converted under Sibbes preaching. Both men defined saving grace in relational termsas the believers response to Gods love disclosed to the elect through Scripture, by the Spirit. See David D. Hall, The Antinomian Controversy, 1636-1638: A Documentary History (Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1968).
15. For a critical summary of Sibbes biographical data, see Dever, Richard Sibbes, ch. 1. A contemporary memoir by Zachary Catlin is available in Sibbes Works, 1.cxxxiii-cxli, appended to the editor, A. B. Grosarts nineteenth-century biographical summary, xix f.
16. See Dever, Richard Sibbes, 30-33. Sibbes was elected both Senior Dean and Lector Domesticus of the college in 1615. In 1619, after Sibbes had begun spending substantial time at his new post at Grays Inn, he was made a senior fellow at Cambridgea position of primary leadership, along with the other senior fellows, under the master of the college. This, no doubt, set him up for his later selection as Master of Katharine Hall.
17. Dever, Richard Sibbes, 37; Grosarts Memoir, Works, cxi.
18. Sir Henry Vere served in the Army for King James in the Bohemian campaign (1622-23) and was the first peer created by Charles I. Works, 85 (notes).
19. Mark E. Dever, "Moderation and Deprivation: A Reappraisal of Richard Sibbes," Journal of Ecclesiastical History 43 (1992): 396-413.
20. On both occasions Sibbes was called to testify before the High Commission which led to a reprimand in the first case, and a dissolution of the fundraising organization, confiscation of its funds, with threats of banishment in the second. However no further consequences can be traced in Sibbes career, something Grosart attributed the political shelter provided by Sibbes powerful friends at court. See Grosart, Memoir, Works, 1.lx-lxxv.
21. Grosart notes that a variance would have been necessary for Sibbes to retain both posts. The arrangement points to Sibbes high standing at both the University and Grays Inn. Grosart, Memoir, Works, 1.xlviii-xlix.
22. Michael P. Winship, Making Heretics: Militant Protestantism and Free Grace in Massachusetts, 1636-1641 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002), miscasts Sibbes view of assurance by suggesting that Sibbes believed the immediate witness of the Spirit [was] . . . a rare and special experience and a supplement to the assurance derived from faith and sanctification (36). Sibbes pneumatology and spiritual anthropology were actually very distinct from assurance-by-sanctification views held by William Perkins and others (contra Winships assertion, 16-17). Sibbes optimistic version of assurance relied on the Spirits continuing disclosures of his love which then elicit responsive affections from the saint. Transformed affections then generate transformed behaviors.
23. Sibbes, To the General Reader, Works, 1.39. Most spellings are modernized.
24. Works, 1.38.
25. William Perkins, The Workes of . . . William Perkins, 3 vols. (London, 1626), 1.742. See Frost, Richard Sibbes, 61; cf. Bryan D. Spinks, Two Faces of Elizabethan Anglican Theology: Sacraments and Salvation in the Thought of William Perkins and Richard Hooker (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999), 58-59.
26. Matthew 12:20; Works, 1.42.
27. Works, 1.45.
28. Works, 1.42-43.
29. See Paul S. Seaver, Wallington's World: A Puritan Artisan in Seventeenth-Century London (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985). This study reveals the moral distress felt by at least one puritan layman in Sibbes era.
30. Works, 1.44-45.
31. Works, 1.55.
32. Works, 1.54.
33. Works, 1.55.
34. Works, 1.56.
35. Works, 1.58.
36. Works, 1.59.
37. Works, 1.59.
38. Works, 1.60 & 62.
39. Perkins, in constructing his theology, drew heavily from Geneva, especially incorporating Theodore Bezas theological and anthropological synthesis in his own work. See Strehle, Catholic Roots, for a detailed assessment of the Protestant use of the late medieval voluntarist tradition to describe the working of salvation. Also, Richard A. Muller, Christ and the Decree: Christology and Predestination in Reformed Theology from Calvin to Perkins (Durham: Labyrinth, 1986).
40. Works, 1.78.
41. Works, 1.79.
42. Works, 1.80.
43. Works, 1.82.
44. Works, 1.82.
45. Works, 1.83.
46. Works, 1.87.
47. Works, 1.100.
48. Works, 1.101.
Taken from, The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics by Kelly M. Kapic and Randall C. Gleason. © 2004 by Kelly M. Kapic and Randall C. Gleason. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove IL 60515-1426.


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I am just pluging away on maxing the main stat for each character in FF6. Just got the Paladin Shield. Pretty stoked.
Quote from: Haven on June 17, 2013, 10:35:42 PM I am just pluging away on maxing the main stat for each character in FF6. Just got the Paladin Shield. Pretty stoked. Ah, I'm going through Final Fantasy 6 as well (I'm playing it through the Virtual console though). Just got through the burning house in Thasmas.
why is the last boss so goddamned cheesy. NANOMACHINES, SON. I still can't stop laughing at all of it.
SOMEBODY HELP! I'm already way behind where I wanted to be in Tales of Graces F and yet all of a sudden all I feel like doing is playing through Shadow of the Colossus for the fourth time. >_<
So I did end up sitting down and playing some Graces F.I'd like to say I made some progress, but the entire time was spent grinding for Gald. And even there I didn't really make much headway. My problem is I don't understand this game at all. I spend most of the money I make on boosting equipment, and by the time I make any gald grinding or via the Eleth Mixer/Dualizing my equipment is ready to be further boosted. There is no natural stopping point for boosting, and hell if I know what I'm doing when I boost the things anyway. It's all a bunch of numbers to me with no real order of importance!I don't know. I love this game's story, modified battle system, and the world. But shards and gems just go way over my head -_-

subset: commoncrawl


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Tight At The Top As Japan's Kamei Takes Early World Championship Lead
3 December 2014
Miami, FL - There's an old saying in racing: You can't win a World Championship on the first day of the regatta, but you can certainly lose it. And for more than half of the talented 17-boat Melges 32 World Championship fleet, the points spread is almost unimportant. "We're looking at the top nine boats separated by just nine points after two races," explained Race Officer Anderson Reggio, leader of the Coconut Grove Sailing Club-based Race Committee that braved steep, choppy seas and 15-20 knots of breeze to set the racecourse for the ultra-high performance Melges 32 racers. In contrast to those nine boats, the bottom half of the fleet finds itself with an uphill climb in the quest for a podium finish on Sunday.
Race One saw slightly less breeze than the nuclear conditions at the Pre-Worlds, with teams struggling just before the start to pick the right headsail and rig tension for the puffy course, and with just seconds to the start, Pierre Casiraghi aboard Robertissima staked his claim for the pin end of the starting line. Casiraghi made it stick, leading out to the left, while 23 year-old Dalton DeVos (Holland, Michigan) and his Delta team struggled with an average start, flushed out to the right of the course.
DeVos' team found breeze and shifts on their side, working their way back to the middle with a solid lead over the fleet. Meanwhile, Casiraghi continued to play the shifts reaching the windward mark in third, sandwiched by two Japanese skippers. As DeVos raced down to the gate at speeds nearing 20 knots, Casiraghi jumped into second place, splitting with Delta on the second beat. The always-competitive Richard Goransson aboard Inga From Sweden reveled in the lumpy waves, grinding his way toward the front of the fleet after a mid-line start.
The young Michigander rounded the final mark just a boat length ahead of the Monaco team, and the battle was on. "I really didn't know how close they'd gotten – I'm generally too busy steering and trying to pick my way through the waves to really look around much," said DeVos. "When we finally gybed and I saw them in front of us, I realized our lead had disappeared."
DeVos wasn't phased at all despite coming so close to the race win. "Second place is plenty to be happy with in this fleet," he said, adding that the conditions were 'pretty much perfect for these boats. Ripping through big waves, big breeze, and warm water are what they were created for!'
Picture-perfect conditions continued through a short break, and the aggression these teams are known for bubbled to the surface during the start of Race Two. With the entire team pushing the starting line with ten seconds to go, there was no way Reggio and his team would see an 'all clear' start like Race One, and four boats - including Race One winner Robertissima – were called 'OCS', returning to the start line to clear themselves.
With a long two-mile beat, boatspeed and navigating the bigger waves efficiently was key, and it was reigning World Champion Jason Carroll's Argo coming from the middle left with a three boat length lead at the top mark. The New York-based racer – a competitor in every Melges 32 Worlds ever held – turned three boat lengths into some 3,000 feet at the finish, beating second place Naofumi Kamei on Mamma Aiuto! over the line by over two minutes – an unheard of margin in Melges 32 championship racing. "We were feeling pretty good about a hard-fought seventh in Race One, but that second race really was amazing for us," said Carroll, who credited his crew with the victory. "That's not going to happen too many times at this level of sailboat racing, and these guys earned every inch of it with their hiking and intensity right to the line."
Multiple world champion helm Deneen Demourkas (Santa Barbara, California) showed her downwind form constantly passing boats on the runs to take third place for team Groovederci.
After sailing a mistake free Race One and collecting a fourth place, Kamei and his mostly Spanish team showed good speed and smarts to take the second spot in Race Two behind Carroll. Kamei's six points is good enough for the overall Championship lead, and while Mamma Aiuto's Manu Weiller said he was a little surprised to be leading after Day One, he knew his team was ready for the Worlds. "We progressed a lot and we felt strong going into this regatta," said Weiller, who admitted that Mamma Aiuto! wasn't the fastest boat in the fleet today, but that was OK. "The crew had clean maneuvers, our skipper stayed calm, and we had a good day," he said. "This Championship has barely begun."
Former World Champions William Douglass on Goombay Smash and John Kilroy, Jr. on Samba Pa Ti found themselves on the back foot after just two races. Douglass suffered a knockdown on the first downwind leg of the day, damaging a spinnaker and retiring. While Kilroy was disqualified for a rules infringement at the chaotic top mark of Race 2.
With day one in the books, the motto for many teams it to 'keep grinding.' There are four more long days ahead with plenty of opportunities for teams to rise or drop in the standings. The forecast remains similar for the coming days – a forecast that's almost impossibly good for Melges 32 racing - and you're invited to watch.
Wednesday marks the second day of racing with a first initial warning of 1100.
Please LIKE our Facebook Page for up-to-the-minute coverage of the Melges 32 World Championship, including photos, videos, interviews, and much more.
TOP TEN RESULTS (After Two Races)
1.) Naofumi Kamei/Manu Weiller, Mamma Aiuto!; 4-2 = 6
2.) Jason Carroll/Cameron Appleton, Argo; 7-1 = 8
3.) Dalton DeVos/Jonathan McKee, Delta; 2-7 = 9
4.) Pierre Casiraghi/Vasco Vascotto, Robertissima; 1-9 = 10
5.) Alessandro Rombelli/Terry Hutchinson, STIG; 5-6 = 11
6.) Richard Goransson/Morgan Larson, Inga From Sweden; 3-10 = 13
7.) Alec Cutler/Richard Clarke, hedgehog; 10-4 = 14
8.) Ryan DeVos/James Spithill, Volpe; 6-8 = 14
9.) Deneen Demourkas/Flavio Favini, Groovederci; 12-3 = 15
10.) Edoardo Lupi & Massimo Pessina/Lorenzo Bressani, Torpyone; 8-14 = 22
View Official Yachtscoring Event Website
View The Full Entry List
View Full Crew List
View Photo Gallery - Carlo Borlenghi
View Photo Gallery - Sharon Green
View Complete Video Gallery of Promos, Previews and Interviews
Melges 32 on Facebook
Melges 32 on YouTube
Melges 32 on Twitter
Melges 32 on Instagram


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jck45 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 295 designs submitted by 50 freelance designers.
I am a young entrepreneur starting a chain of fast casual (fast food) sushi restaurants. As opposed to traditional sushi restaurants, which offer waiter table service, the pachinko! concept will feature completely over the counter (fast food style) ordering. Customers will order sushi meals either at the counter from a person (like any other fast food restaurant) or via a self ordering kiosk. Our product is going to be fun and fresh and unique to fast food. As such, we are going to create a brand and atmosphere that corresponds to our product. As an overall theme, our goal is to create an environment that speaks to the colorful, fun, fast, high-energy, hi-tech modern side of contemporary Japanese culture. Whereas every Japanese sushi restaurant in the US has an upscale, traditional, cultural, 19th-century feel, pachinko will instead explore this modern, colorful side of Japan. As such we want a logo that reflects these ideals.
18-34. from college students to 20 somethings to young professionals.
some guidelines:
definitely want something that is COLORFUL. Not necessarily a lot of colors but thinking bright colors. maybe something pink and blue... or pink, blue and yellow.. but BRIGHT. Also something that's not overly compicated. maybe a cartoon-ish fish? maybe a few mini fish in different colors?
just want a cool sleek modern colorful design. BE CREATIVE though!
attached are two files:
1) a mock logo I created as a possible starting point
2) an example of some mini fish to maybe (not required) incorporate into the logo. not necessarily these fish but this type.
Again nothing is required just some ideas.
I will give guidance as submissions come in or you can email questions at
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Pulsations (04.27.12)
Here are the latest Pulsations, links to fresh stories and visuals about Japan, shout-outs to fellow bloggers, and highly clickable stuff that we think you might enjoy.
In no particular order, they are . . .
- On Making Ice Cream Out of Plastic in Japan (from This Japanese Life): Japan is world-famous for its varied cuisine, and pictures just aren't enough. This Japanese Life goes through the history and production method of Japan's fake plastic foods.
- The end of the line (from The Adventures of a Foreign Salaryman in Tokyo): In an unexpected break, Mr. Salaryman finds himself in a park alongside a homeless guy and another salaryman, who is looking sad. From this, the author draws an extreme conclusion.
- Turntable Rider lets bike riders be DJs (from Spoon & Tamago): You know the feeling — you're riding through Yoyogi Park, doing kick flips on your BMX, but it's just not enough street cred for you. Why not DJ at the same time? Leave it to the Japanese to make "being cool" more time efficient.
- Japanese astrology and warrior robot condoms (from Japan Sugoi): Some people choose their partner based on his or her zodiac sign. Of course, if you go this far, you might as well go all the way and choose your birth control by zodiac sign, too.
- Sadako throws ceremonial first pitch at Tokyo Dome (from Nippon Cinema): Warning: If you watch this video, you may not live to see the next Pulsations blog. And that really would be a shame.


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A new documentary film looks into the turbulent debate over immigration in Arizona and the passage of SB 1070.
The new documentary State of Arizona opens with Gov. Jan Brewer descending the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building after hearing arguments of key provisions of SB 1070, the state's controversial immigration law.
Mixing interviews with footage of heated protest rallies and TV coverage, State of Arizona tells the stories of Arizonans on all sides of this divisive issue, said film co-producer and director Carlos Sandoval.
"The project came about for me...in April 2010, I listened in on the Legislature and saw the developments of SB 1070 and...that issue of 'reasonable suspicion,'" he said. "That was the catalyst for many of us to start paying attention, and that's where my draw into the story really began. "
Sandoval said the story of SB 1070 involves many characters. The film has no narration and is told entirely through the voices of activists, politicians, Latino immigrants, ranchers, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and members of Tea Party movement.
Catherine Tambini, who co-produced and directed the film with Sandoval, and also worked as the main videographer for the film, said supporters of SB 1070 call it a common sense law-enforcement tool, while opponents feel it will inevitably lead to racial profiling.
However, what the film documents is how neighborhoods empty, businesses shutter, as immigrants flee the state.
"We really had an easy entry into the pro-immigrant community… we had a little more difficulty cracking the pro SB 1070 side of the issue, and it took us a while before we could interview Russell Pearce, the architect of the bill," Tambini said. "And it took us even longer to find people who could talk to us from that sort of middle ground."
Many people left Arizona when the law was passed. The filmmakers said those who choose to stay organized boycotts, mass demonstrations, daring acts of civil disobedience, and prepared families for the possibility of separation by sudden deportation.
Sandoval said Arizona's enforcement-led policy is reshaping the national conversation around immigration reform.
The film State of Arizona airs Monday on Independent Lens on our sister station PBS-6 at 10 p.m. And, see an in-depth look at the current state of the immigration debate on Arizona Week* on PBS-6 – Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. *


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UBISOFT: Just Dance 4 out October 4th
The next game in the lucrative Just Dance series will launch on October 4th in Europe (October 9th in the US).
The latest title in Ubisoft's hugely popular dancing series will once again arrive on Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 - complete with Kinect and Move capabilities.
But this year's edition will also be part of Wii U's launch line-up.


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13.6 Policies and Guidelines
Leaders ensure that the following policies and guidelines are observed in all Church activities.
Accident Prevention and Response
See 13.6.20.
Adult Supervision
At least two adult supervisors must be present at all Church-sponsored activities attended by children, youth, and young single adults. Additional adults may be needed depending on the size of the group, the skill level of the group (for activities requiring certain skills), anticipated environmental conditions, and the overall degree of challenge of the activity. Parents should be encouraged to help.
In the United States, all adult leaders who participate in Scouting must be registered with the Boy Scouts of America (see First Presidency letter, May 12, 2017). These leaders must comply with Church policies and with the guidelines in the BSA publication Guide to Safe Scouting.
Commercial or Political Activities
Activities that would use Church facilities for any commercial or political purpose are not permitted. For policies on using Church buildings and other property, see 21.2.
Copyrighted Materials
See 21.1.12.
Curfew Laws
Activities should comply with community curfew laws.
Dances and Music
In all dances, the dress, grooming, lighting, dancing styles, lyrics, and music should contribute to an atmosphere where the Spirit of the Lord can be present (see For the Strength of Youth). Those who oversee dances should carefully follow the policies outlined below.
Leaders use the Performance Contract form when hiring a band, orchestra, or disc jockey. This contract helps ensure that conduct and music are appropriate for Church dances. Those who provide music should not use inappropriate lyrics and should not dress or talk immodestly. Leaders hold auditions and make firm, clear agreements in writing that commit the persons who provide music to follow Church standards when performing for Church activities.
The beat of the music, whether instrumental or vocal, should not overshadow the melody. The volume should be low enough to allow two people who are standing side by side to hear each other as they carry on a normal conversation.
Lights should be bright enough for people to see across the room. Strobe lighting and psychedelic lighting that pulsate with the beat are not acceptable. Lights on the floor, in the corners of the room, or spotlighting wall and ceiling decorations are appropriate.
Devotionals for Participants in Activities
A brief devotional program may be held as part of an activity. Devotionals typically include a prayer, a hymn or musical selection, remarks by a leader, and a spiritual thought, testimony, or scripture by one or more participants. Such programs can help invite the Spirit and keep activities in perspective.
Fund-Raising Activities
Fund-raising activities are not usually approved because expenses for stake and ward activities are paid with budget funds. As an exception, a stake president or bishop may authorize one group fund-raising activity each year. Such an activity may be held to raise funds for the following purposes only:
If a fund-raising activity is held, it should provide a meaningful value or service. It should be a positive experience that builds unity.
Contributions to fund-raising activities are voluntary. Priesthood leaders should take special care to ensure that members do not feel obligated to contribute.
Stakes and wards that sponsor fund-raising activities should not advertise or solicit beyond their boundaries. Nor should they sell products or services door to door.
Examples of fund-raising activities that are not approved include:
Any exceptions to these instructions must be approved by the Area Presidency.
The Friends of Scouting fund drive in the United States will continue as a separate, voluntary solicitation.
Automobile Insurance
See 13.6.24.
Personal Health and Accident Insurance
In many parts of the world, health and accident insurance coverage is available to Church members through employer-sponsored, personal, or government programs. Where such coverage is available, members are responsible to access all available benefits provided through it if they incur an injury during a Church activity.
Church Activity Medical Assistance Program
In the United States and Canada, the Church Activity Medical Assistance Program provides secondary medical and dental benefits and specific death and dismemberment benefits. This program is primarily designed to supplement, not replace, a person's own health and accident insurance.
Members who plan, conduct, and supervise activities in these countries should be knowledgeable about the Church Activity Medical Assistance Program, including its restrictions and limitations. The program is outlined in the Church Activity Medical Assistance Handbook, which may be obtained by contacting:Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators
P.O. Box 45530
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0530
Telephone: 1-801-578-5650 or 1-800-777-1647
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web site: www.dmba.com/churchactivity
Personal Liability Insurance
Where possible, those who oversee activities should protect themselves by carrying reasonable amounts of liability insurance. Such insurance may be available through homeowners insurance or other policies.
Monday Nights
Monday nights are reserved for family home evening throughout the Church. No Church activities, meetings, baptismal services, games, or practices should be held after 6:00 p.m. on Mondays. Other interruptions to family home evening should be avoided. An exception may be made when New Year's Eve is on a Monday (see 13.6.11).
Leaders ensure that Church buildings and other facilities are closed on Monday nights.
Where practical, members may want to encourage community and school leaders to avoid scheduling activities on Monday evenings that require children or parents to be away from their homes.
New Year's Eve Parties
When New Year's Eve falls on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, and when Church activities are planned, leaders should observe the following guidelines.
Saturday. The stake president schedules an alternate Sunday for observing fast day. Dancing and similar activities are discontinued at midnight, but refreshments or a meal may be served afterward. Participants should not be kept past a reasonable hour so they can be available for Sunday meetings.
Sunday. (1) Dancing and similar activities may be planned for Saturday, December 30, using the guidelines in the previous paragraph. (2) Instead of Church units planning activities, families may be encouraged to celebrate New Year's Eve in their homes. Activities should be appropriate for the Sabbath day. (3) Special meetings could be held at a reasonable hour on Sunday evening.
Monday. All families are encouraged to have their family home evenings before participating in public gatherings. No Church-sponsored New Year's Eve activities should be scheduled before 9:00 p.m. The stake president or bishop may authorize the use of Church buildings on Monday evening in this instance.
Overnight Activities
Parental permission is required for all Church-sponsored overnight activities involving youth (see 13.6.13).
Church-sponsored overnight activities for combined groups of young men and young women or for combined groups of male and female single adults are not authorized unless approved by the stake president and bishop. Such activities are only rarely held, such as for a youth conference or temple visit.
On Church-sponsored overnight activities, leaders arrange sleeping accommodations so that male and female participants do not sleep in immediate proximity to each other. Male and female leaders must have separate sleeping facilities. Married couples may share the same quarters if appropriate facilities are available.
On Church-sponsored overnight activities, a child or youth may not stay in the same tent or room as an adult unless (1) the adult is his or her parent or guardian or (2) there are at least two adults in the tent or room who are the same gender as the child or youth.
If adult leaders and children or youth share other overnight facilities, such as a cabin, there must be at least two adults in the facility, and they must be the same gender as the child or youth.
All Church-sponsored overnight activities must include at least two adult leaders.
A sufficient number of adult priesthood leaders must be present at all times during overnight activities to provide support and protection. In the case of Young Women activities, priesthood leaders must stay in facilities separate from the young women.
Leaders fill out an Activity Plan form for all overnight activities.
Overnight activities at Church meetinghouses or meetinghouse grounds are not approved.
Overnight activities at commercial buildings such as sports malls or gyms are not approved. With approval from priesthood leaders, dances or other activities may be held in commercial buildings after closing hours if the activities end at midnight.
Parental Permission
Parents or guardians should be informed and give consent when youth participate in a Church activity. Written consent is necessary if an activity involves travel outside the local area (as determined by local leaders) or staying overnight. Leaders may also request written consent for other activities when they feel it is appropriate.
Parents and guardians give this consent by signing the Parental or Guardian Permission and Medical Release form. The person who leads the activity should have a signed form for each participant for each activity that requires written consent.
Participation of Youth under 14 Years of Age
Youth under age 14 do not usually participate in youth conferences or in dances that are held at times other than the regularly scheduled Mutual night.
Portrayal of Deity
God the Father and the Holy Ghost are not to be portrayed in meetings, dramas, or musicals.
If the Savior is portrayed, it must be done with the utmost reverence and dignity. Only brethren of wholesome personal character should be considered for the part. The person who portrays the Savior should not sing or dance. When speaking, he should use only direct quotations of scriptures spoken by the Savior.
At the end of the performance, the person should not wear the costume in the foyer or elsewhere. He should change immediately into street clothes.
The Savior should not be portrayed by children in dramatization except in a nativity scene.
Prayers at Activities
All activities should be opened and, when appropriate, closed with prayer.
Renting Non-Church Facilities for Activities
When Church facilities are inadequate for a stake or multistake activity, facilities may be rented with approval from the bishop or stake president and from Church physical facilities representatives.
Local units may be asked to show evidence of liability insurance when renting or using facilities that are not owned by the Church. The bishop or stake president may obtain a certificate showing evidence of insurance from the Risk Management Division at Church headquarters or from the assigned administrative office. Requests should include the name and address of the requester (normally the owner of the facility), a description and location of the facility, the liability limits required, and other pertinent information. Leaders should plan well in advance to allow time to prepare and mail the certificates.
Reports of Abuse
If a leader becomes aware of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of someone during a Church activity, he or she should contact the bishop immediately. Instructions for bishops are provided in Handbook 1, 17.3.2.
Sabbath Day Observance
No Church-sponsored sports events (such as games, practices, or travel) or recreational events (such as camping or hiking) are to be scheduled on Sunday. Nor should youth groups and others travel to or from camps or youth conferences on Sunday.
When security risks or travel costs are serious issues, leaders can schedule some youth activities on Sunday. Such activities should be separate from the Sunday meeting schedule and in keeping with the spirit of the Sabbath.
Safety Precautions and Accident Response and Reporting
Safety Precautions
Activities should involve minimal risk of injury or illness to participants. Activities should also involve minimal risk of damage to property. During activities, leaders make every effort to ensure safety. By planning effectively and following safety precautions, leaders can minimize the risk of accidents.
Activities should include appropriate training and proper supervision. They should also be appropriate for the participants' age and maturity.
Leaders should be prepared for emergencies that may occur. They should also know in advance how to contact local law enforcement and emergency services.
Accident Response
If an accident or injury occurs on Church property or during a Church-sponsored activity, leaders observe the following guidelines, as applicable:
Accident Reporting
The bishop or stake president should be notified promptly if:
If a person has been seriously injured or is missing, if property has been seriously damaged, or if legal action is threatened or anticipated, the stake president (or a bishop under his direction), promptly takes one of the following actions:
Leaders also report injuries and damage involving Church facilities or property to the facilities manager.
Insurance and Questions
Leaders should review the applicability of the Church Activity Medical Assistance Program if an injury occurred during a Church-sponsored activity, event, or assignment. For information about insurance, see 13.6.9.
The stake president (or a bishop under his direction) refers questions about safety issues or claims against the Church to the Risk Management Division or to the area office.
Church sports activities provide opportunities for wholesome physical activity, fellowship, and sportsmanship. The emphasis in Church sports is on participation, sportsmanship, and skill development, not competition. All team members should have regular opportunities to play.
The stake presidency approves the rules for sports activities sponsored within their stake. If area or multistake sports activities are held, the Area Presidency approves rules for all participating units. Rules used in local school and community sports activities may be consulted.
If multistake sports activities are held, they are administered by sports specialists who are called by agent stake presidents designated by the Area Presidency. Area sports tournaments are not approved.
Participants in Church-sponsored sports activities do not need to be Church members. However, they should live in the stake's boundaries and agree to follow Church standards and policies.
The stake presidency establishes guidelines that specify the ages at which players may participate in Church sports. These guidelines should take into account the local culture, geographical setting, school system, and rules of governing sports organizations. Such decisions should be made before the start of a season so everyone who is involved understands the age and eligibility rules.
Schools, states, provinces, and national sports organizations often establish rules about playing on school teams and Church teams in the same sport season. Church leaders and participants in Church sports ensure that they follow these rules. Violating them can result in the loss of eligibility for school teams and individuals.
In the United States and Canada, a person who is a member of a school sports team generally is not eligible to participate in the same sport in the same season in the Church sports program. School teams include those associated with junior high or middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities, including junior colleges. This guideline does not apply to those who participate in intramural sports. If two schedules of play are either concurrent or overlapping, they are considered to be in the same season. Leaders encourage youth who play on school teams to assist with Church sports programs in ways other than as players.
Team uniforms should be simple, inexpensive, modest, and appropriate for the activity. Colored T-shirts or pullover reversible shirts are usually sufficient. Uniforms should be paid for from the stake or ward budget.
The presentation of team or individual awards or trophies is discouraged.
Taxable Activities
Leaders ensure that activities do not jeopardize the Church's tax-exempt status. For guidelines, see 21.2.
Temple Visits
Temple visits are organized on the ward or stake level within the assigned temple district. Organized ward or stake visits to temples outside the assigned temple district are not encouraged. Such visits would require the approval of the stake presidency. Overnight temple visits also require the approval of the stake presidency.
Temple visits must comply with the travel policies in 13.6.24. Overnight temple visits must also comply with the policies in 13.6.12.
Members who travel in Church-sponsored groups should have the approval of the bishop or stake president. Travel for activities should not place undue burdens on members.
Long-distance travel for activities is discouraged. If a stake president or bishop feels that such travel may be justified, he prayerfully considers the potential spiritual benefits of the activity, the cost of the travel, and the effect on families before approving it.
If long-distance travel for an activity is approved, members should not provide it at their own expense. Nor should significant portions of the stake or ward budget allowance be retained from one year to the next to cover travel expenses.
Travel practices and the application of guidelines in this section should be consistent among units in the same coordinating council. Stake presidents may discuss and agree on general consistency in travel practices during coordinating council meetings.
Leaders fill out an Activity Plan form for activities that involve travel outside the local area.
When a Church activity for youth involves travel outside the local vicinity or staying overnight, parents should give written permission for their children to participate (see 13.6.13). Responsible adult supervision must be provided (see 13.6.2).
When feasible, Church groups should use commercial transportation that is licensed and is protected by liability insurance.
When Church groups travel in private passenger vehicles, each vehicle should be in safe operating condition, and each person should use a seat belt. Each driver should be a licensed, responsible adult. All vehicles and drivers should be covered with reasonable amounts of automobile liability insurance.
Church organizations may not own or acquire automobiles or buses for group travel.
A man and a woman should not travel alone together for Church activities, meetings, or assignments unless they are married to each other or are both single.
Unapproved Activities
Church units may not sponsor the following activities. Leaders, parents, and others who plan or participate in Church activities should be aware of these restrictions.
If a bishop has a question about whether an activity is appropriate, he directs it to the stake president. Stake presidents may address questions to the Area Presidency.
- Home
- Handbook 2
- 13. Activities


text: On October 14, 1066, at the Battle of Hastings in England, King Harold II (c.1022-66) of England was defeated by the Norman forces of William the Conqueror (c.1028-87). By the end of the bloody, all-day battle, Harold was dead and his forces were destroyed. He was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, as the battle changed the course of history and established the Normans as the rulers of England, which in turn brought about a significant cultural transformation.


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- Home
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- The Act of Union Black List 1800/1801
- 'Orphans' List of 1847 - The Great Famine
- 17 Tips + 1 for Family History/Genealogy Research in Ireland
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Saturday, December 25, 2010
Nollaig Shona Dhuit, Merry Christmas to All
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of our Family and Friends, and Friends we have not yet met! In whatever way you celebrate, may your holiday be filled with happiness and the makings of wonderful memories. Cheers! Jennifer
Nollaig Shona Dhuit*
Joyeux Noël
Καλά Χριστούγεννα
Feliz Navidad
Buon Natale
Gelukkige kerstdagen
Frohe Weihnachten
Счастливого рождества
Glædelig Jul
Hyvää Joulua
Boldog Karácsonyt
Maligayang Pasko
*(pronounced 'null-ig hun-a dit') is Irish Gaelic for Merry Christmas.
©Copyright J.Geraghty-Gorman 2010.
4 comments:
Merry Christmas Jennifer!ReplyDelete
Merry christmas to all and happy new year too!ReplyDelete
A happy Christmas to you, Jennifer!ReplyDelete
100 Years in America
Small-leaved Shamrock
A light that shines again
Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture
Merry Christmas Jennifer. I love your tag line!ReplyDelete
Comments on this blog are always deeply appreciated; however, in the spirit of true collegiality, I ask that you do not write something you would not say to me in person.
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Any comments that are mean-spirited, include URLs which are not connected to the post topic, contain misinformation, or in any way resemble advertising, will be removed.
Cheers, Jennifer
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The 10 Best Twitter Reactions to Lindsay Lohan's (Millionth) Arrest
In case you missed it, Lindsay Lohan went to a Justin Bieber concert and then punched a lady in the face last night. Unsurprisingly, nobody is particularly surprised. That's not stopping people from tweeting up a storm about it though. We've culled through the massive stream of LiLo tweets pouring in and picked out our favorites. For a chuckle at the expense of everyone's favorite terrible Elizabeth Taylor, take a gander at these gems.


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(RNN) - Radio legend Casey Kasem has died, according to his daughter Kerri Kasem. He was 82.
Kerri Kasem said, on her Facebook page, he died surrounded by family and friends on Father's Day.
She wrote: Even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering, we are heartbroken. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers. The world will miss Casey Kasem, an incredible talent and humanitarian; we will miss our Dad.
Tensions between his wife, Jean, and his children have played out publicly in court as his health declined. His daughter was granted authority to determine his medical care by a California court after his kids argued their stepmother would not allow them to see their dad.
Kasem's children had reported him missing in May, but Kasem was later discovered to be staying with his wife and some friends in the Seattle area. Daughter Kerri Kasem was allowed to take him to see a doctor of her choosing, but another incident took place between Jean and the children when the stepmother threw raw meat at them.
On June 11, a judge allowed Casey Kasem to be removed from feeding and hydration tubes at the request of his daughter.
Kasem has been the voice of the nationally syndicated radio show American Top 40 since it launched in 1970.
His countdown format and biographical tidbits about the artists, which Kasem pioneered, along with his long-distance dedications became hallmarks of the weekly program. He also coined his signature phrase, "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."
He eventually retired from hosting the show in January 2004 and turned over the reins to Ryan Seacrest. However, Kasem continued to host American Top 20 and American Top 10 until they were canceled in 2009.
Before hosting the popular radio programs, Kasem had a broadcast career that was already two decades in the making. That included an assignment as a disc jockey on the Armed Services Network after he was drafted into the Army and sent to Korea in 1952.
He also had a successful TV career as a voice actor, most famously as the voice of "Shaggy" in the 1970s cartoon Scooby-Doo.
Kemal Amin Kasem was born in Detroit on April 27, 1932 to Lebanese immigrants.
His career as an actor on national radio shows began while he was majoring in speech communication at Wayne State University.
After college, Kasem worked at radio stations in his hometown and throughout the Midwest and New York before settling in Los Angeles.
Kasem's second wife, Jean, revealed in court documents related to a lawsuit filed by a former caregiver that he was terminally ill. Jean Kasem said that her husband was unable to leave their house.
Kasem has been battling Parkinson's disease and may have early onset dementia, according to a separate court filing by one of his children. In a conservatorship petition Julie Kasem and her husband filed in October 2013, she claims her father has been isolated from his three children, whom he had with his first wife.
A Los Angeles judge denied that request a month later, ruling that Jean Kasem was giving her late husband "good to excellent care."
Legal trouble and controversy surrounding the family did not end there.
The late radio personality's former caretaker, Hilda Loza, won a lawsuit in December 2013, claiming Jean Kasem accused Loza of stealing and subjected her to emotional abuse. A judge ruled in favor of Loza, awarding her $10,000 and court costs.
Copyright 2013 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.


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Researchers analyzed national data detailing relationship characteristics between mothers and their children during their toddler years. The lower the quality of the relationship in terms of the child's emotional security and the mother's sensitivity, the higher the risk that a child would be obese at age 15 years, according to the analysis.
Among those toddlers who had the lowest-quality emotional relationships with their mothers, more than a quarter were obese as teens, compared to 13 percent of adolescents who had closer bonds with their mothers in their younger years.
The findings mirror previous research by these scientists that showed toddlers who did not have a secure emotional relationship with their parents were at increased risk for obesity by age 4 ½. This body of work suggests the areas of the brain that control emotions and stress responses, as well as appetite and energy balance, could be working together to influence the likelihood that a child will be obese.
Rather than blaming parents for childhood obesity, the researchers say these findings suggest that obesity prevention efforts should consider strategies to improve the mother-child bond and not focus exclusively on eating and exercise: "It is possible that childhood obesity could be influenced by interventions that try to improve the emotional bonds between mothers and children rather than focusing only on children's food intake and activity," said Professor Sarah Anderson. "The sensitivity a mother displays in interacting with her child may be influenced by factors she can't necessarily control. Societally, we need to think about how we can support better-quality maternal-child relationships because that could have an impact on child health," she said.
The researchers analyzed data from 977 participants in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a project of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The sample in this national study included diverse families living in nine U.S. states whose children were born in 1991.
MEDICA.de; Source: Ohio State University


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Q: I'm a 100 percent disabled war veteran and have a canine companion dog (yellow lab) that goes with me everywhere as my hearing dog. I lost most of my hearing in the war from enemy fire. Is it legal to take a companion dog turkey or deer hunting? Can my dog go turkey hunting on a leash — not as a hunting dog but as a hearing dog? My dog has never been trained to hunt and he won't be part of that life. He wouldn't be chasing game, but because he is my second set of ears, can he be used for hearing? (Larry L.)
A: Yes, you can use your dog in the situations described. Generally, there's no prohibition against using dogs (having them with you) while bird hunting, but there is a one dog per hunter limit during general deer season. No dogs are allowed during archery deer season or while hunting with an archery-only tag (California Code of Regulations, section 265).
Transferring a Sturgeon Tag to Another Person
Q: While bank fishing in the Delta recently, I watched some people nearby land a legal-sized sturgeon. They took some pictures and were about to release the 63-incher when a family came running up and asked if they could keep it for dinner. It appeared to me that the catch-and-release fisherman felt compelled to give it to them, and he did.
I could not tell whether the sturgeon was properly tagged before the transfer of ownership because the family left pretty quickly. I thought I might offer one of my tags as I am also a catch-and-release fisherman who has never landed a sturgeon and would never need three tags, but I am wondering if this would be legal. Not knowing, I decided not to give up my tag. My question is, can someone donate a sturgeon tag to another fisherman? (Rob Grasso)
A: No, that is not legal. According to California Department of Fish & Game Lt. Scott Melvin, all fishing licenses, tags, permits and report cards are issued to a specific user and the Fish and Game Code expressly prohibits their transfer to another person. To emphasize this, "non-transferable" precedes the words "report card" in both the general report card requirements and the white sturgeon regulations in the Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations booklet.
Although the tags are removed from the card to tag a fish, sturgeon tags are uniquely correlated to one specific report card and may not be transferred to another user.
How to Take Two Limits of Horse Neck Clams
Q: My wife and I are heading to Dillion Beach for some camping and clamming for horse neck clams. I was told the limit is 10 clams per day per person. I was also told it would not be legal to dig clams for another person who is back at the campsite. I want to confirm that I can indeed do the digging for both my wife and myself as long as she is right there with me. Digging 4 feet or deeper into the wet sand would be difficult for her. This will be the first time we've done this. Please let me know if there are any other "gotchas" we should be aware of before we go. We don't want to break any rules. (Bob D.)
A: No gotchas here. Horse neck clams are more correctly referred to as gaper clams. Gaper clams are often harvested with Washington clams so the limits are ten of each species. Due to the fact that their shells are often broken during harvest, the first ten of either species taken must be retained.
As with any other fish or shellfish you pursue and harvest in California, you may only take one bag/possession limit per day for yourself. Taking an additional limit for someone else is not permitted. One thing you can do is if you plan to be there for more than one day, you may take a bag limit the first day and give it to your wife. Then on the following day you can harvest another bag limit for yourself. By doing it this way, you and your wife can still have your maximum possession limits.
Importing Cougars Taken Legally Out-of-State
Q: What do I need to do to legally bring into the state a cougar hide and meat that was legally taken in Nevada during the current 2011 season? (Peter Meyer)
A: You can't. It is illegal to import any part of a mountain lion since the passage of Proposition 117 in 1990, which created section 4800 of the Fish and Game Code.


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Kate Upton: 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit Issue 2013 Cover!
Kate Upton shows off her buxom body while going nearly topless on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue 2013, on newsstands February 12.
The 20-year-old model was photographed in the freezing cold weather aboard a cruise sailing around Antarctica for the issue, which represents models posing on all seven continents of the globe.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Kate Upton
Kate and nine of the other models from the issue will be making an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday (February 11). Make sure to tune in!
For more from the issue, make sure to visit SI.com!
FYI: Kate is wearing the Canada Goose Chilliwack Bomber.
WHAT DO YOU THINK of Kate Upton's cover for Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue?
Bigger cover pic inside…


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NFL superstar Terrell Owens isn't just looking for a new team -- he's also looking for a new chick ... and yesterday dude told us he's got his sights set on one Halle Berry.
Outside the Warren-Tricomi salon in L.A., Owens told us he's all fired up since hearing that she broke up with her baby daddy.
In fact, T.O. is so confident he'll lock it down, he told our cameraman, "Trust me ... with a body like this ... and a body like hers ... I don't need to spit no game. That's just real talk."
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