Friday, December 12, 2008

Connections

I don’t think I’m addicted to my computer access… really, I’m not! Right?

Last weekend my laptop failed to boot up. It has visited the laptop hospital, been diagnosed and the treatment involves backing up all my files and re-installing the operating system. During this time of computer health crisis, I have checked my email from my work computer (shhh, don’t tell!) but Facebook is blocked at my job site. Duh.

Little did I realize how I’ve been sucked into cyber-time. Now, I do have ways to communicate with my friends; I could use the phone or another email service or (gasp) snail mail! But that FB thing is soooo convenient! I can scroll through my friends list and find out how they are, where they are and what they’re doing. I can click to send food and mammograms, farm fish to provide clean water and challenge folks to a friendly (or not) game of word find.

In the absence of FB, I have been crocheting Christmas shawls while watching television – not sending fish to other tanks. I’ve been writing addresses on Christmas cards - not posting on people's walls. I’ve been reading my back-log of magazines - not browsing my "causes." I’ve been playing with my dogs - not clicking on the "give a penny to the Humane Society." I’ve been jealous of my family members who have their own computers and don’t have to beg time from someone else!!!!!!!

Arghhh.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy New Year! (New church year, that is!)

Today is Advent 1 in the Episcopal Church. It's the first day of the new church year, Year One for the Daily Office readings. We'll be reading the Revised Common Lectionary for Year B.

Advent is one of two penitential seasons in the church year - the other being Lent - which are precursors to the two major holidays of the church. Observing the penitential seasons heightens the anticipation and deepens the joy of the Christmas and Easter celebrations. Additionally, observing Advent can emphasize the gulf that separates the secular celebration of Christmas from the religious celebration of the birth of Jesus.

I offer you links to some religious Advent calendars. Enjoy them as you munch your bit of chocolate from a calendar you may have picked up at the store!

Episcopal Diocese of Washington Advent Calendar

Artcyclopedia Advent Calendar

Beliefnet Advent Calendar

Explore Faith
Advent Calendar

Trinity Church Wall Street Advent Calendar

This last link is for a group called Advent Conspiracy which encourages us to "Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All." Check it out!

In recognition of the new church year, I annually make a resolution on Advent 1 to read scripture and a meditation each day. So, here goes! Happy New Year!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Touring

Most of my traveling in the past few years has been done with groups of people... mission trips, field trips with kids, church retreats. I have rarely given myself the time to take leisurely photos. Recently, I had the luxury of a weekend away from home, including a solo tour of a major tourist location.

At the Alamo, I rented the headset tour and actually hit "pause" when I didn't want to move along! I got to walk at my own pace! Wow. And I got to sit through the whole docent lecture where I finally understood the Texas independence idea.

The morning was chilly and overcast, the crowd had not yet arrived. It really was a luxury to pause where I wanted and stay until I felt ready to move along. So, enjoy some close-up photos... my attempt at artsy. Note to self: get to know my point-and-shoot camera a little better!

Now, it wasn't all solo touring. On Saturday, my tolerant husband walked with me through the King William district and around the local missions.
It was nice to get off the beaten tourist path. There are still some things I'd like to see in San Antonio, maybe we'll get back there someday.



Thursday, November 06, 2008

Years In the Making

Sunday afternoon my daughters and I heard that Obama would make an election eve visit to Manassas. We locked eyes and asked, simultaneously, "wanna go?"

Monday afternoon found us on the road to the Prince William Co. fairgrounds. The normally 45 minute drive took us just over two hours to accomplish; we arrived after dark. An excited crowd made its way to the rally area. We were already too late to get very close to the stage, but we did end up getting a spot with a clear view to the speakers' podium. Barack was to arrive at 9:00. The crowd was pretty patient as we stood shoulder-to-shoulder, waiting for the presidential candidate to arrive. Finally, at 10:30, after 6 rounds through the DJ's playlist, two performances by a local gospel group and speeches from several Northern Virginia candidates, the music blared and a slender man in shirt sleeves bounded onto the stage. For 40 minutes he thanked us for being there, told us stories, made us promises, and lived up to our expectations.

After Obama's speech, 100,000 people turned toward home. Getting out of the fairgrounds could have been a study in currents as we flowed across the fields, stalled out at fences, crossed the road and searched for the car. That's right, we couldn't find the car. By the time we did come across the car, gridlock kept us in the parking lot until 1:30 a.m.! When we finally drove out of the fairgrounds area, it was all green lights between Manassas and Reston. Head met pillow about 2:30 a.m. Alarm was set to be at the polls by 5 a.m.

My neighborhood has always had a great turnout for elections. This November was no exception. And, true to tradition, we went for Obama almost 3 to 1 in my precinct.

Wednesday morning was amazing. As the school staff arrived, we grinned, hugged and cried in celebration. But the most amazing interchange happened when 6 little kids came by my desk to say good morning.

"It's a great day," they said. Really? Why? "Because Obama won!" What's so cool about that? "Well, my mom was crying!" But, why is it so cool he won? At last one of them said, "Because he's black!" Yep. You know, I told them, every president before this one has been my color... now we have a president the color of my friends! Look, I said, pointing at the six of them, he's the same color as you! Now, go study! He wouldn't have won if he hadn't worked so hard in school!

I think Barack's win has been three generations in the making. Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus the year I was born. My parents guided my siblings and me through conversations without stereotypes as we watched the civil rights movement unfold in the 1960s. My parents nodded their heads when Martin Luther King expressed his dream of people being judged by their character, not the color of their skin. My generation has continued working to eliminate racial labels. My own children grew up immersed in the diverse population of Northern Virginia. I think that my daughters are part of a generation that is living into Dr. King's dream... skin color is not what they use to define the people they know.

So, thanks, Mom and Dad, for your progressive thinking during my youth. And thanks, you young folks, who raised the energy level around a junior senator from Illinois, showing the rest of us that he's got what it takes to lead this country and that it's time to judge a candidate, this candidate, by the content of his character.

I have friends who were not allowed to drink from water fountains I could have used. They wouldn't have been able to sleep in motels where my family stayed as we drove across country. They might have bought food in the same restaurant, but they would have had to eat it outside. I didn't know them when I was growing up, I've met them in the past 20 years. Because of my friendship with them, I am even more grateful to the people who have sacrificed so much for the civil rights movement. We have a huge responsibility to make sure this president gets to do the job he has promised to do. The election was just the first step. We'll have to stay fired up, ready to go.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Trick or Treat!

May many good-natured ghoulies and ghosties find their way to your door!
May you have just a couple
left-over pieces of candy
you like.
And, may all the creepy-crawlies around your house
be plastic ones!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Perfect Fall Day

What a day! It was nippy in the morning. I left the house without a sweatshirt and knew I'd shiver a bit. I was headed to the Saturday morning farmer's market. The local gas station showed a price of $2.99! The Democrat table was hopping and had some new Obama buttons. Apples were plentiful, crisp and wonderful. One grower has the apple varieties arranged from sweet to tart - a great help to me in deciding what to buy for EfM snack today. I chose honey-crisps and Yorks. Then I stopped by the goat cheese lady's table for my weekly dish of chevre and the jelly lady's table for a jar of pepper jelly. One last stop at the kettle corn booth and I was ready to leave.

That farmer's market is a real community. Buyers greet each other and stop to chat or wave as they make the rounds. The cheese lady knows me now and told me about her email list. The apple booth kids were lamenting the lack of a crock pot to make mulled cider for the chilly morning. The kettle corn guy and I talked over the college football schedule for today and wished each other's team luck... since we're not playing each other!

I headed to the car with my purchases and nodded to the driver waiting for my parking space. I'm going to miss the market when it closes in November!

Later on today I admired the fluffy white clouds in the blue sky over the autumn-hued leaves. Tonight we have a freeze watch. We have moved the tender perenials into the house. Ahhh, the seasons are turning. It's been the perfect fall day.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

A Grammy Kind of Weekend

What a fabulous weekend! The granddaughters came up to visit! The occasion was the first running of the Brain Aneurysm Awareness Race in honor of Tim Susco, a classmate of Megan's. Tim would have been 27 on Saturday and it was important to Megan to participate in the event organized by Tim's family to heighten awareness of both brain aneurysm and organ donation.

Megan arrived with the girls on Friday. We enjoyed a family dinner and giving night-night kisses. Saturday morning we were six girls on the 2K walking route of the race. Hannah rode in a backpack and earned a medal for "finishing." The race was well-attended and appeared to be a success.

A primary activity for the weekend was photography. We have loads of photos taken by aunts, moms and a grandma! We even got the cameras set up to capture the elusive grandpa with all the "girls." It was fun to take little ones out to the playground again. Was it really twenty years ago that today's big girls were out there in the swings?

After a Sunday breakfast of grandpa-made pancakes, we kissed the little ones and their mom goodbye. We sure missed seeing their dad but it was great to have Grammy Time!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Sept. 25 Pray Fast Witness

I live in a comfortable home with choices of food to eat each day. In fact, I have choices of food to eat many times throughout the day - every day.

When I was a child, the adults in my life encouraged me to "join the clean plate club." I was told to remember the starving children of (fill in the blank with China, India, Africa, Armenia...) if I did not want to join the club. I was not nervy enough to retort, "So, send this to them." I don't even remember imagining sending my food to someone else as an option.

In 1975, I traveled outside the U.S. for the first time. In Bogotá, Colombia, I saw little children selling Chiclets gum. Then I saw those children going home for the night. Home was a large cardboard carton, carefully folded and stashed during the day, set up on the sidewalk as shelter from the mountain air during the night. Maybe mom or dad was the adult with them, I just assumed it was. In Cali, Colombia, I came face-to-face with the starving children my family threatened me with when I didn't clean my plate. Beautiful children, with big brown eyes, thrust their hands through the fence of the outdoor restaurant wanting my left-overs. The children in Colombia have haunted my dreams for years.

The summer of 2000 was my first mission trip to the Dominican Republic. There, I have been privileged to become friends with beautiful, brown-eyed children - children who do not have the expectations of three meals per day or a decent and free education. These children do not haunt my dreams, they enrich my life with their love. They also challenge me to do more than "join the clean plate club."

The United Nations Millennium Summit, held in 2000, developed eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). World leaders from 189 countries pledged to meet the goals by 2015. This link goes to the UN site explaining the MDGs and how you can help: End Poverty

Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation has this invitation:

In solidarity with people of faith throughout the world and in response to the Anglican Communion's call, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation invites you to commit on Thursday, September 25 to:

+Pray. Say prayers with special intention for the extreme poor throughout the world.

+Fast. Skip at least one meal in solidarity with the nearly 1 billion people who go to bed hungry each night. (As possible depending on health ... consult your doctor if in doubt)

+Witness. Participate in an online advocacy action promoting our government's fulfilling its promises to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The motto of EGR is "What One Can Do." Will YOU be one more? The goals are clear:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Create a global partnership for development with targets for aid, trade and debt relief.

Isn't this what Christ called us to do for each other?

From Micah 6:8 we read:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

I thank God for my young Dominican friends and how they have helped me walk more humbly with my God. I believe that using the MDGs as a framework will help me do more justice in this world.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Happy Autumn!

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the abundance of harvest, the crispness of the mornings, the chilly football games & marching band shows, the urge to make soup.

Here in Virginia, we are lucky enough to have a mixed hardwood forest that yields a leaf color change ranging from yellow to red with all the variations in between. One of my favorite neighborhood trees is a huge maple with almost black bark whose leaves turn a peachy orange.
For me, fall tastes like apples. Here's my recipe (copied from my mom's recipe box) for...
Apple Crisp

6 - 8 apples, peeled and sliced
(I used 4 HUGE jonagold apples)
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
3/4 c quick cooking oats
In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the butter. Stir in the oatmeal. Topping should be crumbly.

Put apples in pan - I used a 10x7 inch pyrex pan.

Crumble topping over apples.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
YUM! It's fall!








Saturday, September 13, 2008

Seven Years Later

The flags flew at half-staff. Otherwise, the day was just another Thursday. Seven years ago, September 11 was just another beautiful fall Tuesday. A friend asked me, “Where was I when we heard?” Actually, I told him, you were standing almost where you’re standing now. My desk was on the other side of the room, we had a TV on a file cabinet in the corner. The phone rang and a friend at home with her new baby said, “Turn on the TV! A plane just hit the World Trade Center!” So we sat in the school office and watched the second plane hit the second tower. An hour later, American Airlines flight 77 hit the Pentagon and first wave of parents hit the front door of the school to take their children home.

We turned off the TV in the office. We depended on internet news to keep us informed of the events in New York City, Washington and then in a small Pennsylvania town. There were urgent conversations with teachers as normalcy turned to anxiety. “What’s happening now?,” we asked each other. Teachers kept the kids occupied but it became more and more difficult to dodge questions from students who watched their classmates leave for home. “Why is everyone leaving?”

For hours we didn’t know where the husband of a staff member was. Turns out he had been in the central courtyard of the Pentagon when the jet broke the outer walls of the building. He was unhurt, his wife sobbed with relief when he finally got a phone call through to her.

Planes stopped flying all over the country. Airports closed. Travelers would eventually rent cars to drive home from their business trips.

Parents picked up their own children and offered to take the children of their neighbors. The overwhelming sense was that people just wanted to hug their families. Some folks were headed home to watch the continuous television coverage. Others had packed the car and were heading out of the DC metro area. “We’re going west,” said one mom, “maybe to Ohio.” I got a call from the church… a service would be held at 7.

By the end of the school day, about half of our 700 students had been checked out early. We closed the office and staggered home to watch the news, to see what we’d been hearing about all day.

By 6:30, I’d seen enough. I headed up to church where I sat with people who had gathered to look at the day’s events through the lens of faith. The priest passed around a microphone and people shared their stories. The flight attendant who had switched shifts and was not on Flight 77. The father whose best friend had been in a World Trade Center office that morning. The mom whose firefighter son was going to be at the Pentagon for days, working the site of one tragedy while grieving the firefighters who died in New York.

We prayed. We sang. We sang America the Beautiful… every verse. But we cried when we sang:

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!

I still cry when we sing that verse.

In the days that followed, the skies stayed quiet except for the military jets patrolling the nation’s capital area. Children missed school because their mothers could not stand with them at the bus stop without being cursed for wearing the hijab. People returned from their westward evacuations. And everywhere, the American flag flew as a symbol of solidarity in the face of attack.

So here we are, seven years later on September 11. My husband was not stranded in New Mexico, I picked him up at the airport where the giant flag flew at half-staff.

We need to remember. We need to be proud Americans who stand for compassion and social justice, not just military power and missions "accomplished." Yes, we need to be aware of safety and security, but the lesson I hope we remember most often is the need for reaching out to each other. Let’s reach out even further as we remember to love each other as God loves all of us.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Grammy X 2


Hannah's a big sister! Baby Leah was born in the wee hours of Sept. 2. As you can see from the photo, Hannah's a little confused about just what this person wants in the world. I would guess that Leah actually feels the same way! I'm looking forward to a weekend visit and my introduction to the newest member of our clan.

Friday, August 29, 2008

An Elementary School Quote

Today was the open house at the local elementary school. As I told the new parents, having the kids back in the school gives us purpose.

A couple of my favorite kiddos stopped by my desk after they visited their teachers. One was dressed in girlie pink and the other was outfitted in a gold sequin vest. They were anxious to share highlights of the time we've spent apart. Clearly, they had a great summer.

My favorite quote of the day came from my sequined friend, "I've got a Hannah Montana wig, and I know how to wear it!"

Oh, yes, I've missed those young people!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Quotes

I was browsing through the web ring for MDG blogging day and found this quote:

A Place For Divine Love

Show me your hands.
Do they have scars from giving?

Show me your feet.
Are they wounded in service?

Show me your heart.
Have you left a place for divine love?

—Fulton Sheen (1885-1979)

It was good for me to contemplate this message. I've been wrapped up in the Olympics, school opening tasks at work and the Democratic National Convention. I have not been spending enough time leaving a place for divine love! I need to find that quiet space in my mind and heart.

Here's another Fulton Sheen quote for pondering...

“Leisure is a form of silence, not noiselessness. It is the silence of contemplation such as occurs when we let our minds rest on a rosebud, a child at play, a Divine mystery, or a waterfall.”

I haven't thought about silence not being noiseless. That idea might just help with my meditation efforts!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

For a Great Laugh...

Al and Matt are great sports. Thank you, Today Show!

Approaching God

This past Sunday I took my turn as chalice bearer at the church. I stood next to the priest during the eucharistic prayer and, after receiving the bread and wine myself, carried the cup of wine to the altar rail. I followed the priest around the arc of my church family, offering the chalice to each one saying, "the blood of Christ, the cup of salvation."

As I passed from person to person, I began to notice the variety of ways each one participated in the ritual of the sacrament. Some stood and some knelt. The bread was placed in open palms, raised to accept the body of Christ. Some brought their open palms to their mouths to eat the bread while others lifted the bread from one hand with the other and some held the bread, waiting for the cup I carried. As I offered the cup, some dipped the bread into the wine (intinction), some guided the chalice to their lips and drank deeply or with a sip. Some made eye contact with me, some gazed into the chalice.

We come with reverence to receive communion. And we approach God as the individuals that God created us to be. We accept the gift of Christ's body and blood and we offer our God-given gifts back to God... "all things come of Thee, o Lord; and of Thine own have we given Thee."

I am thankful that God loves me, individually, with all my quirks and failings and all my gifts.
Amen and amen.

Monday, August 04, 2008

A New Blog Link

Yes, we set up a great blog for the Dominican Republic Mission Trip. Then, when the Iowa team headed out, I was thinking it would be good to rename the DR blog to a blog we could use for all of the St. Anne's short term mission trips. After realizing that the email address would be significantly different from the blog title, I've started a completely new blog - St. Anne's On the Road. Hopefully, there will be many authors, loads of photos and an all-around view of what it's like to take St. Anne's out on the road!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

And Today We Remember...

... Saints Mary and Martha of Bethany! Along with their brother Lazarus, these siblings were friends of Jesus and their home is mentioned several times in the Bible. I love stories of this family, they seem like such real people, people I might know today.

Of course, I usually put myself in the story as Martha of Bethany, not Mary. I grew up thinking that Mary was the good sister and that as a Martha, I needed to change so that I would be more like Mary. Now I think that there is value in both the meditative spirituality of Mary and the hospitable spirituality of Martha - I can take pride in being a Martha, instead of wishing I were a Mary.

My friend Mary and I laughed last night as we teased each other about being the Mary or Martha - the worshiper or the dishwasher. Each of us has traits that would align us with each of the sisters. The key is balance. Feeding the hungry and weary (and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards!) would be just a job without the foundation of faith that comes with taking time to sit at the feet of the Messiah and soak in the presence of the Divine.

So on that day, I guess Martha complained and maybe Mary felt guilty. I would bet that when all the dishes were washed and put away, and the guests had all gone to sleep, that the sisters mended their relationship. Mary said thanks for all Martha had done during the evening and Martha was grateful that Mary had listened so carefully to Jesus that she could fill Martha in on the latest adventures of the Saviour and the guys who traveled with him.

***Also today, NASA celebrates its 50th anniversary. Founded during the Eisenhower administration, I can't remember a time when NASA didn't exist. My growing up years are punctuated with space events. I wonder what the next 50 years will bring. Will my grandchildren watch as NASA sends a traveler to Mars? With a little luck, they'll get to see someone walk on the moon!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Blog Neglect!

Oh, dear. This poor blog is just crying for some care and feeding! In the time since my last entry I've been enjoying and recovering from the annual St. Anne's Dominican Republic mission trip. It was a fantastic week that deserves more serious blogging than it will get today; stay tuned. I've also been recovering from an nasty bug that lodged in my sinuses and drained to make some icky cough attacks. Happily, the cough is going away and I find that I've been neglecting my self-imposed writing responsibilities!

I have been thinking of my blog in the past couple weeks, though. Here are some recent observations from around town lately:

The crepe myrtles are in full bloom. In shades of pink and purple, they manage to look cool in the late summer heat.

Goldfinches are hitting the purple cone flower seed heads. They whiz around in little streaks of gold and black - such elegance.

I get a chuckle out of cars that go by with the bass playing so loudly that I sometimes think the gas mileage must improve with the depth of pitch but yesterday, I had to laugh out loud when a little car full of veiled Muslim women careened around a corner. The women in the car were bouncing to the beat and carrying on an animated conversation.

A phone call with 18-month-old Hannah the other day was punctuated by a the beeps that come from a toddler pushing buttons. Here's the funny part... when she pushed the buttons, she said, "On!" Oh, natively proficient technological kids!!

The goat cheese I bought at the farmer's market today is outstanding. And the sunflowers I bought look great up at the church.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

St. Anne's in the DR!

Hey there! Check out the Dominican Republic trip blog. Sorry to be absent from here. See you soon.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Hello!

My family and friends have long teased me about my knowing someone wherever I go. It's become quite a joke. One of my favorite encounters was on the street in the Dominican Republic. I came face-to-face with a young man who was working as a private security guard. Neither of us could break eye contact. The answer came to each of us at the same instant... he had been the bell hop at the hotel where my church group spends the last couple days of our mission trip. "Marta!" he exclaimed. "Jose!" I replied. Much laughter followed and we spent a few minutes reconnecting.

Well, last night was another of those encounters. My daughters and I went to a restaurant a few miles from home for a casual dinner before we ran some errands. As I slid into the booth, I noticed a man looking at me but I couldn't place him. About the same time I became aware of a man rounding the corner and touching my daughter on the shoulder. Startled, we looked up to discover my brother Dave, in town for a quick series of meetings. The guy staring at me was a co-worker of Dave's who I had met before and to whom Dave had said, "That's my sister and my nieces, watch this!" Ironically, the restaurant is called "Famous Dave's."

It's these kinds of events that keep me in line... you just never know who you'll run into! :-)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Phone Calls

In the last week or so I've been anxious about answering the phone. It doesn't matter that I can look at the little screen (squinting, if I don't have my glasses on!) and see what number has connected with my number. Some of the anxiety is well placed, some anxiety has no basis for existence.

It probably started in February when my friend Gena and my Aunt Amy died. That news was unexpected and hard to assimilate. Since then I've had calls about a friend's cancer diagnosis, a beloved dog's final day, several car problems and some good news/bad news calls about people moving.

Balancing all this irrational fear about what people will say after "hello," are the happy calls. The call from 16-month-old Hannah who was playing with the phone and dialed Grammy. The message from my sister Kathy, calling just to say hi! The call announcing a wedding. The dreaded 11:00 at night call that woke me from my sound on-the-couch sleep which turned out to be Dominican friends singing Happy Birthday, complete with guitar!

I will keep answering my phone. I will keep hoping that it's all good news. I know that bad news will be relayed now and again. I will keep praying in the words of Julian of Norwich that "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."



Courtesy of Satucket Software, here is a write-up about Julian from their Lectionary Site...

Julian of Norwich
Her book is a tender meditation on God's eternal and all-embracing love, as expressed to us in the Passion of Christ.

She describes seeing God holding a tiny thing in his hand, like a small brown nut, which seemed so fragile and insignificant that she wondered why it did not crumble before her eyes. She understood that the thing was the entire created universe, which is as nothing compared to its Creator, and she was told, "God made it, God loves it, God keeps it."

She was concerned that sometimes when we are faced wiith a difficult moral decision, it seems that no matter which way we decide, we will have acted from motives that are less then completely pure, so that neither decision is defensible. She finally wrote: "It is enough to be sure of the deed. Our courteous Lord will deign to redeem the motive."

A matter that greatly troubled her was the fate of those who through no fault of their own had never heard the Gospel. She never received a direct answer to her questions about them, except to be told that whatever God does is done in Love, and therefore "that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Bob and Ellen Have a Blog!

The St. Anne's mission trips to the Dominican Republic have been made possible in part by the hard work of Rev. and Mrs. Bob Snow, missioners to the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. I have been on their email list for a while now and look forward to their newsletters, appropriately titled "The Snow Scoop."

It seems that the Snows are now able to take advantage of technology (that means precious access to a computer and reliable electricity!) and have launched themselves a blog!!

Keep up with the adventures of Bob and Ellen as they shepherd short-term mission groups, support Episcopal schools on the island, befriend folks who live on the streets, encourage new priests, visit and publicize areas of particular need in the diocese and, most of all, embody the message of God's love and Christ's care to all they meet.

The Snow Scoop Blog is in my links list.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The Church Dog

Ollie.

I'm not sure how old a dog Ollie got to be. I've known him almost nine years and he wasn't a pup when we met. Today, Trinity Sunday 2008, Ollie died, peacefully, in his home. In the next days, there will be lots of Ollie memories shared amongst the St. Anne's family. Here are some of mine:

** Nails clicking on the tiled office floor as he came out of the rector's office to say hello.
** Ears flying as he rounded the corner from his usually successful search for any communion bread "returned to the earth."
** Doggie snores during a contemplative prayer session.
** Doggie farts during a meeting. (Ya just had to laugh!)
** That great Ollie smile when he recognized you.

Ollie had something special. He wasn't the prettiest dog I every met; he was a beagle/basset guy with big paws and a comic gait. He had his warts, bumps and lumps. He had a profound sense of companionship. He was quite the gentleman.

Ollie, Church Dog, rest in peace.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

How We Go 'Round and 'Round

I've joined a women's fitness program offered by a local runners group each spring. Mind you, I'm in the walking category. The program meets on Mondays and we're supposed to walk, walk/run or run on our own during the week. I was trudging along yesterday when I found myself laughing at a particular circle game.

I live in a planned community where straight streets are the thoroughfares and houses are arranged on curvy streets. Near my house is a street that's actually a circle and is used as the neighborhood exercise track, that's where I was walking. On my second lap around the circle I noticed a family. Mom, dad, and toddler were walking the opposite direction from me. Mom held the boy's hand, dad pushed a stroller in case someone's short legs gave out. Then, a teenager whisked elegantly toward me. She sprinted lightly past the young family. I saw her again as we all made our way around the circle. That's when it hit me... we were three stages of life playing our circle game. The teenager, the young family and the grandma.

Laughing, I trudged more easily around the last circuit before heading for the house, the house where I had been the young mother, and from whose door a teenage runner had sprinted out to lap a grandma on the circle road.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

More Church - Youth Sunday 2008

Today the acolytes were very short, the lay readers stood on a platform to reach the microphone, the bulletins were handed out by more short people and the sermon was preached by two handsome young men who I remember clearly being short not too long ago! Youth Sunday had made its annual appearance.

The confirmation class is charged with writing the Prayers of the People. It takes me a long time to convince the kids that they can pray for just about anything. They keep trying to use the standard churchy words and I keep saying, "This needs to sound like YOU are talking, I want to hear YOUR voices, your concerns." It's a highlight of the annual church cycle for me.

So, for your reading pleasure...

Prayers of the People

written by
St. Anne's Confirmation Class of 2008

We pray for the Church in the world:
for our diocese, Shrine Mont and the people who help there, for Hope and Resurrection School in Sudan, for all St. Anne’s members and other church members, and for resolution of any big problems in the church.

We pray for our country and all in authority:
for our president, vice-president and the upcoming president and for all elections; for those who must make big decisions - that they make the right choices and not stupid decisions; for the troops and all people fighting for our safety.

We pray for the welfare of the world:
for conservation efforts that give us a better understanding of global warming and pollution in water like the Potomac and the Chesapeake, for an end to world hunger, AIDS, malaria and poverty and for the hope of world peace.

We pray for our local community:
especially for the animal shelter in Ashburn that’s having trouble getting money, for soup kitchens and other places that help the poor people of our community, especially the children; for the Embry Rucker Shelter and for all community members who help others.

We pray for all who suffer and for those in any trouble:
for the families of the troops, those who are homeless, those affected by the Virginia Tech shootings, for people who worry about sick friends and family members and for children in Africa.

We pray for our friends who have cancer including Amy B. and Allie, Paul and Ethan, Hailey and Emily, a musician friend and Ali C. whose cancer is in remission; and we pray for those who are disabled, sick, sad or just not feeling well and that they may feel better.

We pray for all who have died, including those who died in the Virginia Tech incident, soldiers who died in Iraq and Vietnam, Amy Schram, Alice Bond, Cecilia Gillen, Jeffrey V., Marla, David, grandparents, and people who died in the name of God; that they will all shine in Your presence and that their family members can be happy.

And we want to thank you, Lord, for birthdays and anniversaries, for a safe community, a strong future, healing, hope, graduation, the end of the school year, summer and pools opening, Relay for Life, love, and the opportunity to continue our faith journey.

Amen.

... I swear, these are their words. I took out references to specific political candidates but the rest of it is all kid. Congratulations to their parents. And, watch out world, these kids have plans! (To see last year's prayers - click.)

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Off to the Weiner Dog Races!

I guess it's been about two years since I started reading a blog called The Roller Skate Jams. I clicked on the blog title because it was under a heading of "Fun People" and I was trying to figure out just what jam had to do with roller skates. (Yes, it's true!) The fun person is Rene Gutel and if you look closely at her little profile picture, you'll see a girl wearing pajamas with roller skates on them... oh, duh!!!

I returned to the blog because Rene's little dachshund puppy Rigatoni had broken her leg. Oh, the pain. I don't think Rigatoni hurt nearly as much as Rene did! And, like any good soap opera, the chapters kept coming and I kept reading. Rigatoni made a full recovery, so well-recovered in fact, that Rene entered her in the Phoenix area WeinerNational Dog Race.

If you were to ask me why "weiner dogs" are burdened with raising money for the Adopt-A-Greyhound organization, I might respond that weiner dogs were born to run... but that would be the greyhounds, wouldn't it? Or, I might respond that weiner dogs are philanthropists at heart. To give Rigatoni a chance to show off both her legs and her heart in the annual event to support her long-legged cousins, you can click and scroll past Milo D, Jessie, Squirt, Izzie, Mia, Roxie, Oliver, Max, Sprocket, The Dude, Twinky and Goofy to RIGATONI wearing her #6 jersey. Click on the link to get to the donations page and remember to specify Rigatoni. You'll get an email receipt for your tax-deductible donation and the pleasure of sending Rigatoni back to the WeinerNational!

Donate soon! The top 20 fundraisers will automatically be entered in the qualifying heats. The race to donate closes May 4. The dogs will race on May 17. Let's hope Rigatoni is one of them!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Gifts That Make Your Heart Sing

Here's one to get you thinking...
This is Administrative Professionals Week. (The rebellious side of me says just call it Secretary's Week!!) The office staff here at the school is being well-thanked with special food, chocolate, kid-made cards, you know the drill. But the heart song gift was a shopping bag FULL of LILACS, freshly cut, wet with dew and smelling of spring!

What about you? Has a gift made your heart sing recently?

Sunday, April 20, 2008

The Best of Church

I do love my church. It's got its wild and wacky moments but that just highlights the prevalent sense of family at St. Anne's. Today was family at its best.

Each fall for the past ten years I've looked at the group of kids who come into the confirmation classroom and wondered if maybe this year we should have waited until they were older to prepare them for confirmation.

Here is what the Episcopal prayerbook says about confirmation:

Q. What is Confirmation?
A. Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.

Q. What is required of those to be confirmed?
A. It is required of those to be confirmed that they have been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith, are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Each year for the past ten years, as one of the class teachers, I've been proud to present the group to a bishop for their confirmation. Today was the day for the class of 2008. I felt confident in presenting a sufficiently instructed group of confirmands to their bishop. What an exceptional day this was.

Bishop Jones met with the 26 young people before their confirmation. They were uncharacteristically quiet in front of him. The bishop wanted them to remember that Jesus is the friend that will always be waiting for them and will never let them down. He challenged them to spend just ten minutes a day with Jesus. (I needed that reminder, too.) They processed into the church and were very well behaved as they sat in a group for the service. They even paid attention during the sermon... well, mostly, anyway.

The service was infused with a sense of comfort; I think the bishop felt it, too. After he laid hands on and prayed for all 26 of the youth being confirmed, the kindergarten kids trouped into the sanctuary. Father Jim greeted them as usual. Then, the bishop grabbed the loaf of communion bread from the altar and said to the little kids, "Look what I found!" Bishop Jones gave an impromptu lesson on the eucharist and invited the kids to stand in front of the altar as the communion prayers were said. One of the hymns during communion was "Wade In the Water." We clapped and sang; the bishop gave the choir a thumbs-up sign! I've always been happy to have a bishop visit us at St. Anne's. This was the first time I've felt like the bishop was more than a visitor - he was one of the family.

Bishop Jones remarked, "This is the happiest confirmation class I've ever seen. They must be well loved." Isn't that really the very best of church?

See a compantion post at Progressive Pragmatist's Blog.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Candlelight

A year ago tonight we didn’t know who they were; we didn’t even know how many there were. We watched the news, called each other and waited. As bad as the news of the shooting at Virginia Tech was on the 16th, it got worse in the following days when we put names to the victims. Now we know that one man killed 32 people before he killed himself. The wounded are too numerous to count… the people with physical wounds, those who have lost family or friends, the people who love Virginia Tech. In the twelve months since there has been healing and forgiveness.

As I write this, I’m watching the candlelight vigil on the Drill Field. The only sounds are the voices reading 32 names and the crunch of gravel as 32 individual candles are being carried to, and lit from, one large candle (made of wax from last year’s candles) that has burned all day at the memorial. The light of those 32 flames is echoed across the Drill Field. It is stunning to listen to the silence.

And now, Taps is played.

A group sings this song by Eddie From Ohio:

Walk humbly, son, walk humbly, now,
and cherish every step.
For a life well spent, on this
earth we're lent, will be marked by the void you have left.

Walk humbly, son, and store your pride
When you need strength later on
For your life's worth will be judged if Earth
Is saddened when you are gone

Walk humbly, son, Walk humbly now
And forget not where you are from
May you go further than those before
And provide for those to come

Will you walk humbly, son?

And so, the program officially concluded.
Candles were held high.

Then the chant began: Let’s go… Hokies!

In the next twelve months I hope there will be more healing and more forgiveness.
Virginia Tech does prevail.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Who Is That Crazy Woman?

Funny how we look to each other, isn't it? Today a dear friend of mine forwarded me some photos taken less than two years ago. I remember noticing her as a new person in our church family and thinking that I'd like to get to know her. She spent a good part of the church retreat weekend taking photos with a digital SLR. (I don't have one of those and am a bit jealous of those who do!)

I wonder what she thought of me that day. Sunday morning at Shrine Mont, after church of course, generally sees the St. Anne's family participating in the Shrine Mont Olympics. I'm not much of an athlete, but I was persuaded to be a cheerleader that morning in Nov., 2006. Some of us lounged on the sidelines while many young and young-at-heart folks ran, skipped and tossed things in an effort to win. I remember screaming for whoever was not winning at the time!

I also remember it being very cold... see how many layers we have on? And in my lap is the blanket I was crocheting for the yet-to-be-born grandbaby Hannah.

I'm sure glad my friend decided I was worth getting to know! Thanks for the smile and the memories, T!

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

The Lighter Side of Religion?

Somewhere along the line I clicked on a Lark News story. Since then, I've read the newsletter almost every month. I skipped the last couple and have been catching up with Feb., March and April. Recently, Lark News and its creator Joel Kirkpatrick were featured in Time magazine.


As with all good satire, there are elements of truth in many of the "stories." Read about the Small Group who finally admitted they didn't like each other, or about the minister who blesses iPods. The whole page is surrounded by advertising links. Reserve your pew or parking space, get a Fast Pass for the nursery, try your luck with the beta-version Lot Caster. Order a "Jesus Loves You: But then again, He loves everybody" t-shirt. Read and laugh!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Need a Smile? Here's a dinosaur!

Odd title, right? Here's the story.

On our way to the car after picking up some items at Target, we noticed a purple van in the parking lot. Um, I guess it would be hard to miss this particular van. Look closely at the pictures and you'll see that it's got dinosaurs stuck to it.

Hannah thought the toys were cool and we paused to look and snap a photo. Sure enough, the owner of the van walked up as we were posing. Seems he picks up the toys at garage sales and affixes them to the van with Goop adhesive. I asked him why he started the project. The answer, "To make people smile."

I think he's met his goal... we smiled, a boy and his grandpa smiled and stopped to chat, several people shook their heads and smiled as they hurried by.

Now, YOU smile!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Tales of Two Funerals

First for Gena
It's been two weeks now since Gena died. I had the honor of interacting with her family as plans were made for the viewing and funeral. I ordered flowers and planned the display for the church. I was well on my way to "getting through this." I was prepared to deal with Gena's death in a very straightforward manner. I knew it would be tough, but hey, we'd had her for many years longer than any doctor predicted. Yep, we'd get through this.

Saturday morning, March 1st, I got another call. My sweet Aunt Amy had left a baseball game on Friday evening and had a heart attack on the way to her car. She was in the hospital. Things didn't look good. There had been many minutes between when she fell and when she got professional assistance. Pray.

So, I prayed...for Amy...for Gene...for Gena...for sons and daughters...for husbands...for sisters and brothers...for friends. I can't remember if I prayed for me, I know there were others praying for me, though. Then I went out and bought some black shoes.

Sunday I went to church. Not my usual church, but a church filled with incense and pageantry, responses in Latin, squeaky old pews, stained glass windows and lots of kneeling and bowing and crossing of oneself. And I prayed some more. It was a great place for me to pull the family history of Episcopal worship around me like a comforting shawl of God's grace.

In the afternoon my cousin called, "Martha." "David," I replied. "Mama's in heaven," he said. "I know," I forced myself to say through the tears, "I'll talk to you later." "I love you," said my cousin. "I love you, too," I tried to say.

What a wonderful thing it was to construct a casket spray that evening. I know Gena would have loved it and so would Amy. Salal went in first, then some seeded eucalyptus. Beautiful peachy roses came next - more than two dozen of them. Ivory stock added more scent, pale blue delphinium added a bit of color. Last came some pussy willow, a symbol for me of transformation. Gena and Amy both had a love of gardening.

Sean's comment was that the flowers would look great for a wedding. Wedding flowers, funeral flowers, both part of celebrations of new life.

Monday was the viewing for Gena, Tuesday was the funeral. At both events there were people who I hadn't thought about in years. Kids in my mind's eye were standing before me as young men and women. Gena and her family had asked for plants instead of flowers at the funeral. Because it is Lent, none of the plants would be left in the church after the service. We passed the word... bring a plant, you'll take one home. As people came into the church with their plants, we placed them around the baptismal font. Around the living water of baptism grew a living tribute to Gena. During the service we sang, we prayed, we laughed a little and we cried. And then, when we left the church, we carried home pieces of that living display... plants that will live on and be reminders of sharing life with a gracious, tenacious woman.

Now for Amy
When I got home after Gena's funeral, I realized that I needed to go to Texas to honor Amy's life, too. I headed west on Thursday afternoon. I got in late that evening and settled into my pullout sofa bed.

Friday morning there was none of Amy's homemade bread with my breakfast coffee. The three of us in the house talked superficially during our time before the memorial service. We took our showers and dressed carefully. We asked each other if we looked ok. Then, finally, Uncle Gene picked up Aunt Amy's purse and we left for the church.

I felt awkward at the church, like people wondered why I would be crying when they'd never seen me before. I sat next to a cousin's mother-in-law who speaks only Spanish. Funny how that really helped me feel more a part of things.

Amy was very involved at her church and the sanctuary was quite full. The priest told of Amy's skill at baking. She talked about how willingly Amy told stories on herself and shared the story of Amy's accidentally sugarless pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving - we're not talking sugar substitute here, we're talking forgot-the-sugar pumpkin pie. Amy told the story so that others would know how even "the expert" made mistakes. And the priest talked about Amy's famous Christmas cookie trays, customized for each recipient. My cousins' daughters stood at Amy's bedside last Sunday and promised to continue that tradition. It was a lovely service.

After the service, there was a reception and a slide show. We left the church to go to cousin Steve's home. More food, more chatting. We watched the slide show again and again. We all started humming the song "Once In Love With Amy."

Over the course of the next two days I was able to soak in some great family time. I had time with Amy's four sons and many of their children. I had time with Uncle Gene. I consolidated flowers from the arrangements given for the funeral. I went through Aunt Amy's recipe boxes. I sat in Aunt Amy's chair.

Now, it's time to get back to the routine. But there are surely some holes. Two spectacular women are beyond my ability to touch them. But I do hear them and I do feel them and I'm so grateful to have them as part of my life.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Gena's Obituary - In Her Son's Words

This obit is adapted from the Face Book site her son started during Gena's surgery last spring. It conveys the feeling that all of us have about having Gena as part of our lives.
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/obituaries/246/

Reginann ‘Gena’ Rohlfs

Died February 26, 2008

Reginann Ellen Masi Rohlfs, 59, who was known as Gena, a longtime teacher at Forest Edge Elementary School in Reston, died Feb. 26 of complications from chemotherapy.

Friends may call Monday, March 3, from 5 to 8 p.m., at Adams-Green Funeral Home in Herndon. Services are Tuesday, March 4 at 10 a.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston. Burial will be Wednesday, March 5 at 9 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mrs. Rohlfs was born Nov. 12, 1948, to Virginia Marie Beddow and Vincent Joseph Masi. She grew up in Yonkers, N.Y., attended Mercy College and became a teacher. Shortly after, she married H. Warren Rohlfs Jr. and began traveling the country with him, ending up in Guam, where she got her master's degree in education. She went on to become one of the most highly respected educators in Fairfax County Public Schools. In recent years she taught in the Gifted and Talented Center at Forest Edge.

Mrs. Rohlfs was an experienced SCUBA diver, supported countless organizations, including the Girl Scouts of America and the Boy Scouts of America, and was active in her Parish.

According to her son Quentin Rohlfs, she was a woman who saw great potential in every student and tried to inspire and support “her kids.”

“She was a leader in everything she did,” he wrote. “She always loved the theater, and it could be easily seen in the way she produced plays with her students as often as she could.

"She had been, and still remains, a role model for other cancer survivors and fighters,” Quentin added. When Mrs. Rohlfs was first diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer nearly 10 years ago, her doctors gave her six months to live.

One of her favorite quotes, Quentin said, was from Dr. Seuss: "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter."

Survivors also include four other children, Warren Rohlfs, Hannah Rohlfs, Rori Rohlfs and Jared Rohlfs.

Memorials may be sent to Conversations! The International Newsletter for Those Fighting Ovarian Cancer, P.O. Box 7948, Amarillo, TX 79114-7948; or St. John Neumann Church, 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191-4299.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Gena

Today was a day of mourning in community. I expect that tomorrow may bring more of the same. Well, actually, we may be mourning for a while.

Last spring I wrote of a friend whose very full life was a testimony to LIVING with cancer. Yesterday, Gena moved to another life, one free of the constraints of this earthly life. And the rest of us... we began living a life without Gena. I believe that Gena is actually still with us, we just need to develop a new way of relating. It's going to take some practice.

Today's practice sessions involved learning how to confirm Gena's passing with the grief-filled voices on the other end of the phone line. My first try didn't go so well. "I'm calling to confirm something my daughter heard," he said. "Yes, she heard correctly. Mrs. Rohlfs died yesterday afternoon," I said... at least that's what I intended to say! It took three tries to complete the sentence. By the end of the day, I could do that pretty well. I could offer comfort without being the first one to cry. But, oh, cry we did. And, cry we will.

Tomorrow we'll answer more questions, share more Kleenex and tell more stories. Tonight, I need to be quiet for a while. Gotta go. I think I'm going to cry, AGAIN.

Friday, February 22, 2008

News Flash... Snow Chant Works!

The talk around here yesterday was all about whether we would get to use one of the 3 "snow days" our school system builds into the calendar. We've had a couple near misses that caused messy rides home, messy rides to school or 2-hour delays in the school start time.

Yesterday at the school we tried everything to encourage bad weather from wearing "Let It Snow" t-shirts to not posting our list of substitutes in the building for Friday to turning off all our computers as if it were really Friday instead of Thursday. On the off chance that it might work THIS time, I ran off copies of the Snow Chant that I keep handy for just such occasions. Many of our students stopped by my desk for their own copy. I must say, they finally got it right!

Today I will be spending the day at home! Yipee! We've got just enough bad weather to close down the schools and not enough to spend the next 3 days shoveling! I'm going to de-clutter a couple spots in the house, bake a cake and finish reading Eat, Pray, Love! Woohoo!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Life Lesson

This morning as I headed from the parking lot into the school, a cardinal was singing from the holly tree. The sun made him glow bright red, he sounded so happy.

He did not seem to notice the guy spreading sand in front of the building, nor did he seem to understand that tonight we're supposed to get snow, sleet and freezing rain.

I suppose that should be a lesson to celebrate life in the moment!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Childhood Villains

I have read and listened with interest to news stories of Fidel Castro's decision to step down as leader of Cuba. He was a very present figure in my childhood. I know he was behind those drills when we had to dive under our desks.

My grandfather was a newspaper man and we had to be quiet when "Meet the Press" came on TV. He had a keen sense of politics that I did not appreciate at the time. Grandad had been in both WWI and WWII. He was quite concerned about the possibilities of WWIII. My grandmother was also well-versed in current events. My most vivid memory of how world events affected my 6-year-old self involves my grandmother.

I was fascinated at the idea of having more than one phone in the house. I would occasionally listen in on a conversation using the extension in my grandparents' bedroom. One afternoon I forgot to hang up the phone. When the reminder tone came over phone line, my grandmother thought it was the air raid siren. I don't remember how long it took her to find the source of the alarm. I do remember her anger with me and not being able to sit comfortably for a while! All Castro's fault, really!

The other political villain of my childhood was Nikita Khrushchev. He and Castro seemed always together in the news broadcasts. It's Khruschev's face that I remember from a childhood dream. I was spending the weekend at Näna's house. (She was the grandmother with the drawer full of Betsy McCall paper dolls.) In my dream, a bald man was knocking on the window above the paper doll drawer. I recognized him from the nightly news broadcast - Khruschev himself was pounding on our window.

Khruschev and the U.S.S.R. are long gone. Fidel, though, has endured. What will happen next in Cuba? I'm grateful for the example set by my grandparents of staying informed of world events.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

St. Anne's New Orleans Mission Crew



Eleven St. Anne's parishioners are spending this week re-building in New Orleans. I'm so jealous that I'm trying to decide why it is that I didn't seriously consider going with them! I suppose that reflection is still in the works.

Saving me from feeling entirely left out are Tim's podcasts. I'm so grateful that he is chatting with us each evening. There is even a sample photo from the day's work. Tim pulls in other team members to share their day, opening the experience to those who stayed behind. Thanks, Tim!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

More Missed Photos

It's great to catch moments in a camera lens. Sometimes, our own eye is the only camera available. And some things just can't be photographed anyway. Here are some examples from this week:

  • The power of the wind bending thick tree limbs
  • Three guys in Civil War uniforms waiting to cross the road
  • Hearing a friend's voice on a podcast (see Feb. 13 entry)
  • Watching the kid I thought was an introvert get fired up in a discussion
  • Waking up to the smell of bacon cooking
  • Remembering I'm avoiding meat on Fridays during Lent - before I ordered dinner!

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Lent

Good bye cookies
Good bye gum
Good bye fast food
Good by to some
vanilla latte and mocha mint.

Good bye Baby Jesus
Good bye Temple Boy
Good bye to the baptized Son -
Father's pride and joy.

Lent is here, am I up to the challenge
of watching the Beloved
Suffer His fate?

Hello early morning reading
and silent prayer
Hello sense of powerlessness
To the question, "If I were there..."

Would I follow Him through days that were
hot and hazy
On lakeshores and hillsides?
Would I worry and wonder and think He was crazy?

I will wonder, and I'll ponder
as I read more of the preacher
Read of the miracles, read of the teacher.

I'll cry and I'll question and I'll read of His dying.
I'll feel the pain and the sorrow,
I won't read ahead. It's Lent.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

A Snow Day Would Be Nice

Snow Chant
r. baumgartner


North, South, East, West
Snow's the stuff we love the best.
Bring it fast, cold and white
And PLEASE...bring a LOT...
Tonight!!!


Special Notes:
Written in 1990 by Richard Baumgartner, then a second grade teacher at Cub Run Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia, this snow chant has been proven to be 100% effective at creating snow (when conditions are close to being snow-producing). Former Cub Run second graders (who are now graduates of Chantilly or Centreville High Schools) performed this chant correctly but without supervision and were largely responsible for the record-setting snows of 1995-1996.

To be performed correctly, an individual must face north at 7 p.m. and recite the chant with arms extended WEST and EAST. The chant is recited three times, between each recitation the individual slowly rotates westerly (with arms still extended) and, upon arriving at the north-facing starting position, jumps up in the air, raises a clenched fist and yells SNOW! Ocean moisture (represented by the right hand to the east), mixes with the cold of the north and west and moves in over us.


CONSEQUENCES OF IMPROPERLY PERFORMED SNOW CHANT include, but are not limited to:

1. Rain...particularly if the individual faces south when reciting
2. Light snow...caused by not enough 7 p.m. participation
3. Light snow accompanied by high winds...caused by too quick a rotation
4. Sleet...too many participants facing south at 7 p.m.
5. Clouds...not enough participants grabbed moisture from the east
6. School

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Sine Die

From Thursday evening to mid-day on Saturday, I have been in the company of fellow Episcopalians from the Diocese of Virginia. We were gathered for our annual Council meeting to share ideas, successes, challenges and hopes. We presented resolutions, a budget, and reports from various committees. We elected representatives to diocesan governance and to the national convention. We mixed and mingled while visiting informational displays, vendors' tables and coffee stations. We spread out through the local restaurants for lunches and dinner. We discussed issues before the Council, the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

We are not all of one mind. We struggle with the questions of biblical literalism and its role in the full inclusion of all people in the church, with the treatment of undocumented people in our midst, with prioritizing budget items in a year of scant resources. But, you know, we recognized the gift of opportunity to voice our opinions face-to-face in a setting of mutual respect - an example of what it means to be Anglican.

Together we sang, together we listened, together we worshiped, together we partook of the Eucharist. And when it was over, we gathered our notes, straightened our chairs and prepared to leave to council. We were satisfied with good work and we were energized to work some more.

Our bishop banged the gavel and adjourned the 213th Annual Council - sine die - until we meet again.

si•ne di•e
Pronunciation: (sī'nē dī'ē, sin'ā-dē'ā; Lat. si'ne dē'e), without fixing a day for future action or meeting: The assembly adjourned sine die.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Grandparents

In several conversations this week the topic of grandparent memories has been discussed. I'm lucky enough to remember three grandmothers, two grandfathers and one great-grandmother, so I have a rich variety of memories. Here are a few:

Grandpa Kilzer's elderberry jelly and tractor rides
Grandma Kilzer's homemade bread and chicken gravy
Grandad Vohs' hats and courtly manners
Nannie's roses, peonies and sewing
Näna's apricot jam and drawer full of McCall's paper dolls

Now, my grandparents were real people; they were patient but had their limits, they wanted the best for me and the best from me. They have inspired me in many ways.

With Hannah's birthday coming up soon, I wonder what she'll remember about me when she shares grandparent memories!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Some Things That Brightened My Day

There are times when I can capture a moment with a camera, and times I can't. Here are a few things that I couldn't photograph today:

The beautiful blue-gray waves of clouds as a cold front passed to the north.

The pride on a first-grader's face as she explained, through her tears, how she was clear to the top of the climbing wall before she fell and scraped her tummy. (Oh, the miracle of band-aids and ice.)

The bouncy curls of a little sister who ran to my chair to say hello...
and the bright eyes of another little sister who still doesn't have any hair!

The orange-red glow of the late-afternoon sun on the breasts of cedar waxwings flying overhead.

For them all I say, "Thanks be to God."

Friday, January 11, 2008

How Many of "You" Are There?


HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are
2
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

It's Friday! Here's a little something to waste your time on.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

It's a Fire Drill Day!

In my little part of the world, it will be 70+ degrees today, January 8!

My little part of the world includes an elementary school. We are required to have one fire drill per month, except for September when we have one fire drill per week. So, on this fine spring day in the mid-winter, we will pull that alarm and escape to the great-outdoors for about 10 minutes.

We will wish for a Gone Fishin' sign, we may run to the store for ground beef and buns, we will go for the daily walk we resolved to do, we will think of our sisters who snow shoe!