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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.