Yesterday, we returned to New Orleans because we wanted to cook a roast leg of lamb for Easter dinner. Since the Winn-Dixie Supermarket closed down, we no longer have a place to buy good meat here in town.
We went to the Whole Foods Market in New Orleans and spent a whole lot of money on meat and imported and exotic stuff which we can't buy here. The butcher at the counter where we bought our meat was a not-young black man, who lost three houses in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, his own house and two rental houses. He is fixing his house and going back there to live. He said, "Ive lived there 40 years." What courage.
All the while we were talking, he was calling me "Baby". "Yes, Baby. Is this what you want, Baby?" I thought to myself, "Where else but in New Orleans will you find a perfect stranger of a man who calls you "Baby" and means nothing familiar or disrespectful by it"? It's a great place full of great and courageous people, and I am proud that it is my home town.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
The Temptation Of God
Tobias Haller at In A Godward Direction preached this sermon on Palm Sunday. The title is "The Temptation Of God". Tobias' sermons are lovely and quite accessible. I recommend that you read the whole sermon, but I especially liked his final words, which suggest a way forward for the time that remains in Holy Week.
Our yearly company with Jesus in his Passion has begun, as we set our feet upon the path of Holy Week once more. Let us then with courage set our faces towards Jerusalem and resist the temptations we face in our lives in the knowledge of his faith, his remembrance of us, who did not save himself, but gave himself that we might be saved. +
Our yearly company with Jesus in his Passion has begun, as we set our feet upon the path of Holy Week once more. Let us then with courage set our faces towards Jerusalem and resist the temptations we face in our lives in the knowledge of his faith, his remembrance of us, who did not save himself, but gave himself that we might be saved. +
PALM SUNDAY - 2007
Palmesel means palm donkey in German, but most often refers to a statue of Christ on a donkey. These statues were mounted on a wheeled platform and used in Palm Sunday processions.
The Cloisters - A Medieval Art Museum in Fort Tyron Park, New York City
I note that in the statue illustrated above, Jesus appears to have a receding hairline. Take heart all you guys who have less than a full, luxuriant growth of hair on your heads. Perhaps Jesus was one of you.
Sunday I missed going to church because I took the Katrina disaster tour, with Scout of First Draft as the tour guide. She knows her way around New Orleans, especially the devastated areas, like a native, although she lives in Wisconsin. It was a strange, but perhaps appropriate initiation into Holy Week.
So far, I have not yet adjusted to the compression of Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday into one Sunday. With this arrangement, we move from Jesus riding triumphant - albeit on a donkey, a lowly animal compared to a horse - with the crowds shouting "Hosanna in the highest!" and waving palm branches to an abrupt thrust into the Passion story and Holy Week.
I've just finished reading the Passion of Our Lord from Matthew's Gospel. Often when I'm reading something familiar, certain words will leap out to grab my attention, words that I have taken little note of in previous readings. Today the words were from Matthew 26:56, "Then all the disciples deserted him and fled."
How many times have I deserted Jesus and fled from him? More often than I'd like, I'm ashamed to say. Perhaps that's fertile ground for meditation during this Holy Week.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS? - PART 2
First Draft Krewe Before
It's truly difficult for me to write about my weekend, because New Orleans is my city and will always be my city, although I have not lived there for nearly 50 years. It's my home. I have lived in my town for 37 years, and it's a good town. My children grew up here, and it was a fine place to raise a family.
The New Orleans which I loved the most did not exist even before Katrina. The NOLA which I grew up in and lived in fof the first 24 years of my life is the city that I loved the most. Over those 24 years, it seemed to change very little, but during the years that I lived away, it changed greatly, unfortunately not always for the better. But it was still there, and I continued faithful to my love who had gone somewhat bad. We visited and enjoyed the goodness which remained.
I had already met Scout on one of her previous trips to New Orleans, but it was great to meet Athenae and Mr. A., Ray in New Orleans, Sinfonian, Cynthia, Mike Danablog, Cheri and Harry (archeop), and Spork. I will forever picture Spork with three heavy cameras hanging around this neck as we took the tour of the devastated areas. You can see some of his terrific pictures at his blog.
Gutting a house is hard work. The house we worked on was on 1773 Sere St next to the London Avenue Canal, which breached about a mile away from the house and flooded a wide area. I will read about those who volunteer to help gut a house with great respect in the future, especially those who work in the heat of July and August. The suits are hot, the respirator is a scary-looking thing which I was not sure I would be able to wear since I have claustrophobia, but it was OK once I got it on. Wearing the hooded suit, the respirator, the goggles, and two sets of gloves - work gloves over rubber gloves - you sweat before you even start to work. Many of the other - ahem - much younger folks did heavier work than I did for a longer time, but I did my little bit for the cause, sweeping debris that fell when the walls were knocked down into a pile, shoveling it into wheel barrows, and picking up boards with nails in them so no one would step on them. The others worked with crowbars and hammers. Some of us found a certain satisfaction in knocking out sheetrock as you can see from Athenae's post.
Inside the house it was dusty and dark; our goggles fogged up and we were drenched in seconds, but it was satisfying, in a situation in which you feel there's so little you can do, to slam a crowbar into some drywall. And that's for the convention center, and that's for fucking Geraldo having smarts our government didn't have and that's for every right-wing nutball who said people should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and that's for everybody who ever told me America was a Christian nation. That's for Gentilly and that's for St. Bernard and that's for New Orleans and that's for my country, you fucking fucks, as Ashley would say. [Sadly, Ashley Morris, who blogged brilliantly and prolifically about New Orleans, died unexpectedly on April 2, 2008.]The retired couple who lived next door appreciated what we did. They are well along in fixing their house but still have their FEMA trailer parked in front. They very kindly allowed us to use the bathroom in the trailer as we worked. Later, the gentleman bought us two cartons of fried chicken wings, which quickly disappeared as we devoured them.
We had a great crew of college students from Elon University working with us as part of a requirement for a class. Good for their teacher for having them do this. I'm sure they learned a great deal from this time out of the classroom.
On Sunday, we took a tour through the devastated areas, some of which I had not seen yet. My husband and I had gone twice before to view the ruins, but at some point I had to ask him to stop before we saw certain areas, because I just could not take any more, but yesterday I saw parts of the city that I had not seen before. Block after block of wasteland, with the only visible progress being the removal of the huge piles of trash and vacant lots where houses had been bulldozed. Occasionally, in the midst of the wasteland, we'd see one house fixed and inhabited. I wondered how the folks could live there alone, surrounded by vacant lots and ruined houses.
We saw the breaches in the levee, which had been repaired, but adjacent to the repaired and reinforced areas were the same old levees that failed after Katrina. No one in the area believes that the US Corps of Engineers has fixed much of anything. The same disaster could repeat itself once again.
Remember that it was not Katrina that caused the major disaster in New Orleans. The city came through the storm pretty well, but the subsequent failures of the levees, built by the same US Corps of Engineers, caused the city to go under water.
Enough for now. I'll probably write more later.
First Draft Krewe After
UPDATE: Many thanks to lb1303 and Dangerblond for their wonderful New Orleans-style hospitality in opening their homes to us, and thanks to all who contributed the delicious food for the gatherings.
UPDATE 2: If you'd like to read an account of a New Orleans all-nighter, go read Mike Danablog at Detached Retina. Keep in mind that the all-nighter came after a hard day's work of house-gutting.
UPDATE 3: A happy ending: Sinfonian, a member of the group who worked with us, returned to 1773 Sere St, which we thought was a lost cause and likely to be demolished. Pictured below is the termite- and roach-infested kitchen as it looks today. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the beautiful new kitchen in the picture. A young family purchased the house and lives there now.
Do You Know What It Means?
Later, perhaps tomorrow, I'll write my impression of my trip to New Orleans with Scout Prime and Athenae from the blog First Draft and the other folks in our group. Meanwhile you might want to check out Athenae's post, We Are Marshall, at FD. I'm a little daunted to attempt to give my account, because she and Scout write so well.
If you are absolutely holding your breath, near to dying, to see a picture of me and Grandpère you can look at this post at First Draft and see if you can guess which of those lovely people we are. I warn you; it's going to be quite a challenge to pick us out.
If you are absolutely holding your breath, near to dying, to see a picture of me and Grandpère you can look at this post at First Draft and see if you can guess which of those lovely people we are. I warn you; it's going to be quite a challenge to pick us out.
Friday, March 30, 2007
JOHN DONNE- Priest, Poet, and Preacher
Today [Tomorrow] is the feast day of John Donne.
From the Lectionary:
"All mankind is one volume. When one man dies, one chapter is torn out of the book and translated into a better language. And every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators. Some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God's hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to another."
In light of the previous discussion here about the Alpha Series and in light of the fact that I am a retired librarian, you can guess that these words of Donne speak to my heart.
I like this from James Kiefer:
...he saw in his wife Anne (as Dante had earlier seen in Beatrice) a glimpse of the glory of God, and in human love a revelation of the nature of Divine Love. His poetry, mostly written before his ordination, includes poems both sacred and secular, full of wit, puns, paradoxes, and obscure allusions at whose meanings we can sometimes only guess, presenting amorous experience in religious terms and devotional experience in erotic terms, so that I have seen one poem of his both in a manual of devotion and in a pornography collection.
Reminds me of "Song of Songs".
Of course, I can't leave off without this quote from Donne, which is also pertinant to the Alpha discussion:
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promentory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death dimishes me because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
The entire "Meditation 17" which includes the above quote is well worth reading at the Lectionary site. In the Bible readings appointed for the day, I find, once again, the beautiful words from the "Book of Wisdom":
For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
For she is a breath of the power of God,
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
What a feast of words for the feast of the day!
PRAYER:
Almighty God, the root and fountain of all being: Open our eyes to see, with your servant John Donne, that whatever has any being is a mirror in which we may behold you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
UPDATE: Julie+ in the comments tells me that I have jumped a week ahead in the celebration of John Donne's feast day. She is absolutely correct.
But I needed John Donne today, and God knew that. "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3:8
What are calendars to the Spirit?
And didn't I ever get the jump on everyone? Ha!
UPDATE 2: I leave you with John Donne once again on the day before the proper day of his feast, as I head off for New Orleans. Au revoir.
From the Lectionary:
"All mankind is one volume. When one man dies, one chapter is torn out of the book and translated into a better language. And every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators. Some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God's hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to another."
In light of the previous discussion here about the Alpha Series and in light of the fact that I am a retired librarian, you can guess that these words of Donne speak to my heart.
I like this from James Kiefer:
...he saw in his wife Anne (as Dante had earlier seen in Beatrice) a glimpse of the glory of God, and in human love a revelation of the nature of Divine Love. His poetry, mostly written before his ordination, includes poems both sacred and secular, full of wit, puns, paradoxes, and obscure allusions at whose meanings we can sometimes only guess, presenting amorous experience in religious terms and devotional experience in erotic terms, so that I have seen one poem of his both in a manual of devotion and in a pornography collection.
Reminds me of "Song of Songs".
Of course, I can't leave off without this quote from Donne, which is also pertinant to the Alpha discussion:
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promentory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death dimishes me because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
The entire "Meditation 17" which includes the above quote is well worth reading at the Lectionary site. In the Bible readings appointed for the day, I find, once again, the beautiful words from the "Book of Wisdom":
For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
For she is a breath of the power of God,
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
What a feast of words for the feast of the day!
PRAYER:
Almighty God, the root and fountain of all being: Open our eyes to see, with your servant John Donne, that whatever has any being is a mirror in which we may behold you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
UPDATE: Julie+ in the comments tells me that I have jumped a week ahead in the celebration of John Donne's feast day. She is absolutely correct.
But I needed John Donne today, and God knew that. "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3:8
What are calendars to the Spirit?
And didn't I ever get the jump on everyone? Ha!
UPDATE 2: I leave you with John Donne once again on the day before the proper day of his feast, as I head off for New Orleans. Au revoir.
Alpha Series - Part 5
Last night, the topic of the Alpha video was "Why and How Should I Tell Others About Jesus?" I liked this video better than some of the others, and, this time, I did not leave feeling grumpy.
With the previous videos, I sat there listening to this gentle man talking about giving one's life to Jesus and just feeling put off by the whole experience. The others in the group seemed to like it, and Nicky Gumble said many things that were right, therefore I felt guilty about my antagonism, which, in turn, left me feeling angry and diminished in my sense of myself.
The video we saw Thursday did not have that effect. Nicky said a few silly things like giving the exact number of how many thousands of times the word "go" appeard in the Old and New Testaments, as he was talking about the Great Commission to go out and preach the Gospel. The video did not include quite so many camera shots of rapt listeners to coach us on how to react. Yes, I'm cynical.
Nicky told funny stories about his clumsiness in sharing his faith in his initial fervor, wanting everyone to know Jesus, once he gave himself to Jesus. He cautioned strongly against putting pressure on people and advised persuasion instead.
One of the difficulties that I have with Alpha may be that I grew up in the Christian faith and never had what I could call a "Come to Jesus" moment. Over the years, the fervor of my faith has waxed and waned, and my faith trajectory has not always been onward and upward to a closer relationship with God. Mine has been more like hills and valleys. I do realize that folks can't come to faith without hearing the Gospel, and I sometimes feel that I'm not really doing my part in fulfilling the Great Commission.
The discussion afterward was lively and interesting. Why was Alpha better for me tonight? I don't know really. Maybe I was different. I can't say that it's something I would want to repeat, but I'm pleased that the final experience was more positive than the others.
With the previous videos, I sat there listening to this gentle man talking about giving one's life to Jesus and just feeling put off by the whole experience. The others in the group seemed to like it, and Nicky Gumble said many things that were right, therefore I felt guilty about my antagonism, which, in turn, left me feeling angry and diminished in my sense of myself.
The video we saw Thursday did not have that effect. Nicky said a few silly things like giving the exact number of how many thousands of times the word "go" appeard in the Old and New Testaments, as he was talking about the Great Commission to go out and preach the Gospel. The video did not include quite so many camera shots of rapt listeners to coach us on how to react. Yes, I'm cynical.
Nicky told funny stories about his clumsiness in sharing his faith in his initial fervor, wanting everyone to know Jesus, once he gave himself to Jesus. He cautioned strongly against putting pressure on people and advised persuasion instead.
One of the difficulties that I have with Alpha may be that I grew up in the Christian faith and never had what I could call a "Come to Jesus" moment. Over the years, the fervor of my faith has waxed and waned, and my faith trajectory has not always been onward and upward to a closer relationship with God. Mine has been more like hills and valleys. I do realize that folks can't come to faith without hearing the Gospel, and I sometimes feel that I'm not really doing my part in fulfilling the Great Commission.
The discussion afterward was lively and interesting. Why was Alpha better for me tonight? I don't know really. Maybe I was different. I can't say that it's something I would want to repeat, but I'm pleased that the final experience was more positive than the others.
Psalm 95
O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
Psalm 95:1-5
From the Lectionary.
Thanks be to God for a good report from my doctor on my mammogram yesterday. It's been 21 years since my encounter with the big C, but I still get quite anxious each year when I have to be tested.
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
Psalm 95:1-5
From the Lectionary.
Thanks be to God for a good report from my doctor on my mammogram yesterday. It's been 21 years since my encounter with the big C, but I still get quite anxious each year when I have to be tested.
Our Lady Of The Driveway - Part 1
Athenae and Scout are already in New Orleans. We leave after lunch today to meet them. (See my post Tripping Out) Go to First Draft to see Athenae's picture of Our Lady Of The Driveway and other pictures from the city.
UPDATE: Statues of Mary stand in the front gardens of houses all over New Orleans and south Louisiana.
UPDATE: Statues of Mary stand in the front gardens of houses all over New Orleans and south Louisiana.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Madcap Lifestyle
KJ, in the comments to my Tripping Out post said:
Slow down, young lady! Talk about your madcap lifestyles!
KJ, my dear, I'm forced to request that you not pre-categorize my day, because your pre-categorizations COME TRUE!
Today I took my granddaughter to a counselling session around lunch time. The city workers are resurfacing a main street in my town, therefore, I am directed to detour through traffic, traffic, traffic in order to get across town to the school. My granddaughter misses the school lunch, so we pick up her lunch at a fast-food outlet, which she then eats in the car and in the counsellor's office. Today, instead of food from the uncrowded Golden Arches, she wanted to go to Wendy's, which is located near the university and the hospital, on the other side of town. Bad mistake. The car line was out in the street, so I decided to go inside to order and turned in. Whoops! I'm in the EXIT drive! "Too bad, too bad, people, get out of my way!"
I parked and we went in. Long lines inside too. We took our place in the maze and waited our turn. By the time we reached the counter to order, we were late to the counsellor's office. Whoops, again! I don't have her number. I called my son, in all the din, and asked him to call and say we'll be a little late. We finally got our food and headed to the office, where I let my granddaughter out to go in.
I found a place to park, but, alas, I had to parallel park, which skill I have never learned in all my 72 years. I didn't have to do it in my one and only driving test 50 years ago, and I have never learned. I have learned avoidance of parallel parking, but today it was not possible. There was a line of cars waiting behind me, so I pulled in front end first instead of doing the proper backing in maneuver. It was back and forth, back and forth, 8 or 10 times or more, trying to get close enough to the curb. Finally, I just quit, got out, and locked the car. It was sticking out into the street too much, so I said a prayer that no one would clip me while I was in the office. No one did. Thanks be to God.
All I have left to do today is pick up my grandchildren from school, stay with them until their father comes home from work, and head to church for Evensong, soup and sandwiches, and Alpha.
Madcap? Yes. Thanks, KJ.
Slow down, young lady! Talk about your madcap lifestyles!
KJ, my dear, I'm forced to request that you not pre-categorize my day, because your pre-categorizations COME TRUE!
Today I took my granddaughter to a counselling session around lunch time. The city workers are resurfacing a main street in my town, therefore, I am directed to detour through traffic, traffic, traffic in order to get across town to the school. My granddaughter misses the school lunch, so we pick up her lunch at a fast-food outlet, which she then eats in the car and in the counsellor's office. Today, instead of food from the uncrowded Golden Arches, she wanted to go to Wendy's, which is located near the university and the hospital, on the other side of town. Bad mistake. The car line was out in the street, so I decided to go inside to order and turned in. Whoops! I'm in the EXIT drive! "Too bad, too bad, people, get out of my way!"
I parked and we went in. Long lines inside too. We took our place in the maze and waited our turn. By the time we reached the counter to order, we were late to the counsellor's office. Whoops, again! I don't have her number. I called my son, in all the din, and asked him to call and say we'll be a little late. We finally got our food and headed to the office, where I let my granddaughter out to go in.
I found a place to park, but, alas, I had to parallel park, which skill I have never learned in all my 72 years. I didn't have to do it in my one and only driving test 50 years ago, and I have never learned. I have learned avoidance of parallel parking, but today it was not possible. There was a line of cars waiting behind me, so I pulled in front end first instead of doing the proper backing in maneuver. It was back and forth, back and forth, 8 or 10 times or more, trying to get close enough to the curb. Finally, I just quit, got out, and locked the car. It was sticking out into the street too much, so I said a prayer that no one would clip me while I was in the office. No one did. Thanks be to God.
All I have left to do today is pick up my grandchildren from school, stay with them until their father comes home from work, and head to church for Evensong, soup and sandwiches, and Alpha.
Madcap? Yes. Thanks, KJ.
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