Way Down Yonder

Today, I won't be around much. We're heading:

Way down yonder in New Orleans
In the land of the dreamy scenes
There's a garden of Eden...you know what I mean

We're going to a museum - perhaps to a Native American exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art, or perhaps to a gold exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum - Grandpère's choice. Then we'll eat a delicious lunch somewhere at an undisclosed and, as yet, undecided location. The fans, you know.

Y'all have a good day, and be good while I'm gone.

A Goddess By Any Other Name....

Allison Hantschel, aka as Athenae, (thus the goddess in the title of the post) at First Draft blog and I worked together with a group of bloggers - the First Draft Krewe - from different parts of the country, gutting a house in the Gentilly area in New Orleans. She is as smart and funny in person as she is on the blog, and she's quite attractive, too. While we were in New Orleans, it was not all work. We played a bit, too.

One gracious couple from the city invited us to their home for a crawfish boil. Allison arrived wearing - WAIT! - a smart black dress. That was the only time IN MY WHOLE LIFE - and you know I am old - that I have ever seen a woman arrive at a crawfish boil wearing a smart black dress. When you peel the hard shell off the crawfish the juice inside often goes SPLAT! - on your own clothes, on the clothes of the person across from you, or even on a person a good distance away from you. If you go into a restaurant to eat boiled crawfish, a member of the staff will give you a large bib to tie around your neck. I'm ashamed to say that I teased poor Allison unmercifully about her smart, black dress at the crawfish boil.

She can do a rant about the members of the Bush maladministration like no one else I know. In addition to her work on the blog, she is a published writer. She has published books, and she writes columns for the South Town Star in Chicago. In her latest article she talks about her unease with the religious litmus tests that candidates for public office are called upon to pass in these crazy days. I share Allison's unease.

Tim Russert asks about the candidates' favorite Bible verse. A questioner from the audience holds up a Bible and asks if the candidate believes every word in the book. Mitt Romney plans to give a speech on the effect that his Mormon faith will have on his presidency, should he be elected. How did we get to this place in our politics?

Allison says:

The interjection of religion into politics has never, in the history of the world, ended well for any populace that tried it; one has only to have a cursory knowledge of the Crusades to realize that. And just because it's become customary for presidential wannabes to venerate Christianity doesn't mean it should be comfortable.

Amen to that!

In the first place, if a president wishes to demonstrate faith, there are thousands of ways to do so other than with his mouth, into a microphone. He can do so, as former President Jimmy Carter has, with his hands and a hammer, building homes for the poor. He can do so, as Franklin Roosevelt did, with his work, lifting the country out of economic despair.

Really, though, it's irrelevant. We are not electing a national priest, nor, thank whatever gods exist, a national parent responsible for teaching us in the ways of his or her ancestors.

The words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi come to mind, "Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." If you are a Christian candidate or a Mormon Candidate, don't blather on about it. Show us by the way you live your life how your faith will help make you a good president for all of the people, but especially for the least among us.

Allison asks what Bush's Christianity counts for in the disaster that is Iraq. What does his Christianity matter to those who were abandoned after Katrina?

She's right. We're electing a president, not a "national priest".

"From Darkness To Light" At Wenchoster

I've received word from my correspondent in the Diocese of Wenchoster that a supplement to the Advent Pharisaios Journal is now up on the website, and it includes pictures of their lovely "From Darkness to Light" procession.

As lagniappe, they've included a hymn, "The Season's Come". Here's the first verse:

The season’s come, the hymns are sung,
The weather we endure.
A question’s raised by old and young:
What is an harbinger?

You can find the other verses at the site.

If you don't know what the word "lagniappe" means, then visit Google and find out, because I'll be using it again.

Feast Day of St. Clement Of Alexandria

Image from Wiki.

The Advent calendar from the Diocese of Washington, DC, includes in it's meditation for the day a prayer-poem by St. Clement. The link to the calendar is posted at the top left of this page. Click on day 5. Here's an excerpt:

Bridle of colts untamed,
Over our will presiding;
Wing of unwandering birds,
Our flight securely guiding.

Rudder of youth unbending,
Firm against adverse shock;
Shepherd, with wisdom tending
Lambs of the royal flock;

Thy simple children bring
In one, that they may sing
In solemn lays
Their hymns of praise
With guileless lips to Christ the King.

Read the rest. It's quite beautiful.

Padre Mickey, as usual, has a wonderful post on St. Clement. I may have to begin charging El Padre ad fees for the publicity I give him about his posts on the early saints.

READINGS:

Psalm 34:9-14 or 103:1-4,13-18
Colossians 1:11-20
John 6:57-63

PRAYER

O Lord, who called your servant Clement of Alexandria from the errors of ancient philosophy that he might learn and teach the saving Gospel of Christ: Turn your Church from the conceits of worldly wisdom and, by the Spirit of truth, guide it into all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Saddest Places In the UK

From the Heywood Advertizer:

The places listed below are the 10 saddest in all England.

1. Middlesbrough £7.58
2. Gateshead, Tyne & Wear £7.29
3. Redcar & Cleveland £7.11
4. Newcastle £7.04
5. Suffolk £6.90
6. North Tyneside £6.81
7. Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale £6.73
8=Blackpool £6.71
8=Hastings & Rother £6.71
10. Norfolk £6.64

The money is the amount spent on antidepressants per person, each year.

"The Tiber Runs Through Boston"

From Commonweal Magazine, by David Gibson.

It seems that former Episcopal bishop Jeffery Steenson was received into the Roman Catholic Church last weekend by Cardinal Bernard Law at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.

You remember Cardinal Law, don't you? He was the archbishop and cardinal of the Archdiocese of Boston, who presided over a horrendous cover-up of child abuse that was in operation for many years. His punishment? Banishment to a position as archpriest of a basilica in Rome.

I wonder if Cardinal Law was Steenson's choice or was he imposed upon him? Could he have said, "No thanks. May I have someone else to do the job?"

The headline is a quote from the online article in Commonweal.

From Our Friend Luiz In Rio

I received this email from Luiz, which I quote in full. Luiz has been accepted as a candidate for the priesthood by the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janiero. He spent nearly a year working with Fr. Eduardo Costa in one of the poorest and most dangerous slums in Rio.

Dear friends,
For those of you who have facebook, please visit [here].

As you might know, I did a placement at Christ the King Anglican Church for almost a year, in Cidade de Deus - Rio de Janeiro. Cidade de Deus (City of God) is one of
Brazil's most disadvantaged communities. Built in the sixties to provide a new start for Rio de Janeiro's urban poor, it has become a notorious shanty town, far from being a new hope for the oppressed.

- Only 3% of local people have completed secondary education;
- 22% of residents are unemployed;
- Life expectancy is just 66 (the Brazilian average is above 70);
- 14% of teenage girls are pregnant;
- Average income is just US$ 100.00 per month.

We have started some months ago, a ministry with children of that community, providing them Christian Education, activities, and meals. The parish was experiencing a rebirth (it almost closed), and already had some social projects... so, I sent an appeal to several people, for help.

A couple months ago, two individuals, plus our friends of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Atlanta, have sent about 850.00 US Dollars, which are already being used for buying toys, food for meals we prepare for the children and parishioners and some vestments for our new children choir.

It happens that some sisters and brothers in Christ have started a wonderful Christmas initiative too, in order to raise funds for Christ the King. I do kindly ask you to take a look at the following options:

- PayPal
Currently, some of our OCICBW friends have set up a PayPal account which can be accessed here:

They have graciously started a Christmas appeal. Do find out about it!

- Cheques
In the U.K. cheques (made payable to "St. Francis Church") can be sent to:
CITY OF GOD APPEAL,
St. Francis House
18 Cotswold Gardens
High Heaton
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE7 7AE

(Please write "City Of God Appeal" on the reverse of the cheque.)
In the United States, cheques (made payable to "The Episcopal Church of St. Paul") can be sent to:
CITY OF GOD APPEAL
c/o The Reverend Elizabeth Kaeton
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul
200 Main Street
Chatham, NJ 07928

- ERD
You can also donate to Episcopal Relief and Development. They have been doing a wonderful job helping sponsor one of our projects and surely deserve your help, so, in the future, more and more projects can be funded by them.

If you have questions on Christ the King's projects or on how we intend to use the money, please, feel free to ask.

We are also proud to present Fr. Nicholas Wheeler, a wonderful friend of ours who is coming work at Christ the King as a USPG missionary. Fr. Wheeler is currently the team rector of Old St. Pancras' in London. You can find out more about him here:

Blessings in Christ
Luiz Coelho

"No to hate and yes to love,
No to death and yes to life,
No to falsehood and yes to truth,
No to oppression and yes to justice,
No to cruelty and yes to mercy,
No to violence and yes to the path of peace,
No, no matter what it may cost, and yes, no matter what it may cost.
For you are the source of love leading to reconciliation and forgiveness."
(a Sabeel prayer)
--
"Não ao ódio e sim ao amor,
Não à morte e sim à vida,
Não à falsidade e sim à verdade,
Não à opressão e sim à justiça,
Não à crueldade e sim à misericórdia,
Não à violência e sim ao caminho da paz,
Não, não importa o que custe, e sim, não importa o que custe.
Pois és a fonte de amor que leva à reconciliação e perdão."
(uma prece de Sabeel)

Diana Saga Continues - Good News

When Grandpère brought our dog, Diana, home from the vet last Thursday, he put her papers on the kitchen counter, and they were soon covered with other papers and lost to sight. Yesterday, when I was clearing off the counter, I came across them and noticed in the directions for her care that "Absolute Cage Rest" was checked off.

I was shocked. First of all, we do not have a cage. When she travels in the car, she sits on the seat. Second, she would have been very unhappy if we had put her in a cage once she came home. The only bone that was broken in the accident was one under her eye which was damaged and had to be removed. The vet said that it should heal on its own.

When humans are in the hospital and go home to convalesce, doctors usually recommend that they begin to move around rather quickly, if possible. The first two or three days Diana was home, she hardly moved except to go out to do her poop and pee. Now she is moving a good bit, and she walks better every day. She even did a little hip-hop today.

Tomorrow, we take her to have the stitches taken out of her eye, and according to the directions, she should still have been in a cage until the next visit to the vet. The recommendation that she be confined for that long a period doesn't seem right to me

Anyway, I'm glad that we never saw those directions, because I think she was much better off moving around, as she was able.

Any of you who have not been following the saga, you can read the earlier posts here, here, and here.

Brad And The Pink Tents

Photo from the Associated Press.

From the Times Picayune in New Orleans:

Driving tours begin today of the 150 flamingo-colored fabric houses, stand-ins for actor Brad Pitt's Make It Right architectural project in the Lower 9th Ward.

The free driving tour, modeled on the Celebration in the Oaks holiday tour of City Park, features tent-like structures scattered between Tennessee Street and the Industrial Canal in the Lower 9th Ward.

All the structures are wired to glow from within, with constellations of lights spaced across the ground between them, representing the lives lost during Hurricane Katrina and in the flood that followed. All occupy sites where the Make it Right project intends to build new homes.

I will not make fun of Brad Pitt again. He is doing great work in my beloved home town, New Orleans. He's there, on the ground, talking to the people of the Lower 9th Ward, getting their input. The houses will be environmentally friendly.

Pitt explained that only one pink house thus far has its roof in place. The rest of the roof shapes will be lifted atop their companion blocks when the $150,000 needed to erect each real house is raised.

"As each house is adopted, the roof goes on," Pitt said.

As the houses go up, the pink awning material used in the tents will be recycled into tote bags and, perhaps, umbrellas by workers from the Lighthouse for the Blind to raise money for Make it Right.

Thank you, Brad.

From Dorothy Sayers?

"The worst sin - perhaps the only sin - passion can commit, is to be joyless."
Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night


"As I grow older and older
And totter toward the tomb
I find that I care less and less
Who goes to bed with whom"


"Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force."
Sir Impey Biggs in Clouds of Witnesses by Sayers (Thanks to Allen in the comments)


I could not find a source for the poem and the final statement, and they are only "attributed" to Sayers. Anyway, I like [it] them, whoever said them [it].