A Good Good Friday?

In my family and in many families in this area, a common custom on Good Friday is to gather friends and family to eat boiled crawfish. At first I protested. "What are we doing having a party on Good Friday?" But no one paid attention, and the tradition was established and carried on - now for a good many years in our family.

Back in the day, (I know y'all get tired of hearing me say that, but all old people do it, so get used to it) we kept an austere Good Friday, often attending the three hour church service. No radio, no movies. We were encouraged to do spiritual reading only, no novels or trivia allowed. It was a solemn day.

No longer, and I've come to wonder if the old way was best, after all. I make room in my day for a church service, but I go along with good humor and enjoyment now with the Good Friday crawfish boil.

Pictured above is the greatly diminished pile of crawfish, after most folks have had their fill, although, after a little rest, some go back for seconds. You can see the other ingredients that go into the pot with the crawfish - onions, whole garlic pods, corn, potatoes, lemons, along with the many seasoning ingredients. The crawfish were delicious! My son did a terrific job of cooking them.

The only time I drink beer is when I eat boiled shrimp, crabs, or crawfish. My preference is Corona. I ate a whole pod of garlic. I couldn't resist, although I was going to church after the gathering. We were only a faithful few at the simple, but very nice, 6:00 PM service, most of the parishioners having attended the 12:00 PM service with the traditional musical drama in the churchyard preceding the service. I read two parts in the Passion narrative, the slave and the gatekeeper, but even with that, I had only two lines early on, so I could sink into the rest of the reading without having to worry that I'd miss my cue.

Below are pictures of the doggies who were at the gathering yesterday. The first is Gino, the Maltese, who belongs to my daughter and her family. Isn't he the cutest thing ever? I want one just like him. Do you think we might find a rescue Maltese? Of course, we must wait until Diana passes on, because she thinks all small animals are cats, and I fear that she would do harm to the little dog.


Pictured below are the three Bassets that belong to my son and his family. In the foreground is Trigger, the father of the family. On the right is sweet Babs, the mother, who was supposed to have died of untreatable cancer some time ago, but is still here. She seems comfortable, is apparently not in pain, and is not off her food. In the rear is the dumb son of Babs and Trigger, Junior, one of the stupidest dogs ever. If you knock on that huge head of his, it rings hollow, proof of a very small brain.


The cauldron below, attached to the butane tank, is the cooking pot for the crawfish, crabs, or shrimp. We seldom do large-quantity shrimp boils any longer, because shrimp are more expensive now.

I also use the pot to make my "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble" witch's brew for my voodoo practice.


When I was in England, I gave MadPriest a very special set of Mardi Gras beads with the ingredients for boiling crawfish strung between the beads, a tiny crawfish, a garlic pod, an ear of corn, a lemon, a potato, and even a tiny chef!

Holy Week - Jesus Among The Dead

O Lord, God of my salvation,
when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.

For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
I am like those who have no help,
like those forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves.

Psalm 88:1-7


O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, p.283)


Sweet hours have perished here;
This is a mighty room;
Within its precincts hopes have played, --
Now shadows in the tomb.

Emily Dickinson

The painting above is another in the series titled "The Passion of Christ" by New York artist, Doug Blanchard. Doug blogs as Counterlight at Counterlight's Peculiars.

Our Friend Ivor Fired From LSU

From the Times-Picayune:

Ivor van Heerden, the outspoken coastal scientist who led the state's independent Team Louisiana investigation into Hurricane Katrina levee failures, has been notified by Louisiana State University that he will be terminated as a research professor in May 2010.

Van Heerden, who is not a tenured professor, also has been stripped of his title as deputy director of the LSU Hurricane Center. Also, engineering professor Marc Levitan has stepped down as the center's director. University officials say they will reshape the center's research direction in the wake of the moves.

The university authorities give no reason for his termination.

Van Heerden said the university would not give him a reason, either. David Constant, interim dean of LSU's College of Engineering, told him the decision "wasn't due to my performance. But he couldn't tell me why," van Heerden said.

The decision has been brewing ever since van Heerden agreed to head the forensic investigation team in the days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005, he said. Within days of the team's formation, van Heerden was frequently quoted in national newspaper and television reports, and most of his comments were highly critical of the Army Corps of Engineers' levee and floodwall construction policies and designs.

The flooding of New Orleans after Katrina was not from the storm, but from faulty levees built to protect the city in just such a situation that Katrina produced. The levees gave way, causing the resulting death and devastation. For years, Ivor warned that the levees were faulty and inadequate to protect the city from possible disaster. I heard him express his concern more than once, but no one who mattered paid attention.

Ivor spoke the truth to those in power. If I ever met an honest man, Ivor was that man. Because he was never given tenure, the authorities at LSU could terminate him at any time. He knew that there could be serious consequences for him because of his truth-telling, but he continued to speak out. The wonder is that he lasted as long as he did at LSU. Ivor is a hero.

Holy Week - Jesus Dies

Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

Mark 15:22-39


O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, p. 280)


Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks
compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Teresa of Avila


The painting above is another in the series titled "The Passion of Christ" by New York artist, Doug Blanchard. Doug blogs as Counterlight at Counterlight's Peculiars.

Prayers Needed - From Roseann

Prayers needed

Gary has injured his shoulder and is in quite a bit of pain. He went to the doctor yesterday and tomorrow will have an MRI. This is a critical situation for us. If he can't work at Whole Foods we lose our insurance. He works another job as an internet programmer for a company in Austin and they haven't been able to pay him since February. This economy is sucking hard.

Please pray that he can work at least light duty. He has vacation hours built up and if he needs to rest the shoulder give him the good sense to take some time off. He is saving all his vacation time now to help me.

I hate to say it but we really need help. I wrote my priest today and asked if there are some people who will bring us meals. Frankly, the house can go to hell, I just want him to be okay. Please pray that some kind souls will help us over this hump.

It is embarrassing to admit this but I have to share the truth with you all.

Love, Roseann

Roseann, don't be embarrassed. We all need help sometimes. You and Gary have had more than your share of troubles recently. I think you are both quite courageous.

Love and prayers go your way.

Holy Week - The Last Supper

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’ He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mark 14:17-26

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, p.274)

The painting above is another in the series titled "The Passion of Christ" by New York artist, Doug Blanchard. Doug blogs as Counterlight at Counterlight's Peculiars.

UPDATE: Jane at Acts of Hope has a lovely sermon posted. Below is a snippet that struck me forcefully, but do read it in its entirety.

This evening we celebrate what Jesus did the night before he died.

When you know you’re going to die,
you want to be with the people you love the most
and you concentrate every bit of wisdom in your body and soul
into a few words or gestures;
you compress them in time;
you leave them as a testament.

Holy Week - Jesus Enters The City

The painting above is from a series of powerful paintings titled "The Passion of Christ" by Doug Blanchard, who is also known as the blogger, Counterlight. Doug says of the paintings:

I am not interested in the literal history of the death of Jesus. As far as I'm concerned, the historical Jesus of Nazareth is an irretrievably alien figure to us, inhabiting a world that no longer exists, speaking a language almost no one speaks anymore.

I am much more interested in the story. What does that story mean to us now on the far end of the 20th century? What is it about the death of Jesus that remains so remarkable among the deaths of thousands and thousands of other innocent young men unjustly condemned throughout history? Why should this death be remarkable in light of everyone¹s death?

I decided to remake the traditional image of Jesus. I wanted to make him charismatic and attractive; as someone who touches and is touched. I wanted to make him a physical being of flesh and blood; not some semi-abstract Byzantine Pantocrator. I wanted to make the body and flesh of Jesus teach compassion to the spirit through its suffering. I wanted that same flesh to be made radiant by the spirit at the Resurrection.

All of the paintings in the series can be seen here and here. I urge you to take the time to view them.

This past Sunday, we commemorated the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem pictured above. He went to the city, although he knew, in the end, he would be killed there.

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” ’ They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

‘Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Mark 11:1-11

The "Hosannas" did not last long.

I have not kept a very good Lent. Do I ever? What is a good Lent? I spent a good part of the season getting ready for and indulging myself during the wonderful trip to England. Hardly in tune with the penitential spirit of the season. I visited a good many churches and abbeys while I was England. Does that count toward keeping a good Lent? And there was the Lent I persevered in attending the Alpha classes, surely my most difficult Lenten discipline ever.

During Holy Week, I'm trying to do better, beginning with this post of Doug's wonderful painting and his words, along with the passage from Mark's Gospel which tells the story. Reading Doug's blog, where he writes as Counterlight, I'm getting an education in art and art history without paying a dime in tuition fees.

In The Tiled Hall Café

Doorman-Priest made the arrangements for our lunch at the wonderful Tiled Hall Café. We pushed tables together, and our group of nine had a very nice meal and a lovely time chatting and getting to know one another. Credit for the pictures go to Erika. I was too excited about about meeting everyone to bother with pictures. In fact, except for two on Sunday, I stopped taking pictures Thursday. I ran out of energy for picture-taking and decided that I want to BE in the moment rather than RECORD the moment. I'm sorry now, because I don't have pictures of places and things I saw that I wish that I had.

As you can see, the Tiled Hall, situated in the Leeds Art Gallery, is beautiful, a lovely space, and the food is quite good.

The Tiled Hall Café photo is from A Quilter's Journal. Janet, an English blogger, gave me permission to use her picture, which I found through a Google search. Click the link to see more photos at her blog, which show wonderful close-ups of the details of the beautiful tile work.


Pictured above are our man from Sweden, Göran, wearing his Ingemar Bergman preaching bands with his clerical collar (So cute!). I know it's not a movie costume but what the clergy wear in Sweden, but I loved the look, and it reminded me of Bergman's movies. Next to him is the man who worked so hard to make the meeting possible, our own and England's Doorman-Priest. Aren't they handsome brutes? They should be in the movies.


This picture is a little embarrassing. What on earth am I doing? Holding forth, surely. Poor TheMe, in the center, is trapped with no way to turn, but Saintly Ramblings, on the right, wisely looks away. Despite my holding forth, TheMe and Saintly Ramblings were charming and showed great forbearance. I was pleased to sit near them and have a chance to talk to them. Unfortunately, that meant that I was not so near others. I spent time before and after the lunch with Erika, Susan, Göran, and Mrs. DP, but I did not get to spend much time with Mrs TheMe, and I'm sorry about that. Another time? Or perhaps they'll cross the ocean one day and visit me here.



Canon Daphne Pullover from the Diocese of Wenchoster attended our luncheon, but declined to be photographed. However, she brought with her, as a gift for me, a packet of mementos from the diocese, which included a Wenchoster Diocese calendar, post cards, refrigerator magnets from the Order of the Holy Hankie of St. Veronica, and other goodies. What a surprise! All of them were hilarious. In the photo I'm splitting my sides laughing as I look at the calendar.

The pictures below are from our dinner at a wonderful Indian restaurant to which DP took a smaller group of us that evening. I include them because I want you to have a picture of Erika, our chief photographer, and her beloved, Susan.


Susan and Doorman-Priest



Göran, me, and Erika

It was great to meet all those lovely people, one of the high spots of my trip. Now I have a raft of new real-life friends in England and one in Sweden. My whole trip had a magical air about it, despite the mishaps and misadventures, and I will never, ever forget it.

Doorman-Priest, thank you from my heart for your hard work in organizing and coordinating our meeting. You're a busy man with your family, your job, and your seminary studies. Thanks to all of you who traveled to attend the gathering. I hope that everyone enjoyed our time together as much as I did.

You Are God's Beloved

As I was walking tonight, I thought of the folks I know who think very little of themselves, who think they count for nothing, who see themselves as persons of no value, and that made me quite sad. I prayed that these people might one day come into the knowledge of the One, the source from which flows my sense that I am someone who counts, a person to be valued. I am God's creation, a creature whom God has declared to be good, and I rest secure in the infinite love of that same God, a love which is beyond what I can imagine. I want all to have that same sense of being God's beloved.

Lord, open our eyes that we may see you.

Lord, open our ears that we may hear you.

Lord, open our hearts that we may feel the power of your love for us.

Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage

From the AP:

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage — and the first to do so with a legislature's vote.

The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.

The vote came nine years after Vermont adopted its first-in-the-nation civil unions law.

It's now the fourth state to permit same-sex marriage. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa are the others. Their approval of gay marriage came from the courts.

Excellent news! Civil unions are not marriage. They're in the same category as as the old separate-but-equal school segregation system. Separate is never equal.

H/T to Crapaud in the comments.

UPDATE: From Roseann in the comments:

Being Peace said...

I long for the day when the term "gay marriage" goes away and we just say marriage. I love my gay friends and I pray for full equality under the law for them.
The 14th Amendment says, "Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

It is time for equal rights and equal protection in all states. Stand up Obama. Get over this civil union crap. Marriage is marriage is marriage between two people, not just a man and a woman.

I love you my gay friends and I stand with you until you have justice. None of us are free until all of us are free!

To which we all say, "Amen!"