R. I. P. Murphy

 

From my brother-in-law:

Just got back from the vet. Eric & Nicol had to have Murphy (the big black dog) put to sleep. When we came home from New Orleans, he was limping on his left front paw. Took him to the vet and he recovered some. Got worse Wednesday (leg swelled up). Got even worse Thursday. Turns out he had cancer of the spleen - very fast moving - he started to bleed out in his stomach and his red blood cells dropped drastically. We were all there this morning. This cancer is extremely fast moving and not much you can do. Needless to say its pretty somber here now.

Frank

Pray for healing for Murphy's family, especially little Molly. She loves her dogs.

New York - Saturday - Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky - "Composition VIII" - 1923

Doug (of the jokes) offered to drive me anywhere I wanted to go in and around New York, within reason. We arranged to meet at the Guggenheim Museum at 10:00 AM to view the Kandinsky exhibit. I love the Guggenheim. I love walking the ramp to view the art. In a review of the exhibit in The New Yorker, the author advised starting at the top of the winding ramp, because the best of the exhibit was located there. I always like to do that anyway, because it's easier to walk on a downward slope.

To see an exhibit of many works by a prolific and gifted artist is an extraordinary experience to me. I remember the wonderful Brancusi exhibit at the Guggenheim some years ago. The Kandinsky exhibit was no less extraordinary. I can't say that I agree with the reviewer in The New Yorker, because I saw works that resonated with me more so than others all throughout the exhibit and from several different periods in his long painting career.

My response to art is emotional to a great extent. Either I feel the work inside, or I don't. Some art literally takes my breath away. I think of the works of Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Botticelli, Bellini, and Bernini's small "Head of an Angel" sculpture at the Frick Collection, (another of my favorite museums). There are others, but I won't make my list long.

Kandinsky is an artist of the spirit, so it was no surprise that a good many of his works attracted me. As we walked through the exhibit, I seemed to see more erotic forms than Doug, and he was laughing at me and maybe a little shocked as I pointed them out. I'm not sure what that says about me, but there it is. I won't be so bold as to do a review of the exhibit, as I have done previously, because I now know that the other Doug (Counterlight), the artist, will likely read the post, and I don't want to make a fool of myself.

The painting at the head of the post resonated with me, along with Reciprocal Accord. Due to copyright constraints, I can only link to the painting. I wanted to note the paintings that I liked best, but neither Doug nor I had a pen. Think of the brilliant commentary you missed for lack of a pen. The exhibit was drawn principally from the Guggenheim's own extensive collection of Kandinsky, from Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, and from Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, as well as loans from private collections.

Monet's series of paintings of haystacks made a deep impression on Kandinsky:

That it was a haystack the catalogue informed me. I could not recognize it. This non-recognition was painful to me. I considered that the painter had no right to paint indistinctly. I dully felt that the object of the painting was missing. And I noticed with surprise and confusion that the picture not only gripped me, but impressed itself ineradicably on my memory. Painting took on a fairy-tale power and splendour.

Quote from Wiki.

Kandinsky left Russia and went to Munich to study, and then returned to Russia. There he was at odds with Russian theories of paintings, so he went once again to Germany to teach at the Bauhaus, until the Nazis shut it down. He left for France and spent the rest of his life there.

See the website of the Columbia Spectator for a review of the exhibit and an illustration of one of Kandinsky's haunting horse and rider series of paintings.



Me and Doug

After touring the exhibit, Doug and I went to the Madison Square Street Market, pictured below.



After walking around to view the wares in the booths, we had lunch from the food booths. Doug had BBQ, and I had Viking food, served by a Dane wearing braids and a horned helmet. I'm not joking. My Viking food consisted of meat balls of veal and pork, potato salad, and hot orange juice. The heating machine broke down while the Dane was heating my juice, so he gave it to me free, because it was not hot. To be quite honest, I was relieved to have an unheated cup of OJ, and that it was free made it taste all the better.

A post on our visit to New Jersey will follow.

PS: The Viking food was tasty.

The Guardian Angel

PIETRO DA CORTONA - "The Guardian Angel"

Angel of God,
my guardian dear,
to whom God's love commits me here,
ever this day,
be at my side
to light and guard,
to rule and guide.


At the Close of Day - Collect

Visit this place, O Lord, and drive far from it all snares of the enemy; let your holy angles angels dwell with us to preserve us in peace; and let your blessing be upon us always; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer - p. 140)


Image from The Web Gallery of Art.

Colbert - Cross Not About Jesus

The Word - Symbol-Minded

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

H/T to The Lead.

"Reflections On Communion" - Bishop Charles Jenkins

I shall never forget the day the tea arrived. Cases and cases of tea, shipped to us by the Bishop of Ceylon. More tea than I have ever seen at one time donated to us in the wake of Hurricane Datrina.

I remember my amazement when at "Community Congress 1" the realization came upon me that many of the volunteers working there were from London and came as part of the efforts to help of the Church of England.

How strengthened I was when Bishop Josiah Fearon of the Diocese of Kaduna in the Church of Nigeria phoned to say that the entire Diocese was praying for us and he and a group were trying to find a way to come to us. Eventually, Bishop Fearon came and he came to see about me.

The amount of the check may have been small, but how grateful we were for the ordinand in the Church of England who asked that the loose offering at his ordination be sent to us. That check with tens of thousands of others has made a difference.

"Like a deer caught in the headlights" was how someone described me after the levees failed. Then a call came (I wonder how he got through) from Rob Radtke at Episcopal Relief and Development asking what we needed. How the heck did I know? I told Rob we needed him. Though brand spanking new to the job, he managed to get on a plane and come. He brought with him Courtney Cowart and Peter Gudaitis.

It was humbling to be asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury during the Lambeth Conference of 2008 to search out the Bishops from Burma so affected by tsunami and pray with them. Of course, they had been praying for us.

When evil stands before me, I stand not alone, but this fractious, schismatic, heretical, wonderful, faithful, sacrificing, Christ-like Communion stands beside me, before me, behind me, and above me. As lonely as the past four years have been, even in dark nights of depression and doubt, I have not been alone. The last phone message I had before the system went down was from the Rev'd Susan Russell.

The tabernacle would not open in St. Luke's Church, New Orleans, when Frank and Phoebe Griswold and I moved aside trees to get into the church. We had Holy Communion there in the muck, mold, and mud thanks to Senior Warden Elvia James who managed to get the door open to the tabernacle. That Holy Communion pointed me towards our Communion.

Communion is not only about right believing and right acting. When our lives were in the ditch by the Jericho Road, when we had been robbed of life's dignity and much of the material of life, our Samaritan was the Anglican Communion. Rich and poor, orthodox or whatever, conservative and liberal, they came to us. They gave us of what they had and all prayed for us.

This Communion that I have experienced is the Church forced by circumstance to be what I think God has created His Church to be. I warn those who would break down and destroy this tender vessel that they are on the side of the enemy. Whether the iconoclasts be from the left, the right, or from the don't care side of things, let the warning be heard, Communion matters. Communion is not simply a matter of affiliation, or of like-minds; for some of us Communion is life or death. Communion is more than a man-made Covenant between us. We are called by God the Father into a greater Covenant that we dare not break. We are called to be here, together, one, broken, messy and yet strong, faithful, and rejoicing in the Lord.

The issues are many, the disagreements and disappointments many, and the opportunity to each do our own thing (which we suppose to be of God who blesses all our doings) is enticing. Such is not real religion.

Yours in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins

From Churchwork, Fall 2009, the official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana.

Posted without commentary, because I want Bp. Jenkins' reflection to stand on its own, except to say that I find much to admire in his words. I may comment further at a later time.

Albany Via Media Revisits DEPO

From Openly Episcopal in Albany:

In a letter intended for members of Albany Via Media, and meant for publication here, Via Media board member Dennis Wisnom argues for taking another look at DEPO, or delegated episcopal pastoral oversight, for parishes in the Diocese of Albany whose pastoral needs are not being met. The DEPO program was announced in 2004 following the House of Bishops meeting at Camp Allen,Texas. Its usefulness was limited, and in practical application only extended to parishes and dioceses opposed to the liberal direction of The Episcopal Church at the time. The fact that is is again being urged is a reflection of the dissatisfaction felt by moderate-to-liberal parishes and members of the Diocese of Albany with the direction of their diocese.

Read it all at OE. Perhaps it's an idea worth trying. What's sauce for the goose....

Dennis Wisnom says:

If Bishop Love is willing to provide DEPO to conservative parishes in liberal dioceses, I think we in the Albany Via Media have an equal right to ask for DEPO as well.

Remember that Bishop Love is one of the seven who recently visited with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and later published a statement which included a request to other like-minded bishops of the Episcopal Church:

5. We encourage Bishops exercising jurisdiction in The Episcopal Church to call upon us for service in needed cases of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight.

So. How would the Communion Partner bishops respond to the request to have DEPO bishops exercise oversight in their own dioceses to care for moderate and liberal members?

Bishop Gene in Portland, Maine

From the Portland Press-Herald:

The nation's first openly gay Episcopal bishop got a warm welcome Thursday night from a crowd that came to hear him say why religion matters in the debate about Maine's Nov. 3 referendum on same-sex marriage.

More than 300 people came to the Cathedral Church of St. Luke on State Street to hear the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, deliver a speech aimed at getting out the vote.

Robinson, who has been in a relationship for more than 20 years, held back nothing when talking about rights for gays and lesbians, and about people who oppose same-sex marriage based on their interpretation of the Bible.

"We need to rescue the Bible from the religious right, which has held us hostage for a very long time," said Robinson, whose remarks drew a long ovation.
....

Robinson directed several of his remarks at Stand for Marriage Maine, the group that is campaigning to repeal Maine's new law legalizing same-sex marriage.
....

"I have a message for them," the 62-year-old bishop said. "Religious people and religious institutions need not fear marriage equality, because if this passes, nothing will change for them."

"Speak up, don't whine, and for God's sake don't be afraid to come out as a religious person," he told his audience.

Thanks to Wade who sent the link to me. He was present and says:

There was an article in the local rag about the event, though they're full of it as regards the turnout. The Cathedral was set up to seat 650 and there were very few empty seats. I'd dare say we had 550 in attendance. I'm starting to feel like we're going to win this one!

Let us hope that Wade is right and the repeal effort fails.

New York - Friday Evening - The Oyster Bar

On Friday evening, after I arrived by train in New York from Connecticut and settled in at my hotel, I headed back to Grand Central Station to meet Tobias and his partner, James, near the big clock in the center of the main floor. As Tobias said, there were so many people gathered around, it was like Grand Central Station. We met and headed for the bar section of The Oyster Bar until our table was ready.

I saw James and Tobias in Anaheim, but I didn't spend much time with James. I suppose that he was very busy, as he has an important job at 815, from which he will soon be retired due to belt-tightening by the national church. Tobias was, to be sure, quite busy, too, but we ran into each other twice in the cafeteria and had lunch together. James and Tobias are charming company. What could be better than an evening of drinks, excellent company, sparkling conversation, and good food?

We shared calamari as an appetizer. For the next course, Tobias had oysters on the half shell, and James and I had a spicey clam chowder. I tasted one of Tobias' oysters, which was good, but Louisiana oysters are better. I have not yet found oysters anywhere that are as delicious as those from Louisiana. Since the appetizer and soup pretty well filled me up, I was glad that I had ordered a crab salad. The big chunks of blue crab meat mixed with fresh greens, tomatoes, and a nice dressing, made for a heavenly salad. I can't tell you what the others ate, because I was swept away by my delicious crab salad.

I told Tobias and James the story of FDR's visit to New Orleans during Robert Maestri's term as mayor of the city. Maestri, who had only a third grade education, threw a dinner for FDR, which included oysters in the menu. As they were eating, Maestri leaned over to FDR and asked, "How ya like dem erstuhs?" Oh, the horror! What did FDR, with his patrician manner of speaking, think of that?

Tobias took the picture below without being able to see what he was snapping, but he got us centered on the second try. He looks to have gained about 10 pounds during the meal. If you've seen other pictures of Tobias, you'll know that he is quite slender.



Tobias, James, and me

Altogether a lovely evening.

And as a special treat, below is a picture of Tobias in another life, his life as an actor. Yes, that's Julie Harris in the picture. Tobias played Tad Lincoln in James Prideaux's "The Last of Mrs. Lincoln", with Julie Harris as Mrs. Lincoln, at the Kennedy Center Opera House and the ANTA Theater on Broadway (1972-3). How about that? More than two years ago, before I knew Tobias at all well, I boldly posted on his life in the theater after a bit of snooping around and internet stalking. Here's the post from June of 2007. Be sure to read the comments.

Julie Harris and Tobias Haller

Story Of The Day

stable as long as nothing else in the
whole world shifts (so don't get your
hopes up)


From StoryPeople.

I gotta tell ya, I like this one a lot.

Myron Update

Good Morning Everyone,

Myron spent the last evening in the ER at Christiana because of abdominal and back pain. An ultrasound was performed and a significant amount of sludge was seen in the gall bladder. The doctors decided to wait for several hours then repeat the ultrasound and it was determined he would in fact need to have the gall bladder removed. At this point the gall bladder is too inflamed to remove so they will wait a couple of days until it calms down a bit before surgery. An endoscopy will be done at the time of surgery to make sure there are no stones in any of the ducts.

Thank you all for your continued good thoughts and prayers.

Sue

Strengthen your servant Myron, O God, to do what he has to do and bear what he has to bear; that, accepting your healing gifts through the skill of surgeons and nurses, he may be restored to usefulness in your world with a thankful heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.