GOOD-BYE, ZOE

From my brother-in-law:

Zoe was euthanized today at 4:30. She had gone down considerably in the last 24-48 hours. Will miss here sorely.

Frank

We prayed for Zoe earlier. Please pray for Frank.

Prayer for the Death of a Beloved Pet

O Lord our God, we come before You this day in sadness. Zoe, who brought us so much joy in life, has now died. Her happy times in our family’s embrace have come to an end. We miss Zoe already.

Help us, O God, to remember the good times with Zoe. Remind us to rejoice in the happy times she brought to our home. Let us be thankful for the good life we were blessed to give to her.

We are grateful to You, God, for creating Zoe, for entrusting her to our care, and for sustaining her in our love for a measure of time. We understand that all that lives must die. We knew that this day would come. And yet, O God, we would have wanted one more day of play, one more evening of love with Zoe.

O God, as we have taken care of Zoe in life, we ask that You watch over her in death. You entrusted Zoe to our care; now, we give her back to You. May Zoe find a happy new home in Your loving embrace.

As we remember Zoe, may we love each other more dearly. May we care for all Your creatures, for every living thing, as we protected the blessed life of Zoe. May her memory bless our lives with love and caring forever. Amen.

By Rabbi Barry H. Block

"GOD DOES TAKE SIDES"

From Daniel Schultz (aka Pastor Dan) at Religious Dispatches:

It's been a rough week. Ireland got sold back into serfdom, unemployment benefits expired, and in a bid to bring the spirit of peace and generosity back to Christmas, Republicans threatened to filibuster the START treaty until tax cuts for the upper 2% of wealthy Americans were made permanent. Oh, and like a maraschino cherry high atop a lollapalooza of suck, we find out from Wikileaks that the Obama administration—with GOP help—basically has quashed the investigation into torture by slow-marching it to death.
....

And where, might you ask, was the religious left (such as it is) during all of this? Begging for scraps, I'm afraid. They were "urging" Congress to pass the DREAM Act and "urging" them to ratify START and "asking"(!) the House to pass the Child Nutrition Act. These are all fine and worthy causes, to be sure. Yet somehow I don't think they're going to be effective. Put it to you this way, it's one thing to go up against a giant with a slingshot. It's quite another to take your rock out and replace it with a crumpled-up piece of paper.
....

Yet, as I seldom tire of pointing out, the God of the Bible is quite partisan and quite divisive. You can't read about camels and the eye of the needle, let alone the Magnificat, without understanding that God is on the side of the poor.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes, Pastor Dan. Read the rest of Dan's column.

To you who scream loud and long that the US is a Christian nation, I ask what about Jesus' teachings about the poor? I ask you people of faith who, even as you claim the Judeo-Christian heritage as the foundation of our nation, why you ignore the golden thread of God's justice that begins in the Hebrew Bible and runs right through the New Testament? How do you forget passages like this:

Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
(Jeremiah 22:3)

And the words of Mary, the mother of Jesus:

The Magnificat

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
(Luke 1:46-53)

And the words of Jesus to the rich ruler:

Jesus looked at him [the rich ruler] and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’
(Luke 18:24-25)

But somehow, some way, the most vocal of those who want to take back our country for Jesus always seem to remember Paul's words to differentiate between the worthy and unworthy poor:

For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.
(2 Thessalonians 3:10-11)

Now, I'm all for getting the idle, sound-of-mind-and-body "busybodies" to work, every last one of them, if they can find a job! I'm sure that a good many of the "idle busybodies" would like to be back at work this very moment. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate rose from 9.6% to 9.8% since last month.

As Pastor Dan sums it up:

My God is the God of the poor. You can be for the poor or you can go to hell.

There's nothing nice about that. But then there's nothing nice about the absurd, reactionary, vicious and apparently successful class war the rich and powerful are waging on the rest of the nation, either.

Daniel Schultz, a.k.a. pastordan, is a minister in the United Church of Christ. He serves a small and very patient church in rural Wisconsin. He is the author of Changing the Script: An Authentically Faithful and Authentically Progressive Political Theology for the 21st Century, forthcoming from Ig Press.

Thanks to Cathy for the link.

STORY OF THE DAY - IMAGINING WORLD

In my dream, the angel shrugged & said,
If we fail this time, it will be a failure of
imagination & then she placed the world
gently in the palm of my hand.

From StoryPeople.

"HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1"

From Laremy Legel at Film.com:

Where the film falters is through the calculated exclusion of anyone not already steeped in Harry Potter lore. You'll need to come in emotionally invested, though the chances of that are solid if you've read this far. Newcomers need not apply, as the whole affair would likely come off as a blustery exercise without prior knowledge of the books or films.

Yes to all but "if you've read this far", you're emotionally invested.

From Anthony Lane in The New Yorker:

The trouble with Harry, as becomes clear from this seventh and penultimate installment, is not that we have lost the plot—the film is as tangled and as corkscrewed as Bonham Carter’s hair—but that we are in danger of losing everything else. The first words of the movie, which is directed by David Yates, are “These are dark times, there is no denying.” Actually, there is denying—that was the gist of the comic fantasy that used to prevail in Hogwarts, a place notably unvisited by our heroes on this occasion. Even allowing for the fact that we have followed Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) into the slough of puberty and out the other side, the whole thing does seem preternaturally stained with Weltschmerz.

Yes, again.

From Peter Travers at Rolling Stone:

Like a virgin's padded bra, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I is all tease, zero payoff. No investment banker left standing could fail to applaud the studio's initiative in halving the seventh and last book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series to squeeze the goose for more gold. But a movie that plays like a 146-minute trailer for the actual final chapter — Part II opens next July in 3D! — is a definite cheat.

Once again, yes.

Last night, Tom and I went to see the latest Harry Potter film. I'd read the review in The New Yorker and was not enthusiastic about going, but we had not been to a movie together in quite a while, so since Tom wanted to go, I went along.

We'd missed five four of the movies in the series, having seen only the first two. I loved the first film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", because, along with the darkness, and the action, and chases, the special effects were terrific, and the movie was great fun. I'd read the book and looked forward most of all to the special effects for the broomstick team game of Quidditch, which turned out to be all I expected and more.

Before I read the second book in the series, I saw the movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", and did not care for it nearly so much as the first. I didn't read any of the other Potter books, and, as I've said, we missed the next five four movies.

I knew that Dumbledore had died, but Tom and I were pretty thoroughly lost in the first scenes of the movie. Although we never really caught up, we tried to follow along with the intricacies of the plot, as best we could. Tom enjoyed the action and special effects, but I was mostly bored.

I discovered that Daniel Radcliffe is short, 5'6" as best I can discover, since a good many of the other actors in the film seemed to tower over him, and not just Hagrid. I got caught up in the scenery, some of which was quite beautiful. According to Wikipedia, "The crew also shot on location, with Swinley Forest and Freshwater West as two of the main outdoor filming areas, along with the village of Lavenham in Suffolk and the streets of the city of London."

One scene that I loved was of Harry enticing the mournful Hermione (Ron having left them) to dance, in an attempt to lift her spirits - a sweet moment to savor for a romantic such as I.

Near the end of the movie, I had to make a run to use the facilities, and I missed all but the very last scenes of the film, which led to a to-be-continued ending. That I didn't mind not seeing the scenes I missed, says a lot about how much I cared about the movie. I missed the fun in the first movie, which was perhaps more due to my expectations than a fault in the movie.

On the plus side, we were given MovieWatcher rewards of two free small bags of popcorn, but, on the minus side, the theater discontinued discounts for seniors.

The wrath of true-blue Potter fans will probably descend on me for what I've written, but, what I have written, I have written.

UPDATE: See Bishop Alan's review of "Potterdammerung".

FATHER MONTGOMERY ON WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

From an interview by Mr CatOLick.

Thanks to Ann.

30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARTYRED MISSIONARIES OF EL SALVADOR

From Fr John Dear in the National Catholic reporter:

Dec. 2 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the abduction, rape and killing of four U.S. churchwomen in El Salvador -- Maryknoll Srs. Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, Ursuline Sr. Dorothy Kazel, and Maryknoll lay missioner Jean Donovan.
....

So much has happened in the thirty years since -- beginning with the deaths of millions and millions of more poor people around the planet, the ongoing warmaking of the United States, and the ongoing collapse of the institutional church.
....

As we remember these great churchwomen and do what we can for justice and peace, I think...our lives too will be filled with meaning.

30 years already? It doesn't seem that long ago that I heard the horrifying news. Please read Fr John's entire column in the NCR.

Almighty God, you called your servants Ita, Maura, Dorothy, and Jean to be voices for the voiceless poor, and to give their lives as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope in El Salvador: Grant that, inspired by their sacrifice and their example, we may without fear or favor witness to your Word who abides, your Word who is Life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory now and for ever. Amen.

(Adapted from the prayer for the feast day of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero, of El Salvador, whom the Episcopal Church commemorates on March 24. This past March was the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Romero as he celebrated the Eucharist.)

Thanks to Rmj at Adventus for the reminder of the anniversary.

Image from A Nun's Life.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AILEEN AND HER FAMILY

Greetings, Episcopal Family---Prayers are needed for a young mother (37), named Aileen, who was in my sixth grade class many years ago. She is in ICU in Rapid and has been in a coma for several days. She has two little boys. Below is a Facebook update from her husband Mike Rodgers. Thank you for your immediate and ongoing appeal for her healing. Blessings to you all---Sally Boyd

From Mike- update on my sweet Aileen. MRI came back and was one blow after another. She suffered a heart attack and caused the blood, oxygen flow to not reach her brain for a portion of time, suffered 5 to 6 major strokes, 5 lesser strokes and many much smaller ones. her internal organs seem to be doing a bit better, still has a LONG way to go. I beg you all please continue to pray for my amazing wife and best
friend.

Forwarded by Ann Fontaine.

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Aileen the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer)

O merciful God, give strength, courage, and your peace that passes understanding to keep the minds and hearts of all who love Aileen; in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

UPDATE ON AILEEN: From Ann:

Quick update: Aileen seems to be having a few more conscious periods going on today, she is still in a coma as that is her basic state right now but she is definately moving in the right direction, testing yesterday shows that her vision and hearing should be intact, her right side is making good progress, but she is losing what she had on her left and tests show that there is nothing happening in the brain in reference to her legs at all. These are fairly limited tests and all they are really able to do until she wakes up more, many many unanswered questions. From her husband, Mike on FB

HAPPY HANUKKAH - "OCHO KANDELAS"

We invite parents into the classroom to tell about family celebrations. Last year a parent taught us the "Ocho Kandelas" song, which is a Hanukkah song in Ladino, a Sephardic language that sounds like Spanish and Hebrew with a little Arabic in there as well. The native Spanish speakers in my class were pretty excited to get the idea of the song, even if the words weren't exactly the same as in Spanish. The video is us learning and practicing the song with the lyrics on the ActivBoard. We say "Kandelikas" a lot, it's pretty fun.

From k1classroom at YouTube

Last year, I stole the video from my friend Paul the BB. This year I repeat myself, because I like the video quite a lot.

AND IN HONOR OF HANUKKAH...

It was Hanukkah and the tiny village was in fear of not having any latkes because they had run out of flour. Rudi, the local rabbi, was called upon to help solve the problem.

He told the village wives, "Don't worry, ladies, you can substitute matzo meal for the flour, and the latkes will be just as delicious!"

Sheila looks to her husband and says, "Morty, do you think this would really work?"

"Of course it will!" he replied: "Everybody knows Rudolph the Reb knows grain, dear!"

Don't blame me. Blame Paul (A.) And I'm trying to decide what Paul's punishment should be: tarring and feathering or simply shunning.

HANUKKAH BLESSINGS

First Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom Asher Kiddeshonu Be-mitsvoysov Ve-tsivonu Lehadlik Neyr Shel khanuko.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

Second Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom She-oso Nissim La-avoseynu Ba-yyomim Ho-heym Ba-zzman Ha-zze.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Third Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom She-hekheyonu Ve-kiymonu Ve-higgi'onu La-zzman Ha-zze.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

The blessings are lovely.

From the comments in 2008:

Rhonda Renée said...

Thank you for honoring our Jewish friends by posting the Hanukkah blessings.

Traditionally all three blessings are recited the first night and only the first two on subsequent nights.

Blessings from About.com.

Reposted from 2008.