JESUS IN THE WILDERNESS

adamyoung: I took these incredible illustrations by a British illustrator named Simon Smith and put them to an Explosions In The Sky song. ('To West Texas')

The artist, @curmudgeonlysi, says in the comments:

hi, the images here were made by me - if you'd like a copy of the work, it's available as a downloadable movie/slideshow and also in book form [with meditations by my friend chris goan] from proost.co.uk...

cheers,

si smith

A moving blend of image and music.

H/T to Tim Chesterton, who titles his post, 'Something to get us in the mood for Lent'.

1st ANNIVERSARY OF EARTHQUAKE IN CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND

Christchurch Cathedral after the earthquake

Bosco Peters at Liturgy:

On the anniversary of the Christchurch devastating 6.3 earthquake we remember those who died, those injured, and all we lost. We commit ourselves to a journey, hoping for new, transformed life from these ashes.

See Bosco's blog for more.

The cathedral was deconsecrated and partially demolished. What's left standing will be made safe, until a decision is made on the future of the structure.

I'm late to the anniversary for the folks in Christchurch. It's already Ash Wednesday there, and Lent has begun.

LAST CALL FOR REVELRY!

King cake

Sazerac cocktail





Laissez les bons temps rouler aujourd'hui, Mardi Gras, mais pas demain, le mercredi des Cendres, ni pendant les quarante jours du carême.

(Excuse my French, and please correct me if I have it wrong.)

Sazerac photo from Wikipedia.

KREWE OF 'TIT R∃X PARADE

All right, you naughty-minded people, the name of the krewe is not Tit Rex, but 'tit Rex, short for petit, meaning little Rex, pronounced T-Rex. The krewe paraded in New Orleans on Saturday, with their floats made from shoe boxes. The big Krewe of Rex, which parades on Mardi Gras day, charged infringement, thus the reversed 'e' in the name, which I'm not able to type in lower case, because I cannot find a code. I hope big Rex doesn't sue me.

From NOLA.com:

The name ‘Tit Rex was a shortened form of Petit Rex and was pronounced like the dinosaur. In January the mini krewe announced that, though the pronunciation would remain the same, the name would be changed slightly by adding the phonetic symbol schwa (an inverted e) in place of the normal e in Rex. Though the name change may have avoided a legal showdown, it produced plentiful typographical troubles.

Indeed!

See the NOLA.com video of the wee parade below.



Adorable! My children, grandchildren, and I made shoe box floats for school parades, years ago for my children, and many years ago for me.

RIGHT FOR THE TIMES

STORY OF THE DAY - VOICE OF REASON

Sometimes I think I should just keep my
opinions to myself, she said, but
someone has got to be the voice of
reason.

From StoryPeople.

DIANA SAYS, 'HAPPY MARDI GRAS!'

Diana dressed for the celebration in her own special beads.

Today is our Mardi Gras celebration. The parades pass in front of St John's Episcopal Church. We have church, then a potluck lunch, and then two parades. On Tuesday, we are not going anywhere soooo, 'Eh la bas! Mardi Gras!'

Pictured above is a sedate church member wearing her regular Sunday go-to-meetin' hat.

Above is sedate church member's daughter dancing in the street.




Balfa Brothers - 'La Dance Des Mardi Gras'

A ROMANTIC LOVE STORY

From The Bitch and Moan Club on Facebook via Lapin, that sentimental old rabbit. Thank you.

The picture makes me cry
I don't know why

JUAN COLE TRANSLATES OMAR KHAYYAM

Omar Khayyam (31)

Don’t try every door
because of some bauble;
you just have to accept
the good and bad of your time;
a shake of the cup
and a toss of the dice–
whatever comes up,
you’ll just have to play it.

Translated by Juan Cole
from Whinfield 31 .

Posted by Juan at his blog Informed Comment. I'm enjoying immensely Juan's series of translations of Omar Khayyam.

UPDATES FROM NO ANGLICAN COVENANT COALITION

From the No Anglican Covenant Coalition:

Church of England

General Synod voted 24 November 2010 to send the Covenant to diocesan synods. If a majority of synods , the question will be brought back to General Synod for a final vote.

Diocesan votes in favor of adopting the Covenant:

Lichfield
Durham
Europe
Bristol
Canterbury

Diocesan votes against adopting the Covenant:

Truro
Birmingham
Wakefield
St Edmundsbury & Ipswich
Derby
Gloucester
(Added as per votes taken today)
Salisbury
Portsmouth
Rochester
Leicester

Since the Anglican Communion Office sends out only pro-Covenant material, our like-minded brothers and sisters in England (with a little help from their friends in other churches of the Communion) are working double time to assure that as many dioceses as possible receive material presenting the argument against the adoption of the Covenant. It seems that when the delegates to diocesan synods hear both sides of the argument, they are more likely to vote against adoption of the Covenant.

That the ACO uses its resources to present only one side of the matter in question seems not right, if the goal is a fair assessment of the sentiments of the church at large as to whether the adoption of the Covenant would be a good thing. The materials that go out to the churches of the Anglican Communion from the ACO demonstrate the same lack of balance.

"A Short Introduction” also attempts to give a more balanced view of the Covenant than is available elsewhere. As our Convenor for the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Revd. Canon Hugh Magee, has said, “Many people have complained that the official study material from the Anglican Communion Office has lacked balance and has failed to take seriously the concerns of Covenant critics.”

Further news from the NACC:

"PROFESSOR MARILYN McCORD ADAMS APPOINTED AS COALITION’S FOURTH PATRON LONDON – The Revd Dr Lesley Crawley, Moderator of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition, and Dr Lionel Deimel, the Coalition’s Episcopal Church Convenor, have announced the appointment of Professor Marilyn McCord Adams as a Patron of the Coalition. Professor McCord Adams joins Bishops John Saxbee and Peter Selby, and Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch whose appointments were announced previously." (My emphases)
....

McCord Adams is Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. From 2004 to 2009, she was Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University and Residentiary Canon at Christ Church, Oxford. She also served as a member of the Church of England General Synod at the time when the Anglican Covenant was being developed.

We win some, and we lose some. What happens if the results of the votes in diocesan synods in the Church of England come down with a majority against adoption?

UPDATE: Today four Church of England dioceses voted against adoption of the Covenant. My cup runneth over!

UPDATE 2: Thinking Anglicans posted the vote totals for the four dioceses.