'Tis Christmas eve, traditionally one of my most favorite days of the year. The traditions we have associated with Christmas all start on this evening and last until tomorrow...so I'm hyped. Christmas rocks. But, surprise surprise, I actually have something a little more thoughtful to write about today.
I've been thinking alot lately about incarnation. For those of you who don't know what it means, it means "enfleshment." The doctrine of the Incarnation is that which states that God became enfleshed when he became a human in the form of Jesus. Anglicans are traditionally very incarnational people....to be incarnational means that we believe God to be present in the world in a very real and tangible way. But that all started at Christmas...
Annie Dillard wrote a passage about Easter and how Easter is so profound and radical that we should all be going to church on Easter Sunday not dressed in our finery but wearing crash helmets. While I wholeheartedly agree, I feel the same could be said (and may even be more appropriate) for Christmas. Easter could not have happened in the first place without it. But even more importantly, the fact that God became fully human is so profound that it should make us want to run around like crazy people! In other traditions of the world, God does participate in human life. Particularly if one were to look at the Hindu tradition, one will find very real interactions between God and God's people. Just look at all of the stories surrounding Krishna, or even just look at the Mahabarata and you'll get the idea. But what makes Christianity different is that God didn't just come down to the earth, God became human. Just like us. Look at the Christmas story if you're unsure. I have a rather long passage that I would like to post, written by Evelyn Underhill called "The Light of the World."
"...the heavens open and what is disclosed? A Baby, God manifest in the flesh. The stable, the manger, the straw; poverty, cold, darkness--these form the setting of the divine gift. In this child God gives his supreme message to the soul- Spirit to spirit-but in a human way. Outside in the fields the heavens open and the shepherds look up astonished to find the music and radiance of reality all around them. BUt inside, our closest contact with that same reality is being offered to us in the very simplest, homeliest way-emerging right into our ordinary life. A baby-just that. We are not told that the blessed, virgin Mary saw the angels or heard the Gloria in the air. Her initiation had been quite different, like the quiet voice speaking in our deepest prayer- 'The Lord is with thee!' 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord.' Humble self-abandonment is quite enough to give us God...
It is easy for the devout to join up with the shepherds and fall into place at the crib and look out into the surrounding night and say, 'Look at those extraordinary intellectuals wandering about after a star with no religious sense at all! Look at that clumsy camel, what an unspiritual animal it is! We know the ox and the ass are the right animals to have! Look what queer gifts and off types of self-consecration they are bringing; not the sort of people who come to church!' But remember that the child who began by receiving these very unexpected pilgrims had a woman of the streets for his faithful friend and two thieves for his comrades at the end: and looking at these two extremes let us try to learn a little of the height and breadth and depth of his love--and then apply it to our own lives.
Beholding his glory is only half our job. In our souls too the mysteries must be brought forth; we are not really Christians till that has been done. 'The Eternal Birth,' says Eckhart, 'must take place in you.' And another mystic adds that human nature is like a stable inhabited by the ox of passion and the ass of prejudice; animals which take up a lot of room and which I suppose most of us are feeing on the quiet. And it is there between them, pushing them out, that Christ must be born and int heir very manger he must be laid- and they will be he first to fall on their knees before them. Sometimes Christians seem far nearer to those animals than to Christ in his simply poverty, self-abandoned God."
Just some food for thought. Merry Christmas everyone.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Excitement
Howdy everyone. Sorry it's been a while since my last post...tons of things have been happening in my life, and I've been slacking when it comes to blogging. Hopefully over the holidays I will be able to get things back in to shape in that respect. So mea culpa, and I hope you will forgive me.
So. Big things have been coming my way. I have two big pieces of news.
1. I have a new love. YAY!!! His name is Rick, and he's the most amazing man I've ever been with before in my life. I mean...I could just list the ways that he's so awesome. He cooks for me, he fixed my bike for me, he walks in traffic before me (if we can't see if anything is coming), he took me to the Nutcracker for Christmas...he's amazing. Simply amazing. I can't gush enough about how great he is. Hopefully he'll be down in KY sometime this spring so I can introduce him to you all. I think you'll really like him. He's 28, works in publishing, and owns a house. I know, right? A house! Needless to say, he's responsible, which is nice. And a gentleman, which is incredibly hard to come by, especially up here. For those wanting to know, we met online (at Yahoo). I had actually given up on the whole thing and had seen Rick's profile, thought he was cute, but figured that he would be like the rest of the guys on there and not respond to my emails. But apparently Rick was notified when I viewed his profile and he sent me an "icebreak." So I wrote him back...we emailed for a week or so and then im'ed, and then went on a date! And it was amazing...and it's been fantastic since then! I'll post a picture here in a minute once I finish this blog. But like I said, he's an amazing man. Truly amazing. Not to mention that he has a college degree (which has been a rarity in my love life) and he's nice (another rarity). Just when I had consigned myself to a love life of Bridget Jones-like proportions, here comes Rick. :) He makes me smile.
2. I got in to Duke!!!! This was my number one choice for seminary. It was an amazing fit when I went there, and all I could think when I left was how good of a fit it was. And I got in! Pray that they call me this next week about money, because I could really use the financial help...but woohoo!! Now that I'm in, I'm goign to start applying for scholarships. I decided not to apply anywhere else. I think I could really grow at Duke more so than at any of the other schools I looked at, so I'll find a way to make it work.
Other than that...I would say the semester is almost over, but that would be a lie since it doesn't end until January. But break is almost here, which will be nice. I have a Greek quiz in the morning and a tomorrow night. So I'll be writing the paper all day tomorrow. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh? But after I study Greek tonight I'm going to try to get an outline put together that will make my life a little easier tomorrow. And I have to pack, as I'm leaving for Louisville on Tuesday. So if I don't talk to some of you before then, have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
So. Big things have been coming my way. I have two big pieces of news.
1. I have a new love. YAY!!! His name is Rick, and he's the most amazing man I've ever been with before in my life. I mean...I could just list the ways that he's so awesome. He cooks for me, he fixed my bike for me, he walks in traffic before me (if we can't see if anything is coming), he took me to the Nutcracker for Christmas...he's amazing. Simply amazing. I can't gush enough about how great he is. Hopefully he'll be down in KY sometime this spring so I can introduce him to you all. I think you'll really like him. He's 28, works in publishing, and owns a house. I know, right? A house! Needless to say, he's responsible, which is nice. And a gentleman, which is incredibly hard to come by, especially up here. For those wanting to know, we met online (at Yahoo). I had actually given up on the whole thing and had seen Rick's profile, thought he was cute, but figured that he would be like the rest of the guys on there and not respond to my emails. But apparently Rick was notified when I viewed his profile and he sent me an "icebreak." So I wrote him back...we emailed for a week or so and then im'ed, and then went on a date! And it was amazing...and it's been fantastic since then! I'll post a picture here in a minute once I finish this blog. But like I said, he's an amazing man. Truly amazing. Not to mention that he has a college degree (which has been a rarity in my love life) and he's nice (another rarity). Just when I had consigned myself to a love life of Bridget Jones-like proportions, here comes Rick. :) He makes me smile.
2. I got in to Duke!!!! This was my number one choice for seminary. It was an amazing fit when I went there, and all I could think when I left was how good of a fit it was. And I got in! Pray that they call me this next week about money, because I could really use the financial help...but woohoo!! Now that I'm in, I'm goign to start applying for scholarships. I decided not to apply anywhere else. I think I could really grow at Duke more so than at any of the other schools I looked at, so I'll find a way to make it work.
Other than that...I would say the semester is almost over, but that would be a lie since it doesn't end until January. But break is almost here, which will be nice. I have a Greek quiz in the morning and a tomorrow night. So I'll be writing the paper all day tomorrow. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh? But after I study Greek tonight I'm going to try to get an outline put together that will make my life a little easier tomorrow. And I have to pack, as I'm leaving for Louisville on Tuesday. So if I don't talk to some of you before then, have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Music
I was looking at a friend's notes on Facebook today, and one of them is this thing you do with some music on your playlist. I think what's on someone's mp3 can tell you a lot about a person, in the sense of figuring out how ecletic they are, what they like, etc. So what you do is put your music player on shuffle and write down the first 40 songs that come up. Then you answer some questions. Here's how it turned out for me...these are the first forty that came up out of 2165 that are on my ipod. It goes song title, artist, album
1. Kathy's Song, Simon and Garfunkel Live
2. Move, Jonathan Elias, American River
3. Get it Like you Like It (Acoustic), Ben Harper, Both Sides of the Gun
4. Perhaps Love, John Denver, The Best of John Denver
5. Smile, Weezer, Green
6. Save it For A Rainy Day, The Jayhawks, Rainy Day Music
7. Personent Hodie, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Essential Carols: The Very Best of King's College Cambridge
8. What You Are, Dave Matthews Band, Everyday
9. Angel of Harmlem, U2, The Best of 1980-1990
10. Trouble, Coldplay, Parachutes
11. Mozart Requiem K 626 .3 Sequenz-Dies Irae (can't remember the group)
12. Galileo, Indigo Girls, 1200 Curfews
13. Carriage, Counting Crows, Hard Candy
14. She Thinks I Still Care, James Taylor, Live
15. Eraser, Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral
16. Guitar Man, Bread, Singers and Songwriters 1972-3
17. Millworker, James Taylor, Live
18. How Sweet it Is (To Be Loved by You) Live (there seems to be a string of these..)
19. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 ix Spring Carol; Choir of King's College Cambridge, Britten: Choral Music
20. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, Manheim Steamroller, Christmas
21. Spies, Coldplay, Parachutes
22. Hurt, Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral
23. Faraway Land, Alison Kraus and Union Station, AKUS Live
24. Glory and Worship, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Handel Coronation Anthems
25. Stuck in A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, U2, All That You Can't Leave Behind
26. Hand in My Pocket, Alanis Morsette, Jagged Little Pill
27. Lie In Our Graves, Dave Matthews Band, Live at Red Rocks
28. Nights in White Satin, The Moody Blues, Singers and Songwriters, 1972-3
29. Pslam 23, The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, Howard Goodall Choral Works
30. Track 11 (forgot title and it's not in there), Bonnie Raitt and Norah Jones, Bonnie Raitt and Friends
31. Wunderkind, Alanis Morisette, The Chronicles of Narnia
32. Taking Over Me, Evanescence, Fallen
33. Constellations, Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams
34. Too High, Dave Matthews and Friends, Some Devil
35. Lover Lay Down, Dave Matthews Band, Under the Table and Dreaming
36. Enough to be On Your Way, James Taylor, Greatest Hits 2
37. Welcome to the Cruel World, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Live from Mars
38. Where Could I Go, Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama, There Will Be a Light
39. Joking, Indigo Girls, 1200 Curfews
40. The Black Gate Opens, Howard Shore and Sir James Galway, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
41. Copland Concerto for Clarinet (I had to include this because it's thebest clarinet piece EVER)
Ok now on to the questions.
01. Which song do you prefer, #1 or #40? Depends on my mood, but probably 1.
02. Have you ever listened to #12 continuously on repeat? Maybe in high school, but I don't remember ever doing so.
03. What album is #26 from? Jagged Little Pill
04. What do you think about the artist who did #15? Well, NIN is good workout music or for when your pissed off. Although I don't really ascribe to any of Reznor's outlook on life, he's very talented musically (I think), not to mention hot.
05. Is #19 one of your favorite songs? No, but it is on one of my favorite albums
06. Who does #38 (Eclipse - Be Happy (Brisk & Vagabond Remix)) remind you of?
I'm not sure.
07. Does #20 have better lyrics or music? Seeing as this one's not pop music, I dont' think they can really be separated...but I'm not sure what the translation from the Latin is here, so I'll jsut say music to play it safe.
08. Do any of your friends like #3? Heck yeah. A good many, probably.
09. Is #33 from a movie soundtrack? Not that I know of.
10. Is #18 overplayed on the radio? I don't listen to the radio, but I'm sure some stations play it.
11. What does #21 remind you of? Freshman year of college.
12. Which song do you prefer, or #22 ? 5 definitely. Although 22 is good, as is Johnny Cash's remake.
13. What album is #17 from? look at the list.
14. When did you first hear #39? Well, I was probably at Bear Creek, so probably in eight of ninth grade, so almost 10 years ago (sheesh now I feel old)
15. When did you first hear #7? Last year.
16. What genre is #8 ? Rock.
17. Do any of your friends like #14? Maybe my mom. Don't know if my friends even know this album exists.
18. What color does #4 remind you of? Purple or blue I guess.
19. Have you ever blasted #11 on your stereo? Well, I don't have a stereo. But if I did...no. I've never blasted this anywhere. It would be cool to blast on a car stereo though when driving slowly down the street.
20. What genre is #37? Acoustic Rock
21. Can you play #13 on any instrument? Never tried.
22. What is your favorite lyric from #30? No clue.
23. What is your favorite lyric from #23? if you have been running too, stop now in your tracks, turn again to the one in you, put your burden on his back.
24. Would you recommend #24 to your friends? Sure, but I dont think they would listen to it.
25. Is #2 a good song to dance to? Nope. I'd like to see someone try though.
26. Have you ever heard #16 on the radio? On the oldies station.
27. Is #32 more of a "nighttime" or "daytime" song? Either I guess.
28. Does #36 have any special meaning to you? Not really.
29. Do any of your friends like #31 ? Probably not. I don't even like it that much.
30. Is #25 a fast or slow song? Slow.
31. Is #35 a happy or sad song? Happy, but in a melancholy kinda way.
32. What is one of your favorite lyrics from #9? It's U2, therefore it's all good.
33. Is #34 (better to listen to alone or with friends? With friends, preferably with beer involved.
34. When did you first hear #27? Oh man...1998 I think.
35. Name 3 other songs by the artist who did #29? The Marlborogh Canticles, Ecce Homo, and he did a mass that's pretty nice.
36. Do you know all the words to #6? Yep.
37. Does #28 (have better lyrics or music? About the same I think, but if I had to choose I'd say music (I'll almost always choose music over lyrics)
38. What album is #10 from? Parachutes.
Well, that's all folks. Just thought I would waste some of my time and yours with this fun little diversion...
1. Kathy's Song, Simon and Garfunkel Live
2. Move, Jonathan Elias, American River
3. Get it Like you Like It (Acoustic), Ben Harper, Both Sides of the Gun
4. Perhaps Love, John Denver, The Best of John Denver
5. Smile, Weezer, Green
6. Save it For A Rainy Day, The Jayhawks, Rainy Day Music
7. Personent Hodie, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Essential Carols: The Very Best of King's College Cambridge
8. What You Are, Dave Matthews Band, Everyday
9. Angel of Harmlem, U2, The Best of 1980-1990
10. Trouble, Coldplay, Parachutes
11. Mozart Requiem K 626 .3 Sequenz-Dies Irae (can't remember the group)
12. Galileo, Indigo Girls, 1200 Curfews
13. Carriage, Counting Crows, Hard Candy
14. She Thinks I Still Care, James Taylor, Live
15. Eraser, Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral
16. Guitar Man, Bread, Singers and Songwriters 1972-3
17. Millworker, James Taylor, Live
18. How Sweet it Is (To Be Loved by You) Live (there seems to be a string of these..)
19. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 ix Spring Carol; Choir of King's College Cambridge, Britten: Choral Music
20. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, Manheim Steamroller, Christmas
21. Spies, Coldplay, Parachutes
22. Hurt, Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral
23. Faraway Land, Alison Kraus and Union Station, AKUS Live
24. Glory and Worship, Choir of King's College Cambridge, Handel Coronation Anthems
25. Stuck in A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, U2, All That You Can't Leave Behind
26. Hand in My Pocket, Alanis Morsette, Jagged Little Pill
27. Lie In Our Graves, Dave Matthews Band, Live at Red Rocks
28. Nights in White Satin, The Moody Blues, Singers and Songwriters, 1972-3
29. Pslam 23, The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, Howard Goodall Choral Works
30. Track 11 (forgot title and it's not in there), Bonnie Raitt and Norah Jones, Bonnie Raitt and Friends
31. Wunderkind, Alanis Morisette, The Chronicles of Narnia
32. Taking Over Me, Evanescence, Fallen
33. Constellations, Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams
34. Too High, Dave Matthews and Friends, Some Devil
35. Lover Lay Down, Dave Matthews Band, Under the Table and Dreaming
36. Enough to be On Your Way, James Taylor, Greatest Hits 2
37. Welcome to the Cruel World, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Live from Mars
38. Where Could I Go, Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama, There Will Be a Light
39. Joking, Indigo Girls, 1200 Curfews
40. The Black Gate Opens, Howard Shore and Sir James Galway, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
41. Copland Concerto for Clarinet (I had to include this because it's thebest clarinet piece EVER)
Ok now on to the questions.
01. Which song do you prefer, #1 or #40? Depends on my mood, but probably 1.
02. Have you ever listened to #12 continuously on repeat? Maybe in high school, but I don't remember ever doing so.
03. What album is #26 from? Jagged Little Pill
04. What do you think about the artist who did #15? Well, NIN is good workout music or for when your pissed off. Although I don't really ascribe to any of Reznor's outlook on life, he's very talented musically (I think), not to mention hot.
05. Is #19 one of your favorite songs? No, but it is on one of my favorite albums
06. Who does #38 (Eclipse - Be Happy (Brisk & Vagabond Remix)) remind you of?
I'm not sure.
07. Does #20 have better lyrics or music? Seeing as this one's not pop music, I dont' think they can really be separated...but I'm not sure what the translation from the Latin is here, so I'll jsut say music to play it safe.
08. Do any of your friends like #3? Heck yeah. A good many, probably.
09. Is #33 from a movie soundtrack? Not that I know of.
10. Is #18 overplayed on the radio? I don't listen to the radio, but I'm sure some stations play it.
11. What does #21 remind you of? Freshman year of college.
12. Which song do you prefer, or #22 ? 5 definitely. Although 22 is good, as is Johnny Cash's remake.
13. What album is #17 from? look at the list.
14. When did you first hear #39? Well, I was probably at Bear Creek, so probably in eight of ninth grade, so almost 10 years ago (sheesh now I feel old)
15. When did you first hear #7? Last year.
16. What genre is #8 ? Rock.
17. Do any of your friends like #14? Maybe my mom. Don't know if my friends even know this album exists.
18. What color does #4 remind you of? Purple or blue I guess.
19. Have you ever blasted #11 on your stereo? Well, I don't have a stereo. But if I did...no. I've never blasted this anywhere. It would be cool to blast on a car stereo though when driving slowly down the street.
20. What genre is #37? Acoustic Rock
21. Can you play #13 on any instrument? Never tried.
22. What is your favorite lyric from #30? No clue.
23. What is your favorite lyric from #23? if you have been running too, stop now in your tracks, turn again to the one in you, put your burden on his back.
24. Would you recommend #24 to your friends? Sure, but I dont think they would listen to it.
25. Is #2 a good song to dance to? Nope. I'd like to see someone try though.
26. Have you ever heard #16 on the radio? On the oldies station.
27. Is #32 more of a "nighttime" or "daytime" song? Either I guess.
28. Does #36 have any special meaning to you? Not really.
29. Do any of your friends like #31 ? Probably not. I don't even like it that much.
30. Is #25 a fast or slow song? Slow.
31. Is #35 a happy or sad song? Happy, but in a melancholy kinda way.
32. What is one of your favorite lyrics from #9? It's U2, therefore it's all good.
33. Is #34 (better to listen to alone or with friends? With friends, preferably with beer involved.
34. When did you first hear #27? Oh man...1998 I think.
35. Name 3 other songs by the artist who did #29? The Marlborogh Canticles, Ecce Homo, and he did a mass that's pretty nice.
36. Do you know all the words to #6? Yep.
37. Does #28 (have better lyrics or music? About the same I think, but if I had to choose I'd say music (I'll almost always choose music over lyrics)
38. What album is #10 from? Parachutes.
Well, that's all folks. Just thought I would waste some of my time and yours with this fun little diversion...
Friday, November 24, 2006
Happy (Belated) Turkey Day!!!
Howdy Howdy
I realize that it has been a while since I updated...there's no particular reason for this most heinous delay, just me being lazy. So I thought I would take this moment to write a little update for those of you semi-loyal fans who actually read my blog. Life has been pretty good this fall. I'm home right now for thanksgiving, which has been good. We're actually celebrating today since my sister couldn't yesterday. The weather is beautiful, the fam is all here, so I can't ask for much more than that! School is going well...still chugging along in Greek. I need to work on my Greek homework sometime this weekend, as well as the ton of reading I have to do. But I'm not really behind in any of my classes, and for this far into the semester that's a real feat. So yay there. Umm...still waiting to hear back from Duke. Only a few more weeks and then I should know something, I think, and hopefully the news will be good. I need to get my CPE applications done sometime soon as well so that I can get that underway for this summer. And then, if the news from Duke is bad or doesn't tell me anything about money I'll be working to get my other applications for next year done. They don't look too bad, really ,and Yale Emory and Chicago are all due on February 1st, so that's convenient, at least. What else? Just started dating someone, so that has been lots of fun. :) Other than that, it's pretty much same ol same ol. AND...is going well. School is going well. Yep.
Hope you all have had a great Thanksgiving weekend!
I realize that it has been a while since I updated...there's no particular reason for this most heinous delay, just me being lazy. So I thought I would take this moment to write a little update for those of you semi-loyal fans who actually read my blog. Life has been pretty good this fall. I'm home right now for thanksgiving, which has been good. We're actually celebrating today since my sister couldn't yesterday. The weather is beautiful, the fam is all here, so I can't ask for much more than that! School is going well...still chugging along in Greek. I need to work on my Greek homework sometime this weekend, as well as the ton of reading I have to do. But I'm not really behind in any of my classes, and for this far into the semester that's a real feat. So yay there. Umm...still waiting to hear back from Duke. Only a few more weeks and then I should know something, I think, and hopefully the news will be good. I need to get my CPE applications done sometime soon as well so that I can get that underway for this summer. And then, if the news from Duke is bad or doesn't tell me anything about money I'll be working to get my other applications for next year done. They don't look too bad, really ,and Yale Emory and Chicago are all due on February 1st, so that's convenient, at least. What else? Just started dating someone, so that has been lots of fun. :) Other than that, it's pretty much same ol same ol. AND...is going well. School is going well. Yep.
Hope you all have had a great Thanksgiving weekend!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
November
It's November now. And what does that mean? Well, in MA anyway (and in KY too) it means that it's raining. Raining and usually a little chilly and you walk around all day sneezing and going from a chilly outside to an overly warm inside with wet jeans on. Ew. November. It also means that election day has come and gone by this point. ROCK ON JOHN YARMUTH. way to beat Anne Northup. And Rumsfeld resigned, and Santorum is out...so maybe times they are a changin', as Bob Dylan used to say. If they change for the better, we'll have to see. It also means that Harvard/Yale is coming up next weekend. Dan and I got our tickets in this week, and the game is next weekend. Should be exciting...it looks like Harvard is in good shape to take the conference, so go crimsons! It also means that UL football is still going on, and we're rockin' this season hard. Let's hope the cardiac cards don't make an appearance and screw things up for us...And Thanksgiving is almost here, which means I get to be home and see the fam. Seems like I've been gone longer than 2 months...I guess it will almost have been 3 by the time I get home. But in any case, that's a good thing.
On a completely unrelated note, I got a 95.5 on my Greek midterm, for those of you who care. Needless to say, I'm more than excited about that grade. I'll take a 95 in Greek any day.
On a completely unrelated note, I got a 95.5 on my Greek midterm, for those of you who care. Needless to say, I'm more than excited about that grade. I'll take a 95 in Greek any day.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
One down...
I just submitted my Duke application. Why do I never feel relieved after doing so? Always more nervous...maybe because now it's totally out of my hands and there's nothing I can do cept pray. So guys, pray that I get into to and get money. Because that's where I want to go. Big time.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Sigh of a Bit of Relief
I just wanted to share the news with you all that I did not bomb said Greek quiz. I got it back today and got an 86 on it, which is a good solid B. So as of now I think I've got a nice solid B in the class, which is fine by me. It's not what I would like but hey, it's still "above average," and I have the rest of the semester to try and pull it up. Whew. Talk about a relief. I expected to have done much much worse, but thankfully I didn't. I did however spend four hours memorizing verb forms yesterday...I'm hoping that I've gotten back into the swing of language study, as it's been two years since I did any. So that's heartening.
I'm trying to figure out why I always insist on taking a nap even when I know it will make me feel icky when I wake up. Maybe it's because it's cloudy and cold and windy outside, and my room was so warm and cozy. I like to tell myself that it's Monday and I have class until 9 PM, so the nap will help with that, but I think that's just me rationalizing things.
Spent the weekend reading several Anglican Communion related documents. I'd actually never read the Windsor Report before, and I thought it was definitely a document worth reading. I think if more people had actually read the report we might have had some good conversations in the past couple of years. While there are some things that I didn't necessarily agree with (why were ECUSA and the Canadian church only asked to apologize? What about those on the other side who had been just as divisive?) on the whole it was a good insight into what the worldwide Communion is struggling with. But here's the thing I really don't get: If right now we're trying to figure out what "communion" means, and we're having dialouge, etc., then why ask the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada to step down from their ACC positions? It would to me that this would be the last thing we want if we truly want to be in communion. It just seems to be contrary to the stated intentions of the report. But there could be something I'm missing...I think I'll bring the point up in class and see what kind of answer I get.
Speaking of which, I have to run to the lirbary to make some copies for class tonight. Hope those of you in KY are staying warm (I saw on the weather channel website that there's a slight chance of a few flurries tonight...my dad said he was going to start his rain dance). In the mean time...
Peace y'all.
I'm trying to figure out why I always insist on taking a nap even when I know it will make me feel icky when I wake up. Maybe it's because it's cloudy and cold and windy outside, and my room was so warm and cozy. I like to tell myself that it's Monday and I have class until 9 PM, so the nap will help with that, but I think that's just me rationalizing things.
Spent the weekend reading several Anglican Communion related documents. I'd actually never read the Windsor Report before, and I thought it was definitely a document worth reading. I think if more people had actually read the report we might have had some good conversations in the past couple of years. While there are some things that I didn't necessarily agree with (why were ECUSA and the Canadian church only asked to apologize? What about those on the other side who had been just as divisive?) on the whole it was a good insight into what the worldwide Communion is struggling with. But here's the thing I really don't get: If right now we're trying to figure out what "communion" means, and we're having dialouge, etc., then why ask the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada to step down from their ACC positions? It would to me that this would be the last thing we want if we truly want to be in communion. It just seems to be contrary to the stated intentions of the report. But there could be something I'm missing...I think I'll bring the point up in class and see what kind of answer I get.
Speaking of which, I have to run to the lirbary to make some copies for class tonight. Hope those of you in KY are staying warm (I saw on the weather channel website that there's a slight chance of a few flurries tonight...my dad said he was going to start his rain dance). In the mean time...
Peace y'all.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Back Again
Well hello.
Sorry it's been a while...nine days to be exact. I know you've all been checking this page frequently to see when the next update would be. I apologize for not posting more pics from Vermont...however, it takes a bajillion years for them to upload, and then by the time it gets done the damn thing has timed out. Oh well. But if you are on Facebook, I've uploaded an album of the pics there. It's called (gasp) Vermont.
Had somewhat of a crappy morning. I think I totally bombed a Greek quiz, mostly because I'm exhausted from travelling and because I was out of town for two days this week, so I didn't have the time to devote to studying that I would have liked. But I was gone for good reason.
I spent some time travelling to the good ol' south east this week. Why was I there, you may wonder? Well, I was visiting Duke Divinity School. I'm applying to their MDiv program, and it's my first choice. So I wanted to go down and get the lay of the land so to speak. And I LOVED IT. It was truly amazing...the faculty is beyond awesome, there's a real sense of institutional vocation, and the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies seems right up my alley. So pray that I get in and (more importantly) can get some good funding. I'm going into debt at HDS...can't afford to go in to anymore. But I should know, assuming my transcripts get there by Nov. 1st and my recommenders get everything done by then as well, by mid December about whether or not I got in and hopefully whether or not I got a merit scholarship. Needless to say I'll be praying hard about it. But it definitely seems like an environment where I could really grow spiritually and intellectually. It would be a "win win win" situation (for those of you who haven't seen The Office...it's a reference from that.)
Now, I should point out that I'm not the biggest fan of flying, although I'm getting better about it. I mostly dislike sitting there waiting around for take off, after we've been told to put up tray table sand turn off eletronic devices. So I amuse myself by looking through the shopping catalogue (www.skymall.com) to see what kind of great stuff they have. And there's always a million things I'd love to buy for folks, mostly because they're so ridiculous you wouldn't want to pass them up. For example, they had a three layered pool table. Pretty interesting. But by far the most amazing gift (and one which I couldn't find online; I was going to post a picture of it for you) was an IPod dock/radio/clock/toilet paper roll holder. The picture even demonstrated how good the device is for holding said TP and advertised itself as making the "royal throne" even better. Amazing. The fact that a. someone makes such a thing and b. that someone would buy such a thing is pretty remarable. I would like to meet said person and ask them how they feel about their new toilet paper roll. Too cool.
Anywho that's about all for now. I'm going to do some more homework (as it's getting to be that time of the semester). It's been raining all day and thus I've been sleepy all day, but I think I've had my first productive Friday of the semester. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be similarly fruitful. So you guys have a great weekend.
Peace y'all.
Sorry it's been a while...nine days to be exact. I know you've all been checking this page frequently to see when the next update would be. I apologize for not posting more pics from Vermont...however, it takes a bajillion years for them to upload, and then by the time it gets done the damn thing has timed out. Oh well. But if you are on Facebook, I've uploaded an album of the pics there. It's called (gasp) Vermont.
Had somewhat of a crappy morning. I think I totally bombed a Greek quiz, mostly because I'm exhausted from travelling and because I was out of town for two days this week, so I didn't have the time to devote to studying that I would have liked. But I was gone for good reason.
I spent some time travelling to the good ol' south east this week. Why was I there, you may wonder? Well, I was visiting Duke Divinity School. I'm applying to their MDiv program, and it's my first choice. So I wanted to go down and get the lay of the land so to speak. And I LOVED IT. It was truly amazing...the faculty is beyond awesome, there's a real sense of institutional vocation, and the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies seems right up my alley. So pray that I get in and (more importantly) can get some good funding. I'm going into debt at HDS...can't afford to go in to anymore. But I should know, assuming my transcripts get there by Nov. 1st and my recommenders get everything done by then as well, by mid December about whether or not I got in and hopefully whether or not I got a merit scholarship. Needless to say I'll be praying hard about it. But it definitely seems like an environment where I could really grow spiritually and intellectually. It would be a "win win win" situation (for those of you who haven't seen The Office...it's a reference from that.)
Now, I should point out that I'm not the biggest fan of flying, although I'm getting better about it. I mostly dislike sitting there waiting around for take off, after we've been told to put up tray table sand turn off eletronic devices. So I amuse myself by looking through the shopping catalogue (www.skymall.com) to see what kind of great stuff they have. And there's always a million things I'd love to buy for folks, mostly because they're so ridiculous you wouldn't want to pass them up. For example, they had a three layered pool table. Pretty interesting. But by far the most amazing gift (and one which I couldn't find online; I was going to post a picture of it for you) was an IPod dock/radio/clock/toilet paper roll holder. The picture even demonstrated how good the device is for holding said TP and advertised itself as making the "royal throne" even better. Amazing. The fact that a. someone makes such a thing and b. that someone would buy such a thing is pretty remarable. I would like to meet said person and ask them how they feel about their new toilet paper roll. Too cool.
Anywho that's about all for now. I'm going to do some more homework (as it's getting to be that time of the semester). It's been raining all day and thus I've been sleepy all day, but I think I've had my first productive Friday of the semester. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be similarly fruitful. So you guys have a great weekend.
Peace y'all.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Howdy Howdy.
I realize it's been a little while since my last post, but I've been busy (to say the least). I spent this weekend in Vermont checking out the fall foliage. For those who haven't been to Vermont, it looks exactly like you would expect it to look. The people all look like they eat granola all of the time, and it's very...farmy, in a New England sense. I really liked it, although I'm not sure I could live there. It was 30 degrees on Saturday night, and it was just October 7th! Hard frost in early October=not for Hilary. I'll post some pictures from the trip, though, so you all can see what it was like. Great times.
I've been working a lot on my "container" for the AND...group. I'm doing a four week session on "why we do what we do," which is basically how being Episcopalian informs our actions. Last week was about Scripture, and then next two weeks are about...you guessed it. Tradition and Reason. and the fourth week will be about Action. I thought it went pretty well last week. The group seemed to be engaged, and when Paige FIsher (a priest at Trinity) asked a question, the group really responded and started dialoguing with one another, which was in my opinion the best part of the night. It doesn't really matter what I say, as people are most likely to forget it anyway, but if I can facilitate thinking and interaction, then I feel that I've done my job. I've been thinking a lot about what to say this week, but I'm a little less sure about the next two segments than I was about Scripture. I'll have it done by tomorrow evening, though, so ask me again then and maybe I can tell you something. But here's a teaser: it involves a clip from Animal House : ) That one's for you, dad.
I heard back from the national church office today about the investiture. I didn't get tickets, which is too bad. I was really excited about going. They said only 25% of the requests were honored, but I overnighted mine on the fifteenth and it got there in time, so I don't know why I didn't get them. Oh well. There's not really much I can do about it at this point. Watch it online, I guess, but that's also the day of teh UL-WV game, so I may be trying to find a place to watch that. Although in all likelihood I'll be studying somewhere.
Speaking of which, classes are going well. We had a long weekend, which was great. I'm hoping I did better on this Greek quiz than I did on last week's, which I am referring to as my personal comedy of errors. Other than that, just doing a lot of reading. Will be meeting with my group for my EDS class sometime in the next week, I think, to go over stuff for our case study assignment. I'm probably going to the library here soon to work on a paper for Prof. Koester's class, do some Greek, and read some for the EDS class (because at some point I have to read the next three Narnia books for next week). I'm also working a lot on my application for seminary. I go to visit Duke next week, which I'm really excited about. I hope the visit goes well, and that it turns out to be a good fit. That application is due November 1st, so I've been working to try and get that all ready. Got to get the transcripts sent out soon.
Anywho, that's all for now. I'm going to post the VT pics later, so you can see what it looked like. Gorgeous.
Peace y'all.
I realize it's been a little while since my last post, but I've been busy (to say the least). I spent this weekend in Vermont checking out the fall foliage. For those who haven't been to Vermont, it looks exactly like you would expect it to look. The people all look like they eat granola all of the time, and it's very...farmy, in a New England sense. I really liked it, although I'm not sure I could live there. It was 30 degrees on Saturday night, and it was just October 7th! Hard frost in early October=not for Hilary. I'll post some pictures from the trip, though, so you all can see what it was like. Great times.
I've been working a lot on my "container" for the AND...group. I'm doing a four week session on "why we do what we do," which is basically how being Episcopalian informs our actions. Last week was about Scripture, and then next two weeks are about...you guessed it. Tradition and Reason. and the fourth week will be about Action. I thought it went pretty well last week. The group seemed to be engaged, and when Paige FIsher (a priest at Trinity) asked a question, the group really responded and started dialoguing with one another, which was in my opinion the best part of the night. It doesn't really matter what I say, as people are most likely to forget it anyway, but if I can facilitate thinking and interaction, then I feel that I've done my job. I've been thinking a lot about what to say this week, but I'm a little less sure about the next two segments than I was about Scripture. I'll have it done by tomorrow evening, though, so ask me again then and maybe I can tell you something. But here's a teaser: it involves a clip from Animal House : ) That one's for you, dad.
I heard back from the national church office today about the investiture. I didn't get tickets, which is too bad. I was really excited about going. They said only 25% of the requests were honored, but I overnighted mine on the fifteenth and it got there in time, so I don't know why I didn't get them. Oh well. There's not really much I can do about it at this point. Watch it online, I guess, but that's also the day of teh UL-WV game, so I may be trying to find a place to watch that. Although in all likelihood I'll be studying somewhere.
Speaking of which, classes are going well. We had a long weekend, which was great. I'm hoping I did better on this Greek quiz than I did on last week's, which I am referring to as my personal comedy of errors. Other than that, just doing a lot of reading. Will be meeting with my group for my EDS class sometime in the next week, I think, to go over stuff for our case study assignment. I'm probably going to the library here soon to work on a paper for Prof. Koester's class, do some Greek, and read some for the EDS class (because at some point I have to read the next three Narnia books for next week). I'm also working a lot on my application for seminary. I go to visit Duke next week, which I'm really excited about. I hope the visit goes well, and that it turns out to be a good fit. That application is due November 1st, so I've been working to try and get that all ready. Got to get the transcripts sent out soon.
Anywho, that's all for now. I'm going to post the VT pics later, so you can see what it looked like. Gorgeous.
Peace y'all.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Well hello my adoring readers. I realized it has been a few days since I have written, and I could tell that you all were all trying to keep a stiff upper lip about the whole thing, so I'm writing this afternoon. It seems as though fall has officially fallen upon New England, which is good and bad. Good because it's beautiful and not humid as hell all of the time. Bad because it means that allergies will start rearing their ugly head once more. Oh well, you take the good and the bad.
Not much really going on up here. Went to a Sox game on Wednesday and saw the worst pro baseball I've ever seen. We lost to Tampa Bay 11-0. Come on folks. TAMPA BAY. They're not even a real team!! But no matter; it was fun and the energy at Fenway is great. Going again tonight, actually. And then on the way back from the game Wed. I happened to see Mike at Great Scott, so I went in to hang out with him. The highlight of my week, actually.
This weekend is the ministry fair at Trinity, so I'll be sitting at a table with my JC t shirt on and getting folks hyp[ed about AND... too bad I can't make the night time service, because they're having beer afterwards. Sheesh. Umm...what else? Starting on applications, which will be all kinds of fun. I'm applying to Duke, Yale, and Emory. Luckily the basic info is all the same. The only downside is that Emory's is not an online application, so I have to either find a computer with Adobe Acrobat on it or handwrite the application (which I would prefer not to do).
I just found out last night how to hold a video conference on a macbook. So I'm going to call my mom and pass on the info. Now we can talk face to face and (even better) i can see Blaine! Won't be as good as seeing him in person (because nothing would be equal to that) but I'll take what I can get.
Anywho, I'm going to make an attempt at reading this book on the history of Missions in ECUSA. Have a good weekend.
Peace Y'all
Not much really going on up here. Went to a Sox game on Wednesday and saw the worst pro baseball I've ever seen. We lost to Tampa Bay 11-0. Come on folks. TAMPA BAY. They're not even a real team!! But no matter; it was fun and the energy at Fenway is great. Going again tonight, actually. And then on the way back from the game Wed. I happened to see Mike at Great Scott, so I went in to hang out with him. The highlight of my week, actually.
This weekend is the ministry fair at Trinity, so I'll be sitting at a table with my JC t shirt on and getting folks hyp[ed about AND... too bad I can't make the night time service, because they're having beer afterwards. Sheesh. Umm...what else? Starting on applications, which will be all kinds of fun. I'm applying to Duke, Yale, and Emory. Luckily the basic info is all the same. The only downside is that Emory's is not an online application, so I have to either find a computer with Adobe Acrobat on it or handwrite the application (which I would prefer not to do).
I just found out last night how to hold a video conference on a macbook. So I'm going to call my mom and pass on the info. Now we can talk face to face and (even better) i can see Blaine! Won't be as good as seeing him in person (because nothing would be equal to that) but I'll take what I can get.
Anywho, I'm going to make an attempt at reading this book on the history of Missions in ECUSA. Have a good weekend.
Peace Y'all
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Musings
Ember Day was Wesdnesday, which meant that I had to write a letter to my Bishop. It was weird, though, because a. he told me he had to get it in hard copy form (which to him means I have to mail it...what???? i don't DO mail. I could just email it as an attachment and he could print it out, which would save me .39 and the trip to the post office. ) and b. that I had to figure out what the hell to say in this letter. Seriously, school just started Monday, so there wasn't much to say. So we'll see if I get a letter back telling me that I have to write another one because this last one sucked. Ha.
Classes look like they're going to be awesome. I'm taking classical Greek, Children's Lit. and Religious Education (which is going to be super super AWESOME), Jesus of Nazareth and the Gospels, and the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion. All very reading/study intensive courses, but they're going to be great.
Anywho, I have tons of homework to do and am not quite sure how I will get it done by Monday. So I'm going to start on it.
Peace y'all.
Classes look like they're going to be awesome. I'm taking classical Greek, Children's Lit. and Religious Education (which is going to be super super AWESOME), Jesus of Nazareth and the Gospels, and the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion. All very reading/study intensive courses, but they're going to be great.
Anywho, I have tons of homework to do and am not quite sure how I will get it done by Monday. So I'm going to start on it.
Peace y'all.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Stupid Bike Rules
This morning I rode my bike to the T. Now, I should begin this by saying that there are signs as you enter Harvard Yard saying "Please Walk Your Bike." A Stupid Rule, if you ask me. If it's exceptionally crowded, I will walk my bike. However, at 8:30 this morning there were 2--count them, one, two--people in the yard. Two. That's it. So I decided to ride on through. And then the security guard right as I am leaving the Yard says to me "you're supposed to walk your bike through the yard ma'am." Not in a nice way, mind you, but in a "you're obviously too dumb to read the sign" way. Now, who was I endangering by riding my bike? Seriously. Who? The TWO PEOPLE in the yard? I highly doubt it, especially considering that I never came within 100 feet of either of them. I know the guy was just doing his job, but couldn't he be walking around busting undergrads for partying too loud or something? Seriously folks. Part of the reason for this over-reaction is the fact that I am so painfully nonconfrontational that I take it really personally when someone tries to yell at me for riding my bike in the yard. Most of the time people don't say anything...they only point it out if they're a. old men (this is the first and foremost prerequisite for being a meddlesome jerk who likes to yell at people who aren't causing them any problems as they ride their bikes in the yard) b. incredibly bored or curmudgeonly c. it's early in the morning or late at night. Once these three conditions are met, you're likely to get called out for riding your bike through the yard.
Stupid Harvard signs.
Sheesh.
Stupid Harvard signs.
Sheesh.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Mission and Respect
If you talk to a lot of liberal Christians about mission, you'll notice that they either a. try to change the subject, b. stumble over some words about building hospitals, or c. get really uncomfortable and turn an interesting shade of purplish-red. I must confess that I have gone through such a similar stage myself. The basic problem that many progressives I think have with mission is how do we a. profess the Gospel in very concrete ways that do actually mention Jesus while at the same time b. respecting other's religious traditions and not condemning them to some kind of eternal judgement. I've wrestled with this much, trying to figure out how to strike a balance between the two. Most Episcopalians I know will say, when asked about evangelism and mission, "well, I just try to live a good life and if someone asks me about it, then I'll tell them." Now, there's not necessarily anything wrong with this method. We should all be trying to live our lives as best as we can, and if we're making a decent showing of it people are bound to notice and ask questions. This method, however, doesn't do tons to spread the Gospel. At least it hasn't ever in my experience. But where's Jesus in this whole conversation?
Well, I read something the other day that made sense of the whole situation for me. It's from the book Anglicanism: A Global Communion edited by Andrew Wingate, Kevin Ward, Carrie Pemberton, and Wilson Sitshebo; Church Publishing Incorporated, New York NY, 1998. This particular quote is from Wingate's essay "Salvation and other faiths--and Anglican perspective." He writes:
"We deny the fullness of [God's] love if we deny the truth and goodness which Christ, as Logos, and God by the Spirit, can also inspire in those of other faiths and none. But we believe that God has chosen to provide the fullest revelation of his love for humanity in the cross and resurrection. Hence we naturally pray that God will bring all people, including those of other faiths, to explicit faith in Christ and membership of his church. This is not because we believe they cannot be saved without this--but because this is the truest and fullest expression of his love, and we long for them to share it--as St. John puts in, 'I come that you may have life, and have it abundantly'" (12). (emphasis my own)
Now this is what I think most of us are missing when we think about mission. That quote just made sense out of the whole issue for me...why we pray for people to come to love Jesus Christ, why we pray for the mission of the church, why we spread the Gospel. Not because people can't be saved in other religious traditions. No, not at all. To say so would I think a. deny God's power and b. deny God's grace. But we share the Gospel so that others can be a part of God's "truest and fullest expression of [God's] love."
Righteous.
Well, I read something the other day that made sense of the whole situation for me. It's from the book Anglicanism: A Global Communion edited by Andrew Wingate, Kevin Ward, Carrie Pemberton, and Wilson Sitshebo; Church Publishing Incorporated, New York NY, 1998. This particular quote is from Wingate's essay "Salvation and other faiths--and Anglican perspective." He writes:
"We deny the fullness of [God's] love if we deny the truth and goodness which Christ, as Logos, and God by the Spirit, can also inspire in those of other faiths and none. But we believe that God has chosen to provide the fullest revelation of his love for humanity in the cross and resurrection. Hence we naturally pray that God will bring all people, including those of other faiths, to explicit faith in Christ and membership of his church. This is not because we believe they cannot be saved without this--but because this is the truest and fullest expression of his love, and we long for them to share it--as St. John puts in, 'I come that you may have life, and have it abundantly'" (12). (emphasis my own)
Now this is what I think most of us are missing when we think about mission. That quote just made sense out of the whole issue for me...why we pray for people to come to love Jesus Christ, why we pray for the mission of the church, why we spread the Gospel. Not because people can't be saved in other religious traditions. No, not at all. To say so would I think a. deny God's power and b. deny God's grace. But we share the Gospel so that others can be a part of God's "truest and fullest expression of [God's] love."
Righteous.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Attempting to Be More Insightful
So I was reading through my previous few blogs, and I've realized that compared to the majority of blogs I read, mine is incredibly un-insightful. Unless of course you find that insightful in and of itself. So I'm thinking maybe I'll try to be more insightful (yeah...right...). Or maybe this will be along the lines of Peter Griffin's "You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?" Ha. We'll see.
I had a really great meeting with Mike yesterday. We started off by talking about the state of the Episcopal Church in today's world, which is pretty much how we start every conversation. We had an interesting talk about the Prayer Book and Rite One. He likes Rite One, and I'm not a big fan. I think my issues with it come from being a cradle Episcopalian, because he says most young converts he knows really like it. I just remember growing up and being interminably bored during Rite One. And I've really tried to get over that; I swear I have. But there's something inside of me that just clenches when I have to say "vouchsafe" in a service. I agree with Mike, though, that the movement of the Rite One service is beautiful. It's musical in a way, much more so than Rite Two I would think. And as he said, the prayer of humble access is something that we should perhaps incorporate more into our daily lives. And I totally agree on all of that. I think my hang up with Rite One has to do with the language. We're supposed to have services in the language of our times, and paternalistic toudated language is not my language, nor has it ever been. So why can't we rework Rite One, keeping the qualities of the service while changing the language? I think a lot more young people (especially cradles like myself, who admittedly are not very great in number) would respond to the service better if the language were more familiar. Just a thought.
I went to church with my roomate last night. We went to Hope Church in JP. I had told her beforehand that UCC/DOC is no where near liturgical enough for me, but I agreed to go with her anyway. And my opinion still stands (there was no reading from the Gospel at all during the service, and they had communion as well...maybe I'm just uber Episcopalian but you gotta have the Gospels...), but the community and the energy at the church was really really great. I was very thankful to have had that experience with her. Really great group of people, and the preaching was pretty good too. I'm glad Sarah has found a church community that she can feel a part of...I wish everyone could.
OK well, I have to run and meet Sarah and some others for lunch. I'll write more in the next couple of days about mission (I came to a realization yesterday that made sense out of many conundrums I'd been stuck in with regards to mission). But in the meantime, y'all keeo your noses clean.
I had a really great meeting with Mike yesterday. We started off by talking about the state of the Episcopal Church in today's world, which is pretty much how we start every conversation. We had an interesting talk about the Prayer Book and Rite One. He likes Rite One, and I'm not a big fan. I think my issues with it come from being a cradle Episcopalian, because he says most young converts he knows really like it. I just remember growing up and being interminably bored during Rite One. And I've really tried to get over that; I swear I have. But there's something inside of me that just clenches when I have to say "vouchsafe" in a service. I agree with Mike, though, that the movement of the Rite One service is beautiful. It's musical in a way, much more so than Rite Two I would think. And as he said, the prayer of humble access is something that we should perhaps incorporate more into our daily lives. And I totally agree on all of that. I think my hang up with Rite One has to do with the language. We're supposed to have services in the language of our times, and paternalistic toudated language is not my language, nor has it ever been. So why can't we rework Rite One, keeping the qualities of the service while changing the language? I think a lot more young people (especially cradles like myself, who admittedly are not very great in number) would respond to the service better if the language were more familiar. Just a thought.
I went to church with my roomate last night. We went to Hope Church in JP. I had told her beforehand that UCC/DOC is no where near liturgical enough for me, but I agreed to go with her anyway. And my opinion still stands (there was no reading from the Gospel at all during the service, and they had communion as well...maybe I'm just uber Episcopalian but you gotta have the Gospels...), but the community and the energy at the church was really really great. I was very thankful to have had that experience with her. Really great group of people, and the preaching was pretty good too. I'm glad Sarah has found a church community that she can feel a part of...I wish everyone could.
OK well, I have to run and meet Sarah and some others for lunch. I'll write more in the next couple of days about mission (I came to a realization yesterday that made sense out of many conundrums I'd been stuck in with regards to mission). But in the meantime, y'all keeo your noses clean.
Monday, September 11, 2006
I'm Just Hangin' Around
Hello all. Not really much to report, in the long run. I've just been taking some time for some much needed rest (although I'm more than ready for school to start now). It's beautiful up here, and cool. Feels like fall!!! Which I guess would make sense because it is fall. AND...last week was GREAT. We had 19 people show up, which was amazing! And then I met another Div student this week who is hopefully going to come on Thursday this week, so that's great. It was a really great group of people, and I think there's definitely some positive energy there. What else? I'm in the process of introducing my roomate Sarah to the joys of Indiana Jones. Last night we watched Raiders and tonight we're on to Temple of Doom. And then on to the best of them all...Last Crusade. Sweet.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Back in Beantown
Hello hello hello. As the title of this posting shows, I am indeed back in Boston now. I got in yesterday after a veeeeeerry long drive from West Virginia. I think Pennsylvania wins the award for most boring state through which to drive. Ugh. Anyway, I moved in yesterday and got all unpacked and everything, so my room is actually livable! For those of you who saw my room last year, you will be pleased to note that I do in fact have floor space this year, as my room is bigger. There are three windows, so I have really really great light in here, which is awesome. That's the whole reason I wanted the room, really.
Now that I'm back, I can start to digest the summer a little bit, I think. Overall, I want to give a big shout out to Charles Hawkins and the St. Mark's crew. I had such a great experience there this summer...that church welcomed me into their family without even knowing me too well, and they even put up with me preaching a coupl eof times and filling the church with the music of U2. I wasn't really sure what to expect when the internship started. I've been so involved in the Episcopal Church form the git go...but I did learn something about ministry. And that something is this: ministry is about empowerment. It's about empowering people to do the work God has given them to do. And the best thing about this definition of ministry is that it can be done ANYWHERE, which means that the church is EVERYWHERE. So that's pretty sweet.
I miss the fam tons already, most especially getting to see Blaine and look at his beautiful smile. I can still feel the little guy falling asleep in my arms...he'll probably be too big to do that in December. Oh well, kids grow up. And in a few years, he and I are going camping. And it's going to rock.
I met with Mike Dangelo today to talk about AND... I'm focusing on recruitment, which is going to be interesting. Neither of us really have any preconceived notions about our strategy (read: we have no idea what the hell we're going to do) but we'll do it anyway : ) At least now we have matching t-shirts. He asked me if I wanted to present the next container (programing sequence) and I said sure. I figure I'll ask the group what they want to hear about, but I think it would be cool to do a container on the other four of the world's major religions. Just so people know something about them...not to mention that's something I know about and can speak comfortably about. But then again it would be fun to learn something new as well. Or maybe do a container on Jesus? No clue. We'll see what the group wants.
What else? Ran a bunch of errands today. Joined the Cambridge YMCA, did laundry, found my keys (they were in Sarah's room...go figure), met with Mike. Oh and I got a really random phone call from an old priest who'd been at my church from when I was about 2 til I was 10. Said he had some books he wanted to give me. This was weird A. because he called my cell phone. No clue how he got the number. And B. because I haven't talked to him in 10 years. I don't think I'm going to call him back...it's too weird. Not to mention that I barely have room for the books I have.
That's all I can think of for now. The humidity is making my hair get huge and mushroom-like. Fun times.
Have a good night.
Peace ya'll.
Now that I'm back, I can start to digest the summer a little bit, I think. Overall, I want to give a big shout out to Charles Hawkins and the St. Mark's crew. I had such a great experience there this summer...that church welcomed me into their family without even knowing me too well, and they even put up with me preaching a coupl eof times and filling the church with the music of U2. I wasn't really sure what to expect when the internship started. I've been so involved in the Episcopal Church form the git go...but I did learn something about ministry. And that something is this: ministry is about empowerment. It's about empowering people to do the work God has given them to do. And the best thing about this definition of ministry is that it can be done ANYWHERE, which means that the church is EVERYWHERE. So that's pretty sweet.
I miss the fam tons already, most especially getting to see Blaine and look at his beautiful smile. I can still feel the little guy falling asleep in my arms...he'll probably be too big to do that in December. Oh well, kids grow up. And in a few years, he and I are going camping. And it's going to rock.
I met with Mike Dangelo today to talk about AND... I'm focusing on recruitment, which is going to be interesting. Neither of us really have any preconceived notions about our strategy (read: we have no idea what the hell we're going to do) but we'll do it anyway : ) At least now we have matching t-shirts. He asked me if I wanted to present the next container (programing sequence) and I said sure. I figure I'll ask the group what they want to hear about, but I think it would be cool to do a container on the other four of the world's major religions. Just so people know something about them...not to mention that's something I know about and can speak comfortably about. But then again it would be fun to learn something new as well. Or maybe do a container on Jesus? No clue. We'll see what the group wants.
What else? Ran a bunch of errands today. Joined the Cambridge YMCA, did laundry, found my keys (they were in Sarah's room...go figure), met with Mike. Oh and I got a really random phone call from an old priest who'd been at my church from when I was about 2 til I was 10. Said he had some books he wanted to give me. This was weird A. because he called my cell phone. No clue how he got the number. And B. because I haven't talked to him in 10 years. I don't think I'm going to call him back...it's too weird. Not to mention that I barely have room for the books I have.
That's all I can think of for now. The humidity is making my hair get huge and mushroom-like. Fun times.
Have a good night.
Peace ya'll.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Subconscious (Un)reality
So my hopes of getting a good night's sleep last night were quickly dashed to the ground. Had a crazy dream that left me pretty restless, to say the least. In said dream the U2charist started and only about 40 people showed up. And then the powerpoint wasn't working and the whole thing was a mess. I told Charles about it, but he said if 40 people show up it will be a success. Be that as it may, I hope there will be more than 40 people there. Then Peachie (our beagle) started barking at 6 am. This was weird for a couple of reasons. 1. As she's gotten older, she tends to sleep longer and doesn't whine so much during the night. and 2. She's never been really big on barking, but yesterday she was barking all of the time. I'm a firm believer in that whole "animals have a sixth sense" thing, so maybe we're going to have an earthquake or something. Who knows. I thought about just getting up at 6, as I had trouble falling back asleep, but eventually sleep came and it was all good. Until my phone rang at 7:20 am. Julie Roth wanted me to watch Alan Todd, which I would have loved to do, if it weren't for the fact that I'm going crazy today getting stuff ready for the service tomorrow. So I felt really really bad that I had to say no. Then I couldn't fall asleep for real, and just laid in bed for a while.
I had another crazy dream the night before. In this one I had to meet with the Commission on Ministry again, and they said I could be a postulant as long as I was willing to go back to being a 10 year old and live for a year as such. But the thing was, I would have the intellect and life experience of a 23 year old. It was the most horrible dream ever. I kept trying to convince people that I knew this stuff already and wasn't really ten, but they didn't believe me. Probably plays in to my fears that alot of priests in the diocese have known me since I was about 10 or 11, and that they'll always see me that way (something which I don't believe is true at all, and have never had reason to believe).
Geez.
I had another crazy dream the night before. In this one I had to meet with the Commission on Ministry again, and they said I could be a postulant as long as I was willing to go back to being a 10 year old and live for a year as such. But the thing was, I would have the intellect and life experience of a 23 year old. It was the most horrible dream ever. I kept trying to convince people that I knew this stuff already and wasn't really ten, but they didn't believe me. Probably plays in to my fears that alot of priests in the diocese have known me since I was about 10 or 11, and that they'll always see me that way (something which I don't believe is true at all, and have never had reason to believe).
Geez.
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