Approximate land distances. Philippi -> 95 miles -> Thessalonica -> 45 mi -> Berea -> 140 mi -> Athens -> 65 mi -> Corinth. Some maps show Paul traveling from Berea to Athens by sea, which (17:14 below) seems more likely. ___________________________________________________________ Paul ’ s 50 AD(?) Visit to Thessalonica  According to Luke ’ s AD 90-130(?) Report at Acts 17:1-9f. 2nd 49-52 AD Acts 17. The Uproar in Thessalonica 1 After Paul and Silas had passed [from Philippi] through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “ This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.” 4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of t...

  Saturday morning, fresh and cool, my day to finish prep for Sunday School class tomorrow morning, later today go to the church office and print handouts for the class session. Seeing the Library is still unsuitable for use (How Long, O Lord?!) we do not have our study bibles with us, and will meet in the church nave (sanctuary) again, so I'm printing as handouts whatever we would otherwise in class be looking up in our bibles. I don't mind, and a plus is that instead of tiny microscopic print on too thin paper pages of our Oxford study bibles, we get larger print on 20 lb bond in a readable handout. We're doing One Thessalonians in class tomorrow, maybe a glance at the other Propers (collect and readings).  Couple other things. Yesterday the Episcopal News Service (ENS) published an article seeing The Episcopal Church's demise in the next generation. While some parishes (ours) are vigorous and  flourishing, the church picture they drew does not include TEC after ab...

  Jambalaya and crawfish pie, filé gumbo For tonight, I'ma gonna see my ma cher a mio Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL6zo5o8_ZY Who remembers Hank Williams, I do. He died my senior year at Bay High.  We danced to his songs, before he died and after. Here's one I remember dancing to summer 1953 and receiving a letter from Linda chiding me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z2t-KfoPjg but I remember the lyrics top above and song because breakfast this morning was seafood gumbo. From Tarpon Dock Seafood, they make tasty gumbo, to which I add many oysters and much oyster liquor, more shrimp, lots more okra, a ton of crabmeat (I'd use dark claw meat, but what I had was white lump). Stir in a little more than half a teaspoon of filé gumbo powder because I have no okra powder. Smear of Tabasco. Eat it outside on 7H porch (picture above) with a mug of ice water and listen to Hank Williams ...

  Wednesday morning: this is the day, under my durational +Time rules of no politics or social or anything else personal or needling, rules which I established myself and no rule I make myself is binding on me; indeed most everyone else’s rules and rubrics are not binding on me either, you know what you can do with your rules and red ink, when (I was afraid I’d lost my antecedent but I didn’t) I committed to write something holy, or at least ABOUT something holy. I am neither holy nor wise nor a yuródivyy though closer to that. Honing in on self, a sophomore about life. A moron given to sophistry.  The Collect Almighty and everlastin g God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. What comes to mind is the hou...

  In C S Lewis' book "The Great Divorce" (which must be a lifelong favorite, seeing over the years I've referred to it more than anything else I've ever read) the narrator opens the story wandering aimlessly in a place that always reminds me of a shabby, depressing deteriorating, boarded-over warehouse district of seemingly endless Los Angeles, the most depressing place I've ever been. In my years in business, from Navy retirement in 1978 up until moving from Harrisburg to Apalachicola in 1984, I was away from home on business fully 75% to 80% of my Time. Much was in WashDC, where I loved and enjoyed two anglo-catholic parishes and a charismatic parish, and later went to seminary; but a significant part was in my car and on planes, West Coast cities, mostly Los Angeles where, on behalf of my Australian and Canadian clients, I was involved with defense industry firms, especially aerospace manufacturers.  Okay, I'm wandering again, it's my want, take me ...

       So my usual Monday commitment, printing the propers for next Sunday, 18 October. Myself, I have issues with the collect, but never mind, it's just me.       Exodus 33, I've fooled with the OT lesson a bit, we probably won't read it aloud anyway, I added verse 11 where it says  יְהוָה used to speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend. Mind, it does not say they WERE friends, and in my stunted experience in the OT, God is only "friends" with Abraham. God and David are different, God loves David not simply as friend, but as his own son, as only a father can love a child and David almost can do no wrong; but God and Abraham are fast friends, my OT professor at seminary said "old drinking buddies". Moses, though, from start to finish, has a tentative relationship of tension with יְהוָה and now and then the two seem too much at odds to go on working together. Anyway, down where God tells Moses h...

Good morning, Sunday School class, and welcome. We are meeting in the church sanctuary this morning, as an experiment to see how it goes. The light is good, and we're using the church's new video system to stream online, and I have my microphone, so the sound should be better than it was last week in Battin Hall. Mostly I’m open to interruption for questions and discussion any time. But this morning I have an introduction to get us started: so if you will allow me, please just listen for a few minutes, and make a note of anything you want to ask and talk about.  Your handout, which substitutes for a Bible today, has part of Luke’s book Acts of the Apostles, three colored maps, and Paul’s letter to the Philippians (with footnotes) marked up in three colors of print. This morning’s NT reading finishes up four Sundays of reading from Philippians, one of Paul’s seven “certain” letters, and I want to spend this time on the Philippians letter. The maps in your handout are to help...