In Thanksgiving Week, we've entered the Holiday Season twilight zone when a bozo will come out self-righteously railing against Xmas and those who use it, the Xmas expression for Christmas because  X, the Greek letter chi is traditional f or Christos, as is XP, the Greek letters chi rho, the first two letters of Christos. The point comes up every year, and is maybe an opportunity for a bit of educating.  It always brings to mind a story about - - I think it may have been one of the Wesley brothers. Basically the same bozo who rails against the use of Xmas says to Wesley, "The Lord has told me to say that he doesn't need all your fancy learning, your Hebrew and Greek." To which Wesley responds, "I agree that the Lord doesn't need my education; and although He hasn't told me to say it, I will say on my own, that the Lord doesn't need your ignorance either." +++++++ This coming Sunday is Advent One, Year A, the first Sunday of the church year in w...

  Saturday morning we did the little $2 tour of Gorrie Museum and two other quadrants of Gorrie Square, John Gorrie's grave and the quadrant in front of Trinity Church with the monument to Gorrie and the sea level benchmark installed in its base. Then we did the shopping stop when I wait in the car while Linda and Kristen are in River Lily.  Then to Up the Creek Raw Bar, which was closed, so to our next choice The Station Raw Bar, where I had two dozen cold, salty ones, Alabama farmed, I never tasted better oysters in my life.  Including in my memory are oysters in Sydney, Australia and oysters in Colchester, England.  We're on Joe's schedule for this coming Thursday afternoon Dec 18 until Tuesday morning and we have two seafood restaurant visits in mind, Captain's Table and Gene's at both of them I'm planning on more cold salty ones on the half-shell. And fried mullet both places, very differently presented. ++++++++ Eight o'clock church this morning, we a...

  Christmas with its wonderful stories is coming to a close. There are some, a few, who realize and recognize that Christmas goes to Epiphany, 5 January, but for most people Christmas ends when all the wrappings are picked up off the living room floor and before the Christmas tree is taken down.  Christmas for me is the songs, the music and the Masses, and the dear old stories from Luke and Matthew, crowned by John's prologue. What I don't appreciate is the approach of the brand of literalists who try to create the facts they apparently need to make a story "true." Saying that Mary was actually seduced by a passing Roman soldier is one such, and the most absurd of all, if for no other reason than that there's no basis for it except someone need to explain to themself how the story of the virgin birth could possibly be true in a historic sense. .    

  Episcopalians on Facebook Scott Kruger All-star contributor   ·  20h   ·  I dont think we are liked very much by the catholic church which is odd to me since I see lots of love for the pope in the Episcopal church. And if you're Episcopalian and make a comment be prepared to get hammered like I was recently https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14SaNVXgk9E/ SHARE There are as many reasons as there are people as to why Anglican clergy are being received into the Catholic Church. The report by Professor Bullivant and others shows that about a third of all Catholic priests ordained between 1992 and 2024 had previously been Anglican priests. This is a quite remarkable figure and it also raises questions about how adequate priestly and pastoral provision is being made within the Catholic Church itself. Nor is this phenomenon restricted to England and Wales. Similar accessions to Catholicism are taking place in Scotland, the United States, Canada and elsewhere. One of th...