After a consumingly busy day, Thursday evening was all happiness. We went by HNES for the annual spaghetti dinner. Imagination was in full swing, starting with the welcome tables in the covered walkway.  Auditorium, cafeteria, chapel was decorated beautifully, dim lighting, tables with white cloths and lighted candles. A presentation of most elegant desserts. Everyone was beaming smiles and welcomes. Linda and I got “take out” but may be able to stay next year! That school is close to my heart, dearly loved, dearly, dearly loved, yesterday, today and forever! At home: tasty spaghetti, glass of cabernet, and OMG that yeast-roll and finally that cupcake. Some mornings, especially late in the week, my blog post is later than usual because earliest when the mind is working, before it shuts down completely, attention is on sermon preparation. On looking back over what was “prepped” it’s not clear that the mind was working after all, but it’s cut, print, and that’s a wrap anyway an...

Proper 22      The Sunday closest to October 5 Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. This is the Collect of the Day for Sunday, October 2. It is found among the autumn collects in the Latin language Leonine Sacramentary, which was attributed to Pope Leo I, about 450 AD and is therefore among our oldest prayers. Appearing in every Latin sacramentary since, it was in Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s first, English language, Book of Common Prayer, 1549, and has been in our American prayer books ever since. So, it’s quite ancient in human terms and now thoroughly ...

Paul to the Philippians (KJV) Letter 3. Warnings, Advice. 3:1b-4:3 To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.   2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.   3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.   4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:  5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;  6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.  7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do ...

Burial at Sea   At St. Thomas by the Sea, my office door was always open on a clear cool day to let the salty breeze come in, and so that we could hear the surf crashing a block away. On one such day some years ago, a parishioner came to discuss his burial preferences. Always a meticulous man, he had specified his funeral liturgy from the first hymn, the particular Burial Office, the Eucharistic Prayer and all the Bible readings, to the closing Navy hymn.  A dedicated member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary for many, many years, both in Michigan and in Florida, he asked that his ashes be spread at sea from a Coast Guard vessel if possible; otherwise, interred in the memorial garden beside St. Thomas by the Sea, Laguna Beach. Weldon was a healthy, vigorous man whom I knew and relied on from the time we first met at Grace Church, PCB in May 2000, right to the time of his accidental fall and subsequent death in August 2011. His funeral service abided by his wishes precisely.  Ye...

Exodus 19 and Exodus 20:1-20 (NRSV) At the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.’ 7 So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 The people all answer...

You’re not supposed to do that. And certainly not that way. Though no canons or rubrics, there was a time when we had  rules about certain things because -- well, that’s the way we have always done it -- we insisted that was the way it was supposed to be done. Who knew or cared whether they were universal in the Church, or just something that had grown up locally.  Women were not supposed to come to church with head uncovered. Arriving sans hat, God forbid, you must spread a handkerchief over and pin it to your hair. Arriving at your pew in the nave you were supposed to kneel and say a prayer of private devotion. Even if you arrived during the processional hymn -- which could be quite awkward and odd, putting the kneeler down on the toes of those who were standing and singing. If you arrived after the Confession of Sin you were not supposed to receive the Sacrament. You were not supposed to receive the Sacrament more than once in 24 hours. You were not supposed to chew the ...

The psalm that we say, sing or chant on Sunday mornings is meant to affirm the Old Testament reading in some way. We may enjoy the whole psalm; or, as tomorrow when the Exodus reading is about God giving the people water in the wilderness, the psalm is quite long and so we sing only a relevant portion. Psalm 78 rehearses the salvation history of the stiff-necked people of Israel from the time of Jacob, through the exodus from Egypt and grumbling travail in the wilderness, and the shifting of God’s favor from the tribe of Joseph to the tribe of Judah, to God’s choosing the shepherd boy David as king.  This psalm, along with several others, is called a psalm of Asaph. A little exploration (see 1 Chronicles 25:1f below) tells us that Asaph was one of three men whom David chose to be his ministers of music in worship. They and their families seem to have been composers, poets, and accomplished musicians. Sometimes, as with Psalm 78, their psalms wove long stories about the children of ...

My birthday party idea was to take the family to Captain Anderson’s for dinner, but it didn’t work out because Charlotte was ill. So Linda and I went last night.  Arriving  just as the doors opened at four-thirty, we were the first to enter and were seated at a window table.  At the table next to us were twin baby girls with family, parents, grandparents. The little girls were quiet but curious, looking around at everyone. Dressed identically, one had a pink bow in her hair, one a yellow bow. Having had my September allotment of fried food (a Popeye’s chicken drumstick my birthday weekend), fried was not on my menu last night. Which mattered not, because both Linda and I are in a rut there. Her favorite is the Grouper Imperial, a serving of broiled grouper topped with as much lump crabmeat as there is grouper under it.  Mine is the whole Red Snapper broiled over flames. In the past my meal included a side order of fried oysters to go on top of my salad, but those ...

Philippians 2:1-13 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was * in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God,    did not regard equality with God    as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself,    taking the form of a slave,    being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8    he humbled himself    and became obedient to the point of death—    even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him  ...