Genesis One 20  And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’ 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24  And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Animals inhabit our yard. Cats feral and domestic. Some resident some passing through. Snakes in Patty’s Garden. Dogs. B...

Eagles and Paperclips In church the lessons may be read from the lectern or from the pulpit, from the center aisle, or conceivably by a lector standing up and reading from among the congregation. A rubric (BCP 406) does say that lessons should be treated and read respectfully. A sure sign that you are in an Episcopal church is when you see a large brass or wooden eagle up front. That is the lectern: the lessons are read from there. Tradition holds the eagle as a symbol of St. John the Evangelist and many Church of England parishes have an eagle lectern. In the days of Morning Prayer all the lessons were read from the eagle lectern, which contained a large Bible.  At Trinity, Apalachicola there was no eagle lectern, the lessons were read from a speaker’s podium. When we bought a grand piano it competed with the lectern for space so I removed the lectern and we started reading the lessons from the pulpit. We placed the lectern Bible on the pulpit table, and it’s still there. Howeve...

Psalm 45 C. S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia for children and one wonderful year during my time as Religion & Ethics teacher at Holy Nativity Episcopal School we studied all seven stories in class, both reading the books and seeing the available BBC movies. That year Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media announced that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe would be released December 9, 2005. We posted the banner prominently in my classroom all semester and on Friday, December 9th took the HNES Middle School, some 75 students, to the movie as their semester exam. In class the following week of school, competing with the mounting excitement about Christmas vacation, we discussed the book again, and the movie, and also compared it to the 1988 BBC movie that we had seen at the beginning of the semester. The Narnia stories, described by Lewis as “pre-evangelical” mean different things to different people and this showed up sharply in the classroom. For most students it was an ex...

Yesterday a friend asked a question. If you go to the Catholic church you are a Catholic If you go to the Methodist church you are a Methodist If you go to the Baptist church you are a Baptist If you go to the Lutheran church you are a Lutheran If you go to the Presbyterian church you are a Presbyterian If you go to the Jewish synagogue you are a Jew If you go to the Episcopal church you are an Episcopalian Why the differences? Most folks who are attuned to language have thought about this. One thing is sure. In earlier years when we were living in a rectory and had many people come to the door asking for food, shelter or other help, it was easy to spot the liars who said, “I have always been an Episcopal.” Years ago one man begging for money at the rectory door in Apalachicola even told me, “I have always been an Episcopal. I used to work for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. You can call them if you want to; they know me there.” We are not Episcopals and we certainly have no Archdioces...

Some twenty five years ago Bedford and Eugenia Watkins moved to Apalachicola/Eastpoint and started visiting churches in our area. Coming from the American Baptist Church in Illinois, they had lived in Bloomington where Bedford was Professor of Piano and Harpsichord at Illinois Wesleyan University. As a couple they had been organist and choir director at First Baptist Church there for twenty five years. When I tried to engage them in conversation about taking up the same ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church they declined, saying that they wanted to settle down and enjoy retirement. American Baptist is a mainline church in worship and social tradition similar to the United Methodist, Presbyterian and United Church of Christ. My hope and prayer was that they would find their new church home at Trinity and not at the United Methodist parish around the block from us.  This morning Linda and I are driving to Apalachicola, where I am to preach at the farewell service for Genie and Bedford...

What a graduation Bay High had at Tommy Oliver stadium under a black sky last night. About halfway through, the principal announced that the violent front had just moved through Pier Park. Graduating seniors were to go to the gym. We should go to our cars or take shelter under the bleachers. We took shelter but still got wet as lightning flashed mightily and rain poured. It was over in a few minutes and everyone moved to the gym for the completion of the program. The gym bleachers filled quickly and half the basketball court was filled with folks sitting on the floor as diplomas were presented. Bay High class of 2011 had a graduation to remember. Graduation ceremony details of the class of 1953 have slipped my mind except that it was a clear night and we had it in the old Tommy Oliver stadium that was on Harrison Avenue. Brick buildings are there now. School Superintendent Tommy Smith and Bay High principal John M. Johnston awarded our diplomas.  About fifty years later Tommy Smith...

Sure is nice!   Rising early has always been a joy. But toward the end of Ordinary Time my rising hour ranged one o’clock in the morning to three o’clock. No point in denying that there was anxiety. But getting up early was also a privilege so as to waste as little of remaining time as possible. Rise, cup of coffee, write a blog post. From the end of Ordinary Time, that too early routine continued through Stoppag e Time. Went on into +Time but on doctors’ orders orange juice instead of coffee. Three or four or five hours sleep with a mandatory long afternoon nap. Until last week.  Somehow, for reason or reasons, eight or nine hours sleep happened. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday just happened. Sure was nice. Arriving home, for reason or reasons, the old habit tried to reassert and conquer. But it’s the enemy, isn’t it! Fight back! Fight back. Stay in bed. Go back to sleep. Even though it means the blog post is later than in the old time. A new +Tim...