Hymns For The Second Sunday Of Advent

Processional 59 Merton

Gradual 7 Ratisbon

Offertory 324 Picardy

Recessional 416 Lucerna Laudoniae

The Feast Of St. Andrew

Most references to Andrew in the New Testament simply include him on a list of the Twelve, or group him with his brother, Simon Peter. But he appears individually three times in the Gospel of John. When Greeks wish to speak with Jesus, they approach Philip, who tells Andrew, and the two of them mediate with Jesus (Jn 12:20-22). Before Jesus feeds the Five Thousand, it is Andrew who says, "Here is a lad with five barley loaves and two fish." (Jn 6:8f]; and the first two disciples whom John reports as attaching themselves to Jesus (Jn 1:35-42) are Andrew and "the disciple whom Jesus loved" [John].

Having met Jesus, Andrew then finds his brother Simon and brings him to Jesus. Thus, on each occasion when he is mentioned as an individual, it is because he is instrumental in bringing others to meet the Savior. In the Episcopal Church, the Fellowship of Saint Andrew is devoted to encouraging personal evangelism, and the bringing of one's friends and colleagues to a knowledge of the Gospel of Christ.

Several centuries after the death of Andrew, some of his relics were brought by a missionary named Rule to Scotland, to what is now known as St. Andrew's, nowadays best known as the site of the world-famous golf course. Hence, Andrew's association with the jewel of the British Isles.

According to pious legend, Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross, as represented on the design of the official flag of Scotland.

For those interested, the flag of the United Kingdom, the "Union Jack", is a combination of the crosses of St. Andrew [white x-shaped cross on a blue field], St. George, the patron of England [red cross on a white field], and that of St. Patrick, the patron of Ireland [red x-shaped cross on a white field].

Sorry, Wales and St. David. You got left out.

Headline Of The Week

Harper lauds press freedom in speech, doesn't take questions from reporters

The First Sunday Of Advent

This week we change seasons [yay] from Pentecost to Advent and from the green liturgical color to that of Sarum Blue or violet as we begin to prepare for the Incarnation. To aid us in that, Jeremiah reveals his prophecy, the Thessalonians get a pat on the head, and Jesus interprets the signs. All this plus what happened the day I got a new Jesus in my classroom.

The lections may be found here.

[A word about the blue color in use during this church season. That shade, generally known as "Sarum blue", is based on that in use by the Celts in the days before Christianity was brought to the British Isles. In times of war and in holy seasons, faces would be painted with a mixture of roots and clay. It was also a common color in Celtic art.

After the arrival of Christianity, Sarum blue was translated from Celtic religion to the Celtic Christianity that developed nearly 300 years before the Church of Rome became dominant. I appreciate there are those who state that the color is evocative of Our Lady, and certainly Sarum blue has been used in that regard, and others who feel it's a cynical ploy on behalf of church supply companies to sell more merchandise. But the reality is that it evokes our pre-Roman heritage and serves as a reminder of the Celtic roots of our worship.]

Rectory Flag

This isn't an easy one to recognize, especially as it's not the official flag of Scotland [pictured below], but the unofficial, and rather insurrectionist, "Lion Rampant". Why don't I use the official flag? Because I don't have one.

Why is any flag of Scotland being flown? Easy. Monday is the Feast of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland and one of the lesser feast days in the Episcopal Church. This is particularly significant since it was not the Church of England that consecrated the first bishop of TEC, but three bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church. For all of our Anglican pretense, we owe our existence to the Scots and trace our independent lineage from them.

More about St. Andrew on Monday.

Friday Photo: Surf City Pier

Surfer Soul Food For Thanksgiving

Since people ask me what we do for Thanksgiving [I know you're just being polite, but be careful what you ask for], there is a particular dish that I like to prepare to either delight or horrify those with whom we share the holiday. [If you're looking for a turkey recipe, you've come to the wrong place. We never eat turkey at Thanksgiving. What are we, a buncha Congregationalists?] The recipe and preparation instructions follow:

Surf City Curbside Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh swordfish steak
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 doz corn tortillas
Vegetable oil or butter (optional, depending on how you heat your tortillas)
Lime Mango sauce [see instructions]
1 ripe Avocado
Cabbage or iceberg lettuce
Cider vinegar
Salt

Prepare the sauce. This can be done either the simple or the complex way. The simple way is as follows:

1. Go to Stop and Shop
2. Buy some lime mango sauce in aisle 6

You may use it as a marinade for the fish and then, with the addition of some sour cream, use the remainder as the sauce for the finished dish. Naturally, don't use the sauce in which the fish has been marinating for the presentation sauce. At least, that's what Jenni always tells me. What she doesn't know won't hurt her.

The more complex way is to do the following:

Place two ripe, peeled and pitted mangoes and some lime juice [two limes or equivalent] into a food processor and blend until pureed. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of cold water. Stir in one diced jalapeno with seeds and skin removed [unless you like four-alarm sauce, like I do, in which case toss the seeds and skin into the whole shebang] and there you go. Save it until taco construction.

Prepare the cabbage and avocado. Thinly slice the cabbage and put it in a small serving bowl, sprinkle it with cider vinegar (about a tablespoon) and salt (about a teaspoon). Mix in the vinegar and salt. Peel the avocado and remove seed. Chop and reserve for later.

Heat the tortillas. There are two ways of doing this.
1. Simply heat them in the microwave for 20-25 seconds on high heat, on top of a napkin or paper towel to absorb the moisture that is released.
2. Or heat a cast iron skillet to medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan or spread a half a teaspoon of butter on one side of one tortilla. Place tortilla in the pan (butter side down if you are using butter). As the tortilla sizzles, flip the tortilla with a spatula so that the other side gets some of the oil or butter from the pan. Continue to flip every 10-30 seconds until the tortillas begins to develop air pockets, after about a minute. You can always skip the butter or oil.

Remove the tortilla from the pan and place it folded on a plate. If the pan is large enough you can prepare two or more tortillas at once. Continue until all the tortillas (estimate 3 per person) are cooked. Set aside.

Cook the fish. Soak the fish fillets in cold water for at least one minute. Pat dry with a paper towel. Heat a large stick-free skillet to medium high heat. Add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to the skillet. Place fish on skillet. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the fillets. A thin fillet may take only one minute on each side to cook. A thicker fillet may take a couple of minutes. Fish should be still barely translucent when cooked. Break off a piece and test if you are not sure, or give it to your cat and see what he does with it. Do not overcook the fish. When done, remove the fish from the pan to a separate plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the plate of tortillas, fish, the sauce, cabbage, and avocados on the table and let everyone assemble their own. You go to a separate room where it's quiet and watch a football game. Preferably, Ohio State. Or maybe that DVD of Endless Summer I or II.





The staff of The New Coracle will be off-duty on Thursday and Friday of this week. Please have a pleasant Thanksgiving.

[Today in Huntington Beach, California, the high temperature will be 67 degrees with cloudy conditions. The surf forecast is poor/fair.]

An Important Safety Video

And you thought all firefighters did was wash trucks, lift weights, and play a little pool around the firehouse. Nah, they also teach about safety by making things explode in flames. Namely, turkeys.

I Was A Chaplain Here; That Was Our Motto On Pay Day

Letters Lost, Meaning Found

Bet He Didn't Even Know They Were Missing

Galileo’s 2 fingers and a tooth found

Now This Is Really Neat

Digital map reveals Israeli archaeology

Pentecost Last: Christ The King

This week we hear David's final words, learn from John of Patmos what we may find at the beginning and the end of creation, and see Jesus bring a new form of debate to someone with a very Greek education. All this plus what Harry Pedicord said on that fateful first day of class.

The lections may be found here.

Stop Meeping!

I spent twelve years of my professional life as high school teacher, teacher/chaplain, and teacher/chaplain/administrator. One of the most important things to learn when working with teenagers is what to take seriously and what not to. One should come to realize that the jocular enthusiasms of the student body tend to be transient and silly, rather than harmful. They generally don't last very long, certainly not past a school vacation. There is no point in letting adolescent absurdity turn one into a humorless, scolding martinet.

It appears that the administrators at a high school in Massachusetts are still processing this understanding. The tale, sad is it seems, is told here:

Mass. high school principal bans students from saying 'Meep!'

I'm trying to imagine what it must have been like to be a parent, coming home at the end of the long, busy day, to listen to a "robo-call" informing you that your child and his/her classmates may not issue the sound "Meep" without receiving a substantial, official punishment. If it were me, I'd check the wall calendar to see it were April.

The story gets better when an attorney, seeing this for what it is, decided to send the administrators a one-word e-mail. That tale may be found here. [It includes law enforcement!.]

Something All Too Familiar

When Lutherans split

A Cold And Flu Statement

The other day I received a call from reporter at one of the daily newspapers in Connecticut. I find that I am in a lot of reporters’ address books since I have worked in so many communities in New England. What she wanted to know was whether I was going to stop dispensing the Holy Communion during the cold and flu season. I was tempted to point out that a priest excommunicating his entire congregation is something that I don’t believe has happened since the Middle Ages but, instead, I gave a ponderous historical response that ensured that I would never be quoted in an American newspaper.

However, I did speak to a professional about what would be best for us to do, a physician who specializes in infectious disease, and he said the likeliest way that H1N1 would spread in a congregation would be if I were so infected and handled the sacramental bread without first using anti-bacterial solution on my hands. Although I am not carrying the H1N1 flu at this time, I can promise the congregation that, during the general exchange of the peace, I will be unobtrusively in the vestry washing my hands in anticipation of the consecration of the elements.

Also, I would remind the congregation that there are three ways in which one may receive the Blood of Christ. The first, and most traditional, is drinking from the proffered cup. The second is to practice intinction, touching the bread not directly into the wine itself but to the interior wall of the cup [and not directly and deeply into the wine itself]. The third method, viaticum, is generally used either by those who are in recovery for alcoholism or intubated in a hospital bed, but is no less valid for use by those concerned about disease. With viaticum, the communicant simply touches the chalice while the priest or lay minister issues the words of ministration [“The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation” or similar expressions].

The Holy Communion will always be offered “in both kinds”, that is, in bread and wine, as that is a key feature of our tradition that has remained inviolate for half a millennium. So serious are we as a church about this feature that we are reminded that many of those who delivered the sacrament in both kinds in the early days of our tradition suffered remarkable punishments, all so that would have both the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord as part of the liturgy. I would also remind the congregation that another feature of Anglicanism is that we respect individual choices in this matter, rather than make choices on behalf of those who join us in worship.

Friday Photo: Huntington Beach

One Of "Those" Stories

Every once in awhile I read a newspaper story that causes my Christian serenity to be shaken. Mrs. Rector usually suggests that I mention it on The New Coracle rather than yell at the newspaper or television set.

This is one of those stories:

Union troubled by Eagle Scout project in Allentown

Here's the quote that got me: "'We'll be looking into the Cub Scout or Boy Scout who did the trails,' Balzano told the council."

If this kid needs a contribution to his defense fund, put me down for a pledge.

Hey, I Bought Some Guitar Wood From These Guys...

...wait...no, I didn't. Must be the shoulder pain medicine that confused me. Is the FBI reading this?

Gibson Guitar plant in Nashville raided by feds

Actually Eating One Would Have Been A Class A Felony

Cops: Woman Hit With Cheesesteak

Maybe I Could Replace The Skateboard With One Of These

Amazing footage of kite surfers flying over Worthing Pier

Looks like everyone is getting involved with it:

The Angolan Kitesurfing Association has been founded