Another Small Bit Of Restoration/Improvement, Part Three

This week, the old in-ground oil tank has been removed.  No, the pros did this one.  Jenni despairs of me using a backhoe ever since that unfortunate incident with the rose bushes.

Now That's A Fund-Raiser, If Ever I Heard Of One

Police in western New York say two Hamilton men attended a church festival and wound up in the woods drunk, naked and covered in mud.

Dawn's Early LIght

Adorning the Rectory from Flag Day [yesterday] through the octave of the Fourth of July will be this version of the "Betsy Ross" flag.  After all, between the flags on the church's facade and the massive flag on the green, we need some variety.

This Week In History

June 13, 1525: German reformer Martin Luther marries Katherine von Bora, 16 years his younger, having sneaked her and several other nuns out of their Cistercian convent in empty herring barrels two years earlier. [Ah, the course of true love.... -ed.]

June 13, 1893: Dorothy Sayers, English mystery writer and amateur Anglican/Episcopal theologian, is born in Oxford, England. "Man is never truly himself except when he is actively creating something," she once said. [Her photo appears above.]

June 14, 1811: Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin and daughter of Congregationalist minister Lyman Beecher, is born in Litchfield, Connecticut.

June 14, 847: Methodius, an Eastern church leader who fought vigorously for icons to be preserved and venerated, dies of dropsy. He had earlier survived seven years of imprisonment with a decaying corpse, as ordered by officials under iconoclastic Emperor Theophilus.

June 15, 1215: King John signs the Magna Carta, which begins, "The Church of England shall be free."

and

June 14, 1925, Duke Kahanamoku rescued eight men from a fishing vessel that capsized in heavy surf while attempting to enter the harbor in Newport Beach, California. Twenty-nine fishermen went into the water and seventeen perished. Using his surfboard, Kahanamoku was able to make quick trips back and forth to shore to increase the number of sailors rescued. Two other surfers saved four more fishermen. Newport's police chief at the time called Duke's efforts "the most superhuman surfboard rescue act the world has ever seen." Thus was born the tradition of lifeguards having rescue surfboards at the ready.

Below is a photo of the Rector with the statue-version of Duke.  I'm lamenting that someone had stuffed a gum wrapper in his palm

The Third Sunday After Pentecost

This week David commits a major error, the Galatians learn of faith over law, and Jesus is entertained in an unlikely location.  All this plus a reminder that form follows failure, not function.

The lections may be found here.

Another Small Bit Of Restoration, Part Two

The Episcopal Church flag, with bracket and flagpole, has now been placed by yours truly at the entryway.  Next week, matching flagpoles with serious non-fouling action will replace the current ones.

Not to be picky, but this stuff wasn't in my job description.

At First I Thought This Was Medical News

Anglicans cut Episcopalians from ecumenical bodies

Well, I'm sure they did it nicely.

Pluck An Open "E" For Marv

Marvin Isley, Bassist in Isley Brothers, Dies at 56

And He Played For The Torrington Twisters

There's something to be said about what can happen through a municipal baseball field, eh?

Pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes his major league debut for Washington Nationals

I have his autograph!  Hello, Retirement!

Yep, That'll Fix Everything

Win a soccer game by more than five points and you lose

Actually, maybe something similar could be instituted in Major League Baseball. Go, Tribe!

A Reminder

Please contact the Rector by Thursday morning if you wish to have announcements listed in Sunday's order of service or if you desire to have specific prayers or thanksgivings for the Prayers of the People.

An Obituary Of Note

More on Officer Donald Hassiak, who was known to many in our congregation.  The link is to be found here.

The Second Sunday After Pentecost

This week Elijah engages in faith healing, Paul confesses his unworthiness overturned by grace, and Jesus channels Elijah.  All this plus what happens when I look at something I've made.

The lections may be found here.

If Anyone Wonders What To Get Me For Father's Day,..

...wonder no longer:

RIDE SHOTBUN IN THE OSCAR MAYER WIENERMOBILE

[I should point out that this is an ironic jest about the pervasiveness of popular culture in its juxtaposition with the spiritual life.  I mean it as something to laugh about, not as a serious request.]

Another Small Bit Of Restoration

I remember that on my first Sunday at Christ Church, I believe it was the last Sunday of November in 1999, I kept squinting at what appeared to be a bare piece of wood bolted to the wall.  I think it was a week later before I thought to see what it was about.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered a simple memorial to a son of the parish, killed in one of the more tragic moments of the Second World War, its lettering obscured by 60 years of dust and faded paint.

I always meant to do something about it, as an unreadable memorial says something rather poor about community memories and shared history.  I never had the chance and, when I left in October of 2001, regretted it.

Well, thanks to the miracle of common modeling paint and a cheap, Chinese brush, I have surrendered at least one minor regret.  It'll be nice to see from the sanctuary.

The story of the USS Turner may be found here.

[Sue, click on the word "here".  Also, click on the photo to enlarge it.]

I Heard The Fire/Rescue Radio Get Very Busy Last Night...

...and, as I was afraid it would be, it turned out to be something tragic.  The story may be read here.  Please remember Officer Donald Hassiak, his family and friends, in your prayers.

Thank God. Everything Will Be Okay Now

Scarlett Johansson to the rescue! Actress inspects oil spill damage in Louisiana

Wow, it just gets better:

Feds meet with film director Cameron on oil spill

I guess when the engineers of reality can't deal, they turn to the engineers of fantasy.  H.G. Welles could not have made this stuff up.

Now, this is more like it:

"...those morons don't know what they're doing."

And He Didn't Even Live To See The 21st Century

G.K. Chesterton: “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”

An Annual Message

My parents, who are well into their eighties, still teach high school during the week with students who are too emotionally unstable, pregnant, or violent to be in mainstream classrooms. At the end of each school year, for reasons entirely based on their eccentricity [Which is not inherited. Too much. Well....], they always send me a card.

The message this year, in my mother's perfect cursive:

"Dear Rob,
Yesterday was the seniors' last day. They set the school on fire. We finish on June 4th.
Love, Mom and Dad"

I May Never Post Another Headline Again...

...the bar has been set too high by this one:

Italian priests' secret mistresses ask pope to scrap celibacy rule