Jeff Foxworthy on "Living in WA"

This one is making its way around the parish via e-mail. (It will miss the one of us who has neither e-mail nor computer.) It's all familiar except #7 -- that has to be about Eastern Washington.

1. If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Washington.
2. If you've worn shorts, sandals and a parka at the same time, you live in Washington.
3. If you've had a lengthy conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live in Washington.
4. If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Washington.
5. If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you live in Washington.
6. If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both doors unlocked, you live in Washington.
7. If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Washington.
8. If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over 2 layers of clothing or under a raincoat, you live in Washington.
9. If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow and ice, you live in Washington.
10. If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, you live in Washington.
11. If you feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash, you live in Washington.
12. If you know more than 10 ways to order coffee, you live in Washington.
13. If you know more people who own boats than air conditioners, you live in Washington.
14. If you stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal, you live in Washington.
15. If you consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain, you live in Washington.
16. If you can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Dutch Bros., you live in Washington.
17. If you know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon, you live in Washington.
18. If you can pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Abiqua, Issaquah, Oregon, Umpqua, Yakima and Willamette, you live in Washington.
19. If you consider swimming an indoor sport, you live in Washington.
20. If you never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho, you live in Washington.
21. If you have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain, you live in Washington.
22. If you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists, you live in Washington.
23. If you buy new sunglasses every year because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time, you live in Washington.
24. If you can actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your Washington friends, you live or have lived in Washington.

Okay. I fail a number of these. 2, 3 (close), 7, 8, 12 (I don't often drink coffee and even more rarely buy it), 16, 20 (who needs a poncho?), 23 (I have so many pair of sunglasses I am never without).

But... #4 (hit a deer): one co-worker is hospitalized for slamming into a deer at 40 MPH -- on his mountain bike! Broken ribs, punctured lung, but in good spirits as indicated by the "Oh deer!" e-mails.

13,18 and 22 are definitive, but Jeff Fozworthy missed one: You know at least 20 different terms for precipitation. From "light mist" and "drip" to "heavy downpour", I've never collected them all in one place, but there are a lot.

So to Fr. Davis and family: here you are, you are fairly warned about life in the great Pacific Northwet! Enjoy -- and oh, you'll be tested on #18 shortly.

Congratulations, Fr. McGrath!

I just received an e-mail from our previous Rector, Fr. McGrath, who has now graduated from the Navy/Marine Chaplain School in Newport RI (following what he called "basic training for middle-aged men"), and is back with his family near Pendleton. The news is all good.

Godspeed, Fr. McGrath, and if I may quote from Hymn 512 (1940 Hymnal), the Navy Hymn:

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
   Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
   Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Church website update

Just updated the church website. Usually this is a rather simple matter, updating the "Announcements" page, and the dates on the main page and "Announcements" link. Probably nobody else notices those, but it's a reminder to me to keep the website up-to-date. Otherwise it would be really easy to repeat one church's website: it noted upcoming events that were now several years in the past!

I did bring the Announcements page up to date as best I could -- it will get easier as we settle into new patterns.

But the biggest job was updating the Clergy page with the information and photo Fr. Davis e-mailed me.

And once that was done I discovered to my dismay that last month's Christus Rex (the province's newsletter) was not up either -- and as usual, it's well done. I didn't know until today that St. Mark's makes communion wafers, or even the process for making them.

Diocese of the West Family Camp 2010

At the end of the Family Camp last month it was decided that we should hold next year's camp in Southern Oregon. One reason was to attract folks from the Oregon parishes by bringing it closer to them. It would also be about as convenient (if not more so) than Patrick's Point, and for those of us at St. Bartholomew's it's reachable in a single day's drive.

Kathy and I decided we'd scout the area to find a camp. Now I've found one good prospect online, but I hear there are many campgrounds in the areas. Unfortunately things are beginning to work against our being able to get away. I thought I'd take a couple vacation days, well, about now. But Kathy is working and I find I have only a few vacation days left (plus I'm planning on a couple of days for us in Strasbourg after my meetings there wrap up -- if we can get her there on my frequent-flyer miles).

We will see. (And if anyone can recommend a Southern Oregon campground that can accomodate a group of 50 - 75 people, please let me know.)

Fierce Wild Priest

I cracked up when Fr. Davis noted, before his homily, how somebody in Redding (I didn't note who) got the words to today's hymn for the Sunday School procession mixed up. The hymn was "I sing a song of the saints of God..." and two words were transposed in the second verse:

...
And one was a soldier and one was a beast
And one was slain by a fierce wild priest
....

Only time will tell whether I will shake this mental image I formed of Fr. Davis as a fierce wild priest...

Surplus of servers

This morning we learned from Fr. Davis that Jean has now passed away. Paul's service will be Sept. 12th, if I remember correctly; Fr. Davis is still trying to get in touch with Jean's family who are here somewhere.

But today we had a first, I think, at St. Bartholomew's -- two servers lighting the candles, father and son, and their first time serving here. Pretty soon I can retire, or may have to so others get a chance...

Uh oh. Drew asked I'd serve next Sunday. I agreed, but had forgotten that Kathy & I are performing with our Scottish Gaelic group next Sunday at the Evergreen State Fair, singing ancient Gaelic working ("waulking") songs. I usually turn out for these events in my Braveheart-style greatkilt, but this takes rather a bit of floorspace to pleat up and don and besides, there won't be time after the service.

Wrong event

I sure got it wrong this month -- instead of the Men's Breakfast this morning I was at at the Ladies' Crafts Social yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday was Furlough Friday for me (every other Friday off without pay -- but at least I still have a job!) and I finally decided to do something about making a couple of photographic light reflectors for future church portraits -- Davis family, you are hereby now warned! Two reflectors, one side silver and one side gold, was the goal. Kathy and I went to a Redmond crafts store (Ben Franklin) and while we didn't find what we were looking for, we found something else instead. We bought the materials and headed off to St. Bart's, since DeeDee was going to be there already, to assemble them. After all, this was "crafts."

DeeDee and Cynthia were there, with kids. Kathy hadn't brought a project, but this was as much a social event and before too long Fr. Davis was down there too, pleasant chats while the adhesive in my simple reflector assemblies set up.

This morning I completely missed the Men's Breakfast by oversleeping almost until noon. Then again, things have been rather stressful in the workplace and I probably needed the extra sleep.

I continued with a low-key afternoon traveling around taking a few photos of the lovely local countryside taking. Might even try to sell a few of them at the next ACW sale to support St. Bart's.

(It was Kathy who remembered and pointed out the similarity to these photos I took of the pyramids at Giza, in Egypt, almost two years ago.)

Paul Sr has passed on

Fr. Davis' new house is in a cellphone deadspot, so news is a little slow to get out. A couple of minutes ago I learned that Paul Sr has passed on -- on Monday!

O GOD, whose mercies cannot be numbered; Accept our prayers on behalf of the soul of thy servant departed, and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Beginnings and endings

Today was Fr. Davis' first celebration of Holy Communion at St. Bartholomew's as our Rector. And it was with no little joy that I was able to jump in at the last minute as both Lay Reader and Acolyte to serve with him. It wasn't perfect -- it never is when a new priest comes in; there are all sorts of hidden traps in the small differences in between the receiving parish's customs and those of the priest's former parishes.

And we have our differences -- we don't sing the Doxology at (what part of the service was it?), but we have a "Children's Recessional" between the Announcements and the Sermon. Complete with banner to lead the children out to Sunday School. These things will get resolved in short order, in the usual process in which the priest first learns our ways and later makes changes. We did get a small addition today that I think might come from the Anglican Missal (I have never looked at it -- we've long been a "straight 1928 BCP" church), but enough folks already knew it that it won't be a problem and the "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou should(e)st come under my roof..." is a good reminder.

But for me this was a hugely mixed day.

I started off rather a bit down over some potentially bad work-related news. Then, before the service I learned of the passing of a parishioner (former? they'd moved away but still considered St. Bartholomew's their home) last week. Fr. Davis mentioned something in his remarks in or before his sermon about participating in our journey -- but it wasn't until Coffee Hour and after that I learned that we have two members in hospice care. Paul Sr, a long-time member from our early days who may not live out the week, and Jean who joined us in the past year or three (or so). At least for Fr. Davis' convenience they're in the same hospice (and if there is something Seattle excels in beyond rain and gloom, it's its healthcare -- including hospice).

It should have been a day of joy, but it wasn't. And it wasn't helped later by stories from Iranian friends of what is being done to their family, friends and acquaintances who stand up in even the smallest way against the regime there. Some are Christians.

You're not likely to see any of this in the American press.

I beg your prayers for all these folks, including Corrine, Paul Sr. and Jean.

Through the grapevine...

...that's where I heard it first. Kathy said she'd received a note that the Davises are here and moving into a rental in Woodinville!

Got home to find an e-mail from Matt to the parish, saying Fr. Davis will be celebrating Sunday. Or maybe "celebrant" because we'll all be celebrating. No... that makes us celebrants too. Never mind -- it's been a long day on other matters and another blog (work-related).

But as Matt says:

Come join us this Sunday as we begin a new chapter in the life of St. Bartholomew’s parish!
Archbishop Provence will travel to Woodinville in the near future for the official installation ceremony.

It will be good to see (Arch)Bishop Provence again.

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

...well, in this case it probably isn't, but here goes anyway. I just offloaded pictures of the Diocesan Family Camp from the camera. Starting with the obligatory group photo:

Here are a couple of campers preparing some of the group dinner. That shelter was a blessing when it came to Sunday morning's Holy Communion service in the rain.

Campers...

And those for whom the workaday world manages to intrude. (If I'd done the same I would have been "caught up" sooner. Oh well.)

Dog days

It's been unusually hot here -- while I was away Seattle apparently set an alltime new record, 103F, exceeding the old record of 100F; the area is beginning to look like California with all the dead, dry grass, and the grassfires have begun.

It's also looking like a slow time for the blog right now; in part that's because it has competition -- I am setting up work-related social-networking sites including a blog. That not only requires a lot of preparation, but I have to do it from outside the corporate internet (read: home) just to get access to certain sites.

That's also impacting a few other things, such as processing photos from the Diocesan Family Campout which are still in the camera, unviewed. But I have some free time ahead (tomorrow is Furlough Friday), rain is in the forecast, and I hope to catch up before the weekend is over.

I need to be caught up before Fr. Davis and family arrive...

Hot as Hades (got a pitchfork?)

Attendance at today's Mass was down considerably. Not sure why, but can guess: 1) some folks are on summer vacation (holiday), some folks are attending this weekend's SeaFair festival: Seattle's big midsummer blow-out --parades and many other events, culminating in the weekend Hydroplane Races in Lake Washington with massive attendance on-shore and off and aerial thrills such as the Blue Angels fighter team and various propeller-craft pilots doing impressive stunts-- or 3) hiding out someplace that had air-conditioning (of the cooling variety).

It was hot, though Deacon Ed's excellent sermon based on Ezekiel 3 with its contrast of "but his blood will I require at thy hand" versus "thou has delivered thy soul" was anything but light. Especially after review of same in the Scripture Study class at 9 AM. Maybe this is part of why it is easier to evangelize abroad than at home? (On my first flight home yesterday my seatmate was a man involved with establishing churches in China -- last year, he said, he'd flown over there 14 times. That's a LOT of miles spent in airplane seats!)

Enough showed up that I couldn't call it a "low" Sunday. But it was hot enough to get some amusement from the bulletin item from the Garden Guild asking if, for the sake of our gardens, somebody could donate a pitchfork?

Ladies, the gardens are beautiful but now this botanically-ignorant one just has to ask, what on Earth (or otherwise) are you tending there?