Memorial Day

More from Fr. Davis' email:

And finally, whilst enjoying your day off tomorrow, take some time to thank someone for their service in our nation's Armed Forces.  Many thanks and God's blessings to each and all members of the St. Bart's family -- living and dead -- who currently serve or have done so. 

 

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.

This includes you, Fr. McGrath!

Fr. Davis' email

(...and it is welcome!) I have to admit, my bad habit of reading partial sentences and filling in the rest mentally worked against me in this part of the latest e-mail missive from Fr. Davis to the parish:

Dear Brothers & Sisters in our Lord,

Beginning next Sunday, all Sunday morning Coffee Hour receptions will be hosted by Vilia [] at her lovely new home.

Just kidding. ;-)

Such events will certainly not be the norm; but it was a special occasion, and it indeed seemed that all who were present had a wonderful time. Many thanks to our gracious hostess and family members who effectively relayed the message to the rest of us that "Mano namuose yra jūsų namuose."

"Ir mūsų yra tavo," dear Vilia.

I got as far as "will be hosted by Vilia" and thought "whoa!" -- before the rest of it sank in. And then the "Just kidding"... (Hm. Do I need to add a Lithuanian phrasebook to my already extensive collection of Korean, Scandinavian, German, French, Farsi, Egyptian, Japanese, Hindi, Gaelic, etc.?)

But it was a good time and I especially enjoyed chatting with her visiting family members, discovering a fairly close work connection in the process. I just hope they got to see Seattle in the sunshine this afternoon, after days of cloudy skies and precipitation, before they return home. Seattle's glorious summer is coming.

House-blessing

Today, Trinity Sunday, is the beginning of the long Kalendrical green season of Trinitytide that will carry us up to Advent.

But far more noteworthy was the house-blessing for our new parishioner Vilia (like the altar she hails from Lithunian, though she came through Michigan instead of Ohio) and her new octagonal (Buckminster Fuller?) dome house -- and the great time we spent with her and her family for the house-warming and blessing after Holy Communion today!

The house itself -- I was surprised to learn its age (not that old), because it looks brand-new. And even with the excellent condition she inherited, she has put her stamp on it.

And I was only one among many to remark today on how a house that looks so small from outside could be very roomy and comfortable. It's a lovely house in a lovely setting.

And when the time came the house was fully blessed, room-by-room, upstairs and down!

Welcome, Vilia, to you AND your family!

The Wandering Anglican visiteth... not...

On my list of things to do this trip was a visit to St. Ann Chapel up in Palo Alto, CA, a relatively short drive from here (except maybe in rush-hour traffic). I was looking forward to a visit having seen it featured in some local weekly, a copy of which was sent to Fr. McGrath a few years back.

I had it all mapped and worked out to attend Low Mass at 6 PM tomorrow... but I did not account for incomplete advance schedules. Though the meetings end at 5 PM, the "political" environment says I should stay through 6 PM for the reception.

Oh well.

Whitsuntide

Hard to recall, but I think this might have been a quieter Whitsunday/Pentecost service than usual at St. Bartholomew's. Perhaps also more cerebral as Fr. Davis gave us a LOT to consider in his sermon. (And weather-wise, it seemed like a return to cold, wet and grey early spring.)

But that matters little: we've just entered into the very short season of Whitsuntide and next Sunday we enter into Trinitytide -- the long "green" season on the Kalendar that winds up just before Advent.

Fr. Davis has initiated another of his "Rector's Forum" Wednesday evenings, continuing a now-old tradition of such. In this case it's a two-Wednesday-evening session of Evening Prayer / Evensong followed by a light supper and a class on "Modernity." I wish I could be there but as usual I will be away on business this coming Wednesday, though I hope to be present the following Wednesday.

Next Sunday we have a special treat with a house-blessing for Vilia -- but all in due time. I am fly away again Monday through Thursday and will just have to see what develops that I can report.

Of Moss

Started getting back into the routine with the 3rd Saturday Morning Prayer and Men's Breakfast (and work party). Nice to be back.

The activities today included tackling the moss on the Fr. Leen Learning Center roof. With a warm, wet winter the moss grew pretty well: a lesson for some of our more recent transplants to the Pacific Northwet. Fr. Davis noted that the tale that "moss grows on the north side of the tree" is only partly true here; it grows on all sides.

Larry remarked at the variety of moss-removal products on the shelves here. there's good reason for that; it grows on just about everything -- I even have to scrub it from our driveway.

But when the group finished the roof looked much better. And we'll be starting a program to keep the moss off.

Now if we could only do something about those clogging gutters...

Traveling...

Maybe I haven't complained about it on the blog (I thought I had), but it's been difficult being away so much and Sunday I didn't quite feel like I was really back. Of course, getting home from the airport long after midnight (even later than expected because my car died on the freeway) didn't help. Not to mention there being new members whose names I don't even know yet. And more travel coming up -- I fly out again tomorrow morning.

But before I left church yesterday I grabbed a copy of the bulletin. New format, new content, a bit more of a traditional bulletin than we've had for a while. But the Canterbury Cross graphic created a few years ago continues on -- it's not as threatening as the St. Bartholomew's graphic: three flensing knives on a shield. (I'm not pulling out the massive tome on heraldry downstairs in order to explain it properly.)

But under the ANNOUNCEMENTS section on the last page, I noted a few minutes ago, is one item:

Pray for St. Bartholomew's Church, our diocese, province... (et cetera)... those who are sick, traveling, lonely and struggling spiritually as well as our Lithuanian and Lithuanian-American brethren. ...

Traveling... well yes, there are extra hazards when traveling. But for me, feeling disconnected from home is something new and "home" definitely includes St. Bartholomew's.

At least I will be back in time to go to the Men's Breakfast Saturday. I think I was at one earlier this year but don't remember when. Larry penciled in my name to read the Epistle on Sunday (thank you!!) and though there's more travel coming up, right now I have no plans to be away on a Sunday until late June. I can deal with that.

website editor

During Synod a couple of weeks ago I had been in a discussion, since continued with Fr. Davis, about conducting a session on church website creation and maintenance based on my experience: things that work, things that don't (and I have seen some pretty horrible church websites), nice additions (such as a map link), good and inexpensive hosts, and so on.

The problem is that the site I set up uses all hand-written HTML code and not many folks are going to want to do that. Now there are nice editors if you want to spend a few hundred dollars, but I don't. And (sorry guys) Microsoft's tools generate enormous amounts of unnecessary and impenetrable HTML.

I recalled I had found an open-source editor that ran on Linux, Windows and Macs but had forgotten its name so it had to wait until I got home to my Linux machine to find it again (this afternoon).

It's called KompoZer. I guess I am going to have to learn it now so I can teach other folks in the diocese how to use it.

Updates

Checked my e-mail this evening, now that I have time because the grueling week of work-related class is over (did pretty well on the final exam, which only means more work ahead), and there was an update from Fr. Davis, now back from Synod.

Please keep Deacon Ed and Gene in your prayers. I had to laugh at Fr. Davis' remark w/r/t Deacon Ed: "I took him my copy of C.S. Lewis' The Abolition of Man earlier today, which ought to have him riled-up by the time we get him back." I bet!

But for Sunday after next (day after tomorrow is Rogation Sunday, which I will miss due to being on the Other Coast) Fr. Davis says:

The following Sunday is another big one, Pentecost/ Whitsunday, the birthday of Christ's Church and anniversary of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon her, according to the promise of the Gospel. As such especially equipped the Church to carry out the Great Commission to a lost world around them, I would like to spend Wednesday, May 26th (Feast of St. Augustine), and the following Wednesday, June 2nd, taking a looking at our mission field at the turn of the 21st Century (and perhaps better understanding ourselves). Based on a project I did for Alister McGrath at Oxford a few years ago, I plan to examine with you all the worldviews that emanate from Modernity and Postmodernity, and the challenges and opportunities that lie before us as a result. I would particularly be interested in having our teens in attendance! I'll have more to say about that soon; but for now, plan on Evensong at 6:00 PM with dinner and discussion to follow downstairs.

Sadly I will miss the first Wednesday --yes, I'll be away again-- but should be there for the second, if it's worth going after missing the first.

DWS Family Camp Announced!

Okay, it was made a few days ago but I have been SO overwhelmed on this trip I didn't get a chance to note it here until tonight. But location and date have been selected and announced to the Diocese of the Western States (DWS).

This time it will be in Oregon; a bit longer drive for most folks in California but within a single day's drive for those of us in the Puget Sound region. We hope folks from the Oregon churches in Portland, Redmond and Grant's Pass will join us. Fr. Webb has been working on a program of activities -- which I cannot publish because the list is in my Synod packet back home, 2500 miles or so away.

But I am excited. DWS' Family Camp has always been fun (even last year when I was rendered fairly inactive due to a couple of conditions, mostly corrected). Meeting old friends from other parishes, making new friends from other parishes, making new friends with other parishioners' non-Anglican guests, visiting with clergy from across the diocese, visiting with (Arch)Bishop Provence (this becomes a REALLY long drive for him!)... and I hope more folks from St. Bartholomew's will be able to attend with it this much closer.

Just blocked it out on my work calendars. I am going!