(a serendipitous companion piece to Songbird's She Verbs, about Martha the sister of Lazarus. Composed at the same table at the BE 2.0, topics not discussed in advance.)
Securing a replacement participant for one who sadly, cannot go due to death in family: Not Check. This is just not going to happen, I'm afraid.
Getting Swag: Check! Done! Awesome swag. Ooh, and there's one more thing I want to print, if I can figure out how to do it.
Getting Swag Bags: Check! And way better ones than party store bags, too.
Suppress urge to go clothes shopping: Check, so far. Remember that I detest clothes shopping, but something about going on a trip makes me think I need new things. How bogus is that?
Reading Wil's book: Not Check! On the plane?
Pack into one, carry-on-able bag: Not Check. That comes tonight.
Pedicure: Check. Toenails are now OPI's "My Italian Romance" pink
Getting work done preparatory to being out of office for two days: Check, with more to be done. Other folks here are stressy for various reasons, and it's way too easy for me to take that on. I have my own stressy, thanks a lot.
Sending out a swath of wacky emails and blog posts to participants with wrong info in them: Check! Glad that's behind me so I won't have to make ANY more mistakes for this event. HAHAHAHA...
Ride to airport with Mid Life Rookie and DogBlogger handled (thanks to superior org skills of MLR, not me): Check!
Securing a replacement participant for one who sadly, cannot go due to death in family: Not Check. This just may not happen, given the lateness of the event. But we can try.
Getting Swag: Not Check! I know what I want, just have to get it.
Getting Swag Bags: Not Check! Party Store, here I come!
Reading Wil's book: Not Check! I am doing my best.
Pack into one, carry-on-able bag: Not Check. I never pack before the night before.
I used to talk in my sleep, but I don't think I do any more ???
I tend toward untidiness, but am able to achieve neatness in a shared space - in the short-term, anyway.
I need to bring a lot of books with me on a trip, whether I read them or not. Knitting, ditto.
My pj's have Thumper on them...hee hee hee. The big Thumper on the top can actually be kind of scary in the dark if you are not expecting it - as my spouse learned. Just a warning.
Bulletins as they occur. I'm sure you will be checking in with bated breath...
I posted a comment on my Facebook status the other day that I was thinking about worshipping without being at church, and attending church services without worshipping.
This does not mean that I am quitting church to become a pantheist, but was occasioned by a minister friend's post about how she hoped she could get some worship in in the next few days. Knowing it was Holy Week and that she would definitely be in church...led to the above.
Yesterday's two Easter services were beautiful, with lots of excellent music...generally an important part of my worship experience. But I don't feel that I really got any worship done - there was too much keeping track, jumping up and down, shuffling music. As a chorister, my job is to enhance the worship of the congregation. Usually I can do that and do my own stuff too. Yesterday, no. I went straight home, where Ken asked if I'd like to go out to eat. I said, "no thanks!" and went to BED for a 3 hour nap!
The Saturday night Easter Vigil service was longer because of baptisms, and Mary, our seminarian, did a gorgeous job on the Exultet. Those longer periods of liturgy and song definitely provided more an opportunity for me to experience my own feelings and connect with God. I'm grateful for that.
***
Last night I dreamed that I arrived at the RevGals BE and realized I'd forgotten to take a suitcase. At all! I remember thinking, "well, I can just wear these clothes or borrow something." I'm not sure if this is denial ("I have to PACK!?") or just feeling really comfortable about this. I'm grateful to be going to friends. I'm definitely not planning on any dressing for dinner! (as we did for the cruise ship). I do promise to change clothes at least once a day, but other than that...WYSIWYG.
A good and quiet day at home. Working on Easter dinner: the deviled eggs, the potato salad; I have ham and glaze. Ken is striping the Dr. Pepper HQ in Plano today...hope he gets done as it is supposed to RAIN tomorrow.
Listening to Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Went to library. Checked out many books, natch, plus a CD via the self-check machine. Got home and realized CD case was locked...you must have it unlocked before leaving library, security measure. Dogs and I went back to the drive-thru window where the library ladies were so glad to see them and the feeling was mutual.
Polished silver. Did laundry. Kept my sermon-writing friends company and in my prayers. Thinking of brokenness. Wondering about resurrection.
Now I must go shower and dress and get to church for the Vigil.
Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi, quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. Qui passus es pro nobis, Domine, miserere nobis.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. O Lord, who suffered for us, have mercy on us.
1. How will you pray and worship today? For the first time I can remember, we have not been given any part of the day off. Therefore, I am praying along with those of you who have daytime services, and hope to make it to an evening one, if traffic is not too bad. Later in the evening I will be dyeing and deviling eggs and making hot cross buns while listening to the Godspell soundtrack.
2. Share a powerful memory or memories of Good Friday past. I'm stumped on this. Maybe I have amnesia!?
3. How have you grown and experienced God's love during this past Lent? I'm still not sure what I am growing into; but it has been made possible by the love and care of friends who have supported me.
4. In whom do you see the face of the suffering Christ most clearly? People in Africa without food or water. People in my own country who live in fear of losing their livelihoods. People whose small Texas towns burned to the ground last night. GLBT people whom the church - including my own church - disadvantages and disregards.
5. Where do you find hope for resurrection? Last night at Maundy Thursday service, we had a guest soloist for the Rutter "Pie Jesu." Rebecca is the daughter of one of our amazing, retired priests; she is a music minister at the Lutheran church down the street and a glorious soprano. Her face, looking so much like her mom's while she sang last night, and her glorious voice, roused a joy I had forgotten.
And joy also came through her wonderful son (about 7), who sat with her in the loft during the service and who went down on his own for the foot-washing...watching him have his feet washed, washing someone else's, and his grandfather regarding all of it with quiet pride from the altar. So, I guess the short answer is: community and family. People.
Bonus: Share a song, poem, or prayer that makes the paschal mystery come alive for you. We sang this last night (in English):
Now, my tongue, the mystery telling of the glorious Body sing, and the Blood, all price excelling, which the gentiles' Lord and King, in a Virgin's womb once dwelling, shed for this world's ransoming.
Given for us, and condescending, to be born for us below, he, with men in converse blending, dwelt the seed of truth to sow, till he closed with wondrous ending his most patient life of woe.
That last night, at supper lying, 'mid the twelve, his chosen band, Jesus, with the law complying, keeps the feast its rites demand; then, more precious food supplying, gives himself with his own hand.
Word-made-flesh true bread he maketh by his word his Flesh to be; wine his Blood; which whoso taketh must from carnal thoughts be free; faith alone, though sight forsaketh, shows true hearts the mystery.
Therefore we, before him bending, this great Sacrament revere; types and shadows have their ending, for the newer rite is here; faith, our outward sense befriending, makes our inward vision clear.
Glory let us give, and blessing to the Father, and the Son, honor, might and praise addressing, while eternal ages run; ever too his love confessing, who from both with both is one.
Last night on the way to church, I opened my sunroof and quickly closed it...the air smelled smoggy and awful. Yuck!
On the way home from service it quickly became clear, even with all the car windows rolled up, that the smell was not smog, but SMOKE. "Something is on fire," I said.
I stopped at Taco Cabana for dinner. When I opened my car window to order, I thought I'd choke...and big ashes were falling from the sky. "Something BIG is on fire!" I said to the woman at the drive-thru. "Really?" she said, peering out of her window onto the world." "Really," I said. "Either that, or it's a volcano."
And boy, was I right the first time:
See the lake in the county just above Fort Worth and Dallas? That's Lake Lewisville, and I live about 5 miles west of its northwest tip. We had 35 mile per hour winds all evening, due west. Very scary.
Two people died in this fire. Two towns were destroyed. From the WFAA-TV blog:
Behind me, you are looking at the charred remains of a community center. Yesterday, it was thriving. Today, nothing but charred remains, after wildfires swept through, reducing it to rubble. Even today, Montague County is still burning. Everywhere you look, another hotspot reigniting. In Montague, the fires turned deadly for former News 8 reporter Matt Quinn and his wife Cathy. They were unable to escape alive. Cathy's son Chris did get out, only in time to watch the family truck explode. Today, he remains hospitalized, suffering from burns. Back in Stoneburg, they are still measuring the toll these fires have taken. Despite all the losses, close knit communities are coming together, vowing to help one another out of this mess. On this Good Friday, they choose to see hope on the horizon.
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