This Convention, being held in Dover, the capital of Delaware, will be a first for a few reasons.
The first is that it is being held in its entirety in a hotel. Worship and everything. We are trying out a centralized location with a couple of congregations hosting.
The second is that the Convention is being given over to Dr. Brian McLaren. All workshops will be given over to his being there.
Finally, I will working double duty. My normal routine of assisting the Bishop and the Treasurer along with the manning of a table.
As a Board member of AFRECS, the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, I have brought AFRECS to the Diocese of Delaware. Along with myself, Connie Fegley, another Board member, will be there as well. And, Maureen Lyons, from Trinity, will be helping as well.
If you are attending Convention, please stop by and say hello and join. Before you come, please check out our website at www.afrecs.org
2/19/2011
1/08/2011
It's Showtime
This weekend Comcast customers get to watch Showtime for free. I did not think this would matter much until I went to the movie section.
I thought HBO had everything, but I was wrong. I have just watched two movies that I would recommend.
The first, Cairo Time, was a trip back to the desert city of Khartoum for me. It accurately portrayed the feel of living in the desert, the clothes, society, women, men, food, coffee, religion, etc.Cairo Time Trailers And, it also reminded me that that one drink from the Nile is still pulling me, beckoning me, return... return...return. I strongly recommend renting and watching this movie. Of course, its a great love story as well.
The second, Crossing Over, Crossing Over Wikipedia, is much more intense. This is not John Edwards and his speaking to souls, rather is a multi-layered movie about all sorts of immigrants. Legal, illegal. Atheists, Jews, Arabs. Multi-generational. And the cast is amazing. I highly recommend it as well. The movie should make you think, and unless you are one way or the other on the issue, this is not a black and white movie, but shades of gray.
Finally, IT'S SHOWTIME.
What? Where? When?
The voting has started in Southern Sudan, the referendum to separate from Northern Sudan. A new country might be born at the end of the day.
There has been so much written and spoken about this day that it is funny it is so quiet.
Quiet. Listen.
Can you hear New Sudan's first breath?
First cry?
I can.
I thought HBO had everything, but I was wrong. I have just watched two movies that I would recommend.
The first, Cairo Time, was a trip back to the desert city of Khartoum for me. It accurately portrayed the feel of living in the desert, the clothes, society, women, men, food, coffee, religion, etc.Cairo Time Trailers And, it also reminded me that that one drink from the Nile is still pulling me, beckoning me, return... return...return. I strongly recommend renting and watching this movie. Of course, its a great love story as well.
The second, Crossing Over, Crossing Over Wikipedia, is much more intense. This is not John Edwards and his speaking to souls, rather is a multi-layered movie about all sorts of immigrants. Legal, illegal. Atheists, Jews, Arabs. Multi-generational. And the cast is amazing. I highly recommend it as well. The movie should make you think, and unless you are one way or the other on the issue, this is not a black and white movie, but shades of gray.
Finally, IT'S SHOWTIME.
What? Where? When?
The voting has started in Southern Sudan, the referendum to separate from Northern Sudan. A new country might be born at the end of the day.
There has been so much written and spoken about this day that it is funny it is so quiet.
Quiet. Listen.
Can you hear New Sudan's first breath?
First cry?
I can.
12/12/2010
Spilling out of garages
Each day I leave my development traveling past hundreds of homes with cars parked in driveways and not in garages.
Sometimes, when the garage doors are open, you can see tiny little pathways wandering through the "stuff" piled floor to ceiling. And, this is happening in houses with full basements and 3-4 bedrooms.
Yikes.
At this time of year, with commercialism running amok and the government asking us to bail out the economy again by going deeper into debt, I wonder where all this new junk is going to go.
Fifty years ago, the idea that a family would have a storage POD sitting next to their house filled with stuff they no longer use, would have been ridiculous. The dump or collectors would have made off with most of it. Toys and clothes and furniture were handed down.
I struggle with this side of America daily after living in Sudan, a country where what one owns is really minimal. Consumerism may be there, but it is not for everyone.
I have signed up for two minute readings during Advent, something offered by CREDO.
Saturday's reading follows below:
One of the advantages of age, at least as I am experiencing it, is that stuff doesn't matter nearly so much as I once thought, indeed, as I was reared to value it. Perhaps the great sin of
relative affluence is the urge to hoard, to hold on tight if not to acquire more, telling ourselves that prudence like ours could never be greed. I haven't achieved Jesus' standard of material austerity yet, but I'm working on it.
A few years ago it was a real pleasure to dump my grandmother's twelve-place setting of elegant china on my elder daughter. She got more than she bargained for, but she hasn't realized it yet. I'd dragged it around for fifty years without realizing what a burden it was. It couldn't go in the dishwasher, and when would I ever have twelve people trying to sit down at a table, which comfortably seats four?
Harder still is letting go of the invisible, intangible impedimenta like envy, arrogance, neediness, and fear. Some of them are troubling, some of them feed my ego, some of are there just because that's where they have always been. If you drag them with you long enough, you forget how heavy they are. You forget how to run, how to skip, even to walk briskly. Eventually you even forget what it might be like to walk unimpeded. I comfort myself with the imperfection of the twelve. Like the rest of us, they too remained works in progress to the very end. Maybe I have just one more walk. Everything has been practice up to now.
--Margaret Guenther
Walking Home: From Eden to Emmaus
Sometimes, when the garage doors are open, you can see tiny little pathways wandering through the "stuff" piled floor to ceiling. And, this is happening in houses with full basements and 3-4 bedrooms.
Yikes.
At this time of year, with commercialism running amok and the government asking us to bail out the economy again by going deeper into debt, I wonder where all this new junk is going to go.
Fifty years ago, the idea that a family would have a storage POD sitting next to their house filled with stuff they no longer use, would have been ridiculous. The dump or collectors would have made off with most of it. Toys and clothes and furniture were handed down.
I struggle with this side of America daily after living in Sudan, a country where what one owns is really minimal. Consumerism may be there, but it is not for everyone.
I have signed up for two minute readings during Advent, something offered by CREDO.
Saturday's reading follows below:
An ADVENT Walk
One of the advantages of age, at least as I am experiencing it, is that stuff doesn't matter nearly so much as I once thought, indeed, as I was reared to value it. Perhaps the great sin of
relative affluence is the urge to hoard, to hold on tight if not to acquire more, telling ourselves that prudence like ours could never be greed. I haven't achieved Jesus' standard of material austerity yet, but I'm working on it.
A few years ago it was a real pleasure to dump my grandmother's twelve-place setting of elegant china on my elder daughter. She got more than she bargained for, but she hasn't realized it yet. I'd dragged it around for fifty years without realizing what a burden it was. It couldn't go in the dishwasher, and when would I ever have twelve people trying to sit down at a table, which comfortably seats four?
Harder still is letting go of the invisible, intangible impedimenta like envy, arrogance, neediness, and fear. Some of them are troubling, some of them feed my ego, some of are there just because that's where they have always been. If you drag them with you long enough, you forget how heavy they are. You forget how to run, how to skip, even to walk briskly. Eventually you even forget what it might be like to walk unimpeded. I comfort myself with the imperfection of the twelve. Like the rest of us, they too remained works in progress to the very end. Maybe I have just one more walk. Everything has been practice up to now.
--Margaret Guenther
Walking Home: From Eden to Emmaus
Disconnecting
I have left Facebook, a community that I never really embraced.
I was electronically attacked by someone in Minnesota who entered my Facebook space and sent damaging emails and videos.
Who needs these headaches. Not me.
In fact, I realized that when so many of you informed me of what you were doing you were not telling me. I have not heard the sound of some of your voices, nor you mine, in years.
So I suggest this. Let's reconnect. If there is something exciting going on in your life, pick up the phone and call me. Let's laugh and cry together. Whine and celebrate to the sound of our voices connecting.
I never thought that pulling this plug would be so much fun.
Yahoo. I am rebel, hear me roar.
I was electronically attacked by someone in Minnesota who entered my Facebook space and sent damaging emails and videos.
Who needs these headaches. Not me.
In fact, I realized that when so many of you informed me of what you were doing you were not telling me. I have not heard the sound of some of your voices, nor you mine, in years.
So I suggest this. Let's reconnect. If there is something exciting going on in your life, pick up the phone and call me. Let's laugh and cry together. Whine and celebrate to the sound of our voices connecting.
I never thought that pulling this plug would be so much fun.
Yahoo. I am rebel, hear me roar.
11/18/2010
I guess it is never too early
I must tell you up front.
Seeing Christmas appear in stores before Halloween, or the end of October really riles me up. In fact, I choose not to enter a shopping center that has already succumbed to decorating tables, walls, doors, walkways.
However, today an associate sent me a really feel good video set in Macy's in Philadelphia. Here is the link.
http://www.philly.com/philly/video/106492678.html
Enjoy!
Seeing Christmas appear in stores before Halloween, or the end of October really riles me up. In fact, I choose not to enter a shopping center that has already succumbed to decorating tables, walls, doors, walkways.
However, today an associate sent me a really feel good video set in Macy's in Philadelphia. Here is the link.
http://www.philly.com/philly/video/106492678.html
Enjoy!
11/14/2010
The Third Letter of the Alphabet
A good friend gave me a gift this weekend. She probably did not intend on giving me this gift, when we parted last week, but nevertheless, she did.
Sometimes gifts come when least expected. Not on birthdays, or Christmas, or one of the other myriad of Hallmark holidays.
They come quietly, in the morning, from out of town.
I took a trip back in time this past Saturday, and that was part of the gift.
Leaving Delaware and traveling north, I turned onto Route 452 and continued north for about 10 miles.
I had forgotten how "close" communities and roads could be outside of Delaware. Delaware County Pennsylvania is so different from northern Delaware, though they share a border.
Here I was traveling past the apartment where I used to live, the church where my daughter was baptized, the first apartment next to the firehouse, past the road to Linville Orchards, up to Granite Run Mall, Weathers Motors, Riddle Hospital, Lima, Aston and Media.
This past was the early part of my adult life. When I was first married, going to college, having a child. The time when my faith was growing, slowly, steadily.
Growing but still not preparing me for everything to come down the road.
That is where the second part of the gift comes in. I was given the chance to re-learn the alphabet.
A, B,C.
C,C,C,
Three C's.
Cause, Control, Cure.
I did not cause it.
I cannot control it.
And, I cannot cure it.
The gift of my lifetime.
Of all the letters in the alphabet, I have determined that C is my favorite.
It has provided me with a lifeline.
And, it was the gift that came quietly, and unexpectedly this Saturday.
Thank you my friend.
Sometimes gifts come when least expected. Not on birthdays, or Christmas, or one of the other myriad of Hallmark holidays.
They come quietly, in the morning, from out of town.
I took a trip back in time this past Saturday, and that was part of the gift.
Leaving Delaware and traveling north, I turned onto Route 452 and continued north for about 10 miles.
I had forgotten how "close" communities and roads could be outside of Delaware. Delaware County Pennsylvania is so different from northern Delaware, though they share a border.
Here I was traveling past the apartment where I used to live, the church where my daughter was baptized, the first apartment next to the firehouse, past the road to Linville Orchards, up to Granite Run Mall, Weathers Motors, Riddle Hospital, Lima, Aston and Media.
This past was the early part of my adult life. When I was first married, going to college, having a child. The time when my faith was growing, slowly, steadily.
Growing but still not preparing me for everything to come down the road.
That is where the second part of the gift comes in. I was given the chance to re-learn the alphabet.
A, B,C.
C,C,C,
Three C's.
Cause, Control, Cure.
I did not cause it.
I cannot control it.
And, I cannot cure it.
The gift of my lifetime.
Of all the letters in the alphabet, I have determined that C is my favorite.
It has provided me with a lifeline.
And, it was the gift that came quietly, and unexpectedly this Saturday.
Thank you my friend.
11/12/2010
Back but here to stay?
The last writing I did was on September 12.
I would like to say that I have been circling the globe without my laptop but that would be untrue.
The truth? I hate writing. Actually, I hate my laptop.
It seems that my fingers have a mind of their own on this laptop. My writing is much better at work. My fingers like that keyboard. The workstation is set up for efficiency.
The solution would probably be to purchase another laptop. One that understands where my fingers want to go. One that I might actually like. Also, possibly a table where I could sit down and type. However, my finances are not going along with these ideas.
In fact, my Finances and I are not on a first name basis anymore.
My Finances have moved out and established a life of her own and changed her name to Gone.
Finances R Gone would rather spend her time repairing cars, or replacing cell phones, or installing new walls and flooring after plumbing leaks rather than buy me a replacement laptop and workstation.
That said, since Sudan I have learned that life can be a struggle and you must persevere. One never knows around what corner Hope is waiting for you. Or, Redemption, or Forgiveness.
Keep on trucking, as we used to say.
I have picked up finishing this on Friday, November 12th. The keyboard won.
Last night I watched the "new" Karate Kid featuring Jackie Chan and the newest actor from the Smith clan, Jaden. Movie Link This remake was filmed in China, the visuals are phenomenal, and as such gave a new perspective to the original film. However, it is this from both films that I remember and have taken to heart:
"You have taught me very important lesson, Xiao Dre. Life will knock us down, but we can choose whether or not to stand back up."
So, what I do is to keep standing up, walking along, looking and listening for the changes that will allow me to stand a little taller.
I would like to say that I have been circling the globe without my laptop but that would be untrue.
The truth? I hate writing. Actually, I hate my laptop.
It seems that my fingers have a mind of their own on this laptop. My writing is much better at work. My fingers like that keyboard. The workstation is set up for efficiency.
The solution would probably be to purchase another laptop. One that understands where my fingers want to go. One that I might actually like. Also, possibly a table where I could sit down and type. However, my finances are not going along with these ideas.
In fact, my Finances and I are not on a first name basis anymore.
My Finances have moved out and established a life of her own and changed her name to Gone.
Finances R Gone would rather spend her time repairing cars, or replacing cell phones, or installing new walls and flooring after plumbing leaks rather than buy me a replacement laptop and workstation.
That said, since Sudan I have learned that life can be a struggle and you must persevere. One never knows around what corner Hope is waiting for you. Or, Redemption, or Forgiveness.
Keep on trucking, as we used to say.
I have picked up finishing this on Friday, November 12th. The keyboard won.
Last night I watched the "new" Karate Kid featuring Jackie Chan and the newest actor from the Smith clan, Jaden. Movie Link This remake was filmed in China, the visuals are phenomenal, and as such gave a new perspective to the original film. However, it is this from both films that I remember and have taken to heart:
"You have taught me very important lesson, Xiao Dre. Life will knock us down, but we can choose whether or not to stand back up."
So, what I do is to keep standing up, walking along, looking and listening for the changes that will allow me to stand a little taller.
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