Stellar Moments in Confirmation Class

Yesterday, between noon and the 4 P.M. Annual Meeting, I walked into a shop in downtown Barrington and was greeted by the proprietor. He asked with which church I was associated, and I told him. "Oh, I'm Episcopal," he said.

He told me that he'd been confirmed as an adult at a church in the Chicago area, and that he learned one thing in Confirmation Class that he still remembers above all else. I'd just been reading about the Trinity in the coffee shop next door, and was geared up for a theological discussion. But he said, "There's this cool thing: did you know that when you scramble the letters of Episcopal, it spells Pepsi Cola?"

Ah, well.

Fast Feet and Nimble Fingers

I'm gathering prayers for good luck and good travel for Noah, who begins his auditions for very competitive spaces in organ performance graduate programs. This weekend, Austin, TX; Seattle, WA and Rochester, NY in two weeks; and Yale in early March.

Knock their socks off! Wow 'em with your lickety-split, lightning speed pedal notes!

On Earth as in Heaven

Such a gift I received today at the seminary's Eucharist! As cantor, I stood in the back next to the sacristan, who shared my worship books. As we began the Lord's Prayer, he prayed aloud, quietly, in Japanese. His prayer was so musical, its lyrical sounds so compelling, that I stopped my own. Listening to him was prayer enough, magnifying mine, showing me surprising treasure.

George Herbert Meets the Obstetrician

There I was at my usual counter seat at Peet's, reading Herbert's A Priest to the Temple for Anglican Polity class. Two women arrived and took up a loud conversation about a recent doctor's appointment. So, my reading went this way:

"The parson is very exact in the governing of his house, making it a copy and model for his parish...his wife is either religious, or night and day he is winning her to it."

"So he said, 'I could prescribe something, but in the meantime, what have you learned from your behavior?"

"He keeps his servants between love and fear...to his children he shows more love than terror, to his servants more terror than love."

"I mean, he scared the living daylights outta me!"

"The parson exceeds not an hour in preaching..."

That appointment took forever! And he thinks I'm going to come back again next week!"

Thank God for the Cappadocians

Ah, Antony of Egypt! Ah, Basil -- you're next week. It's hard to wait to read more! What a terrific class we just had on The Cappadocians & Friends. This makes up for a yucky, sucky rest of the day that began with the barista handing over my coffee cup and calling me "dear." Bleh!

Just Coffee, Please

Last Wednesday, I stopped at a Starbucks en route to Barrington. It was about 7:30 in the morning, I wasn't fully alert, and I was wearing my collar. "Can I get a drink started for you?" the barista asked. "Grande nonfat latte," I said, when I noticed he was staring at my collar. Then he said, "Sorry, you can't save me."

"Huh?" I thought. Then he repeated, "You can't save me." He had a big grin on his face. I told him that no, I couldn't save him, but the person I work for sure could. And I went off with latte in hand.

This morning, I stopped at the same coffee shop, and John was with me -- also in his collar. The same barista (it's a guy; do I call him a barista?) checked out our clothes and said, "Last time, I said you couldn't save me, so now you brought help?"

YAY YAY YAY!

The General Ordination Exams are OVER!!
Thanks be to God!

See You at the Movies

It seems that many of us who have completed 4 of the 7 General Ordination Exam questions are using Thursday's day off (Thanks be to God!) to see a movie -- though so far, seven of us seem to be going to three or four different movies. We ought to run into one another in the hallways, though. See you there!