Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Te Lucis Ante Terminum

A setting of one of the traditional Compline hymns for you tonight:




If you would like to sing it as part of your own worship, here is one of the English translations and the music:


To thee before the close of day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That, with thy wonted favor, thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Withhold from us our ghostly foe,
That spot of sin we may not know.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally. Amen.

Thanks to chantblog for this. To read more:
http://chantblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-hymns-at-lesser-hours-compline-i.html


For a more modern translation of this Compline hymn, see The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church). For the music that accompanies this modern translation:


https://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=82


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

You Speak



Published on Aug 28, 2013
You Speak from FORTUNATE FALL
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/for...

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fortunate-Fall-...

Webstore: http://smarturl.it/webstore

You liberate me from my own noise and my own chaos
From the chains of a lesser law You set me free
You liberate me from my own noise and my own chaos
From the chains of a lesser law You set me free

In the silence of the heart You speak
In the silence of the heart You speak
and it is there that I will know You
and You will know me
in the silence of the heart
You speak, You speak

You satisfy me till i am quiet and confident
in the work of the Spirit I cannot see.
You satisfy me till I am quiet and confident
in the work of the Spirit I cannot see.

In the silence of the heart You speak.

© 2013 Audrey Assad Inc (BMI)
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Monday, November 25, 2013

so excited!

Mom is moving home tomorrow!!!  It's been a little over 5 months since her encounter with the semi on I-69.  That's a long time.  Hard to believe it's really been that long, actually. I recounted on my fingers to make sure my head wasn't playing tricks on me.  Twice.



This long-awaited move is going to be a major change for everyone in so many ways. They were in the process of moving when this happened. A couple of weeks ago, Mom finally saw the place Dad chose.  She says she likes it.  Hard to tell; she has a brain injury from which she is inching back, so her reactions aren't quite the same as they were.  But I do know everyone is happy. I think my father is counting the minutes.  She is, too, I think, though there's also the sense that she'll believe it when she sees it, so to speak.  

She'll still require 24/7 care, at least for now.  Another change for the family.  No idea what's down the road.  But the wheelchair lift is going in, the bathroom door frame is being widened, and the stairway has a new railing with a gate so no one goes tumbling down it.  I haven't seen any photos yet (ahem, siblings mine...), but the almost-completed work is adding to the sense of anticipation, at least for me as I imagine the scene via conversations.  Thank God for telephone and internet.

This is one Thanksgiving on which everyone will truly be thankful.  And then some.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

waken the dawn


Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
 My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
I will sing and make melody.
 Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp; *
I myself will waken the dawn.


 I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord; *
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
 For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
 Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.

 - Psalm 57:6-11 (Book of Common Prayer 1979)


Saturday, November 9, 2013

whose wife?

Sermonating again... And very, very slowly.

 It's all about trick questions. Except it isn't; it's about resurrection.

There's a reason I laughed at this cartoon, which came from United Methodist Memes via Episcopal Memes.  If you aren't on Facebook, it won't make much sense, but suffice to say there is a riddle with many details, the purpose of which is to make you change your profile picture to a giraffe when you get it wrong.  The answer to the specific question isn't really the point of asking it.  Just like tomorrow's gospel passage.

Luke 20:27-38 - Proper 27C

Wish me luck.

Or better yet, send up a prayer.

I don't want to have to wear a giraffe face with my habit when I go to an unfamiliar church to preach tomorrow.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Typhoon Haiyan-Yolanda

Looks as though we have a major situation that calls for prayer.  This storm will be worse than Sandy. It's going by two different names, Haiyan and Yolanda, and I hope it won't cause two times the damage.



Here is some of what CNN has to say:  Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of strongest storms ever, heads for central Philippines
By Jethro Mullen, CNN
updated 12:32 PM EST, Thu November 7, 2013
(CNN) -- Thousands of people in vulnerable areas of the Philippines are being relocated as the strongest storm on the planet so far this year spins toward the country. 

With sustained winds of 305 kph (190 mph) and gusts as strong as 370 kph (230 mph), Super Typhoon Haiyan was churning across the Western Pacific toward the central Philippines as one of the most intense tropical cyclones ever recorded.

Its wind strength makes it equivalent to an exceptionally strong Category 5 hurricane.The storm, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, is expected to still be a super typhoon, with winds in excess of 240 kph (149 mph), when it makes landfall Friday morning in the region of Eastern Visayas. The storm is so large in diameter that clouds from it are affecting two-thirds of the country.

Philippines braces for super typhoon


Authorities in the region had moved more than 3,800 people to evacuation centers by late Thursday, Maj. Reynaldo Balido of the Philippine Office of Civil Defense said.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/world/asia/philippines-typhoon-haiyan/index.html

What's more, there were hundreds of thousands displaced in one region by an earthquake last year - and we know what that looks like.  If this sort of storm were to hit Haiti, I don't know how many decades it would take to recover.  Fortunately, most of those people are no longer homeless; not that this is much comfort for those who are still in tents.

About this, the BBC says,
In its path are areas already struggling to recover from a 7.3-magnitude earthquake last month, including the worst-hit island of Bohol.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in a website update that the storm was likely to create "rough to very rough seas".
About 5,000 people are still living in tents in Bohol after losing their homes in the quake, which killed more than 200 people.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24846813


Keep all in the path of the storm in your prayers, please, as well as for those working to evacuate and prepare in advance.

Jesus, you are our anchor in the storm and our shelter from the wind.

Lord Jesus, you who walked on the waters and calmed the stormy weather, calm these winds now and steady our brothers and sisters as they prepare.  Give wisdom to those making decisions, move people to safety, protect those in its path, strengthen those working to assist others, and throughout this time give them peace and a sense of your presence.  All this we ask in your dear name.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

All Saints Evensong, Sunday, November 3


Please join us for an Evensong For All Saints tomorrow 

Sunday, November 3, 2013
4pm
St Margaret's Chapel
50 Harden Hill Rd 
Duxbury, MA

"Lord Christ, your saints have been the lights of the world in every generation: Grant that we who follow in their footsteps may be made worthy to enter with them into that heavenly country where you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen."