I've had two days in a row now of back-to-back-to-back-to-back meetings which is NOT a recipe for much original thought left at the end of the day. (You know you're mentally pounded when even JEOPARDY feels like too much work!)So, as the sun set slowly in the west, I resorted to a little blog surfing and came up with these bits & pieces of some OTHER folks' original thoughts to commend to all ya'll. Hasta la later!
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"Thoughts on the Howe-Williams Exchange" over at Episcopal Majority
Until Rowan Williams (and those who might agree with him) come to terms with the incontrovertible fact that what he calls “ the organ of union” for the American church is our General Convention, we’re going to get nowhere in solving our worldwide dilemma together.
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A Prayer for the Winning of the World Series over at Telling Secrets (by Dylan Breuer)
O God, who in thy mercy didst ordain that the desert Rock be cleft in twain to provide refreshment for thy chosen people: We give thanks to thee for the victory granted once more to thy chosen people by thine own hand. Deliver us thy people from overweening pride in the triumph won by the power of thy Spirit shewn in the power of the bats of thy humble servants the Red Sox; teach us to see thine own Arm in the mighty arcs of thy servants' arms against the Rocks of Colorado; and pour out the Scarlet flames of thy Holy Spirit upon us, that we may evermore rejoice in thy triumph over thine enemies, who by thine own grace may yet be won to the righteous cause of the Red Sox and Patriot nation; all this we pray through Christ, our clean-up hitter in the eschatological match against all powers that oppress in contests of humanity, our Manager and Baseline Coach, and our Lord. Amen.
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Over at From Glory to Glory, one of my favorite priests on the planet, Michael Hopkins has TWO not-to-miss sermons:
"A Safe Haven for the Unacceptable:" Let us find ways to say to those who believe the church would find them unacceptable: you are not far from the kingdom of God.
and
"The Gospel of Encouragement:" Faith in God is not about being a sunbeam for Jesus it is being Jesus’ companions in a resistance movement, resistance to all the crap out there (and in here and even in my own heart) that would rob us of our dignity and our acceptance by the one who made us and sets us free in spite of everything.
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8 comments:
Hm. She claims to be a Red Sox fan? From her blog:
Live from The Fenway Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts, it's Game One of the World Series.
Now, I was born 20 miles from Fenway. I saw my first baseball game there. Heck, I saw my first football game there (Boston Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills, in the AFL days). I lived there for years. My daughter lives there still.
I never, ever, heard anyone call it Fenway Stadium, by word or print. It's "Fenway", or "Fenway Park" (written) or "Fenway Pahhk" (verbal). "Fenway Stadium"? Hm. Let's check those Red Sox Nation credentials.
Love the prayer, though. I may have to write one of my own.
ron ... treat her gently. She's a transplant from the west coast
Dear Rev. Russell:
Ironically, my daughter also lives in Boston and stayed after graduating from Berklee College of Music last year.
She loves Boston. And my daughter who never cared a whit about baseball, wouldn't go to a Tigers game if I promised her a new dress called last year and we had the following conversation:
Daughter: "Dad, can you believe that Johnny Damon signed with the Yankees?"
Me: "Who is Johnny Damon?"
Daughter: "A traitor worse than Benedict Arnold for going to the Yankees from the Red Sox."
Me: "This is a baseball angst you're experiencing?"
Daughter: "I could live with the decision if he had chosen any other team than the Yankees."
Me: "Where is my daughter and what have you done with her?"
Must be something in the "Dirty Water" that affects normally sane people.
A sinner saved by God's Grace.
Jim from Michigan.
Well, then, we'll let it go. Gotta give her some time to learn.
The Boston Red Sox are not a baseball team. They are a cult that plays baseball. I was born to it, but it infects anyone who moves inside the borders of Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the northern half of Connecticut. The southern half often gives their allegiance to the ... Yankees. I expect that may change in upcoming years, though.
People who move to the area temporarily sometimes escape infection, especially if they have a long-standing allegiance to some other club. But anyone under the age of 20 who moves to inside of Route 128 has no hope of escaping. You will see the result if you go see the Red Sox play on the road. It's not unusual to see literally thousands of Red Sox fans in foreign stadiums. This year the Red Sox played a series of 4 games in Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field against the White Sox. The announcers (one of whom played for the Red Sox at one time) during the game noted that the place sounded like a home game for the Red Sox, and the players volunteered the same comment after the game. It's because of the large number of kids who go to college in New England and then move all over the country.
Susan, if you count yourself a baseball fan, someday you need to get a few bucks (hah!) together and pay what it takes to see the Red Sox play at Fenway, especially against the Yankees. Every Yankee game, regardless of the standings, is like a World Series game. In fact, having been to a couple of Yankees games recently and having watched the World Series, I think it actually might be more intense.
Jim, you'll know when your daughter has truly gone over the edge when she refuses to speak the man's name and refuses to call the Yankees by their proper name ("Spankees" is popular).
ron -- I'll see you and raise you the Giants at Dodger Stadium ... where those of us with LONG memories still remember the Juan Marichal/Johnny Roseboro feud!
As for "counting myself a baseball fan" I count back to watching Sandy Koufax pitch his perfect game against the Cubs in 1965.
Dear Rev. Russell:
You have stirred another long lost "Dodger" memory for me.
In 1957-58, I received a crude transistor radio with an ear piece for Christmas. While my parents saw the radio as a music item, I knew that when spring came I would use it to defy my parents and listen to Dodger games well after my bedtime, concealing the radio under my pillow.
In the following years, I remember stifling cries of joy when Maury Wills set records stealing bases and, as you mentioned, the wonderful pitching performances of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale (who the rest of the league hated because of his 'head-hunting).
Vin Scully, to me, had the most beautiful voice I ever heard. Scully made me love baseball, but even more he made me love and care about the Dodgers. A mother's bedtime story couldn't be more comforting than Scully's call of the game.
Larry Sherry, Ron Peronowski (sp?) Junior Gilliam, Duke Snider, Wally Moon (in the Coliseum days) and so, so many more great players.
I lived for baseball. I saved every dollar so I could buy a cheap bleacher seat if I could hitch a ride with a friend or con the car off my Dad.
I may now root for the Detroit Tigers, but my heart is still in the National League with my beloved Los Angeles Dodgers.
Baseball has lost a lot of its luster, blame it on big contracts and too many player moves, but if it wants to survive it needs to find a way to make kids want to risk being grounded for listening to the games late into the night.
Don't know how we got detoured into baseball, but thanks.
A sinner saved by God's Grace.
Jim from Michigan
Giants at Dodger Stadium? I confess I never have followed the National League much, so I'm no judge. There's a history of a feud between the two teams, I take it. Tell me more.
The Red Sox/Yankees thing has been so red hot not just because of the history, but because for about the last decade both have ended up in the playoffs and have faced each other so many times. Especially in the 2003 ALCS, when the Red Sox went to defeat in 7 games, and the 2004 ALCS, when the Red Sox came back from an 0-3 deficit to take it all.
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