I am an idiot

 Church was great! The head of the Torrington Soup Kitchen was our speaker. Michael and I tried to find a gospel hymn having to do with 'eating' and the best we came up with was "Let us break bread together on our knees", which was fine.

Everybody--including our guest--received communion. That doesn't happen often--there are always a few who don't come forward.

But that has nothing to do with why I'm an idiot.

I went to the grocery store to get small crossants (excuse my spelling--I'm a spelling idiot too). I got them at Stop and Shop, where they are available--not at Big Y where I go always. Bern and I go to different stores!

When I came out I left my cane on my shopping cart and didn't realize it until I was home and reached for it. I don't need it much, which is why I forgot it!

So, I raced back and lo and behold, the cart and cane were where I left them.

I was as over-joyed as an idiot like me can be....

My tooth

So, I have this tooth in a plastic thing that fits over 6 or 7 teeth and holds the tooth in the space where I will--some day....--get an implant.

I dropped it in the kitchen sink one day and couldn't get it out of the garbage disposal.

Bern got it out.

Then today I dropped it in our downstairs bathroom, which is tiny, but it went behind the toilet and I couldn't get it.

Bern got it for me.

I have a tooth I wouldn't have twice over if it wasn't for Bern.

Could she be the tooth fairy???

 

Appreciating Life

 Today I was walking downstairs from my office and I told myself, "really look at what you're seeing".

All over our house, where we have lived for over three decades, there are things that give me joy.

*pictures Bern created for me

*photos of grandchildren

*pictures of both our children't marriages (which I preformed!)

*nick-nacks that go back years

*furniture that has held me for decades

*Books I read and grew from years ago

*plates from places in West Virginia where we both grew up

*plants I don't know the names of but which Bern lovingly cultivates

*rugs from the past

*a bench from my childhood

I could go on and on and then go outside and tell you about the wonders of nature on our property, but I'll stop there.

Here's what to do: decide to take a stroll around your home or your neighborhood and actively appreciate what life gives you.

It's well worth a try....

Bible Study

 After a long time off, we started Bible Study again today at Trinity.

We're going to be reading the Gnostic Gospels so I should probably write "Bible" Study, since those writings aren't in the New Testament.

But some of them were written at the same time as the rest of the New Testament but were either over-looked or rejected by the early church.

They were found in 1945 buried in Egypt in a place called (help my spelling, Lord!) Nag Hammadi.

They have lots in common with the 4 gospels, but lots that is different.

Some of them bear the names of women! Possibly why those were outlawed.

Luckily someone saved them and hid them so we can read them.

I look forward to it in many ways....

Talking to Owls

 When I go out on our back deck (if Bern isn't there to talk to) I talk to Owls.

They aren't real owls. They are plastic and supposed to scare away something--squirrels? chipmunks? who knows?.

One has been on our deck for years. The other used to be down at the end of the back yard with wings and on a pole. The wings fell off and she fell off the pole so now she is in a huge pot with him on our deck.

I assigned them gender. The wingless one is a girl named Olivia and the sitting one is a male named Oliver.

Clever names, huh?

I don't talk about serious things with them--the weather, the time of day and time of year. Stuff like that.

I don't talk to real owls, though I saw one in one of the trees on our side yard and few weeks ago and tried to strike up a conversation.

None of the owls--plastic or real--talk back.

I could be talking to nothing, just to hear my voice.

But I prefer talking to owls.

Try it out. You'll see what I mean.

A good night's sleep

 I haven't been sleeping well for a few weeks.

Saturday I probably slept 4 1/2 hours and then went to church.

But Sunday, I had a good night's sleep!

I went to sleep before Bern and only work up once--4:20 a.m.--but dozed right back off.

Sleep really matters.

It changes the whole next day.

Funny thing, it's only 3 p.m. and I'm a tad sleepy.

Just longing for last night.

Sleep well, my friends, sleep well....

Healing

 The Healing Service after church today went well.

Almost everyone came up for anointing and prayers for healing.

Some shared a particular issue and others just wanted general healing..

It went so well we may do it a Sunday a month.

Healing is something we all need.

Usually we know it, but sometimes not.

Long for healing and have faith it will come.

Dog Dream

 I had a dream last night about our dog.

A young couple came by the house, he was dark and she was blond and both were tall. They told us they were new to the neighborhood and had built a 'dog room' in their house.

They wanted to know if they could take Brigit to see the 'dog room'--whatever that was.

Bern said they could, without asking me.

They came back and said Brigit really liked the 'dog room'.

The next day they came back and asked if Brigit could spend the night with them.

Before Bern could answer I asked, "where will she sleep?'

They said, 'the dog room'.

'And where will you sleep?' I said.

"Our room," they answered together.

I told them 'no', that Brigit sleeps in our bed and I never wanted to see them again.

Then I woke up.

I told Brigit about the dream, but she didn't seem to understand.

Dogs....

A.I. in my computer?

 I've noticed that things I write about in emails suddenly show up on my computer when I go to look at news and things.

Obviously, I'm an Episcopalian, but every time I go to Microsoft Edge I get ads to buy Episcopal stuff.

Plus, I mentioned the Gospel of Phillip (from the Gnostic Gospels) in an email and suddenly there are ads to buy copies of Phillip and the Gnostics on M. Edge.

I hate and fear A.I.--I think it will make us dumber (several studies frorm MIT prove that) and it will take over our lives in ways we're not aware of...like our computers.

Maybe I'm just being anxious, but I don't think so.

Our normal human intellegance gets us in enough trouble (like this: I don't think I spelled the 4th word in this sentence correctly!).

And think of the trouble our votes in the last presidential election got us involved with!

But AI will get us in even more.

Believe me, AI does not have our best interests in it's 'artificial' mind....

Healing

This Sunday I want to preach about healing.

In the gospel for the day, Jesus raises a woman from the dead--but before than, another woman, who is seriously ill, touches the hem of his garment and is healed.

I think a lot about healing.

I pray for those (including me) who need to be healed.

I may even offer prayers for healing and anointment with oil after church for any who want it.

I long for things in life to find God's healing.

Especially our beloved country turned inside-out by the oligarch who is president.

But also for the healing of those I love--their relationships and their bodies and their minds.

Healing is God's greatest gift to us.

Lean into God's healing power.

Long to be healed.

 

 

Did I not post yesterdsy?

Monday is a blur to me. I don't know why.

I went to the library and got great books, including a David Rosenfelt mystery that is a prequel to all his others. Yea!

I also got Bern Winston Gold and me Marlboro Red. Yes, we both smoke (Bern more than me). Get over it and have a cig....

I slept until 9:07 a.m. this morning and skipped breakfast for coffee and my Tuesday group chat.

We talked about Baptism a lot.

M. told them how I always invited everyone--I mean EVERYONE--to receive communion.

Then I told them of the half-dozen or more folks who came to me, after receiving communion, to ask to be baptized.

The font leads to the altar, but the altar can lead to the font.

Those of some of the moments I remember most in my 21 years at St. John's in Waterbury.

We also talked about our own baptisms.

I will spare you that for now--but maybe in a day or two....

Great Tuesday to you!

 

Church today...

..went well. Great Trinity hymns and a Mozart postlude that made it sound like Michael had three hands!

Heat on in the car all the way there!

Tomorrow is June and the last few days felt like March.

When is Spring coming to Connecticut?

We'll probably go straight to summer.

Several people told me stories about how my sermon on the Trinity applied to their lives.

That kind of stuff makes 2 years at Harvard Divinity, 2 years at Virginia Seminary and a year at Hartford Seminary worth it.

3 degrees (MTS, MDiv and Dr of Ministry) don't mean much if you can't touch peoples lives in your words.

I must admit, though I never dreamed of being an Episcopal priest, I'm glad I am.

That makes the day worthwhile.

 

The Holy (and 'wholly' mysterious) Trinity

 Sunday is Trinity Sunday.

I dread it every year!

Even though the 'doctrine of the Trinity' is something we have to embrace to be Christian, I find it hard to understand.

(That's not unusual--I find lots of stuff about the Christian faith to be difficult to understand....Even though I'm an Episcopal Priest!)

3 in 1 and 1 in 3 isn't math that I comprehend.

I try in my sermon to clear things up--not well, by the way!

You are one person to your family, another person to  your friends and yet another person to strangers.

Not good enough.

Your mother brought you into being, protected you from harm and gave you guidance on how to be an adult.

3 in 1 and 1 in 3.

Still not enough for me.

But what the hell! Why understand it, just rejoice in it!

Our God is OUR GOD!

That should be enough....

Happy Trinity Sunday....

Ouch!!!

 I went to the peradontist today (that's probably not how to spell it) and he cut into my gum, inserted something and gave me two stitches. 

I feel like some George Floyd or some boxer hit me in the mouth.

As the numbing wears off, it hurts more.

Plus, it's still bleeding a bit.

He told me to put tea bags, wet, onto the wound. I've been doing that though I had to go to Big Y to get tea bags--we don't have any.

Now, to my surprise, my regular dentist will put the implant in.

This has taken 6 months, at least and will be a few weeks more.

I've left our my dental thing that puts a tooth in the hole (# 8 if you're a dentist).

But he told me it used to take over a year.

Why did I decide to do this in the first place?

I don't remember.

His office is on Chapel Street in New Haven. We lived there for 4 years--on that street next to St. Paul's Church, where I was Rector.

But that was over 30 years ago and I didn't have any idea where I was when driving there.

We forget things, I know, but New Haven looked like Pluto to me today.

Getting old is not a ton of fun....

 

A bit off center

 Memorial Day felt like Sunday so I didn't realize it was Tuesday when I got up at 9 a.m.!

9 a.m.--do you sleep that late? I don't either. Memorial Day and being with 40 people at the birthday party wore me out.

So, I forgot my face-time with 'the boys' as Bern calls them--accurately I might add. No women on the screen.

Tried to get on and was told there was a problem.

Alas and alack!

No Tuesday morning talk with my brother-in-law, the only non-Episcopalian on the call (he's a RC priest) or any of the others.

There would have been talk about the Clergy Conference last week--which I didn't attend.

Good grief, I'm an old man, I don't need to be around a bunch of priests for two days!

So, today has slipped away on me. But I'm making dinner as I do on Tuesday--a big salad with lots of stuff on it.

That, at least, I'll get done today....

Memorial Day

 Today's the day to honor those who fought in wars to keep our country free.

My father (God rest his soul) was in General Patton's army in WW2. He lived through it and I was born when he came home.

He never talked about his years of service. He must of saw things that troubled him deeply.

Our 'president' is having people fight on the White House lawn today.

Memorial Day is a day of peace not fighting.

We're going to an old friend's birthday party today.

That seems an appropriate way to honor those who fought in horrible wars for our freedom.

On line I saw our 'president' standing around flags. One had 48 stars instead of 50 and the other had 11 stripes instead of 13.

Is there no one around him that could see those mistakes and help him avoid them?

I'm afraid not.

Very afraid not....

Have a great day and thank God for those who risked and those who lost their lives to keep us free.

My Dumb Phone

 I used to have a 'smart' phone--but it was smarter than me and I never figured out how to use it very well.

So, I left it behind and got a flip-phone, which no one could consider smart in any way.

I believe I could enable it to receive messages, but I've never tried. All I can do is call and be called. If I don't answer, the number that called me comes up and I can call back or not.

Bern does all sorts of stuff with her 'smart' phone. She reads emails, goes on line to look stuff up and even has whatever they call it when you talk to someone and you can see each other.

I much prefer my dumb phone.

I'd even like to be 'phone-less' (which you might call 'phone-ey') but I don't discard my flip.

About once a month I get a call that I am glad to get.

All the other times it's someone trying to get money or make me enroll in something.

When I answer those calls I say, "you're a recording...let me get my recorded voice to talk with you" and they hang up.

A couple even answer, 'there might be something wrong with my mike but I'm a real person."

And I say, "Real Person, whats 5 times 7?"

And they hang up.

That may make me 'dumb' enough to deserve a 'dumb phone'....

dithyramb

 That's actually a word.

"Dithyramb" means 'a wild hymn to the god/godess of wine'.

I sent it as a joke to some folks from the church I serve.

I included the musician.

I thought I'd ask him for a 'wild hymn' for next Sunday.

Dumb thing I do.

I do do dumb things.

Alas and alack.

Betwixth and between.

Yea and Nay.

Stuff like that.

Sing a dithyramb and have a glass of wine....

I hate A.I.!

 Everything I hear about Artificial Intellegence makes me a little crazy.

It seems to be creeping into our lives in ways we don't even know.

For all you know A.I. could be writing this blog!

Not beyond it's capability.

That's the problem--nothing seems beyond it's capability.

We should all be worried.

I'm starting the SHUT DOWN A.I. movement.

Want to join.

I hate A.I.!

Totally.

What's wrong with Human Intellegence?

Except that H.I. created A.I.

God help us!

Really.....

Could we be so lucky?

Much is being made of our President's health--physical and mental.

Some are suggesting he could be removed from office under the Constitution.

I hesitate to wish illness on anyone--but I wouldn't want him to die, just get so sick he had to go to some expensive nursing home in Florida and live to hear all about what people have to say about his time in office.

That's mean, I know. But being a little mean doesn't ruin our democracy--he might!

Just wishin' and hopin'....