Things are happening in Mt. Airy!

From the "Philadelphia Inquirer"...

Eileen DiFranco sang the hymns, prayed and took Communion as she had done at countless other Catholic Masses.

But yesterday, for the first time, she led the service as an ordained priest - and received a warm reception from hundreds of Catholics and others.

"Nothing is impossible with our God," she told a congregation at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown. "Not even a woman priest."

It has been my pleasure to have conversations with Eileen DiFranco over the past year and she is a delightful woman. How sad it was to blog her name and find some really nasty blogged comments in another site.

The content of the blog included name calling, slander and petty childishness. I understand that the Catholic church does not approve of these actions and that's their right I suppose. But for faithful people to post comments referring to her as a fruitcake granny just made me mad!

Why can't we have civil dialog about these issues?

Frozen Fab Five from the RevGalPals

This week it's all about ice cream!

1. Ice cream: for warm weather only or a year-round food? Is this a joke? Ice cream could never be considered a seasonal food. It's the manna of my people!

2. Favorite flavor? B&R Chocolate andPeanut Butter or Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby.

3. Cake cone, sugar cone, waffle cone, cup? I could care less about the cone. I want the ice cream. Plus while you're goofing with the cone, your ice cream is in danger of melting or falling off. Who needs that kind of anxiety?

4. Childhood ice-cream memory? Going to B&R and having bubble gum ice cream and spitting out all the gum so that I could chew it all at once. Also, my parents got engaged at the Dairy Queen. I'm telling you, ice cream is key to my heritage!

5. Banana splits: discuss. Bananas should mind their own business and stay on the cereal where they belong. Or they should quietly turn brown before being made into banana bread. I do not need them in my ice cream.

Bonus from the RevGal List Maker: Baskin-Robbins used to make ice-cream sodas. During the 18 months I worked there, I think I made about 3 tops. They're no longer on the menu, but you can still order them. Question: What are the ingredients/steps for making an ice cream soda? Tall glass, pour in syrup, add ice cream followed by seltzer.

Cruciform shapes

I was reading P. Softly's blog and she's been looking for cruciform shapes in nature. As an alternate, she posted a lovely photo of a jack-in-the-pulpit trinitarian photo.

It got me to thinking and then surfing for photos. Here are two for her....

The first was a file from an English seed catalog site with info describing the shapes of blossoms... "Cruciform" had this photo as an example.

The second is a "Cruxifix Fish." My old colleague in Illinois had one on his credenza that someone had given him years ago. If you like it, go to Ebay, baby! You can get anything on Ebay!

CPE... glad that's over!

I have some friends doing CPE this summer and all I can say is "Been there! Done that! Donated the shirt to a worthy cause!"

CPE is an important part of the seminary process, but I'm not sure if anyone ever really understands how difficult it really is. For some, the congenitally shy, it means forcing yourself to "bother the sick and dying" when you're pretty sure that they'd rather see "a real pastor" or no pastor at all. For others, the trouble comes with the therapy. They've never been in therapy before and now they aren't sure why anyone would pay $150 an hour for that kind of torture.

I didn't mind the therapy, but I did find it hard to walk into rooms unannounced and unrequested. But it got better with time. And it was great training for the future.

Personally, one of the things that made CPE the hardest for me was a member of my small group who, unbeknownst to any of us, was trying to kick a heroin addiction while doing CPE. Needless to say, he was very moody! He confessed all of this to me on our last day together. Talk about your pastoral dilemmas! Do you share this kind of info with the supervisor? Or take it to the grave as a confidence?

Any great CPE survival stories are most welcome for my friend KS who, when she isn't tapping on hospital doors, finds a few moments to read this blog.

Bearing False Witness

Years ago, my mother made the snappy retort that "It's not bearing false witness, if it's true." We laughed and moved on, but the comment has stayed with me for years.

Luther's Small Catechism says this about the eighth commandment:
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. What does this mean?--Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him (sic), [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

I'm struggling this week. When someone bears false witness against us, what do we do? I try to put the best construction on things. I really do, but this week it's been tough. On the commute home I prayed for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not being more forgiving. For being angry. For feeling slighted.

Don't know what more to say. Just needed to vent, I suppose.

God's Grandeur

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs --
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

-Gerard Manley Hopkins

Friday Five Zzzzzzz....

This week the Rev Gal Pals are thinking about sleep. God knows I could use some!

1. In what kind of environment do you sleep best? I like to have a cold nose and warm toes. I cannot sleep if my feet are cold. I like a pillow under my head and one to hold. (My husband will only snuggle when he's awake. So pillow it is!) I like it fairly dark, but I'm flexible. Pajamas? That's a personal question

2. How much sleep do you need to feel consistently well-rested? 8 to 9 hours How much can you get by on? 7 What are the consequences when you don't get enough? If I go too long with too little I am bound to get first slap happy then cranky followed by weepy.

3. Night owl or morning person? My father is a classic morning person. Totally chipper and checking his email at 6:00am. My mother is a classic night owl watching old movies until 2:00am. Me? I'm a nap person.

I'm probably more my mother's child, I suppose. But I really like getting plenty of sleep. I hate being tired. So by 11:00pm, it's off to bed for me.

4. Favorite cure for insomnia Prescription drugs or sex.

5. To snooze or not to snooze? Why or why not? Snooze when you can! Sleep when the baby sleeps! Naps are a gift from God!

Personal or Professional?

I had to make a difficult decision this week at work. It was a professional decision, but like most difficult professional choices, it has personal ramifications. I prayed about my choices. I consulted my superiors and ultimately I made what I think was the best decision.

But it was painful.

Working for the church means that people often think that we must make our professional decisions with a different set of rules. But really, that doesn't make sense to me. If I were a banker or a lawyer or a carpenter- I would make my decisions in the same way I do now. My choices are influenced greatly by my faith, but so are the decisions of millions of other faithful people. Just because the church doesn't sign their paychecks doesn't mean that they aren't using the same guidelines that I use.

If church institutions are going to remain viable, we have to make wise choices. Good professional choices.

There will be an ache inside me for quite a while, I know. But I pray that I made the right choice and if I was wrong, that forgiveness is not an elusive thing.

Bishop and Lady!

Today I spent an inordinate amount of time driving from Philadelphia to Worcester, Mass. Somewhere along the way- I can't tell you where- I saw a huge billboard that said, "The Cathedral is Coming!" Even at 65 miles an hour, it caught my attention. I can't tell you the denomination or when the cathedral is coming, but I can tell you that it is being run by Bishop... and his wife Lady... I was fascinated! I never thought of a Bishop's spouse having such an interesting title. Clearly this was not a Lutheran billboard. There's no message in all of this. Just found it interesting. By the way, Lady "Fill in the Blank" had big hair, a healthy dose of make up and quite a bit of shiny stuff in her wardrobe. Hmmm.....

Barbie Doll Pink

I got tired of my blog template. So, in honor of summer and painting your toenails- here's to Barbie Doll Pink!

Personally, I never had a Barbie doll. I had her younger cousin Francie. Francie unlike Skipper did not have completely flat feet. Francie was able to wear a low heel. Nothing too stiletto, though. After all, that was Barb's area! Francie also had less make up and brown hair. She was more demure, less sexy. A basic B cup kind of babe.

I have wondered on occasion about why I had Francie instead of Barbie. There's probably no real reason. And Francie got to date GI Joe as often as the next girl. She had plenty of swinging clothes to wear and she had more than enough fun! But she wasn't the star that Barbie was!

Oh well, it could have worked out worse- she could have been named Midge!

Frivay Five: Summer Blockbuster Edition

Reverendmother from the RevGalPals offered up this week's inspired by the various summer films currently in the theaters or soon to be released.

1. If you were a mutant, what ability would you like to have? Instant transport. More like I Dream of Jeannie than a member of the Xmen.

2. Tell us about a memorable road trip you've experienced. On the way back from my parents' 25th anniversary celebration, my college roomie and I had the trip from Hell. First, she totally froze up the engine on a side trip to Minneapolis. The whole block had to be replaced. Mechanics did not put a rebuilt engine in- just a spare one that happened to be lying around. Second, after picking me up in Chicago we headed west. In Dubuque the "new" engine died and we were stranged on a Sunday afternoon. My cousin drove up from the quad cities we had the car towed to a dealership in Dubuque and we waited. The timing belt was shot. Threee, we got as far as Omaha. The next morning we started up the car and the engine caught on fire. Gas leaking from the various little tubes that had dried up in Minnesota and had not been replaced. With no money we finagled another night in the motel and roomie's brother drove out from Denver to fix the car. We had to get money wired to us from roomie's parents who were on vacation at the time. And this is the short version of the story.

3. Do you enjoy solving riddles and working on puzzles? I love crosswords!

4. Take two of your phobias and combine them to make a campy horror/disaster flick. Falling and undercooked pork. What would it be called? Trychanosis at 10,000 Feet

5. Just how batsh*t crazy is Tom Cruise, anyway? He is totally nuts. I used to really like Katie Holmes, but I am worried about the girl. Tom may be somewhat babe-a-licious, but his elevator buttons are jammed on the fifth floor.

The Empty Tomb by He Qi

My new wallpaper on my work pc. Ooh I love this picture!

Hi Mom!

My mother is reading my blog! And she is totally erudite, so I really think she should make comments when the spirit moves her. So Mom, it's really easy. Even Little Sister #1 has made comments, don't you know! You just click on the "comments" button and follow the directions. It's all quite anonymous and you can be wickedly funny. So this is your personalized challenge. ;-)

Being Lutheran - Is it living in the gray areas or on the razor's edge?

My dear friend the Lutheran Zephyr asked a question a while back about being Lutheran. What does it mean? The first thing that came to mind is that being Lutheran means learning to live with the gray areas. And I suppose I should clarify by saying that I think this is part of being an ELCA Lutheran but not necessarily a part of being WELS for example. The ELCA is not always one to give black and white answers and I like that. Some examples...

On the topic of abortion, the social statement of the church states that whatever decision a woman or couple may make, there will be grief and a need for healing. I appreciate the wisdom in all of that. There's more elbow room to struggle with the impact of this choice pastorally and faithfully.

On the topic of Biblical inerrancy, the ELCA constitution says that we believe all scripture to be the inspired word of God. This means that I have had parishioners with a wide variety of beliefs about inerrancy and all of them could be comfortable with the constitution of their church.

Some people don't like when things get fuzzy or gray. But I'm not sure that this is about the gray areas as much as it is about living on the razor's edge.

The Razor's Edge is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. In the 1984 film of the novel, the main character, played interestingly enough by Bill Murray, is told "The path to salvation is narrow and is difficult to walk as a razor's edge." What I mean by all of this is that as a Lutheran, I am encouraged even challenged to struggle with what it means to live a life of faith. I am not lead around by the nose. Instead I am called to carefully think and pray and discuss the issues of the day.

Over and under and around all of this are some concrete things. Sola Fide. Sola Scriptura. Sola Gracia. Simul Justus et Pecatur! Faith, Scripture, Grace. I'm a saint and sinner all rolled up into one. I am justified and I am being sanctified.

This I Believe

This is a late addition to the RevGalPal's Friday Five Meme. Five things that I believe...

1. That being a Christian is a lot like making lefse. It's a very simple recipe but it's hard work to get it right. For those unfamiliar with lefse, it's Norwegian flat bread. You make it with leftover mashed potatoes, cream and flour. Very simple recipe. My mother makes great lefse. Mine, not so good. I complained because she had told me it was easy to make. "No," she said. "It's very simple, but it takes a lot of practice and hard work to make good lefse." I believe being a Christian is simple, but the act of living a faithful life takes lots of practice and hard work.

2. Children should go home from church having these things in their pockts: a) God loves them; b) the people at church love them; 3) church is a nice place to be; 4) there are valuable tools for living to be found at church. "Children" should not be limited to those under 21 years of age.

3. Chocolate, bread with real butter and red meat are not bad for you. They are spiritually sustaining.

4. Books should never be thrown away.

5. The Bible is not about how things happen/ed. It's about who and why. Most religious arguments seem to center on the how.

Where did May go?

Okay, it's been a month and I haven't blogged. What are my reaons/excuses/explanations? In no particular order...

The hubby and I have spent a lot of time working on our financial plan, such as it is. We're trying to spend less and save more. And for the first time in our fifteen year marriage we are actually having weekly budget meetings.

Sodachick has had a lot of homework lately. I now know a lot more about genetics, the Civil War, and irregular French verbs. Actually I probably knew it all before, but I forgot.

I spent 18 days in a row at work. This is not unusual for many of us, but it does take up one's time.

And finally, I am addicted to "Fish Tycoon" which is a simulated game that involves hatching, doping, mating and selling imaginary fish. Sodachick and I have five tanks going and at any given time the fish are going belly up or we're making bundles on their prolific mating patterns. Clearly I need to get more of a life.

Pink Shoes and Softly- thanks for checking on me! Zephyr- let's do lunch when you're back in town.

Next time I want scratch n' sniff!

Create your own message at BlingyBlob.com

I guess the gray has to go!

Your Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind. You pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

My Favorite Ring

I was explaining blogging recently and advocating the use of a ring. My favorite ring! And here's why... Any group that has a tshirt like this is the kind of group I want to join.

So if you're looking for a group of very interesting people. Check out RevGalBlogPals. The link is at the bottom of this page or to your right.

Fab Five Favorites

The Rev Gal Pals meme for the week.... On this particular day, these are my favorites:

1. Fruit - Raspberries
2. Song - Can't think of one right now. Sodachick keeps playing, "You've had a bad day" really loudly around the house.
3. Beverage - Diet Coke with a real lime or a Tanqueray Martini on the rocks, dry with four olives.
4. Shoes - Birkenstocks
5. Flower - Tulips