I arise today in the company of the Trinity,
Father, Spirit and Son.
I arise today
Father, Spirit and Son.
I arise today
A postulant for priesthood in The Episcopal Church and on the path to becoming Parson Carson, I will soon be a seminarian at the Sewanee School of Theology! This is my blog for the ponderings of life, poetry, prayers, travel adventures, humor, space goodness, puns, and photos!
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
THE WHISKEYPALIAN
Good evening internets,
Welcome to The Adventures of a Whiskeypalian!
Welcome to the new name of my blog.
But wait, what is a whiskeypalian, you ask? (It's also spelled whiskypalian and whiskapalian....heck, even whiskopalian! For those who like spelling debates, check it out here - Whisky or Whiskey or even see it here in a Grammarist post!)
"Where you find four Episcopalians, you're sure to find a fifth..."
Fine, fine.....a whiskeypalian?
It's a term, said among some Episcopalians themselves, used rather humorously to refer to the fact that many Episcopalians don't shy away from having a drink (or two or three) every now and then. It holds that our denomination doesn't prohibit the consumption of alcohol among its members or clergy, within reasonable limits and consequences. Here's a "Christianease" definition. In fact, similar to groups of choir directors at conventions, groups of X, Y, or Z, I'd venture to say that terms like it apply to a fair amount of folks. I've heard it all my life and while it might upset some, it doesn't upset me. In fact, I love it!
I am a whiskeypalian! I chose the version of spelling that contains the "e" so I can say it is for Episcopalian :-)
Oooooooh.....consider this: whiskey in your coffee!
(YESSSSSS! Irish coffee)
It makes me love Episcopalianism even more. We can laugh at ourselves when being teased! Here's a great post "Ten Reasons to be a Whiskeypalian" by The Observer in Texas at the blog "Observations from the Side Aisle"
While I'm actually more of a coffeepalian, I definitely enjoy a good whiskey sour or Jamison on the rocks every now and then. I've been thinking quite a bit the past two years about the benefits of my "coffee with God" times and realized that I also genuinely like to write, however unrefined my skills. My blog posts are full of ponderings as well as puns. I crave a kaleidoscope of posts, tossing about in a sea of photos. Somehow, this translated into wanting to change my blog name.
It may or may not have popped out of my mouth over an actual glass of whiskey...
Welcome to The Adventures of a Whiskeypalian!
Welcome to the new name of my blog.
But wait, what is a whiskeypalian, you ask? (It's also spelled whiskypalian and whiskapalian....heck, even whiskopalian! For those who like spelling debates, check it out here - Whisky or Whiskey or even see it here in a Grammarist post!)
"Where you find four Episcopalians, you're sure to find a fifth..."
Fine, fine.....a whiskeypalian?
It's a term, said among some Episcopalians themselves, used rather humorously to refer to the fact that many Episcopalians don't shy away from having a drink (or two or three) every now and then. It holds that our denomination doesn't prohibit the consumption of alcohol among its members or clergy, within reasonable limits and consequences. Here's a "Christianease" definition. In fact, similar to groups of choir directors at conventions, groups of X, Y, or Z, I'd venture to say that terms like it apply to a fair amount of folks. I've heard it all my life and while it might upset some, it doesn't upset me. In fact, I love it!
I am a whiskeypalian! I chose the version of spelling that contains the "e" so I can say it is for Episcopalian :-)
Oooooooh.....consider this: whiskey in your coffee!
(YESSSSSS! Irish coffee)
While I'm actually more of a coffeepalian, I definitely enjoy a good whiskey sour or Jamison on the rocks every now and then. I've been thinking quite a bit the past two years about the benefits of my "coffee with God" times and realized that I also genuinely like to write, however unrefined my skills. My blog posts are full of ponderings as well as puns. I crave a kaleidoscope of posts, tossing about in a sea of photos. Somehow, this translated into wanting to change my blog name.
It may or may not have popped out of my mouth over an actual glass of whiskey...
I originally used Carsonia as "Caroline of Carsonia", but have always had some issues with Carson, Iowa and results. I've never been there, but I should, seeing as how we have that connection. I did figure out how out to preserve my old blog so Carsonia is still alive. It gets tons of hits on old posts. Who am I to stop that from happening? ;-)
So anyway, I'm giving this new name a try:
So anyway, I'm giving this new name a try:
"The Adventures of a Whiskeypalian"
I rather like it. Here I shall place the typical Caroline-ramblings, some serious thoughts, VSG life, puns, space jokes, Episcopal prayers, discernment thoughts, and ever so much more. Beware, YOU might want a whiskey after reading! As for me, CHEERS y'all :-)
I rather like it. Here I shall place the typical Caroline-ramblings, some serious thoughts, VSG life, puns, space jokes, Episcopal prayers, discernment thoughts, and ever so much more. Beware, YOU might want a whiskey after reading! As for me, CHEERS y'all :-)
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
Some Earth Day 2015 Thoughts, Prayers, and Links
Earth Day, 2015
This gorgeous photo is entitled Earthrise. Taken by astronaut William Anders in 1968, on the Apollo 8 mission, the first manned mission to orbit the Moon. It is considered "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken" (according to Garen Rowell, photographer). I dearly love this image and for me, it serves as a frequent reminder to check my perspective and to look up at the sky, remembering we are all on a little roundish rock whirling in orbit around an average white star in a vast universe.
Today is Earth Day.
First is the appreciation and then there's the "what are you going to do about it?" question.
At the recent Episcomm (Episcopal Communicators) conference held at The Bishop Claggett Center in Adamstown, Maryland, we were extremely fortunate to be blessed with both the Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori and her husband, Richard Schori. In the presiding bishop's keynote address to us, she mentioned how important it is that we care for our Earth in addition to caring for humanity on it.
She said: "Being able to discern the hand of God in ALL creation is important, essential work!"
"We must be stewards of creation. If not, we won't have a place to continue other good work"
The message: We are stewards of God's creation.
Ok, so what am I personally doing to help care for our Earth? I decided a couple of weeks ago to try and cut my electricity useage. This stemmed from the "Dark Hour" or Earth Hour experiment and I realized when I did it, that I leave lights on all over the apartment. I also went out that weekend and replaced all my old bulbs with the "correct" longer-lasting (really?) ones. I also decided that when my office lights go off during the day, I'll leave them off and use my windows. Less headaches too!
The resources: I began looking at what our church has out there in the way of resources for Earth Day prayers and liturgies as well as resources and while I'm a bit late, here is a little bit of what I found.
- Resources for Environmental Liturgy: found in the Book of Common Prayer, Enriching Our Worship, and The Hymnal 1982, compiled by the Episcopal Diocese of New York
- Episcopal Relief and Development
- Episcopal Relief and Development
- The Climate Change Crisis Forum now available for viewing. Presiding Bishop’s keynote address; 30 Days of Action leads up to Earth Day * Here (via ENS)
- I love this: The PB's message on Climate Change. It's in the form of a bulletin insert
- Episcopal Liturgies for Earth Day
Some prayers that can be used for Earth Day
- Book of Common Prayer
God is the foundation for everything
This God undertakes, God gives.
Such that nothing that is necessary for life is lacking.
Now humankind needs a body that at all times honors and praises God.
This body is supported in every way through the earth.
Thus the earth glorifies the power of God.
-Hildegard of Bingen
Lord, help us to maintain a reverent attitude towards nature, threatened from all sides today, in such a way that we may restore it completely to the condition of brother/sister and to its role of usefulness to all humankind for the glory of God the Creator.
- Franciscan prayer
 |
| Kingfisher bird. Photo taken by Caroline Carson in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, 2014 |
SPACE JOKES, PUNS, and IMAGES
This post is a small collection (republished from my original Carsonia blog) of some favorite silly one-liner space puns and jokes found over time from all around the internetz! There are SO MANY - If you have a favorite not included here, let me know and I'll add it!
:-) ENJOY!
* Einstein developed a theory about space, and it was about time too.
* What is a light year? The same as a regular year, but with less calories
* How does the Solar System hold up its pants? With an asteroid belt
* What do you can an alien with three eyes? An aliiien :-)
* How does the man-in-the-Moon cut his hair? Eclipse it
* Why didn't the Sun go to college? Because he already had a million degrees!
* What kind of music do planets like? Neptunes!
* What does a space turkey say? "Hubble, Hubble"
* You hear about the chef on the space station? He's not much of an astronaut but his food is out of this world!
* A rise in mercury sometimes mars life on earth, how else would nature planet?
* He knew everything about constellations, some might say his knowledge of the night sky was astronomical.
* I thought about studying astronomy for university but I knew I would just be taking up space.
* NASA accepted the wildebeest’s application, and around our planet a brave gnu whirled.
* Those who study the moon are optimists. They look at the bright side.
* Two ladies were discussing the planetarium show they had just seen. One said the show was fantastic. The other agreed but added ‘Most of it was over my head.
* When NASA puts 20 head of cattle into outer space, it will be the first herd shot around the world.
* How do you organize a space party? You PLANET.* Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun. But I have never been able to make out the numbers.
*Did you hear about the blonde that stayed up all night to see wherethe sun went?It finally dawned on her.
:-) ENJOY!
* What is a light year? The same as a regular year, but with less calories
* How does the Solar System hold up its pants? With an asteroid belt
* What do you can an alien with three eyes? An aliiien :-)
* How does the man-in-the-Moon cut his hair? Eclipse it
* Why didn't the Sun go to college? Because he already had a million degrees!
* What kind of music do planets like? Neptunes!
* What does a space turkey say? "Hubble, Hubble"
* You hear about the chef on the space station? He's not much of an astronaut but his food is out of this world!
* A rise in mercury sometimes mars life on earth, how else would nature planet?
* He knew everything about constellations, some might say his knowledge of the night sky was astronomical.
* I thought about studying astronomy for university but I knew I would just be taking up space.
* NASA accepted the wildebeest’s application, and around our planet a brave gnu whirled.
* Those who study the moon are optimists. They look at the bright side.
* Two ladies were discussing the planetarium show they had just seen. One said the show was fantastic. The other agreed but added ‘Most of it was over my head.
* When NASA puts 20 head of cattle into outer space, it will be the first herd shot around the world.
*Did you hear about the blonde that stayed up all night to see wherethe sun went?It finally dawned on her.
* What holds the moon up? Moonbeams.
* Why is an astronaut like a football player? A: They both want touchdowns!
* How do you get a baby astronaut to sleep? You rocket
* What kinds of fish live in space? Starfish
* Scientists have found the center of Jupiter.......contains the letter i
* How many astronomers does it take to change a lightbulb? None, they like the dark
* How far can you see on a clear day? 92,955,807 miles (to the sun)
* Living on Earth may be expensive, but we do get a free trip around the sun every year!
* Where do astronauts keep their sandwiches? In a launch-box
* What did Mars say to Saturn? Give me a ring sometime!
* What kind of stars wear sunglasses? Movie stars
* What did the alien cook for lunch? Unidentified frying objects
* If a meteorite hits a planet, what do we call the ones that miss? Meteowrongs
* How do you organize a space party? You planet
* Why is the Moon bald? He has no 'air
* Why does the Moon go to the bank? To change his quarters
* Why wouldn't you want to give Saturn a bath? It would leave a ring around the tub
* What do you call a crazy spaceman? An astronaut
* Why didn't people like the restaurant on the Moon? Because there was no atmosphere
* Why did the cow go up in the spaceship? To see the Mooooooooooon
* How do you have communion in space if you don't have mass?
* Where does an astronaut park his car? At a parking meteor.
* What channel do asteroids like to watch? The comet-y channel
* How do we know Saturn's been married more than once? Just look at those rings!
* OMG They have discovered WATER ON MARS http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050401.html
* When do astronauts have lunch? At launch time.
* I heard there's a new restaurant on the Moon, but it lacks atmosphere
* Why did the sun go to school? To get brighter
* What is a spaceman's favorite candy bar? A Mars bar
* What do planets like to read? Comet books
* How does a meteor shower? With Comet.
* What do they use when they run out of drinking cups in space? The Big Dipper
* What is the center of gravity? The letter v
* Are the Moon and the Earth good friends? Yep, they've been going around together for yrs
* What do astronauts put on their toast? Space jam
* If athletes get athletes foot, then what do astronauts get? Missile toe.
* What hot drink do aliens enjoy? gravi-tea
* I'm reading a book about anti-gravity.....it's impossible to put down!
* How do astronauts add more protein to their diets? They make it meteor.
* I would go to space, but the cost is astronomical!
* One morning I got up around 5:00 a.m. and wondered "Where did the sun go?" and then it dawned on me.
* How can you tell when the Moon has had enough to eat? When it's full
* How do you ride a horse in space? Use a saddle-lite
* What kinds of plates do they use in outer space? Flying saucers
* What kinds of music do planets sing? Neptunes
* An astronaut wrote about flying to the moon twice. It was double-spaced.
* Cassini spacecraft took pictures of Saturn and Earth. It was the best of both worlds.
* When astronauts die, the local paper runs an orbituary.
* Two dating astronauts met up for a launch date.
* An astronaut broke the law of gravity and got a suspended sentence
* An astronaut who fails on a weightlessness experiment must be aware of the gravity of the situation.
* Becoming a space pilot requires a good altitude
* Is that the Dog star? You can be Sirius!
* The satellite went into orbit on January 1st, causing a New Year's revolution
* Why is the Moon up so late these days? Don't worry, he's just going through a phase.
* Scientists allow us to see the sun in a different light
* Sitting in the sun can make you well-red
I'm sure I'll be adding to this list! :-)
* What kinds of fish live in space? Starfish
* Scientists have found the center of Jupiter.......contains the letter i
* How many astronomers does it take to change a lightbulb? None, they like the dark
* How far can you see on a clear day? 92,955,807 miles (to the sun)
* Where do astronauts keep their sandwiches? In a launch-box
* What did Mars say to Saturn? Give me a ring sometime!
* What kind of stars wear sunglasses? Movie stars
* What did the alien cook for lunch? Unidentified frying objects
* If a meteorite hits a planet, what do we call the ones that miss? Meteowrongs
* How do you organize a space party? You planet
* Why is the Moon bald? He has no 'air
* Why wouldn't you want to give Saturn a bath? It would leave a ring around the tub
* What do you call a crazy spaceman? An astronaut
* Why didn't people like the restaurant on the Moon? Because there was no atmosphere
* Why did the cow go up in the spaceship? To see the Mooooooooooon
* How do you have communion in space if you don't have mass?
* Where does an astronaut park his car? At a parking meteor.
* What channel do asteroids like to watch? The comet-y channel
* How do we know Saturn's been married more than once? Just look at those rings!
* OMG They have discovered WATER ON MARS http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050401.html
* I heard there's a new restaurant on the Moon, but it lacks atmosphere
* Why did the sun go to school? To get brighter
* What is a spaceman's favorite candy bar? A Mars bar
* What do planets like to read? Comet books
* How does a meteor shower? With Comet.
* What is the center of gravity? The letter v
* Are the Moon and the Earth good friends? Yep, they've been going around together for yrs
* What do astronauts put on their toast? Space jam
* If athletes get athletes foot, then what do astronauts get? Missile toe.
* I'm reading a book about anti-gravity.....it's impossible to put down!
* How do astronauts add more protein to their diets? They make it meteor.
* I would go to space, but the cost is astronomical!
* One morning I got up around 5:00 a.m. and wondered "Where did the sun go?" and then it dawned on me.
* How do you ride a horse in space? Use a saddle-lite
* What kinds of plates do they use in outer space? Flying saucers
* What kinds of music do planets sing? Neptunes
* An astronaut wrote about flying to the moon twice. It was double-spaced.
* When astronauts die, the local paper runs an orbituary.
* Two dating astronauts met up for a launch date.
* An astronaut broke the law of gravity and got a suspended sentence
* An astronaut who fails on a weightlessness experiment must be aware of the gravity of the situation.
* Is that the Dog star? You can be Sirius!
* The satellite went into orbit on January 1st, causing a New Year's revolution
* Why is the Moon up so late these days? Don't worry, he's just going through a phase.
* Scientists allow us to see the sun in a different light
* Sitting in the sun can make you well-red
I'm sure I'll be adding to this list! :-)
Thursday, April 2, 2015
VSG Update - Almost Two Years Out from Surgery and Links
I thought that it was high time I write about my VSG surgery again! I am including links to all of my previous blog posts at the end of this post in case anyone would like to read them. I've been contacted several times over the past two years to talk about my story or to chat with friends who are considering having weight loss surgery so I feel like my previous blog posts were actually helpful to some people! Yay! That was my goal and if I can help even ONE person with any aspect of examining the pros and cons of weight loss journey and/or surgery, I'm happy I can do that!
FRUSTRATIONS
- I still have to watch my weight. I knew that I would and the surgery is a tool to help you and a LIFE CHANGE. I knew that too. Sometimes though, I get mad that I still have to watch the scale, but overall, I watch it fewer times and I eat healthier so I did change my lifestyle.
- Somehow, my eyes are STILL bigger (now much bigger) than my stomach. I still catch myself eating rapidly and sometimes eating too much. I've not thrown up, not even once, from eating, since my surgery. Most people throw up often, at least I think they might, if they overeat. When I know I've eaten too much, I hiccup a bit, feel tight in my esophagus, and feel kind of bad. Bad enough to not eat any more, but I do not feel nauseous. Well, I take that back. Twice in two years, I did feel nauseous from eating one bite too many, but I didn't push it and within minutes that went away.
- I have rediscovered "slider foods" such as chips, cake, and crackers. This is not awful, but isn't too good either because they go down TOO EASY and I can eat a lot more than I originally intended if I'm not careful.
- Drinking while eating: I still can't do this well and technically, most folks are told that you are not supposed to. If I go out after rehearsal and want to have a drink, I drink most of it BEFORE eating some of my meal and I just have to resolve to take home most of my meal.
GOOD THINGS
- I'm a size 14 which is what I was at the end of high school. I have feeling I could be a 10 or 12, and maybe I'll want to be a 12 at some point, BUT I'M HAPPY so whatever.
- clothes are cooler and more fun to wear
- This is both good and bad......I've noticed that some of my acquaintances / friends, speak to me more, and listen more attentively to me. New people I meet, as long as they don't have the southern "Good ole' boy" syndrome, tend to look me in the eye and actually treat me like I'm present. In the past, I had many MANY incidents of (mostly men) being introduced to me and then immediately carrying on conversation with the person next to me as if I was not there. Damn shame, idiots.
- I CAN have any foods I want and so I do :-) Many folks are not able to eat certain foods.
- My hair has been able to hold curl since the surgery. It began to grow back from the hair loss I experienced so I still have many lengths overall, but it's a lot curlier!
- I don't think about my surgery or weight loss very much. I'm me and have settled into my new way of eating and I like it!
Here are PAST BLOG POSTS on my VSG SURGERY. I hope that some of these will help people. If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me. It can be a pretty lonely place when you're researching WLS and aren't sure of many things!
1. Background, http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-weight-loss-surgery-journey-part-i.html
2. VSG Journey Part II - Insurance and Going for it! http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-part-ii-going-for-itand.html
3. VSG Journey Part III - Types of Bariatric Surgery - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-part-iii-types-of-bariatric.html
4. Part IV, Surgery Scheduled http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-iv-surgery-scheduled.html
5. My Choice for VSG Surgery: Endobariatric - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-choice-for-vsg-surgery-endobariatric.html
6. A Day and a Half - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-day-and-half.html
7. My Journey to Endobariatric - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-vsg-journey-to-endobariatric.html
8. Discharge Day! - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-vsg-journey-discharge-day.html
9. Three weeks out from surgery - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/vsg-journey-update-3-weeks-out-from.html
10. Experimental Eating - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/07/vsg-experimental-eating-and-eating.html
11. 10-12 weeks out - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/07/staying-on-track-life-10-11-weeks-after.html
12. 5-month update - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/10/vsg-5-month-update.html
13. One year later - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/05/vsg-one-year-after-surgery.html
14. Hair Loss - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/03/vsg-hair-loss-yikes.html
15. VSG - What A, I Eating - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/03/vsg-what-am-i-eating.html
Here's a picture of me today! Happy, more healthy, and while I feel like I could lose some more weight......and I might do that.....I am waaaaaaaay more satisfied than I have EVER been in my whole life with how I'm maintaining. I do have some frustrations and here are a few of them:
FRUSTRATIONS
- I still have to watch my weight. I knew that I would and the surgery is a tool to help you and a LIFE CHANGE. I knew that too. Sometimes though, I get mad that I still have to watch the scale, but overall, I watch it fewer times and I eat healthier so I did change my lifestyle.
- Somehow, my eyes are STILL bigger (now much bigger) than my stomach. I still catch myself eating rapidly and sometimes eating too much. I've not thrown up, not even once, from eating, since my surgery. Most people throw up often, at least I think they might, if they overeat. When I know I've eaten too much, I hiccup a bit, feel tight in my esophagus, and feel kind of bad. Bad enough to not eat any more, but I do not feel nauseous. Well, I take that back. Twice in two years, I did feel nauseous from eating one bite too many, but I didn't push it and within minutes that went away.
- I have rediscovered "slider foods" such as chips, cake, and crackers. This is not awful, but isn't too good either because they go down TOO EASY and I can eat a lot more than I originally intended if I'm not careful.
- Drinking while eating: I still can't do this well and technically, most folks are told that you are not supposed to. If I go out after rehearsal and want to have a drink, I drink most of it BEFORE eating some of my meal and I just have to resolve to take home most of my meal.
GOOD THINGS
- I'm a size 14 which is what I was at the end of high school. I have feeling I could be a 10 or 12, and maybe I'll want to be a 12 at some point, BUT I'M HAPPY so whatever.
- clothes are cooler and more fun to wear
- This is both good and bad......I've noticed that some of my acquaintances / friends, speak to me more, and listen more attentively to me. New people I meet, as long as they don't have the southern "Good ole' boy" syndrome, tend to look me in the eye and actually treat me like I'm present. In the past, I had many MANY incidents of (mostly men) being introduced to me and then immediately carrying on conversation with the person next to me as if I was not there. Damn shame, idiots.
- I CAN have any foods I want and so I do :-) Many folks are not able to eat certain foods.
- My hair has been able to hold curl since the surgery. It began to grow back from the hair loss I experienced so I still have many lengths overall, but it's a lot curlier!
- I don't think about my surgery or weight loss very much. I'm me and have settled into my new way of eating and I like it!
Here are PAST BLOG POSTS on my VSG SURGERY. I hope that some of these will help people. If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me. It can be a pretty lonely place when you're researching WLS and aren't sure of many things!
1. Background, http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-weight-loss-surgery-journey-part-i.html
2. VSG Journey Part II - Insurance and Going for it! http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-part-ii-going-for-itand.html
3. VSG Journey Part III - Types of Bariatric Surgery - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-part-iii-types-of-bariatric.html
4. Part IV, Surgery Scheduled http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-iv-surgery-scheduled.html
5. My Choice for VSG Surgery: Endobariatric - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-choice-for-vsg-surgery-endobariatric.html
6. A Day and a Half - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-day-and-half.html
7. My Journey to Endobariatric - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-vsg-journey-to-endobariatric.html
8. Discharge Day! - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-vsg-journey-discharge-day.html
9. Three weeks out from surgery - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/vsg-journey-update-3-weeks-out-from.html
10. Experimental Eating - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/07/vsg-experimental-eating-and-eating.html
11. 10-12 weeks out - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/07/staying-on-track-life-10-11-weeks-after.html
12. 5-month update - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/10/vsg-5-month-update.html
13. One year later - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/05/vsg-one-year-after-surgery.html
14. Hair Loss - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/03/vsg-hair-loss-yikes.html
15. VSG - What A, I Eating - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/03/vsg-what-am-i-eating.html
Episcopal Tenebrae Service
Last night, for the second year in a row, St. Paul's Episcopal had a very moving and lovely Tenebrae liturgy. The service is found in the Book of Occasional Services on p. 75. While a stunningly beautiful service, it's not done in every church. I believe that in 2014, we were the only ones in EDOLA to do one and this year, St. George's Episcopal had a Tenebrae service as well. If you haven't tried it at your church, do it if you can!
We used the book In the Shadows of Holy Week: The Office of Tenebrae by Frederick C. Elwood and John L. Hooker, eds. for help with the liturgical format and plainsong. It's actually about 40 pages of plainchant on very similar tones! Since it's rather taxing, I decided to involve several cantors and I also invited any of our choir members to come and join in singing the canticles. I also asked both priests last year to chant and this year, our rector and director of formation chanted. The chants are simple, but they are lengthy. One thing I will say about worship with the potential for length: don't shy away from it. Worship "takes as long as it takes" in my opinion. 
Our service was candlelit and absolutely beautiful! I cried at the end. It was just so intense and the times when we sat together in prayer in the darkness of the night - well, it can be overwhelming! We NEED to be overwhelmed, especially during Holy Week. Again, my opinion, but having worship that doesn't stretch us or move us or challenge us to remember, imagine, feel, be moved, to feel God's love or to share God's love.....what is that truly worth?
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| The hearse on the epistle side of the altar |
The origins of Tenebrae are below, shared as an excerpt from In the Shadows of Holy Week: The Office of Tenebrae
The Origins of Tenebrae
The liturgy offered this night is the full, ancient form of Tenebrae. Tenebrae is a Latin word signifying “darkness,” “shadows,” and “obscurity.” It is a word that pointedly calls our attention to the scriptural accounts of our Lord’s crucifixion: The name of this service is taken from the opening words of the fifth responsory: “Tenebrae factae sunt”—“darkness came over the whole land” (Mark 15:33; also, Matthew 27:45; Luke 23:44).
It is a moving descent into the darkest days of the church year as we descend into darkness and await the ascension into light at The Great Vigil of Easter. The Medieval offices of Matins and Lauds which were combined to create Tenebrae were the usual morning offices recited by the monastic communities ministering in the Roman basilicas and collegiate churches of Europe. At Matins the morning is greeted with prayer even before the sun rises and they developed out of the nocturnal times of prayer and watchfulness (vigiliae) that were common in the early church. Matins traditionally included three distinct sections called Nocturns (meaning “divisions of the night”). The office of Lauds, which in Tenebrae follows the Third Nocturn of Matins, is the traditional morning prayer of the church in the western world. The word “laud” means “to sing or speak the praises of” and originally implied a formal act of worship.
The union of the two liturgies produced a ritual greater than the sum of its parts. Through their correlation with the systematic extinguishing of candles unique to Tenebrae, those who originated the ceremony gave a new and greater interpretive task to the psalms and canticles. As noted, in their new liturgical context these poignant scriptural laments serve as commentary upon the darkness that gradually enshrouds the church and ominously envelops Jesus’ life during Holy Week.
An Afternoon in NOLA City Park
Sometimes in the winter and often in the spring, I LOVE to take some time out and go to City Park (New Orleans) to chill amongst the beauty!
I semi-regularly go to the walking track near the NOLA Museum of Art and actually exercise, but avoid it like the plague in summertime because it's approximately one billion degrees and a million percent humidity here. If that sounds like it's an exaggeration, it's not.....it's completely true.
Anyway, before I moved to NOLA, apparently most of City Park was comprised of golf courses and while there has only been one in the almost ten years I've lived here, post-Katrina, they are now being re-developed. So, a giant swath of the park will no longer be the lovely, natural, and free area I've known it to be.
It always makes me so happy to drive through the Harrison Avenue cut-through and see people out playing with their dogs or kids. On some Tuesdays after my St. Paul's staff mtg and in my way to UNO, I stop and sit for a little while with my morning coffee. I haven't been able to in a while since I have lessons now on Tuesdays, but I do still steal some Friday afternoon time or weekend time to go and read in some of my favorite spots!
I've been soooooooooo happy over the years to see the lovely Spanish moss returning to the trees! Though I was a new resident after hurricane Katrina, I noticed its absence and it struck me as rather odd for this Savannah / sub-tropical climate area.
City Park helps me relax. It gives me (and countless others) a place to be out "in the wild" without driving outside city limits and while being relatively (and arguably) safe because roads are nearby, it's reasonably populated, and one still probably has cell phone service.
I love the place. While it's exciting (and brings the city tons of revenue and glitz, I'm sad to have seen the start of rebuilding the golf courses. I have no idea how many of them they're planning to rebuild, but I surely hope there will be some of my favorite places left when it's all said and done!
PS. Two weeks ago, a whole field was covered in giant, beautiful thistle!
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