I am pleased that Prince Leka II has drawn a visitor from Albania. Welcome! Of course, I have no idea whether today's guest is pro- or anti-monarchy, but then I am not a monarchist myself (way too American) though I feature royals here. The chief thing is some kind of link with others around the world and I am delighted to have an Albanian visitor.
We also have a guest from Aotearoa, the island of the long white cloud, New Zealand. Two elderly sisters from New Zealand were parishioners at the church in Redwood City, California, where I served as interim. Yes, they had Vegemite in the cupboard. They also taught me that what is marketed in California as kiwi or kiwifruit is properly termed Chinese gooseberry. That can be your trivium for today.
Like many Episcopalians, I am very grateful for the New Zealand Prayer Book with its dedicated approach to honoring the multiple cultures of society and to reflecting New Zealand's uniqueness in the liturgies. A strong model of inculturation of the Gospel that has guided and nourished others, it is a gift to the larger communion.
Welcome, Kiwi, to this site!
4 comments:
Anytime I read the name "Albania" I think of that episode of Cheers in which coach explained that "we remember facts by putting them to music" and had Sam singing: "Albania, Albania, you border on the Adriatic. . ."
I have only seen a few episodes of Cheers (in late-night reruns) and missed that one. But it is very true that we remember things to music. When teens preparing for confirmation tell me they don't know the Lord's Prayer, I respond, Sure you do. Then I do the lead-in chant and they can sing it because they do every Sunday.
I suppose that should have been in the past tense because I am speaking of when I was at St Cuddy's.
All I know is that I refer to this new-to-me-hometown as the farthest reaches of Smalbania, which is really Albany and not Albania!
I did not know about the kiwi/Chinese gooseberry business.
As always, your welcomes are warm and your flags a delight.
I lived for ten years in Albany, CA, a delightful town adjacent to Berkeley. It has a genuine small-town-America feel to it. One morning Bill and I were having breakfast at an outdoor cafe patio when the Little League parade came marching down the street. Too charming. And we did refer to it, sometimes, as Albania.
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