If the oil spill started in Albuquerque

Graphics can be helpful.

You can map it over your home by going here.

h/t to Raven at Facebook

--the BB

Venez comme vous êtes (come as you are) - updated with link

I saw this French ad for McDonald's on Daily Kos with the comment "They'll never run this in the U.S. ..."



So true.

h/t to Barbara Morrill

--the BB

Heart thread - 06/02/2010

For Kirstin:

Some of you know I had a mass removed from my abdominal wall last week. They told me it was a lipoma; harmless something like 99% of the time.

My pathology report came back today, consistent with metastatic melanoma.

That is literally all I know. I expect my oncologist in Oakland to call me tomorrow; I'll do a phone consultation with him. And see the oncologist here (Stockton) who is not the one who tried to kill me two years ago. The very least it means is scans and probably more surgery. I don't even know the protocol, if interferon would be done a second time.

I don't know what it means for my ministries in Sacramento. I know I want to continue doing everything I can. And I know that right now, I feel physically fine.

Keep praying.

Kirstin

Continued healing for Bruce. We learned last week that his foot infection has not gone to osteomyelitis but it is still a serious infection.

For J(1) and F and J(2)'s family and J(3) and D. For F(2) and C, for J(4) and R and M and K. For J(5) and the Missus.

For Ann and Ellie and SG's friend Terry and Cynthia's niece Madeline (cf. OCICBW).

For Baby and Dan who misses him (Come home, kitty.)

For John Bear and Raven and for my Raven.

For Marc, my Bishop, and Katherine, our Presiding Bishop.

For the repose of the soul of Angel Oramas.

For those slain in Cumbria and those who mourn them.

For the people of Gaza.

For those endangered by the wildfire in the Jemez Mountains and those who battle the blaze.

For those picking up the pieces of their lives after a tornado hit Lennox Head on the northern NSW coast (Australia).

For the Indo-US strategic dialogue beginning tomorrow.

For those in and around Karachi bracing for cyclone Phet.

For all life in and around the Gulf of Mexico.



--the BB

Two snaps!

A PASTORAL LETTER TO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH FROM THE PRESIDING BISHOP
Pentecost continues!

Pentecost is most fundamentally a continuing gift of the Spirit, rather than a limitation or quenching of that Spirit.

The recent statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury about the struggles within the Anglican Communion seems to equate Pentecost with a single understanding of gospel realities. Those who received the gift of the Spirit on that day all heard good news. The crowd reported, “in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power” (Acts 2:11).

The Spirit does seem to be saying to many within The Episcopal Church that gay and lesbian persons are God’s good creation, that an aspect of good creation is the possibility of lifelong, faithful partnership, and that such persons may indeed be good and healthy exemplars of gifted leadership within the Church, as baptized leaders and ordained ones. The Spirit also seems to be saying the same thing in other parts of the Anglican Communion, and among some of our Christian partners, including Lutheran churches in North America and Europe, the Old Catholic churches of Europe, and a number of others.

That growing awareness does not deny the reality that many Anglicans and not a few Episcopalians still fervently hold traditional views about human sexuality. This Episcopal Church is a broad and inclusive enough tent to hold that variety. The willingness to live in tension is a hallmark of Anglicanism, beginning from its roots in Celtic Christianity pushing up against Roman Christianity in the centuries of the first millennium. That diversity in community was solidified in the Elizabethan Settlement, which really marks the beginning of Anglican Christianity as a distinct movement. Above all, it recognizes that the Spirit may be speaking to all of us, in ways that do not at present seem to cohere or agree. It also recognizes what Jesus says about the Spirit to his followers, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:12-13).

The Episcopal Church has spent nearly 50 years listening to and for the Spirit in these matters. While it is clear that not all within this Church have heard the same message, the current developments do represent a widening understanding. Our canons reflected this shift as long ago as 1985, when sexual orientation was first protected from discrimination in access to the ordination process. At the request of other bodies in the Anglican Communion, this Church held an effective moratorium on the election and consecration of a partnered gay or lesbian priest as bishop from 2003 to 2010. When a diocese elected such a person in late 2009, the ensuing consent process indicated that a majority of the laity, clergy, and bishops responsible for validating that election agreed that there was no substantive bar to the consecration.

The Episcopal Church recognizes that these decisions are problematic to a number of other Anglicans. We have not made these decisions lightly. We recognize that the Spirit has not been widely heard in the same way in other parts of the Communion. In all humility, we recognize that we may be wrong, yet we have proceeded in the belief that the Spirit permeates our decisions.

We also recognize that the attempts to impose a singular understanding in such matters represent the same kind of cultural excesses practiced by many of our colonial forebears in their missionizing activity. Native Hawaiians were forced to abandon their traditional dress in favor of missionaries’ standards of modesty. Native Americans were forced to abandon many of their cultural practices, even though they were fully congruent with orthodox Christianity, because the missionaries did not understand or consider those practices exemplary of the Spirit. The uniformity imposed at the Synod of Whitby did similar violence to a developing, contextual Christianity in the British Isles. In their search for uniformity, our forebears in the faith have repeatedly done much spiritual violence in the name of Christianity.

We do not seek to impose our understanding on others. We do earnestly hope for continued dialogue with those who disagree, for we believe that the Spirit is always calling us to greater understanding.

We live in great concern that colonial attitudes continue, particularly in attempts to impose a single understanding across widely varying contexts and cultures. We note that the cultural contexts in which The Episcopal Church’s decisions have generated the greatest objection and reaction are also often the same contexts where women are barred from full ordained leadership, including the Church of England.

As Episcopalians, we note the troubling push toward centralized authority exemplified in many of the statements of the recent Pentecost letter. Anglicanism as a body began in the repudiation of the control of the Bishop of Rome within an otherwise sovereign nation. Similar concerns over self-determination in the face of colonial control led the Church of Scotland to consecrate Samuel Seabury for The Episcopal Church in the nascent United States – and so began the Anglican Communion.

We have been repeatedly assured that the Anglican Covenant is not an instrument of control, yet we note that the fourth section seems to be just that to Anglicans in many parts of the Communion. So much so, that there are voices calling for stronger sanctions in that fourth section, as well as voices repudiating it as un-Anglican in nature. Unitary control does not characterize Anglicanism; rather, diversity in fellowship and communion does.

We are distressed at the apparent imposition of sanctions on some parts of the Communion. We note that these seem to be limited to those which “have formally, through their Synod or House of Bishops, adopted policies that breach any of the moratoria requested by the Instruments of Communion.” We are further distressed that such sanctions do not, apparently, apply to those parts of the Communion that continue to hold one view in public and exhibit other behaviors in private. Why is there no sanction on those who continue with a double standard? In our context bowing to anxiety by ignoring that sort of double-mindedness is usually termed a “failure of nerve.” Through many decades of wrestling with our own discomfort about recognizing the full humanity of persons who seem to differ from us, we continue to work at open and transparent communication as well as congruence between word and behavior. We openly admit our failure to achieve perfection!

The baptismal covenant prayed in this Church for more than 30 years calls us to respect the dignity of all other persons and charges us with ongoing labor toward a holy society of justice and peace. That fundamental understanding of Christian vocation underlies our hearing of the Spirit in this context and around these issues of human sexuality. That same understanding of Christian vocation encourages us to hold our convictions with sufficient humility that we can affirm the image of God in the person who disagrees with us. We believe that the Body of Christ is only found when such diversity is welcomed with abundant and radical hospitality.

As a Church of many nations, languages, and peoples, we will continue to seek every opportunity to increase our partnership in God’s mission for a healed creation and holy community. We look forward to the ongoing growth in partnership possible in the Listening Process, Continuing Indaba, Bible in the Life of the Church, Theological Education in the Anglican Communion, and the myriad of less formal and more local partnerships across the Communion – efforts in mission and ministry that inform and transform individuals and communities toward the vision of the Gospel – a healed world, loving God and neighbor, in the love and friendship shown us in God Incarnate.

May God’s peace dwell in your hearts,
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Churh


Somebody needed to tell +Cantuar that he has drifted from the spirit of Anglicanism. Our Presiding Bishop had the ovaries to do it.

h/t to Mimi and to John Chilton at The Lead (where you can see the video of the message).

--the BB

Just because

America rose

--the BB

Civic duty

A friend lectured me sternly about my duty to vote in this mid-term primary, pointing to a judicial election that can make a big difference. So I went online, found out where my polling place was, and voted after work.

It is much harder to vote in New Mexico than in California. In California I received notices of my polling places, sample ballots, forms to request absentee ballots, analyses of all propositions, etc. We used to vote in several locations, depending on the size of the election, but we always knew where.

In New Mexico I have to dig it up myself. Voter information here sucks. Thank God for the internet. They do post the information online. In fact, you can even see which elections I have voted in as my record is online.

I confess, I spend so much time tracking national and international politics that I give scant attention to local politics. I know they are vital but that is not where I budget my time.

Work was one of those "double Mondays" that follow a three-day weekend. Non-stop calls. After a voting I came home and had a stiff drink, chilled, did one load of laundry, napped, and tossed this bit of fluff out just so y'all know I'm alive. I also have a noticeably darker tan after yesterday's outing.

Sweet dreams.

--the BB

Dear Diary, - Updated - new update

Latest update: If any of you are thinking of visiting it, the monument is going to be closed beginning June 6 for two months to pave the road. We barely got there in time to see it. Your tires and suspension will be grateful if you visit after this is done. It is just a gravel and dirt road with the typical corrugation to it.

Today my BFF and I took advantage of my having a federal holiday off and drove to Cochiti Pueblo and went hiking at the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.

The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions from the Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments), while searing hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent avalanche called a “pyroclastic flow.” In close inspections of the arroyos, visitors will discover small, rounded, translucent obsidian (volcanic glass) fragments created by rapid cooling. Please leave these fragments for others to enjoy.

Precariously perched on many of the tapering hoodoos are boulder caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below. Some tents have lost their hard, resistant caprocks and are disintegrating. While fairly uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height from a few feet to 90 feet.

As the result of uniform layering of volcanic material, bands of gray are interspersed with beige and pink-colored rock along the cliff face. Over time, wind and water cut into these deposits, creating canyons and arroyos, scooping holes in the rock, and contouring the ends of small, inward ravines into smooth semi-circles.

Here I am at the beginning of our hike.

And here is BFF bending down to get through a low spot in the slot canyon.



A yucca plant


I would be intrigued to learn what these are.

Update 1: Sue Ellen let me know. "That plant is Apache plume - a southwest plant - grows wild but is also put in southwest landscapes." I recommend clicking on the photo to see more detail on this one.


Cool formations, no?


I wonder what the lighting would be like on one of those spectacular New Mexico sunset evenings.


These are the formations that earned the "tent rock" moniker. Intriguing, no?

We went for the climb to the top, hoping for the spectacular overview, but not long before getting there it seemed evident that the old knees were getting cranky. So we turned around. By the time we got back to the trail head I was clearly starting to overheat, in spite of the water we took with us. So we sat at a picnic table in the shade and enjoyed our picnic lunch: leftover grilled salmon, grapes, strawberries, blackberries, and some sourdough bread. I rehydrated and recaffeinated and we headed home.

A nice thing to do on an incredibly beautiful New Mexico spring day.

Update 2: Gary asked what tuff is.

From spiritus-temporis.com:

Tuff (from the Italian "tufo" and pronounced "toof") is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption.

From About.com:

Tuff is technically a sedimentary rock formed by the accumulation of volcanic ash plus pumice or scoria. (more below)

Tuff is so closely associated with volcanism that it is usually discussed along with the truly igneous rocks around it. Tuff tends to form when erupting lavas are stiff and high in silica, which holds the volcanic gases in bubbles rather than letting it escape. The brittle lava is readily shattered into jagged pieces, collectively called tephra (TEFF-ra) or volcanic ash. Fallen tephra may be reworked by rainfall and streams. Tuff is a rock of great variety and tells the geologist a lot about conditions during the eruptions that gave birth to it.

If tuff beds are thick enough or hot enough, they can consolidate into a fairly strong rock. The city of Rome's buildings, both ancient and modern, are commonly made of tuff blocks from the local bedrock. In other places, tuff may be fragile and must be carefully compacted before buildings can be constructed on it. Residential and suburban buildings that short-change this step remain prone to landslides and washouts, whether from heavy rainfall or from the inevitable quakes, like that which struck San Salvador in Central America on 13 January 2001. There many buildings on the local tierra blanca tuff collapsed.

Close-up of the canyon wall showing the varieties
of rock contained in the sedimentary layers.

--the BB

Decoration Day 2010

These shall be my wreath today for all who have fallen in war.

Red

White

Blue

Almighty God, we remember before you today your faithful servants whose lives were laid down on behalf of others; and we pray that, having opened to them the gates of larger life, you will receive them more and more into your joyful service, that, with all who have faithfully served you in the past, they may share in the eternal victory of Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

And for the living:

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

--the BB

Sunday of All Saints

In unison of faith,
let us spiritually celebrate
the universal festival
of all them that have
been pleasing unto God
from ages past,
even the venerable order
of Patriarchs,
the assembly of Prophets,
the adornment
of the Apostles,
the gathering of Martyrs,
the boast of Ascetics,
the memory of all the Saints;
for they intercede unceasingly
that peace be granted
to the world,
and great mercy
to our souls.

--Great Vespers of the Sunday of All Saints, Pentecostarion

The Paschal cycle concludes this day on the Octave of Pentecost. As throughout Eastertide I follow here the Eastern calendar. My sympathies are entirely with the Eastern Churches in the matter the Trinity and issues of pneumatology, finding the west, well, weak in practice and devotion, its formularies notwithstanding. What you get in most Protestant-flavored churches is essentially Christo-monism (my term for it). I remember a Catholic co-worker who visited her fiancé's Presbyterian church and wondering what happened to the Father and the Holy Spirit. If, on the other hand, one's whole existence is caught up in the life of the Most Holy Trinity, it seems silly to choose one Sunday to emphasize or talk about it. Less talk, more living.

Unlike most clergy, I am not reluctant to talk about the Trinity, however. I preached on the Trinity two Sundays ago.

We may now have a collective sigh as we relax into the "long green season."

[At St Cuddy's we actually stayed red through much of the summer, celebrating a Liturgy of the Spirit all the way through August. In September we switched to a Creation Liturgy. The current bishop has disallowed our experiments but it was wonderful back in the day.]

--the BB

Oh yeah, she's good

M. considered E’s messenger. Her green eyes held his, her face betrayed no anxiety. She sat erect and poised in the saddle, composed and self-contained. She had not given her name yet her behavior was not rude. An arrogant person could have taken offense by the simplicity of this greeting. M. was impressed, as she meant him to be.

Yes, this signals that I am writing again, trying to figure out where the heck this story is headed. I know how it ends, but am not quite so clear how it gets there. The fates of the principals is fixed in my mind, but we have a ways to go. I have not even sorted out quite what happens from the parlay prefaced by the snippet above.

The only way forward is forward. I will probably end up having wrestled with this scene and the one after all weekend. Which is still rather rapid progress. There is hope.

Since I preach extempore, this is evocative of sermons where I spin out several threads and then wonder, as the congregation no doubt also wonders, how I will ever pull it all together. It usually comes together in the end. But not always. Helps keep me humble.

It is about eight months since I worked on the book, a huge loss of time. I am not getting younger and this is only volume three. I want to write ten before I die. Time to win Powerball so I can retire and write.

--the BB

Two different worlds, I live in two different worlds....

I am posting more photos from yesterday evening below but the real update is that I have resumed writing volume three of the chronicles. Got several paragraphs into it and thought, maybe I need to go back and check the genealogies. Good thing. I was writing about the baroness and here I find she had died years earlier. Her brother is the baron. Ah well. There is a reason I could never write without a computer, and I don't just mean word processing.

Oregano

Singing in the Rain rosebud

John F. Kennedy rose

Delphinium

Piñata roses

--the BB

Heart thread - 05/26/2010

For the repose of the soul of Fabian, age 19, slain in a drive-by shooting. I worked with his father in New Orleans two years ago. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. May his family be surrounded with love.

For Mark (Mapko) who has been without an internet connection and continues to grieve. May comfort and strength be given him to feel all he needs to feel. May light shine around and within him, easing the darkness. May peace and healing sustain both mind and body. He told me he adores flowers and does not care who knows it, so these are for Mark.


For all those endangered or affected by the bosque fire in Corrales that broke out on Sunday.

For Jasper who is ill that healing may come quickly. For Doxy and all of Jasper's family. Holy Laika, pray for Jasper and all dogs.

For the son of a friend of a friend who shot someone in self defense and for all involved.

For Jane R healing after oral surgery.

For those who face this night without a home. For those enter the night with anxiety and dread. For those who feel lonely. For those whose minds and hearts swirl with confusion. For those consumed with anger or fear. For those who have never known they were loved.

--the BB

For my friends

We do not always have the climate, the soil, the time, the money, etc. to garden. I have run amok this year and we may as well all enjoy it. So here are a few shots from this evening. [And yes, it is amazing how lots of cropping and playing with contrast and brightness can enhance reality.]




Yes, those are tomatoes. We live in hope!



--the BB

Heart thread - 05/25/2010

From SYNTHEOPOIESIS † ΣΥΝΘΕΟΠΟΙΗΣΗΣ:

+ Aιωνία η Mνήμη, Ιωάννης-1034-Ελλάδα.
+ Memory Eternal, John-1034-Greece
Αγαπητοί φίλοι και συλλειτουργοί στην Αγία Τράπεζα, χθες στη Μεγάλη Γιορτή της Αγίας Πεντηκοστής, ο Αρχιμανδρίτης Γεώργιος (Φαναριώτης), γνωστή και ως «Ιωάννης-1034-Ελλάδα», κοιμήθηκε στον Άγιο Τριαδικό Θεό, με την υπόσχεση της θεώσεως σε την Ανάσταση του Θεάνθρωπο Ιησού Χριστό. + Aιωνία η μνήμη. + Aιωνία η μνήμη. + Aιωνία η μνήμη. Χριστός Ανέστη!
Dearest Friends and Concelebrants of the Holy Table, yesterday at the Great Feast of the Holy Pentecost, the Archimandrite George (Fanariotis), also known as «John-1034-Greece», fell asleep in the Holy Triune God, with the promise of theosis in the Resurrection of the God-Human Jesus Christ. + Memory Eternal. + Memory eternal. + Memory eternal. Christ is risen!

May he rest in peace and rise in glory. One of the founders of JN1034 who bore pain and offered it to God, Archimandrite George has done so much for us all.

My coworker Shea has asked for prayers of healing. She suffers pain in her knee and is walking with crutches, awaiting the MRI that may explain what has happened. May diagnosis, treatment, and healing be soon and effective.

For Jonathan for healing of his eye, for courage and hope and endurance, for discernment, and for employment.

For a stopping of the oil flow and the healing of the waters and the land. [This is a very long-term prayer, alas.]

For those trying to bring international aid to Gaza (see here).

For the people of Jamaica caught between the government and the drug gangs.

Sigh.

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4400
Washington Post - ‎7 hours ago‎
By AP AP -- As of Tuesday, May 25, 2010, at least 4400 members of the US military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003....

For Tammy and Lori. It has not been a good 24 hours.

Please add your own intercessions and thanksgivings in the comments.

Heavenly Father, you called your servant Bede, while still a child, to devote his life to your service in the disciplines of religion and scholarship: Grant that as he labored in the Spirit to bring the riches of your truth to his generation, so we, in our various vocations, may strive to make you known in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Christ is the Morning Star who, when the night of this world is past, brings to his saints the promise of the Light of Life and opens everlasting day.
--Bede

--the BB

...and to the uttermost parts of the earth

Flags of several nations flew outside the Church of San Gabriel for Pentecost.

--the BB

Mis primos

My cousins on Dad's side of the family got together on Saturday. I was still here but the photos I have seen were great. The only thing that puzzles me is who are these old folks in the pictures? What is scary, of course, is that I do recognize them and we are mostly about the same age. Since I have not asked permission of the whole crew I will not post the photos.

Good time at church this morning. I got home rather late, after the picnic and some shopping, and was exhausted. BFF came over to help me eat leftovers this evening and we had a nice visit.

The flipping New Mexico winds are howling away again. My yard is so battered by them. And there is a bosque fire in southern Corrales tonight. Let us pray for the people and the animals and the homes in that area.

A good weekend. And I'm tired.

--the BB

Sunday of Pentecost

It is the Fiftieth Day of Easter.

Христос воскресе

Χριστος ανεστη

Christ is risen

When the vivifying, violent wind
of the All-holy Spirit
came from on high,
resounding unto the fisherman
in the form of fiery tongues,
they spake eloquently
concerning the mighty
deeds of God.
O all ye works,
praise ye the Lord
and supremely exalt Him
unto all the ages.

Ye that ascend not
that untouchable mountain,
nor fear the awesome fire,
come, let us stand
on Mount Sion,
in the city of
the living God,
and now form one choir
with the Spirit-breathing
disciples.
O all y works,
praise ye the Lord,
and supremely exalt Him
unto all the ages.

Βασιλεῦ Οὐράνιε, Παράκλητε, τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς Ἀληθείας, ὁ πανταχοῦ παρὼν καὶ τὰ πάντα πληρῶν, ὁ θησαυρὸς τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ ζωῆς χορηγός, ἐλθὲ καὶ σκήνωσον ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ καθάρισον ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλῖδος καὶ σῶσον, ἀγαθέ, τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.
---
0 Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things, treasury of Blessings, and Giver of Life, come and abide in us and cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, 0 Good One.

I cannot help posting this again; it is my favorite Easter video.



--the BB

Heart thread - 05/22/2010

For the repose of the soul of Harry A. Doutt who passed away on May 19, 2010. His son, Brent, works where I do. May Brent and all the family find comfort.

For the Rev. Canon Scott Hayashi, elected to be the next Bishop of Utah. I knew Scott, at a distance, when he was Rector of Christ Church, Portola Valley (part of the Diocese of California). May he and the people of the Diocese of Utah enter a period of renewed ministry.

For Jonathan in transition.

For DF who just celebrated his birthday and for Doxy and DF on their first anniversary.

For all who perished in the Air India flight from Dubai to Mangalore, for their families and loved ones.

For the people of Thailand in the ongoing civil unrest.

For all creatures of the Gulf Coast, for an end to the leak and the healing of water and land.

For those killed in the derailment in China, triggered by a landslide.

For the restitution of the rule of constitutional law in my lifetime.

For our Jewish sisters and brothers celebrating Shavuot.

In thanksgiving for the witness of the Blessed Martyr Harvey B. Milk (22 May 1930-27 November 1978).

Almighty God, who created us in your own image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

For Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, found guilty on May 18 of unnatural acts and gross indecency in Malawi where they dared to celebrate their relationship.

O God our Father, whose Son forgave his enemies while he was suffering shame and death: Strengthen those who suffer for the sake of conscience; when they are accused, save them from speaking in hate; when they are rejected, save them from bitterness; when they are imprisoned, save them from despair; and to us your servants, give grace to respect their witness and to discern the truth, that our society may be cleansed and strengthened. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ, our merciful and righteous Judge. Amen.

--the BB

I have not kept up

I feel bad about not maintaining the practice of naming each fallen warrior. It is too easy for us to let their sacrifice go unnoticed.

But they are not forgotten.

--the BB

Heute

There have been some accomplishments today, though I was sluggish for most of the day.

My albs are washed. About time, too.

The garden was watered and I gave extra water to one tree and one shrub in front of the house since I suspect they don't get quite as much as they need on the drip system. (Yes, I know there are ways to adjust drip, but I have not done it.)

I tied up a number of sagging branches in the yard and did some deadheading. Lots of spent blooms still need it, but at least I chipped away at it today.

I cut, glued, and sewed the Pentecost frontal for Our Saviour and took it over to the church. I meant to take some photos when it was up but left the camera in the car and did not think of it until much later. Anyway, this now completes the seasons. Eydie made the white-and-gold frontal for All Saints last year and that served through Christmastide and Eastertide. I made a green one from African fabric, an Advent blue one, a violet Lenten one, an ecru-dark red-black one for Holy Week, and now one for Pentecost.

The one today is made with a cherry red polyester shantung, pale yellow silk, metallic gold, and an elaborate gold braid trim. I really regret not taking a photo as it seems to convey the excitement that the Spirit inspires. I had thought of making it more intricate with narrow diagonals of color (rich silks and metallics) over the central gold strip but cut myself some slack and left it less original but more traditional.

The work Father Tony has done clearing weeds and brush and generally tidying up the place really shows.

I also picked up some items for tomorrow. We are going to adorn San Gabriel, on the exterior, with most of the flags in my collection. Some seem to have gone astray but I think we can represent at least 20 nations from four continents. I just don't know where I last put the flags of Cambodia and Antigua. Ah well.

The Gospel will be read in French, German, Spanish, English, Swahili, Polish, and Latin. It just occurred to me that I miss hearing it read in Khmer by Stewart Peou. I miss the Cambodian Sanctus, the Celtic Alleluia, singing the Lord's Prayer, and Envía tu Espíritu. To all my friends at St Cuthbert's - I miss and love you! I am blessed with loving church communities here and I really like living in Albuquerque, but you are missed.

Leli vangeli bo - ayisilo lokudlala.
Leli vangeli - lihamba ngomoyo oyincgwele.
Selihamba - lihamba ngomoyo oyincgwele.
Selihamba - lihamba ngomoyo oyincgwele.

This Holy Gospel - it should not be taken lightly.
This Gospel - the Holy Spirit gives it power.
It is moving - the Holy Spirit gives it power.
It is moving - the Holy Spirit gives it power.

I always hate to see Easter come to a close.

--the BB

The Danes celebrate a bus driver's birthday

[On May 5th it's Mukhtar's, a bus-driver in Copenhagen, Birthday. In 2010 he had no idea that a large group of people had planned to celebrate him...]

He is evidently from Somalia as the Somalian flag was waved near the end along with lots of Danish ones. It is the Danish birthday song that they are all singing.

--the BB

Garden photos from this evening

I told you there was one cherry on my Black Tartarian. Here it is: photographic proof. I am assuming, of course, that the birds will get this one cherry. They do not call the cherry tree Prunus avium for nothing.


Magenta calibrachoa (million bells) with white petunias.


Look at how swiftly we have gone from two iris blooms to many! I am amazed.


Lemon Zest petunias (detail)


Blanket flower (gaillardia, detail)


John F Kennedy rose

I thought y'all might enjoy these.

--the BB

Supper

This evening I tore out some plants that were not doing well and put in some new ones that I hope will thrive. I watered. And I had supper.

Thin slices of roasted pork loin with a reduction of pork juice, white wine, and butter, all garnished with parsley from the yard; a sliced avocado with lemon juice on a bed of wilted spring greens. (Chased with calories we shall not name.)

I am cooking for myself more often. For years this was a few-times-a-year phenomenon. I take it as a good sign.

Tonight my body feels the yard work more than it does when I spend hours and hours in the yard on a Saturday. Feh.

--the BB

95,000 barrels a day

Photo by Ted Jackson, The Times-Picayune

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser and La. Gov. Bobby Jindal tour through the Roseau Grasses that mark the coastline of Southeast Louisiana at Pass a Loutre at the mouth of the Mississippi River where oil has washed ashore, Wednesday, May 19, 2010.

"Everything that that blanket of oil is covering today will die," he said. "All of the bugs that the fish come in to eat, all of the critters in the marsh will die. And that marsh will die. There's no way to clean it up."

h/t to FishOutofWater at Daily Kos

WASHINGTON — The latest video footage of the leaking Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico show that oil is escaping at the rate of 95,000 barrels — 4 million gallons — a day, nearly 20 times greater than the 5,000 barrel a day estimate BP and government scientists have been citing for nearly three weeks, an engineering professor told a congressional hearing Wednesday.
--Renee Schoof at McClatchy Newspapers

h/t to Jed Lewison at Daily Kos


As we ponder the disaster in our part of the world, let us remember others.

Cyclone nears India's southeast coast
AFP - ‎10 minutes ago‎
HYDERABAD, India - A severe cyclone packing winds of 110 kilometres an hour closed in on India's southeast coast Thursday as tens of thousands of residents evacuated their homes fearing major storm damage.

Господи помилуй
Κυριε ελεησον
Seigneur, aies pitié.

-the BB