Cyber Portal

The Ultimate Quiz

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:42:00 +0000

Follow this link:

http://www.4degreez.com/misc/dante-inferno-test.mv

To find out your final, final destination in the afterlife a la Dante's Inferno.

I made it to purgatory. I'm not sure I answered all the questions honestly.

Purgatory

You have escaped damnation and made it to Purgatory, a place where the dew of repentance washes off the stain of sin and girds the spirit with humility. Through contrition, confession, and satisfaction by works of righteousness, you must make your way up the mountain. As the sins are cleansed from your soul, you will be illuminated by the Sun of Divine Grace, and you will join other souls, smiling and happy, upon the summit of this mountain. Before long you will know the joys of Paradise as you ascend to the ethereal realm of Heaven.

After the Fact -- Church School Awards

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:15:00 +0000

Yesterday we gave "awards" to the young people who had taken part in church school over the last year. The intermediate group was noteworthy, because so many of them came, even though they have the most other activities competing for their time.

We also honored the teachers who have given so generously of their time to make the church school possible. It's quite impressive that a number of the helpers are teens, some of whom didn't make the picture

However, the group we should have honored was parents. It's not easy to get the kids up and dressed in time for church. And the busyness of children and adults makes it that much harder these days. Here's to the parents who work so hard to give their children a good foundation of faith for their lives.

After the Fact -- More than you realize

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:50:00 +0000

I often speak about how much goes on at St. John’s beyond the Sunday worship services. This week we had an interesting exercise involving more than just us. When we changed lectionaries in December, the Case family gave us a new book with the proper Gospel lessons. We received word from the publisher week before last that there was some flaw in the book – with no detailed explanation. However, they advised us to send the book in the packing they supplied on a Monday, and we would have it back by the following Sunday. Sure enough, we sent it in last Monday, and the Gospel book was in place yesterday, and I was the only one who realized it had ever been gone. Now if they’d only tell me what was wrong before . . .

Another busy happening this week is the refurbishing/repair of the steeple. It’s worth a trip by the church during the week to see the steeple jacks at work. Then maybe you can figure out how they got the blue plastic on the roof. The good news is that about half of the cost of the repair has come from the appreciation in the value of the building endowment. That fund was established about 8 years ago, and with even a few bequests, it has grown to help with major repairs. The proceeds of any undesignated bequests are put into that fund. Consider doing your part to keep the church beautiful and functional long after you are able to attend services. It will help more than you realize.

We're cooking now!

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:09:00 +0000

Can you believe this?

Well, maybe a few things happened!

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:39:00 +0000

April 7
On this day in 1199, England's King Richard I, the "Lionhearted," died at age 41. Richard, as one of the three leaders of the Third Crusade, negotiated Christian access to Jerusalem.

April 8
On this day in 1093, the new Winchester Cathedral was dedicated by Walkelin. Winchester Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Swithun and is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and center of the Diocese of Winchester.

April 9
On this day in 1761, English divine William Law died.

April 10
On this day in 1905, Joseph Fletcher was born in Newark, New Jersey. Fletcher was an Episcopal priest who founded the theory of situational ethics in the 1960s and was a pioneer in the field of bioethics.

April 11
On this day in 146, Septimius Severus, emperor of Rome from 193 to 211, was born. He persecuted the Christian Church although he had once been friendly to the Christian cause.

April 12
On this day in 1799, the Church Mission Society (formerly Church Missionary Society) was founded in London.

April 13
On this day in 1534, Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, refused to take the oath to the English succession. One year later Henry VIII indicted him for treason and had him beheaded.

April 13
On this day in 1829, English Parliament granted freedom of religion to Roman Catholics in the Emancipation Act and within three weeks the first Roman Catholic was elected to Parliament.

A quiet week?

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:12:00 +0000

I went to Episcopal Life Online http://www.episcopalchurch.org/episcopal_life.htm

They have a feature called "This Week in History." Nothing is listed for this week. I guess it has always been a quiet week -- unless of course it was Holy Week. But that hasn't made big news for about 2,000 years.

After the Fact -- Random Thoughts

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:11:00 +0000

I attended several worship services last week which left an impact on me.

Bill and I went to New York to St. Mary the Virgin near Times Square for a service in honor of the Feast of the Annunciation. The date had been changed because of our early Easter. The Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, was the preacher and celebrant. Lots of priests were in attendance, some with collars and some without. It was a magnificent service with wonderful music, a good homily, and a beautiful setting. Bill counted about 60 candles on the altar. Some were so tall that acrobats must have lighted them. Hearing Bishop Jefferts Schori chant reminded me why it’s good that we don’t do much of that at St. John’s. I love hearing those who do it well and am pained when it is done badly. I don’t think the bishop is comfortable with chanting.

On Saturday I attended a funeral for a parishioner’s mom. I had never known her, but somehow I was quite moved by the service. I thought the Roman Catholic priest did a lovely job of emphasizing resurrection and of touching on the loss we all feel when our moms die and enter into new life away from us. I thought that some of the funerals I attend are proxies for the ones I am unable to attend – family members in California, friends in Oklahoma and elsewhere. A favorite teacher died a couple of weeks ago, and Saturday’s service allowed me to grieve for her and to give thanks for all she had taught me. After all, she prepared me for my very first public speech.

After the Fact -- Thankfully

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:43:00 +0000

It was good for me to get to listen to Stan Moraski preach about “doubting” Thomas. It was helpful to consider how doubt can lead us to a deeper relationship with God. It was also a gift to me, after all the sermons of Holy Week and Easter, to be fed by someone else’s words. Without the focus and energy demands of delivering a sermon, I was able to worship more intently. The process of hearing other people preach and of discussing with the lay preachers both the preparation and the reaction to preaching has also given me new perspectives on the practice of preaching and has renewed my enthusiasm for the opportunity to express faith and to open up the Gospel for others.

After the Fact -- Sort Of

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:40:00 +0000

Alleluia!! He is risen!!

And we are now into the 50 Days of Easter, as well as the Octave (8 days) of Easter. Every day of this week is considered a major feast of the church. I’ll trust each of you to celebrate most of those days in your own way. We will celebrate as a small but close group on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and as a somewhat larger community next Sunday.
The celebration on Sunday was wonderfully warm, in spite of very unspringlike weather outside.

For those of you who heard me talk about the queen’s Maundy Money (in the Good Friday homily), here’s a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maundy_money It’s so like the English to have such a precise tradition.

Jesus Christ Is Risen Indeed!!

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:53:00 +0000

It's not Easter for me until I've heard this!!

It was a pilgrimage

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:39:00 +0000

Here is the altar through the week

Palm Sunday

Good Friday

Easter Morning

After the Fact -- Maundy Thursday

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:15:00 +0000

I spoke about Jesus’ washing the feet of the disciples as a way of preparing them and us for the many walks of our lives – the walk down the aisle toward marriage; the walk at graduation to start a new career. And I talked about Jesus’ walks from that supper – to the trials and to crucifixion. I didn’t say anything about the first walk, the walk to Gethsemane, the walk to prayer. Before we take the many walks of our lives, taking time to pray, to ask God for direction in our walks, reminds us that God accompanies us as we walk. Sometimes we probably don’t want to pray, because we’re afraid God will ask us to go down a hard path, as Jesus was called to do on Good Friday. And yet, if we always take the easy way, will we ever know how much strength God offers us? Will we ever realize the full meaning of life and all that we have been made to contribute?

Adagio for Strings

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:07:00 +0000

For Good Friday

Capital Campaign Approved!!

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:23:00 +0000

At the annual meeting on January 27, 2008, the parish approved going ahead with a capital campaign to build behind the memorial garden. Here is the comparison of the options considered for the vote.

Now the real work begins!!

This is what we knew on Sept. 30

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:31:00 +0000

This information was presented to the parish for discussion. Copies of this sheet are available in the narthex. This indicates that developing the Lovely property would cost $820, 000, compared to $517,000 for the north addition. So far we are attempting to determine whether building/renovating on the Licia House property is feasible given zoning restrictions.

Where the building project is now

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:44:00 +0000

On September 30 approximately 70 members of St. John’s met to decide the next step in the consideration of providing additional space for classrooms, offices, choir, and altar guild. The group decided to commission new drawings of an addition on the north side of the church – in a location which would not affect the Gill Garden. They also authorized a feasibility study to see whether a building of the desired size could be built on the Licia House property. If you have questions speak to the rector or a member of the Vestry.

Here's where we are now

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:04:00 +0000

Options Being Considered As of July 17

Proposed North Side Addition:
Option Changes:
Moving the addition forward so that it does not impinge on the garden

Putting dormers on the north side with gothic windows shaped like the stained glass ones in the church in order to maintain the traditional look of the church

Lovely Property:

Demolish the existing structure

Build a 2000 foot one-storey building — same size as proposed addition

“Choir Room” in addition to be used as “Youth Room” in this option

Unfinished basement to be used for the mechanicals

Build and maintain a sidewalk from the Lovely property to the church

Licia House: (2 Options)

Demolish Pat’s office and garage, and build new

Renovate the main structure (how extensively to be determined)

Classroom space on 1st floor

2nd floor may be possible with adjustments for those with handicaps

Office space would need to be on 1st floor

Renovation would presumably include current tenant space

Additional parking may be needed
(A combination of 1 & 2 may be the eventual plan.)

It began with a gift

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:42:00 +0000

There has been a fair amount of discussion lately about gifts to the Church and how they should be honored. It is worth noting that the church began with the most important gift of all -- Jesus Christ. What is the best way to honor that first gift?

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

A Collect for Pentecost

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Tue, 29 May 2007 13:17:00 +0000

Somehow this seems especially important these days:

Grant, O Lord, that the course of this world may be peaceably governed by your providence; and that your Church may joyfully serve you in confidence and serenity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Who is transfigured?

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 14:55:00 +0000

Sermon at St. John's Pine Meadow CT
Feb. 18, 2007

This is the 8:00 am sermon edited in case you missed it. I am certainly learning some of my weaknesses.

MP3 File

Wednesday Homily 02/07/07

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 02:05:00 +0000

It's not great, but give it a try.

MP3 File

What a pageant!!

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 03:26:00 +0000

From Pageant 2007

Every year the pageant brings a greater sense of the vitality of the parish!! Thanks to Cheryl and many helpers, this year was no exception.

Bravo to all!!

You may not feel rich, but . . .

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 20:49:00 +0000

This link is a way to find out how rich you are compared to all the people in the world, not just the people in CT. What an eye opener!!!

How rich are you? >>

I'm loaded.
It's official.
I'm the 51,263,593 richest person on earth!

A Good Resolution

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 16:30:00 +0000

The Diocese of Eau Claire in Wisconsin had its convention recently and passed what seems to me to be one of the most sane resolutions passed or rejected in the last three years. Here are the details.

The resolution said that the diocese, "as a Christian family," affirms that:

"God has not abandoned his Church. The Holy Spirit continues to guide and be present in abundance with the Episcopal Church."

"A time of crisis can become a moment of grace-filled opportunity and we desire to work towards that end with God's help."

"The heat of the moment must be tempered with a larger historical perspective over ongoing moral and ethical debates. We urge patience and unity during the protracted discussion and caution against hasty actions by any which would further split the Body of Christ."

"We desire to affirm the classical 'middle way' of Anglicanism in order to avoid extreme positions or actions of any kind which would limit or foreclose rational debate and deliberation, always respecting the dignity of every human being."

"We pledge our allegiance to the ongoing process of determining what is God's will for his Church and affirm that we shall do so together in faith and good will."

"We adopt the words of St. Augustine of Hippo as the traditional guiding beacon to avoid less than holy behavior and consequences: 'In fundamentals of faith there must be unity. In disputable matters there must be freedom for debate. But in everything else there must be love.'"

St. John's is also a "Christian family" which needs to put love and respect before issues.

Here's something new

salin@reddoors.com (Salin Low) — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:13:00 +0000

Parish Breakfast

Well, the pictures aren't too new. They were taken in September. But the ability to let you see them as an album on the blog is new. I just keep fooling around.