reverendmother has moved

all my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Mon, 8 Jan 07 20:35:00 UT

reverendmother has moved to

www.reverendmother.org

Come on over--I'm having a housewarming party!

2006 ends not with a bang

Sun, 31 Dec 06 15:07:00 UT

but a whimper, as two girls and one of their parents have what appears to be food poisoning. I will not reveal which parent, to protect the identity of the ill. The girls are much better, but the parent may have been overheard praying for a quick and merciful demise.

Girls and healthy parent will fly home tomorrow, the other will fly home Tuesday. Which is also RM's 35th birthday. (half-heartedly blowing noisemaker)

Isn't this damn year over YET???

random dots of update

Wed, 27 Dec 06 13:06:00 UT

We're here in Midwestern Captital, but we had to work to get here.

We found out Christmas night that United had changed our flights without telling us, from leaving Dulles at 1:30 to leaving at 7:30 p.m. and getting in at 11. Um, no. So they rebooked us, sort of, and instead of a 90 minute layover in Windy City as we'd had originally, it was 2 1/2 hours.
Which grew to 3 1/2 + because of plane delays.
They had booked us in four different rows and refused to help us. When asked about it, the gate agent informed us that it is the airline's "right" to overbook, to put people wherever they wanted, etc.
So we got on the plane intending to ask people to switch. One switch was into the exit row--an easy sell, right? Except that the woman with the seat we needed was mentally challenged in some way and extremely upset at being asked to switch. Poor thing. Finally all was arranged.
A vial of lotion leaked all inside my purse, which serves me right for forgetting to put it in my quart ziplock bag for my role in Theater of the Absurd.
Teeny Midwestern Burg, where we flew into, apparently has one baggage handler.
I was so tired from the trip, the Dramamine, and the previous few days that I was hallucinating.
Then we had to drive the 80 miles to Midwestern Capital, but a Steak and Shake malt eased the pain.
The girls were really wonderful throughout. The divine miss m entertained herself, walking all over O'Hare and waving at the other travelers. What she didn't enjoy was the suddenness of things--waiting, waiting, waiting, entertaining oneself, then Suddenly Boarding! Climbus Interruptus!
She also woke up at 1:30 this morning and was fussy and disoriented until after 3:00, when she finally fell back asleep.
It's worth noting that one year ago last night, she woke me up around that same time, or I should say that freight-train contractions woke me up that same time--and she was born soon after 3:00.
Happy birthday to the divine miss m. I can't imagine life without you.

christmas prayers

Sun, 24 Dec 06 09:36:00 UT

So we have four services on Christmas Eve. The first is a children's pageant. This year I will be working the nursery for that service, with the assistance (?) of little she and miss m. As a parent, I never get to volunteer in the nursery, so I'm excited about that.

Then we will have our feast with the rest of the staff before the 7:30 service. R is making chili, featuring homemade chili powder which he made today.

R will attend the 7:30 service. Then the four of us will drive home in two cars, and I will skip the 9:30 service so I can help him with the milk and cookies/bedtime routine. I will drive back at 10:30ish to serve communion at the 11:00 service.

It's not bad, really. My main role in these services is to offer the prayer, which follows.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and peace on earth to everyone.

Our gracious God,
Emmanuel,
God with us,
God for us,
God among us,
Wondrous gift of life and light to all peopleâ

Tonight we celebrate that
the Word did indeed become flesh
and pitch a tent among us.

You came into this worldâ¦
    for a Galilean carpenter and his pregnant wife,
      tired from a difficult journey;
    for peasant sheep-herders, gruff and common,
      with dirt under their fingernails,
      their breath puffing into the cool evening
      as they discussed the angelâs message;
    for wise men in magnificent robes,
      their eyes to the heavens,
      searching for signs of your arrival
      and seeking you out, gifts in hand.
You came, just as you promised you would.

You cameâ¦
    for a tax collector, a fisherman, a denier, a betrayer, a doubter;
    for a woman drawing water, a daughter near death,
      a wee little man, a rich young ruler;
    for a persecutor named Saul, a merchant named Lydia,
      a young man named Timothy;
You came at a particular moment in human history,
and changed that history forever.

You come even nowâ¦
    for the ones who completed their Christmas to-do list,
    and for those who did not;
    for the ones who love this season,
    and for those who endure it;
    for those embraced by family this day,
      and for the couple sitting alone
      in a makeshift trailer on the Gulf Coast;
      for the mother who will leave her children orphaned by AIDS;
      for the father patrolling the streets of Baghdad;
      for the family huddled together in a refugee camp in Sudan,
      for people around the world this night
      who clutch candles in defiance to the darkness,
You come, when your people need you the mostâ¦

And then you bid us to come:
Come and follow,
Come and be healed,
Come and believe,
Come and claim the life that is ours in your abundant love and grace,
World without end.

We claim it, this night.
We do believe.
We will follow.
Empower us by your Spirit to be Christmas people.
Amen.

happy birthday reverendmother

Sat, 23 Dec 06 15:12:00 UT

Three years ago today, I was feeling bored and restless at the church and wrote a silly list of Christmas music I'd been hearing on the radio. And reverendmother: the blog was born.

Three years! I certainly wasn't an early adopter of this genre, but three years is a long time.

I posted a few times a month at first, mainly updates on C for the benefit of the family. Gradually, that number has grown, until this month for example, I made it a point to post daily (my writing group did not meet this month, so the daily posts were as disciplined as I was willing or able to be).

I can't remember who the first non-family member to comment was. I think it was Songbird, or Dickie Cronkite. Both of whom I've met, in addition to countless others who I consider real, in-the-flesh friends.

I feel blessed to have this outlet, this place to connect, to kvetch, to experiment, to wonder, to cuss, to rant, to be myself--or more specifically, to figure out exactly who that self is. Thank you all for your friendship, and for listening.

Before starting this blog, I hadn't written a poem in 20 years or more--and could count on one hand the number of times as an adult that I'd written something without needing to for school or work. Thanks to this medium for renewing an old, old interest of mine.

In comparison to other religious bloggers, and even other revgals, my readership is small. I told a friend the number and he said, "Well, that's a good-sized small congregation." I like that.

R is finishing my Christmas present--a new blog designed using WordPress at www.reverendmother.org. I'm especially excited that my entire blog history will be moved to the new space--comments too. (And I think that technological challenge actually excited R as well--well, more than going to the mall would have.) I've thought several times about moving blogs but didn't like the idea of abandoning this space and everything here--seemed akin to moving to a new house but leaving every shred of stuff behind.

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail, you'll still be able to do that. Bloglines readers will be able to read that way (as I understand).

I'll let you know when it happens.

Happy birthday to RM!

festive food friday five

Fri, 22 Dec 06 13:30:00 UT

One of my favorite topics:

1. Favorite cookie/candy/baked good without which, it's just not Christmas.
Our pralines, although we've had two botched batches so far this year. I don't get what we're doing wrong... I mean, it's really humid today, but we used to make them in Houston!

2. Do you do a fancy dinner on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, both, or neither? (Optional: with whom will you gather around the table this year?)
We have four evening services on Christmas Eve, and my favorite tradition is for R to bring dinner for the staff and spouses who have to be there for the duration; we all enjoy it between the first and second services.

This year, since we're traveling to Midwestern Capital on the 26th, we will be doing something simple for Christmas dinner. Like, "Trader Joe's or Chinese takeout" simple.

3. Evaluate one or more of the holiday beverage trifecta: hot chocolate, wassail, egg nog.
Wassail is my favorite, and it's the only one of the three that has a whole song about it. Two, actually:

Cocoa is great, but you can do that anytime.

Egg nog is nutmeg-flavored Pepto Bismol.

4. Candy canes: do you like all the new-fangled flavors or are you a peppermint purist?
Why oh why do candy companies feel the need to muck with perfection? I got a big fat handmade one recently and was crushed to discover it was cranberry.

5. Have you ever actually had figgy pudding? And is it really so good that people will refuse to leave until they are served it?
I have not, although the choral ensemble I was in did Madrigal Dinners each year in college, and it was sort of authentic... I remember Yorkshire pudding. But no figgy pudding.

Bonus: the crown prince of holiday foods--the fruitcake: Feel free to add your thoughts on this most polarizing holiday confection.
Sainted Church Couple gave us a loaf of yeast bread with candied fruit in it. It's a sign of maturity that I was able to give it a try, although it was not laden with them. I always eye the green ones with suspicion. Something not right about those.

R wonders whether candied fruit will be extinct in another generation or two. Before refrigeration I suppose it was one of those things one could do with fruit, but now there are lots more options, obviously. But maybe fruitcake will keep candied fruit alive. I've tried it. I didn't hate it.

what i'm working on

Thu, 21 Dec 06 00:28:00 UT

Some of the readings for the Lessons and Carols service on Sunday, adapted for "speakers' choir":

Still to revise a bit (suggestions?), and figure out who will be saying what, and rehearse, and did I mention that now it's *little she-who-is* who is running a fever?...

It's like being nibbled to death by ducks.

FIRST LESSON Genesis 3:8-15 (five voices)
Voice 1: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal
that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman,
Voice 2: Did God say, âYou shall not eat from any tree in the gardenâ?
Voice 1: The woman said to the serpent,
Voice 3: We may eat from the trees in the garden; but God said,
âYou shall not eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden,
nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.â
Voice 2: You will not die! God knows when you eat it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Voice 1: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
Voice 2: and that it was a delight to the eyes,
Voice 1: and that the tree could make one wise,
Voice 2: she took its fruit and ate;
Voice 1: and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
Voice 1 & 2: Then the eyes of both were opened,
Voice 2: and they knew that they were naked;
Voice 1: and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
[pause]
Voice 3: They heard the sound of God walking in the garden at the time of the evening
breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of God
among the trees of the garden. But God called to the man:
Voice 4: Where are you?
Voice 5: I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked;
and I hid myself.â
Voice 4: Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat?
Voice 5: The woman, whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree!
Voice 4: (toward voice 3, the woman) What is this that you have done?
Voice 3: The serpent tricked me, and I ate!
Voice 4: So God drove them out, sending them from the garden;
and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed a flaming sword
to guard the way to the tree of life.

SECOND LESSON Genesis 12:1-8 (read by lay leader)

THIRD LESSON Isaiah 11:1-9 (three voices)
Voice 1: A shoot!
Voice 2: A shoot!
Voice 3: A shoot!
Voice 1: A shoot shall come out!
Voice 2: A shoot!
Voice 3: â¦shall come out!
Voice 1&2: of the stump of Jesse!
Voice 3: A branch shall grow out of his roots.
Voice 1: The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
Voice 2: the spirit:
Voice 1: of wisdom, understanding,
Voice 3: of counsel, of might,
Voice 2: of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
Voice 1: His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
Voice 3: He shall not judge by what the eyes see,
Voice 2: or by what the ears hear; but with righteousness
Voice 1: he shall judge the poor,
Voice 3: the meek.
Voice 2: The wolf shall live
Voice 3: with the lamb.
Voice 1: The leopard,
Voice 2: the kid,
Voice 3: the calf,
Voice 1: the lion,
Voice 2: the fatling,
Voice 3: the cow,
Voice 1: the bear,
Voice 2: and the child,
Voice 3: the child,
Voice 1: the child shall lead them.
Voice 2: They will not hurt,
Voice 3: They will not destroy.
Voice 1: And the earth will be full
Voice 2: of the knowledge of God
Voice 3: as waters cover the sea.

FOURTH LESSON BASED ON Luke 1:26-35, 38; Matthew 1:18-21 (two voices)
Voice 1: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.
Voice 2: An angel was sentâ¦
Voice 1: An angel was sentâ¦
Voice 2: to Mary,
Voice 1: to Joseph,
Voice 2: saying, âGreetings, favored one!â
Voice 1: saying, âJoseph, son of David!â
Voices 1&2: âDo not be afraid.â
Voice 2: âThe Lord is with you.â
Voice 1: He appeared in a dream.
Voice 2: But Mary was perplexed, and pondered the greeting.
Voice 1: The angel spokeâ¦
Voice 2: âMary, you have found favor with God.â
Voice 1: âJoseph, Son of David!â
Voice 2: âYou will conceive and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.â
Voice 1: âShe will bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.â
Voice 2: âHe will be great, the Son of the Most High,â
Voice 1: âHe will save his people from their sins;â
Voice 2: âand his kingdom will never end.â
Voice 1: âDo not be afraid.â
Voice 2: âDo not be afraid.â
[pause]
Voice 1: While they were engaged, Mary was found to be with child.
Voice 2: Mary said, âHow can this be?ââ¦
Voice 1: â¦While her husband planned to dismiss her quietly.
Voice 2: The angel said: âThe Holy Spirit will come upon you,â
Voice 1: âJoseph, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife,â
Voice 2: âand the power of the Most High will overshadow you;â
Voice 1: âthe child is conceived from the Holy Spirit.â
Voice 2: âthe child will be holy; he will be called Son of God.â

Voice 2: Then Mary said,
Voice 1: Then Joseph awokeâ¦
Voice 2: âHere am I, the servant of the Lordâ¦â
Voice 1: And he took her for his wife,
Voice 2: âlet it be with me according to your word.â
Voice 1: And she bore a son,
Voice 2: and he named himâ
Voice 1: Jesus.
Voice 2: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.

FIFTH LESSON Luke 2:8-20 (RM to learn and speak the text)

SIXTH LESSON John 1:1-14 (read by Senior Pastor)

this one's for ppb

Wed, 20 Dec 06 10:22:00 UT

THeY Cer-Tain-LY aR-Ti-Cu-LaTe WeLL.

day break

Tue, 19 Dec 06 22:32:00 UT

daybreak is a blue receiving blanket
edged in baby pink, tucked tight
under the chin of a world that was
up half the night, wailing.
all is calm, tender and mild,
damp, glittering.

then out of nothing
a silver thread appears, streaks the sky
and hangs for a long piercing moment.
an airplaneâs hasty journey?
or a lightning strike, frozen on film?
(I can almost believe we are standing so still)

Iâve never had to decipher the dawn.

Iâm disappointed to see
the rest of the cloud come into view,
edged in light, because
if this is the dawn of redemption,
then that sliver is the sky torn in two,
not like a garment rent in anguish,
but like a peek beyond the curtain
where truly, all is bright.

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, loveâs pure light;
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.
--Silent Night

I was also thinking about this line from the bidding prayer in the Service of Lessons and Carols: "Let us remember before God all those who rejoice with us, but upon another shore and in a greater light, that multitude no one can number, with whom, in Christ, we are one forevermore."

stages of life, in bubbles

Mon, 18 Dec 06 21:45:00 UT

Lying motionless while bubbles float by.
Lying motionless while bubbles float by; eyes flash with delight.
Moving head and eyes to track the path of bubbles.
Moving hands and fingers to try and catch bubbles.
Closing hands and fingers around bubbles; cackling with glee.
Crawling toward the generator of bubbles; grasping for bubble bottle.
Saying, "buh."
Saying, "buh-buh."
Exhaling in the vicinity of the wand, held by someone else.
Puffing too vigorously into the wand; bubble solution pops.
Blowing just so to produce bubbles.
Blowing just so while holding the wand oneself; bubble solution gets everywhere.
Blowing slowly enough to produce one BIG bubble.
Forgetting about bubbles for many years.
Blowing bubbles while a baby lies motionless nearby.
...

random dots of sunday

Sun, 17 Dec 06 21:07:00 UT

The divine miss m is completely back to normal health-wise. So we're back to only dealing with the impending molars.
Little she-who-is had a sleepover with MaDear. They went to see Charlotte's Web. They both really enjoyed it, although she kept asking me why the farmer wanted to take the pig to the smokehouse. Time to explain bacon and ham.
After making a point of having my wireless mike's battery changed before second service, I then forgot to turn it on.
I visited three people in the hospital yesterday. Two people recovering from surgery, and one church member's father who had a massive heart attack. I visited with the first two, then made my way to the CCU to find a dark, empty room, and a nurse who glanced at my badge and said carefully, "He's not here anymore."
So I will be doing a funeral after the holidays.
Am I especially qualified to minister to a woman who lost her father suddenly and at a young age? Yes I am.
Senior pastor and I met regarding the shift in job responsibilities. We revised the preaching schedule and she said, "Why don't you preach on Easter?" I was flummoxed. She said, "If we're truly going to share the preaching let's make it clear theologically what we're doing." Her words said yes but her voice said, "I *want* to be OK with this, but I'm not quite sure." I'm willing to see how it unfolds and not concern myself with Easter. That's a huge step for a head of staff. But, I do have two dates a month and a rough plan for taking certain responsibilities off my plate, so I'm excited.
I saw the most amazing sunrise yesterday morning; it almost defies description, but I'm going to try, maybe tomorrow.

thought for the day

Sat, 16 Dec 06 14:41:00 UT

We come to a time when we realize that the faith we have inherited is inadequate for what we are facing... At such moments we have three choices. We can hold to our religious beliefs and deny our experience, we can hold to our experience and walk away from our religious tradition, or we can become theologians.

--Rebecca Ann Parker, Blessing the World: What Can Save Us Now

friday five: yuletide faves

Fri, 15 Dec 06 09:30:00 UT

from the lovely Songbird:

1) It's a Wonderful Life--Is it? Do you remember seeing it for the first time?
I love this movie. I try to watch it every year, although some years I watch the abridged version (from Uncle Billy losing the money until the end).

When I went to college, we had to fill out this "getting to know you" questionnaire, and in answer to a question about celebrity crush, I said a young Jimmy Stewart. No joke.

2) Miracle on 34th Street--old version or new?
Definitely old version. The little girl in the new one is cute, and I like Elizabeth Perkins OK, but there is no comparison. Edmund Gwenn IS Kris Kringle. It's been a few years, but I recall him getting the balance just right between twinkly and slightly addled.

3) Do you have a favorite incarnation of Mr. Scrooge?
Yanno? I like the Bill Murray version.

4) Why should it be a problem for an elf to be a dentist? I've been watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for years now, and I still don't get it.
They eat so much candy and would rather live in denial?

5) Who's the scariest character in Christmas specials/movies?
(The Bumble, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Muppet Version, That Mean Magician Who Tries to Melt Frosty, Your Nomination)
Little she-who is would probably say the Bumble. I will say that he inspires the best line ever in a Christmas special, "He's one mighty humble Bumble." But as a kid I remember being creeped beyond belief by that magician.

the year in review

Thu, 14 Dec 06 11:37:00 UT

Because PPB did it and she's a rock star.

The first line from the first post of each month this year:

I have to work hard to calculate what day it is according to the calendar; all I know is that the divine Miss M is five days old.
Yesterday was one of those freak-out days.
Excuse me, states *to which* I've been... ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.
Maternity leave ends today, with mixed emotions.
We had a wonderful weekend.
Today is the three-year anniversary of my ordination.
We're here. Ahhhhhhhh...
two more toofies arrived today!
This is one of mine... a timely one since we just got home from taking C and MaDear to Baltimore airport, then we grabbed a couple of crabcake sandwiches and came home with a brief stop at the National Cryptologic Museum next to the NSA, which R has been wanting to do.
3 1/2 years
Please share your thoughts on the following.
they looked up, and saw a star shining

Analysis: I get in a very declarative mood around the first of each month, with a couple of notable exceptions (October's near-runon sentence).

for k, now that her daughter is born

Wed, 13 Dec 06 16:31:00 UT

i was far away
when the messenger came to you,
her voice wispy white
it is time

and you readied yourself for the climb,
packed bags just so
then hoisted them on capable shoulders
and breathed stout sea level air
as your heart beat its thanks, thunderstruck

but it wasnât time.
you were set, but the mountain
was still finding its shape
under furrowed driftsâ
smoothing ancient footprints
wiping stones until they gleamed
ready for scrabbling feet.

and i was far away still
the evening you set out,
but i could see your eyes aflame with the work
not of climbing, but of flinging wide your pack
and tossing your provisions over the cliff
one by one, until the pack splayed empty.
i could see this,
because i know the mountain,
how it drains and fills,
splits open and heals.

when at last we spoke,
a child lunged from my hip toward your glad news;

i think i am old elizabeth,
and you are the blessed one now.

The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
ââ¦Most highly favored lady, Gloria.â
-âThe Angel Gabriel from Heaven Cameâ

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Maryâs greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, âBlessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.â -Luke 1