Mystical Murmurs: My Interfaith Life

This is a picture of the Church on the Pike's new meditation chapel (I have been trying to think of another name for it, but have not gotten very far). If it looks like it's in the basement -- well, it is, in the former youth room. The altar itself is a very nice, solid one in oak, and memorializes some parishioners from earlier times. The altar was formerly in use by the Sunday School for their chapel service, but was abandoned at some point. So we nabbed it! The dossal is the one that hung behind the altar in its previous location. You can't see the detail, but it's dark blue with golden fleurs - de - lis . We are so inept that we had to have one of our neighbors come in and hang it for us! Then we realized that it was so long that it covered the baseboard heater, and we were probably going to have a fire. In full panic mode, several of our thinner volunteers crawled behind the altar and pinned the dossal up with safety pins. How professional we are! LOL ! We nicke

Hallelujah! Today's New York Times reports that Episcopal Bishops, meeting in Houston, have rejected the Anglican Communion's demand that we immediately accept alternative primatial oversight for those in the Episcopal Church who find themselves in conflict with our church's inclusive position on homosexuals. I know there has been no decision about the gay-ordination moratorium requested, or the covenant, but this is good news anyway, and an indication of which way the wind is blowing. But I am so afraid that my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters will still be sold down the river (again) for the principle of unity. I pray this will not happen. We should take a stand (and remain there). Would this cause a schism? And do we even care?

Reading a post on Rachel's blog made me think of the housecleaning tornado that my mother called "spring cleaning." She and my grandmother, who lived with us, worked for a solid week, often during Holy Week. Furnishings got pulled out from the walls so they could clean behind them; walls got wiped down; baseboards were scrubbed till they shone. All closets got cleaned out. Windows got cleaned, and I often came home from school to find all the venetian blinds (remember them?) swimming around in the bathtub. Those blinds later found themselves out on the clothesline, drying in the spring breeze along with all the winter curtains and bedspreads. In the kitchen, the gas range got a thorough cleaning, as did the fridge. Oh, my. I need a nap from just writing all this down. Spring cleaning for me is just like any other cleaning -- haphazard and done under duress. I hate clutter, but I find I'm quite tolerant of real dirt! And in the spring ... it's time to play in the

Anyone who knows me realizes that I would rather do ten loads of laundry than set foot in the supermarket. Just like I would rather eat a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and a cup of canned soup than (gasp!) cook anything. I go to the supermarket because I have to, not for the sheer thrill of provisioning my family, or for the challenge of chasing bargains. I go because life requires fuel, and there is no one else at my house who would be caught dead there. OK, we've established that I am grocery-store averse. Ladies, please don't make this any harder for me. LEAVE YOUR HUSBANDS AT HOME ! Husbands should not be allowed in the supermarket. I'm not referring, of course, to those few, wonderful husbands who actually do the family grocery shopping. Those guys are saints. Where can I find one? Hubby, I'm out of here. I'm talking about your typical middle-aged suburbanite in plaid Bermuda shorts with his hands folded behind him, peering patiently into the frozen vege

I don't read a lot of the humor I get on email, but this one seemed worthy of posting, in view of the potential schism in the ECUSA about ordaining gay folk and celebrating same-sex marriage. I wouldn't ordinarily poke fun at Leviticus (honest!), but this is too good not to pass on. All the fundamentalists can just sit on this and spin! "Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by an East Coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative: Dear Dr. Laura: Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend t

I am frustrated with my children. This is not a new feeling, but now that they are adults, I try to treat them as adults. So I don't act out. But I want to! My 20-year-old daughter is a brilliant girl, studying biology. But she is still clinging to the same boyfriend she had in high school, who is not in college, and works for a nearby borough in the Public Works Dept. He's a sweet guy, and I'm fond of him. But I don't think he'll go the distance. I think if she marries him, she'll be sorry later. I want her to take a risk -- meet new people. Easy for me to say! As she points out, this isn't my business. My 23-year-old son is a challenge of a different sort. He has hated school since kindergarten, and has finally dropped out of college (for the third time). Now he's thinking about trade school. I think it's a good idea -- but I've seen him quit school so often that I have no faith in this new plan. How do I muster up any enthusiasm? I need to bi