I am not responsible for the content of the above ads, which are often hilariously mis-matched.

stuffing (instead of potatoes)

There was an angel teddy bear in the basket of toys in the office. Now, there isn't, but Buddy the Visiting Dog looks pretty pleased with himeself.

I'm not totally clear on the theological implications of teddy bear angels, anyway. Are they real bears which have died and gone to heaven, and through some sort of strange embalming-like process they acquired stuffing and polyester fur? Are they the souls of teddy bears which have been, say, destroyed by malicious cats (Clyde has some of those to answer for)? Where does that fit in with the Velveteen Rabbit doctrine?

Because I will use any excuse to remind people that this exists: dogs in elk.
link | Comments []

[back to top]

Monday, August 30, 2004

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz

I am so braindead today. I really didn't want to get up this morning; I kept trying to convince Dennis that in yesterday's reading from the letter to the Hebrews, "let the marriage bed be undefiled" really meant that your wife should be allowed to hit the snooze alarm as many times as she wants to. Hey, it's not the weirdest interpretation of Paul I've ever seen.

I've now come down off my little Skool high and am freaking out slightly about Time Management issues. Feeling a bit overwhelmed I am.
link | Comments []

[back to top]

Sunday, August 29, 2004

a reading from the blog of Sara

Liturgics may well be the death of me. At some point, I blocked out of my mind the fact that deacons sometimes have to...I can barely say it...sing. Including a very long piece, the Exsultet, at the Easter Vigil. There doesn't seem to be a way around this, other than always getting a terrible cold right before Easter, and after a couple of years, someone would probably catch on to that one. Sigh. I don't sing well. Small children cry when I sing. So I need to deal with that.

This morning in class we all did various readings, formatting them the way one would for different services (saying The Word of the Lord vs. Here Ends The Reading, for example, and prefacing the name of the reading correctly). I'm not a good lector, generally, because I read way too fast. Which of course I did again this morning. Must practice that one.

I only have two classes on Sundays, the liturgical one and then Empowering Groups. I have to lead some kind of group that meets several times between now and December. I can't decide if I should wimp out and just start a knitting group, or see about running a small group at St. Ned's. I've been trained for that and SassyPriest asked me about it a couple of months ago, but I fear taking on one more thing. I'm already feeling pretty overwhelmed after this weekend.

My brain is done and ready for the proverbial cosmic fork. Meanwhile, I think a bath followed by a tour of what's on the TiVo is my destiny for this evening.

Something from my liturgics class handouts:

When the guru sat down to worship each evening, the ashram cat would get in the way and distract the worshipers. So he ordered that the cat be tied during evening worship.

After the guru died the cat continued to be tied during evening worship. And when the cat died, another cat was brougt to the ashram so that it could be duly tied during evening worship.

Centuries later learned treatises were written by the guru's disciples on the religious and liturgical significance of tying up a cat while worship is performed.
-Anthony de Mello
link | Comments []

[back to top]