The short list

Things I'm thankful for? Goodness, there are any number-- so many that listing them would take more time than I have, or want to take away from actually enjoying them. But here's a start:

I'm thankful...

• for our children-- both home, and safe, and healthy.
• for my husband and his patient good nature in the face of my early rising, sermon prepping, parish juggling and compulsive attempts at organization.
• for friends who are so great that we can live as 8 people in a small ranch, on top of one another for three days, and still like each other enough to look forward to doing it again.
• for plenty of good food to eat and share, and still have yummy leftovers.
• for pie, and warm chocolate chip cookies.
• for silly movies shared with folks who laugh in all the right places.
• for parents, siblings and their spouses, nieces and nephews... extended family, who we'll see at Christmas!
• for those distant friends (and the occasional well-behaved sparring partner) with whom I keep in touch via cyberspace, and who laugh and cry and care and pray, all around the world.

Thank you, Lord, for all of these.

Giving Thanks

Abraham Lincoln first declared this holiday in 1863-- in the midst of the Civil War. Reading this today, nearly 150 years later... it still rings true.

...I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

Amen.

Tastes like chicken?

Apparently the U.S. does not have the market cornered on inane, overprotective beaurocracy.

(Thanks to Young Fogey for flagging this one.)

Michigan who? Ohio what?

Never mind that nonsense.

Go Boilers!

The Old Oaken Bucket stays where it belongs!

I have no words

It's a day off here, so I have plenty of chores to do-- laundry, housekeeping, sermon polishing (two this weekend), making sure that there will be food in the house for the next week, when Daughter will be here (yay!) and friends will share Thanksgiving with us. . .

So what have I been doing? Catching up on blog reading, of course.

Rev. Ref+ made note here of a young singing duo who recently moved to the NW corner of the state, and is... creating a stir, with their melodic expression of white supremacy. I read the article, and thought to do some further reading about them, and the "White Nationalist" group with which they are affiliated.

Exerpts from a recent commentary on the group's site:

Most advocates for White interests came from mainstream conservatism. This is a natural progression. Much as the "Free Republic" crowd might protest, racial awareness is a short -- if challenging, given the taboo surrounding it -- step from conservatism. It's come to baffle me that those who rail so loudly against socialism in the economic sphere never stop to think that the demand for racial equality is essentially the same thing.

And, lest anyone "liberal" start feeing smug...

Shocker: not all these folks are bad people. They are often thoughtful, well-educated and sincere. For others, the motivation is not so pure: after years of bombardment by Jewish subversion memes, they seek out anything "White" and heap their condescension upon it: Christianity, intact families, sexual modesty, hunting, Southern accents, and so on... And have you ever noticed that the Whitest of White things -- cool Vermont countrysides, cushy dens and libraries filled with musty books, sharp-looking Saabs and snooty soaps from L'Occitane -- are associated with liberals?

And it goes on from there:

Obviously, liberalism in its present incarnation is more hostile to White interests than conservatism, but given the state of modern-day "conservatism," the difference is increasingly slight. Fighting wars for Israel, open borders, and international capitalism -- favored causes of many of today's "conservatives" -- are just as bad for Whites as the affirmative action, multiculturalism and prime-time pornography favored by liberals. Legal abortion, because it results in fewer Blacks and Mestizos, is probably a net benefit to Whites, who'd end up paying their welfare tab or as victims of their criminal attacks.

No, I am not making this up. (I hesitate to link to this; but I have decided to do so, in order to cite my source. It won't happen again).

I also discovered by accident that the young duo in the Missoula Independent article referenced above share a name with a blues/rock band in the UK: Prussian Blue. It seems that the latter folks have been around for a while, long enough to have a registered trademark on their name. It occurred to me that I wouldn't want my name associated with this crowd, so they might not either. So I emailed them, letting them know that they may have a case of copyright infringement here.

And now, after reading all this stuff... I'm going to go take a shower.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

It's a neat system here: the students are dismissed from school after half a day, and the teachers remain in their classrooms into the evening. Parents can then wander about, talking to any or all of their child's teachers as desired.

Being the compulsive sort, and new to town as well to the school, we worked our way methodically through the boy's whole schedule. He's doing well-- his grades are decent, and the teacher's comments were uniformly positive, though a few were concerned that he is such a quiet kid in class. I had two thoughts about this:

• 1) Since when is a quiet, attentive child a problem?
• 2) You should hear him when he's doing battle with Alien Hordes. In fact, you probably *can* hear him, clear into the next time zone.
  

The math teacher was the last stop-- and there we were greeted eagerly. "Oh, I'm so glad you came-- I've been wanting to talk to you!"

The first reflexive parental thought: "Why, what has he done?" I looked around the room-- no scorch marks. The light sabre is only a toy, really...

Turns out, however, that what he has done is his homework-- quickly enough that it's obviously not a great challenge. And that standardized test he took last month? His was the second highest score in the school.

So... at his teacher's request, and with his permission (granted readily, as one of his buddies is in the new group), his schedule has been rearranged slightly to allow him to move into an advanced math class. This actually served a dual purpose, as it also resulted in him changing science classes, moving out of a large, disruptive group where the teacher was always shouting, to a smaller class where shouting is apparently not necessary. He is much happier.

Yes, I'm proud of him-- but then, that was true long before he moved up in the math world. He's a great kid.

Now, if only he'd be a little quieter...

And life goes on

I have thought about posting daily. Really. Several times I've even sat down and begun, or tried to. But then... well, things happen. Blogger has a brain freeze moment. The phone rings. Or someone suddenly needs Undivided Attention (maternal, spousal, or presbyteral).

So instead of the lengthy (and no doubt profound) entries that might have been, here are a couple of highlights-- Days in the Life and Mind of a Montana Priest:

Last week I had an overnight meeting with the bishop and vicars (clergy in charge of small, diocesan-assisted congregations) in the diocese. Good food, a decent hotel, and a chance to meet and spend some time with colleagues who share the same joys and challenges of small town, small church, rural ministry. I was grateful for the opportunity-- one that would be otherwise hard to manage, given how far-flung we are in this state. The good bishop is talking of doing this on a semiannual basis. That will be a good thing.

One of my churches recognized Veterans' Day by hosting a complimentary breakfast for all area veterans and their spouses. About 45 attended the breakfast; the guests included veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East. Our own personal veteran in that congregation is a former WAC: Aylett is a community treasure, a Montanan "in whom there is no guile." At her instigation, there was a special recognition of WWII vets-- a rapidly shrinking group, and all at least in their 80's at this point. It was a lovely morning.

All Saints' Sunday

I sing a song of the saints of God,
patient and brave and true,
who toiled and fought and lived and died
for the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
and one was a shepherdess on the green;
they were all of them saints of God, and I mean,
God helping, to be one too.

They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,
and his love made them strong;
and they followed the right for Jesus' sake
the whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
and there's not any reason, no, not the least,
why I shouldn't be one too.

They lived not only in ages past;
there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints
who love to do Jesus' will.
You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea,
in church, or in trains, or in shops or at tea;
for the saints of God are just folk like me,
and I mean to be one too.

Words: Lesbia Scott (b. 1898)
Music: Grand Isle, John Henry Hopkins (1861-1945)

Investiture viewing

So, we watched Bp. Katharine's investiture this morning, via the wonders of the internet. Yesterday, before doing so, I bemoaned the fact that the ENS had announced plans to sell DVD copies, but made no mention of any ability to watch it for free. Yes, I understand about the desire to cover the costs of the technology and all that; but golly, people, that just ain't right.

My clever husband listened thoughtfully... and then made provision for this, here. (you will need to download a free copy of Quicktime, if you do not have it)

It is good to be married to a TechnoGeek.

In a Godward direction: For the Sake of Truth

In my online wanderings today, I found this sermon, given by the Rev. Tobias Haller yesterday on the Feast of Richard Hooker.

Thanks be to God for this reminder in the face of polarized factions, petty carping and arrogant self-righteousness in our church.

Lord, grant that it be so

The following was quoted in the bulletin from today's investiture of the new Presiding Bishop for the Episcopal Church:

The bishop belongs to all. Let no one be scandalized if I frequent those who are considered unworthy or sinful. Who is not a sinner? Let no one be alarmed if I am seen with compromised and dangerous people, on the left or the right. Let no one bind me to a group. My door, my heart, must be open to everyone, absolutely everyone.

-Archbishop Hélder Pessoa Câmara, retired Roman Catholic archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Brazil

You can take the priest out of northwest Indiana; but...

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Props to DawgDays for this one.

Last minute shopping

Looking for an investiture gift for a new Presiding Bishop who has everything? How about one of these?