Camp Brookwood 2007

Been very busy with diocesan and parish duties these past few days. Literally, I'm getting my boots on right now, cause I'm off to Camp Brookwood for the first Youth Service of 2007. It'll be muddy and cold but the young people will love it. After they plan on sliding on the remainder of the snow and then back to the Church of the Good Shepherd for supper, a movie "The Gospel of John" and a sleepover! Busy Busy. I hope to provide the sermon and some pictures later tonight.

Emergent UK

A great site... please check it out, wonderfully laid out and a great ministry:
http://creation.blogs.com/emergent_uk_media_arts/

Apocalypse Wow!: Father Matthew Presents

Once again I endorse Fr. Matthew's presentation. And again I ask you consider this in your prayers and in your reading of Scripture.

Lent 5

Sorry I'm late again, I continue to have issues with converting the Bulletin, so here is the Sermon without the pdf file. For the readings please go to http://www.textweek.com/yearc/lentc5.htm follow the links of the readings for the NRSV.

Sermons:
VOICE022.MP3
or
VOICE023.MP3

First Suit & Sher

No, not mine, though I'm sure my parents have a picture of it somewhere, Andrew's:




And here's a bonus with Sherry...

Doing Stuff

DIARY:

I'm getting prepared for Vestry after a full day of doing Vestry work and planing the Summer calendar for the Parish. I ate supper at the desk and whipped down yummy BBQ Ribs made from scratch by Sherry.

Pray this evening as many things will be discussed. And then when I get back home at 9pm I'll get back on he PC in order to get ready for my Episcopal Team meeting tomorrow. Sometime later this week I'll start getting my Holy Week Sermons started and finish off Palm Sunday... OH YA PRAY that those palms arrive on time.

D+

From the Lenten Retreat:

Fun: Rome and the Net

Here is a snippet:

If ancient Rome had the Internet...

• The destruction of Pompeii in 79AD is the most viewed video at YouTube. The first comment is..."OMG so cool! Volcanos ROCK!"


• Attila the Hun has his own MySpace page. Nobody ever rejects his "invite a friend" emails.


• The soothsayer's "Ides of March" email fails to get Caesar's proper attention as it's inadvertently filtered into his junk folder.


• But at least Caesar's "Et tu Brute?" comment is available as a free ringtone download.


• The domain gladiator.rome sells for the record sum of 1,000,000 denarii.


• The owner of hadriansucks.rome is compelled to hand over both the domain name and selected body parts by an independent domain tribunal chaired by...Emperor Hadrian.


• "Naked Cleopatra" is the top search term on Google.


• Unfortunately, the Queen of Egypt dies an early death after misunderstanding IT's call to embrace an ASP solution.


• Hannibal blogs his way across the Alps with posts like, "Whoops, lost another elephant today."


• But he runs out of money when his PPC budget is plundered by an iberian click scam organized by Publius Cornelius Scipio.


• Tiber.com opens, initially selling scrolls and tablets before expanding to include togas, pottery, and do-it-yourself mosaic kits.


• Websites like handsome-literate-male-british-slave.com pollute the search listings thanks to generous commissions at the slaves.co.rome affiliate program.


• Roman programmers moan about projects outsourced to cheap coders in Mesopotamia.


• The Colosseum is renamed the eBay Colosseum, with free wireless hotspots outside the lark's tongue restaurant.


• The volume of spam collapses when the penalty for not providing a working opt-out mechanism becomes equal billing with the lions at the eBay Colosseum.


• But we still get emails featuring Brunhilda, the lonely Visigoth, and hot deals on cheap peacock livers from Gaul.


• Nobody invents a spam filter good enough for the House of the Vestals.


• Classical geeks wear t-shirts proclaiming, "there's no place like CXXVII.0.0.I" (bonus points if you get that one)


• Finally, Rome burns to the ground while Emperor Nero battles online with Hakkar the Soulflayer in World of Warcraft.

Wonderful HDR Pictures

Please check out the pictures on this gentlemans site, just breathtaking:
http://www.stuckincustoms.com/

Here is an explaination on "HDR"

A 3 8 0

Now that's big!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid687267809/bctid686937758

The Stations of the Cross

Check out this site for more information on the Passion stories of our Lord:
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/xstations/links.html

Thomas Cranmer: A Day Late

Here are some sites on Thomas Cranmer:

Wikipedia
BBC
A Priest's Take
Britanica
An Account of His Execution

Gmail

I'm a big fan of Gmail, so much so that I have not used a POP Account (such as alliant.nb.ca or sympatico.ca) for four years. It is Google Mail and offers over 2.5 Gigabytes of storage and over 10 mb downloads in a single mail message. It has a clean interface and is considered more secure than Yahoo which has a good reputation for it's mail client. Unfortunately it bogs you down with downloading Yahoo software etc. MSN's Hotmail is one of the worst for security. So I always recommend Gmail... and also Firefox for your Internet browser (I have Internet Explorer on my desktop but NEVER use it... too many spyware and virus vulnerabilities).

Here is a site that gives a Gmail and Firefox user over 30 tools to help improve the experience:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gmail-craze-30-tools-to-make-your-gmail-better/

Stuff Said in Court

This is another fun site of quotes.

A Guantanamo cell (High Speed Users)

Amnesty International has constructed a highly realistic life size replica of the Guantanamo cell where Australian David Hicks has been languishing for five years. There is a Quicktime virtual reality panorama of it on this Sydney panorama blog site. More…

Hold your mouse down and you can look aound to see the cell in 3D.

The above Reported in Digg

Archbishops' reflections on the slave pits in Zanzibar

Lest we forget!

The Planet Game

This is frustrating after lvl 6: http://www.maniacworld.com/the-planets-game.htm

Ok Coffee Drinkers

You know who I'm looking at... OH YES do the math! Here is a calculator that will figure out how much caffeine is in the system, add up your daily intake with the Caffeine Database (the calculator is just a bit further down the link page).

Family Pictures

This is just wonderful... what forsight.

http://zonezero.com/magazine/essays/diegotime/time.html

Lenten Fast

Well I have been silent on the thing I really "gave up" for Lent. So this is a real Blog! In the traditional Blog sense, this is a diary, opinion driven, entry: enjoy.

It began with the idea that I have never been able to do this ever and that this might be something to remind me of Christ's sacrifice more than giving up meat, which I have often done in the past.

After 42 years, 25 of which I might have been able to do this, I have never grown a beard. About 4 times I have reached the 10 day mark and then I shave, not able to handle the annoyance. It has always been a great desire to do but the questions... "broke your shaver?", "why are you not shaving?", "you look scruffy today" etc... were too much to deal with especially when I became a cleric. Being in the public eye with many having opinions of what a cleric should and shouldn't do is just not worth the effort to explain.

The real questions I had were could I justify this as a Lenten fast given that I had always wondered what it would be like. Also when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's many clerics had beards... all looking very apostolic. Maybe this was an attempt to be a "proper minister" beard and all. I'm not a big fan of shaving, preferring to shave every other day. I find it a pain and I personally don't mind the unshaven day or two look. Once again, but in my vocation it is frowned upon to go unshaven except if you plan on going all the way: and I have never been prepared to go all the way. I have simply known that I was going to shave by day 10, why? Because the itch drives me to distraction. My thought, at the end of the day, was lets just do it along with other things I have done for Lent and see if it keeps me thinking of Christ's Sacrifice.

It's week 4+ a few days added given Ash Wednesday, and I can tell you that this has been one of the best things I have ever sacrificed for Lent. Not a moment goes by without me thinking of this darn beard /itch /itch /itch .

It began quite easily with the first week being a non issue, by day 10, as usual, I started to scratch. Every day, and increasingly, since then I have thought of shaving often moment by moment, and I'm not exaggerating. I can't stand the itching. When I go to sleep I feel like my face is a pin cushion when I hit the pillow. Sleeping? What sleep! It's hot too so the added distraction of the needle effect makes it quite a miserable experience. The worst moments might have been when I got the flu and my nose started to run: Oh my gosh! And forget eating, I'm constantly in a state worrying that I might have some chunk buried disgustingly in the beard. I obsessively rub my nose now for the same reason. YUCK!!!! The itch though is the worst and keeps me mindful of the why Lent is a time of sacrifice.

And maybe that is why I think this is the best thing I have ever given up. I want to shave. I must say I'm "desperate" to shave. This is not vanity driven, this is annoying (kind of like this rant of mine). I want to cheat, I want to shave. I want to shave about 10 times a day now: seriously! I also know that everyone would know I didn't make it. And the Sunday feast day argument doesn't count with this one.

So when you see me thinking that this is some weak excuse for a Lenten observance, know that it is not... not at least for me.

Lent 4

Sorry I'm late, technical issues prevented me from getting the Word DOC to PDF bulletin converted. For some reason the mp3 isn't converting to the name I wish it to have "lent4c2007" very odd. I think it might be Blogger but then again it could be Vista.

Bulletin:
Lent4CMarch182007.pdf

Florenceville Sermon:
VOICE018.MP3

Greenfield Sermon:
VOICE019.MP3

St. Patrick and the Drink

Well today seems not to be too interested in the Saint so much as the Drink of Ireland: Guinness. Many choose to drink quite a bit today, seemingly following the Irish propensity to consume a beverage coloured by Roasted Barley.

I don't exactly understand why being green means drinking quite a bit, but it is done by many. What I will say on the subject is that the original Guinness was much less alcoholic and much more of a social drink to be enjoyed after a long days work and to join fellow friends in relaxing and listening to great traditional tunes. It's strayed as has Mardi Gras.

So I thought I might pass on this tip... don't drink and drive should be a no brainer but here is a site geared to figure out just how much is too much.

Famous Anglicans

I thought this was cute. It's missing Robin Williams and Don Cherry, among many others I'm sure. Just fun stuff go to http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_anglican.html

A Tee-Shirt??? http://www.cafepress.com/seventhsense.28275057

Sunday School Funnies

STORY OF ELIJAH

The Sunday school teacher was carefully explaining the story of Elijah the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal. She explained how Elijah built the altar, put wood upon it, cut the steer in pieces, and laid it upon the altar. And then, Elijah commanded the people of God to fill four barrels of water and pour it over the altar. He had them do this four times "Now, said the teacher, "can anyone in the class tell me why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?" A little girl in the back of the room started waving her hand, "I know! I know!" she said, "To make the gravy!"

LOT'S WIFE

The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, "My Mummy looked back once, while she was driving," he announced triumphantly, "and she turned into a telephone pole!"

GOOD SAMARITAN

A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then, she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?" A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, "I think I'd throw up."

DID NOAH FISH?

A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?" "No," replied David. "How could he, with just two worms?"

HIGHER POWER

A Sunday school teacher said to her children, " We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a higher power. Can anybody tell me what it is?" One child blurted out, "Aces!"

MOSES &THE RED SEA

Nine-year-old Joey, was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school. "Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then, he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved." "Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked. "Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!"

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible; Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the verse. Little Rick was excited about the task -- but, he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Rickey was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."

Church Smiles

There was a very gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible to her brother in another part of the country. "Is there anything breakable in here?" asked the postal clerk. "Only the Ten Commandments," answered the lady.

While driving in Pennsylvania , a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign... "Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution : Do not step in exhaust.

Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. The daughter answered, "Don't be scared, you'll get your quilt." Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about. He said "Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming."

Give me a sense of humor, Lord,

Give me the grace to see a joke,

To get some humor out of life,

And pass it on to other folk...


[thanks MJ :-)]

A Lenten Meditation on the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ

Getting Better

I was diagnosed with Bronchitis (no I've never smoked) yesterday and hope the penicillin will work quickly. The doctor also gave me a cbc blood test looking for "Mono" lol that is funny funny. Anyway I'm starting to feel better but I'm still very tired and a bit coughy getting up and down. But my voice is getting back to normal.

I thank you for your prayers for Marg, she is doing well. Please continue to pray for the outcome of the biopsy etc these next few weeks.

Much Love in Christ and continue to keep a Holy Lent!

Mac User Tips

I don't have a Mac, though I wish I did, but here is a tidbit of help for those with Macs to get the best performance from their very wonderful MAChines.

Lent 3

Sorry everyone but today I remain ill, losing my voice, and have no sermon or bulletin for the website.

Please keep Margaret in your prayers as she is having a lumpectomy in the morning.

Visual Personality Test

This is soooooo cool. Go and test this out, I love it. But spend time thinking about what the pictures mean to you and then choose.

Gadgets, Dots and Diggs

Interested in knowing all the latest electronic gadgets and having the best reviews? Go to Engadget to get all the latest news and reviews.

Want to know all the latest Tech news? Go to Slashdot

And do you wish to know what other people think are the most important stories on the net, and maybe even contribute? Go to Digg

TEC New Brunswick

TEC NB is holding our 15th TEC weekend this May! The weekend is for New Brunswick youth between the ages of 16 and 21. Come for an awesome weekend of teaching, worship, and meeting with God. This weekend is open to youth from all Christian denominations, so feel free to invite friends from other churches.

The weekend begins around 10AM on Saturday, May 19. The weekend ends at suppertime on Monday, May 21. (Victoria Day long weekend)

So, register and bring a friend! It will be a great time of fellowship with others and with God!

Check out the Canadian Anglican Youth Site

DJ G-Funk: September (Dance Remix)

To Know Me is to Know my Music. Today I'm feeling down cause of this flu. So the way I turn it around is to listen to the music I remember from my teenage years. YES I still love DISCO!

Put a smile on your face and listen.

What's in a Flu Shot?

I didn't have my flu shot, but here I am still ill from the sinus flu I caught last Wednesday: some holiday!

So I searched "flu" on YouTube and found this... though being sick during a week off sucks, this at least is better than mercury lol.

Blasphemy Challenge: Father Matthew Presents

There are a group of individuals on YouTube denying the Holy Spirit in order to challenge Scripture that shows it as the worst "blasphemy".

Fr. Matthew does not strike back with brimstone but with love... wow a Christian responding to aethiests with love: amazing.

I wish more Christians, and leaders of the Church, were prepared to listen and love even in the midst of anger, frustration and hatred. I feel very strongly that the Lord will Judge, but those who do not love first may get the harsher judgement.

Consider this presentation.

The Worst Commercial of All Time

I Think I Spell Like This

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Or rather...

According to a researcher (sic) at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be at the right place. The rest can be a total mess and you can still read it without problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself but the word as a whole.

Blog Mom & Some Prayers

A great blog from the Rev'd Paul Donison's wife Monika... please pray for their daughter, Anabel, as she undergoes surgery on the 5th. Check out Mo the Mama Blog.

1984?

Are we moving in the direction of an Orwellian world? If Internet providers have anything to say about it we will.

Net Neutrality addresses some serious concerns. Read the page and consider the implications.

So You're a Christian...

What does that mean? What are we to do with that? What is our "vocation" or "Baptismal ministry"? What is our calling?

Check out this Anglican summary on the Church of England site... http://www.cofe.anglican.org/faith/mission/missionevangelism.html

As Christians we are to "go out" and tell the world... all in different ways, but essentially we are to spread the Word.

Here is the 189 page book, The Mission Shaped Church. I'm not a big fan of reading large chunks off the Internet, but this book is wonderful and reports the need for a change in our mission and to take evangelism much more seriously.