Apple: X.5

Thanks M&D for a great early X-Mas gift! I haven't installed it yet, but I'm just about to get this "cat" (Leopard) which is actually the fifth incarnation of OS 10 or OS X as mac users like to call it, on to my system.

Family: Boo & Booooooooo

The two younger children are excited, Halloween is just around the corner. And what else is just around the corner? Winter. Ordinarily I love winter, just not this early. Maybe it has to do with driving Sherry to work, but this year I'm just not snow excited. That is the real difference between being older and being young. Maybe I need to get that excitement back and stop worrying about inconveniences.

eMail: Why "G"?

Indeed, why G? Why have I used gmail for the past 5 years exclusively? Read this post to find out why.

Now you decide why you might not have switched or have an account and are not using it exclusively.

strange flight attendant

TOO FUNNY.

Vivaldi - Gloria (RV 589):

LAST ONE: listen to this if you don't listen to the others... this is my favorite Gloria!!!!! hands down. And this epitomizes my love of choral music. God bless St. Matthias, Westmount QC.

Gloria in Excelsis Deo - Norwich Cathedral Choir

What was my childhood experience of church like? Well take away the lamps and the vaulted ceiling ... everything else, including the organ, director and ruffs around the choir boys necks was how I sang. I actually did sing this piece but as a baritone or tenor it was just after my voice changed.

Ubi Caritas

one of my favorite anthems by Duruflé. It always brings me to tears. To sing it is most moving. And it brings me back to my youth when in wonderful Anglican choirs.

The First Anglican Church Service in Second Life

Very interesting. It is amazing that people online greatly desire to gather, even virtually, to Praise the Almighty. The internet can be a place of spirituality.

Anglican Church in the Palestinian Territories

Pray and pray constantly for there are many who strive daily for their faith! This is why we as Anglican Christians pray for world and all those awkwardly named Bishops. Never forget those prayers.

Pentecost 22

Bulletin: Pr30COctober282007.pdf

Sermon: Pr30C2007f.WMA*


*a copy of an mp3 file will appear later this week. Sorry I didn't have time to convert it. BTW a WMA file should be handled quite easily by Windows Media Player or Quicktime on a Mac.

Computing: Showdown

Visit Engadget for a full comparison.

Apple: Still Waiting for the Cat

Let me first thank my Mom for providing me with the funds for Leopard, after this fire it was a wonderful gift! Alas I am without it. Last night I was tempted to drive the 250km to Bangor, Maine, where BestBuy did have copies, but Sherry and I had to be responsible as payday isn't until Tuesday... but it would have been a fun road trip.

So I sit here waiting until it comes to NB. I fear I might be waiting until next Friday. I am very miffed about this but what can we do, this is the Maritimes and I'm learning why Canada keeps hearing that we are forgotten... indeed in many ways I concur.

Read Gizmodo's buyers guild assessment of Leopard.

Comment: Done Nothin

TOMB said:

"Wow. It is great to see 6 teens there. Last time I attended there, besides my wife and kids, I was the youngest one. (I am 30.) What have you done to reach out to the teens? What are you doing to reach out to those younger and in their early adult life?

I ask these questions because my church is also asking these questions.

My other question to you is (since I am on a roll) what books and sites have you read lately that you can recommend?"

I'm flattered but quite honestly "I" have done nothing. This is one of those times when you just thank God for the response to our prayers for youth. When I arrived 2 years ago the overwhelming mandate presented to me by Vestry was the lack of youth and to get them in. Many would have begun to work tirelessly hard at youth programs and tons of effort playing the pied piper... I did nothing. Literally. I prayed, of course, but other than that I observed and waited. My tendancy was to put lots of effort into it but experience has taught me to wait and watch. Often, especially in a new place, it is best to get to know the dynamics before doing a thing. As I have said before I did express my desire to use the alternative service book and clean up some of the administrative issues but apart from those I just watched. Now in my 2nd year I have a better eye as to the needs and what works and doesn't here in our communities.

The youth revolve around Camp Brookwood and their church is St. Andrew's (the Camp Chapel). The key to bringing in youth is to get them to share themselves at the inter-generational church, eg, St. James, Church of the Good Shepherd etc.... Last year I hung out more at Brookwood, had a sleepover in Florenceville and every other month had a Brookwood reunion, but it was very loosy-goosy. The work of Brookwood this year has resulted in many youth feeling called to bring the summer experience to church that occurs in fall, winter and spring! It's been a grace and we are blest by their presence.

Have their been adjustments? Well I think their have been but I don't think the congregation is really aware of the impact of having youth in their church. They are loud, too loud at times and that has been getting better, but their is a freedom in their expressions in church and they are happy to be their, that is a blessing.

Having a Camp next door is great, and so build a camp? Seriously trust God and be prepared for change. I am still unsure if the parish understands what needs to occur to keep youth in the parish, I don't think I know either, but I have a slight idea. I'll share that if it works. Either way their will be growing pains and I imagine that 2008 and will be a year of transition, not too dramatic but dramatic enough for some.

It's funny but young children are keen to be more involved but it's hard to get their parents to commit to weekly attendance due to other priorities and so the children learn by example that everything else is higher up on the list of priorities... most of which are seen as more fun and require commitment; I guess church requires no commitment.

What we are doing at the moment is ALPHA, not necessarily Youth ALPHA, but still the full course and they respond to the tape with their own impressions. Youth are not dumb, and though many are young in their faith, I am encouraged by their commitment (10 weeks and none have missed a week of church, even parish services... that is better than half of my regular adult congregation). We have some plans for a ski trip and a sleepover... they love sleepovers. It reminds the youth of Camp. It's much better than living off a computer screen as most youth do today.


"What books and sites..." OH MY. Well I always promote textweek.com for Sunday preparation. Not everything is great but usually their is a gem. Mostly I have been listening to podcasts. I really enjoy the "HTB Sunday Talks", Saint Benedict's Table, and Prayer from the Taizé Community. It's eclectic but so am I :-)

Books are a bit more difficult as I am always reading to prepare for other events and rarely read for pleasure. But a couple of gems I have found are the Oxford Univerity Press' "Very Short Introductions". They are very small booklets of roughly 150 pages and are around $14 Canadian. Mark Chapman has one on "Anglicanism" (2006) and another by David F. Ford on "Theology" (1999). If you're looking for something like the Ferrari of spiritual / theological books then I draw your attention to "The Book That Breathes New Life: Scriptural Authority and Biblical Theology" by Walter Brueggemann (Augsburg Fortress, 2005). This is a hefty book yet only 228 pages all due to the depth of theological insight and the cost... as I recall it was $50+.

I hope this long response has been sufficient. Blessings.

LOL: Fire Alarm but no Alarm

Yes, everyone wants to be calm during a fire... this might be too calm: "wake up to YOUR NEXT fire calm and refreshed."

LMAO

LOL: Whisk Away

That's alot of beatings

Board Game ranking

Here's the link to that site boardgamegeek.com that I mentioned in the Vlog. This link will send you directly to their ranking list. I'm sure that it will tickle your desire to dust off and play an old game stuffed away in your cupboard. http://boardgamegeek.com/browser.php?itemtype=game&sortby=rank

Vlog-Oct26 2007

Leopard, Kitchen woes, laptops and shiny things, and some boardgames.

Ahhh Soooo Cute

OUCH!

Exasperated: Peeling Paint

It was only a matter of time, but now our new paint is peeling worse. I'm frustrated. Oil paint has to be sanded down and not primed. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I can scream in print but not in RL :-(

Worst Cookbook Title Evah

Nice Plug Cover

As the kitchen plugs are being raised to no longer rest under the backsplash, this caught my eye.

read more

When will It End!

I don't even know what to say. I'm so very frustrated. So the floor went in last week and we were overjoyed. Yesterday the counter tops went in. Sherry and I had long days, got home and quickly fixed supper, before a lovely evening with Archdeacon Allen who was in the area.

So what happened, just after supper, Sherry cried out "Doug come quickly it's an emergency!!!!" I ran thinking we were burning down the house again. I looked around and saw no emergency, then I looked down! The pictures say it all. The men who moved the fridge back into place, after setting the counter, ripped the brand new flooring. I am so disgusted I can't hardly write. Here are pictures of the new kitchen as it looks now along with the damage.

Great Question to Blog

I received this question last night and wished to share it since some may not have notification of comments on.

Anonymous said...

MP3 would be easier for me to download. I don't have an the player your format at the office. (I'm in a job where I can listen and work at the same time.)

A while ago, you asked what we wanted to on your blog. Well, a while ago, (in church), you mentioned how you were working to expand the congregation, might make some changes, and how you were looking for a projector that you could connect to your laptop. How are those projects going? I am curious to know.


Douglas+ said...

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

The mp3/WMA file format dilemma I find myself in at the moment has to do with the file size. In "Blogger" I can only upload 10 Megs. But after I convert the audio to MP3 (on the Olympus) the file is upwards of 15 Megs.

The geek in me can upload to my GoDaddy server, but parish and diocesan work has limited my geek time and I haven't done the things that take any effort. Hence the reason why I haven't made the switch to Wordpress.

This week I might try and reduce the quality to see how that goes. My hope is to get the best sound quality in the smallest package.

Your second question is quite interesting. Yes, those have been goals I set for the parish as well as myself. Every priest, I would hope, desires to expand the congregations they serve. The numbers game can be a distraction to the ministry being done, nevertheless I believe that all congregations are stable and Florenceville has increased due to the large number of youth attending church this season. Currently we have 6 teens consistently coming to church each week. Camp Brookwood and the ministry there has been a large part of that ministry top those youth. Since we have such a large number of youth and with the cost of projectors coming down in price it is the right time to purchase one with a low lamp replacement cost (that is the key to shopping for a projector in todays market... they soak you with the lamp replacement cost).

My hope is to have a projector by January and to start using it soon after for youth group, vestry and eventually at the odd church service during my sermon and possibly for the youth when they teach a new song.

In future that projector could be used at Brookwood, depending on the will of vestry.

Pentecost 21: Update

Bulletin: Pr%2029%20C%20October%2021%202007.pdf

Sermon: WS_30005.WMA

Vlog: Show'nTell 1

just a quick, lol seven and a half minute, Friday Vlog.

An Act of Love: A Gift of Flowers

Early this morning we received a call from the Village Green, our local florist, saying we had a delivery. Sherry and I spent our time getting ready for the drive to work wondering who this was from and what was the occasion being marked. Our anniversary was a few weeks ago and there were no birthdays. As it turns out it was from a most unexpected place.

After the fire we had received very few concerns. We seemed to stay in the motel with only one family seeming to be interested in our well being. Recently many people were surprised to hear about our fire, one person recognized our continued shock and distress and prayed for us along with a prayer group. The flowers? They came from the Florenceville United Baptist Church. What a blessed pastor Charlie Thompson has been to this community and over these past two years to myself as well.

Thank you my Baptist brethren for this act of love, we are very deeply moved.

Brookwood & Diocesan Archives

It was a beautiful day, but my original plans had me spending my time typing up the Sunday Bulletin. But I received a call from Frank Morehouse who was coming up river to our deanery in hopes of cataloging the Camp Brookwood silverware. I'm overjoyed that I took the time to visit the camp with our prestigious visitors.

Along with Frank was Twila Buttimer, our diocesan archivist who last synod received the diocesan Award of Merit for her tireless work. Last but certainly not least was a special surprise for myself, as I had never met the man, Archbishop Harold Nutter. Archbishop Nutter has been retired for what I believe is 18 years yet he is a spritely as ever.

The afternoon began in the Church of the Good Shepherd, and I'm sure Wilma, a wonderful woman who looks after the vessels and altar clothes, will be having a word with me as I took them all out for Frank to photograph and put them back in their place in the most atrocious way. We then drove over to the camp where we spent much time just enjoying the ambiance. Archbishop Nutter on more than one occasion said that the camp had such a wonderful "atmosphere" and we all agreed that this was a diocesan gem that really hasn't been appreciated enough. Pictures do not do Camp Brookwood justice. All in all it was an afternoon filled with great company and conversation.

Action Day!

Around the world many blogs are marking "Action Day". This is a day when bloggers have been asked to talk about global warming and environmental awareness.

We are asked to be good stewards of God's creation. To be a Christian is to be a good steward and to care for what God has provided. How are you caring for his creation? For that matter how am I???

I suck! We really don't separate our waste and recycle and so today, and in the future I pray the grace and commitment to begin to take recycling seriously.

After thinking about the environmental consequences of your waste management and for that matter your use of electricity and fossil fuels, think how you can change.

Around the Rectory

So we went shopping for more kitchen things this past week and I picked up this silicon Pizza and Pasta mat. Sherry said I wouldn't make either and scoffed at the purchase. So Friday we didn't go out on a date, we ate pasta and pizza I made from scratch... it was awesome.

Sherry and I watched TV on the iMac that night and when I past the living room I saw the kids watching their shows, these pictures were just priceless.

Sherry has wanted a trampoline for a long time now and I finally gave in as it was only $25, as Liam shows below, many hospital trips will most definitely ensue :-p

Thanksgiving Day Revisited

Thanksgiving was interesting at home as it was a busy day in the parish as well as being our 18th Wedding Anniversary. As an aside, if you have the Anglican BCP Calendar, "An Anglican Church Calendar 2007" (the one with the Watercolour churches), you will see this month St. Jude's Anglican Church, West Saint John, New Brunswick... well that's the very church Sherry and I were married in.

Anyway theres a picture of Pippa below where she decided that she wanted to be princess as she climbed the tree and played in the yard. She thought the hoody was a great accessory to her princess dress.

As we were still getting used to our oven which was 50 degrees off at that point, we decided to cook a cook from frozen Butterball along with our traditional sausage stuffing that is not to be stuffed (very English). Well we couldn't find any regular breakfast sausages so we had to settle for Italian and then I couldn't determine if the crushed herb in the label less container was sage or oregano... turned out to be oregano. Let's just say the sausage stuffing was spicy. I guess I did spice up the marriage :-)

I pray you all had a great past two weeks with family and friends. Next big holiday is Halloween, otherwize known as the day before All Saint's and All Soul's day.

Audio Comments Desired

Hi, I'm not looking for a content critique but comments on how hard were the sermons to ...

1) Download

2) Listen too

3) was the quality alright.

Please leave comments below.

Thanksgiving & Pentecost 20

Harvest Thanksgiving in Centreville

Bulletin: ThanksgivingCCentreville2007.pdf

Sermon: ThanksgivingC2007sj.WMA


Pentecost 20

Bulletin: Pr28COctober142007.pdf

Sermon: Pentecost20C2007.WMA

Regular Sunday Podcast

After almost a year of humming and hawing over my MP3 player woes, and eventual destruction of said mp3 player in the rain, I have finally purchased a serious recorder.

It wasn't the $400 one I desired, but still a hefty $200 (ugh Futureshop) Olympus WS-320M Voice Recorder. The sound quality is great and meets the need I believe. Maybe in a year Santa might bless me with another, but first lets see how this works.

So I have no more excuses not to have my sermons posted. From now on a regular podcast should happen and if I get my act together I may actually post a real "Podcast" on iTunes.

Too Funny: Goto boingboing.net

St. Benedict's Table

I stumbled across a great podcast from St. Benedict's Table in Winnipeg. It is a wonderful ministry that seems to have come out of a call to mission beyond Church walls. They embrace art and learning in a wonderful fellowship. Check them out at http://www.stbenedictstable.ca/

To hear the great 5 session podcast on Anglicanism 101

1) get iTunes on your machine and goto http://fromthetable.ca/ and follow the link to the podcast. iTunes will open up and you should have a few of their entries listed. The ones I really endorse are the 101 ones. They are fantastic.

Here is what their iTune info says about the community:

"saint benedict's table is a church community in the Anglican tradition deeply involved at the intersection of faith and culture. Our monthly ideaExchange series, at a used bookstore in Winnipeg, Canada, explores trends and topics relevant to both the wider culture and to the life of faith. We sponsor a lecture series, recently produced a CD of music created by community members and took an innovative look at what being Anglican is all about. Inspired by what Robert Webber calls "the ancient-future," we draw deeply on the great tradition of the church to be free to explore new ground, new music, new futures. Visit us at stbenedictstable.ca"

Thanksgiving in the Parish

Last week one hundred parishioners joined together at Camp Brookwood to celebrate Thanksgiving together. It was a wonderful time and all present really enjoyed themselves. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving weekend!

So it's not a dramatic change...

... it's just a shade more brown than black and so the background is what it is.

I do have quite a different template on my desktop at the moment and I am adding pages to it each day. I am still unsure if I want to leave the comfort of web-based blogging. Blogger works and is easy to use, but as many of you know I have been craving to leave for well over a year now and just need a bit more of a push. Anyway the page will stay the same at present because it's just too busy around the parish at present.

Getting Rid of the Ash look

Ya, I know I said this after the fire, but hopefully by this afternoon I will have dumped the dark gray look. But I might just go back to the light gray, I don't know yet, stay tuned for my latest whim :-)

Time in the "FloMo"

The FloMo is the local slang for the Florenceville Motor Inn. Cathy, the owner, is one of my wardens in the church and though it is nice to plug her motel, the truth is that it truly is a very nice place to stay. The food is very good in a family restaurant way with many options. Hotels / Motels are nice to stay in for a bit, when it turns to 11 days, it seems like your doing time, especially when with 4 children. We were blest to have 2 rooms and one a suite. Here is a look at the rooms and the game, El Grande, which the boys and I played three days in a row.

Old Damage Just Noticed

It took Cameron and two weeks later to discover something we all missed.