October 10, 2010 · 8:30 pm

Oh, What a Day!

Thanksgiving. 

I think this is the biggest family gathering we have had since my dad’s funeral.  That’s usually the thing that draws everyone back home.  But not today.  Today it was a chance to spend a good last visit, maybe with our auntie besides just a chance to be together as a family.  And sharing a special day like today with her, even if it was only by visits to the nursing home, was a good reason to visit.

All my sisters and my brother were here.  Most of their children were here and most of my children were here.  Altogether, we were 35 since our Spanish lodger joined us too. 

The day started early.  I got up to stuff the turkey and put it on to roast.  I had purchased the biggest turkey I could find in the store – 11.96 Kg. so 6 hours were needed to cook the bird.  Beatriz even got up early to help me peel the potatoes and we chatted together about what kind of big family celebrations her family has in Spain.  Before we left for church the aroma of roast turkey was already filling the air. 

At 1 we all gathered, everyone laden with their contributions to the feast and we had a wonderful time eating and talking long into the afternoon.  Such a gorgeous day.

Family can be very special and I am blessed.  They make me very thankful for the relationships we have that have enriched our lives almost beyond belief.

A day to be thankful and a day to be thankful for.

6 Comments

Filed under Family

October 1, 2010 · 4:22 pm

Talking Theology

Here we go, Marc.  This is what my tweet a few days back was referring to. 

Warning: this is long.

One of the books I am reading as part of my Theology class this term is Freeing Theology edited by Catherine Mowry LaCugna, a book of essays by some leading female theologians who are attempting to look at theology from a new perspective – that of women in the Christian faith. These women are all of a Catholic persuasion, interesting enough since the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox churches take the most conservative and restrictive view of women in ministry. Out of adversity comes great strength; or maybe one could say that God uses what is of little account to confound the wise. That would be fitting with God’s economy I think.

These authors discuss a number of theological issues. The one we have been dealing with this week is the Trinity. The author discusses the historical background which gave rise to this doctrine and the heresies which they were addressing by their formulation. She gives a beautiful discourse on Rublev’s icon and states that the figures in the icon sit in a circle around the Eucharistic cup with space in this circle for the one meditating on the icon to enter into the communion of the three. She states, “This icon expresses the fundamental insight of the doctrine of the Trinity, namely, that God is not far from us but lives among us in a communion of persons.”(p.84)

Later she goes on to state, “The point of Trinitarian theology is to convey that it is the essence or heart of God to be in relationship to other persons; that there is no room for division or inequality or hierarchy in God; that the personal reality of God is the highest possible expression of love and freedom; that the mystery of divine life is characterized by self-giving and self-receiving; that divine life is dynamic and fecund, not static or barren (p.106)

As she discusses the doctrine, she also engages us in a rethinking of the creeds which describe the Trinity using very patriarchal language. It was, of course, the language and thinking of the era in which they were written but this language poses problems, namely the idea of God being masculine and of the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit being hierarchical. The early church fathers may not have intended to overlay the theology of the Trinity with hierarchy or solely masculine images for God but their language and thinking was patriarchal and so it reinforces this.

Not everyone in this class comes from a middle class, white North American culture and so there was some discussion as to the validity of LaCugna’s arguments and whether they really conformed to what has been said in the Scripture regarding the Trinity and the relationship between the three. Part of our discussion was an attempt to help this person see that disunity and inequality is more a sign of brokenness and sin than of some design by God for the way things should be.

Continue reading →

14 Comments

Filed under Studying, Theology

September 28, 2010 · 9:36 pm

What a day

I have discovered that it is less tiring to go away to work in an office where you work for 8 or 9 hours at a stretch than to be semi-retired. 

For one thing, you have a neat(more or less) schedule to follow at work and you don’t fit in more than it is possible to do in those 8 or 9 hours.  When one is doing a bit of this and then a bit of that and then taking the grandkids for a spell before rushing off to a meeting in the evening there is barely time to squeeze in the required assignment that has to be posted by the next day for the on-line class.   

And I do not have a receptionist to tell me when the day ends.

Ahh, the life of a pastor wanna be.

Comments Off on What a day

Filed under church, Day to Day, Studying

September 23, 2010 · 12:23 am

It is funny

or not.  How loneliness just kind of creeps in making one wish for a good long talk.  Not sure just what about.

I do know that no one around here is awake enough to talk about anything after midnight.

Maybe it is just the excess coffee acting up.  I should have known better but it seemed like a good idea to drink two cups while the meeting was going on and I was yawning non-stop.  A retrospective look at life does not do much for the current moment.  I will be more prudent next time.  Famous last words.

5 Comments

Filed under Dealing with stuff

September 16, 2010 · 3:27 pm

Wrapping it up – mostly

Today I spent my down time at the office labelling and arranging the photos of the last city we visited in Europe.  Barcelona, Spain.  This is a place I wanted to visit specifically to experience some of Gaudi’s architecture.  It could have justified spending a few more days in Spain but… that’s how it goes.  There is never quite enough time to see all the wonders of the world.

So if you want to see some more beautiful architecture, you might want to checkout the latest sets that I have put together on Flikr.  La Pedrada and La Sagrada Familia.  I would go back to see La Sagrada Familia again.  In that place one experiences a sense of awe and wonder and can read some of the story of God in the stones.

2 Comments

Filed under Photos, Travels

September 15, 2010 · 8:46 pm

For those who love fabulous buildings

You really should visit Cordoba.  But maybe visit it in the fall or winter. Unless you enjoy extremely hot temperatures.

You can visit it by pictures here – mostly we saw The Great Mosque since we only had one day there.  The Great Mosque is also the Cathedral of Cordoba and a World Heritage Site.  Well worth a visit.

Comments Off on For those who love fabulous buildings

Filed under Photos, Travels

September 14, 2010 · 6:32 am

Visiting Gibraltar

Over at Flikr I’ve loaded up a set of photos taken on Gibraltar.  This is a place we visited because of old family ties that drew us back.  I was curious to see this place where my great grandfather and my grandfather served in the British Army.  Serving in the British Army was a way to escape the poverty of England and so my great grandfather left England first for India, where my grandfather was born in Karachi, and then other places around the British Empire till when my grandfather was about 16 and could enlist as well, they ended up in Gibraltar.

Some of the photos I’ve taken show the military nature of the Rock. It must have been an arduous place to serve a term.  The road we walked down from the summit of the rock was one that the soldiers would have had to walk up many times, I’m sure. 

IMG_2497-1

Large rings in the rock were placed there to assist the teams of men who moved heavy guns up and down those same roads.  We think sometimes of the enjoyment of the sun.  I wonder if the soldiers rejoiced in it or cursed its heat as they were climbing.IMG_2515-1

It is from Gibraltar that my ancestors emigrated to Canada.  I guess they were used to hard work but the introduction to cold must have been a real shock.  yet they stayed, laboured again under adverse conditions and helped build Canada.  I suspect most of us have gotten soft over the years.  We owe much to our forebears.

Leo and I rode the cable car to the top of The Rock and then walked down.  It was a long day of walking.  We probably did 10 Kms and it was not all downhill.  It was a good way to see the place.  At the end of the day we had a meal in a place on the waterfront called the Ipanema where they served Brazilian style – endless meats grilled  and passed on huge skewers.  Wonderful end to a great day.IMG_2568

6 Comments

Filed under Family, Photos, Travels

September 12, 2010 · 6:49 am

More photos

I have finally made it to our visit to our friends Maria and Cipriano Almeida’s home, farm and vineyard in a little town near Seia in Portugal.  The set can be found here on Flikr.  There will be more photos to add later.

Visiting my auntie is taking up much of my spare time.  It is well used.  I don’t now how much longer we’ll have her to visit.  Mostly I just sit with her but last night I found that she still enjoys music so I plugged her ear in to my i-pod and she listened to some classical stuff I have on there.  Think I’ll upload some old hymn favourites for her.

Comments Off on More photos

Filed under Family, Music, Travels

September 10, 2010 · 7:03 am

Enough

It is 7 am and I sit here listening to the steady rain falling, that has been falling since yesterday morning.  After only two weeks back in rainy Saskatchewan after six weeks of steady sun and heat in dry Europe, I am rapidly losing my once in a lifetime tan and am feeling need for some sun.  Maybe my Vitamin D levels are dropping.  I have had enough of rain.

 

Just thought I’d voice my complaint.

Comments Off on Enough

Filed under Day to Day

September 6, 2010 · 10:59 pm

I used to write

But lately it just seems hard.  It would do me a world of good to write and sort of let out some of the tension that comes from dealing with difficult situations that life has brought my way.  But, I know that some of the people who read this are just not interested and should I do it?  I also have learned that in spite of my best intentions, what I write affects other members of my family who did not choose to make their lives public.

So, now that you are wondering if Leo and I are having a major issue  – NO.  We are just fine. 

I am simply having to deal with those end of life issues that any of us who care for elderly relatives have to deal with.  And it is just very hard.  I am not the type who makes a decision and that’s that.  I have to agonize over what is best; what is the right course of action. It is easier making decisions for myself, but life and death decisions for another person are a different matter.

Today that is what the day was all about.  It looks like the right decision was made.  The next few days will tell, I guess.  Auntie F is in hospital and is getting good pain control, hydration and tonight when I left her was already looking better. 

Those of you who know my auntie – She and I would appreciate your prayers for her peace and comfort.

5 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized