my sunday morning

This morning my activities included leisurely reading the Sunday paper while enjoying a cup of coffee, checking my e-mail and a few blogs, making pumpkin juice for Offspring #2's Harry Potter party (this senior class is way cool), and doing some work type stuff around the house. Noticeably absent was church attendance.

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I'd like a church that is relevant, authentic, and inclusive. I want one with progressive theology and one which embraces mystery and creativity. There doesn't seem to be a church in town that fits my bill. I think really good candidates would be here or here, but I'd have to board a jet weekly, and then my carbon footprint would be waaaay too big.

Even though I'm not expecting a "perfect" church (since that doesn't exist), perhaps I am being too picky. Perhaps I'm subconsciously expecting to be so enamored with a church that (to borrow from the abominable snowman on Bugs Bunny) I want to "hug it and squeeze it and name it George". Perhaps. But for now, I'm enjoying my Sunday mornings.

A Norma Desmond Moment

Bopping around the internet often leads to interesting finds for me. I just ran across something called "soaking", a practice that is apparently gaining some popularity in charismatic circles. Soaking prayer is the "setting aside of oneself to focus and meditate on God for renewal of strength and peace." OK. So far so good. But the 'catch' is that it appears to require special training and money to get it. There are different groups that will "soak you" (pun intended) for the training. For example, completing the "Deeper Christian Life Soaking Prayer Center School" online course (for $50) will get you "a beautiful gold seal certificate/diploma suitable for framing which verifies you have received your training and are now a member and Director of an official Deeper Christian Life International Soaking Prayer Center." Wow. Suitable for framing!

All of this reminds me of the famous scene from the classic 1950 movie, Sunset Boulevard:
Joe Gillis (William Holden): You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big.
Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson): I am big. It's the pictures that got small.

Yep, the gospel is still big -- it's some churches and people who choose to get small.

losing the (kitten) war

Sigh. Offspring #2 and I are disheartened this evening. Licorice, our incredibly cute (as you can clearly see by the above photo!) kitty, is not faring well over at kitten war, the internet site where people vote for their favorite feline. Licorice has gone head to head with another kitty and lost an unbelievable 75% of the time! Doing the math, one would expect him to have won 25% of the time, but it's worse than that! He tied 8% of the matches, so his winning percentage is a paltry 17%. (I mean, geez, Bush and Cheney have higher ratings!)

I'm just not getting it. Who could resist that little face?!

pic of the day

Ah, spring in the Pacific Northwest is lovely. (And for those of you with 'allergy eyes', Bausch & Lomb has a new over the counter drop called Alaway.)

photo by Offspring #1

earth day birthday

Earth Day is 37 years old today. According to Wikipedia, here's how it came to be:

Responding to widespread environmental degradation, Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator from Wisconsin, called for an environmental teach-in, or Earth Day, to be held on April 22, 1970. Over 20 million people participated that year, and Earth Day is now observed each year on April 22 by more than 500 million people and national governments in 175 countries.

Well, we've obviously got some MAJOR environmental concerns facing us on this Earth Day 2007. (Note my not-so-subtle symbolic reference to global warming by the way I've placed the burning candles on earth...)

While the big picture might seem pretty overwhelming, I think it's important to not get totally discouraged, but rather to begin taking even small steps towards helping our planet. Check out these sites:
Earthday Network
World Wildlife Earth Day site

limbo

Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI reversed traditional Roman Catholic teaching on limbo, that borderland between heaven and hell, by approving a Vatican report that said there were "grounds to hope" that children who die without being baptized can go to heaven. Full story here. Theologians had long taught that while children who die without baptism would not be in communion with God in heaven, they do enjoy an "eternal state of perfect natural happiness" in limbo. It probably looks something like this:




Oh wait, wrong limbo.

The Vatican report doesn't carry the authority of a papal encyclical, and it was stressed that "no one can no for certain". So limbo may be, well, in limbo for now. However, many (including myself) consider the Pope's decision to be both "sensitive and significant".

I like the statement by Rev. Richard McBrien, Notre Dame theology professor: "If there's no limbo and we're not going to revert to St. Augustine's teaching that unbaptized infants go to hell, we're left with only one option, namely, that everyone is born in the state of grace."

it's official!

After much deliberation, the decision has been reached. In the fall, Offspring #2 will be joining Offspring #1 at the same university. (Let the zany, madcap sibling college adventures begin!) I think they will look something like this heading off to school: