"You are witnesses of these things..."

From the ALPB Forum Online thread "A Blessed Ascension Day":

Last evening was the 15th consecutive year the Ascension of Our Lord was observed at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peoria on the Feast Day.

Our typical practice as been what Frank Senn describes as Cathedral Vespers and the Eucharist, using Evening Prayer and Holy Communion Setting III of LBW. He reports this as a better alternative to using parts of Vespers to replace the entrance rite for Holy Communion by letting each liturgy stand on its own, rather than asking it to do something else.

Vespers includes the Lucinarium (at 7pm) with procession, during which all worshipers are invited to light their own candles, Pslam 141, and the Litany. At its "Amen", the organist offers a Prelude (giving me time to change from choir dress into Eucharistic vestments when I'm the celebrant). The eucharistic procession is to the Gloria in excelsis, omitting only the Psalmody and the Prayer of the Church while following the rest of Setting III.

We, too, are not air-conditioned, so while I had been able to get the church down to 75 F in the morning -- think "brick oven" in these longer, warmer, sunny days -- it was 82 in the late afternoon when I noticed the organist perspiring as she practiced the liturgy, so I turned the ceiling and exhaust fans up and brought in a couple more to get the air moving. It's not too bad, but the acolytes aren't used to the air moving quite that much!

We specifically invited not only our sister Conference congregations (which we've always done), but all ELCA full communion partner congregations within the greater Peoria area -- that adds up to over 60 congregations --, got the word out to at least some in the Via de Cristo community (noting particularly that the preacher, the Synod's Director for Evangelical Mission, had been a spiritual director for last month's Three Days), and even got a notice in Sunday's Journal Star. Still, it's a Thursday evening at the end of May, on the South Side of Peoria, conflicting with some graduations and the community theatre.

23 in attendance (on the lower side for Ascension and a guest preacher) from 8-9 different congregations. (Some of our "regulars" had other commitments.) The Gospel was proclaimed, the Sacrament was administered, the world was raised in prayer. And, as is typical at Zion, it's a good hour or more after the Dismissal before we can put away the remaining cookies, clean up the coffee and juice, and I can finally lock the doors and retire for the evening.

Come, Holy Spirit...

King's College Choir Announces Major Change

Choral music will never be the same...

 

Tip of the biretta to Father Carl-Johan.

Not the Best Beginning

Oh, my! This is an inauspicious way to begin the new season. Los Angeles Angels hitting coach Don Baylor, behind the plate to catch the ceremonial first pitch, breaks his leg. You may not want to watch the video, but it's hard to imagine the 1979 American League Most Valuable Player being that fragile, even at age 64.

(Ah, the Orange County Register reports, "In 2003, Baylor was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a bone marrow cancer that weakens the bones. He reportedly went into remission the next year.")

Then the 3-2 score over Seattle when I finally get to listen via XM Radio beginning in the 6th inning ends up a 10-3 blowout for the Mariners....

Which Do I Choose?

So the survey asks:

What best describes your occupation?

Arts / Literary / Culinary

Business Owner / Self-Employed

Education Administration / Support Services

Educator (Professor, Teacher, Coach, etc.)

Entertainment / Sports / Media

Farming / Ranching

Military / Law Enforcement / Fire Services / Emergency Services

Lawyer / Attorney

White Collar (includes executive management, middle management, and individual contributors)

Professional / Technical

Construction / Tradesman / Skilled Laborer (Painter, Mechanic, Plumber, etc.)

Hourly Wage Worker (Waiter, Barista, Stocker, Bellhop, etc.)

Professional Driver / Delivery Driver

Physician / Doctor (MD, DO, FMG, DC, DDS, DVM, etc.)

Healthcare Professional (Not Physician / Doctor)

None of the Above

I do believe the best response for a Christian minister is "Professional."

But "White Collar" is mighty tempting.


Photo: Pastor Zip at Zion's celebration of his 55th birthday.

Another Election Day

Today is Primary Election Day in Illinois. I voted just before three o'clock this afternoon, which seems to be my usual time of day. There were five people in the comunity room at Neighborhood House when I walked in, and another person followed me in. The six were all election judges.

This year there is a new form for the voter to sign, and there is a space on it for the one giving the voter his electornic voting code to indicate which voter, in numerical order, this is. So I didn't need to ask, as has been my custom, how many had showed up so far. I was No. 8.

"It's picked up since lunch time," replied one of the judges responded to my comment on it being a slow day. Turns out between the opening of the polls at 6:00 am and Noon two voters had showed up. And one of them was one of the judges.

Well, it's a primary election, the chief offices up for election are Governor and U.S. Senator where any apparent competition for the party nominations (for some, but not all, offices) is on the Republican side, and this precinct is usually quite Democratic when people bother to vote in the general election. Nevertheless, with less than one voter per hour, the contrasts between today's election and the recent one in North Korea are not entirely complimentary to us.

I thanked the judges for their service.

It's a Great Day for a Birthday!

Grandpa Hutchinson would tell of his grandmother who, when acknowledging that she was indeed born in Dublin, would then conclude in her Scottish accent, "But if there's a drop of Irish blood in me, I'll squeeze it oot!"

These are the stockings I wanted to wear today, but I can find only one of them.

Weights and Measures

I still use Mom's recipe (typed, on a 3x5 card) for Tuna Noodle Casserole. It calls for "2 cans (7 oz. each) tuna, well drained."

But when she first gave me this recipe, a can of tuna did not hold 7 oz. My recollection is that it was 6¾ oz. That was about 30 years ago.

A can of tuna has shrunk progressively (Is that right?) in the year since. About a year or so ago I first noticed it was now down to 5 oz. That's so they can still sell it at the grocery store for, when my brand is on sale (Sorry, Charlie, I listen to the mermaid.) , 99¢.

So now I use 3 cans.

It also calls for "1½ c. dairy sour cream (12 oz.)." Alas, a container of sour cream, for which apart from this casserole I have no need for, is 16 oz.

You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and just weight you shall have, a full and just measure you shall have; that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.

- Deuteronomy 25:13-16 RSV