What is Beautiful?

How do we define beauty? Where do our perceptions of what is beautiful and what is ugly come from? Here is a powerful new commercial from "Dove" that is part of their "Self Esteem Fund" that addresses these questions. Click here to see the video.

Clowning in Church

Isaac enters Church

As mentioned in previous blog, I donned clown make up for the first time after a long hiatus this past Sunday. Here are some photos of the event. The skit was about managing all the resources God has given us.

Isaac requests a piece of cake from Merry HugglesIsaac InvitesIsaac prays

Isaac and friends celebrate Holy Communion

Clowning Around!

I put on clown makeup yesterday. It had been awhile. It had been so long that it reminded me of the first time in 1977. It smelled the same. It felt the same. The same stirring of excitement deep in my spirit. The same sense of adventure. The same awe as I looked in the mirror and watched the transformation. To be serious about clowning is to die to oneself. The makeup is a death mask in that way; one allows those physical clues of identity to disappear. To become a clown character is to experience a rebirth. The birth of a part of me that is not always visible. The part that is more playful more childlike, and more vulnerable then the way I usually present myself to the world. I remember reading once that you shouldn't "paint it on the outside if it doesn't exist on the inside". To become a clown is to give yourself permission to turn the inside out. There is a misconception that a clown hides behind the makeup. In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth.
Maybe that is why people react in such strong ways to my clown character. His vulnerability invokes their vulnerability. I felt like I really connected on a deep level with people yesterday. It felt good. It felt right.

"The Bridge"

I really like this song, "The Bridge", from the CD "The Captain and The Kid", by Elton John. What does the "bridge" symbolize?
Courage? Faith? Risk? Death? The future?
Here are the lyrics to this song that some critics are calling "Elton John's best in years."
What do you think "The Bridge" symbolizes?
You can listen to the song at AOL by clicking here.

I've seen the bridge and the bridge is long
And they built it high and they built it strong
Strong enough to hold the weight of time
Long enough to leave some of us behind

chorus: And every one of us has to face that day
Do you cross the bridge or do you fade away
And every one of us that ever came to play
Has to cross the bridge or fade away

Standing on the bridge looking at the waves
Seen so many jump, never seen one saved
On a distant beach your song can die
On a bitter wind, on a cruel tide [repeat chorus]

And the bridge it shines
Oh cold hard iron
Saying come and risk it all
Or die trying [repeat chorus]

Leaves, Frustration, Anger, and Insight!

"Leaves. Huge, orange maple leaves. My backyard was blanketed in them. And they weren’t mine. They couldn’t have been mine because there weren’t any trees in my backyard. They were my neighbor’s leaves; they had fallen off of his trees and blown over onto my property. And since they were on my property, I now had to clean them up." writes Douglas McCoy in his marvelous story; An Autumn Observation. Click Here to read the rest of this article.

Life!

"This life, therefore, is not godliness but the process of becoming godly, not health but getting well, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way. The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on. This is not the goal, but it is the right road. At present, everything does not gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed." Martin Luther

Autumn Prayer

A prayer for autumn from "Guerrillas of Grace" by Ted Loder.

O Extravagant God,

in this ripening, red-tinged autumn,

waken in me a sense of joy

in just being alive,

joy for nothing in general

except everything in particular;

joy in sun and rain

mating with earth to birth a harvest;

joy in soft light

through shyly disrobing trees;

joy in the acolyte moon

setting halos around processing clouds;

joy in the beating of a thousand wings

mysteriously knowing which way is warm;

joy in wagging tails and kids' smiles

and in this spunky old city;

joy in the taste of bread and wine,

the smell of dawn,

a touch,

a song,

a presence;

joy in having what I cannot live without-

other people to hold and cry and laugh with;

joy in love,

in you;

and that all at first and last

is grace.

Birthdays!

With 5 children and 4 grandchildren, it seems as if we are always celebrating birthdays. Cake, ice cream, and gifts. The lights are turned down, the candles lit, and we all sing a slightly off key version of the birthday classic. For the children, the candles represent an achievement. Finally, I'm two or twelve or 14. With each year comes new freedom and new responsibility. For the adults, it's different, isn't it? The candles symbolize the past rather then the future. For Mary and I, past 60 now, we gave up putting an accurate number of candles on the the cake long ago. As we age, birthdays become a reminder of how many years have gone by, how fleeting life is, how precious the time. The best thing about birthdays, no matter what the age, is that it is recognized and celebrated. Birthdays are an excuse to get together, to indulge in sweets, to laugh together. So keep the birthdays coming. I like cake!

The Beat Goes On!

It has been 42 days since my last post. Forty-two Days! How can so much time go by so quickly? What has happened in these waning days of summer? How have I changed? Has anyone been disappointed by my absence? Is anyone still checking this blog? What have the past six weeks been like? Here's a summary. A fantastic week at South Bethany Beach in Mid-August with spouse, 5 children, 2 son-in-laws, 1 daughter-in-law, and 4 grand children. Morning walks with grandson, afternoons with the family on the beach, and evening adventures. Another week of vacation at a friends' camp on the shores of Hunt Lake in the Adirondacks. Just Mary and I. Daughter and family housesitting next door. Solitude. Quiet reading. Paddling a canoe across the mirror like surface of the lake in the early morning. Daily walks. Beautiful sunsets. Helped grandson Jacob catch his first fish.
Quick trip to Vermont to see grandson Noah and his parents.
August 29th. Back to work. E-mails, phone messages, deadlines. Hospital visits. Rally Day! Hosted picnic for 125+ people. A back yard wedding, with accompanying thunderstorm. Three baptisms. Funeral of a beloved parishioner and friend, age 60. Cardiologist warns that my schedule must be kept under control. More medical tests ordered. Sonny and Cher got it right.

The beat goes on, the beat goes on. Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain. La de da de de, la de da de da.

Adirondack Birthday Adventure

When we asked Mary how she wanted to celebrate her 60th birthday, she surprised us all by saying that she wanted to go white water river rafting. So I planned a 3 day adventure to the Adirondacks with river rafting in the Hudson River Gorge as the centerpiece.
On Monday we drove to Blue Mountain Lake and toured the Adirondack Museum. Our last visit was twenty years ago and things have really changed. The museum now covers 35 acres and contains exhibits on every aspect of Adirondack life and history. We spent three delightful hours there and still did not see everything. In the evening we checked into our cabin at The Snowy Mountain Inn at Indian Lake and enjoyed a delicious dinner. I had grilled talapia and Mary had a smoked filet mignon. Yummy!
Early the next morning we gathered at the Adirondack Rafting Company in Indian Lake to prepare for our day on the river. After getting outfitted with wet suit, splash jacket, life jacket, and helmet; we were ready to board the bus for the 10 minute ride to the launch point. The trip begins on the Indian River with the dam releasing a "bubble" of water which floats the rafts out to the Hudson River. At the launch point we were assigned to our rafts and Mary and I found ourselves in the company of Phil and his daughter, Anna, from Michigan; Kari and Dan from England, who are in the states to play in a lacrosse tournament; and our guide, Mike. Mike has guided on the river for 9 years and filled us with confidence as he gave clear and simple instructions. The photo below is from our very first set of rapids. Mary and I are in the second row from the front. We were on the river for almost 5 hours. Sometimes we were paddling hard in category 3 & 4 rapids and at other times we were floating gently in the current. We did not see a road, a house, or any people on shore the entire trip. This part of the Hudson River Gorge remains untouched by civilization and is quite beautiful. It was an exciting day and Mary and I managed to remain inside the raft the entire trip. We returned to the Snowy Mountain Inn exhausted at 5:30 pm and took naps before dinner. On this night our host made us smoked pulled pork BBQ with cole slaw and baked beans. On Wednesday morning we drove to Old Forge, NY where we boarded the mail boat for a three hour cruise on the chain of Fulton Lakes. This is a working mail boat and we made about 40 stops that morning. It was a wonderful way to see the lakes and experience a task that has been happening every summer since 1910. Mary and I continue to enjoy the trip through the photos and our memories.

Beautiful August evening. Cool breeze blowing in the window. A group of teens are having a party next door. I can hear their laughter. Grandson just left, smooching my cheek and saying, "Good night, PopPop". And I begin a three week vacation tonight. Three weeks. Together. Back to back to back. It will be a new experience. I am blessed.

Haven't posted in a while. Very busy. Stressful and sad time. Friend Roy died. I met him in high school and our families became friends after we were both married and had our first daughters. We laughed, drank, ate, camped, fished, and celebrated together. Weddings and holidays and graduations. Over 40 years of conversations shared and cards played. We would get together only once or twice a year during the past couple of decades. It was like we were never apart. You know the kind of friendship I mean. The comfortable kind. Roy fought a short battle with a very aggressive cancer. Three weeks before his death we were at his son's wedding. Roy smiled, laughed, and joked. The morphine got him through the pain and his love for his family and friends took him the rest of the way. He danced with his wife that night. I'm grateful for that.

I have begun the process of saying goodbye to the people of the faith community that I have shared my life with these past twenty years. My departure is six months away but there is much work to be done. We've been meeting in small groups to talk about change. About the inevitability, sadness, excitement, and blessing that change brings to our lives. Stories are shared. Some are sad, others funny. Most were terrifying. We got through changes in the past and we will all get through this one. I know.

This summer I taught a 5 week course on St. Paul and his writings. Around twenty five people a week would gather on our back porch and we would read his 2,000 year old words. Honest words; words about conflict and pain and suffering and faith and hope. Words written to first century believers in the midst of change. Rejoice, Paul implores his readers over and over to Rejoice. No matter what the circumstances, Rejoice!

I begin a three week vacation this evening but that is not why I am rejoicing. My heart is filled with joy because their is a cool breeze blowing in the window, my grandson's kiss is still wet on my cheek, and I can hear the laughter of young people drifting across the yard. I rejoice because I was blessed with a friendship of over 40 years. Thank you, Roy.

What Joy Looks and Sounds Like

Is there anything more joyous then the sound of an infant laughing? Check out these quadruplets laughing in their mothers' arms. Click here.

Keeping All The Balls in the Air

My life, at times, feels like a juggling act. There are more balls in the air then I have the ability to juggle. I only have two hands, one brain, 24 hours a day, and limited patience with myself and others. The stress of keeping all the balls moving in a pattern that doesn't result in catastrophe is intense.
Watch this video of young juggler, Vova Galchenko. Click Here. Notice the concentration, watch his eyes, see the joy on his face. Pay attention and you will see the secret to great juggling. It's about letting go. Vova can only catch the next ball if he lets go of the one that he is holding.
Ah, letting go. Trusting the process. Vova is always looking up, watching the beautiful pattern that is being created. He doesn't focus on his hands, on the catching and grabbing and holding on; his attention is on the letting go and the rhythm that results.
We don't juggle alone. That is the divine promise. Jesus taught a lot about holding on and letting go and said, "Trust in the Father and also, trust in me." Keep juggling!

Senior High Camp

PC and Keith

I just returned from Senior High Camp. Fifty eight campers, ages 13 to 18; eighteen staff, ages 19 to 61. Eighteen of the campers were young people who had just graduated from High School last weekend. This years' theme was Still In One Peace. We talked about pain, stress, grief, sorrow, suffering, conflict and all those things which cause us to break into pieces. We then learned about and practiced faith, love, forgiveness, joy, laughter, silliness, worship, prayer and all those things which bring about peace. It is difficult to put this years' experience into words because words are limited in their ability to capture emotion and reality. Here's my best try.

Senior High Camp is exciting, exhausting, exhilarating.
Complete, complex, compassionate, caring, and carefree.
Holy, happy, hilarious, heavenly, holistic.
Joyful, jocular, just, and Jesus-centered.
Real, ridiculous, righteous.
Thought provoking and tear inducing.

Senior High Camp is an experience filled with laughter, love, and lessons.
Jello, jokes, and jumping for joy.
Sharing, striving, succeeding.
Dancing, drama, and daring.
Coffee, cookies, candy.
Rain, rain, and more rain.

Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil

Guitar ManJello Sucking

To see a video of campers doing the Nooma Nooma Dance click here!!!!!

And to see a video of the Thriller Dance click here!!!!

First Day of Summer

Slept in the camper in the backyard last night, the blinking of fireflies outside my window as I fell asleep. Awakened at dawn to the singing of a variety of birds welcoming the first day of Summer. If your summer is like mine, it is scheduled, busy, crowded with to much to do and to much to see. It seems to be the American way to take summer to seriously. Po Brosnson, in the latest issue of Time asks "Why do Americans have to work so hard at taking it easy?" He describes something called "Active Leisure". "Anytime you exhaust yourself trying to relax, that's active leisure.....We Americans are so active in our leisure that we commonly complain we need a vacation from our vacations We leave home tired; we come back exhausted." You can read his column in its entirety by clicking here.
What happened to the summers I remember from my childhood? Those "lazy, hazy days of summer". This prayer by Ted Loder, from "Guerrillas of Grace", is my daily mantra this season as I live in the tension between responsibilities and what God calls "sabbath time".

Let Me Live Grace-fully

Thank you, Lord, for this season of sun and slow motion,

of games and porch sitting, of picnics and light green fireflies

on heavy purple evenings; and praise for slight breezes.

It's good, God, as the first long days of your creation.

Let this season be for me

a time of gathering together the pieces into which my busyness

has broken me.

O God, enable me now to grow wise through reflection,

peaceful through the song of the cricket,

recreated through the laughter of play.

Most of all, Lord,

let me live easily and grace-fully for a spell,

so that I may see other souls deeply,

share in a silence unhurried,

listen to the sound of sunlight and shadows,

explore barefoot the land of forgotten dreams and shy hopes,

and find the right words to tell another who I am.

As for me, I will sleep in the backyard in the middle of a busy week and pretend for a moment that I am deep in the Adirondack woods. I will share a soft ice cream cone with a friend on a hot summer afternoon before rushing back to the office and I will run barefoot with my grandson through the sprinkler on a humid evening. Ahh, Summer!

Amazing Hole-in-One

I haven't played golf in over five years but I sure enjoyed seeing this shot by Fuzzy Zoeller. Click Here to see the video.

Flag Day Parade

We attended an old fashioned "Flag Day Parade" in Glenville, NY. Here are some photos.

I Can Dance!

If you haven't had the opportunity to check out the video of Judd Laipply's Evolution of Dance click here. He is creative and very funny.

I recently discovered this song by Willie Mason, titled "Oxygen".

I wanna be better than oxygen
So you can breath when you're drowning and weak in the knees
I wanna speak louder than Ritalin for all the children who think they've got a disease
I wanna be cooler than TV for all the kids that are wondering what they're going to be
We can be stronger than bombs if you're singing along and you know that you really believe
We can be richer than industry as long as we know there's things we don't really need
We can speak louder than ignorance coz we speak in silence every time our eyes meet

On and on and on it goes
The world it just keeps spinning
Until I'm dizzy Time to breathe
So close my eyes and start again anew

Click here to watch the music video of "Oxygen"

Memorial Day Weekend

I searched for a prayer that I could hold in my heart and mind throughout this Memorial Day Weekend and I came across the following:

Memorial Day Prayer - Barbara Pescan

Spirit of Life whom we have called by many names in thanksgiving and in anguish—
Bless the poets and those who mourn

Send peace for the soldiers who did not make the wars but whose lives were consumed by them
Let strong trees grow above graves far from home

Breathe through the arms of their branches

The earth will swallow your tears while the dead sing “No more, never again, remember me.”
For the wounded ones, and those who received them back, let there be someone ready when the memories come

when the scars pull and the buried metal moves and forgiveness for those of us who were not there for our ignorance.
And in us, veterans in a forest of a thousand fallen promises, let new leaves of protest grow on our stumps.
Give us courage to answer the cry of humanity’s pain

And with our bare hands, out of full hearts, with all our intelligence

let us create the peace.

Vermont Road Trip

This past weekend was one of my "bonus" weekends off this year granted to me by the church council in recognition of twenty year's service to the congregation. This is the second one I've taken so far and they have been a great gift to the family and I. We had forgotten what it was like to experience a leisurely weekend. On Saturday we used the time to work in the yard, between rainshowers, and do chores around the house. On Sunday we made a quick road trip to Vergennes, Vermont where we met son, Joshua and his wife, Elizabeth, and grandson, Noah, for Sunday dinner. This was our first opportunity to see them since February when they were here for a visit. We had a delightful lunch at "The Hungry Bear" on Main Street in the quaint city of Vergennes. Afterwards we walked about the town, visited a local antique mall, and had ice cream for dessert. I took the Northway and rt.9n going north and Vermont rt.22a, New York rt. 4, and the Northway coming back. Both routes were very scenic. We especially enjoyed rt.22a. These family times are a reminder to us of how fortunate we are to be blessed with children and grandchildren and to not take them or the time we have together for granted. I thought this prayer by e.e. cummings really reflects how I feel.
Thank You for This Amazing Day

i thank You God for most this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes(i who have died am alive again today,and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birthday of life and love and wings: and of the gay great happening illimitably earth) how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any-lifted from the no of all nothing-human merely being doubt unimaginably You?(now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
e. e. cummings

Duma

Another rainy evening and a good excuse to pop some popcorn and watch a movie on pay per view. We watched, Duma, a film that is part "buddy movie", part "coming of age", and part "a boy and his dog" (except this time the dog is a cheetah). Filmed on location in Africa, it is a beautiful film to experience visually. The film gives you a real sense for the vastness of the African plain and the diversity and beauty of the wildlife. "Duma" is effectively directed by Carroll Ballard who also directed "The Black Stallion" and "Fly away Home". This is a director fascinated by the special bond that can take place between a human and an animal. The realtionship between the boy, Xan, and ,Duma, the cheetah, is portrayed as one of committment and mutual respect as they trek across the African landscape. This is a fine "family film" that is not maudlin or "sweet' but filled with adventure and strong characters. Click here to see trailer http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/duma.html

Arlo, Peter, and being a Grandparent

Grandma and I (who the grandchildren refer to as PopPop) endeavor to find effective ways to share our values with our four grandchildren. It's pretty easy with the two toddlers. Jacob, 2, and Noah, almost 2. With them it is about being warm, loving, and fun. Simply being with them and being consistent is enough. But the two oldest, Kaylyn, 13, and Brendan,11, are beginning to ask the right questions and make critical choices about who and what they believe. Being available and loving and accepting of them is critical; yet something more is necessary. We look for opportunities to share experiences and activities that reflect those values that we feel are important.
We had such an opportunity this past weekend when two folk music icons were performing in the area. You can imagine the kids confusion and reluctance when we said that we were taking them to see Arlo Guthrie and Peter Yarrow. Who? They asked. And what kind of music? But they trust us and besides they don't drive yet and besides that, I was paying. So on Friday evening we headed off to Proctor's Theatre for Arlo Guthrie's 40th Anniversary of Alice's Restaurant Massacree Tour. The theatre was packed with baby boomers and aging hippies with a few retro younger people thrown in. I watched the grandchildren as they searched in vain for other people their age and I watched in delight as Arlo's humor, music, and message captivated their spirits. Guthrie talked about raising funds for Hurricane Katrina victims and he sang a beautiful rendition of "St. James Infirmary". Of course he told the story of "Alice's Restaurant" and the "27 black and white photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one". The song was adopted 40 years ago as an anti-war song and the message is just as relevant today. I loved how the evening bounced back and forth between the silly and the profound. One minute we were singing along to the "Motorcycle Song", "I don't want a pickle, I just want to ride my motorcycle", and then we were a choir singing Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land". The most moving part of the evening came at the end when Arlo taught the audience a song titled "My Peace". He explained that his father had written over 3,000 songs on scraps of paper that were left all over the country. His sister has been collecting these lyrics and inviting different musicians to put music to them. In this way there are "new" Woody Guthrie songs popping up all over. "My Peace" was written in the '50s and Arlo had recently put music to it. One reviewer wrote the following, "The song is an instant classic and Guthrie should record it as quick as he can and give it to the world". It was as beautiful a benediction and blessing as I had ever experienced. The grandchildren left with smiles on their faces and singing the songs we had just heard. On Sunday, granddaughter Kaylyn, sang the "Peace Song" for the congregation and did so beautifully.
Sunday evening our church hosted Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame) and his daughter Bethany in a benefit concert for the EPES ministry our congregation supports in Chile.
Once again the children heard songs that lifted up messages of peace and justice. Songs that encouraged them to speak out against injustice and to live up to their potential. Peter gave a moving and sensitive reading of his song, "Don't Laugh at Me". His daughter Bethany "took us to church" with her souful and soaring melodies and once again we found ourselves singing along to the anthem, "This Land Is Your Land", and in that sanctuary it sounded like a prayer of gratitude. Peter invited all the children on stage, there were others this time, and they sang "Puff the Magic Dragon" together. Both Kaylyn and son, John had brief solo parts as Bethany shared the microphone. Peter emphasized that the "Magic Dragon" was the love and potential and future that each child held in his or her heart. A reception followed the concert and Peter took time to pose for photos and speak to everyone. I watched as he held Kaylyn's face in his hand and told her how beautiful she was and encouraged her to live out her dreams and make a difference. As we tiredly headed for home, both grandchildren thanked us for the weekend. John, Peter Yarrow, and I
At one point in the Sunday night concert, Peter reflected on how many call him "crazy" and he asked how many "crazy" people were there that night with him and we all raised our hands. On Friday evening Arlo referred to us in the crowd as "freaky, weird people". The implication in both cases was that to be a person who was interested in an event that focused on peace and justice issues was to be crazy, freaky, and weird. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to share those values with our grandchildren.

Hog Wild

Move over! No, you move over! I'm the one they're taking a picture of.. No, it's me they want to see me. Stop pushing!!!

Doubts and Questions!

A friend reminded me this morning that Frederick Buechner writes that everyone who comes to worship on a Sunday morning has one question in the back of their mind and that question is; "Is it true?" They come hungry for truth in a world that fabricates, exaggerates, reshapes, and spins "facts" to defend and promote. I believe that the Divine One welcomes honest questions and doubts. As Buechner writes, "Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith, they keep it alive and moving." I invited 30 Junior High teenagers to write down some of their questions tonight. Here are some examples.

Is God male or female?

Why did God all of a sudden decide to make the world?

Can all people get to heaven, even those from other religions?

Why was the Bible written?

Is a sin worst if done by a pastor, or a pastor is the target?

How does it feel to be a pastor?

Is God a Gangsta?

I am grateful that there are a lot of "ants in the pants" of these children of God. If you would like to find out more about the writings of Frederick Buechner check out this article. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/109/51.0.html

Canticle for a Busy Wednesday

As I prepare for a busy and challenging day tommorrow I prayed the following:

Canticle
Christ, as a light illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield over shadow me.

Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Check out the following site for meaningful prayers like this one for each day. http://www.northumbriacommunity.org/PraytheOffice/morningprayer.html