Presbyterians, Maltese, Snapdragons and Cleaning
Jean Fulton is one of the finest volunteers at Res. House. The place would be hard pressed without her.
She was good enough to come out to All Angels by the Sea on Longboat Key when I preached there in March. So I was happy to accept her invitation to attend her Church “First Presbyterian” today.
The service began at 8:25 a.m. (what an odd time!). I sat with Jean and her husband in a very relaxed and friendly congregation.
The music was great, with a brass quintet delighting our ears, especially as they rendered “Just a Closer walk with Thee” (New Orleans style) at the end of the service.
And the Associate Pastor (ordained but six months ago) preached a sturdy and edifying sermon.
Of course I missed Communion, and also a sense of participation by the congregation. It was a bit “front directed”.
After Church I sped over to Whole Foods Market to purchase the superb coleslaw which they prepare and sell. I was lucky enough to find my favourite cashier at the check out. She is Marlene and hails from Malta. We always enjoy our chats.
All the stores are filled with flowers, this being “Mothers’ Day weekend”. I noticed some cut snapdragons, a rarity in Florida. (Lord knows where they were grown, and how much it cost to ship them here).
I bought a bunch and took them to Bradenton to my friends Kay and Barbara.
There is a story here. Long before Kay and Barbara joined St. Stephen’s in Pittsfield I called them the “snapdragon women”. I would pass their home on my way to work and every spring and summer I would admire their rows of snapdragons. Somehow K and B always managed to keep them upright, and not “leggy”.
Now, in retirement we are friends and near neighbours, So I was glad to honour them this day with ruby red snapdragons.
Back at home I faced the fact that cat owners cannot be house-proud. That’s a shock to the system of one who used to iron his underwear!
But I gave in to the mess of dust and dirt which I’ve been trying to ignore. So on “The Lord’s Day” I did a bit of house-cleaning. Of course you know that the more you clean, the more dirt you see! But today I was smart enough to leave some of the cleaning until later in the week.
Maybe I had been but half convinced of the Calvinist (Presbyterian in this case) adage that “ cleanliness is next to godliness”!
She was good enough to come out to All Angels by the Sea on Longboat Key when I preached there in March. So I was happy to accept her invitation to attend her Church “First Presbyterian” today.
The service began at 8:25 a.m. (what an odd time!). I sat with Jean and her husband in a very relaxed and friendly congregation.
The music was great, with a brass quintet delighting our ears, especially as they rendered “Just a Closer walk with Thee” (New Orleans style) at the end of the service.
And the Associate Pastor (ordained but six months ago) preached a sturdy and edifying sermon.
Of course I missed Communion, and also a sense of participation by the congregation. It was a bit “front directed”.
After Church I sped over to Whole Foods Market to purchase the superb coleslaw which they prepare and sell. I was lucky enough to find my favourite cashier at the check out. She is Marlene and hails from Malta. We always enjoy our chats.
All the stores are filled with flowers, this being “Mothers’ Day weekend”. I noticed some cut snapdragons, a rarity in Florida. (Lord knows where they were grown, and how much it cost to ship them here).
I bought a bunch and took them to Bradenton to my friends Kay and Barbara.
There is a story here. Long before Kay and Barbara joined St. Stephen’s in Pittsfield I called them the “snapdragon women”. I would pass their home on my way to work and every spring and summer I would admire their rows of snapdragons. Somehow K and B always managed to keep them upright, and not “leggy”.
Now, in retirement we are friends and near neighbours, So I was glad to honour them this day with ruby red snapdragons.
Back at home I faced the fact that cat owners cannot be house-proud. That’s a shock to the system of one who used to iron his underwear!
But I gave in to the mess of dust and dirt which I’ve been trying to ignore. So on “The Lord’s Day” I did a bit of house-cleaning. Of course you know that the more you clean, the more dirt you see! But today I was smart enough to leave some of the cleaning until later in the week.
Maybe I had been but half convinced of the Calvinist (Presbyterian in this case) adage that “ cleanliness is next to godliness”!
I just love Bunk Johnson's version of "Just a Closer Walk With Thee"--the best I've heard!
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