Povey Prattle

One of the regular guests at Res. House is William Monda . I always call him “William of the World”, and this seems to amuse him. I think that his name is rooted in a French word, which has been adopted without change into English, viz: mondial “ of whole world: relating to or involving the entire world” An Italian Car manufacturer knew this, and so marketed their Ferrari Mondial. As did the Ford Motor Company with their “Mondeo” models. Also related is the word “mundane” I found the following in an on line dictionary. mun•dane Etymology: Middle English mondeyne, from Anglo-French mundain, from Late Latin mundanus, from Latin mundus world Date: 15th century 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the world 2 : characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary : COMMONPLACE I got to “mondeo”, “mondial” and “monda” as a result of looking up the etymology of the word “mundane”. For I had decided to call today’s blog entry - “A mundane day” That it was, and all the bet...

Jeremy is homeless. He is 18 years old, tall, skinny, with a gap between to his top front teeth. He dresses as well has he can, and is careful to shower every day at Res. House. And to iron his clothes after they have been washed. He dropped out of school when in 10th grade, and has been more or less on the streets since he was 16. To say that his background was dysfunctional is to say the least, and to call it a family would degrade that word. Both of his parents are drug addicts, and his father has recently been sentenced to seven years in the slammer. He has a sister but when Jeremy said that he hoped her children would not be taken away from her that gave me some indication of her dysfunction. Jean F is one of our finest volunteers. She has a concern and passion for Jeremy’s well being. She moved heaven and earth last Monday to get Jeremy into a residential programme at the Salvation Army. By Wednesday Jeremy had left the “Sally”. He could not hack the rules. I called Jean ...

Years ago, when I worked for the Westminster Bank in England, I met a man whose name was Jesse Stickler. Jesse was a bank inspector, which meant that he was one of that dreaded cadre of Westminster Bank employees who would descend, without notice on a branch bank to make sure that we were not cooking the books. Jesse lived up to his name. He was a stickler. I met him when I was a member of the Westminster Bank Christian Fellowship. The Bristol (U.K.) chapter would have occasional meetings at his home in Bitton, near Bristol. Jesse was a dour man, a Methodist of the old school. I cannot forget the time he said “I’ve never thought that hope was a very valuable commodity”. That comment seemed to sum up his name and his character. And now, Senator Barack Obama is campaigning for the Presidency on his slogan “the audacity of hope”. That slogan rocks for many of us. We see it in the light of Senator John McSame, who has nothing to offer save the failed and disastrous policies of th...

From NPR: “In the past we've said that "on July 4th, 1776, George III, king of England, wrote in his diary, 'Nothing of importance happened today.'" Turns out we were taken in by an old historic myth. "King George III never kept a diary," says Arnold Hunt, curator of historical manuscripts at the British Library. "The quote is a variation of another well-known story from the French revolution," he says. On July 14, 1789 — the date of the storming of the Bastille — Louis XVI of France wrote in his diary "rien (nothing)." Hunt says Louis was referring to a hunting trip where he came back empty-handed.” ================================================== But so far as the Lambeth Conference of Bishops is concerned: 'Nothing of importance happened today.' If you do not believe me, or if you are a Lambethaholic, check out this amazing website. http://www.pageflakes.com/anglicanfeedbag/ The Journalists and Bloggers are going wild ...

I took my car to the Dealer this morning, (July 22nd) for a 30,000 mile service. I’d thought that I was covered by my service plan, but discovered that the plan covers oil changes etc only. My sticker shock was when the service manager told me that this particular service would cost me nigh on $600. Ouch. He called me later in the day to say that the car needed two new hoses, which would not be available until tomorrow (July 23rd). So I have been land-locked for the day. True I could have taken a one mile walk to the ‘bus stop, but that’s not great when it is 90 F outside. Good old Ben drove me to the market so that I could buy some veggies which I needed for dinner. He is of the “step on the brakes hard, and step on the accelerator hard” school of driving, so riding with him is always a bit of an adventure. But that was not the greatest of my adventures. My air conditioning unit has gone caput. The service techy from “Unique Air” arrived at 5:20 p.m. He thinks that there is a l...

My plans to move to the United States almost fell apart. This was because of a reckless act on my part. Sometime in April/May 1976 I had been at home in Bristol for a weekend. I had the use of a car (I cannot remember how or why, but I did not own a car at that time). On my way back to Nottingham, I stopped off at a gay bar somewhere in rural Derbyshire. There I met a man of my age with who I had a brief, but very pleasurable, let's say “assignation or liaison”. I got back to Seminary in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and awoke in the morning racked with guilt/shame/ regret. I tuned into the BBC, and by God-incidence heard a religious radio program – a meditation on the following text: A Hymn to God the Father WILT Thou forgive that sin where I begun Which was my sin though it were done before? Wilt Thou forgive that sin through which I run And do run still though still I do deplore? When Thou hast done Thou hast not done; For I have more. Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I ...

Sermon for June 20th 2008. The Revd. J. Michael Povey, at St. David’s, Englewood, FL. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Wheat and weeds: Let both of them grow together until the harvest. This snippet of a verse from Matthew’s Gospel is a slender reed on which to build a sermon. But I believe that it is strong enough to support what I have to say. If you have any interest in the doing of the Anglican Communion, you will know that most of her Bishops are now gathered for their once every ten year’s Conference in Canterbury, England. It is called the “Lambeth Conference” because the first of such gatherings took place in “Lambeth Palace” the London home of the Archbishops of Canterbury. I say “most”, because some Bishops have chosen to absent themselves. I’ll get back to this later. Until a few years ago, many American Episcopalians did not know that they were also Anglicans. They did not know that we are united in a fellowship of tradition, love and concern with Christians like us, th...