Punt a gorda

I am off to Punt a Gorda on Sunday December 5th 2010.  

Whoops: -  “Punt a Gorda” sounds like a sport on a river in Oxford or Cambridge, U.K.

In truth I will be driving sixty or so miles south of my home, to the City of Punta Gorda in Charlotte County, FL.  There I will be at the (Episcopal) Church of the Good Shepherd.

http://goodshepherdpg.com/index2.html

It will be my pleasure to preach, and to lead the congregations in celebrations of Holy Communion at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.

Four and a half years into retirement I find it more difficult than ever to prepare sermons.  I suspect that when I was a Rector I “knew the people”, and could bring that understanding to my sermon prep.  It’s much harder when I have to write a sermon which will be addressed to strangers.

But “I have written what I have written”.  I trust that what I say will be faithful to the Gospel, and will “speak” to God’s people at Good Shepherd.

Here’s a bit about Punta Gorda itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punta_Gorda,_Florida

After the services I will have lunch with Lisa and Chris Kelly who live in Ft. Myers, (about 15 miles south of Punta Gorda).  I officiated at their wedding some 15 years ago, in Pittsfield, MA.  They are a delightful couple and it will be a joy to see them after all these years.

I’ll be leaving my home on Sunday at about 6:30 a.m., and will not get back again until mid-afternoon.  So Penne is with her dog sitters Ron and Lee for the night.  When I left her there, at about 5:00 p.m. today, she tried to leave with me.  I had that “leaving my child in school for the first day” feeling!

But I know that Penne will be just fine overnight.  She has previously stayed with Ron and Lee and once I am out of sight and smell she settles down beautifully.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not remember the words “ar
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were able to get together a few
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur
Read more