Povey Prattle

What a privilege - to “fill in” when Rectors are on vacation . Sunday August 8th will see me “on duty” at all three services at St. Boniface Church on Siesta Key in Sarasota. Both the Rector and the Assistant Rector are away, so I will be presiding and preaching at the 7:45 and 11:15 services, and preaching at 9:00. On Saturday August 14th and Sunday 15th I’ll be taking services at St. Hilary’s in Fort Myers (one of my favourite parishes). I’ll have a quieter Sunday on August 22nd - a Sunday on which I can sing in the St. Boniface Choir. Then on Sundays 29th August and 5th September I’ll be “filling in” at All Angels Church on Longboat Key. I am grateful for these post retirement opportunities to serve.

About five years ago I was having lunch with a young couple who were members of St. James's.  He, Chris, and she, Trish were a joy and delight. Chris was about to qualify as a Psychologist.    I don't know what made me say it, but I remarked "Chris, I think that you should be a Priest, not a Psychologist". That got them thinking very deeply.   Chris decided to enter the "Discernment Process" for “would be Priests” in the Diocese of Massachusetts.  Then "out of the blue” Chris was invited to work part time for the Latin American Council of Churches in Quito, Ecuador, and part time for the Episcopal Church in Ecuador. Chris and Trish are fluent in Spanish, and had previously worked in South America, so they were delighted to make the move.  In due course the  Diocese of Central Ecuador [part of the Episcopal Church] took on Chris’s "discernment process". The end result is that Chris will be ordained Priest in the Diocese of Cen...

Too Tired 2 Blog Today

I had some very minor surgery today.  It was to remove a Squamous Cell Carcinoma.  (Better that than a Basil Cell Carcinoma). I was in a Clinic for all of three hours.  I have to wear a pressure bandage for 24 hours to resist the chance of bleeding. By gosh, it looks so cool!

1. I have a car loan with the Suntrust Bank. I get a letter from that Bank at least twice a year. The letter always offers me a “deal”. They suggest that I might want to skip a monthly payment. Sounds good eh? Not so fast! The Bank requires from me a $15 “processing fee”. The fine print tells me that if I pay this $15 I will certainly skip a payment for one month. It also states that my loan will be extended by one month, and that I will be responsible for additional interest. Enough already! I wrote to the bank today and asked a simple question. “Why”, I asked, “would I want to pay you $15 in order to pay you additional interest?” Never trust a Bank! Be aware of the trickery of the so-called free market. 2. I will be having very minor surgery on 4th August. It’s called MOHS Surgery and it will remove a very small pre-cancerous “spot” from my face. The Surgeon is an enthusiast for the free market. She is a savvy business woman who will be more than well paid. (Tha...

“God’s Bestseller” is the story of  William Tyndale (c1494 – 1536), the translator of the most formative English Bible  (some 85% of Tyndale’s work remains in the Authorised Version (know in the U.S.A. as the “King James Bible”). The author of  "God's Bestseller" is Brian Moynahan. His book was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2002. --------------------------------- I grew up in Bristol, U.K.  not very far from the village  North Nibley in Gloucestershire where pious Victorians erected a tower in honour of William Tyndale. (see above)   They thought that he had been born there. In fact he came from nearby Slimbridge. Not many miles from Slimbridge is the village of Little Sodbury, where Tyndale became a tutor for Sir John Walsh. Walsh’s Manor yet stands.    In a former life I sometimes preached in Tyndale’s Chapel (Baptist) in that little village. (The name “Sodbury” derives from two Anglo-Saxon words: sod - meaning  south, and bury...

The economy is so bad that. . I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. . I ordered a burger at McDonald's and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?" . CEO's are now playing miniature golf. . Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen. . My ATM gave me an IOU! . A stripper was killed when her audience showered her with rolls of pennies while she danced. . I saw a Mormon polygamist with only one wife. . I bought a toaster oven and my free gift with purchase was a bank. . If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them. . McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer. . Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America. . Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names. . My cousin had an exorcism but couldn't afford to pay for it, and they re-possessed her! . A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico ....