Povey Prattle

One of my local fundamentalist Churches has a billboard with messages which often cause me to sigh, swear, or despair. Last week this Church (the Sarasota “Fellowship of Believers”) had a sign which I liked.   It read “Build a bridge and get over it”.   That made sense to me! It got very cold here last winter, and not a few of my plantings were “done in” by the minus 32 degrees Fahrenheit temps.   After that cold we moved very quickly into above average summer temperatures, with high humidity.   Now (in late October) the temps have settled down.   We are in the mid-70’s F, and there is a good breeze.   Today I drank coffee and read a book as I relaxed on my Lanai.   This is Florida at its best! My dog Penne is as bright as they come.   When I say “let’s go in the car” she dances and prances, she sings and yips, she races around with irrational exuberance, until I open the back doors of my car.       Thereupon she leaps into the...

Yesterday my pal Ben and I went to what we still call the “Dollar Movie House” here in Sarasota.    It is a cinema at which Sarasotans can attend matinee viewings of “a month or so older movies” for the princely sum of $1.50.    ‘tis a bargain for those of us who can   happily say “fie” upon the local and expensive premieres of new movies, even though the admission price at the “Dollar Movie House” is now a buck and a half! We elected to view the Swedish/American film     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Who_Played_with_Fire Both Ben and I recoiled in the face of so much graphic violence in the film.   We each also thought that the plot was laboured and slow moving. I dozed off a couple of times. After 90 minutes Ben nudged me. We agreed that we’d “had enough”. So we split, deciding to forego the denouement of this all too violent but slow moving film. An early scene from the film has remained in my mind.   The setting was a lo...

On Wednesdays each week I facilitate a prayer service for some of the homeless people who arrive at “Resurrection House” - a day shelter in Sarasota. I never preach. Instead I lead my homeless friends in a silent meditation on scripture. Then I encourage us to express our own prayers - silently or aloud.  This we do as we light a tea-light, or a candle. For reasons which care “beyond my ken” I broke from my own precedent today.  I asked the six strong congregation to join me in song.   We sang “Nobody knows the trouble I see”.  As we sang, so the tears ran down the face of a young man who’d joined our tiny congregation.  He needed to weep.   Our song had touched a place deep within him.  I responded to his tears with a firm but safe hug. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL3lPVA8QKQ

1. Lamb is very expensive right now.   This is just as well as it’s not the best meat for my healthy eating regime.    But I could not resist a chop which was on sale for just $1.50.   I grilled it and ate it all at one sitting. 2. Regular readers will know of my delight in Fava Beans (known in the U.K. as “Broad Beans”). They are hard to come by, so I scooped up a couple of pounds when I spotted them for sale at a decent price at “Whole Foods”.   I’ll eat ‘em tonight with a bit of broiled catfish. 3. You know those metals posts which are often painted yellow and are placed to prevent drivers from running into gas/petrol pumps,  or to prevent car driving thieves from ramrod-ing convenience stores.   Those very same posts have a nasty habit of moving out of place and scraping themselves along the sides of my car . 4. I placed a ‘phone call to the (Episcopal) Church Pension Fund today.   The agent provided excellent service, but I had to “hold o...

Sermon for 17 th October 2010.   The Revd. J. Michael Povey at St. Margaret of Scotland Church, Sarasota, FL Genesis 32:3-31, 2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5, Luke 18:1-8. (See below for these biblical texts). Three of the most feared words in the English language are “some assembly required”.   I rediscovered that last Thursday when I bought a battery operated chain saw.   The process of placing the chain around its guide, screwing on the protective cover, and adjusting the tension seemed to require a person who had three hands.   I have only two. I tried for an hour, and failed.   I took a break, and then tried for further half hour, with no success.   I took another break to walk my dog and relieve my frustration.   I thought that I would ask help from my neighbour Howie, but he did not come home from work at his usual time.   My third attempt may have been a charm, but it was not a lucky charm, until at long last I succeeded.   The chain saw wor...