Povey Prattle

One of the great privileges of retirement is that I have time to read.  On most afternoons I am “lost” in my latest borrowing from our excellent Selby Library. After a spate of histories and biographies I am taking a little time for fiction. Presently I am reading “There was a Time”, written in 1947 by Taylor Caldwell.  She was born in Manchester, U.K. in 1900, and died in Greenwich, CT in 1985. The book begins with little Frank, aged two, who began to experience a mystical sense of wonder as he played in the walled-in back garden of his parents’ home somewhere near Leeds, Yorkshire in 1904.   I immediately “became” Frank, and I could imagine/remember myself as a two year old rather sensitive boy in a walled back garden in Bristol U.K. My interest was aroused when, in the book, Frank’s ultra respectable and very judgmental grandmother instructs Frank’s father to “ clout ” him. I’d not heard or used the word “clout” in oh so many years.  It means “to hit”....

My bucket was empty yesterday because it was full! I presided at the 10:00 a.m. Eucharist and Healing service at St. Boniface Church. Then I rushed up to the Ringling Museums to meet Betsy, a friend from Pittsfield, who was in town for a couple of days.   She and I had lunch together alongside our mutual friend David . In the evening I went out for dinner with pals Ben, Gordon, John, Bob and Eric. I rarely “eat out”, so lunch and dinner on the same day, and in two restaurants, seemed quite strange. Nonetheless:   Pumpkin and Ginger Soup at “Station 400” made for an excellent lunch; and huge bowl of Mussels at the “Hillview Grill” satisfied me at dinner. I’ve been more relaxed today.   Thus I have been able to indulge in my passion for reading. I finished my reading of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, (first published in 1925).   It has often described as “ THE great American Novel”, so I determined to read it in order to improve my American educati...

I was at a party last night, given for two of my friends.  One celebrates his birthday on Dec 7 th . The other celebrates her birthday on Dec 9 th .  There were ten guests. 1.        Male and female. 2.       Straight and gay. 3.       Partnered and single 4.       All aged 60+ 5.       Protestant, Catholic, Episcopalian, and Atheist/Agnostic. 6.       No Black, Latino, Jewish, Muslim or other minorities (how dull!). There we were. We were united in our love of the two who were celebrating birthdays.  We were all more or less liberal Democrats. And yet, two of the guests got into a heated argument about a political/social issue.  Their voices grew stronger and more strident. I felt like a stranger in the midst of friends, and I couldn’t stand the loud voices.  So I took myself out to the porch to escape th...

It was good to be at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Punta Gorda, FL yesterday. The parish buildings are superb, having been built after the 2006 hurricane which destroyed the older ones. There is a very attractive exterior and the “Church space” itself is very traditional and non the worse for that. The people of God at Good Shepherd gave me a warm and enthusiastic welcome. They are very fond of their new Priest in Charge Roy Huff, but glad that I could be with them in his absence. As you know I found it tough sledding to prepare the sermon. I had the usual “nice sermon Father” comments, but a few people went beyond that to let me know that my words had registered with them in a deeper way. One man said: “That was a very sophisticated sermon; you must have been educated at Harvard”. I am not sure if that was a compliment, or if he was telling me that he had not understood a word! I had a nice chat a woman who’d been born in Fitchburg MA over 90 years ago. Chris(tophe...

Sermon for 5 th December 2010.   The Revd. J. Michael Povey at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Punta Gorda, FL Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12   (Read the passages to make sense of the sermon!) Thank you for inviting me to be with you today.   My name is Michael Povey and I live in Sarasota.   I retired there after thirty years of parish ministry in Massachusetts.   My very first parish was the Church of the Good Shepherd in Fitchburg, MA.   That’s not a bad name for a parish! She could have been thirty years old, or she might have been fifty. It was hard to tell.   She had one of those well worn faces which we often see at Resurrection House, a day shelter for homeless people in Sarasota.   I am the Chaplain at Res. House and this woman came into the Chapel for a prayer service.   It was too hard for her to pray. She started on a long stream of consciousness monologue. The details were unconnected and it was clear tha...