Povey Prattle

I heard a strange noise this evening, coming from the hall closet where I keep two litter boxes for my two cats. As I walked into the hallway from bedroom, Penne emerged from the closet. Lord knows what she had been up to. In a very quiet voice I said "What were you doing there Penne? I don't think that you were up to anything good". She slunk away from me and walked to her bed, tail between her legs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A woman who lives down the road has one of those "little white dogs" which never stops yapping.  The woman often takes her yappy dog for a ride in a baby-buggy/push-chair.  When the dog (named Coquette) sounds off, her owner yells "Oh shut up Coquette, be quiet will you". In the same vein a man in our neighbouring community uses his electric wheelchair when he takes his Airedale named "Scout" out for walks. Scout is energetic and rambunctious. ...

 Daisy is a cat who lives six houses away from me with her doting "parents" Bert and Polly.  Daisy likes dogs.  When any dog passes by Daisy rushes out to go nose to nose, and then rolls on to her back.   Daisy and Penne   Daisy ===============================================================     I am not sure what to say about this sign at our local Walgreens.         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------     A chair that I used at my desk collapsed under the weight of its own responsibility . Perhaps I could have repaired the split wood -  if I'd had some good wood glue, a strong clamp, and some skill. Those things being absent I bought a handsome new chair at a local thrift shop for the princely sum of $8.   ==============================================     Betty M is a fabulous octo...

Sermon for Christmas Day 2013 The Revd. J. Michael Povey at St. Boniface, Sarasota FL   What are your favourite hymns?    I’ll wager that they are the ones you learned as a child.   What are your favourite Christmas carols?   “Hark, the herald angels sing?”, “Joy to the World?”, “O come all ye faithful?”, and “Silent Night”, especially “Silent Night”. You’ve been singing them for fifty, sixty or seventy years, and your Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without them.   That’s partly because three of them have endings which we can belt out without a hymnal and with abandon . “O come let us adore him”, and “ Hark the herald angels sing”, and “and heaven and nature sing”.   ( I sang these ending lines from the pulpit )   Mind you, one of the repeats in “Joy to the World” is odd: In verse three we sing “Far as the curse is found” three times. ( I sang from the pulpit again ) and then said “these are such strange words...

I presided and preached at the 10:00 a.m. Christmas Day service at St. Boniface.  It was good to be back in the saddle. I'll publish my sermon tomorrow. After service a visitor said  "you are a very good actor".  I took that as a great compliment. Good liturgy is also good performance  as we enact the great themes of our faith. The congregation  (mostly visitors) numbered 58.  That included the two Churchwardens who made it their business to be present (good for them), and our Director of music playing his fourth service in eighteen hours. I saw from the attendance book that the Christmas Eve attendance topped 1,000 (in three services). This afternoon I was at the home of Chris and Greg for a Christmas Feast.  Chris is a professional chef with an international reputation, and Greg is a gracious host. They open their home on Christmas Day for those who otherwise might be alone.  There were about 35 of us. It was a fantastic fe...

    It's a boy! 

  The "history of "O Holy Night"    (and Merry Christmas everyone!)   N.B The following is not my writing.  I "lifted it" from the WWW Stories Behind the Music: "O Holy Night" "O Holy Night" remains one of the world's most beloved Christmas carols, with uplifting lyrics and melody. The lyrics were written by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), a resident of Roquemaure, France (located a few miles north of the historic city of Avignon). Cappeau was a wine merchant and mayor of the town, as well as an occasional writer of poetry.  Known more for his poetry than his church attendance, it probably shocked Cappeau when his parish priest, shortly before Cappeau embarked on a business trip, asked him to pen a poem for Christmas mass. In a dusty coach traveling down a bumpy road to France's capital city, Cappeau considered the priest's request. Using the gospel of Luke as his guide, Cappeau imagined witnessing the birth of ...

Christmas-tide  is great --- even if you are not an observant Christian, or if you profess another faith, or if you are agnostic about belief, or if you are an atheist. 1.  It brings people together to enjoy good food and to enjoy each other.  In my case it was the blessing of a gathering on Saturday 21st December with my good friends Ron and Charlotte, with Ron's sister Karen and her husband Den, and with Cindy -  a new friend in this area.  Such good food. Such lively conversations. 2. It provides a good reason to be in touch with friends and family members who we rarely see, or who live far away.  In my case it was a long 'phone conversation today with a fabulous friend in Massachusetts, my dear Gwen S. 3. It encourages people to "put on the ritz".  In my case the "ritz" was a totally gorgeous display of Christmas lights outside a home some four doors east of Ron and Char's home.   The home is ablaze with white Christm...