Povey Prattle

In June 1976, together with eight or nine other men I was incarcerated and on lock down for forty eight hours. We were on a mandatory pre-ordination retreat at the retreat centre of the Diocese of Bristol, U.K.   Some were to be ordained Priest, (those who been made Deacon a year before). I was in the class of those to be made Deacon. On Sunday June 27 th 1976 we were released to the care of a couple of minibus drivers and taken to Bristol’s Cathedral of The Holy and Undivided Trinity. As we alighted from the ‘buses at the rear entrance to the Cathedral on a gorgeous sunny day, the bells rang out in frenzy of change ringing. It was “magical”. My sense of thrill and awe went deep as we vested for ordination in the Cathedral’s Chapter House (completed in 1160).  I thought of all the Priests and Monks who had used the Chapter House in more than 800 years of history. The ordaining Bishop, John Tinsley had never before met me, but having been assured of my...

I posted this on Facebook today.  It was well received, so now I add it to my Blog. From a British born American Citizen. (1) Brexit (however dreadful) is not the end of the world (2) The stockmarket is not the economy, (3) The economy is not the stockmarket. (4) Do not allow Brexit to move your attention away from Climate change, and from Global warming, and from overpopulation, and from diminishing natural and food resources, and from the pollution of the land and the oceans, and from rampant international militarism,. (5) Do not panic - that plays into the hands of the oligarchs and the oppressors. (6) Continue to work for justice, human rights, environmental integrity, and against the world-wide oppression of girls and women and human trafficking.

Jesus never said that the Church is like.......... (fill in the blanks) --------------------------------------------------- He often said He said it, but Churches including the Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, the, Reformed,  the "Independent Bible Believing", the Anglican, the Lutheran, the Fundamentalist, and the Evangelical traditions do not believe it. Our messages are mostly  about strong and growing congregations,  or about "The way of Salvation", or about our fine Pastors and wonderful music or about our superior theology and ecclesiology (with a nod to good works on the side , e.g. feeding the hungry -- good works which can be done just as well by the Kiwanis, or the PTA, or the Bowling League). Ignoring Jesus' call to live in the Kingdom is bad enough, but the Churches actively oppose it, in their quest for self preservation and self aggrandizement. I call this opposition to Kingdom life "death by a thousand bureaucracie...

United States businesses (ever progressive!) are finally installing Chip and Pin terminals, and issuing Chip and Pin credit and debit cards (trailing Western European countries by about ten years!) All well and good but most businesses seem to think that the terminals and cars are Chip OR Pin. Where's the security in that? There is (maybe) hope!   For the first time, when I was at a store this afternoon, I was required to insert my debit card AND enter a pin. Whoop-de-doo,  Surely that is the whole point of this added level of security. Since I was using a Debit Card I remembered my pin. Next I must go to the websites for my Credit Cards and make sure that I have a pin which I can remember! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Incidentally, when I buy gas/petrol I never use the terminal at the pump. Too many of them have been infected by cheating skimmers. So I use my Debit Card to pay for my petrol/gas inside the sto...

I have been parting with friends a lot in recent weeks.   Whoop dee doo! Today I was at  http://brioitalian.com/index.html  for lunch at a  celebration of my tenth anniversary in SRQ  at lunch with my local friends Kay Dahoney and Barbara Dunne (members of the congregation I served in Pittsfield MA) and now residents of  Bradenton, and with Ron and Charlotte Thompson, who were introduced to me by the secretary at St. James's, Cambridge, MA, Judy Beers  when I retired to SRQ in 2006. It's been my pleasure to introduce Kay and Barbra to Ron and Char, but it's been a while since the five of us were together,  I brought us together to celebrate my 10th anniversary of life in SRQ Turns out that this past weekend was Ron and Char's 51st wedding anniversary, and Barbara and Kay's 50th anniversary of life together in a loving and committed relationship. So I am calling this the 111 anniversary:  51 for Ron and Char.,  ...

Penne rests and sleeps on her bed during the day. When I go to bed she decides that the sofa is a much better sleeping spot. I approve.