Povey Prattle

The  C'S :  C anterbury C athedral , C lifton Down , and C hrist C hurch , C lifton . I've told you a bit about my transition into Anglicanism at Canterbury Cathedral, and about the way that the very building spoke to me - saying "come home". I've also told you about the Bristol Downs (Durdham and Clifton) and  the 441 acres of lovely open space in what is a fair sized City. Matters came together when on a Good Friday in about 1970,  I attended an evening service at  C hrist  C hurch ,  C lifton  ( which stands on  C lifton Down) . I cannot remember what the preacher said, but I do remember that I left that service knowing without a doubt that G-d, The Holy One, loved me unconditionally. That tipped the scales.  I began to attend Christ Church just after Whit Sunday  (Pentecost Sunday) in that year. It was at  C hrist  C hurch ,  C lifton that I was C onfirmed, and it was from  C hrist  C ...

Bristol, U.K.   children are likely to have heard a parent or other adult say "We are going Up the Downs".  'Tis poor English, but it's designed to bring a smile to a child's face. "Up" is  in the sense that Sarasotans might say "up to Bradenton"  (or "down to Naples"), but also in the sense that one has to drive, or walk or cycle up one hill or other to get to the Downs. But what are the Downs?,  (more accurately Clifton Down and Durdham Down).   Originally public pasture lands,  they are 431 acres of open land on the north west of Bristol,  land which is designated for the recreational use of citizens and visitors in perpetuity.   From the 1830's onwards the Bristol districts of Westbury Park, Henleaze,  and Redland were being developed as fashionable districts for the growing middle classes, (merchants, doctors, lawyers etc).   Clifton and Sneyd Park were being developed   for the very we...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Do not, upon pain of bearing false witness, speak of "The Jews", "The Muslims", or "The Christians" as if  all Jews were the same; all Muslims the same, all Christians the same. To do so would reveal our intellectual laziness. To do so would reveal that we are trapped by our own small minded prejudice. Many Sri Lankan Christians were recently murdered in a series of ghastly suicide bombings.  It is widely believed that the murderers were Muslims. But I remind you that not all Muslims are the same. Here is a "healing" and gracious response to the horror from some Sri Lankan Muslims. https://muslimmatters.org/2019/04/24/sri-lankan-muslims-to-fast-in-solidarity-with-fellghow-christians/?fbclid=IwAR04-3gq-P98tm5bE4bzyJeshzJ58UnF8FQ7nwrxHPUxZLqW8KpFGxLhpRo

Below you will see three obituaries as published in the Berkshire Eagle today (April 25th). One is is for three Karpinski children, one for their mother Justine Wilbur, one for their father Luke Karpinski. Each died under totally tragic circumstances. I knew Mum and Dad, Justine and Luke, many years ago when they were High School sweethearts and Luke was receiving treatment in a Boston Hospital for leukemia. Justine was his constant bedside companion. In 2002 I officiated at their wedding. Please pray for their extended families. There is no need to reply to me about this  - I shed my tears when I heard about their deaths during my March trip to Texas https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/berkshire/browse If this link does not work you can search for the obits in today's (April 25th)  Berkshire Eagle.

I was with my good friend Michael Vono  (then Rector at St. Paul's within the Walls Episcopal Church, Rome, Italy -  later Episcopal Bishop of the Rio Grande) We were on a tour of classical Greece. On the morning of 23rd April we were at Delphi, that home of the ancient and intriguing gods. Our splendid tour guide told us that we were very near to a small town named St. George's  (in English), maybe Agios Georgios (in Greek). Would we like to go there to observe the locals on their feast day? Would we?  We jumped at the chance. We saw the row of Greek widows dressed all in black as they watched the goings on and doubtless made funny or sarcastic comments to each other. We saw the old men, dressed in street clothes (with flat working men's caps) as they, already well oiled, danced in the street and fired their rifles into the air. (Food for the widows' chatter!) We saw the young women and men, all beautifully and handsomely decked out in (Greek) ...

Chelsea Gospel Hall, Bristol, U.K. I grew up in a denomination known as the "Plymouth Brethren". The Brethren denied that they were a denomination. That was true inasmuch as there was no central governing body, no constitution and no hierarchy.  Each local Church was autonomous and was governed by (un-ordained and unpaid ) male Elders . It was not true inasmuch as there were norms and practices which were common to each of the "Assemblies". The Brethren were the spawning pool for one of the two great heresies which afflict much of  the modern day Evangelical Churches viz: "Dispensationalism"  (you'll have to look that up for yourself!)  the other heresy  being the noxious and dangerous "Prosperity Gospel" I could go on at length about the Brethren, and have done so in other blogs. N.B. a "Google" search is most likely to direct you to a parallel denomination (arising from an early division) which has some resemb...

Breakfast: Smoked Trout, Hard Boiled Eggs, Crispy buttered bread roll. Scandinavian inspired maybe? Easter Basket from my friend Ashley L. - candies, chocolate easter bunny, hard boiled eggs (coloured),  and treats for Zion. Home made rice pudding .  Not a traditional Easter dish, but I had deep desire for some, so I made my own. Easter lunch with good friends at Sarasota's "Rosemary and Thyme" restaurant on North Orange Ave (see below).  I chose a Sea Food salad, by no means a traditional Easter Dish,  because  my stomach demanded it.  'Twas delicious.