All is Calm

It's snowing! We're in the middle of a Winter Storm, New England style. I woke to unusual stillness outside. I live near a major highway and can usually hear its noise, however muffled. This morning, nothing. The snow has been falling since last night and it continues to fall, although we may be seeing the beginning of the end. (The photo here shows the depth of the snow on my bathroom window sill. You can see the snow is almost up to the edge of the window hanging.) Visibility in some places is 100 yards or less, although it's not that bad here. Looks like we'll get about a foot all told. Farther south of us (Boston), they are describing it as a "blizzard." There are many, many school children waking up this morning wishing it were Monday and not Sunday! Bad as it is today I'm sure things will be cleared up for school tomorrow.

Yesterday, we had a wonderful Lessons and Carols service at our church. Three families plus three others provided the music, the congregation served as the choir, and three readers shared the Old and New Testament lessons. It was a beautiful service. My sister, her husband, and two children were four of the dozen musicians.

Seven of the group have been playing together since they were kids (in the New England Youth Ensemble, a group I played with as well). One piece they played brought back memories that are 35 years old when the group played each year for the Christmas Eve service in a small Episcopal Church. I still remember the air pungent with incense and balsam fir, the candle-lit sanctuary, the slow procession of the priests bringing the Baby Jesus to the manger as the Ensemble accompanied Jerry (now my brother-in-law) as he played the sweet and lovely Jesu Bambino. That's one of my most sensory memory of Christmas and always brings me a sense of peace and calm.

A Few Saving Graces

"I can understand people simply fleeing the mountainous effort Christmas has become... but there are always a few saving graces and finally they make up for all the bother and distress." ~May Sarton

Finally, I am beginning to feel the Christ- mas Spirit rising in me. We had our first real snow fall last night and this morning, I woke to a beautiful vision of sun shining through snow-stacked branches outside all of my windows. It has been so down-right balmy throughout November. We had not one flake of snow the entire month and only about 5 minutes of snow back in October. So it's been a stretch to feel Christmasy at all.

Not only did the snow make me feel seasonal, but we got a huge Christmas present today in a

decision that was made at our church business meeting this morning. Our school has been growing steadily for the past two years, and this year we grew by a lot. We'd prayed the prayer of Jabez, essentially asking God to expand our enrollment. It wasn't exactly a surprise when He answered that prayer, but it has been a challenge. Today, our church came to our rescue, voting to devise a plan, basically saying whatever it takes.

I'm beyond excited about this devel- opment. And not a little scared. It's a big project, and there are a lot of complications. But knowing that the church is behind us, and that God is clearly blessing us has helped me realize the miracle of this Christmas season.

We Thank Thee, Oh Lord

For balmy sunshine

For nourishing rain

Dear Lord and our Father

We thank Thee

For food and Thy care

Rich blessings we share

Dear Lord and our Father

We thank Thee

We thank Thee oh Lord

Those are the lyrics to a prayer-song we used to sing when my sisters and I were young. Last weekend, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Maine with our parents. My mother wanted to sing that prayer, but it's been a long, long time since we've sung it, and the young ones didn't know it at all, so it didn't go as smoothly as it used to. I've thought of the words since then, though. Simple words, but they encompass nearly all that I need and am thankful for. If I were to ad a verse, I'd add something about family and friends, a thriving school, and a caring church community. That would pretty much sum it all up then.

My middle sister and I planned the Thanksgiving Church Service for our church. It was something like one long responsive reading with a dozen readers, congregational responses, eight congregational hymns (we sang selected verses from most of them, complimenting the readings), three instrumental meditations (one of which was my niece playing "We Gather Together"), and a vocal solo--all intertwined and interspersed. Right before the final hymn (Now Thank We all Our God), the congregation had opportunity to share their praises and thanksgivings. Everyone seemed to love it, saying it was such a lovely way to acknowledge all the blessings God has given us And there are many.

Thanksgiving day itself, our immediate and

extended family gathered at that same sister's house for the afternoon. We had a couple dozen or more people there all told, and of course quite a bit of excellent food. After the meal and pies, we were treated to some music, as tends to be the tradition at these gatherings (there are many musicians in the family). This time, my sister's family cello quartet played her arrangement of "It is Well with my Soul" and then her sister-in-law's arrangement of the "Navy Hymn" (three there had been in the Navy and one is currently in the Army Reserves). I always enjoy this part of our time together.

Now, the next few weeks will be packed (for me) with meetings and hard work. One bright light between now and Christmas break will be a very quick trip down to TN for my niece's graduation from college. Time's going by much too quickly! Just yesterday we were excited about her birth...I thankful for it all, though. No matter how quickly it goes...

Silent Night, Holy Night

One of the pieces the instrumental group played in church was Silent Night, a beautiful arrangement of the Manheim Steamroller's version, featuring my niece on the cello. I had never heard it before, and it took my breath away. It was so sweet and poignant. So right for a service celebrating the gift of salvation and eternal life. Here's the original instrumentation, also beautiful. But I have to say, the deep mellowness of the cello as the soloist was something special...

Happy Hanukkuh, #400, and SNOW!

I failed to notice when I posted on Friday that it was my 400th entry in this blog! It kind of crept up on me when I wasn't looking, I guess. It's kind of amazing to me that I've accumulating that many entries, as I wasn't always that regular in posting. Others I know are much more prolific. I respect their ability to share on a daily basis. My goal is to write more in the coming year. It's good for me, if nothing else.

This weekend our church celebrated Christmas and Hanukkuh in the same service. I thought it was a profoundly beautiful service that not too many people enjoyed, thanks to heaps of snow pouring down from the sky. We had wonderful music (that included my sister, her husband, and two children, all cellists) throughout the service.

Then a Russian scholar of Judaism talked about the origin of Hanukkuh and connected it to the Messiah and Salvation. It was fascinating. He brought with him a handwritten scroll of the Torah that took nearly two years to write. It was very old (don't remember how old) and fragile, but we were allowed to see it up close.

It had started to snow Friday afternoon and didn't stop much over night until early morning. Then it started again in the afternoon and kept on snowing all night and all day. It's still snow, in fact. Many things were canceled becasue of the snow, but not the Patriots' game. If you watched it, you saw how crazy it was out there. I went to a game once, years ago, in the snow. We had sleeping bags and heavy blankets to keep us warm, but there were some who didn't have as much protection. And still they stayed. My eyes watered so much, and then the tears froze on my face and my feet were blocks of ice, in spite of the covering we had. But did we leave? Of course not! That's a New Englander for you =)

All the same, school is already canceled for tomorrow. That's because it has now turned to ice on top of all the snow and is very dangerous. Tough, yes. Wreckless, we're not.

Blasts from the Past

I feel over- whelmed tonight with friendship. The internet is a miraculous thing to me. I have no idea how it works, but it's such fun! Tonight, I've been "talking" with students from my first years of teaching simultaneously, even though one is in Michigan and the other is in Oregon. At the same time, I was playing games with my sister and instant messaging her all the while. Crazy! Last night I reconnected with others from grade school and my early high school years. It's been so interesting to find out what has happened to each of them since I last saw them, decades ago.

Earlier today I had a message from a classmate in 8th grade. He is now a pastor in Wales, of all places. And even earlier a student who graduated 10 years ago came back to give a chapel talk to the students. In the 10 years since he graduated, he's made and lost millions, but just recently found his focus and is now a lay pastor for an area church. Such fun to see the current students learning from graduates!

The student from Michigan was in the very first American Literature class I ever taught 30 years ago. His family built boats (still does). Three years ago, he and his own family went to Peru to build a unique boat, a floating church for a congregation that lives on the Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca. Coincidentally, I took our senior class that year on a mission trip to the same region in Peru and we saw the church that this "boy" helped build. We literally missed each other by days. Another student in that first class was along on the trip as a doctor. I would love to have seen them, but it was quite satisfying seeing their work and hearing the excitement of the people as they talked about their new place of worship.

[I'll not mention, but briefly, that the internet was also re- sponsible for all but destroying my computer last weekend and it took the entire weekend to get it back (that and $145 to the guy who restored it properly...). It's a love-hate relationship I have, I guess.]

Pictures are of Lake Titicaca, Peru...taken in December 2005. These people literally live on straw islands that float in the middle of the highest navigable lake in the world. The floating church is docked for the moment, but it can float from island to island as needed, just like a boat! Pretty cool!

Let All Things Now Living

We sang this hymn in church this weekend.  Katherine Davis'
words are quite beautiful and fitting:
    
  Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
  To God the creator triumphantly raise.
  Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
  Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
  God's banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,
  A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.
  Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished
  As forward we travel from light into light.

  His law he enforces, the stars in their courses
  And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
  The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
  The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
  We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing;
  With glad adoration a Song let us raise
  Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving:
  "To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!"

Facing the Past and Creating a New Present

I admit it. I have a Facebook Account. I started it to keep in touch with my nieces who are busy getting good grades in college, but who check in at their own Facebook accounts several times a day. I figured I could stay in touch and involved in their life on a daily basis this way, and that has been the case. What I didn't expect was how many other people I would connect, or reconnect, with. Hundreds. Literally. Most of them former students from the four academies where I've taught over the past 30 years (can it be that many?!).

Oh the sweetness of a note in my inbox asking how I'm doing, if I'm still teaching, reminding me of something from another place, another time. Oh the dismay of realizing that these "kids" are no grown up with children and grandchildren (a few of them!). I've loved that when they ask "remember me?" I do. I've loved catching up, seeing pictures of babies and spouses. i've loved playing Scramble and Word Twist with 'kids" I used to give vocabulary quizzes to each week!

A curious thing about this facebook set up is that once you are friends with someone online, you get to see who their friends are. Even curiouser has been the discovery of such things as the daguther (from Oklahoma) of a 4th grade classmate of mine (from Ohio) who is good friends with our former chaplain (from California) and the young woman (a graduate of our school who commuted from New Hampshire and now travels around the country with her evangelist husband)! Their college alma mater was the common denominator between the three of them (and while my classmate and I also attended this univeristy, it was at different times from each other as well as the three young people).

It is a cliche to say it's a small world when referencing my world. It's also a truism. it choulsn't surprise me anymore, how connected we are in small and big ways. Everywhere I've ever been in the world (literally), I've found someone I know or who knows someone close to me. School has always been the connecting point, one way or another. Christian schools all of them. And even though quite a number of these kids I'm reconnecting with are no longer part of the church that used to connect us, they feel a connection to the Christian schools they attended for a year or more several years in their past. Enough so when they see a face from that past, they reach out and ask to reconnect, to create a new present as friends. I have yet to turn down a request.

It's the same way with God. It can be years between conversations but He will always accept if we ask to be His friend. he will always be glad to see our name attached to that request. And it will be as if we had always been talking. How cool is that?

Photos: My current school in eastern MA, my former schools in Maine, central MA, central Michigan, and my current school again.

Crossroads at the Bay

I’ve spent the better part of this week at the annual Adventist Risk Manage- ment Conference in San Francisco. It was my first time at such an event, and it was nothing like what I expected. Actually, I’m not sure what I expected. Perhaps more than anything, I thought I’d be sitting through long, boring-but-necessary seminars on insurance, economics, and other boring (to me)-but-necessary issues. And (I must be honest), that did happen part of the time. But the experiences I've already described plus yesterday's sessions redeemed the conference for me.

The last day of the Conference was devoted to issues of health and diversity. The sessions were outstanding. They started with Gwen Foster, former health and fitness czar for the city of Philadelphia and Charles Mills, editor of Vibrant Life magazine. Both were interesting, articulate, and challenging. I also attended a seminar on how to establish a wellness program “at your organization.” All three sessions provided food for thought and motivation to get out of my chair and move more.

It was the last session, though, the very last words of the conference, that I am having a hard time shaking. One of the leading motivational speakers in America, Samuel Betances is a diversity trainer and consultant who challenged us to use our diversity to create unity. “When people of different races have reason to work closely on projects where both are indispensible,” he said, “race will not be an issue. . . . When we unite together to pursue a common goal, prejudice disappears.”

He talked about the importance of words, and of reading widely. “Read to expand your horizon, to build your vocabulary, to increase your critical and abstract thinking abilities. Read to be universalized,” he said. He talked about reading the “literature of resiliency,” books about people who “had it tougher than you, people who experienced breakthroughs.” He said we “need words in order to grow” and that the words we read should be those that will change our lives.

He told the story of his own life; how he grew up poor, neglected, and abused; how he dropped out of high school; how he flunked out of military school; how his work supervisor at a hospital, a Christian woman, told him he needed words to get beyond his life situation and how Christian education would give him those words and teach him how to use them. “In academy,” he said, “they are always looking to see if you have gifts the Lord can use.” Certainly the Lord has used him as he graduated with high honors from Harvard, worked with Oprah, and has been a consultant to three US presidents.

Yes, there were moments that I wondered why I was clear across the country from my “real work,” but there were many more that I realized the importance of taking a step back and putting that “real work” into perspective. Exploring my spiritual roots, recognizing my need to be a healthier person physically so I can give with more energy and clarity and generosity and responsibility...that was definitely worth the trip.


Photos: The watercolor painting I won yesterday (!), Gwen Foster, Samuel Betances, details of the floral display in the hotel lobby.

Day Trip to Napa Valley

Yesterday was a long, interesting, inspiring day. I've come to San Francisco (San Mateo to be exact) for a 4-day conference on Risk Management, but I came early to take a tour of area sites related to the history of my church. What started out as a fairly "intimate" group of 75-80 turned out to be a well-behaved mob of more than 200 people on 5 tour buses rather than the original 2. That's OK. As I said, we were well-behaved. Instead of the travelers getting rowdy, bus #5 decided to go up, or down as the case may be, in flames (literally) and had to be abandoned barely 15 minutes into the journey north into the Napa Valley.

Our destination was two-fold: first to Angwin where one of our denominational colleges, Pacific Union College, is located and Elmshaven, the last home of Ellen G. White, one of the founders and early leaders of our church. It took about 2 hours of travel north, through San Francisco itself (did you know that one of the reasons it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world is because it has the three necessary ingredients: ocean, bay, and mountains. That's according to our bus driver.), the famed Napa Valley vineyards, and into the mountains above St. Helena.

The organizers of this tour had a very special day planned for us. First, we met in the college church for an inspiring presentation by Christian artist/scupltor, Victor Issa who, according to his website, "is one of the foremost figurative sculptors in America today, and is heralded for his remarkable ability to make bronze appear alive. His artistic hallmark "Creating Living Bronze" is the embodiment of his life-focused spirituality, respect for the human figure, love of life, passion for perfection, and undaunted perseverance. Victor has been sculpting professionally for nearly two decades. His works have been featured in shows and exhibitions across America since 1985. Victor's sculptures are displayed in private and public collections worldwide."

Victor did a presentation for us called "Testimony in Clay" that began with a clay bust of Christ which he than proceeded to transform live into Christ on the Cross and finally Christ the resurrected Savior. He worked to music and narration about Christ's ministry... It's hard to describe here, but it was moving and powerful.

We ate lunch in the college cafeteria and then got a tour of the campus, which interested me as I've always heard it is one of the most beautiful college campuses (it is) and one of our graduates is planning to go to school here. Also, one of my college friends is head of the Honors Program and a professor of English there. I'm friends was the president as well, and was glad to find myself in his tour group (remember, there are more than 200 of us doing this, so they had several group leaders to show us around). One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to the May Pavillion where they have a collection of several dozen animals from all over the world donated by a couple of alumni.

Once done with PUC, we went down the mountain to St. Helena where Elmshaven is located. I had really been looking forward to seeing this home. I'm one of those who loves standing in the room where an author wrote, seeing the chair or desk where best sellers were born, looking at manuscripts with my own eyes, glimpsing the author's work in their own hand. Ellen White was a prolific author and many aspects of the Christian walk. I've read a significant number of her books, and this year our staff is reading her book Education, a great treatise on the value and purpose of Christian education, so I was eager to learn about the place where this book was written.

Imagine my dismay when, after only hearing details about one of the 8 rooms of the house, someone stepped into the house and called "all buses are leaving NOW! It was not a joke. We were SO disappointed! Several of us rushed through the rest of the rooms, madly snapping pictures so we could research them later, and got ourselves back to our bus rather unhappily, as you might imagine. We never did find out why we had to leave in such a rush, but such was our misfortune.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the bus, it seems. We had to go a round about way back to San Francisco because of a major traffic tie-up thanks to a sporting event, so we didn't get to cross the Golden Gate Bridge as had been promised. Instead, we saw it from the distance of the Bay Bridge, which is actually longer.

We stopped for refresh- ments at the San Francisco Central Adventist Church, which has historic significance because it is one of very few buildings to survive the Earthquake of 1906. It's a lovely old building, built in 1892, and the church members were very generous with their snack of crackers and cheeses, falafal, quiches, fruit, and corn bread.

We arrived back at the hotel rather tired of sitting, but having enjoyed a lovely day.

Churches and Concert Venues

Yesterday, I finally got to go into the Orthodox Church near the concert hall in Ermoupolis. My sister, brother-in-l aw, nephew and I went to town early to walk around. The three of them continued a long, steep hike to the top of the city and the other, bigger church there. Here's what we saw.

The ceiling in La Piccallo Scala (concert hall); the Greek Orthodox Church behind the concert hall (outside and in) and the Orthodox church high at the top of the city (outside and in).

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

One of my all-time favorite hymns is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. I've sung it in church and in choirs numerous times. I've also played the orchestral accompaniment numerous times as well. I find the words overwhelming sometimes, just thinking about what it all means.

This week, my nephew played in the orchestra that accompanied three choirs singing for the Easter service at the College Church at my alma mater. I went with my sister to hear him. Imagine my delight to see that hymn on the program. I could hardly wait to hear it. I just love the words, especially the third verse.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His hands, His head, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Where the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my life, my soul, my all.

--IsaacWatts, 1707

The Selah Publishing company website offers this History of the Hymn:
"Isaac Watts first published "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707). Designated a communion hymn, it appeared under the heading "Crucifixion to the World by the Cross of Christ; Gal. 6:14." One of the first English-language hymns to use the word "I" and to focus directly on personal religious experience, "When I Survey" holds an important place in the history of hymnody. It offers an example of how Watts, sometimes called the father of English hymnody, enlarged the boundaries of English sacred song beyond the metrical psalms to include freer verse that readily lent itself to new musical settings. Watts fused two traditions of sacred song that had been developing side-by-side-metrical psalms and hymns-in texts characterized by unusual clarity and force in the choice of words."

Photo: from Snapshots of Joy graphics

God, Who stretched the Spangled Heavens

I learned a new hymn today. During the praise time at church the song leader shared a beautiful hymn with us. It's actually in our hymnal, but I don't ever remember singing it before. Sharon thought it was particularly appropriate for this week, considering the eclipse, the meteor, and the satellite...

God, who stretched the spangled heavens
Infinite in time and place,
Flung the suns in burning radiance
Through the silent fields of space:
We, Your children in Your likeness,
Share inventive powers with You;
Great Creator, still creating,
Show us what we yet may do.

We have ventured worlds undreamed of
Since the childhood of our race;
Known the exstacy of winging
Through untraveled realms of space,
Probed the secrets of the atom,
Yielding unimagined power,
Facing us with life's destruction
Or our most triumphant hour.

As each far horizon beckons,
May it challenge us anew:
Children of creative purpose,
Serving others, honoring You.
May our dreams prove rich with promise;
Each endeavor well begun;
Great Creator, give us guidance
Till our goals and Yours are one.

~Catherine Cameron (1927- )

Photos are from my walk around this afternoon. Not exactly spangled heavens, but the result of yesterday's heavenly sprinkling...