Simply Divine (mostly)

Easter drives me to get my liturgy on. I love the church I go to here, Emergence, but it is decidedly non-traditional. Every now and then I need a little Nicene Creed and a responsive Great Thanksgiving, and if some or all of it is cantored then all the better. Ergo, Andrew and Bianca and I attended mass at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan. It was a beautiful, very high church, Episcopalian service. There was beautiful music, an inspiring setting, all the pomp and circumstance that the reformation hated and that part of me deeply appreciates. The incense is a big downside (I'm wicked allergic), but the liturgy, parts of which date back 1500 years or more, just fills an oft-neglected part of my spirit.
And then the soloist stood up. It wasn't in the program at all. She started singing a song I didn't recognize but it struck me as a little odd and cheesy that it had rainbows in it. Then she got to the chorus. That's right, Somewhere Over the Rainbow. And she had the congregation join in, which of course everyone did with gusto. And I sat there confused and bewildered and trying hard not to laugh.
At least the sermon was good and we sang Jesus Christ is Risen Today. I'll just try to scrub that medial guffaw from my memory.

CIA Huntdown: a meme

If the CIA ever needs to hunt you down they assume you'll return to someplace familiar. With that in mind they attempt to discover where you've slept for the past 6 years. Here's an opportunity to make it easier for them.

Where I've slept August 2003-August 2009:

Ballard Hall Dorm Room (Whitworth College, Spokane, WA)
Stephanie's RV (near Billings, MT)
Lung Family's House (Parker, CO)
DePoy Family's House (Parker, CO)
Durango UMC (Durango, CO)
UM Church (Navajo Rez, Arizona)
Parent's House (Littleton, CO)
Granny's Apt (Wheat Ridge, CO)
Tiki RA Apt (Whitworth College, Spokane, WA)
Fishy's Parents' House (near Olympia, WA)
Meagan's Parents' House (near Portland, OR)
U of I Dorm Room (Urbana-Champagne, IL)
Kyna's Theme House (Whitworth College, Spokane, WA)
Jeni & Lacey's Apt (Spokane, WA)
Liz's Apt (Tacoma, WA)
Kristin's Apt (Chicago, IL)
Guest House (Osu-Accra, Ghana)
Guest House (Tamale, Ghana)
Nkrumah Family's House (Tamale, Ghana)
Guest House (Lingbinsi, Ghana)
Guest House (Kumasi, Ghana)
Hostel (London, UK)
Bianca's Dad's House (near Folsom, CA)
Bianca's Mom's House (Mountain View, CA)
Andrew's Parents' House (Walnut Creek, CA)
Kayla's House (Grenada Hills, CA)
Kristin's House (West Seattle, WA)
Boppell Dorm Room (Whitworth College, Spokane, WA)
Shelly's Parents' House (Yakima, WA)
Claire's Parents' House (Oak Ridge, TN)
Jugendherberge (Berlin, Germany)
Augustinerkloster (Erfurt, Germany)
Monastery (Augsburg, Germany)
Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic)
Hostel (Budapest, Hungary)
Airport floor (Atlanta, GA)
Hotel (Butte, MT)
Parents' Apt (Lakewood, CO)
Motel (near Ogden, UT)
Motel (Seattle, WA)
Church (Vancouver, BC)
Church member's house (near Boise, ID)
Anna's Parents' House (Juneau, AK)
Kaemingks' Apt (West Windsor, NJ)
Alexander Hall Dorm Room (Princeton Seminary, Princeton, NJ)
Shelly's House (Minneapolis, MN)
Fishy's Apt (Chicago, IL)
Claire's Apt (Colorado Springs, CO)
Anna's House (Spokane, WA)
Erika's Apt (Spokane, WA)
Dave's House (Colorado Springs, CO)
Hotel (Billings, MT)
Hotel (Spokane, WA)
Prof's House (Princeton, NJ)
Hodge Hall Dorm Room (Princeton Seminary, NJ)
Jamie's Parents' House (near Olympia, WA)
Claire and Dave's Apt (Colorado Springs, CO)
University Medical Center (Princeton, NJ)
Chris and Jenelle's House (Colorado Springs, CO)
Andrew and Bianca's Apt (San Francisco, CA)
Bianca's Mom's House (Palo Alto(?), CA)
Hotel (tiny gambling town, NV)
Dogbe Home (Nima-Accra, Ghana)
Boarding School (Dodowa, Ghana)
Geila's Apt (West Windsor/Princeton, NJ)
Matt and Jeni's Apt (Edinburgh, UK)
Hotel (Ann Arbor, MI)
Jess' Parents' House (tiny town, Iowa)
Hotel (Cheyenne, WY)
Employer's House (Kinnelon, NJ)
"Granny's Castle" (Beach Haven, LBI, NJ)
Sarah's Apt (Trenton, NJ)
Erik's Apt (Philadelphia, PA)
Hostel (Harlem, NY, NY)
Jen's Dorm Room (Princeton Seminary, NJ)
Sean's Apt (Boston, MA)
Jaime and Caitlin's Apt (Spokane, WA)
Hotel (Philadelphia, PA)
Rachel's Apt (Bloomington, IN)
Atlantis Resort (Paradise Island, Bahamas)
Chris and Jenelle's Apt (West Windsor/Princeton, NJ)
Andrew and Bianca's Apt (Inwood, NY, NY)
Hotel (Paoli, PA)

I think if the CIA was ever actually trying to hunt me down I could change my name, learn an accent, and pretend to be an au pair who never left. I'd make a nice living in the city, and be invaluable to my employers so they would never want to ask for any real form of ID. Oh shoot, there goes my cover.

Spring Solstice

After spending time at Target and the Mall yesterday, with their overabundance of "Easter" paraphernalia, I've decided that we should just call this what it is: Spring Solstice. All the bunnies and eggs and Spring time stuff. Like the corresponding Christmas kitsch, I enjoy it to an extent. I'm excited that it is finally Spring after a long, dark New Jersey Winter. I like Cadbury creme eggs and have a soft addiction to Starburst jelly beans. So let's keep all that junk and just somehow remove it from Easter. It's basically become just another excuse to buy kids presents anyway, so what they remember about Easter is the candy and the baskets and bunnies, and if they go to church they are more likely to remember the Easter egg hunt and having to dress nicer than usual. (Incidentally, I also advocate keeping all the Christmasy kitsch but celebrating Jesus' birth on Jan 6, like the Orthodox church.)
These thoughts led to me putting the Dora the Explorer and Batman tin pails, the Spiderman eggs, the Disney Princess candy containers, and the Hello Kitty galoshes back on the shelf at Target yesterday. The kids are going to get more than plenty of that stuff, without me adding to it. Not to mention that I am the one stuff with the sugar rushed pre-schooler. So I got B a Bible board book and N an illustrated copy of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm thankful that N does know what Easter is about, and I'd like to do my part to keep it that way.