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Random GenX Moment

Does anyone else remember this Public Service Announcement about prejudice, with the kid and his grandfather in the boat? It seems like it was on all the time during Brady Bunch reruns and other afternoon fare.

Kid: grandpa, yesterday Jimmy said I was prejudiced! What's that?
Grandpa: Prejudice is when you react to someone based on their religion, or their color
Kid: But I don't do that!
Grandpa: Who's Jimmy?
Kid: Jimmy's one of my Jewish friends!
Grandpa: Then you are prejudiced, because you think of Jimmy as your Jewish friend, and not as your *friend*

Please tell me I'm not making this up - I can't seem to google anything on it. So now I'm wondering if I ate some bad Life cereal in the 70s and hallucinated the whole thing.
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Thursday, July 31, 2003

I never thought of Jesus as being so glam

I keep running across this photo on costume sites (lookin' fer pirate gear, arrrrrrrgh) and it never fails to make me laugh. I think it's the eye makeup. David Bowie died for our sins.

Crown of Thorns, $19.99
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Wednesday, July 30, 2003

objects of desire

I love the cross jewelry at Kiss My Ring in Berkeley. Ryan and I wandered in there a few months ago and I wanted to buy the whole store. I found their business card in my bag the other day and went to the website and, yes, I still want to buy all of it. Maybe I can treat myself to a piece when I have something to celebrate.

I'd like to find some sort of cross ring for my right hand, but the perfect one hasn't come at me yet. Of course, I have no idea what I want, except Not What I've Seen. There's a lot of bad religious jewelry out there, folks.

Crafty Chica needs to knock it off with all the cool new craft projects. Ryan and I want to do these as Christmas ornaments, or maybe they could go together with wire and be a garland. hmmmmm. I'm very excited about the possibilities of this resin stuff, as well. I wonder if making a 5-pound mosaic stapler would keep mine from leaving all the time at work. So far, my Thou Shalt Not Steal labels have met with only limited success. And it's not even a red Swingline.
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old skool

I have actual news about an actual decision I've actually made. I'm going to take a couple of classes at CDSP (the Episcopal seminary, which happens to be right across the bay from me) as part of their Certificate of Theological Studies (non-degree) program, and get my feet wet a bit. I plan to start Spring semester, since I've missed the deadline for Fall, and I need to get various ducks in order first anyway. Yes, I'm aware that they could flat-out reject me and then I'll have to come back here and admit to that, but I'm willing to take the chance and talk about it now.

Basically, I made a list of everything that is making me anxious about exploring my call to ordination further, and it was a rather long list, but I decided that one of the big ones, the actual coursework, could be dealt with rather simply by, oh, I dunno, maybe taking some freakin' classes. Once I see that I can handle that, maybe starting the Big Scary Official Discernment Process won't seem so horrible. Or maybe it will help me see that this really isn't the right path. Either way, I have nothing to lose other than, say a couple thousand dollars in tuition and some late-night crunch-time study sessions. If I do go on for my M.Div, I'll have some of the classes out of the way, and, if not, well, maybe I'll have some interesting factoids for cocktail parties.
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Monday, July 28, 2003

wait just a maude-gone minute

The entirely perfect Beaded Maude. Look upon it and say, God is Super!

If you lick the frame, it's my favorite flavor...plain!

This was made by a Going Jesus reader, and I think it's so fabulous! It arrived with a Ned Flanders label on the package, and some ultra-wonderful St. Ned post-it notes. I totally love it.

sorry about the glare on the glass in the photo
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Sunday, July 27, 2003

all over the place

I was a Greeter today. I greet or ush(er) about once a month, which is fun because I know just about everyone and I feel like Miss Popularity.

I've been watching this one couple that I don't know. They usually arrive separately, hit the ushers pretty much at a run, grabbing a bulletin without stopping, and sit near the back. They leave after the sermon, before the creed and the confession. They've been doing this for several weeks. I'm just happy they keep coming, for as long as they can stand it. Fear and trembling is a perfectly rational response to what we're up to in that building.

They often sit near me, as I tend to hang near the back. I tell myself that it's because I've often been useful back there, getting water for people who are coughing, jumping in to help the ushers, etc. Actually it's that I don't want everyone to see me crying. It's just something that happens as soon as I feel God's presence; I start tearing up. My old spiritual director called them holy tears, possibly just to make me feel better about the fact that I went through a box of tissues just about every time we met.

The tears come from a mixture of emotions, most of which I haven't fully identified. Lately they're gone by the eucharist, replaced by a full-on joy. Today I was feeling all box-of-puppies wiggly and joyful as the eucharistic prayers started and my enthusiastic, "hosanna in the highest!" was probably better suited to the more rockin' contemporary services, but I seriously thought that my heart was going to burst right out of my chest and I just wanted to dance.

I'm just so glad I'm not alone in this life (my inner nasty atheist sneers, "yes, you have your little imaginary friend Jesus," and then I whack her on the head) and that God works in my life through other people. You know who you are.
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church cats

A guest quote from Dennis, who writes about his morning's church experience:

Best part of the service is St. M's has a resident kitty. A big fat well-loved thing who wanders into the chapel for the early service. It remembered me and I got a kitty on my lap for much of the service. Then during the preparations at the altar for communion the cat went up there and was crying for attention. Stifled my laughter but just barely. As always, Holy Communion affected me deeply. Doughy flat bread and sweet wine shouldn't do it alone which helps bolster my faith in something more.

I'd like to think that the kitty knew that Dennis was slipping back into church for the first time a while, and that he might need a bit of extra love. I'd like to think he was acting On Orders.

At St. Ned's we sometimes get stray toddlers up front during the contemporary services, but we don't have a kitty. I wish we did.
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and I didn't even have to give them my lunch money

It's so great to get noticed by the cool kids. Highly brilliant bloggers Something Understood and I Like Shiny Things have both mentioned Going Jesus this week. As did Anita Rowland. I feel like we should all go hang out on the swingset now.

Oh, and USA Today gave a nod (again) to going bridal here. Hey, any time I am mentioned in the same column as the fabulous Television Without Pity works for me!
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