I enjoyed reading this,

and I thought you might, so I’m linking it here:

http://ladonnaspage.blogspot.com/2009/03/is-it-just-me.html

Why bother?

I stopped in the narthex of my parish Church yesterday morning to pick up a copy of the Order of Baptism (we had a Baptism/Chrismation/First Holy Communion yesterday!) and a bulletin, and on the table with those items was a small stack of brochures advertising the “Sixth Annual Day of Reflection of Women” to be held at our Cathedral, sponsored by the Archeparchial Office of Religious Education.

I opened the brochure to take a look; it’s to be held on a Saturday and I thought perhaps if it looked interesting and solid, I’d try to get child care so I could attend.

There are to be three presenters; the first one mentioned is a Therapist and Spiritual Director……she is also an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church USA….Whoa!  Hold the phone! This is an event put together and officially sanctioned by the archeparchy.  We’re Catholic.  In the Catholic Church, women are unable to be ordained. I am disturbed.

There are two other presenters, one of whom is a member of a Byzantine parish in Butler; the other’s connection (or lack of) is nowhere mentioned.

Other perturbing things about this ‘day of reflection’:  nowhere on the schedule does it mention that there will be an opportunity for spiritual direction or confession; there is only one mention of prayer and that is at the beginning of the day – the final event listed is a benefit auction for local women’s shelters (nothing wrong with that, don’t misunderstand me please).

One word:  ecumania.  This isn’t ecumenism; giving credence to this woman’s invalid ordination by inviting her to speak at a gathering for Catholic women is perpetuating the dissent that is rotting the Church from the inside out.  she may be a very effective counselor; she may also be an effective spiritual director but she cannot be those things to a Catholic woman; her very publicized credentials are an affront to Catholic women.

Needless to say, I won’t be trying to get child care to attend this gathering.  I’m going to speak with my pastor first, but I also might be calling the archeparchy to register my dismay over this.

sigh.

This might make you go “hmmmm….”

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/huston/090320

My most recent knit!

Just thought some of you might like to see the most recent knit of mine. It’s a mystery shawl, which means that you get the charts a little at a time, and you don’t know for sure what it will look like until you’re done. This was knit with a double strand of cotton laceweight on size 5 needles; I dyed the yarn myself using 2 shades of blue fabric dye that I picked up at Wal-Mart (sorry, I forget the brand but it’s the other stuff that isn’t Rit). I don’t have an ‘action’ shot yet, but this is a picture of the shawl drying after I blocked it. the finished measurements are 80″ wide at the top and 39″ deep from center back to the point.

Here’s a Meaty Meditation:

Much to cogitate in here.
Abbot Joseph hits the nail squarely on the head.

Is it possible? yes. Probable? I’d hate to think so, but…..

the time may be coming when standing up for one’s beliefs could have, shall we say, negative repercussions.
Thank goodness this is the Year of St. Paul. He can teach us a lot about speaking truth to power, and remaining strong in our convictions regardless of the social cost.

A Couple of thoughts on community.

A lot of people say that community builds common values. I think that’s a bunch of hooey.
Common values build community.
During the persecution of Christians in Rome, way back when, those Christians didn’t gather in the catacombs in order to become Christians; they gathered in community and strength because of their common faith in Jesus Christ.
For any community to survive, there has to be a common thread to tie its members together. When the thread is strong, all attempts to sever it only make it stronger.
Find your community; I know where mine are and I sure do feel blessed.

Well. This is a new experience for me.

I’ve been kicked off an internet knitting website, I presume because I outed myself as a conservative who is a bit distressed at the outcome of the November elections.

A bunch of people were booted at the same time as I was, for presumably the same reasons.  We did have a forum on the website on which we posted links to news articles with conservative relevance.  We had lively discussions about the pro-life movement, the ridiculousness of PETA, and the mystery behind whether our Chief Executive is or isn’t eligible to hold the office to which he was elected, among other things.  I enjoyed the sassy tone of the other members’ posts, and for the first time discovered that politics isn’t dry and boring, it’s exciting and interesting!  Anyhoo, our little corner of that site was closed by the site owners, for reasons I still don’t fully understand; being prevented from gathering on ‘their property’, so to speak, we went around the corner and continued to hang out and jaw about stuff we all care about.  Most still visited the knitting site, some to talk in other fora, some to use the great pattern database.

Today I discover that, I guess because I was a regular at our off-site spot, I’m no longer welcome on the knitting website.

I think the most controversial thing I ever said was that abortion is the ultimate child abuse.  But I didn’t hide the fact that I’m very conservative in my views and values, so I guess that makes me wrong in the eyes of the site owners.

In that case, I’m very proud to be wrong.  I always wondered if there would be enough evidence to convict me of being conservative/Christian/Catholic/pro-life etc.  Now I know.

My mother begged me to blog this.

First, the backstory.  A couple of weeks ago, having discovered that one of my clients is a Realtor, mom and I made arrangements to take a look at a house across the street from us that’s for sale, and currently occupied by three college boys.  What an educational experience, to say the least.  Water standing in the basement, electrical service inadequate for what we perceive as a pretty heavy load in midsummer when you’d have the a/c on and also be trying to cook dinner on the electric stove, access to the attic blocked by a drop ceiling in the one bathroom; tiny closets; no GFCI outlets in the kitchen, elderly hot water tank…….and priced in the 6 figures.  Oh yes, I forgot to mention the ASBESTOS siding, the oven door falling off,  the total lack of a bathtub, the rain gutter falling off the front of the house, the back porch in total disrepair, and no off-street parking.

SO…….we were chatting last night on the phone and conversation turned to real estate prices and the fact that we feel things locally are WAY OVERPRICED.  She wondered out loud whether it would be possible to get anything at all habitable below $100K and I said probably not anywhere that wasn’t completely isolated, then got on a roll and suggested that probably -

“You won’t believe you’re only 20 minutes from town!” (up a winding twisty partially-paved road at the outer limits of the county, where the weather is more like Canada than West Virginia), there is a “charming older mobile home” (12′ x 60′ trailer without underpinning, indoor plumbing or electricity) “situated on rugged lansdscape abutting virgin timber”  (on a quarter-acre that is half rocks and the other half straight up a forested hill populated by all manner of wildlife including BEARS)……”breathtaking view in all directions” (but the owners have built on a lovely deck), “easy access to food” (and the shotgun will convey).  $80K.’

She says I speak Realtor.

Let me know what you think.

The vast majority (heheh) of voters indicated that they will read whatever I post, so I will endeavor to entertain you with some regularity.