Each year that I attend the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, I make it a point to worship at a beautiful parish church called Christ Church Anglican.
I first learned of this parish and visited it in 2010. I just fell in love with the place!
I went back in 2011, and blogged about it here.
I was not able to make it to Columbus in 2012, so I was really excited to get back this year. This time, I made it a point to pay attention and study what it is, exactly, that makes me love the place so much. Here are my findings, such as they are.
1. They remembered me and missed me. This is not too uncommon at churches of any stripe, so perhaps not a discriminator between this parish and any other. But it made me feel good when Fr. Wale Fafiade greeted me warmly by name after the service, and told me that he had been crestfallen the Sunday of Arnold weekend in 2012 to look out over the congregation and not see me there.
2. The beautiful organ playing. My wife and I love to hear a church organ well played, and the Prelude, Communion, and Postlude organ pieces were all beautiful!
3. The excellent choir. If I am not mistaken, the Christ Church Anglican choir has picked up a strong new soprano since last I heard them. In any case, though, they led the congregation very well in all the hymns and executed a fine rendition of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross for the Offertory Anthem. The choir consisted of 6 female voices and 2 male voices on this day.
4. The excellent hymns. Of course, being a gloomy, Eeyore-style Anglican, there is much in the way of Lenten hymns from The Hymnal 1940 to thrill me. The Recessional Hymn, The Glory of These Forty Days, is one of my favourites.
5. Straight 1928 BCP, no funny stuff! Even though my home parish uses the Anglican Missal, which has much in common with the 1928 BCP, it is just not the same! There is something about coming back to the 1928 BCP, in which even the page numbers of my favourite prayers are precious to me. I don't want to turn to Page 264 to read a prayer that should be found on Page 80, as God and Thomas Cranmer intended! Okay, I'm joking. Sort of. But it is a relief to know that all the rubrics will be followed, with no innovations, omissions, or additions. Call me OCD if you will, but that is what I like. It makes church for me (what T. S. Eliot would call) a still point, rather than yet another source of chaos added on top of my already too chaotic week.
6. The Litany in Lent. I don't know when I last had the privilege of praying The Litany from the 1928 BCP in a public worship service. Oh, wait, yes I do: it was Sunday, March 6, 2011. I am thankful that Christ Church Anglican includes The Litany in its Lenten services. It's prayers are exquisite. I like them so much, that I once tried to set some of them to music:
7. The reading of the Decalogue. Yes, all ten commandments, with the appropriate (sung) responses. Beautifully done.
8. The fellowship of kindred minds. Wow. I stayed around talking with several parishioners after the Holy Communion service. I connected with them on so many levels. You know something supernatural is going on when, after 20 minutes of conversation, you feel as if you have always known a person! One couple I was talking with knew all of the works of Jean Shepherd, and the gentleman had (as I had!) listened to Shep back in the 1970s on WOR radio from New York. The lady quoted, without missing a beat, one of Shepherd's longer book titles: Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters. I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine that conversation having occurred at my home church.
Another parishioner, a choir member in fact, turned out to be a fine artist whose Opening I had attended just the evening before at the Sharon Weiss Gallery. It was a sort of Twilight Zone moment when I realized that the choir member whose singing I had admired only 30 minutes earlier was the same woman whose art I had admired 18 hours earlier!
All in all, a most blessed experience. I am going to try to take another trip to Columbus (with my wife this time!) to visit and worship at Christ Church Anglican.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
My Incredible Arnold Weekend! (Part 2)
My incredible luck in meeting up with people I had long admired continued on Saturday at the Arnold Expo in Columbus.
Without any planning on my part, I met up with several of my favourite competitors, some of whom I had met many times before, and some of whom I met for the first time!
Without any planning on my part, I met up with several of my favourite competitors, some of whom I had met many times before, and some of whom I met for the first time!
My Incredible Arnold Weekend! (Part 1)
I am sitting here in my 3rd floor room in the incredible Bed & Breakfast in Columbus, Ohio, attempting to make an accounting of God's grace to me this weekend, and failing miserably to be able to keep up with tallying the sum of God's incredible kindnesses to me!
I arrived around 9 pm on Thursday evening. Unlike in previous years, I had done no planning this year about what or who I would see. I was on a tight budget, and so did not buy any tickets to the high-priced evening events. I just planned to roam around the Arnold Expo and see what and whom I could see. And, it turned out spectacularly!
I met so many cool people (even just on Friday!) that I had waited years to meet, it just blew my mind! Here are a few:
The lady in the 4th photo is Kris Murrell, an IFBB Pro bodybuilder. She has downsized a lot since turning Pro, but still makes me look weak and small. She talked to me and another fan for about 20 minutes, and we learned that she will soon be appearing in a major motion picture. She plays the part of "Kitty", David Spade's girlfriend. I can't wait to see it!
I arrived around 9 pm on Thursday evening. Unlike in previous years, I had done no planning this year about what or who I would see. I was on a tight budget, and so did not buy any tickets to the high-priced evening events. I just planned to roam around the Arnold Expo and see what and whom I could see. And, it turned out spectacularly!
I met so many cool people (even just on Friday!) that I had waited years to meet, it just blew my mind! Here are a few:
The lady in the 4th photo is Kris Murrell, an IFBB Pro bodybuilder. She has downsized a lot since turning Pro, but still makes me look weak and small. She talked to me and another fan for about 20 minutes, and we learned that she will soon be appearing in a major motion picture. She plays the part of "Kitty", David Spade's girlfriend. I can't wait to see it!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Broken Down Cars & Unconditional Love
So, the reason I posted all the sins of my Mercury LN7 was because of what I think it has taught me about Unconditional Love.
This car has betrayed me over and over again, on a nearly daily basis. It has tried in several ways to kill me. It devises new and bizarre ways to fail me. And yet, I love the car. It seems crazy, I know, but I have chosen this car to be my own and will not go back on that choice.
And that is just the way God has been with me. I am even worse to God than my LN7 is to me. And yet He continues to love me and work on fixing me up. I sometimes doubt that God can really love someone as unfaithful and guilty of betrayal as I am. But I am forced to either one of two conclusions. Either, (1) I think that my capacity for loving the unlovely exceeds God's; or (2) God really is able to love me in spite of my failings.
I think I'll go with the latter.
This car has betrayed me over and over again, on a nearly daily basis. It has tried in several ways to kill me. It devises new and bizarre ways to fail me. And yet, I love the car. It seems crazy, I know, but I have chosen this car to be my own and will not go back on that choice.
And that is just the way God has been with me. I am even worse to God than my LN7 is to me. And yet He continues to love me and work on fixing me up. I sometimes doubt that God can really love someone as unfaithful and guilty of betrayal as I am. But I am forced to either one of two conclusions. Either, (1) I think that my capacity for loving the unlovely exceeds God's; or (2) God really is able to love me in spite of my failings.
I think I'll go with the latter.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Trials and Tribulations of My 30-Year-Old "New" Car!
In reading the following list, you have to understand that I am not complaining about the "new" car I bought. I still love it! But I wanted to catalog what has gone wrong with this car to date, because it has given me an unprecedented level of trouble. And I say that as someone who has excelled at buying problematic cars!
Also, I have a method to my madness. After making this blog entry, I intend to do a follow-up posting about what I have learned from this trying experience! Okay, here goes:
I bought the car on November 10, 2012. It had a bit over 74,000 miles showing on the odometer (most likely 174,000 miles!).
Stuff I found inside the car after I bought it ... hmmmm.
My LN7 ... posing next to the place it is trying to send me!
* Just driving it back home, I noticed that I was breathing in a LOT of exhaust fumes, and getting light-headed. I subsequently bought a carbon-monoxide (CO) detector and found that I was breathing in rather alarming amounts of this toxic gas. More on that later.
* I got home and looked at the tires ... there were three different sizes of them (all 13" diameter), and at least one of them was almost bald. I later replaced these with new 14" Firestone Winterforce tires.
* The passenger's side door lock quit working almost immediately, so I ordered 2 new lock cylinders from ebay.
* The accessory drive belt was squealing, so I replaced it. Within about 10 days, it started squealing again. In the process, I found that the alternator bracket was missing a bolt. I found one to put in.
* I noticed that the passenger's side door has a huge gap between it and the body along the rear surface behind the window. Unresolved as of yet, but I did glue some foam in there to help keep the exhaust gas out.
* Parking brake didn't work. The 3rd time I attempted to fix it, it finally stayed fixed.
* The hatchback would not stay open. Ordered new struts from AutoZone. That is still working.
* Car was running rough, stalling and missing. I replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, coil, and eventually the carburetor. Problem was not fixed.
* Blew out the lower radiator hose. Replaced it.
* As soon as I put in the new radiator hose, it became apparent that I had a blown head gasket. I took it to a shop where they replaced the head gasket, made the warped head flat again, did a valve job, installed a new camshaft, a new water pump, and a new timing belt.
* Car seemed to run better, but the carburetor now stuck coming off idle, so that it wouldn't go until you pressed quite hard, and then all of a sudden, it would cut loose, and you'd have too much acceleration. Still having that problem, but at a less severe level.
* BEFORE all the engine repairs and carb change, I averaged 29 mpg. AFTER all the repairs and installing the rebuilt car, I'm averaging about 25 mpg. Wait, WHAT!
* To help with the CO problem, I sprayed foam into all the crevasses around the hatchback. I also put an extended tailpipe on the car. Those things helped a little, but the engine rebuild is what really made the carbon-monoxide problem go away.
* Driver's side door stuck shut. Ordered a new latch, which took 20 days to arrive. In the mean time I had to climb in and out of the passenger's door. But when the car was in the shop for engine repair, he used the driver's door. After that, it wouldn't shut at all, so I had to duct tape it shut and enter/exit through the passenger's door.
* Water temp gauge stopped working. New sender was installed along with the head gasket job.
* Replaced the driver's side latch. Other than some funkiness with the lock cylinder orientation, it basically works.
* New winter tires (on 14" Escort rims from ebay) required 1" thick adapters, which pushed the wheels out farther than they should be. Right rear wheel hits the fender when carrying a passenger.
* Yesterday morning, my seat broke. The seat came unattached from where it had been welded to the seat track. I took it out at put the passenger's seat over on the driver's side.
* This morning, the car would not start. Roll-started it and drove to the gym. After my cardio session, the LN7 would not start again. Diagnosis: Broken "yoke" on the negative terminal.
I'm sure I've left out quite a few items, but that's most of what I've dealt with since buying this car.
Also, I have a method to my madness. After making this blog entry, I intend to do a follow-up posting about what I have learned from this trying experience! Okay, here goes:
I bought the car on November 10, 2012. It had a bit over 74,000 miles showing on the odometer (most likely 174,000 miles!).
Stuff I found inside the car after I bought it ... hmmmm.
My LN7 ... posing next to the place it is trying to send me!
* Just driving it back home, I noticed that I was breathing in a LOT of exhaust fumes, and getting light-headed. I subsequently bought a carbon-monoxide (CO) detector and found that I was breathing in rather alarming amounts of this toxic gas. More on that later.
* I got home and looked at the tires ... there were three different sizes of them (all 13" diameter), and at least one of them was almost bald. I later replaced these with new 14" Firestone Winterforce tires.
* The passenger's side door lock quit working almost immediately, so I ordered 2 new lock cylinders from ebay.
* The accessory drive belt was squealing, so I replaced it. Within about 10 days, it started squealing again. In the process, I found that the alternator bracket was missing a bolt. I found one to put in.
* I noticed that the passenger's side door has a huge gap between it and the body along the rear surface behind the window. Unresolved as of yet, but I did glue some foam in there to help keep the exhaust gas out.
* Parking brake didn't work. The 3rd time I attempted to fix it, it finally stayed fixed.
* The hatchback would not stay open. Ordered new struts from AutoZone. That is still working.
* Car was running rough, stalling and missing. I replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, coil, and eventually the carburetor. Problem was not fixed.
* Blew out the lower radiator hose. Replaced it.
* As soon as I put in the new radiator hose, it became apparent that I had a blown head gasket. I took it to a shop where they replaced the head gasket, made the warped head flat again, did a valve job, installed a new camshaft, a new water pump, and a new timing belt.
* Car seemed to run better, but the carburetor now stuck coming off idle, so that it wouldn't go until you pressed quite hard, and then all of a sudden, it would cut loose, and you'd have too much acceleration. Still having that problem, but at a less severe level.
* BEFORE all the engine repairs and carb change, I averaged 29 mpg. AFTER all the repairs and installing the rebuilt car, I'm averaging about 25 mpg. Wait, WHAT!
* To help with the CO problem, I sprayed foam into all the crevasses around the hatchback. I also put an extended tailpipe on the car. Those things helped a little, but the engine rebuild is what really made the carbon-monoxide problem go away.
* Driver's side door stuck shut. Ordered a new latch, which took 20 days to arrive. In the mean time I had to climb in and out of the passenger's door. But when the car was in the shop for engine repair, he used the driver's door. After that, it wouldn't shut at all, so I had to duct tape it shut and enter/exit through the passenger's door.
* Water temp gauge stopped working. New sender was installed along with the head gasket job.
* Replaced the driver's side latch. Other than some funkiness with the lock cylinder orientation, it basically works.
* New winter tires (on 14" Escort rims from ebay) required 1" thick adapters, which pushed the wheels out farther than they should be. Right rear wheel hits the fender when carrying a passenger.
* Yesterday morning, my seat broke. The seat came unattached from where it had been welded to the seat track. I took it out at put the passenger's seat over on the driver's side.
* This morning, the car would not start. Roll-started it and drove to the gym. After my cardio session, the LN7 would not start again. Diagnosis: Broken "yoke" on the negative terminal.
I'm sure I've left out quite a few items, but that's most of what I've dealt with since buying this car.
Dating Challenges of the Shy Anglican Parish
This morning, I was thinking about all the struggling little Anglican parishes I have known in my 22 years in Anglicanism. Some have gone under due to losing "critical mass". One of those was among the most beloved parishes my wife and I have attended. And yet, somehow, it couldn't attract enough parishioners to itself to survive.
I got to thinking how unfair this is, that so many beautiful, small Anglican parishes are struggling. As I thought about this, I thought about the metaphor of a shy, introverted girl who is longing to go out on dates with a gentleman, but against whom the entire deck seems stacked when it comes to the dating scene.
I think many folks get attracted to a loud, boisterous, in-your-face church, perhaps with a worship band loud enough to hear when you drive by the church building in a car. Churches with big youth groups, singles ministries, and a host of other programs. Churches that promise a lot. Churches that "put out" on the first date.
I think it is very easy for a nice, shy parish to get lost in the noise. I mean, one cannot just put a marquee sign out front that says: "Come, experience our AWESOME humility!!!" Or, "Hey, come behold our EARTH-SHATTERING quiet reverence!!"
I don't have an answer to this problem. I'm just blogging about it to share my sadness that so many nice, shy Anglican "girls" get overlooked.
I got to thinking how unfair this is, that so many beautiful, small Anglican parishes are struggling. As I thought about this, I thought about the metaphor of a shy, introverted girl who is longing to go out on dates with a gentleman, but against whom the entire deck seems stacked when it comes to the dating scene.
I think many folks get attracted to a loud, boisterous, in-your-face church, perhaps with a worship band loud enough to hear when you drive by the church building in a car. Churches with big youth groups, singles ministries, and a host of other programs. Churches that promise a lot. Churches that "put out" on the first date.
I think it is very easy for a nice, shy parish to get lost in the noise. I mean, one cannot just put a marquee sign out front that says: "Come, experience our AWESOME humility!!!" Or, "Hey, come behold our EARTH-SHATTERING quiet reverence!!"
I don't have an answer to this problem. I'm just blogging about it to share my sadness that so many nice, shy Anglican "girls" get overlooked.
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