A Marrying of the Best or Rallying of the Worst?

So the Roman Catholic church is welcoming in a bunch of Anglican clergy who are not happy sharing pulpit and altar space with women and gays.

Not all Catholics are real pleased about this. Frank Skinner in the London Times in "My Church is Not a Safe Haven for Bigots"

I want people to be drawn to the Catholic Church because it travels the road to truth, not because they want to hang out in its dingy cul-de-sacs. I was hoping that the Church’s antipathy to female and openly gay priests would, in time, weaken and dissolve. Now instead, it seems, a whole lot of bigoted reinforcements are arriving to galvanise those more unpalatable aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine.

I have the same thoughts about churches in the ELCA who decide to leave because of the sexuality issue. They are likely to become magnets for malcontents from other churches. Do you really want to belong to a church with the reputation "Here's the place to go if you are unhappy with your present church?" Shudder.

Luther's Rose

From the stained glass window at First Evangelica Lutheran Church, Beaver Dam ,
Oakbrook Esser Studios

The Lutheran Rose, seen often as a symbol of the Lutheran Church was designed by Martin Luther and he explained his symbolism in a letter to his friend Herr Spengler, town clerk of Nuremberg. The Luther Rose:

• "The first thing expressed in my seal is a cross, black, within the heart, to put me in mind that faith in Christ crucified saves us. 'For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.' Now, although the cross is black, mortified, and intended to cause pain, yet it does nor change the color of the heart, does not destroy nature (i.e., does not kill, but keeps alive). 'For the just shall live by faith,' by faith in the Savior.
• But this heart is fixed upon the center of a white rose, to show that faith causes joy, consolation and peace.
• The rose is white, not red, because white is the ideal color of all angels and blessed spirits.
• This rose, moreover, is fixed in a sky-colored background, to denote that such joy of faith in the spirit is but an earnest beginning of heavenly joy to come, as anticipated and held by hope, though not yet revealed.
• And around this groundbase is a golden ring, to signify that such bliss in heaven is endless, and more precious than all joys and treasures, since gold is the best and most precious metal. Christ, our dear Lord, He will give grace unto eternal life."

Friday Five - Music

The RevGalBlogPals are talking about music:

I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people gay; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor." - Martin Luther

On this Friday before Reformation Sunday, let's talk about music. Share with us five pieces of music that draw you closer to the Divine, that elevate your mood or take you to your happy place

So here goes - in no particular order:

1. Handel's Messiah - THE WHOLE THING, and I prefer it at Easter time to Christmas. I try to listen to the whole thing during Holy Week.

2. Bach's St. Matthew Choral

3. Any spiritual sung by Mahalia Jackson. The greatest Gospel singer. EVER.

4. The old Swedish hymn, "Thy Holy Wings" I used to sing that for my babies. One time my daughter sang it as a solo in church and I thought about singing it to her as a baby and I just about lost it.

5. The music from Les Miserables- especially the ending chorus of "Do you hear the people sing?" The first chorus of it is very inspiring but it's about the hope in the transformation human beings can accomplish. And of course it ends in miserable failure...but this reprise at the end speaks of a great hope of transformation. And it's not like Marcus Borg says, it's not pie in the sky in the great by and bye --it what keeps me working for transformation in this life

Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.

For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.

They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the plough-share,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes...
Tomorrow comes!

Marcus J. Borg - "Redeeming Christian Language"

Thursday a friend and I drove (about 3 hours) to Wartburg Seminary to hear Marcus Borg speak on the subject of a new book he's working on, "Redeeming Christian Language". If you follow theology and biblical studies at all, you will have heard of him. He's written a LOT of stuff and is member of the infamous Jesus Seminar.

Some may accuse me of understatement when I say, he's a little outside of mainstream Christian thinking. Or maybe he's not. I don't agree with everything he says but I will say this, this was one of the most intellectually challenging, interesting, well presented, thought provoking continuing ed event I've been to in a few years. Which certainly doesn't say much for our orthodox theologians does it?

The premise of Borg's lectures and his upcoming book is that much of Christian language is poorly understood by people today, both within the church and certainly by those outside the church. He's seeking to reclaim and (and sometimes I think redefine) basic Christian concepts like salvation, sin, redemption, repentance, righteousness.

I agree with his premise, and am with him in a lot of what he says. I totally agree with him that substitutionary atonement makes absolutely no sense to most people who did not grow up in the church. I did not grow up in the church and that is just not an understanding of what happened on the cross that has ever made sense to me. However, his understanding of Jesus' death makes what happened little more meaningful than Martin Luther King jr.'s death. Yes, the dream lives on. But nobody was saved by MLK jr's death. And I'm not sure Borg believes anybody was saved by Jesus' death.

He's pretty down on heaven or what he calls the "afterlife" -"Agnostic on the Afterlife" I'd wanted to say to him "tell me about this afterlife you don't believe in because I don't believe in it either." (Which I stole from his line "Tell me about this god you don't believe in because I probably don't believe in him either)

I agree that salvation, transformation begins in this life, today. I totally am on board with his impatience with a faith that is so terribly focused on going to heaven when you die because you believe Jesus died for your sins. But I really resonate with N.T Wright's understanding of heaven as another dimension of reality that exists now and that it is the vision and the hope of THAT reality that is the impetus for living out the values of God's Kingdom in this world. But the problem with it all being about what happens in this world is...well, people still live and die in slavery and oppression and war and hunger. And there's got to be more than just what we see. I need the promise that God's Kingdom will prevail and there is a place where God's Kingdom does prevail and it is present here though not totally fulfilled, whenever God's people live by the values of the Kingdom.

I tried to ask him that question and he got all caught up in this understanding of "afterlife" that I certainly don't subscribe to. And then he said Wright was a good friend but he didn't think his understanding of heaven made any sense.

And there's that whole "bodily resurrection" thing that gets some of the more orthodox twisted in knots. Let's not go there today.

But Borg is right about this. We have to get out of the church language and speak and do theology in a way that makes sense to people who aren't hearing and understanding our "church speak" And if Borg's understanding of God and Christ and salvation isn't exactly the way I understand it, or even if it's outside what the church deems "orthodox" but it brings Christ and the message of freedom and grace and transformation to people who otherwise wouldn't hear it...well then he's doing a heck of a lot more for the Kingdom of God than most of us who are arguing about stuff that makes no never mind to those on the outside.

We aren't hearing from the Ladies...

The new (and excellent) ELCA News blog "Pretty Good Lutherans" has a new post with dismaying news as to how little we are hearing from lay people in general but in particular women about church stuff.

I'm very wary of talking to the press myself. Many years ago I found myself in the odd and unusual position of having a growing congregation in a small town. I was hot stuff in the synod in those days. Truth be told it probably had more to do with the Missouri Lutheran pastor in town who was offending people in his congregation right and left and then one day just didn't show up in church and turned out he left his wife and moved in with another man in another town. But at the time we thought it was because I was so clever.

So a well known since passed on to the church triumphant religion writer from Minneapolis, Clark Morphew, interviewed me for a story about a pastor of a growing church. This is what I told him "Well first I wanted to build them up, so they could feel good about what we were doing already so we could feel like we like we had something of value to new people to the church"

And some how or other the quote got changed to how I lectured them in the pulpit about how they needed to shape up so they could have something of value to offer to new people. It was insulting the the congregation and it made me sound like somebody who preached from the pulpit that they had nothing of value to offer. I was so ashamed I didn't even show the article to anybody. It was easy to hide since we were in a small town in Wisconsin and this was published in St. Paul.

Since then the only thing I say to the press is "Yes, our chicken dinner is on Sunday night at 4 pm" I had an interesting Twitter debate with Pretty Good Lutheran blog writer Susan Hogan about that stance. She thinks I should just get more savy about the media. She's probably right.

Oh yea and before you think I'm a hotshot with regard to growing a small town church. Yea the older members got alarmed at the influx of all the new people and their newfangled ideas and things got kind of ugly, and pretty much drove the new and creative folks with their new newfangled ideas out. And I was no longer a hot shot in the synod. And I learned an important lesson. Growing or dying... it's not about me. Which is probably another reason I'm not all that interested in putting myself in front of a reporter's mike.

Friday Five - Shoes

The RevGalBlogPals are talking about shoes.


What is your favorite footwear at this time in your life?

I took a little time in between college and seminary and worked as an executive secretary in downtown San Francisco. High Fashion was expected. I had high heels in nearly every color. When I was having babies, fashion was not a priority. But I renewed my love for shoes and high heels when shopping with my daughter in high school. I often would buy the exact same pair of shoes she got in my size. So while other women my age are eschewing fashion for comfort, I'm still wearing high heels. Not for long periods of time and certainly not to walk very far. I can stand to wear heels for meetings and about an hour long worship service. They usually get kicked off for coffee hour.

2. What was the craziest shoe, boot, or sandal you ever wore?
I was in high school in the 70s. We wore those ridiculous clogs and giant clunky heels I would never wear again, regardless of fashion or comfort because they were UGLY.

3. What kind of shoes did you wear in your childhood? I grew up in southern california and I believe I wore flip flops most of the time. But I cannot stand flip flops anymore. I cannot abide anything between my toes.

4. How do you feel most comfortable? Barefoot, flip-flops, boots, or what? I hate to be barefoot even in the summer in the house. I like slippers. I have two of the exact same pair of fleece lined slippers from Sierra Trading Post one for at home and one for in my office at church.

5. What kind of socks do you like, if any? Thin socks. But always socks. Do you know young people don't wear socks? Or hose? Once we had to go to a wedding and I found myself without any panty hose and my daughter talked me into slathering self-tanning and face make up on my legs and wearing my heels without any hose. That did not feel good to me. But she never wears any socks with her shoes.

Bonus: Anything you want to share about feet or footwear - A little tip about figure skates. Do not tell me you cannot skate because you have "weak ankles" - you probably had poorly fitting skates. Skates are supposed to support your ankles. If your ankles are wobbly you have poorly fitted and bad quality skates. Also skates are SUPPOSED to be uncomfortable. You get used to it. Which is probably why I tolerate uncomfortable shoes.

Where Your Treasure is...

So it looks to me like the Word Alone, CORE types are on the defensive about their "Well we will stay, call ourselves members of the ELCA, keep our jobs as pastors and other positions in the ELCA, vote in conference and synod assemblies, insist bishops and other leaders in the ELCA listen to us, scold and lecture the ELCA but will not sully our pure wallets by supporting the ELCA with our gold and silver" stance. In this article over at Word Alone they actually compare the ELCA to an international corporation profiting from Apartheid! Everything I learned about the redirection of financial support, I learned from the ELCA

The church is not an international corporation. It is the Body of Christ. It is made up of YOUR Christian brothers and sisters. People you went to seminary with. People who love Jesus as much as you do. People who pray they are doing the right thing but are ready to fall on the mercy of Christ if they are mistaken.

I tell you what -- if I EVER thought the church I belonged to was as cold hearted and profit minded and evil as a soulless multi-national corporation that had no problem profiting from the oppression and torture of other human beings, I would not mess around with "redirecting my funds" I would renounce my membership in that organization. Pronto. Yesterday. And take the consequences.

Either the ELCA is evil and you need to leave today or it is the Christian community made up of saints and sinners with whom we don't always see eye to eye but need to figure out how work together for the mission of Christ. For a group that is so so very sure they are the ones on top of this authority of scripture thing, I'm still waiting for the SCRIPTURAL justification for using your money to teach your church "a lesson"

Figure Skaters Cookbook

The Glen Falls Figure Skating Club came up with a great fund-raising idea. They put together a cookbook and they got a LOT of famous skaters to contribute recipes. What's really funny is I even have a recipe for my vegetarian lasagna in there. So you can order it here "Figure Skater's Favarites" $20 - what deal.

Wicked

So my daughter and I went to see Wicked yesterday in Des Moines. I love musicals. They are wickedly expensive these days so I don't get out to see many. I hadn't seen it nor was I familiar with the story and that was fun ...to enjoy the music and production AND not really know what was coming.

Les Miz is my all time favorite musical but I think this may come in second. Great songs. I do believe the choir sang "I have been changed for good" at my son's high school graduation. If you don't cry when you hear that song then there is just something wrong with you.

This is a feminist musical. It's all about the women and the friendship of women. I know they had to throw the romance in but that's incidental. It's about the women. You should see it if you get a chance.

A Little Football Talk

How I became interested in football.

It began in high school when the most pressing concern of mine was "What shall I wear when I make the obligatory pass by the bleachers walk during half time?" Which is still an important concern. But that focus changed one day in the journalism room where as a sophomore I was feature editor of the school paper. None of the sports writers were available to write up the junior varsity game. Only two of us were available. Me and a boy who was new on the paper and had no more knowledge or interest in football than I. The difference between us was that I wanted to try my hand at writing a sports story.

So I volunteered. The teacher/adviser said fine. The sports editor had a fit and wanted the less experienced boy to write the story simply because he was a BOY. This is around 1973 mind you. I think why this memory is still so clear is that I had a crush on the sports editor and I went through the gamut of emotions from "How could he be so mean to me?" to "What did I ever see in someone who is so closed minded he can't see that I'm the more experienced writer and I should get the assignment?"

That was the end of the crush. I got a crash course in how football works, which made it actually interesting to me once I understood it. I took the stats, I got the locker room interview (and they were all very gentlemanly about it BTW) and I wrote up a decent story. I mean really, it was a JV game, who even read it? I don't even remember if we won.

So I was interested in football after that. I lived in San Francisco during the 49er Superbowl and Joe Montana years. I had a boss that let us out of work early to go to the welcome home parade and I actually went to the parade.

Becoming a Packer fan

When I got married, I'm pretty sure "Your team will be my team" was in the vows and so I became a Packer fan. There are no fans like Packer fans. They are crazy people. They like to sit in below freezing blizzard conditions to watch their team. The Packers are actually owned by the fans. If you are a pastor in Green Bay, you get a free season pass to home games. People are on the list for season tickets like for 50 years. My husband and I were Packer fans before it was cool to be a Packer fan. When they were known for their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

And then there was Mike Holmgren...who worked with Joe Montana and Steve Young during their winning years on the 49ers. And then there was Brett Favre and the Packers were no longer a joke and a heartbreak to their fans.

And then Favre got kind of old and injury prone and retired and he was like a god to his fans. And then he said he was coming back. Or not. Yes he was. No, maybe not. But maybe he would. Nah not really. but maybe. Just save my spot for me and I'll let you know when I feel better. Because you know, he's a god and Aaron Rodgers should just be willing to hang around in case he was needed, but step aside when Favre was ready to ascend the throne again. But the Packers management said, "Um no, we're gonna go with Rodgers" And Favre was confronted with the nasty truth that NOBODY is indispensable.

And Packer fans argued about whether or not he was indispensable, and some thought Rodgers should move aside and others said, no, but although the image was beginning to tarnish, the Packers for the most part still loved their Favre and wished him well when he went to play with the Jets.

And then Favre decided to retire again. Maybe. Or not. And then he did the unforgivable. After pulling the same "Maybe I'll play, maybe not, I dunno, give me some more time" crap with them, he signed with the Minnisota Vikings.

There are two arch rivals of the Packers. One is the Chicago Bears. They are a worthy rival. Packer fans respect the Bears. The other rival is the hated, detested, Minnisota Vikings. And it felt like a slap in the face to all Packer fans that he chose to play for them. Like a kick in the gut.

So naturally last week's game between the Vikings and Packers was quite a hypped up one. And you have to admire the old man Favre, he came through. And broke Packer Fan hearts again.

And then in an interview the next day he said that God had listened to his prayers. I guess I'm going to have to stop telling my confirmation kids when everyone takes a turn praying outloud at the end of class, that they are not allowed to pray that we win the football game because God does not take sides in football. Apparently God has made an exception for Brett Favre. Perhaps now that he has God's ear, he could work on world hunger. I would have suggested world peace but apparently our recent Nobel Peace prize winner has that under control.

Potato Leek Soup with Jalapenos

It rained all day today. Good day for soup. This soup is positively decadent. It was wondeful.
2 Leeks, sliced
1 potato, sliced thin
1 jalapeno, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 stick butter
1 Tb flour
1 cup White Wine
1 Cup Chicken stock
1/2 Cup heavy cream
3 slices of bacon cut up
Salt
Fresh ground pepper

You can skip the jalapeno but I thought it was a wonderful addition...I had maple flavored bacon and it was all spicy and sweet...oh my it was good.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the flour and stir to dissolve. Add leeks, jalapenos and garlic, salt & pepper and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the wine, cook a few minutes, then add the potatoes and chicken stock. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about a half an hour. Add the cream and simmer another 5-10 minutes. Serve with bacon. You want to make this REALLY decadent - Stir in a tablespoon of sour cream.

This makes about 3-4 servings. It took all the self-discipline I could muster not to eat it all in one sitting.

It's Always Exciting to be Part of a Movement

One of the common criticisms of the decisions made by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly regarding roster leaders in same sex relationships is that all of the arguments were made on the basis of human experience and not the WORD OF GOD.

Well I was there and there was plenty of emotional arguments on the other side and I heard biblical arguments for the changes. But more on that later.

For a group claiming to be above emotion and experience, I'm a little amused (I was annoyed until I figured this all out) at the emotional and enthusiastic ravings of how "inspiring and uplifting" the Lutheran Core gathering in Indianapolis has been for those who are attending. I even read one blog about how wonderful it is to sing "A Mighty Fortress" with Lutherans "who really believe it"

Because you know, I never really believe it when I sing it. But truthfully, I've been in church a lot of times when folks including myself did not sing it as though we really believed it.

The ELCA is pretty much a dying mainline church, like others and it doesn't have anything to do with being liberal or having gay ministers. We've stopped singing like we meant it. I gotta tell you these Core folk in Indianapolis remind me of bunch of kids who have gone to church camp and singing Jesus songs like they meant it after years of boring lifeless liturgies. It's exciting to be part of something. It's heady stuff to think you are going to change the church. The church needs you! The church is going to head off a cliff if YOU don't stop it! Sound the ram's horn! Gird up your loins!

But what are you girding up your loins for? To deny your Christian brothers and sisters their pastors because you read scripture differently than they do? That's what it is about. These people in CORE are not hateful people so they insist it's not about homosexuality at all. It's about the authority of Scripture. THEY are protecting it while the rest of us are not.

That is just not true. They read scripture through the same lens the rest of the ELCA does. They use the same historical critical tools. Otherwise there would be no women clergy among them. (I actually think those women are in some danger when they figure that out but that's another argument) That's a fact. They just have been able to use those methods to hold on to the authority of scripture and see that it does support women in ministry but they cannot see that it may also support gay people in same-sex relationships. This is not an argument about the authority of scripture. It's about interpretation. It should not be church dividing.

But it's fun to go to camp. When kids come back from camp its really important you channel that enthusiasm to some purpose to keep it going or they will lose it or worse, go to some church with a rock band. We as a church need something to be excited and enthusiastic about. It should be about opening up the doors of the church and the ministry to more people, not tightening the requirements. I fear we are all fighting about how to arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need a new wind blowing and a reformation. But CORE ain't it.

Cosmos & Damian - September 26

September 26 is the commemoration of St. Cosmos and Damian, third century Syrian martyrs believed to have been twins and doctors.

These are two rather obscure saints but I've always been interested in the basilica dedicated to them since I visited it on my 2004 Trip to Italy.

I splurged for a private tour and our guide was art historian Elizabeth Lev, who is kind of famous now. It was some of my best spent money on this vacation. She was excellent.

I think you could easily miss this gem of a church - it isn't very exciting on the outside, but the inside mosaic and the historical significance of the church should it put it on your "to see list" when (not if) you go to Rome.

Although Constantine legalized Christianity in the fourth century, Christians were not emboldened to build a church in the middle of the pagan dominated forum until two hundred years later in 526 AD.

Interesting that it was dedicated to twin saints and Romans have a thing for twins (think founders Romulus and Remus) And the basilica was built right across from a temple dedicated to twin gods Castor and Pollux.

You go inside this unremarkable building and are presented with a gorgeous 6th century mosaic. It is all the more impressive because the church has been raised higher than its original floor and you are much closer to the mosaic than normal and can really enjoy it.


The mosaic is of St. Peter and St. Paul presenting each of the twins to Christ in heaven. They are both wearing togas. At one time Rome was a symbol of oppression and persecution of the faithful. Now saints wear Roman togas in heaven. It is Liz who pointed out that the faces of Cosmos and Damien are dark and Semitic, preparing the Romans for a religion that is from that part of the world.

Anyway you really should check it out on your next trip to Italy. And if you go to the Vatican, get Liz to give you a tour if she's still doing that. Wish I had.

Friday Five -Fall

It's been several weeks since I've participated in a RevGalPal's Friday Five....but it's all about Fall...and good subject for me and I've been neglecting the blog so this is at least a good reason for me to get back to writing.

1. Share a Fall memory -- this season makes me think of my late husband. Particularly Halloween - he loved Halloween--he would fix up the front porch with
spider webs and always make a scarecrow. We really did Halloween. Every year I made my kids costumes and carved pumpkins He would give out the candy and I would take the kids trick or treating. He would take a piece of paper and mark down how many kids came to keep track. One warm fall night we had over 200 kids.

He stayed home with the kids and I worked. But come fall he would work in the potato harvest. He usually cooked suppers but during that time I'd cook --he'd come home 8 pm and I'd have something warm and good waiting for him. It made me feel all wifey and domestic.

2. Your favorite Fall clothes--(past or present)? I love the fall colors - browns, oranges, rusts. I have a bunch of sweaters and cardigans...so it's nice to get them out.

3. Share a campfire story, song, experience...etc. Hmm...not really connecting campfires with fall since I always camping in the summer. Around these parts we still burn the fall leaves. That was my husband's job and still remember when I decided to take on the task after he was gone. I was terrified I might burn down the neighborhood so I had the hose on and close by. Have since learned leaf burning is pretty manageable as long as the wind is not blowing.

4. What is your favorite thing about this time of year? I am ambivalent about fall. It fills me with a sense of dread since I know the winter is coming. I feel a little melancholy about fall because it reminds me of death. I cannot forget that the reason those leaves are so spectacular is that they are dying.

But there is some relief as well. The garden is done and there is nothing more I need do for it, but cover it with leaves and burn them to replenish it. It will rest during winter and next spring there will be a new chance for another garden. I always plant bulbs to remind myself that no matter how harsh the coming winter will be, there will always be a Spring. Without death, there is no resurrection.

5. What changes are you anticipating in your life, your church, family...whatever...as the season changes and winter approaches? Oh there will probably be some changes. I'm just not ready to talk about it.

Bonus Question - What food says autumn at your house? Chili of course! I used to always serve chili on Halloween. One time I even made it from all orange tomatoes I grew.
Here's my Recipe. (by the way I said in that post I hate beans --have learned to like black beans and red beans and rice - but I still would not put beans in my chili) Also I used to put my garlic in first and then would have to watch like crazy to keep in from burning - I've since learned if you put the garlic in AFTER the onions...it's not as likely to burn

"Do not stop him..."

‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us

Matthew 9:38-40

Am I the only one that thinks of people who are ticked off about gay pastors doing ministry in the name of Christ when I read this passage?

Just saying....

Hildegard, Abbess of Bingen, died 1179 - Another Radical Feminist

My daughter wrote a paper last year in that women in the middle ages were better off than women after the renaissance and I think she made a good case. 

 Of course, she didn't come up with that idea herself. Just look at some of the women and their influence in the middle ages. Queen Eleanor. Joan of Arc. Julian of Norwich. 

And the lady we commemorate today, Hildegard of Bingen.

It's a little shocking for our modern sensibilities to learn that Hildegard was sent away from her family to a convent when she was only eight. Hildegard was one of ten children --when she was sent to the convent she was taken under the wing by an abbess named Jutta. She probably got much more attention and nurturing and certainly, education than had she stayed at home.

Ever since the story of Katie Luther's escape from the convent in the pickle wagon Lutherans tend to think of convents as terrible places. 

 But I think convents were avenues of freedom for medieval women. 

Convents gave women like Hildegard opportunities to be leaders and even preachers. Hildegard traveled all over Germany and as far as Paris and people came far and wide to hear her and even asked for written copies of her sermons. She advised bishops, popes, and kings.

Her writings combined science, mathematics, music, art, social justice, respect for creation and theology. And all this was based on visions that some believe were simply the result of debilitating migraine headaches! It makes you wonder what beauty we are missing because we no longer search for meaning in suffering.

Sept 11, 2001 - What I was Doing

I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:20-23

(New International Version)

It was a Tuesday morning. I remember it was a Tuesday because I had text study on Tuesday mornings. The kids had both left for school. I was in the kitchen fixing a cup of coffee and had Good Morning America on the TV in the kitchen. When I turned it on there was already a picture of the first burning building. I thought it was a fire and that was bad enough. I remember thinking "How are they going to get people out when it is that high up?"

Right before my eyes on the screen the second plane hit the second tower. And suddenly I had a pit in my stomach.


As news came in about a plane hitting the Pentagon building I was terrified. I thought we were being invaded. I called the school and asked if they were sending the kids home and they said they had the school locked down and were keeping abreast of the situation and would call the parents if they thought the kids should be sent home. I called the leader of the text study and said I needed to stay home in case my kids needed me.

And then I mopped the kitchen floor. I HATE mopping the kitchen floor and only do a real job of it every few months. This was a once in a few years scrubbing. I pulled out the stove and mopped behind it. I got on the floor and scrubbed two year old gook. I washed down the walls as I watched in horror the walls of the two towers collapse.

I called the Methodist pastor of the only other church in town and we planned a joint prayer service that night.

Life went on. In the days that followed it was very difficult hearing the stories of widows and fatherless children as this was only two years after my own children lost their father. I won't talk about how much more difficult it was to listen to some widows complain about only having a million dollars to live on, because that would be petty.

I will say this, it is a terrible thing to loose a loved one. People lose loved ones everyday who don't have memorials every year but they too have anniversaries. Don't just think about them today.

Garrison Keillor hospitalized but planning to get back to work.

You may have heard that Garrison Keillor was hospitalized Monday evening following a minor stroke. According to today's StarTribune (who seemed to have gotten most of their info from facebook - which is interesting in itself)
he is up and about and expects to be discharged Friday and ready to get back to work. Our prayers and best wishes are with him.

Could we have a little civility and respect in our congress???

Dear South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson - this is not a bar where people heckle the karaoke singers and throw peanuts on the floor. This is the United State Congress and you do not heckle the President of the United States. You putz.

Obama heckled by GOP during speech to Congress

Sunday Night in the Kitchen

I have two projects going on in the kitchen. It all began when I looked at my handful of beans in the garden and bell pepper tops I was cutting off and I started thinking about vegetable stock. Every time I roast any meat, I simmer the carcass and make stock. Turkey, Chicken, even ham. Ham stock is WONDERFUL in gumbo (it probably would have been good in the red beans and rice I made last week but I made pickled pork to go with it and that was probably enough).

I was looking around for ideas to put in the vegetable stock and saw the suggestion of squash peelings. Well, it just so happens I made butternut squash soup just before my daughter left to go back to college and it was wonderful. There another squash in the garden and I've been thinking of roasting and pureeing then freezing it for the next time I want soup. Why not do that tonight and use the peelings for veggie stock?
The reason I have been thinking about vegetable stock is that many squash soup recipes call for chicken stock and that seems kind of odd and defeats the purpose if you are trying to make something vegetarian with the squash soup.

So here's what I did for my vegetable stock. But really you can put ANY vegetables in ...this is just what I had.
I have a big cast iron pot. I put a little olive oil and sauteed one small yellow onion and a half a red onion that was in the fridge. I just like the taste of caramelized onions. You could skip this step.

From my garden, I picked a green pepper and cut out the bug eaten parts of a red bell in the garden. I have few red bells in the garden and I'm not wasting them on stock! But I did have some tops I saved thinking I would soup.My green beans are done for the summer but there were about a dozen so I picked them and threw them in there as well.

The herbs are almost done. So I cut a handful of flat leaf Italian parsley, some basil - both purple and green - flowers and all - it was going to seed and a handful of chives. I did not put dill in because that's pretty distinctive flavor and just didn't want that.

I pulled up some carrots that tasted too woody to eat raw - threw them in along with the green tops. From the fridge, chopped up some celery-including the leafy top. The great thing about this is that you don't have to chop everything all nice, just in pieces. Don't forget the squash peelings. You cannot peel a butternut squash with a peeler and do it with a paring knife leaves a bit of flesh on so that works really well for stock. Nothing gets wasted. And don't forget several cloves of garlic. Oh, yea and a jalapeno that had gone red. I like a little heat.
I threw the peppers and celery in first after the onions were transparent and added about 1/4 cup white wine and let that reduce. Then threw everything else in the pot . Added about 6 cups of water. Some peppercorns, some kosher salt. Bring it to a boil, turn it down to low, cover and simmer a couple of hours. Strain all stuff out of it (and put in the compost pile). I pour my stock into quart size zip lock bags, label what it is and the date and freeze it. Next time you make mashed potatoes try boiling your potatoes in that! Oh come on PLEASE tell me you don't eat that crap out of the box.
And here's the recipe for the squash soup. It's a little time consuming because I roast the squash first but it's soo good that way. That's why it's a good idea to do that on a lazy Sunday night and freeze it. I got the basics for this recipe from the Food Network but I thought it had WAY too many herbs and spices. They call that "complex" flavors. I call that too much crap. But I loved the idea of adding balsamic vinegar to the roasting sauce.

The first step - Roasting the squash
Preheat oven to 400 1 cube butter (not margarine - butter) 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 2 Tbl Molasses 3 Tbl brown sugar (or more if you are like me) 1/2 tsp sage 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 cup white wine So first, you peel a butternut squash, remove the seeds and chop into 2-3 pieces. Also, peel and chop an apple as well. An apple really adds to the flavor Toss them in a bowl with a little salt and pepper. Next heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter ceases to foam and has turned a light brown, pull the pan off the heat and immediately add the sage, sugar, vinegar (stand back so as not to get splattered), molasses and spices. Mix well and let simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to meld the flavors.

Pour the vinegar mixture over the squash and toss well, then transfer to a heavy rimmed baking sheet or baking dish large enough to hold the squash and apples in a single layer. Place in the oven and roast, tossing at least once, until very tender and caramelized, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm, so the liquids are runny. Then puree it in a blender with the white wine

Part two - making the soup

1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (not necessary but I always throw in bell peppers. Did you know they have more vitamin c than an orange?)
1/4 cup white wine
2 Cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups, more or less water to thin soup to your liking
1/2 cup heavy cream

Saute the onion and bell pepper in olive oil. When the onions are transparent, add the wine and cook a few minutes until it reduces. Add the stock and simmer a few minutes, then add squash and apple puree. Cook for a few minutes, adding water if it needs to be thinned. Then back to the blender and puree again. Then back in the pan, heat it up, add the cream.

If this is way too healthy for you, it tastes really good with crumbled up bacon. Enjoy.

This will make you smile - Dancing at the Assembly

This took place before I got there. I promise you if I had been there, I'd be on there.

You HAVE to see Julie and Julia

I see Father over at Madeline's Egg has beat me to reviewing Julie and Julia even though I saw it a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed that movie so much and wanted to write a review worthy of it and you know how you get so hung up on doing something well that you actually never to it?

Anyway someone has to mention there was more than the hot sexy scenes between a tall woman and short man which so impressed Father. I don't know how tall Father is, but you know....

As a someone who fancies herself a cook and grew up watching Julia Child, this movie of course was a must see. It's a wonderful portrayal of an amazing woman who was full of life and passion and confidence. She was tall and independent in an era when women were supposed to be dimminutive and dependent. And yet she was able to find that balance of independence as well as being supportive and loving and giving to her husband. Something a lot of modern women in the name of feminism seem to have a difficult time figuring out how to maintain.

Like that other girl in the movie what was her name, Julie? I have to say I was much less interested in her story, though I realize her book is the only reason we have this movie. I thought she was kind of a selfish little twit. But at least she sort of realized that at the end as well. I still can't figure out how she got famous by writing a blog about cooking. But if it bring this movie to theatres, I'm all for it.

At a time when Madison Avenue was convincing women they didn't have the time or the skill to do complicated things in the kitchen, Julia was telling women, yes you can. You can bake a cake from scratch. You can dress a chicken. You can make an aspic. (Although why you would want to, I don't know) And the storyline about Julie does show how being able to conquer these tasks in the kitchen gave a floundering young woman confidence and purpose and maybe even helped her become a better wife and human being.

This movie made me want to go home and cook something, which I think I did. I read somewhere that homecooking is now considered a "hobby". I'm just always amazed at the number of children that are fed frozen processed food when it's really NOT that time consuming to make a decent dinner out of real food. I can put some really good stuff together in a half hour. Anybody that is too busy to take a half hour to prepare healthy good food for their family needs to reevaluate their priorities. And no I don't just mean women. When my husband was alive, he did most of the everyday cooking. I was mostly in charge of special meals.

Anyway. Go see the movie. You will like it.

He's not the Messiah, He's not the Anti-Christ - He's just the President of the United States of America

So get over it.

Upfront disclaimer. I was for Hillary. To the very end. I was happy she did not give up when she was being pressured to "for the sake of the party". She hung in there, not, I believe because of her ego, but because of the many women like me, who wanted some acknowledgment of her hard fought battle. I was pleased with how it all got worked out at the convention. I laughed my you know what off at the idea that women like me were going to support Sarah Palin because our girl didn't get picked. Oh puleeze. I've never picked the winner in primaries. Remember Jerry Brown? Jessie Jackson? Teddy Kennedy?

It wasn't just that it was a real chance for a woman to be president, although that was part of it. I thought Hillary had more experience and had a better grip on the issues. I thought Obama, frankly was a lot of pretty speeches and a lot of people were jumping on his bandwagon because they were just following the winner. I was a little concerned at what seemed like hero worship to me.

But he's turned out to be better than I gave him credit for. He's been good at picking folks to help him out. Giving Hillary Secretary of State didn't hurt either.

If I thought some of his supporters were giving him a super-human status, that's nothing compared to the super villain status that his opponents are giving him now. It's really frightening. I mean we hated Bush but I don't think anyone seriously compared him to Hitler. The fear and paranoia I hear on talk radio and the internet is just mind boggling. And now they are upset because he wants to talk to school kids about staying in school? Really?? I think it's very nice for kids to be shown they are thought of as important enough to be addressed by the president and I'd say that even if it was a Republican prez doing it.

"Yea, well that's what Hitler did...he went after the youth!"

Really? Hitler also probably peed standing up. And so?

Pretty Good Lutherans

While twittering during the ELCA Churchwide Assembly I got to know Susan Hogan @pglutherans who was really on top of it with news articles and media about the ELCA. Well now she's got an independent news blog "Pretty Good Lutherans" I think the ELCA could learn something from her. Check it out.