Love, the Star, is on the Way

Orion Nebula Star Formation Factory

Creator of the stars of night,

Thy people’s everlasting light,

Jesu, Redeemer, save us all,

And hear Thy servants when they call.

Thou, grieving that the ancient curse

Should doom to death a universe,

Hast found the medicine, full of grace,

To save and heal a ruined race.

~Creator of the stars of night, 1982 Hymnal #60

star factory nearby galaxy

Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim

One more light the bowl shall brim,

Shining beyond the frosty weather,

Bright as sun and moon together.

People, look east and sing today:

Love, the star, is on the way.

~People look east, Eleanor Farjeon 

 
Today, I had the joy of singing the preceding hymns (can be heard by clicking below) as part of our Advent choir during our Wednesday Eucharist service in chapel.  Afterward, our esteemed dean and president even said to me, "You looked like you were enjoying yourself up there, very full of joy."  So, perhaps Advent is doing its work after all, eh?  The service was lovely and God was faithful, as always, to use the music and the liturgy to bring joy and assurance that He is indeed coming.  A word was given during the service that the Lord was encouraging a female in the room with a hole in her heart that He was healing it and that He does not mean for her to carry it going forward.  I am one such girl (with a black hole in her heart) who could use that encouragement as just last week I was telling a friend, "I have so little hope that this one thing will be healed before I get to the new heavens and new earth...."  And that healing is what the Lord has been trying to remind me of over the last month or so.

This may seem somewhat roundabout, but it's the meditation that I sat down to write so here it is.  I have been thinking a lot about the whole of creation groaning for completion, for us to take our place as the children, kings and queens of God, for all to be put to rights, for the Prince of Shalom to reign fully.  Lately, I have also groaned for this and I am glad for the season of Advent, in part, for a time to lament and groan together for the brokenness that is still here and yet for the abundant life and the medicine, as the hymn says, that has been given in the Incarnation of our Lord who is faithful to heal and bring us all, as one creation, to completion.  

surroundings of a black hole

But, what I want to add is that while I was viewing Hubble photos for today's images of stars, I realized that I really do view a place in myself as a black hole, so compact and dense that all is lost into it...even light, its gravitational pull all-encompassing.  Whatever star was present, died and had been of such a mass that a black hole is all that is left.  This is a very difficult truth for me to share but even so, God has asked me to share as honestly as I am able and this image really settled in my mind today as being how I view this, not with God's lens, but just with my own.  This is in some ways, a really helpful image because I know even with all this gloom (the paradox of the already and not yet, methinks) that God, Creator of the stars of night, Love, the bright morning star who himself is the nuclear fuel of every star and will never die, is on the way and the darkness has not overcome him!  I'm praying this becomes more evident as Advent goes on and that it takes hold in the midst of the black hole I have carried so long in my heart.  This is also part of why I am determined to present these meditations, to remind myself of Light and Beauty.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."   (Revelation 22.16)

"Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness HAS NOT overcome it."  (John 1.3-5)

Art thou He?

I look from afar, and lo, I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth.  Go ye out to meet him, and say,

"Tell us, art thou he that should come to reign over thy people Israel?"

High and low, rich and poor, one with another, Go ye out to meet him, and say, "Hear, O thou shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep, Tell us, art thou he that should come?"

Stir up thy strength, O Lord, and come to reign over thy people Israel.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

I look from afar, and lo, I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth.  Go ye out to meet him, and say, 

"Tell us, art thou he that should come to reign over thy people Israel?"

~Palestrina Matin Responsory for Advent

Advent of Light

For each day of Advent, I will post a new photo and quote here especially having to do with Light.
Without further ado:


Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  

It's about who you Gno[sis]...

Here's a copy of the flyer I made for an assignment for History of the Early Church.  It was a really fun assignment and a genius idea for an exam essay.  I really enjoyed it--as you know, probably too much.  The question was released to us about a week in advance and at first, I panicked, thinking "How will I even pick a font in that much time?!"  Those of you who have been around me when I'm designing will have observed this aesthetic angst and likely have laughed at me, at least once in my life :)

But, anyway, here it is.  Would you attend this class?  Does it sound intriguing?

In order to see it, you will have to click on it, which will open a new window and then if you click again, you can read it in large print.  Sorry for the trouble!

...interruption...

I have promised a couple of people that I would post photos of some banners that Greg and I made for Trinity Sunday (weekend after Pentecost). So, I'll put these here. The inception was mostly mine, but execution I owe to several people who gave me their two cents...and especially to my husband who helped immensely and even went by himself one night to finish filling in the letters.

So, that's how people saw them as they walked in and I included a couple of close-ups for your viewing pleasure. We learned a couple of helpful things in the process. Neither of us had ever projected and traced before so that was new...though not very difficult as we soon found out. It did however take much longer than originally thought. I remember, after one night of spending several hours at the Ministry Center, Greg said that he would've preferred if I had just told him what to do. But, I realized that what he was feeling was the result of my choosing to sort of make things up as I went along. As you know, this is not usually my style. However, a couple of things came to light, a) I am a visionary in matters of art and aesthetics in the church, b) we did not have lots of time to complete our project, c) I could have done a better job of splitting Rublev's Trinity into 6 pieces which perhaps, would have helped it go a little smoother and d) as much as I love helping set up the banners and using art to represent Truth, I lack the skills, in particular with the medium of fabric to achieve much on my own. Now, I did have some help with d), but there were several issues which ensued once we began the project that required fixing by much double-sided tape, velcro and a willingness to experiment. But, I actually thought that was pretty fun. It was quite the project in ghetto-rigging. You know, though, when your church actually takes place in a high school and all materials reside on carts lovingly manhandled weekly by the RezBearers, ghetto rigging just seems to fit. :)

Speaking of which, we also were responsible for the banners in the front of the church. I really wanted to use the three colors found in the Trinity icon to tie it into the front. We actually saw the deacon who was preaching that Sunday earlier in the morning and he said he was speaking about the colors in Rublev's Trinity! So, at that point, we knew it was the Holy Spirit (we previously had no idea that he had planned to speak about this icon at all!). So, we went up front only to discover that the t-bar which is almost always with the banner supplies, was nowhere to be found. So ghetto rig we did (after Greg made an emergency trip to the Ministry Center). I stayed, armed with the three colors and an imagination. So here's what we came up with:



Now that I've actually completed this blog, it makes me think how silly it is that I didn't finish it way earlier. I even already have ideas for the next ones. However, Greg and I need to get crackin' on our pfeiferpfiles site so you can check us out over there for a little bit. Also, pictures of our other art project are soon to follow (as soon as I take them).

jig for a gig

So, I've got my first "gig" this weekend. Gig meaning the first time I'll ever be paid to take pictures of other people. It randomly happened upon me by one of my co-workers. I'm very nervous and also excited. Namely, I'm excited because a friend of mine just notified me that she is also a Canon user and has compatible lenses! Sometimes having the right equipment is all you need to feel confident. (I'm talking about photography here...get your mind out of the gutter!)

So, if you happen to think of me on Saturday or any other time really, I could use your thoughts as I embark on this. I think it will be really fun and I have 2 hours on my way up to Wisconsin to troubleshoot anything that could possibly go wrong. Ha! I never really feel very confident doing new things...or just things! So, I'm trying very hard and I'll have my loyal sidekick with me and that will help, but the nerves are still there (probably always will be). But I'm hoping it's fun and fruitful and that I just capture the Ericksens family and their parents anniversary well. I was told yesterday that I can "be as directive as I want"...at least I'm good at that :) I also, I think, convinced them out of white t-shirts and denim pants.

Anyway, so that's going on this weekend and I'm excited for the opportunity to get to help them out so that they don't have to set a timer, hit a button and run into position to get some nice family photos.

Oh, also, for sh*** and giggles, a friend had up a link to this site and it's pretty much my favorite these days, enjoy! The Sacred Sandwich

Blessings, all! I was going to post about our first anniversary weekend but this came up instead. So, will do that later.

ring to rule them all...

Here's a pic of my awesome wedding ring.

It was sorta weird after the ceremony when the photographer had us take the "stare at the ring" pictures. We mostly were just laughing. Plus, I really thought it was weirder that Greg had a ring because ever since I was 12 and my Dad bought me a ring in Israel and blessed it in Cana (asking for grace in purity and also praying for Greg-only we didn't know it was Greg at the time but you know what I mean), I've basically had a ring on my my "ring finger". The Israel ring was lost in a tragic river intertubing accident, the details of which will not be released at this time. [picture imminent]

Anyway. Here are more photos of the symbol of Greg's vow. It's nice to have now. And to know it looks good with or without the engagement ring. PS. --I'm sorry that they are not the best pics. Very difficult to shoot very shiny, tiny things with my poor little lens.




Enjoy!

He is Risen!

Could life so end, half told;
its school so fail?
Soul, soul, there is a sequel
to thy tale!

~Robert Mowry Bell

So, the Week of infamy is over. There are pictures on my picasa of Vigil happenings. While only in one reading this year...the "Dry Bones" reading...we still had quite the week. Greg's heading up RezBearers and so ya know, they have their hey day during the Week. It went really well, though.
Greg and I also did lit arts, which Carrie is heading up this year. We decorated mostly the overflow space--which apparently was only used for 30 minutes and then everybody found seats. But it was good to make it beautiful for them anyhow. Plus, the next morning for RezCafe, they used it.

Sorry there aren't more pictures of the actual readings. Since I was in one, I had to be backstage for most of it. I was also on stage for the actual putting up of the banners and change to white and all the flower arranging. Quite an experience. Have you been to Vigil before? I think you have, in fact, I'm almost positive of it.
Anyway, basically there's the cue to open the curtain and reveal the "A" banners and to put the flowers out. The cue is Stewart saying, "He is Risen!" Well, this year...the music never stopped and the auditorium went crazy before Stewart ever said anything. So, there's Carrie and I waiting for Stewart's cue, poised and ready to run with the curtains, toes stickin' out so that we can make sure it doesn't get caught on the banners. But, alas, we wait and wait, the noise gets louder and louder and still, no announcement. Well, did I fail to mention that we were having sound problems that night? We found out later, from Greg and Joe, that Stewart did say it except his mic malfunctioned so nobody heard it. They happened to see him mouth it and responded but not near loud enough to cover the "holy" noise. So, Carrie and I stood there while he heard a drum duet begin and questioned what we were supposed to do. Eventually, someone yelled at us to "GO!" And all was well. But, we felt kind of funny. Oh well, He is risen indeed so good.

Also, please lift up the Fawcetts. I don't know if you know about what's been going on, but John had quite the Good Friday...definitely in the shadow of death--he came down with pneumonia and was in the hospital. I received news this morning that he went home tomorrow...and by tomorrow I mean yesterday...ugh. Many thanks above! Margie says he is so tenacious about life so plead that that continues in that. Thanks for your thoughts!

Anyway, Happy Holiday.

Collect for today:
Almighty and everlasting Father, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of the Son's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through the Son, who lives and reigns with you and the H_ S_, one Father, for ever and ever.

Let us go forth into the world rejoicing in the power of the spirit.

dinos

Hello Friend,

well, i decided i'm pretty much done for the day...yes! I got the last thing I wanted to do done...hooray.

So, plenty of exciting things happening here:

Jenn now has a job at Wheaton as well, in the Psych department...so now our band of musketeers is complete.

A brand new species of shark dinosaur was found in Utah...they say it's a cousin of a Dilophosaurus (i think that the right spelling)...i don't believe them, they wouldn't be able to pick my cousin and me out from a bunch of bones. I think they're just saying that because they're both shark dinosaurs...but maybe that's just me. It's pretty cool anyhow...read about it.

My sister got her dress fitted the other day for her wedding, she looks beautiful. It was pretty fun to go. The lady was awesome and I learned all about getting blood stains out of wedding dresses, busselling, 102 things to do with safety pins and the art of peeing in a wedding gown.

Sarah and Chris (Scherf) broke up...very sad. They've joined our "club". Not "good" happenings but something I should tell you about nonetheless.

I'm having a ladies night tonight and we're watching Princess Caraboo...I'm really excited. I'm also making Frito Pie :)

My car got a flat on Vigil day and then was vandalized a couple days later. They didn't steal anything of notoriety, it's just a mess and I have yet to clean it up (Greg finally put the donut on) and then after I cleaned it a little because I missed the train on Tuesday, I realized it wouldn't start...ho-hum.

Hmmm...what else can I fit here? I think that's all the exciting news I have...

Oh, yesterday the staff (Paul, Bob & Wayne) and I celebrate Coordinator's Day, the so-called non-"secular" version of the better known holiday of Secretary's Day (now dubbed "Administrative Professionals" Day). It's so nice to be in a job where they appreciate you and celebrate it, let alone take you out for a very nice lunch of your choosing and also bring you flowers! And to think, my birthday's in 2 weeks and they'll have to do it all over again.

Anywho, I hope you have a great weekend and I love you much. I will report more as it comes...
Adios!

a week set apart

I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty excited that I came up with that oh so cg title :)
I'm glad about this week, of course, it's a hard week and it's painful near friday but it's so good and offers so much promise.

All I have to offer at the moment is this that I came across in the BCP. It's how I feel this week and I think captures the rending of our hearts and also the joy of coming fulfillment.

Kyrie Pantokrator

O ruler of the hosts above,
Father of the patriarchs,
and of all their upstanding offspring:
You made the stars, planets and the earth,
with all their vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence;
they tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure;
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O king, you are full of compassion,
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand;
you do not punish as we deserve.
In your great goodness,
you have promised to forgive those who fall away,
that they may turn away from it and be made whole at the end.
And now, I bend the knee of my heart,
and make my appeal, sure of your goodness that need not be.
I have fallen away, father, I have fallen away,
and I know my sickness only too well.
Therefore I lift this up to you:
Relieve me of this, father, relieve me of this.
Do not let me waste away in my current state,
nor leave me in the depths of the earth.
For you, are the father of those who come back to you,
and in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will show me grace,
in accordance with your great mercy,
and I will lift you up without ceasing all the days of my life.
For all the powers of the universe sing your songs,
and yours is the everything to ages of ages.
Agreed.

phew, that was a toughy cg wise, I'm hoping you have a book and so can look up the actual one. But it is beautiful and I hope it touches you this week.

I may write more later on, but for now, adieu. Hopefully, I'll have pictures of this weekend, if all goes according to plan!

scatter-brained

First day of spring...it's raining-which I love. It just so happens that it was so rainy and so cloudy that I turned on my lights. It also just so happens that I am so out of it today that I forgot to turn them off. Crap.

Anywho, happy first day of spring. I'm not sure that anyone reads this but perhaps you are reading it. Katherine, for whom the website exists, is no longer allowed (which in my langorousness spelled "aloud") to view blogspots in China. Alas, but here I remain. Did I mention my languor breeds melodrama?

I debated calling in for a couple hours this morning just to get a couple more hours in bed. Every morning's a fight but after only a few hours because you were on the phone for too many...oops, I mean because I was doing very important things that consumed my thought and fed my soul. Well, it was important because sometimes you need to really work it out with someone before you can hang up and in the end, it's a whole lot better. Plus, you may also be scanning and editing a project for said person with whom it is paramount that you work out issues before the sun goes down.
And then I went to work...

Wednesday's are "devotions" day. It's still quite odd to me to work in an environment where you go and read the book, enrich each other's lives and lift one another up and it's just considered part of a hard day's work. Weird. Anyhow, this morning was the Flood story or at least the more optimistic half. This was sort of anticlimactic for me due to the fact that I am actually playing the part of rainstick in a production at fellowship for Vigil this year. Let me explain. Vigil is the all night watchful service before that Sunday that has been celebrated over the centuries by the saints. It's awesome, nine old testament readings dressed in the promises of our father and declaring our Salvation History to give us hope again for the year to come. It also has a lot to do with the emersions that follow. Well, at our place, we step up the readings a notch or two and perform them, dramatically I guess you would say. But please do not think about those "practical" skits that you watch on Sunday mornings that seem to do nothing but confuse the congregation. These have lots of color and banners and art and movement and yet the Word is preserved (when done well) as the joy of the service. So, anywho, the Flood reading is one of these and so this morning I just inwardly groaned at the thought of hearing more. But I should not have done so because as so often happens with the Word, you learn something new every time.

I must stop for today but wanted to post something, so there ya go. My first blogspot post. How quaint.