Too Much Pride

Dear Jack,

This weekend was Pride in NYC. It was the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. I organized IntegrityNYC's marching contingency. This meant that I assisted St. Luke in the Fields with the Eucharist on the street, then marshaled the volunteers who held the IntegrityNYC banner.

Our friend Neil came down from Rochester-ways to attend. It has been great having a guest in the house. On Saturday we had some friends over for dinner. It was nothing special, just some pasta, salad, and fruit compote. All in all it was a good night.

Pride Day was busy. I arrived at St. Luke's at 9:15am. The trolley they wanted was unavailable, and instead, a greyhound-like bus pulled up. We were supposed to kick-off at 12:30, but we didn't actually step off till 1:30ish. By 5:30 we were at the end. The weather was BEAUTIFUL. It was probably the best pride march I've been in. Midway on down, we picked up Bishop Gene Robinson who was visiting the Presbyterians at 5th Ave Presbyterian Church.

After the parade, we rushed to St. Luke's for the Evensong and picnic. The sermon was very life-affirming, given by a priest from Long Island. Bishop Andrew St. John and Bishop Gene Robinson were also there.

We had dinner with Mike M. and Demetrius at Cowgirls.

My friend Neil's blog has some good pictures: "Marching With Episcopalians" & "And More...Down Christopher Street"

You'll note the good picture of me and Bishop Robinson that Neil took.

Anyways in all the excitement, I've injured my ankle, and find it troublesome to walk. I even called in sick today as a result, and spent most of the day with my foot propped up and a pad on it.

Jury Duty

Dear Jack,

So this past week I had Jury Duty. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. A day of waiting, and then in the end, it all got settled out of court. Still, I am free from jury duty for 6 years now. I was also lucky that I had to go to the Queens County Courthouse in Long Island City rather than the one out on Sutpin Blvd.

On Friday, we went to the Powhatan and Pocahontas Democratic Club Annual Dinner. We sat with Dirk and his mother, and he received an award. There was tons of food, and it was all pretty good.

Saturday I helped at church with a Memorial service. I was exhausted and tired afterward. My back apparently is still not completely 100%, as holding the torch for the short time I did, caused it to flare up.

Sunday was the AIDS walk and the Broadway Impact Marriage Event. That was fairly well attended. It was cold, and I wasn't feeling the best at that point. We had dinner with Daniel and Paul at Michael's Restaurant.

Not much else going on here.

Easter 2009

Dear Jack,

I had a grand Easter weekend. Thursday I was on Altar Guild and got to witness Maundy Thursday at St. Luke's. We had Bp. Griswold visiting the parish, and he led the services for Triduum. After a foot washing, we had communion. Then the communion was placed in a ciborium and processed by the bishop to our chapel where it was placed in the Altar of Repose. From there we processed in silence to the gymnasium where a candlelight Agape dinner was prepared for us. We ate lentil/orange flavored soup, and then heard the final address of Jesus in the Gospel of John, before returning to the Nave and ritually stripping the altar.

Friday, we took it easy. I was intending to attend the Good Friday service, but chickened out because i knew it would be more Catholic than I felt comfortable with. I've never been much of a fan of the veneration of the cross. I won't stop others, but am not inclined to attend, myself.

Saturday I got to St. Luke's around 11, and was trained in Acolyting for the Easter Vigil. I then helped the Altar Guild with getting everything ready. After the work, a few of us went to Liederhosen and had sausages. Then we returned for the Vigil.

The Vigil was spectacular. I was the acolyte that carried the nails for the Paschal candle. I was nervous I'd drop a nail and never see it in the dark. It seemed to go without a hitch. Mtr. Stacey sang the Exultet beautifully, and I found myself able to worship. After the Vigil, there was a reception in the gymnasium with roast lamb and ham, deviled eggs, and a raspberry pastry.

The next day we ushered. Everyone kept on telling us that it would be so awful to usher, but I didn't find it too bad, and neither did Mike. I was also delighted to see the Easter bunny outside... it reminded me of the Vicar of Dibley.

Autumn Arrival

Dear Jack,

Fall is definitely here. It is cool and crisp outside, and the leaves are beginning to change. I love the fall and the winter best. they have always been my favorite seasons. I am excited about the holidays that come in them. I also like the nights, as I sleep better since it is cool, and I get to bundle in blankets.

Mikey is not as big a fan of the cooler seasons because he doesn't like the cold. I will say though, his favorite foods all seem to be best suited for the fall and winter.

This fall, we have plans on going to a Halloween party with some friends, celebrate Thanksgiving with Abigail and Jon, and then have Christmas with friends from St. Luke's and possibly Jon again if he cannot go home to Michigan.

I have the itch to bake and cook again. Having worked so much in the evenings, I really miss fixing food and baking cookies. Additionally, the kitchen has become not that organized or stocked. I hope to change that a little bit.

September Ends

Dear Jack,

Well the month of September is ending. Here's the wrap up.

Mike's nervous about work because of the shifting climate in attitudes among those in charge. It also appears they may close the bookstore. It doesn't look like a good situation for him regardless. Emotionally and spiritually he needs to leave. We're going to focus in October on getting him a more secure job.

My job is going well. I had a good heart-to-heart with Yetta which ended with a good compromise where I will be eventually faded out of the YGK09 stuff. My primary work will be at HWLC. I am excited to see how it develops.

We are official members of St. Luke's, and we attended the fall dinner there. We have found so many nice people there and great opportunities to expand our ministries. The place just feels right.

The biggest problems outside of Mike's work is that the dishwasher has died, as well as the DVD player and the freezer part of the fridge. We have to get them fixed. The fridge and dishwasher will be at the landlord's expense, whereas the DVD player is ours.

In general, I think things are looking up. Autumn is here, and thus begins the series of events that I call my favorite time of the year.

Avon Cape Codware

Dear Jack,

Work went well today. Most of my Christmas Ornaments came in that I ordered on Ebay. I was very happy. Additionally, I have started gathering Avon Cape Cod Red dinnerware. It reminds me of my childhood. I figure it is the best thing to collect, because I imagine Mom will one day give me the pieces she has, which are not the whole set. Thus I would be adding to a set, rather than duplicating a set. I think I will also talk to her about pieces of other Avon memorabilia that she has that may have broken, as I can replace them.

Today I contacted some of the clergy from St. Luke's. We hope to meet up with them soon. I think I can plainly say we have found the place we needed to. We are excited when we talk about church and going. After we discuss what is needed for membership switching, we will talk to our friends at St. Bart's and let them know. I imagine we will probably be doing this all in the up-coming fall.

Proud of our Female Bishops

Dear Jack,

Well we visited St. Luke's again. It was really nice. A lot of the issues that Michael and I find important they find important... like Jesus Christ and the Trinity. It is such a relief to realize we have possibly found a real place to call home.

I thought I'd post a picture of the pride of the Anglican Communion, or what should be the pride of the Anglican Communion. It's a shame it's only the current bishops, and not the retired ones too. That would be a sweet picture.

It reminds me of the poster of all the Black bishops, and there have been a lot more of them in The Episcopal Church then all the female bishops in the communion.

Last night I had a sleepless night. I had all kinds of anxious thoughts going through my head. I really couldn't get some of the thoughts out of my head. I thought about how things could have been different in College with Daniel W. and Dr. Stokes, and about how I could have done things differently at General and fought to stay better, and I thought about what I could have done to hinder Svetlana. I thought about my current situation and how I am underpaid. All in all it was not a great night sleeping.

I am so glad that today went well. Fr. Hugh's sermon on Roman's was very appropriate for my thoughts. I felt God saying that I was in the right place and to not worry.

Big Gay Sketch Show

Dear Jack,

Watching Big Gay Sketch Show with M3k2...pretty funny. My favorite has been their rendition of All in the Family. In it, Ethel is a man and Archie is upset because a straight couple has moved in next door. It is great.

Tomorrow we're visiting St. Luke in the Fields. We plan on going with some in the congregation to brunch afterwords. We may just be changing there, but we're not sure. We are also thinking of staying at St. Bart's. It just doesn't seem like it is the best fit though. We're praying about it all.

Domesticated

Dear Jack,

Well on Friday, Mike and I headed to Manhattan and registered with the City as domestic partners. To celebrate we met several friends at Mundo in Astoria on Saturday for dinner. Keri, Jason O., Paul, Karen, Jason N., Daniel, Sebastian, Lucia, Abigail, and Jon all joined us. It was great. Unfortunately Mundo, or well, the owner, was rude to Karen and Jason N.. I was embarrassed, and will probably not be going back anytime soon. It was unlike the owner, but I was really upset.

After dinner, Jason N., Daniel, Sebastian, and Brendan joined us at Omonia for desert. That was much more pleasant.

Today Michael and I visited Saint Luke in the Fields on Hudson St. It was a most pleasant visit with some wonderful people. We will be back next week for certain. I am hopeful that Michael and I will eventually find the parish that we need to be at. This may be it, but it may be not.

As I write about the parish we visit, my mind is drawn to the service that was held earlier today in Lambeth. The Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka was the preacher and in another post I will share his sermon. It is worth a read.

My mind is drawn to when I was in Oxford in the summer of 2003, and how as I studied with Dr. Hobbie, the Episcopal Church met for General Convention and decided to consent to the nomination of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. I've recently been reviewing journal entries from that time and adding them to this blog. How similar is my anxiety as I read about what is going on there. It is even more pungent to me, having met Bishop Robinson on many occasions, as well as becoming closely acquainted with Davis MacIyalla of Changing Attitudes Nigeria. I know not much will happen, and I know their exclusion is bearing witness to work that needs to be done. I think also of my 2004 summer at Kanuga when Archbishop Eames and the Lambeth Commission drafted parts of the Windsor Report. I had such an opportunity to be there and overhear their conversations. Part of me wonders if I could or should have spoken to them.

How far my life has come from 2003 and 2004, and yet how very slowly has the Church come in the same time. I read my posts and entries from 2003 and 2004 and see how immature I was in many ways, and I hope I have grown up. In someways, I see the opposite in the Communion, as some bishops refuse to break bread in the Sacrament of Unity ordained by Christ as a way of memorializing him. It reminds me of the children who are upset and take their toys home. Bishop de Chickera was prophetic in his restatement of the parable from Matthew today. "There can and there must be no uprooting, simply because if we attempt this game of uprooting the unrighteous then, my dear sisters and brothers, none of us will remain."