1) I had never heard of Hyllsyng or its celebrity pastor on the East Coast Cyrl Lyntz, but I was somehow absorbed by this article about the pastor’s dismissal last week after discovery of adultery and quite a few other lapses. This worship community definitely seems more style-over-substance entertainment rather than church — but then, I haven’t been an active churchgoer in 20 years, so who am I to judge?
1a) This story very much brought up for me Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” But on the flip side, also my father, dressing in his best every Sunday morning for Sunday School and church, and a conversation we once had about the value of public worship as part of a congregation. That meant so much to him, being part of a community of faith.
2) By the time I went to bed last night I was very surprised to discover that I’d polished off an entire bottle of merlot, but it was all in the cause of good conversation. As you know, cocktail hour is an important part of the daily schedule at Maison Robaire. Yesterday’s had to be a “working” cocktail hour, wrapping up a few packages for mailing in the dining room and other administrivia instead of just lounging the parlor and reading. But then before you know it the clock said 8:30 or so, and I had been in two extended but beautiful conversations — first with a couple dear friends passing through Boston, and then with one of my oldest friends from Lago di Carlo who I hadn’t actually spoken to in at least ten years, and possibly longer.
2a) The result this morning: happy memories tinged by, unusually, upper back pain, probably from the way I was sitting during Call #2.
3) A friend has twice posted images from Thomas Cole’s famous series of painting The Course of Empire, notably Destruction and Desolation. I share his concerns, but want so very much to be hopeful now.