Very Rare Eugene Peterson Interview

As I was browsing through blog entries of The Internet Monk, I came across a You-Tube video of the wonderful talk at Point Loma Nazarene University with Eugene Peterson -- the guy who translated "The Message." His talk was so memorable to this little ol' lit and theology groupie that I sat in the second row, utterly entranced, laughing and challenged at the same time.

Until I figure out how to post You-Tube stuff directly on my page (I know, I know, if I can get the kids to leave me alone long enough, I'll have the time to figure it out soon,okay? Technology is a fair-weather friend to me.), here's the link to The Internet Monk's site with the You-Tube interview. It's rather long, but as public appearances by Peterson are about as rare as incense in evanglical worship, you may want to check it out. In fact, you WILL want to check it out. It's too good to pass up -- cross my heart and hope ta die. Enjoy!!!!

"The Ancient Faith for the Church's Future"

As he noted in the comments section of my previous post, Christopher Armstrong wrote a recent article in Christianity Today, "The Future Lies in the Past," on the resurgence of the infamous "T-word" in evangelical circles: Tradition. He reviews his experiences at the 2007 Wheaton Theological Conference which centered on the theme of "Ancient Faith for the Church's Future." Aaaaah, a topic near and dear to my heart!

Armstrong quotes Drew University theologian and Christianity Today senior editor Thomas Oden: "The sons and daughters of modernity are rediscovering the neglected beauty of classical Christian teaching. It is a moment of joy, of beholding anew what had been nearly forgotten, of hugging a lost child."

I highly encourage you to read his article in its entirety, click here. It's well worth your time, especially if you are as intrigued with ancient worship as I am, and even if you're not. It appears that "smells and bells" are here to stay in the evangelical tradition, and such resurgence of tradition in worship can only bring us closer to our Catholic and Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters, another of my "near and dear" issues.

Evangelicals Are Seeking the Ancient Paths

I don't often post entire articles on my blog, but this one is too good to only post portions. It explains why I feel so drawn to liturgy, to obsrving the church calendar, and why I have such an affinity for ancient modes, silent retreats, and monasteries. The ancient, well-worn paths of the past two thousand years draw me closer to God, much closer than I ever thought possible....

Feeling Renewed By Ancient Traditions
Evangelicals Putting New Twist on Lent, Confession and Communion
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 8, 2008; B09

Evangelicals Observing Lent?

Fasting, and giving up chocolate and favorite pastimes like watching TV during the 40 days before Easter are practices many evangelical Protestants have long rejected as too Catholic and unbiblical.

But Lent -- a time of inner cleansing and reflection upon Jesus Christ's sufferings before his resurrection -- is one of many ancient church practices being embraced by an increasing number of evangelicals, sometimes with a modern twist. The National Community Church, which has three locations in the District and one in Arlington County, updated the Lenten fast by adding a Web component: a 40-day blog, where participants from as far away as Australia, Korea and Mexico discuss their spiritual cleansing.

This increasing connection with Christianity's classical traditions goes beyond Lent. Some evangelical churches offer confession and weekly communion. They distribute ashes on Ash Wednesday and light Advent candles at Christmastime. Others have formed monastic communities, such as Casa Chirilagua in Alexandria, modeled on the monasteries that arose in Christianity's early years.

This represents a "major sea change in evangelical life," according to D.H. Williams, professor of patristics and historical theology at Baylor University. "Evangelicalism is coming to point where the early church has become the newest staple of its diet."

Experts say most who have taken on such practices have grown disillusioned with the contemporary, shopping-center feel of the megachurches embraced by baby boomers, with their casually dressed ministers and rock-band praise music.

Instead, evangelicals -- many of them young -- are adopting a trend that has come to be known as "worship renewal" or "ancient-future worship."

Those familiar with the trend say it is practiced mostly by small, avant-garde evangelical churches, though not always. Last summer, the national convention of the 2.5 million-member Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, an evangelical wing of the Lutheran denomination, voted to revive private confession.

"I definitely sense a hunger for acknowledgment of life's mysteries and of the mystery and beauty of God," said John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in Grand Rapids, Mich., which recently hosted a "worship renewal" conference for 1,500 people. "There's a hunger for deeper engagement -- 'Don't just sell me a product at church, but really put me in touch with the mystery and beauty of God.' "

But there are plenty of critics who reject the practices as "mystical spirituality" that don't belong in evangelical Christianity. "It is the same style of meditation that is basically being performed by Eastern religion practitioners," said Deborah Dumbowski, who with her husband, Dave, started an Oregon publishing house, Web site and 25,000-name e-newsletter to oppose the incorporation of such elements into evangelical worship. "It's being presented as Christianity, and we're saying this isn't Christianity -- not according to what the Bible says. . . . We believe it really does deny the gospel message."

Defenders, however, refute that devotees of such practices are straying from bedrock evangelical beliefs. "They're still in love with their Bible. They're still in love with their God. They still see the Bible as their primary authority," said Chris Armstrong, associate professor of church history at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., who has studied the trend. "But their experience is one of churches that look too much like the rest of the world -- a little bit too much like malls or rock concerts."

Weekly communion -- where worshipers share bread and wine, or juice, in remembrance of Jesus Christ -- has long taken a back seat in evangelical churches, but is undergoing a revival.

At Common Table, a weekly lay-led church that gathers at a Vienna coffeehouse for an unconventional service that features skits, group discussion and Quaker-style silence, worshipers line up to take communion from bread purchased at a nearby grocery store and sip wine out of a pottery chalice or grape juice from plastic cups.

"In a church likes ours, it serves the role of being that anchor that continually ties us back to the larger Christian church and to Christian history," said Deanna Doan, a member since its founding in 2001.

First Baptist Church of the City of Washington D.C. follows the liturgical calendar observed by Catholic churches. It lights candles at Advent, and observes Epiphany Sunday and the remainder of the traditional cycle of liturgical celebrations. "We find that following the seasons of the Christian year adds a lot of richness to our experience of worship," said the Rev. James Somerville, the church's pastor, adding: "We wouldn't want the Catholics to get all the good stuff."

For the most part, though, young evangelicals aren't just reviving ancient traditions. They are stamping them with their own updated brand.

Confession -- a staple of Catholicism -- is appearing in different formats.Thousands of people, for example, have posted anonymous online confessions on church-run Web sites like mysecret.tv, and ivescrewedup.com. Those posting have confided feelings of guilt over abortions or their homosexuality, while others have confessed to extramarital affairs, stealing, eating disorders, addictions -- even murder.

"We do believe there is value in confessing our sins to each other," said Bobby Gruenewald, pastor at Lifechurch.tv, an Oklahoma-based megachurch that runs mysecret.tv, which has received 7,500 confessions since it started in 2006. Ministers and volunteers pray over the confessions as they come in. "This process may be a more modern way of people discovering the value of that tradition."

At Seacoast Church, which draws 10,000 people in Charleston, N.C., each Sunday, worshipers write their sins on pieces of paper and pin them to a cross. Volunteers later remove the pieces of paper and pray over them. The practice, said Pastor Greg Surratt, "has ramped up the sense of God's presence and power in incredible ways."

A growing wave of "new monastics" have updated the role of traditional monks. They share apartments or houses, have outside jobs and wear street clothes instead of habits. But they still believe in collective living, caring for the poor, a humble submission to Jesus Christ, and a commitment to a disciplined, contemplative life.

The number of monastic communities has grown from about 15 to almost 100 in the last decade, according to Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, an evangelical monk in North Carolina and author of "New Monasticism: What It Has to Say to Today's Church."

Casa Chirilagua is a nine-month-old monastic community in Alexandria formed by three women and is one of six such communities in the Washington area. Casa Chirilagua residents pray every morning, have pledged to remain celibate while single, and assist low-income immigrants in the community.

Says 26-year-old Casa Chirilagua member Dawnielle Miller: "It's communal, it's intentional and we focus on loving God and loving others."

"Rock Hounding" Trip to McCain Valley

"School Mineshaft" -- McCain Valley


T on the mountain finding garnets -- McCain Valley


T with Hank and the Rock Hounders, showing the gem-quality garnet he'd discovered -- McCain Valley


Way too early this Saturday morning, T and I set out to meet the Rock Hounders in front of the town library in order to caravan out to McCain Valley, north of Boulevard (about 30 minutes east of our town). After a wrong turning that took all ten vehicles into off-roading conditions (I was driving a minivan, so this was NOT fun!) and several miles on rather rough abnd rocky dirt roads, we arrived at the site Hank, our fearless octogenarian leader, had known as a younger man. Years and years ago he had discovered huge garnets on the side of one mountain (the one above), clear quartz crystals behind the small mineshaft, and long shafts of deeply-hued tourmaline in several locations. As T went off with Hank and other people in thr group, I settled into a beach chair and did some Bible study. Two hours later he returned, his pockets and canvas bag filled with moonstone, feldspar, mica, one gem-quality garnet almost 1/4 inch in diameter, a nearly-crystallized quartz, one good-sized tourmaline, and a few other beauties.

T has always been a rock hound; I have quite a collection of his precious "finds" on the shelf above my desk. He has discovered and identified all kinds of interesting rocks in our yard and in the meadow behind our home. On our road trip in late 2006, T was thrilled when we spent an afternoon digging trylobites (fossilized beetle-like animals) in the middle of Utah. So today my near-teenager was in his element, tapping open dull rocks and finding treasures inside, tailing Hank, the resident expert as they discovered quartz and feldspar, eating lunch with the gang while discussing different rocks, and hearing Hank's tale of his school building the mineshaft 80-some years ago. I enjoyed sitting in my chair and reading with the breeze blowing and the early-spring green of the usually brown mountains surrounding me, content to sit and wait while T enjoyed soaking in rock lore and identifications as well as adding a few new specimens to his collection.

After three hours on the site, we all drove half a mile further down the dirt road -- rather rough and rocky in places -- to the lookout over the old San Diego-Yuma railway with its tunnels through the rocky cliffs, and the Salton Sea glimmering far in the distance. Soon we were on the way home, back along the rough dirt road ill-suited for a minivan; I definitely breathed a sign of relief when we reached paved roads again! T and I drove back to our little valley, taking the scenic route of Old Highway 80 rather than jumping on the freeway. We meandered through Boulevard, Live Oak Springs, Posita (I think), and other worn and wispy settlements that feel distinctly ghost-townish since the big freeway came through and these small towns were no longer directly on the most southern route to the California-Arizona border.

It was wonderful to spend alone-time with my eldest son, to hear him chatter away and share his thoughts. He'll be thirteen later this month, and he's fewer than three inches shorter than I am. He's swiftly growing into a young man, so making a memory today was well-worth the loss of my usual habit of sleeping late on a Saturday morning.

The "Governator's" Response...

California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger has weighed in on the homeschooling fracas in our state:

"Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," the governor said in a statement. "Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."

Go, Arnold! (Although with our current state legislature, he's going to have major arm twisting to do. But if anyone can twist arms (to the point of compound fracture), it's Arnold.)

Here's part of the statement from our ISP, Heritage Christian School, written by our principal, Mary York:

"HCS will continue to function as normal until all of the legal actions resulting from this decision have been completed, which could be years [emphasis mine].... As with any trial, there is an opportunity for growth. There is tremendous speculation about home schooled families, much of it incorrect. As this case winds its way through the courts, the reasons for choosing to home school our children will be on full display; low test scores, disrespect for authority, immorality and vacuous instruction in the public schools will be high-lighted. Additionally, the sceptics will see all of the benefits that are associated with home schooled children: academically superior, socially adept, confident, well spoken, ambitious, respectful, thoughtful students. This court decision could actually result in an increase in the numbers of families that decide to home school their families."

With the governor on our side and the massive efforts underway at the local, state, and national levels, I doubt that homeschooling is at serious risk in California. But the brou-ha-ha over a single decision regarding a single family demonstrates how tenuous all of our freedoms currently are. Trusting in the Lord rather than in men is the only way to truly experience the "peace that surpasses all understanding" which "guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4). His ways are the best ways, and He certainly has shaken national the home schooling community out of its complacency and to its core -- a wake-up call was definitely needed to avoid taking the freedom to home school for granted. As Mr. Weasley tells Harry in the fifth HP film, "The truth will out."

If you haven't already, please sign the HSLDA PETITION BELOW to "depublish" this decision (make it legally applicable ONLY to the family in question, not to all CA homeschooling families). It will therefore protect the children of this family (whose parents are abusing the trust given them) and also NOT apply this decision to the tens of thousands of dedicated home educators in California who are law-abiding.

SIGN THE HOMESCHOOLING PETITION

THE HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION (HSLDA) STARTED THIS PETITION TODAY TO ENCOURAGE THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT TO "DEPUBLISH" THE FEBRUARY 28 APPELLATE RULING AGAINST PRIVATE HOMESCHOOLING IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

YOU CAN SIGN THE PETITION HERE.

The decision to ask for "depublishment" would mean that the decision would remain for this particular family who seems to have been abusing homeschool law, but it would NOT be allowed into case law; i.e., it could not be applied to any other California homeschoolers. This decision would have to be made at the California Supreme Court level. This is the tact that HSLDA has wisely elected to make, one that I support wholeheartedly. And I hope that you will as well.

Many thanks!

Why We Homeschool

(T and J writing cuneiform words as they study ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia last September as we started our tenth year of home education.)

In light of the recent court controversy here in California, I thought it a useful exercise to remind myself and others why homeschooling is so important to me and to other home educators. I'm not saying that homeschooling is the best or perfect or most "Christian" manner of education; I am asserting, however, that the homeschooling lifestyle works very well for our family, and we think that it's the best choice for our particular children at this particular time.

Each spring we discuss schooling options with our children to make sure that they wish to continue home education and if so, which studies they would like to pursue in the coming year. With our local "Homeschool Expo" (a conference of speakers, educators, textbook vendors, and ISP and legal advisors) happening each May, I like to have a fairly good idea of what each child needs to and desires to study before placing orders. This year I am teaching grades 2, 5, 7, and 10; fortunately, I have been able to reuse many core curricula items for my younger students, depending on learning styles, personal preference, etc. We utilize a private Independent Study Program (ISP) that keeps our records, tests our children annually, provides co-op classes and field trips, and distributes report cards and high school transcripts. Our principal is also an excellent career counselor as she has worked extensively in human resources; she knows how to aid students in entering the university of their choice as well as help students to train for other jobs in fields outside of academia.

Our oldest three children have experienced "real school," with the older two attending a small Christian school for a full school year three years ago, and our third child going the local public elementary for two years. The kids started at the schools rather reluctantly; we felt we had to put them in school because of my poor health at the time. I had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis, among other autoimmune issues, and I was simply unable to educate three children and care for a preschooler. Our eldest child hated traditional school because her teachers piled extra classwork upon her because she was "so advanced"; it was not unusual for her to have five hours of homework a night in seventh grade, and she became nearly as ill as I was. The boys, both in the private and public schools, fared better but still wished to be back at home. However, the schedule of getting children to school and picking them up as well as helping with hours of homework when I was most exhausted (late afternoon) was as wearing on me as homeschooling them all. When we were homeschooling, at least I could have them start some seatwork while I went upstairs for a little more rest on "bad" mornings when I was feeling particularly ill or in pain; no such luxury was allowed me as I made lunches and got kids out the door by 7:30 AM for school. The kids were tired and cranky with not receiving enough sleep due to their early hours and late nights of homework. We were back to homeschooling the next year.

Many Californians, as well as hundreds of thousands of families across the nation, educate our children at home for many reasons. Some do it for the superior academic standards that can be achieved in a one-on-one setting, others for religious reasons stemming from disapproval of state standards in the instruction of human reproduction, evolution, non-traditional family situations, etc. Some of us homeschool to promote family bonding or to allow our children sufficient free time to "be a kid" or to follow their own pursuits and talents while others do so in order to accomodate one of both parents' unusual work schedules. And some of us home school in order to accomplish all of the above to one extent or another.

As a former educator at the university level, I willingly relinquished my "dream job" of instructing at a small liberal arts college in order to educate our four children. A definite turning point occurred that brought me firmly to that rather unorthodox decision in 1996. I was teaching a class in the research methods required by the Modern Language Association (MLA), and my class consisted mostly of transfer students from local junior colleges or other schools that did not require the five-unit writing course that our college did; therefore, they needed to take a two-unit writing course, and my research course fit the requirement.

Anyway, I was instructing the students in the proper formation of the MLA outline after receiving outlines that did not conform to the required format. I informed the students that the format required an outline consisting ONLY of noun phrases (nouns and modifiers). When I noticed a look of puzzlement from most of my students, I joked, "So who can give me the definition of a noun?" Not one hand stirred. Not one look of dawning comprehension darted across a face. Eighteen blank stares greeted me. I tentatively suggested, "You know, 'a person, place, or thing?'" For almost thirty seconds the class remained eerily silent -- and then from a few I received a brief nod or a shrugging of the shoulders. It was true:

I had an entire class of legal adults (college juniors and seniors) who did not know what a noun was.

And it was at that precise moment that I decided to home school our children.

Academics is one reason we educate our children at home. Three of our four kids, all but the second-grader, study Latin. They are also exposed to poetry daily, create amazing science projects and physical science experiments, receive one-on-one tutelage for math, are studying world history this year, study art history several days a week, etc. And besides that, it's just plain FUN to learn together: the older kids at times helping the younger ones, hearing my two middle children practicing ragtime on our ancient piano, taking time to do our lessons outside when the weather is pleasant, learning Greek and Latin vocabulary roots, getting involved in deep discussions about all sorts of philosophical and practical matters. The kids learn that their viewpoint counts, that their ideas are worthy of being heard and pondered, and that they have something important to offer not only in our family but also to the world.

And yes, they receive more than adequate socialization, not just with kids their own age but also with adults of all ages and backgrounds as well, making them extremely well-balanced and polite young people whom most people delight to be around. Sometimes that reason alone seems good enough to homeschool....

HSLDA's Response to California Case

This official Home School Legal Defense Association response arrived in my inbox this afternoon:

Response to California
Appeals Court Ruling:
‘Homeschooling is Illegal’

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

On February 28, 2008, the California Court of Appeals issued a ruling in a juvenile court proceeding that declared that almost all forms of homeschooling in California are in violation of state law. (Private tutoring by certified teachers remains an option.) Moreover, the court ruled that parents possess no constitutional right to homeschool their children.

This case involved a family with a 20-year history of litigation in the juvenile courts over the care of their children. Prior adverse decisions had been rendered by the courts.

This family was not a member of Home School Legal Defense Association. They were represented by court-appointed counsel throughout the proceeding. Since it was by law a confidential proceeding, to the best of our knowledge neither HSLDA nor any other legal advocacy organization had any knowledge that the right of all homeschoolers in California was depending upon the outcome of this family’s case.

There are two appellate options at this time.

First, we have been told that the family is appealing this decision to the California Supreme Court with their California counsel.

HSLDA will file an amicus brief on behalf of our 13,500 member families in California. We will argue that a proper interpretation of California statutes makes it clear that parents may legally teach their own children under the private-school exemption. However, if the court disagrees with our statutory argument, we will argue that the California statutes as interpreted by the Court of Appeal violate the constitutional rights of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children.

HSLDA welcomes other organizations and persons to assist with the amicus process so that a full defense of home education, religious freedom, and parental rights can be given to the California Supreme Court.

The second appellate option is to seek to have this particular decision “depublished.” Depublication is a decision that can only be made by the California Supreme Court. If the Court determines that the decision should stand, regarding this family, on the facts presented, but that the general pronouncements of law for all of homeschooling should not be determined by this case, then the Court has the option of “depublishing” the Court of Appeal’s decision. This would mean that the case is not binding precedent in California and has no effect on any other family.

HSLDA will take the lead in an effort to seek to have this case depublished.

Homeschooling has offered a great opportunity for families to give their children a quality education with a moral and philosophical approach that is consistent with each family’s beliefs.

The ability to homeschool freely in California should not depend upon one family in a closed-door proceeding. All families should have the right to be heard since the rights of all are clearly at stake.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President
**************************
The impetus to "depublish" this court case seems like the very best outcome from this case. Making 13,500 families (plus all the homeschooling families NOT members of HSLDA) suffer for the wrongs of a family using homeschooling as a cover for abuse (notice the "20-year history of litigation in the juvenile courts over the care of their children" -- UGH!!!!!) is simply unconscionable.

I sincerely hope that Child Protective Services will take care of these children, removing them from the home if necessary. But one family's poor parenting issues should not destroy the freedom to educate our children at home for the rest of us law-abiding homeschoolers in California.

Freedom to Homeschool In California

(B on our first day of the 2007/2008 school year)

On Monday I received a rather shocking e-mail alert from the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), explaining that on February 28, an appellate judge in Los Angeles had handed down a decision that, if applied to all home schools in California, would basically make home schooling illegal in our state.

Here's the "update" from HSLDA, and at the bottom is the 17-page decision itself which can be read with Adobe Acrobat.

This case started off with a Child Protective Services report that the father of the family was physically abusing the oldest child. As CPS looked into the case, they discovered that the mother was educating all eight children at home. Why CPS didn't just remove the children (or at least remove the father from the home) is something I do not understand. CPS and the juvenile court apparently ordered some of the children back into the public school system; the parents took the case to court, and the judge upheld their right to educate their children at home. The case was appealed to the Second Appellate Division in Los Angeles which handed down a decision against the legality of home schooling in California. I'm sure that HSLDA will further appeal to the State Supreme Court, especially as the recent ruling against homeschooling was based on cases in the 1950's while more recent cases do uphold the right to home education.

Home educators in California have been home schooling in several ways: they can file for their own private school by filling out a certain form with the state and submitting this form annually in October, thereby making their home school a private school of one or a few students, depending on the number of children in the family. Home schoolers may also join a private Independent Study Program (ISP) which will keep all records, make certain demands for accountability as they see fit, and will consider all students to be pupils of this private school (the ISP). Some private ISP's are part of a private school's physical school campus; others have no physical campus but just an office from which the administration of the school does their work, and all students are taught at home.

The private ISP is our preferred method of homeschooling, and we have been with Heritage Christian School in San Diego for over ten years. Although the state of California makes very few demands on private schools (must be taught in English, must cover seven essential subjects, must keep an attendance log), our ISP requires annual testing in grades 4-11, quarterly progress reports of work accomplished in each subject for each student, and quarterly report cards with grades given by the parent that the school then prints up into an official report card. They also provide high school transcripts and a high school diploma as well as keeping the students' cum files, vaccination records, etc.

In our ISP, co-op classes (called Class Days) are available for preschool through honors high school, and are taught every other week in several locations around the county. Our ISP also has sports teams, high school formals, yearbook staff, a nationally-renowned choir and debate team, high school counseling, SAT prep classes, etc. At Class Day, students can take classes that are either elective or academic. I teach high school (college prep and honors) expository writing courses while other teachers instruct in biology and chemistry labs, film making, drama, debate, Spanish, literature, science, math, and other academic courses. Students also have the option of taking art, P.E., cooking, scrapbooking, chess club, choir, guitar, and other electives.

So for our family, the ISP option provides a rich educational experience, with Class Days for student socialization as well as academic and elective course options. However, this was the option that the apellate judge most strongly cut down, declaring that a private school MUST be a school with a dedicated campus for the students to *physically* attend each day. In fact, his decision stated that the children in question could not even attend the same private school with a physical campus as they had also provided the ISP for these children and therefore were not trustworthy in providing a legal education.

The other legal options for homeschooling that the judge did NOT strike down are: 1) Use a public charter school as an ISP (which technically makes the homeschooled student a public school student) with all public school requirements being met, meeting with a certified teacher in the home every week, etc., and 2) Use a certified tutor to teach children at home. The latter requires that the parent teaching the student(s) MUST be certified for each grade being taught in the home school. That means that as I have elementary, junior high, and high school students in my home, I would have to have current elementary AND secondary credentials. Now, I do have a Master's Degree and have taught at the university level, but that fact simply doesn't "cut the mustard" as far as the certified tutor option is applied.

So I am sincerely hoping that this court case will be appealed by HSLDA, which I am sure that it will, and that more recent case law will be used to demonstrate that homeschooling under the private school exemption is indeed a viable option under California law. I believe that home educators in approximately fifteen other states also use the private school exemption as the legal basis for homeschooling. Some people have suggested writing to our state legislature to request them to propose pro-homeschooling laws that will settle the question legally once and for all. However, with our very liberal legislature that has tried to outlaw homeschooling in the past, the chance of obtaining laws favorable to home education from the California assembly and senate seems slim to none.

But overall, I keep reminding myself that this ruling was not a surprise to God (even if it was a surprise to HSLDA), and we'll just keeping praying "the prayer that never fails," according to Father Tim of the Mitford books. "Thy will be done" will always provide the best answer, even if it is a hard answer.

Rachmaninoff's "Vespers"

As I described in my birthday post, my dear friend from grad school, Carmen treated me to a lovely concert at her church on Sunday afternoon. Part of Rancho Bernardo's San Rafael Parish Church's 2008 Sacred Voices Concert series, the La Jolla Symphony Chorus, directed by David Chase, performed Rachmaninoff's "All Night Vigil," more commonly called "Vespers." With only bells in the interludes between the fifteen sections, this a capella choral piece, sung in Russian, was gorgeous. Carmen and I both felt inclined to close our eyes and focus on the music only, but both of us were afraid of being accused of sleeping through the music. :)

We were given programs as we walked in that provided a dual translation with the original Russian on the left and the English translation on the right. I recognized several of the pieces from the Anglican Evening Office, including the ancient Phos Hilaron (Greek for "hilarious light") that Pastor Rollo taught us at Lake Murray and that I've also used at Alpine Anglican, and The Magnificat (Mary's song in the first chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke. I definitely recognized portion fo several psalms and other passages of Scripture as well -- the piece is so rich in Biblical texts used to create glorious praise.

You'll have to imagine the gracious power of the a capella music, sung by sixty or so musicians, sometimes singing low and gently and other times almost blasting me back into my seat with the sheer power of their voices. The modernity of the San Rafael sanctuary seemed slightly at odds with the age of the music which seems older than it is as Rachmaninoff was inspired by medieval Gregorian chant in nine of the fifteen movements (or so my program informed me). But it was still nice to gaze at the stained glass windows high above that encircled the theatre-in-the-round design of the sanctuary.

Our program also mentioned that Rachmaninoff's majestic piece was published near the end of the "Golden Age" of Russian Orthodox music that had begun in the 1880's. "Vespers" premiered in 1915, and in 1917 the Bolshevik Revolution overtook Russia, and by 1918, all religious music was banned, leaving this treasure neglected for decades. It takes its texts from the all-night Easter vigil service, starting with Vespers (evening service on Saturday night) and concluding with Matins (the service beginning at daybreak on Easter Sunday), the work being introduced with a call to worship and finished with a concluding hymn.

Here are two movements, the seventh and the fourteenth, the opening and closing of the Matins (sunrise) service:

7. Glory to God in the Highest (Six Psalms)
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace,
Good will toward men,
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace,
Good will toward men.
O Lord, unseal my lips
And my mouth shall proclaim Thy praise.
O Lord, unseal my lips
And my mouth shall proclaim Thy praise.

(The latter half is how we open Morning Office of Prayer in the Anglican tradition as well, without the repetition.)

14. Christ Is Risen from the Grave (Znamenny Chant)
Troparia of the Day of Resurrection
Thou didst rise from the tomb and didst destroy the bonds of death.
O Lord, Thou didst destroy the condemnation of death,
And didst deliver all men from the snares of the enemy.
By revealing Thyself to Thy apostles
Thou didst send them to proclaim Thee.
Through them Thou hast given peace to the universe,
O only Merciful One!

Carmen and I sat through a blissful hour, moved by the music to a place of adoration of the risen Christ -- He who came to seek and save the lost as well as to encourage and strengthen the believers. This concert was a profound gift from Carmen, one that made my birthday incredibly special and definitely memorable. So thank you, Carmen, for this glorious gift, and thanks to your parish church that realizes and celebrates the best of music that gives voice to our love of and devotion to our Lord and Saviour.