The Computer Blues

My laptop has become infected by some kind of virus that apparently got uploaded through FaceBook. Keith is working on my laptop, trying to clear the program off it but computers aren't his area of expertise. But he's working at at -- I'm so glad he can figure out all this stuff -- it's certainly way beyond me. So I'm using his PC for answering e-mails and working at BraveWriter where I'm filling in for Becky whose husband was severely injured in a motorcycle accident last week. Keith has asked me to stay off Facebook for the time being so his computer doesn't become infected as well.

And I can't post photos of the Art Docent meeting for MECAC, or for the Alpine Arts Festival where both E and J performed. The photos are on my computer so I can't post them from Keith's. They'll have to wait until my computer is cleaned up. But E and J both did terrific jobs -- I can't wait to brag about them. :)

So I'll be back on FaceBook when my computer is cleaned out and the virus is removed. My laptop has not been loading its virus software so that's why it got in. I apologize to anyone who has received hinky messages through my FaceBook account; I obviously didn't send them on purpose. I'm getting e-mail messages that people are writing on my wall, but I really can't access my FB page to see what's going on. Sorry! I'll be back on FB when I can.

The Jesus Prayer for Christian Unity

Since I became a Christian at the age of 8, I've been drawn to St. John's gospel, and especially the 17th chapter in which Christ prays at length. His "high priestly prayer" (as the ESV calls it) encompasses prayer for Himself, for His disciples, and for future believers, and it's the latter that has always seemed so beautifully personal to me throughout my faith walk:

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21).

John H. Armstrong of Act 3 Ministries, discusses these verses and the often mistaken interpretation regarding them by many Protestant churches. To read this article and the comments, or to comment yourself, simply click here.

Perhaps it's my rather eclectic background as a Christian, being involved in many denominations (Presbyterian, Mormon, Methodist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, and Evangelical Free) and attending both Nazarene and Catholic universities, but I've just never been satisfied with the very ideas of denominations. It seems like the vast majority of denominations thinks that they are "right" in not only the essentials of the faith but also the little niggly details, and they often look down their noses at other denominations and sadly shake their collective heads over how "mistaken" others are in this theology or that doctrine. This reaction saddens me more than I can express.

Perhaps naively, I like to view the entirety of Christianity as one big family -- and I'm including Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox also. Why? Because Jesus' redemptive work on the Cross brought us the hope of eternal life if we believe in Him, love Him, and desire to serve Him and His people everywhere. Yes, there are doctrinal differences, but for me the differences all seem to fade into the background when compared to Jesus Christ and His love for His Bride, the Church. He gave His life for us all. So how do we respond to this "amazing grace"?

Do we condone thousands of denominations? Do we seclude ourselves from each other, judging each other according to man-made distinctions that we struggle to "support" from the Scriptures? Do we question others' faith? Their salvation? Do we shrink from working together to spread the Gospel? Are we territorial? Do we disallow or remove each other from universities and home school associations? Do we choose to live in fear rather than in love?

And do we think that Jesus is truly pleased with us?

I'm not calling for a complete reunification of the entire Christian Church (although I think it would be rather cool in theory). What I am suggesting is that we work together. Pray together. Refrain from judging each other. And, most of all, love each other truly as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Several years ago my kids and I were on a field trip to the San Diego Mission which is still an active Catholic church (pretty cool, huh?). Amidst the mission brochures and information was a stack of flyers promoting a Pro-Life walk involving four Catholic parishes ... and Journey Community Church. Yes, an evangelical "mega-church" was joining in with the Catholics to make a stand on an issue that transcends denominational boundaries. That's what I'm talking about.

Lake Murray serves each month at God's Extended Hand, a homeless ministry in downtown San Diego. We serve meals, sermons, readings from God's Word, and the joyful singing of praise songs and hymns. People's hearts as well as stomachs are filled in this place. And so many denominations pitch in to help. In fact, the mission was started by Anglicans, I do believe. A couple of years ago, I drove Father Acker, his wife Alice, and their neighbor Martha down to God's Extended Hand so they could serve and see what the mission is like. Father brought his guitar and sang carols with the worship team while Alice and Martha helped in the kitchen. That's what I'm talking about.

What I am NOT talking about is how Cathy Duffy, one of the homeschool pioneers in California, was removed from her ministry when she converted to Catholicism. This week I was chatting with the mother of one of my former students who was expelled from Patrick Henry College, the Home School Legal Defense Association's college in Virginia, because he would not sign a statement of faith stating that there are only 66 books in the Bible. (He later converted to Catholicism.) That's what I am NOT talking about.

What I AM talking about is how Sister Betsy and I, a Catholic nun and a Presbyterian research assistant, would join hands, bow heads, and pray at the beginning of each day. What I AM talking about is having churches work together to solve the problems of hunger, homelessness, abortion, euthanasia. Or at least PRAYING TOGETHER regarding these issues. We need, to use a saying often heard in evangelical circles, to "major on the majors," and to "not sweat the small stuff." Jesus is the major thing. Everything else is small in comparison to His greatness, His love. This is the only "litmus" test: Jesus is the Son of God, and I love Him.

Every Christian, whether Catholic or Pentecostal, has an Enemy who is on the prowl. Remember the old adage: there is safety in numbers. Think of what power the Church could have if we put aside the wars of the past and banded together against the Enemy rather than judging each other and tearing each other down? Think of what could be accomplished against the powers of evil and darkness!

We need to get over our fears and be willing to love and serve, hand in hand, with the entire Bride. Right now She's schizophrenic, being pulled in so many different directions, but She could be well and strong if only we decide to obey. And love. And pray that Christ's prayer in John 17 will indeed be answered.

Beautifully.

A Day at the Office

This afternoon, exhausted after teaching two writing classes and the kids attending four classes (including homeroom which we call Opening), we drove around, trying to locate the nearest McCain/Palin office. We broke down and called for more precise directions and finally found the office. The four kids went to work assembling "Yes on 8" (traditional marriage) signs; I was talked into making calls, something I wasn't necessarily planning to do, but which I did, although calling at 2 PM is not a good time to get people at home.

Lori, the woman who taught me how to call, told me that calling was fun, and it was. She got a hold of a guy who wanted to nuke the White House, so that was a bit of an unusual call. I went through three pages of phone numbers. It also fun that out of the people in the office, one of the volunteers was the mom of one of my former writing students from yeeeeeeaaaaarrrrrs back. So we had fun chatting while she put together signs and trained the kids in how to do it as well.

There's been a bit of a scandal here in San Diego with the "Yes on 8" and McCain/Palin signs. People have been defacing and stealing them in huge numbers. In fact, the kids were helping to assemble signs for a group of people in Hemet (Riverside County, the next county north) who were willing to drive almost two hours for 1000 signs. I'm hearing news reports while we watch Survivor and CSI that they have made arrests in the "Yes on 8" sign "scandal."

So we'll go back next Thursday after Class Day and the boys will help with signs or whatever, and E and I will make calls. We picked up a sign for our fence -- a few people drive and walk by (probably more squirrels than people, but that's okay) and some bumperstickers. With McCain and Palin pulling up in the polls, we hope to have some good news on November 4/5.

GO MCCAIN/PALIN!

Global, Eternal Prayer

In Sunday School a couple of days ago, Nathan, our associate pastor, continued his series of discussions on prayer. We've talked about prayer to the Father, prayer in the name of Jesus, prayer to the Holy Spirit, boldness and persistence in prayer, and, this particular Sunday, global and eternal intercessory prayer. Nathan made the point that often our prayers end up being mostly intercessory, and those prayers focus on the answer to one particular situation, rather than prayer for that person's overall spiritual maturity and well-being. We focus in on the job needed, or the healing asked for, and not on the eternal focus we should be honing in on.

I've found Nathan's point to be all to true in my own prayer life. I felt as though my relationship with God was all about my grocery list of prayer requests for healing, for finances, for salvation for certain people, for blessings for them, but that list was the extent of my prayers. No wonder my prayer life felt as dry as shoe leather. And was probably downright boring to the God Who loved me anyway.

I tried the A.C.T.S. prayer model which helped a little with my prayer time. "A" stands for Adoration -- time spent praising the Lord. "C" is for Confession -- bringing my sins before God and asking forgiveness. "T" stands for Thanksgiving -- thanking God for His many blessings. And, lastly (where it belongs), "S" is for Supplication -- asking God to fulfill the needs of other people as I interceded for them. I still felt as though I was repeating the same words almost every day, and that these words simply did not measure up to the love, devotion, and gratefulness I felt in my heart toward my Lord and Saviour. I kept praying, but I felt increasingly frustrated.

Then some wonderful Christians I met online suggested a little prayer book to me, John Baillie's classic Diary of Private Prayer. This little book contains morning and evenings prayers for thirty-one days, each day of the month. Each prayer is only a page long, and several are Scripture only while the rest use snippets of Scripture along with prayers based on Scripture. The morning prayers often thank the Lord for the new day and focus on becoming more Christlike while the evening prayers quite regularly confessed sins (in general, of course) committed that day. Because the prayers were written in the first half of the 20th century and were based on Scripture, they possessed a more universal quality, a more eternal focus, and the poet in me revelled in the beautiful language in which the prayers were expressed. I found a copy of the book at a local evangelical bookstore and have given away copies to several special people in my life over the years. After I had praised God with language that glorified Him, I felt more able to pray for others.

Then I happened upon the Book of Common Prayer, the prayer book of the Anglican Church. The copy I had purchased for the illuminated illustrations was the 1662 British version which I used for several years before discovering the 1979 US version, and then my favorite, the 1928. I discovered ancient prayers and passages of Scripture to pray, and suddenly prayer felt like a true conversation between me and God, rather than just a one-sided conversation with me checking off my little list of prayers. I found myself praying the "Te Deum Laudamus" and the "Venite" (verses from Psalm 95 and 96), as well as prayers of confession and thanksgiving that felt to me as though they were appropriate in addressing our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, yet were familiar enough to address My Father as well. The beauty of the prayers combined with their global and eternal focus brought me into God's presence the way few prayer times ever had before. I also found the Psalter especially helpful as I could pray through the entire book of Psalms each month with the 150 Psalms divided into thirty morning and evening selections to be prayed.

This morning I will post the concluding lines of the "Te Deum" which I pray every morning; most of the lines come from the Psalms:

O Lord, save thy people and bless thine heritage
Govern them, and lift them up for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name ever, world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy be upon us as we trust in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded.

Some Christians look down on prayer books, saying that they're "vain repetition" and that we should be praying from the heart. However, I find that although these prayers are indeed repetitious, they are anything but vain. I pour my heart into these prayers, and have been doing so for nearly ten years, and I still don't have any trouble in making them MY prayers. And the nice thing about the Book of Common Prayer is that there are places for spontaneous intercession built right into the prayers. In the latter portion of both Morning and Evening Prayers are prayers for our President and authority figures, our pastors and religious leaders, and those "who are in any ways afflicted, or distressed, in mind, body, and estate" after which spontaneous prayers of intercession can be prayed.

The focus of these prayer books is giving honor, glory, and praise to the Lord, magnifying His Name and thanking Him for his "goodness and kindness to us and to all men." Intercessions have their place, but the focus of our prayers should be on Christ, not us. And that's the most important area of prayer to address: our relationship with the God of the universe who allows us to approach His throne with boldness because He first loved us.

Saint Luke the Evangelist

Today, October 18, is the feast day of Saint Luke, Evangelist. Yesterday we celebrated St. Luke's Day in our Friday healing service at Alpine Anglican's Victoria Chapel. We read the special Scriptures set aside for this day; the Epistle was 2 Timothy 4, starting at verse 5, and the Gospel reading was the tenth chapter of St. Luke, starting at the first verse. We also prayed the special Collect (collective prayer) for this day:

Almighty God, who didst inspire thy servant Saint Luke the Physician, to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of Thy Son; Manifest in Thy Church the like power and love, to the healing of our bodies and our souls; through the same Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

After we affirmed our faith with the Nicene Creed, Father Acker gave a mini-sermon, aimed mostly at Benjamin's level, about Saint Luke and his value as the writer of both a Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles where we first meet him in the Scriptures. And in Acts we can see how Luke was a valuable companion to Saint Paul in Paul's evangelistic journeys. Then we celebrated Communion, with Benjamin doing acolyte duties:


We can read more about St. Luke in the Saint of the Day articles from AmericanCatholic.org:

Luke wrote one of the major portions of the New Testament, a two-volume work comprising the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. In the two books he shows the parallel between the life of Christ and that of the Church. He is the only Gentile Christian among the Gospel writers. Tradition holds him to be a native of Antioch, and Paul calls him "our beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). His Gospel was probably written between A.D. 70 and 85.

Luke appears in Acts during Paul’s second journey, remains at Philippi for several years until Paul returns from his third journey, accompanies Paul to Jerusalem and remains near him when he is imprisoned in Caesarea. During these two years, Luke had time to seek information and interview persons who had known Jesus. He accompanied Paul on the dangerous journey to Rome where he was a faithful companion. "Only Luke is with me," Paul writes (2 Timothy 4:11).

Comment:
Luke wrote as a Gentile for Gentile Christians. This Gospel reveals Luke's expertise in classic Greek style as well as his knowledge of Jewish sources.

The character of Luke may best be seen by the emphases of his Gospel, which has been given a number of subtitles: (1) The Gospel of Mercy: Luke emphasizes Jesus' compassion and patience with the sinners and the suffering. He has a broadminded openness to all, showing concern for Samaritans, lepers, publicans, soldiers, public sinners, unlettered shepherds, the poor. Luke alone records the stories of the sinful woman, the lost sheep and coin, the prodigal son, the good thief. (2) The Gospel of Universal Salvation: Jesus died for all. He is the son of Adam, not just of David, and Gentiles are his friends too. (3) The Gospel of the Poor: "Little people" are prominent—Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, Simeon and the elderly widow, Anna. He is also concerned with what we now call "evangelical poverty." (4) The Gospel of Absolute Renunciation: He stresses the need for total dedication to Christ. (5) The Gospel of Prayer and the Holy Spirit: He shows Jesus at prayer before every important step of his ministry. The Spirit is bringing the Church to its final perfection. (6) The Gospel of Joy: Luke succeeds in portraying the joy of salvation that permeated the primitive Church.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila is one of only two female Doctors of the Church (along with Catherine of Sienna). Today, October 15, is her feast day. A woman of faith and Godly wisdom, she lived in a time of upheaval and change in the Church, yet she brought renewal and reformation in a peaceful manner.

AmericanCatholic.org's Saint of the Day e-mail this morning read:

St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Teresa lived in an age of exploration as well as political, social and religious upheaval. It was the 16th century, a time of turmoil and reform. Her life began with the culmination of the Protestant Reformation, and ended shortly after the Council of Trent.

The gift of God to Teresa in and through which she became holy and left her mark on the Church and the world is threefold: She was a woman; she was a contemplative; she was an active reformer.

As a woman, Teresa stood on her own two feet, even in the man's world of her time. She was "her own woman," entering the Carmelites despite strong opposition from her father. She is a person wrapped not so much in silence as in mystery. Beautiful, talented, outgoing, adaptable, affectionate, courageous, enthusiastic, she was totally human. Like Jesus, she was a mystery of paradoxes: wise, yet practical; intelligent, yet much in tune with her experience; a mystic, yet an energetic reformer. A holy woman, a womanly woman.

Teresa was a woman "for God," a woman of prayer, discipline and compassion. Her heart belonged to God. Her own conversion was no overnight affair; it was an arduous lifelong struggle, involving ongoing purification and suffering. She was misunderstood, misjudged, opposed in her efforts at reform. Yet she struggled on, courageous and faithful; she struggled with her own mediocrity, her illness, her opposition. And in the midst of all this she clung to God in life and in prayer. Her writings on prayer and contemplation are drawn from her experience: powerful, practical and graceful. A woman of prayer; a woman for God.

Teresa was a woman "for others." Though a contemplative, she spent much of her time and energy seeking to reform herself and the Carmelites, to lead them back to the full observance of the primitive Rule. She founded over a half-dozen new monasteries. She traveled, wrote, fought—always to renew, to reform. In her self, in her prayer, in her life, in her efforts to reform, in all the people she touched, she was a woman for others, a woman who inspired and gave life.

In 1970 the Church gave her the title she had long held in the popular mind: Doctor of the Church. She and St. Catherine of Siena were the first women so honored.

Comment:
Today we live in a time of turmoil, a time of reform and a time of liberation. Modern women have in Teresa a challenging example. Promoters of renewal, promoters of prayer, all have in Teresa a woman to reckon with, one whom they can admire and imitate.

Quote:
Teresa knew well the continued presence and value of suffering (physical illness, opposition to reform, difficulties in prayer), but she grew to be able to embrace suffering, even desire it: "Lord, either to suffer or to die." Toward the end of her life she exclaimed: "Oh, my Lord! How true it is that whoever works for you is paid in troubles! And what a precious price to those who love you if we understand its value."

I sent a couple of friends a Saint-of-the-Day greeting with a great quotation by Teresa that I really liked:
"The Lord does not look so much at the magnitude of anything we do as at the love with which we do it."

Another quotation of hers that I really like, and one that I'm trying hard to apply to myself:
"Be gentle to all and stern with yourself."

So today we celebrate the memory of a woman of God who walked a fine line between the active and the contemplative, the philosophical and the spiritual, the practical and the mystical. She's an intriguing woman who interested me because of her attitude regarding her illness and suffering undergone by the saints.

The Catholic view of suffering has been of great solace for me as I have undergone over six years of chronic pain and fatigue. Catholics see suffering as being a gift from God, presented to those saints who will shine for Him through their trials. It's considered a privilege to suffer for Christ's sake and to allow Him to work through their frailties. The evangelical outlook on suffering is not extremely helpful for those who are undergoing the suffering as the ones undergoing trials are often accused of "having unconfessed sin in their lives," "not praying enough," or "not having enough faith." I've heard these accusations against me, some from people in my church and others from evangelicals I've come to know online.

So St. Teresa's views of suffering as a blessing and a privilege have encouraged me and helped to give me the strength to "keep on truckin'" even when my body seems to be grinding to a halt. And that's the main reason I would like to celebrate and remember St. Teresa of Avila.

Who Will Win on Project Runway?

Tonight is the all-important, earth-shattering finale of the fifth season of Project Runway, the last season that it will run on Bravo. The next season will premiere on Lifetime, which definitely seems like a step down to me, but that's just my artistic snobbery showing through.

So, at least we are assured of a woman winner, the second one behind Chloe of season two. Jarrell had to go last week -- man, what was he thinking? I think he has his concept of "opulent" confused with the rest of the world's concept of "garish." So it will be Korto, Kenley, or Leanne winning tonight.

Korto's clothing has been interesting. I've liked a lot of her clothing, and she can have a "wow" factor, but I think she's probably the weakest of the three finalists. Every once in a while (for instance, last week) she misses the mark by a GARGANTUAN amount. The glimpses of her collection have not wow'ed me, and I was underwhelmed by both her wedding and bridesmaid dresses last week. Ugh. She's better get it together, big time.

Kenley's retro-thing is totally cool, but her attitude is horrid. She refuses to listen to anything that Tim Gunn suggests (and he really knows his stuff, Tim does) and lives in her own little world where she's the best and just can't understand when the judges don't "get" her (in other words, she did a poor job in a challenge). Her wedding and bridesmaid gowns were fabulous, daring, beautiful, and, yes, retro 1940s-50's. If she just didn't have such a rotten attitude, I would b cheering her on. Love her clothes. Hate her attitude.

Leanne is the one we're cheering on tonight. She started off a bit bumpy on the first challenge, but she took to heart what Tim and the judges said and applied their critiques beautifully to her editorial process. Her clothes have been pretty much spot-on ever since. Her wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses were gorgeous, and I like her architectural aspects, her attention to details, her meticulous editing, and her intriguing inspiration of the waves and the way she's worked the color and architectural into her clothing. Her attitude has been solid, and she has made friends with everyone except Kenley (with whom no one got on well, at least until she apologized over her shoulder as she walked out of the room when they came together in the hotel room after creating their collections). I'm not sure that her color palette is too limited for a full collection -- all aqua and off-white -- but we'll see.

I'm really okay with any of the three winning -- it's not like it's been the last two years when my least favorites, Jeffrey and Christian, won. I had been rooting strongly for Laura in season 3 and Jillian in season 4 all along and was extremely disappointed when their beautiful clothing did not win -- and the ugly stuff did. But I don't think I will be disappointed tonight.

Tonight is ladies' night at Project Runway, and I'm thrilled for that fact alone. And as Project Runway bids a fond farewell to Bravo, we wave goodbye as well, hoping that the show will remain unchanged as it switches networks.

PS Today E and I voted for the best scene in Project Runway history at Bravo.com. We reviewed the twenty-some options and decided to vote on Santino's mockery of Tim Gunn -- "Where's Andre?" Yes, even over Jeffrey making what's-her-name's mother cry.

A Few of My Favorite Things....

In light of the dismaying news regarding the economy, the wrangling of electioneering in the days before November 4, and the sorry state of our family checkbook, I decided today after morning prayer as I wrote in my journal to "simply remember my favorite things, and then I won't feeeeeeel soooooo baaaaad." (Imagine Julie Andrew's lovely voice and curtains wrapped about her pert blonde head in The Sound of Music.)

So here is a list of my favorite things which took two full pages of my journal to list (in no particular order, of course):

English country cottages and gardens
Candles burning in darkened rooms
Jonathan playing our piano
Scripture
The sound of the breeze blowing through the tree tops
Tea cups and tea pots
Old clocks
1928 Book of Common Prayer
Original manuscripts written by famous authors
Old dusty, musty books
British tea
Hymns
Caramel
Art museums
Old stained glass windows
Sheets fresh from the clothesline
The scents of lavender and rosemary crushed between my fingers
Dip pens (with wooden handles and fine metal nibs)
Sepia ink
Journals
Religious icons, esp Russian and Byzantine
Handwriting notes/letters with a dip pen
Kneeling in prayer
Old churches
Fire in a fireplace/wood stove
England/the UK
Crucifixes
Fountain pens
Monasteries
Autumn
A capella singing
Receiving handwritten notes/letters
Responsive readings of Scripture, esp Psalms
Wine used in Communion rather than grape juice
Silence
Confession
Handsewn quilts
Front porches
Dachshunds' soulful eyes
Going barefoot
Boston Cream Pie
Sign of the Cross
Spinning wheels
Picnics
Old buttons
Oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, etc.
Snickerdoodles fresh from the oven

....I'm sure I can keep going, but I'll stop for now.
And yes, I DO feel better. Much better.

My Church or Yours?

Today as I was reading John Armstrong's thoughts about how he came to a more catholic (i.e., universal) understanding of the Christian faith, I found myself remembering some of the wonderful testimonies of some evangelicals, some quite prominent, who have discovered the beauty and depth of more liturgical modes of worship in the Anglican, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic traditions.

One who has probably influenced my thinking the most is Thomas Howard, the brother of evangelical icon Elisabeth Elliott. His amazing book Evangelical Is Not Enough is totally respective of evangelical practice and worship, but also sees its limitations. He writes about converting to the Anglican Church in the above title, and in Becoming Catholic and Lead, Kindly Light: My Journey to Rome he reveals his reasons for continuing his journey into the Roman Catholic Church. Some excerpts from his books can be found by clicking here.

Another prominent evangelical who converted to Catholicism is Scott Hahn. Once a professor at Wheaton, Hahn is now the author of many books on Roman Catholic theology including Mary, the Eucharist, etc. Hahn now teaches at the most conservative and evangelical Catholic university in Steubenville, Ohio. His conversion story in his own words can be read here. Patrick Madrid of Catholic Answers, a Catholic apologetics site based here in San Diego, has published several volumes of conversion stories (usually of Protestant pastors)called Surprised by Truth. More stories can be found at the Coming Home Network which has sections for both pastors and laypeople who are curious about or considering either converting or reconverting to Catholicism.

I've also read Peter Gilquist's Becoming Orthodox which traces his and several other Campus Crusade for Christ leaders journey to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It's a very amazing story, one that somehow beckons me. Another evangelical even more well known than Gilquist who converted to Orthodoxy is Frankie Schaeffer, son of L'Abri founders Frank and Edith Schaeffer. An article on conversions to Orthodoxy that mentions both men can be found here.

A little book that has also taught me a great deal is Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail which tells of many evangelicals who are seeking a deeper, more traditional and liturgical tradition of worship. The Anglican Church dates back to 37 AD when many believe that Joseph of Arimathea brought the gospel to the British Isles. A review of the book can be read right here.

Yes, I admit to having a weakness for conversion stories, even stories of conversions to more liturgical traditions of worship within Christianity. I find these stories very interesting, even intriguing. And I thought that you might as well.

A New Favourite Willa Cather Novel

I chose this novel for this year's Logos reading and discussion group at Lake Murray after sitting down together and taking in the group's ideas. We talked about doing a book by Cather, and I had always wanted to read Death Comes for the Archbishop; in fact, I've checked it out at least twice but never got to it.

I first became interested in Cather after reading several novels by her friend and lifelong correspondent, Sarah Orne Jewett, a "local color" writer much like Cather but writing about New England (specifically Maine) rather than the plains like Cather. I've read a couple of Cather novels -- O Pioneers! and My Antonia, but never really took to her novels. I've also read a collection of her short stories which I enjoyed quite a bit more. But I certainly have a new favourite work in Death Comes.

In a nutshell, it's the tale, based on the lives of real priests, of true dedication to God in the life of a very young French archbishop, Father Latour ("tower" in French) who is assigned the diocese of New Mexico during the 1800's. Following God's direction and set on returning the diocese to orthodox practice while still retaining a heart of compassion and love, we watch the archbishop start as a young man and follow him until his death. Accompanied by his best friend Father Vaillant ("valiant" in French), also from his hometown in France, who is passionate about spreading the Gospel among both the Native Americans and the Mexican Americans that make up their spread out diocese, Father Latour accomplishes much good in God's Name.

What amazed me was the travel the Archbishop had to endure not only to cover his diocese but also to travel back to Rome at least twice during his tenure of Archbishop of the territory of New Mexico which belonged to Mexico at the time. The train only came as far west as St. Louis, so the Archbishop has to travel 1500 miles on the back of a donkey before catching the train to the east coast, and then a ship across the Atlantic to Italy, thence to Rome. Each visit took nearly a year to complete. Both priests traveled extensively within the diocese -- we learn of all the different people they met and helped among their flock.

It's a beautiful novel about a beautiful life lived humanly and lovingly, yet absolutely and totally devoted to God. The novel is not much like Cather's other books, but is more delicately drawn, more carefully written. It's a spare book, rather like the New Mexican landscape Cather writes about. Death Comes for the Archbishop is definitely my new favourite work written by Willa Cather.