reverendjaneausten

I think it is God's way of forcing me to admit I need Sabbath.

Freyja believes she is freezing Mittens into place with her icy stare, but the kitten is at the controls.

We had snow dusting and made a "Night Tree" for the wildlife and the dogs loved the snow.

My lilac bush is pushing Spring as the days get shorter and darker and colder. Bet that is a metaphor somehow for how I OUGHT to be living as a person of the Resurrection instead of merely yearning to hibernate. . .

November 14, 2009 St. Thomas Episcopal Church We gather today to celebrate the life and faith of one who was truly “an oak of righteousness" among us. Many of you are so well acquainted with General Beach’s life that I need add nothing to the details you all know so well. Many of us will try to fill the gaps as best we can in our personal and professional and community lives, and we will be comforted by his spirit and example. He would, I think, be quite impatient with any list of his accomplishments and honors; I suspect the list is somewhat incomplete at any rate despite the heroic efforts of those who helped him stay on top of his many commitments. In this I include especially his son Charlie, and Edna and Charlotte, and the many, many police officers who allowed him to break the sound barrier over the eastern Kentucky mountain roads! The General would want all of this work to be carried on, of course. In the best military sense, as he has laid down flags, he woul...

Stars take us through time in so many ways--memories of night skies past. Tonight as we tucked G in, he pointed out that since we rearranged his room, he is now aware of the "glow in the dark" stars on his ceiling--put up by his eldest brother 15 years ago (and long since painted over!) They have bled through the paint. They are not at all visible in normal light but create a comforting glow in the darkness once more--unquenchable stars. And back 15 years in a flash.

Sermon: Ordination to the Priesthood of Duane Andre Smith St. Thomas Episcopal Church August 19, 2009 This is a joyful occasion tonight as our Diocese and shared communities gather together in Beattyville to celebrate Duane’s Ordination to the Priesthood. It is also a joyful occasion because Duane is the very first priest to be ordained to the Small Church Ministry Consortium (or the SCMC) as a whole unit. When I was ordained at St, Mark’s in Hazard, it was to serve as the Small Church Missioner, but we were still developing the concept of the team that serves our smallest churches now. Duane’s ministry is the prototype of the future as our Diocese seeks to provide pastoral care and a sacramental life for all of its churches. It is not insignificant that Duane has selected people from each of the small churches in the Consortium to be participants in this service. His calling to this special ministry is both passionate and certain. In fact, when I first read the Gospel passage sele...