Prophecy aficionados could also choose from dozens of fugitive publications such as . . . Salem Kirban's Rapture Alert Newsletter, which in 1988 featured Mrs. Kirban's chicken-soup recipe along with predictions of the end.
-Paul Boyer. When Time Shall Be No More. Harvard UP, 1992. p. 7.
At the end of each verse of the hymn, thwack, thwack go the stops for some seconds, preparatory to the grand display in the interlude, which I have heard played on something equivalent to the piccolo, producing a ridiculous contrast with congregational singing.
-James M. Hewins. Hints Concerning church Music, the Liturgy and Kindred Subjects. Boston: A. Williams & Co., 1857. p. 104.
Labels: hymn
Is it just me, or is Willie Nelson trying to look like Theoden, King of Rohan?
What do you think?
Ack! First it was just "reisling," but now my personal computer is relentlessly being probed these machines:
- reisling.cc.oberlin.edu
- pinot.cc.oberlin.edu
- shiraz.cc.oberlin.edu
It's as if this is some sort of bizarre episode of The Matrix, where the agents are after Episcopalians.
Quick! Hide the Corbières!
Labels: Oberlin
A panoramic photo taken during the postlude of Mark Hollingsworth's consecration.
Medium (192 kb) and Large (651 kb) versions available.
Can you find Gene Robinson in this picture? Should you be able to? Should you want to?
He's there, but so are many other people. As Mark Hollingsworth, the 996th bishop of the United States, was consecrated Saturday, surely many thought about Gene Robinson's consecration, an event that was well publicized by the media.
Robinson and the twenty-nine other bishops who were present Saturday laid their hands on Hollingsworth. There were other bishops at Robinson's consecration, and they laid hands on him. The laying of hands goes back through many generations all the way back to the Apostles and to Jesus Christ who first laid his hands on them.
Newspaper headlines and photos, however, tell another story. Their focus is on Robinson, not Hollingsworth.
Robinson is still newsworthy in a secular sense, but he shouldn't be. Robinson was not elected because he was gay, and now that he is bishop, he does the things that bishops do: visits parishes, moves diagonally, and lays his hands on other men and women who have been chosen to be bishops in the church of God.
What struck me about Saturday's ordination was Robinson's ordinariness. I would wager that most of the congregation didn't even know he was there. Like everyone attending, Robinson had a seat at the table "where all are welcomed and acclaimed."
As much as these consecration liturgies are about one man or woman, they are also about the people whom the new bishop serves. As Byron Rushing said in his sermon, "we're all in this together."
Isn't that the big picture?
Turn off your TV this week! That's right, turn it off. Slowly back away . . . keep going.
For that matter, why not turn off the computer as well?
- read a book
- go for a walk
- ride a bike
- play a game
- talk to someone
What are you afraid of? You can do it!
My letter to the editors of the Oberlin Review. Reprinted here with pictures and hyperlinks!
As a Texan, I am able to bring a Lone Star State perspective to the parking shortage currently experienced by the college and the town. The solution to this crisis seems so obvious that Lily Schatz should be embarrassed for not raising it in her article: we must pave over Tappan Square.
When constructed, Parking in Oberlin at Tappan (POT) will provide ample parking for all of the surrounding academic buildings and dorms. Oberlin residents and visitors will all enjoy convenient, centralized parking for the Conservatory, Finney Chapel, the Allen Art Museum, as well as for downtown merchants and restaurants.
"Simply paving over Tappan Square . . . is not enough"
Simply paving over Tappan Square and painting lines, however, is not enough. I hope that the committee will have the foresight to recognize the academic and economic growth that centralized parking will bring to Oberlin. The only way to prepare for this growth is to invest in a multi-level parking facility. This facility would also provide space for scenarios that the campus parking policy does not address (i.e., students that have multiple vehicles on campus). I propose twelve levels, each of which could be named after a president of the College.
For those worried that a parking structure would inhibit pedestrian traffic, the multi-level facility is the perfect solution. In this plan, parking spaces would begin on the second level of the facility (Finney) leaving the street-level (Mahan) as a climate-controlled pedestrian thoroughfare with options for retail expansion or classroom space.
Current structures should be incorporated into the design of the multi-level parking facility to preserve the area's integrity. The Memorial Arch, when widened, could serve as a vehicle entryway. The Clark Bandstand and flagpole could be relocated to the highest level of the facility (Dye). The three painted rocks that have littered the square for years are eyesores and should be crushed, recycled and reused as paving material, thus carrying on Oberlin's longstanding tradition of environmental consciousness.
As recently as 1885, a dormitory existed on Tappan Square. More than a century later, a new structure is needed to reflect the changing interests of a diverse population. Students' interests have shifted from sleeping to parking. In short, students need POT.
-David Sinden
Conservatory senior
Labels: Oberlin
Looks like I am the first featured artist on sacredmusic.com. Before too long, internet searches might make my name synonymous with "sacred music" and I don't know if I am comfortable with that.
And now that I have a choice, I seem to have a polygamous desire for a graduate school education relating to sacred music. But if I can only choose one school, it may as well be The Bill and Pat Dixon School of Church Music at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.
Quite possibly my favorite aspect of the institution is that all students are required to take a semester of "Contemporary Worship Ensemble."
Plus, I would probably get the opportunity to study with a man named Dr. Merril Smoak, Jr. I can't think of many better names than that.
V. Alleluia! Christ is Risen
R. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
V. Up from the grave he arose!!!!
R. Alleluia!
V. With a mighty triump o'er his foes!!
R. Oh dear, how very Lutheran.
V. Methodist.
R. triump?
V. Triumph.
R. How about "mighty turnip?"
V. Yeah
V. Whatever
Where V=muzak1016 and R=org1master, solve for tired organ majors on Easter Eve.
I found special meaning for Good Friday in an unlikely place this year: the Nativity:
Olivier Messiaen: "Jésus accepte la souffrance" from La Nativité du Seigneur
The scripture at the head of the score is one of the assigned lessons for Good Friday:
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
"Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do your will, O God'
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me)."Hebrews 10:5-7
This piece is quickly becoming my favorite by Messiaen.
Labels: Messiaen
For me, these verses from "Now, my tongue, the mystery telling" (Hymnal 1982, 331) summed up what Maundy Thursday is all about. The unexpected nature of Jesus' actions that night, and his radical command to his followers:
That last night at supper lying,
mid the twelve, his chosen band,
Jesus with the Law complying,
keeps the feast its rites demand;
then more precious food supplying,
gives himself with his own hand.
Att. Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274); ver. Hymnal 1940, rev.
And because people seem to ask every year, "Maundy" comes from the Latin "Mandatum novum do vobis" (A new commandment I give to you), the first line of an anthem at the washing of the feet (Liber Usualis, 660).
Everyone knows about Paraclete Press but who knew about Paraclete Armor?
Paraclete Armor designs high quality bullet proof vests and body armor for "forward force" members of the military and others. It is located in St. Paul, North Carolina.
Is it a coincidence that St. Paul himself writes:
"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes?"Ephesians 6:11 (Hyperlink not biblical)
To actually worship the Paraclete along side the Son and the Father, however, you will need Paraclete Software
Or you could settle for a Pair of Cleats
Snow for a Daylight Savings/Palm Sunday? Improbable! Some thoughts:
- Did Jesus have to scrape ice off of his donkey?
- Were the disciples an hour late to the procession?
- During the announcements, a rector in Lakewood accidentally referred to Easter as "Christmas."
- An organist in Bay Village played an Epiphany hymn
- A congregation in Medina heard their organist improvise on "In the bleak midwinter" during communion.
Labels: hymn
Today is Palm Sunday, and this website is going live!
UPDATE: I'm still waiting for my first visitor. Are you reading this? Send me an email!
Milan, Ohio is the birthplace of Thomas Edison. Turns out it's pronounced MY-luhn, not the Italian way.
OBERLIN - Before ever really getting of the ground, Sinden.org is calling it quits.
Frank Griswold, The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church filed suit in federal court Wednesday saying that "Sinden.org makes a mockery of all that is holy."
Late Wednesday the 46th Circus Court of Ohio issued a Cease and Desist order against the makers of Sinden.org. Federal Agents stormed the groups hideout, known as the "Dascomb Complex," to issue the order and seize necessary materials. Reports from Oberlin suggest that upon entering, agents found the staff consuming a box of communion wafers. Also seized was a makeshift cardboard altar.
"First it was the irregular confirmations and now this!" said Griswold in a telephone interview. "Ohio is going to the dogs I tell you!"
"That's a crock of hooey" said the director of Sinden.org. "You aren't writing this down, are you? What sort of journalism is this? Yellow? That's not a liturgical color, is it? Everyone knows that Frank [Griswold] is a primate, and from what I know, primates are monkeys."
Sinden.org's director then suggested that Griswold has been seen inappropriately touching Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. To the untrained eye, it may not seem that Griswold ever inappropriately touched the "ABC," as he is affectionately known in the Anglican communion.
Did the primate touch the ABC? Or did the primate just get in touch with the alphabet?
Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire was able to confirm that, yes, the ABC was inappropriately touched.
"It's an Episcopal thing," Robinson said.
"This is ridiculous," said an Episcopal Church spokesperson. Do people actually think this is funny? We are going after those guys with everything we've got,"
Sinden.org is hosted by Kastenbalg.
Labels: Oberlin
©MMXVII Sinden.org: a site for fun and prophet