Jim West may not approve of cats, but “Jingle” (or “Tyger,” as I prefer to call her) is a great little kitten that has brought a lot of joy to the family.
Flickr
Photo: St. Thomas, NYC
Yesterday I drove to NYC for a reception (and then drove back last night). 
I happened upon this gorgeous church during my walkabout. They were rehearsing for a boys/mens choir recital that night. Wonderful acoustics in this church. It was burned down in 1905 (the church, not the choir) so the vast majority of it is rebuilt.
It was interesting to see the people who came in. One woman came, knelt in the pew in front of me, crossed herself, a presumably prayed for a few minutes then left. There were the requisite tourists, mostly Scandihovian as near as I could tell, but there was also the young businessman, in his late 20s, no coat just shirt and tie, who stopped in for a few minutes and then left. Was it devotion? TIme of prayer? A need for a cool stop on this rare 87 degree October day? Whatever it was, it made me feel better about humankind.
It was odd for me too, sitting there in suit and tie, having just been ordained a priest 70 hours earlier, yet there by happenstance, on a business trip for the uni. I was going to do afternoon prayer, but they had the old 1928 Book of Common Prayer in the pews and the words did not come fluently to me. The rabbis say that is a sure sign something is amiss. So I just enjoyed the music, took a few photos, and ambled down to the Apple Store.
(The image is best viewed at a larger size.)
Photo: Leaves
E and I grew up in the DC area and one of the things that we both greatly missed in our years outside of the mid-Atlantic region is the change in seasons. Sure the pin-oaks would drop their leaves in spring after the new leaves had grown in and in the fall pine trees would mysteriously shed their needs (and ruin the paint on your car) while still maintaining their ever green, but it just wasn’t a true “fall.” Every time I look out of our window at home I am so grateful for the changing natural beauty. Right now the leaves in central PA are peaking.
It is easy to see how so many Hallmark greeting card sermons have been written about “the seasons of our lives” but it is true, it is the natural rhythm. Life follows patterns and yet continues to move forward. Tomorrow I enter a new time with my ordination to the priesthood in the Episcopal church. It certainly will be colorful 
and, God willing, it will also be a time of growth and change. To everything there is a season…but the end of matter is this; fear the God and keep his commandments.
Where I Work at Home
Things are still incredibly busy around here. I had to run down to Philly for a dinner Tuesday night (and back by 1 am), meetings almost all day every day, and getting ready for my ordination on Saturday. My folks and grandmother come into town today for my niece’s first PSU swim meet (Go Heather!) so we cleaned up and tidied up things last night.
First on our list was the play room. E and I wanted to be able to work where the kids played so we set up this huge IKEA table with places for each of us to work. Izzy has been a keen Club Penguin and Wibkinz user for a while now. She gets the 23″ Cinema Display of course.
