Flooding, Windows, and a Retreat Begins

After a week of really good sleep, last night was rougher.  I would have expected it to be better--we were at the end of a successful installation of sliding glass doors and windows.  But I was jangled.

I spent the day reading reports from my old neighborhood, the one in South Florida that flooded on a regular basis.  One of my neighborhood friends posted video of her flooded property, which I watched.  If her place flooded, I'm sure our old house flooded, since we often flooded when she didn't.

Ft. Lauderdale got 25.91 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.  The previous record was 14.59 inches.  I was first aware of the situation because I'm still on an e-mail list from the city of Hollywood, which was also inundated.

Yesterday was such a strange mix of emotions:  gratitude for not owning a house in a flood zone, survivor guilt because we left while others haven't been able to do that, sadness over a historic flood that one day will seem like a small flood in comparison, worry about friends who are still there.

I had emotions not related to the flood.  Yesterday was our window installation, which made me anxious:  fear that the wrong windows would be on the truck, fear that more rot would be discovered, fear that we'd have the wrong size openings for the windows going in where there weren't windows before.  Two of our windows are very high, up in the vaulted ceiling.  One of the installers told me that it wasn't really that high, that they'd worked on much higher windows.

Happily, I didn't have to stay in the house trying not to watch the installation.  I headed up the hill to Lutheridge's Faith Center to help get ready for the Create in Me retreat.  This year, we're exploring the theme of Creation out of Chaos, and our text is the Noah and the ark story.  We chose this theme and text back in 2018, for a 2020 retreat which had to be canceled.  Back in 2018, I pushed for that theme because of my experience with Hurricane Irma.  Sadly, it is no less relevant.

I created some fish out of foil and decorated them.  I made strips of fabric for an interesting garland that was designed to evoke water.  I helped others get materials and drove people to parts of camp and tried to stay out of the way when people were on ladders to create installations like this one:

I'm sure I will have more pictures later.  Today is the first full day of the retreat, and I am so blown away by all the raw materials that are in the Faith Center.  I'm sure that I was in a jangled state last night in part out of anticipation of the wonders of this retreat.

Breakfast will be served soon, so let me get ready for the day.  Again and again, I know how fortunate I am.  Again and again, I offer thanks.

I Can See Clearly Now

Yesterday's installation went well, although the windows didn't arrive as expected.  We had also ordered sliding glass doors, so some installation could happen.

Our wall that faces the mountains has three sliding glass doors and a solid door, which means the back wall is almost all windows.  But the old sliding doors were pitted and dappled and impossible to make clear:

And yes, we did try to scrub them with a variety of cleansers. There were also places where condensation seemed to have settled in--here's a view from the old windows in the study/office:

When the professionals took the doors out, we discovered some rot, which wasn't a surprise to me.  It was clear from the damaged subfloor that there had been water intrusion.  Our installer took the rotted places out, replaced the wood, put flashing on the wood, and now everything should be water tight.  Hurrah!

Last night, I was struck by the difference in the view with new windows:

And here's the view from the windows in the study/office:

The old windows are in better shape, so the difference between them may not be as startling.  At the end of the project, we'll have 3 additional windows, so hopefully there will be a bit more light coming in.  Of course, we have lots of tall trees around the house, so the light will always be dappled.

At least when the project is finished, the glass in the house will not be dappled, even if the light is dappled.

Windows Arriving!

We are hopeful that today we make some progress on the home repair/restoration front.  Back in December, we ordered new windows and doors, high price additions that will add energy conservation plus better usability.  For reasons that aren't clear to me (ha ha, no pun intended), the 3 sliding glass door sets along the back wall of the house are clouded and pitted and obscure the view.  When we first arrived, I thought, I'll give these doors a good scrubbing.  That did not work.

We hadn't planned to buy high-end windows, but these will have an R-value of 24--most walls have an R-value of 14-20 when it comes to insulation.  These have various guarantees, and having replaced windows before, we know that the guarantees that come with a reputable company can be worth it.  Of course, if it's a reputable company, you'll likely never need that guarantee.

I'm not sure what to expect in terms of construction chaos, so let me soon turn my attention back to getting some writing done before it starts.  I am making good progress on my World Religions final paper that is due on Sunday.  I had good ideas, but it's always a relief to get them down on paper.

Later today, I'm picking up a Create in Me friend from the airport.  Tomorrow, the retreat starts.  More reasons to shift back to seminary writing.

Judas and Why We Take Classes

Today, a quick post before turning my attention back to seminary writing.  Actually, my attention is never very far from seminary writing, but today I actually need to get some words recorded.

Yesterday morning, as I was thinking and reading, I had that stray thought flit through my brain, the one that wonders why I bother to go to seminary.  Couldn't I achieve the same thing by reading and writing on my own?  Granted, I wouldn't have the credentials at the end that might open up new career doors--but in terms of intellectual stimulation, couldn't I achieve the same thing?

Last night's class on the Gospel of Luke reminded me of the benefits of taking a class that's happening in real time, instead of just watching recorded lectures.  We had a great conversation about Judas Iscariot, a conversation that wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been there asking questions.

I asked what had been on my mind--could we really be sure that he exists, since he is such a perfect foil as a character.  We concluded, after fruitful conversation, that he probably did exist.  The early church would have been embarrassed by him.  The early writers would have had reason to keep him out of the Gospels.  He's an embarrassment and a puzzle--how could he have spent so much time with Jesus and acted the way that he did?

We talked about how little is known about him in the Gospel of Luke.  It's other Gospels that mention that he holds he purse or that he is greedy.  But Luke does include the bit about Satan entering Judas, which led to some interesting conversation.  We talked about agency.  I said that Judas still had free will, even after Satan entered him.  In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus prays for all the disciples because Satan will be doing winnowing and coming after all the disciples.  We see different outcomes of that prayer.

My professor said that Judas still has agency, even after Satan entered him.  I said that Judas could have said no, just like Mary could have.  My professor said, "Satan entering Judas doesn't immobilize him any more than the Holy Spirit entering Mary immobilizes here--what is true of good entering us may also be true of evil."  I do realize that others may have a different view of possession and how the forces of good and evil work.

One of my classmates put the idea in terms of remembering, both the kind that involves the memory and the kind that involves putting body parts back together.  She theorized that Judas had gotten lost, that he couldn't remember himself, as happens to all of us from time to time, for so many reasons.  And that's when we need Jesus to re-member us.

The other reason for the language of Satan, my professor said, is that it moves the story from one of a friend betraying a friend.  It is that story--but it is much more cosmic.

And here's one more nugget.  My professor acknowledged that the Gospels don't answer all the questions that she has.  She said that when she keeps coming back to a question that the Gospels refuse to answer, that maybe it's time to ask a different question.

In short, it was a great class, with lots of interesting give and take, throughout the class.  It was a great reminder of why it is worth it to take classes, instead of just watching YouTube videos or doing readings on my own.

Relaxed Easter Sunday

We had a much more relaxed Easter than we sometimes do.  Often we've gotten up very early to get over to the church to set up for Easter sunrise service; we've been part of the team that plays music.  Once we've done the Easter sunrise service, in the past, we would stay at the church the whole morning and participate in every service.

We did leave a bit earlier yesterday so that my spouse could get to choir practice before the 10:30 service.  But we only live minutes away from our current church, so it felt leisurely.  I sat in the large fellowship area and read my textbook for Church History II class.  There was no Easter breakfast or coffee cake or hardboiled eggs.  That felt sort of strange.  Happily, I had brought my own homemade bread, and there was tea at the hot beverage area.

The church service was a bit more crowded, but not as crowded as the early service.  I've been to the early service, and usually there are 15-25 people.  Yesterday, it was packed; I was able to observe because the church service wasn't done when I first arrived, and I could see the church empty out as I read and ate my bread.

The church service had some special elements, lovely flowers and some special musical instruments.  Easter is the day of brass instruments, and we had two.  We had bells to jingle when we heard the word "Alleluia."

At the end, we came  home, did some grilling, including grilling the bread dough I made, which gave us a delicious meal.  I got some grading done, and we called family members or made plans for a call on a less hectic day.  We ended the day by listening to music and watching reruns of Mash and All in the Family (as if it was a Sunday evening in the 1970's).

I will close with pictures of the flamingos in the neighborhood that flanks my seminary.  

When I was taking the pictures, a woman walking her dog told me that the woman who lives in the house designs these seasonal decorations for the flamingoes.  

I asked the dogwalker to tell the woman how much joy they have brought me.  

They make me want to do something similar in my mountain home.  We shall see.

Gardeners and Other Easter Types

It is Easter morning, and we will go to church for the later service, where my spouse will sing in the choir.  It is Easter morning, the first Easter in many years that I don't have a lot of church duties.  I am aware that it may be one of the last Easters where I don't have a lot of church duties, so we have taken a low-key approach to Holy Week.  Plus it's been very rainy, which made me want to stay put.

We have found ourselves exhausted, part way through a home remodel, part way through an intense schedule of classes, both ones I've been taking and the ones I've been teaching.  We've spent much of the time between Thursday and now sleeping and napping.

I have been thinking about the stories we don't hear in our liturgies.  In the past few years, I've been hearing more about the women who stayed at the foot of the cross and the women who came to the tomb--who may have been the same women.  I'd be surprised if more conservative churches are focusing on those women; I'd be happy to be surprised.

One year, I thought about the gardener, and a poem came to me.  It tells the story of the first Easter morning from the view of a gardener.  It was inspired by the piece of the Easter story where Mary thinks that Jesus is the gardener, which made me think about the fact that there must have been a real gardener and made me wonder what he thought of all the commotion.

It first appeared in issue 3 of Eye to the Telescope.  The whole volume is devoted to persona poems and edited by Jeannine Hall Gailey.

The Gardener’s Tale


I liked to get to the garden
early, before the harsh
light of day revealed
all my mistakes, all the growth
I couldn’t contain.

I liked the pre-dawn
hours, when I knew
the flowers by their smells
as I rustled
their stems.

That morning I saw
him first. He asked
for bread, and I had a bit
to share. I offered
him olives and some cheese
from my son Simon’s goat.

We talked of ways to attract
butterflies to the garden:
the need for nectar
and leaves for the babies.
I showed him a tree
that had been ailing,
and he suggested a different nourishment.

I thanked him for his wisdom
and moved to the border
of the garden. I didn’t make
the connections until I heard
the shrieks of the women
and Peter nearly knocked me down.

A Visit to the Virginia Quilt Museum

At the quilt retreat in November, one of our group told us about a show that would be at the Virginia Quilt Museum, a retrospective of Jinny Beyer, a woman who is a luminary to so many quilters.

I planned to stop at the Virginia Quilt Museum on one of my trips back and forth between seminary and our Lutheridge house.  But the months went by, and I didn't go, in large part, because the museum is closed on Mondays, the day when I've been driving back from North Carolina.

The museum is in Harrisonburg, and usually, I've left my seminary apartment too early to stop on my way to North Carolina, but on Wednesday, I decided to change my departure time so that I could stop in.  The Beyer exhibit was in its final days.

It was worth the stop.  Below is a close up shot of the quilt above, a quilt where no fabric repeats:

How much fabric would that be?  I have no idea.  Her quilts were beautiful, but didn't make me want to try what she has done.  It just made my head hurt at all the calculations that would need to be done.  The colors, however, made my heart sing.

There were other quilts too.  Lisa Ellis had an exhibition in one of the galleries.  Her quilts used the Cathedral Window pattern, another mind aching pattern.  But I do love the way it looks:

She did all sorts of things with this pattern, including making a sculpture that evokes wind chimes:

There were other quilts, too, historic quilts.

Here's a close up--a way to use up so many tiny scraps:

In addition to the antique sewing machines in the galleries and hallways, there was a whole room of antique machines, including this cabinet.

It included some of the smallest machines I've ever seen.

All too soon, it was time to be on my way again.  I made my way back to the parking garage where the parking was free, away from the picturesque downtown that had an Asheville in the 80's kind of vibe.  But I carried those quilts with me in pictures and in my brain, and I'm looking forward to a time to quilt again.