What a fun ride this newsletter took me on, you're such a good writer! I never imagined being riveted by descriptions of nettle pesto but here we are!
Your work has often made me ponder the idea of liturgical celebration community. I struggle with the fact that, since I have an academic background in liturgiology, I am inclined toward the obscure rather than the accessible aspects of paraliturgical life...I suspect the liturgically aware families I know are (rightfully) more interested in crafts for kids, fun recipes, and perhaps a song or two, while I am interested in the weird and wonderful legends like you have collected here, proper prayers, and abstract connections between the liturgical and natural worlds. Frankly I struggle applying the liturgy even in my own home because these more eccentric interests are so ill-aligned with home decor and meal planning! Do you always do the hosting for your liturgical celebrations, and use it as an opportunity to educate the guests on the finer details, or is your whole group interested in the same niche?
Mark, Saint and you sent me to British liturgical history. Wikipedia found outdoor processions and a photo of a church in Kent in 1967 I could recognise from boyhood roaming. And I read of dragons and lions, which might be doable? The Sarum rite seems to have retained an ecumenical meaning.
Frogs for us in the north are usually of the quieter kind but we are thankful they are still with us. I remember talking of signs and portents while working in the Balkans more than 20 years ago. Frogs and wild tortoise were still part of a city-normal, unremarkable. 'If they fall silent, you will have crossed the line' was all I could say.
Could look twee in the grand scheme of things, but these fellows chosen by a British charity emphasise the local. Little Green Space @LGSpace if that address is reachable from where you are on twitter.
"But if I want the rhythms of the Church calendar to be a path of spiritual formation for me and mine, I need to widen my perspective and let it settle into the time & place where I find myself." Thank you for writing this Kristin. As you know, I am in Australia and today I was at morning Mass and we celebrated St. Mark the Evangelist. Our young assistant Parish priest gave us all a sermon laced with historical facts about Alexandria and the Coptic Church and schisms - so interesting to me at least. He then wrapped it up with talking about love and how we can show this love and glorify God with our lives each day, right where we are. We don't need to heal a schism but we can still heal. It was also Anzac Day yesterday and our rosemary is in full bloom and glorious - so your quote about settling into the time and place I am in, reminded me that I can use what I have available locally, even though your rosemary is not great and I can make the shoe spritz with my ingredients. Big smile. One of the things that I have honestly struggled with is that most of the people who post about the liturgical seasons are in a different hemisphere to me but your quote brought me up short. I can and have used your ideas to great effect already and so I thank you, again, for bringing us these posts with their information, ideas, reminders, convictions and joy.
Kristin, I just want to say what a delight your newsletters always are. So much calm and inspiration. I’m always so happy to see them in my inbox. Thank you! (Also, this post inspired me to go down a rabbit hole learning more about Saint Mark, one of those biblical characters I always thought I “knew all about,” but was missing so much.)
What a fun ride this newsletter took me on, you're such a good writer! I never imagined being riveted by descriptions of nettle pesto but here we are!
Your work has often made me ponder the idea of liturgical celebration community. I struggle with the fact that, since I have an academic background in liturgiology, I am inclined toward the obscure rather than the accessible aspects of paraliturgical life...I suspect the liturgically aware families I know are (rightfully) more interested in crafts for kids, fun recipes, and perhaps a song or two, while I am interested in the weird and wonderful legends like you have collected here, proper prayers, and abstract connections between the liturgical and natural worlds. Frankly I struggle applying the liturgy even in my own home because these more eccentric interests are so ill-aligned with home decor and meal planning! Do you always do the hosting for your liturgical celebrations, and use it as an opportunity to educate the guests on the finer details, or is your whole group interested in the same niche?
Mark, Saint and you sent me to British liturgical history. Wikipedia found outdoor processions and a photo of a church in Kent in 1967 I could recognise from boyhood roaming. And I read of dragons and lions, which might be doable? The Sarum rite seems to have retained an ecumenical meaning.
Frogs for us in the north are usually of the quieter kind but we are thankful they are still with us. I remember talking of signs and portents while working in the Balkans more than 20 years ago. Frogs and wild tortoise were still part of a city-normal, unremarkable. 'If they fall silent, you will have crossed the line' was all I could say.
Could look twee in the grand scheme of things, but these fellows chosen by a British charity emphasise the local. Little Green Space @LGSpace if that address is reachable from where you are on twitter.
"But if I want the rhythms of the Church calendar to be a path of spiritual formation for me and mine, I need to widen my perspective and let it settle into the time & place where I find myself." Thank you for writing this Kristin. As you know, I am in Australia and today I was at morning Mass and we celebrated St. Mark the Evangelist. Our young assistant Parish priest gave us all a sermon laced with historical facts about Alexandria and the Coptic Church and schisms - so interesting to me at least. He then wrapped it up with talking about love and how we can show this love and glorify God with our lives each day, right where we are. We don't need to heal a schism but we can still heal. It was also Anzac Day yesterday and our rosemary is in full bloom and glorious - so your quote about settling into the time and place I am in, reminded me that I can use what I have available locally, even though your rosemary is not great and I can make the shoe spritz with my ingredients. Big smile. One of the things that I have honestly struggled with is that most of the people who post about the liturgical seasons are in a different hemisphere to me but your quote brought me up short. I can and have used your ideas to great effect already and so I thank you, again, for bringing us these posts with their information, ideas, reminders, convictions and joy.
Kristin, I just want to say what a delight your newsletters always are. So much calm and inspiration. I’m always so happy to see them in my inbox. Thank you! (Also, this post inspired me to go down a rabbit hole learning more about Saint Mark, one of those biblical characters I always thought I “knew all about,” but was missing so much.)