March 1st, 2012
VI
Although I do not hope to turn again
Although I do not hope
Although I do not hope to turn
Wavering between the profit and the loss
In this brief transit where the dreams cross
The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying
(Bless me father) though I do not wish to wish these things
From the wide window towards the granite shore
The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying
Unbroken wings
And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices
In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel
For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell
Quickens to recover
The cry of quail and the whirling plover
And the blind eye creates
The empty forms between the ivory gates
And smell renews the salt savour of the sandy earth
This is the time of tension between dying and birth
The place of solitude where three dreams cross
Between blue rocks
But when the voices shaken from the yew-tree drift away
Let the other yew be shaken and reply.
Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated
And let my cry come unto Thee.
–Read at St. Lydia’s on February 26, 2012
February 23rd, 2012
by David Berman
A child needs to know the point of the holiday.
His aunt is saying grace over a decaffeinated coffee
and her daughter is reading a Russian novel
whose 45 chapters are set
on 45 consecutive Valentine’s Days.
Grandpa is telling the kids fairy tales
from Pennsylvania’s pretzel-making region
and it’s hard for me to be in the mood
you need me to be in right now,
as I’m suddenly wrapped up in this speculation
on the as yet undiscovered moods of the future,
like nostalgia for a discontinued model of robot
or patriotic feelings for your galaxy
which will probably resemble nostalgia and patriotism
as we now know it, but with added tiers of complexity.
Even if we could manage to travel in time, who’s to say
we could relate with those who receive us?
Perhaps we would not be able to read the expressions
on our own descendants faces for what they mean.
As advanced as we consider ourselves,
we still allow ad copy to pander to us.
The scam exposed, it endures with our permission
as a parallel narrative running beside our lives
where we sit with an unbuttered baked potato
and a warm beer in multiple versions of Akron
leavened with foreclosure, heartburn and rain.
Great-grandfather’s hobbies, whether they be botany or magic,
can barely make sense to a boy named Occupant III.
Their genius was to let us criticize them
until it became boring and obvious to do so.
Meanwhile they were up ahead, busily constructing a world
in which boring and obvious criticism
was about the worst thing you could do,
and when we reached them in time they were waiting
with their multiple Akrons,
always one link ahead in the chain of consent.
Maybe we need to give up on these simplistic
“us vs. them” oppositions that we shouldn’t believe in,
but in our anger do.
Perhaps we should be concentrating
on what’s going to happen an hour or two from now,
whether the human race will survive into this afternoon,
what kinds of food they will eat at the dinner table
and what tales they’ll tell of this morning.
-Read at St. Lydia’s on February 19, 2012
February 23rd, 2012
Baked Sweet Potatoes:
Scrub 24 yams or sweet potatoes, place on baking sheet and pierce each one a few times with a fork. Bake at 400° on the convection setting for one hour.
Quick & Simple Red Beans:
– 10 cans kidney beans
– 1 pkg garlic cloves (around 15 or more cloves)
– 1 bag small yellow onions
Strain beans and add fresh water or veggie broth to just cover them. Set them on the stove (medium heat), and bring to simmer. Mince garlic and onions. Soften/clarify them in olive oil and add to beans. Drain off excess water. Salt and pepper to taste.
Peanut Relish
– 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
– 3 red or yellow bell peppers, diced
– 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
– red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste
Mix everything together. Add extra peanut or olive oil if mix seems too thick or dry.
–Prepared with our help by Richard on February 12, 2012
February 23rd, 2012
Ingredients
4 to 6 ears of corn
1 tablespoon neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 T curry powder
1 T minced fresh garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped (optional)
1 cup whole or low-fat milk
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
yogurt or sour cream for garnish
Method
1. Shuck corn, and use a paring knife to strip kernels into a bowl. Put cobs in a pot with 4 cups water; bring to a boil, cover and simmer while you continue.
2. Put oil in a saucepan, and turn heat to medium-high. When oil is hot, add onion and potatoes, along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper use oil, and add 1 tablespoon each curry powder and peeled and minced ginger to the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 5 minutes; add tomatoes and cook, stirring, for another minute or two.
3. After corncobs have cooked at least 10 minutes, strain liquid into onion-potato mixture; bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. When potatoes are tender, add corn kernels and milk, and heat through. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Garnish with the cilantro and yogurt, and serve.
–Prepared with our help by Kathleen on 2/19/2012
February 23rd, 2012
Here are some texts to check out for our next Governance Think Tank Meeting on February 28. We’ll be talking about St. Lydia’s mission.
Excerpts from “The Purpose Driven Church”
Foundational Texts for St. Lydia’s
February 23rd, 2012
Read Emily’s latest sermon, “If,” on her blog, Sit and Eat. This sermon was preached as a part of our community’s exploration of the book of John.
February 16th, 2012
by Donald Hall
She laid bricks arranged
in V’s underneath
the garden’s rage of blossom.
After her death, after
the freezes of many winters,
her bricks rise and dip
undulant by the wellhead,
in summer softened by moss,
and in deep June I see
preterite, revenant poppies
fix, waver, fix, waver, fix…
–Read at St. Lydia’s on February 12
February 6th, 2012
Read Emily’s latest sermon, “Julie Andrews Was Wrong,” on her blog, Sit and Eat. The sermon is part of our exploration of the Gospel of John, and was preached on Sunday, February 5, 2012.
February 2nd, 2012
St. Lydia’s is in the process of discerning a Governance System — a structured way of making decisions together as a body.
Take a look at the notes from our first Governance Think Tank Meeting, held on January 30, 2012.
