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CHI RHO
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Vol. VI, No. 17 2.
WWJD? 4.
Have
you read "An Alien in a Foreign Land"? 5.
"The
Journey is Our Home:" Sharing Our Faith Journeys. On Grieving, by Chava
Redonnet
-------------------------------------------------- This
issue's Quote: "The thought of everyone lolling about
in an emotionally satisfying faith is repugnant to me." Flannery O’Connor
***** Welcome once again to the Chi Rho Connection, the
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Adam@ChiRhoPress.com. --------------------------------------------------
The 2006 Liturgical Calendar
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Return to table of contents
[Editor's
Note: Gleaned from the Internet with no attribution.]
Most people assume WWJD stands for
"What would Jesus do?" But the initials really have been changed to stand for
"What would Jesus drive?"
One theory is that Jesus would tool
around in an old Plymouth because the Bible says, "God drove Adam and Eve out of
the Garden of Eden in a Fury."
But in Psalm 83, the Almighty clearly
owns a Pontiac and a Geo. The passage urges the Jesus to "pursue your enemies
with your Tempest and terrify them with your Storm."
Perhaps God favors Dodge pickup trucks,
because Moses' followers are warned not to go up a mountain "until the Ram's
horn sounds a long blast."
Some scholars insist that Jesus drove a
Honda but didn't like to talk about it. As proof, they cite a verse in St.
John's Gospel where Christ tells the crowd, "For I did not speak of my own
Accord."
Meanwhile, Moses rode an old British
motorcycle, as evidenced by a Bible passage declaring that "the roar of Moses'
Triumph is heard in the hills."
Joshua drove a Triumph with a hole in
its muffler: "Joshua's Triumph was heard throughout the land". And, following
Jesus' lead, the Apostles car pooled in a Honda, "The Apostles were in one
Accord."
Return to table of contents By
Adam DeBaugh
[This article is adapted from the first of a series published in "Epi-Grams,"
the newsletter of the health studies area of Westat. Adam is the editor of "Epi-Grams."]
"Do
you know the difference between a terrorist and an editor? You can negotiate
with a terrorist."
Seven years ago, on April 2, 1998, I started working for Westat, my secular job,
a statistical research company in Rockville, Maryland. Imagine my shock and
surprise when I discovered that I was a "word
guy" in a company full of
"numbers people."
Since my second job is running Chi Rho Press, a small GLBT Christian publishing
house, I have spent most of my life writing, editing, and publishing in one form
or another. I come by the moniker "word guy"
honestly and carry it proudly; along with the title "curmudgeon."
Being an editor is rather synonymous with being a curmudgeon – ask any of our
authors! And refer to the quote above.
Let me tell you, being a word guy at Westat isn't always pretty! Westat has
some of the most brilliant and gifted people with whom I have ever been
privileged to work. But, oh my! Some of them were obviously playing with their
computers or dreaming about epidemiology when they should have been paying
attention in English class! Of course, it isn't just Westat. We are living in
an increasingly illiterate society. People don't read as much as they used to.
And people certainly have gotten out of the habit of writing intelligible
sentences in Standard English.
Now I know that some of you are already scouring this article for grammatical
and spelling errors, in order to write self-defensive little screeds, gleefully
pointing out my errors. And I have no doubt you will find some! Such letters
will not be ignored. They will be posted in a prominent place reserved for
churlish termagants whose insecurities are legion. The writers of such epistles
will be held up to merciless ridicule and showered with contempt, as the
insignificant moral ciphers you are. Please refer again to the quote at the
beginning of this article.
May we venture forth into the brave old world of Standard English? I shall
endeavor to report on a few of the most egregious common mistakes I encounter.
Feel free to write with your own grammar questions.
Serial commas. <sigh> The Chi Rho Press style book uses the Oxford comma, an
optional comma before the word "and"
at the end of a list, as in "we design charts,
tables, and forms." It is called this because
it is commonly used at the Oxford University Press. Some were brought up with
the erroneous rule against putting punctuation marks before
"and," but
this is a fallacy (one grammarian commentator dismisses it as a
"superstition").
If
your list contains elements which themselves have commas, then the semi-colon
replaces the comma between list elements, except for after the penultimate item
and a comma precedes the "and."
Hence, a long list might read, "Record the date
the center discovered that the ineligible individual was randomized; the date
the protocol violation occurred, which is the date the individual was
randomized; the reason the individual was not eligible for the study at the time
of randomization, and the method of discovery."
There are four things in the list, the second one having two clauses separated
by a comma. Therefore the semi-colon is used to separate the items in the list,
and a comma follows the penultimate item.
Percent is one word. Yes, yes. Per cent as two words as an acceptable
alternative. But "percent" is the preferred
spelling.
Numbers between one and ten (sometimes up to twelve) are spelled out, above ten
or twelve numerals are used. The obvious exceptions are dates and money when
the dollar sign precedes the number, and the rule is for prose, not in tables,
lists, or charts where numerals are used.
E-mail is always hyphenated.
Internet is always capitalized.
Web site, capital W, small s. Likewise, Web-based is correct.
Follow-up as a noun is hyphenated. "We will do the follow-up on the response to
forms."
Follow up as a verb is not hyphenated. "We will follow up on the response to
forms."
Use your dictionary.
Use your Thesaurus. No, a Thesaurus is not an extinct breed of dinosaur. It is
a compendium of synonyms and can be quite useful when you find yourself using
the same word over and over again. In Word, highlight the word you want to
replace and hit Shift F7, and the pretty decent Thesaurus will pop up.
(Selecting the word "replace"
in the previous sentence yielded the alternative words, for the meaning
"substitute:"
swap, trade, change, use instead, exchange, switch, interchange, take the place
of, and supplant; and for the meaning "put
back:" restore, return, and reinstate.)
Emoticons, abbreviations, and other abominations from the Internet. How r u? C
U soon. GTG. LOL. LMAO. ROFL. TTYL. Yes, yes, it's trendy, it's hip, it's
cool (or kool or kewl) but it does not pass muster as intelligent discourse. I
have had entire conversations with my 25 year old son Patrick in which he used
not a single actual word! As an editor, I know that the English language is
constantly evolving. But not all evolutions are worthy of linguistic
Darwinism.
And those interminably cute and devastatingly annoying little smiley faces – it
used to be that you had to turn your head sideways to make sense of them (if
they can be said to make any sense at all!). They looked like this :-) but now,
Bill Gates (aka, The Devil) conveniently converts those three things (colon,
dash, end parenthesis) into a little icon:
J. It's all too annoying.
Finally, "at the end of the day."
What? Who invented this meaningless phrase? Why do I hear it on NPR at least
thrice on the brief ride home? In my other life, my most often used editorial
mark is FAC, Find Another Cliché. So please. Find another cliché.
Here endeth the lesson. And the day!
Return to table of contents
4.
Have you read "An Alien in a Foreign Land"?
"An
Alien In a Foreign Land"
by the Rev. Jimmy Brock. Spiral
bound, $9.95 each, six or more copies for $8.45 each.
Eleven sermons first preached at Joy
MCC, Orlando, FL, where the late Rev. Brock pastored, which are excellent for
personal or corporate devotions, the basis for Christian education classes,
Bible studies, discussion groups, a guide in private meditation, or for
membership classes. This is a wonderful memorial by a gifted pastor who was one
of the UFMCC's best preachers and whose passing was mourned by many.
$9.95 each, six or more
copies for $8.45 each plus shipping and handling.
See and order this wonderful
book on our Web site at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevAnAlienInAForeignLand.htm
Return to table of contents
5.
"The Journey is Our Home:" Sharing Our Faith Journeys. On Grieving, by Chava
Redonnet
[Chava
Redonnet has been a member of the Spiritus Christi community in Rochester, NY,
USA, for twenty-five years. Now on a very slow path to priesthood as a divinity
student at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, she answers
her call to ministry in the present in part through her writing. She is also
the mother of three. Her middle daughter came out as a lesbian about a year
ago, a process that was made easier by the love and welcome she found at
Spiritus (would that all gay teenagers had such a parish to welcome them!).]
We
welcome Chava and thank her for sharing her faith journey on grieving.
My
former Mother-in-law died over the weekend: we got the call while driving to
church on Sunday morning. I
didn't expect to be touched by this death, as we were never close. I saw it as
a matter of supporting my children as they grieved the loss of their
grandmother. Yesterday morning, however, I found myself in tears twice over
small things, and once snapped at somebody, and had to ask myself what was going
on.
Maybe it's because we are one, and pain for any one of us touches all of us.
Maybe. Or
maybe it's that my own mother died almost three years ago, and this brings up
the grief for my mom that, although no longer a part of the air I breathe daily,
will always be there, ready to rise up again to be my unexpected companion.
I
had forgotten the way that grief gets into your bones. It's been about ten
months now since I really felt myself past it, since I felt normal again. Grief
becomes a part of your personality for a while, part of your emotional make-up.
Whatever else happens in your life gets touched and colored by this sticky layer
of grief in your soul.
It's a physical feeling. As I write, now, I can feel it in my arms, in my
Stomach, it's not like the weight of sadness, it's just there, tar and gravel
under your skin. A strange feeling that walks around with you all the time and
sometimes makes you sad or irritable or needy or selfish or just behaving in
ways you don't even recognize in yourself...or, sometimes, makes you softer and
gentler and kinder as you realize how fragile we all are, helps you forgive
because life is just too short to hold grudges. Helps you be more tender with
the precious people you've got left.
There's this very strange thing in our society that says we're supposed to get
over things quickly. Take a few days off, then get back to work. There was a
time when we were wiser: when people wore black, then dark grey, then lighter
grey, as the months went on after a death in the family. Everybody knew you
were grieving, knew to be kind and careful. Sometimes I think we should issue
lapel buttons at funerals that say "Caution: Grieving Person. Handle with love
and care." If
this were two hundred years ago, I'd be wearing a black band around my hat for
my children's grandmother, as a sign of respect for the passing of a distant
family member. Without such an outward reminder, I think I'll let that gravelly
feeling under my skin serve as a reminder to me to love the people I love (I
mean really love them) forgive and be patient and cut them some slack because
life is hard, it's hard for everybody, and we all screw up and we all need to be
forgiven. Life is short. Nobody's perfect. I think I'll try to let grief
remind me to be softer and more patient, today.
Love to all
Chava Redonnet
October 12, 2005
Return to table of contents
Here is a selection from our
second major book of reflections, "Christian with a Twist: Reflections on
Scripture that are a bit more inclusive, a bit more relevant, and with a bit of
a bite," by the late William Gaston.
"Christian with a Twist" is
available for $19.95 each, $14.95 each for six or more copies, plus shipping and
handling. You can read more about it and order it at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevChristianWithATwist.htm
As the subtitle suggests,
Bill's writing has a bit of a bite, and we believe you will enjoy his sharp, but
loving take on Scripture, life, and faith.
Here is a selection entitled
"A Healing Touch" from the Ordinary Time section of "Christian with a Twist."
Please read Mark 5:24b-34
Sometimes it is not the disease itself that is so
hard to deal with but rather all you have to go through while dealing with it.
HMOs, referrals, formularies, preferred providers, income limits,
billing, side effects known and expected and not common but always possible. Then there are hours spent in waiting rooms, tests you
must fast for but that they are never quick about, appointments that are hard to
make and harder to keep.
I thank God that I have not had all of the above
problems and only had them occasionally.
Some have constantly had them all and more.
It has probably helped me that cancer is a disease that elicits support,
sympathy, and funding. It has not
always been that way. It is still
often not that way with AIDS, and I will bet it was not in Jesus' time for women
with "an issue of blood" as the King James Bible puts it.
Come to think of it, sometimes in our own time women with diseases or
other hardships are said to have "issues." We have not come such a long way,
have we, baby?
But in all times, faith helps.
It may not cure you. We are
not told that Jesus cured everyone.
All diseases are not curable, some probably never will be, and new
diseases seem to appear as quickly as cures are found.
Meanwhile faith makes way for healing, and healing
gives you the strength to fight for a cure until you either find one or no
longer need it. Healing gives you
the courage to reach out for help, to ask a friend to drive you to an
appointment, to feed you when you do not have the strength, or maybe just to
hold you.
Healing reminds you that you will still be loved when
you mess the bed or the car seat with blood, vomit, or something else.
It is amazing what a little water or a little touch can do. Jesus offered both, so can we.
The other day a doctor asked me why I keep
participating in clinical trials.
I told him I thrive on the attention.
They do set one apart from the crowd.
As impersonal as pharmaceutical companies can be, somewhere between the
factory and the chemo chair humanity steps in.
Sometimes Jesus wears a lab coat or scrubs or white slacks and a flowered
smock. Sometimes you have just got
to reach out and touch.
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevChristianWithATwist.htm
Return to table of contents
As a regular feature in the
Chi Rho Connection, we are offering up traditional saints listed in the 2005
Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary from today until our next scheduled
electronic newsletter.
*****
Sat., Oct. 15, St. Teresa of
Avila. Obedience to our confessors: "After all, I die a child of the church."
These words spoken by St. Teresa teach us the lesson of her life: to trust in
humble childlike obedience our spiritual guides as the surest means of staying
on the correct path to heaven. Sun., Oct.
16, St. Hedwig. Assisting at church:
"How can I repay the Lord
for all this goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on
the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all
God's people" (Psalm 116:12-14). Mon., Oct.
17, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Devotion to the Sacred Heart:
Love for the Sacred Heart of
Jesus especially honors the Incarnation, and soon makes the soul grow in
humbleness and generosity, in patience and union with the object of its love.
Tues., Oct.
18, St. Helen. Joy in sacrifice:
If children of the past
could face and bear torture and death with joy and praise of God, can we
begrudge the slight hardships God asks us to bear? "But rejoice that you
participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His
glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:13). Wed., Oct.
19, St. Peter of Alcantara. There is power in penance:
"The trouble is that we all
talk about reforming others without ever reforming ourselves," St. Peter of
Alcantara. "Here is a trustworthy saying, if we died with Christ, we will also
live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him, he will also disown
us, if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself"
(2 Timothy 2:11-13). Thurs., Oct.
20, St. John of Kanti. Simplicity:
If people order all of their
affairs according to the will of God, without asking or caring what others may
think, they are often thought to be simple and stupid. But in the end they win
the respect and trust of the world itself and God's approval and peace. "Have
you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him: he is
blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8).
Fri., Oct.
21, St. Hilarion. Charity towards all:
Austerity is not the
distinguishing mark of God's saints. They were saints because they made their
austerity a means of uniting themselves with Christ, and forming themselves
according to his lowliness and charity. No work is good unless it makes us grow
in love for God and our fellow person. Sat., Oct.
22, St. Caesarius of Arles. Little sins:
We need to be reminded that
small sins, little lies, are nevertheless sins, an offense to God, and a
stumbling block to us. These are the daily imperfections that clog the free
workings of the soul. Sun., Oct.
23, St. Theodoret. Fear of God's
judgments: St. Philip Neri said often that those who do not go to Hell in
spirit are often very likely to go there in reality. Take care then to meditate
and be afraid of God's judgments. You will learn to love God better by thinking
about the miseries of those who do not love God. Mon., Oct.
24, St. Louis Bertrand. The judgment: The saints fasted, toiled, and wept for
love of God; but they were not free from the fear of being eternally lost. How
shall we with our self-indulgent lives and unexamined consciences, face the
judgment seat of Christ?
"Alas! I know not on which side the sentence of my
Judge will place me," St. Louis Bertrand. Tues., Oct.
25, St. John of Beverly. Teaching: Some people are religiously deaf and dumb:
by your open heart, mind, and purse you open their ears and unloose their
tongues. "Discipline
your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul"
(Proverbs 29:17). Wed., Oct.
26, St. Malchus. Fidelity: There can be no peace except in the fidelity to
grace. If we run from the burdens God places on us, we will find others that
are heavier. If we are to retain our peace, we must return to God by way of the
cross. "But they who
stand firm to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13). Thurs., Oct.
27, St. Eustochium. Sacrifice: St. Eustochium teaches us to hold the honors
and riches of the world that are available to us at their true worth, keeping
our hearts for ever fixed upon the eternal joys.
"In the same way, any of you
who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).
Fri., Oct.
28, St. Jude Thaddeus (Patron saint: desperate causes). Be brave: We are
called to be apostles by baptism and we have, when the opportunity presents
itself, an obligation to put our faith forth, not only to those who have never
heard of Christ, but to other Christians who are outside of the church's
unity. To do this properly, we must be brave and know our savior well.
Sat., Oct.
29, St. Narcissus. Trust in God: St. Narcissus teaches us to do God's
work in God's name and commit the result to God. God never fails those who
trust in God. God guides us through darkness and through trials both gently and
surely to the end and in the evening time, we see God's light. Sun., Oct.
30, St. Alphonsus Rodriguez. The least: Everyone praises humility, but only
very good people love to be humbled. Learn from St. Alphonsus to prefer always
the lowest and least place as the only one fitted for yourself.
"Then Jesus said to them,
'Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me and whoever welcomes
me welcomes the one who sent me. For they who are least among you all – they
are the greatest'" (Luke 9:48). Mon., Oct.
31, St. Bademus. Fear: There can be no peace or happiness except in the
service of God; those who desert this blessed service open the floodgates of
misery. "What
benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those
things result in death!" (Romans 6:21). Tues., Nov.
1, All Saints Day. Remembrance of the dead: The feast celebrated today is one
of the greatest of the church's
festivals. "Let us turn to the martyrs and saints and call upon them to be our
protectors not only on their festivals but at other times; for they can be
bolder of speech in death than when they lived, since they now bear in their
bodies the marks of Jesus Christ, " St. John Chrysostom. Diversity
Date: November is Native American Heritage Month. November is
also National Diabetes Awareness Month. Wed., Nov. 2,
St. Martin de Porres (Patron saint: beauticians, African Americans, racial
harmony). Charity and kindness: St. Martin is the first of the African
American saints. The example of Martin's
life is ample evidence that we can strive for holiness and salvation as Christ
Jesus has shown us: first, by loving God "with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind; and second, by loving your neighbor as yourself."
Diversity
Date: November 2 is All Souls Day
*****
Order the 2005-2006
Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary, complete with the entire year's Sanctoral
Cycle, at this link:
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLiturgicalCa05_06.html
Return to table of contents
Order the new 2006
Liturgical Calendar on line.
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLiturgicalCa05_06.html
*****
Of course, with Christmas a
little more than two months away, it is not too early to start doing your
holiday shopping at ChiRhoPress.com. We never close! ***** There are some wonderful tapes and CDs of good
Christian music available at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/tapes_CDs.html. Please visit! ***** Please check out the Chi Rho Cards! Our line of
greeting cards, by the talented New York artist Timothy Leetch, are now
available. See the descriptions of the cards on our Web site at:
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/cards.html. Order some cards today! ***** Gracia y paz, R. Adam DeBaugh, Director, Adam@ChiRhoPress.com. ****************************************** We are glad you are partners in ministry with us here
at Chi Rho Press. We are eager for your comments, your suggestions, your
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Adam@ChiRhoPress.com. Our snail mail address is: Chi Rho Press, Inc. P.O. Box 7864 Gaithersburg, MD 20898 Our telephone and fax number is 301/926-1208. Customers outside the U.S. and especially our Canadian
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Pearson, at her Web page,
http://www.christiangays.com. Copyright 2005, Chi Rho Press, Inc.
15 October 2005
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