I BIND UNTO MYSELF TODAY

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me forever,
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
His baptism in the Jordan River,

His cross of death for my salvation,

His bursting from the spiced tomb,

His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,












The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,















The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The Word of God to give me speech,

His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Christ be with me,
Christ within me,
Christ behind me,
Christ before me,
Christ beside me,
Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

*Presiding Bishop's homily at House of Bishops' closing Eucharist The icon above is Rublev's and it depicts the relationship of the Trinity. Bishop Schori discusses her views of this icon and its implications in her sermon. You can go to it by clicking on the link at the beginning of this paragraph.

An excerpt: "Recall Rublev’s great icon of the Trinity, and the way in which each of the members of the Trinity looks in a different direction. They are not gazing out into space, however, but at another being, at another of those present around the circle. If we are created in the image of that social God, we too are invited to look as God does, toward another image of God, to turn our eyes upon Jesus—and also on the many images of God all around us.
"The ability and willingness to focus on those many images of God around us is fundamental to our lives as Christians. God has the ability to hold all of us together in one field of view, affirming each one as child and beloved. Our baptism into the life of God is about seeing as God sees, with integrity."

BLUE ON BLUE

Hypothetical Arms in the Milky Way, Courtesy National Geographic

Bishop Robinson

Bishop Robinson

Chorus:
And here's to you, Bishop Robinson,
Jesus loves you more than you will know.
God bless you, please, Bishop Robinson.
Heaven holds a place for you today,
Hey, hey, hey

We'd like to know a bit about your sexuality
We'd like to help you learn be our guest.
Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes,
Stroll around at Lambeth, just don't force us to confess.

Go back in the hiding place where no one ever goes.
Stay there in the closet with the rest.
Just a little service to our Anglican affair.
Most of all, please, hide it from the press.

Koo-koo-ka-choo, Bishop Robinson,
Jesus loves you more than you will know.
God bless you, please, Bishop Robinson.
Heaven holds a place for those who pray,
Hey, hey, hey

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Don't think about your marriage or your fate.
Try to laugh, and not shout about it,
Now you've got to choose
Every way you look at this you lose.

Where have you gone, Jesus, Lamb of God
Your children turn their lonely eyes to you.
What's that you say, Bishop Robinson.
The Holy Spirit guides and comforts you.
Woo woo woo. Woo woo woo.

adaptation from Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson; picture courtesy of New Hampshire Episcopal Diocese

I AM SPIRIT LED BY LOVE

I am the ship,

My billowing sails will hold, though tempests lash and tear!

The hungry waves in fury seek to rend me bow to stern, undaunted I remain...

My Captain steers our course into the sun.

I am the Light. Though monstrous shadows lurk with cunning guile,
And seek to shroud the way . . . to cow the self with phantoms of the night,

Courageously I shed my radiance . . .dispel the gloom.

I am the force That staunchly stands immovable and firm . . . foundations strong. Savagely protective . . . pliable . . . serene

I am the soul of adoration, weaving dreams of stardust , cosmic ecstacy.

I am the Alpha . . .the Omega . . . the dream . . . reality, that brings rich promise of eternities to come.

I am spirit led by love . . . your other self am I . . .
The song of hope that whispers in the breeze with soft caress, I beckon and entice towards mystic shores.

Aspiration by Ann Davies, 1943

INTENTIONALITY

The secret of beginning a life of deep awareness and sensitivity lies in our willingness to pay attention. Our growth as conscious, awake human beings is marked not so much by grand gestures and visible renunciations as by extending loving attention to the minutest particulars of our lives.

Every relationship, every thought, every gesture is blessed with meaning through the wholehearted attention we bring to it. In the complexities of our minds and lives we easily forget the power of attention, yet without attention we live only on the surface of existence.

It is just simple attention that allows us truly to listen to the song of a bird, to see deeply the glory of an autumn leaf, to touch the heart of another and be touched. We need to be fully present in order to love a single thing wholeheartedly. We need to be fully awake in this moment if we are to receive and respond to the learning inherent in it.

Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield, Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart, More on book, and order through Amazon

PENTECOST PROMISE

Bishops Klusmeyer (W.Va.) and Curry (N.C.) arrive
































Presiding Bishop
Katherine Jefferts-Schori listens to the preludes

Yesterday, in the nave of Washington Cathedral, Shannon S. Johnston was consecrated as Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Virginia.

The liturgical service was one of joy, solemnity, and beauty with a variety of musical contributions and including a traditional Anglican chant sung by those in attendance. Bishop Johnston will ultimately succeed Bishop Peter James Lee who will retire in 2010 and now leads 195 congregations of the Diocese of Virginia through a particularly stormy time of dealing with breakaway parish issues that have arisen as a result of the consecration of a gay bishop within The Episcopal Communion.

Johnston long time friend Rev. J. Neil Alexander, Bishop of Atlanta, delivered a bell-ringing sermon and reassured us all that the ordination of a new bishop is an act of faith and a sign of hope and it sends a message to the naysayers that "Our faith is strong and vigorous....we will not give up," He urged Shannon Johnston to follow the example of the first Bishop of Canterbury, whose feast we were celebrating, to witness to the Resurrection, and to "call us from things passing away...so that a new creation is a present reality for those who are in Christ," continuing Jesus' mission of justice and mercy.

Alexander challenged him to faithfully serve the common good with words of encouragement and to boldly and relentlessly speak truth to power in the public square and in the church for those who are unable to speak in their own behalf, those whose voices are not heard: the hungry and the homeless, the sick and infirm and also "those who suffer from unrighteous discrimination because they are differently blessed."

Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori led the service while thirty Bishops from around the Communion encircled and laid hands on Johnston as he kneeled and then was presented to the congregation as he affirmed his consecration saying, "My spirit rejoices in God our savior!...My heart today is indeed very full."


To watch a webcast of the Consecration, available through the National Cathedral, click the blog title and scroll to 50 minutes to begin the service after the preludes. To go to the sermon scroll to 1 hour 50 minutes. This photo courtesy of AP




Magdalen friends, Eleanor from Vienna, Va. and Christopher from Philadelphia chat with Lewis (WA) before the service.



An informal reception was held in the Bishop's Garden

OUR FINE FEATHERED FRIENDS

SUPREME LIGHT

PHOTO COURTESY OF ICHIMUSAI

Thou art the Supreme Light
Thou art the supreme light, and the eyes of the pure soul shall see Thee, and clouds of sin shall hide Thee from the eyes of sinners.

Thou art the light hidden in this world and revealed in the world of beauty, "In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen."

Shelomo Ibn Gabriol

Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." [Luke 11:36]

"I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light and of Peace, When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One." Namaste

GRANDPARENTS

Grandma. Grandma. Music to my ears. I love the sound of these words. As I come through the door, the girls look up, and seeing me, they often come running toward me, with arms open and smiling. It melts my heart.

BOKA. BOKA. THAT IS THE NAME GIVEN TO MY HUSBAND BY THE GIRLS. HE IS A FRIEND TO ALL CHILDREN. AND HE LOVES TO SPEND TIME WITH THE GIRLS AND THEY KNOW IT. HE QUICKLY JOINS THEM IN THEIR REVERIES AND EXPLORATION. USUALLY HE HAS A GENTLE AND REASSURING TOUCH. SOMETIMES, THOUGH, HE GETS GOING WITH THEM, JUST AS HE DID WITH OUR BOYS. THEY GET ROUGH AND TUMBLE AROUND THROUGH HIS ARMS AND ONTO THE FLOOR. SOMETIMES IT IS A BACKWARDS SOMERSAULT, OTHER TIMES A RIDE ON HIS BACK AROUND THE FAMILY ROOM.

Yesterday we went for a ride in Northern Virginia. We stopped by the beachfront on the other side of the Harry Nice Bridge and enjoyed watching the fishermen and families along the edge of the water. One family began to form along the edge and their profiles were so interesting I reached for my camera and took a few shots.

They were young and vigorous, but as I listened to the play I heard the young boy cry out, "Grandma, Look!" They were picking up rocks and skipping them along on the surface of the water and his had been a success.

IN MY PRACTICE I SEE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING THROUGH A TIME OF DEPRESSION. ONE OF THE LOSSES THAT OFTEN STANDS OUT IS THAT OF A GRANDPARENT. I HAVE LEARNED THAT MANY OF THESE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN HAVE FOUND THEMSELVES PRIMARILY ATTACHED TO A GRANDMOTHER WHO RAISED THEM, OFTEN WHEN PARENTS WERE BUSY TRYING TO MAKE THE MONEY NECESSARY FOR THEIR SURVIVAL OR JUST TOO IMMATURE TO ASSUME THE PARENTING ROLE. GRANDMAS HAVE STEPPED IN.

Retirement plans are forestalled, vacations rearranged: all for grandchildren. And these grandparents wouldn't want to have it any other way. It is their joy and satisfaction in life.

WHERE ARE ALL THE (HONEY)BEES?

HONEYBEES www.gpnc.org/honeybee.htm

The central feature of the bee hive is the honeycomb. This marvel of insect engineering consists of flat vertical panels of six-sided cells made of beeswax. Beeswax is produced from glands on the underside of the abdomens of worker bees when they are between 12 and 15 days old. House bees take the beeswax and form it with their mouths into the honeycomb. The cells within the comb will be used to raise young and to store honey and pollen.

The comb is two-sided, with cells on both sides. ....the cells are perfectly uniform in shape. Not only that, but the combs are built a precise distance apart depending on whether they are meant to contain food or young bees. The nursery area of the hive is called the brood comb, and that is where the queen lays her eggs.

(and from Wikipedia) Hives consist of a single queen bee, a seasonally variable number of drone bees to fertilize new queens and some 20,000 to 40,000 worker bees. The worker bees raise larvae and collect the nectar that will become honey in the hive. As they leave the flower, bees release Nasonov pheromones. These enable other bees to find their way to the site by smell [10]. Honeybees also release Nasonov pheromones at the entrance to the hive, which enables returning bees to return to the proper hive[10]. It is believed by scientists that one reason for the collapse of colonies in the United States is that the bees are losing their ability to "sense" their direction and return to the hives. Picture is courtesy of Wikipedia.

THE CRISIS

From last night's Anderson Cooper 360 degrees: (Photo courtesy of Richard Fuller)

...researchers say up to one-third of all the honeybees in the United States have vanished. And no one knows why exactly. Scientists are scrambling to explain the sudden, mysterious die-off of honeybee hives -- something they've named "Colony Collapse Disorder" -- before it gets worse. (These)....experts say honeybees are responsible for one-third of all the food we eat; and according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, they add $15 billion to the bottom line of the agriculture industry.

(Anderson Cooper and his staff)...traveled to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, to meet the man who first sounded the alarm about the mystery and pressured the government to investigate. In the course of two months, he says he lost some 80 million bees -- 2,000 of his hives. And he's not alone. Beekeepers in more than 25 states and Canadian provinces are reporting major losses, too.

....(at) the USDA Bee Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, and Penn State University (scientists) are performing bee autopsies and DNA work. (And they)....are looking at a combination of a relatively new insecticide along with an increase in bee viruses. It's a one-two punch that weakens the bees' immune systems and leaves them susceptible to pathogens. They expect to announce preliminary findings in the next few weeks.

And while some of the affected hives seem to be improving, experts at the USDA say that is because there is more food available for the bees during the warm spring. They warn it's still too early to tell whether America's honeybees can overcome this mysterious disorder.