St. Peter’s Anglican Church Concert
Friday, January 20 at 7:00 pm
Featuring musical artists from the parish of St. Peter’s including Joel Hastings, Lucy Church, Ann Dalton, Belinda Dudley, Christopher Garven, Will Nilson, and John Ossi.
Free!
For more details: www.saint-peters.net
Filed under Uncategorized
Camellia
Dear Readers,
[Note: This is a re-post. Monday December 10, 2012 will mark the one-year anniversary of the death of my friend, Cheryl. I am providing this link on Face Book, to honor the memory of Cheryl.]
January 10, 2011
Exactly one month ago, my friend, Cheryl, died — on the same morning that the first of the Camellias bloomed in our garden. Since it is difficult for me to find the words to express what her friendship meant to me, I will borrow from the language of flowers:
The Camellia is The Winter Rose but I first met Cheryl in the summer, only six months ago. I remember my first impression: she was elegant and lovely yet fragile and delicate.
We refer to the Camellia, poetically, as the rose without thorns. Yet, I soon learned that Cheryl’s life did contain thorns: when her mother died of breast cancer, Cheryl was only thirteen years of age. When I met her, Cheryl was battling breast cancer for the third time, within a span of ten years.
In spite of her affliction, she was spirited and vivacious. She and her husband, Doug, downplayed the seriousness of Cheryl’s health challenges: They were brave, courageous, and optimistic.
She possessed a beauty borne of years of suffering. The natural tendency, in suffering, is to isolate oneself. Instead, over the decades, she invested herself in nurturing strong relationships with family and friends.
In the autumn, as Cheryl’s health declined, the families of both Doug and Cheryl welcomed me into their closely knit circle. They taught me how an extended family cares for each other, during the deepest and darkest season of affliction.
Doug was her protector: She depended upon him and he was entirely trustworthy. He arranged for her comfort and companionship, during the hours that he was at the university. He was unfailingly energetic, optimistic, and gracious to everyone, in spite of struggling with the harrowing thought of losing his wife.
Their commitment to marriage [almost 31 years] and to each other was strong, pure, and everlasting.
Cheryl’s life demonstrated the symmetry of integrity: She knew what she believed and she lived out what she believed. She was consistent in both character and virtue. Her commitment to both Christian faith and practice was unwavering.
Elegant and beautiful yet fragile and delicate; loving and trusting her husband and family; generously giving herself in friendship and service to others; trusting in the Holy Trinity for her life on earth and for her eternal future: Those were the enduring qualities of my friend, Cheryl.
On this winter day, glancing out my window, I can see our Camellia bushes: The red and pink blooms offer a welcome burst of color in the cold, dreary, rainy landscape. As I pause to admire the perfect blooms, I remember the gentle and light fragrance of Cheryl’s life. She loved the Holy Trinity “with all [of her] heart, soul, mind, and strength.” It was this self-emptying love for God and for others that drew family and friends to her. Even when her own life was fading, she was concerned for the welfare of those around her.
Cheryl loved beautiful, sacred music, as do I, and she was gifted with a superb singing voice. Every Sunday morning, at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, the voices of both the congregation and the choir combine to sing the ancient hymns of worship. As we lift our voices with “all the company of heaven,” I can imagine the lovely sound of Cheryl’s clear and soaring voice, a reflection of the depth and beauty of a life lived well, to the glory of God.
“ . . . with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name, evermore praising thee, and saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts:
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, ‘You are dust, and to dust you shall return.’
All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Grant her your peace; let Light Perpetual shine on her; and, in your loving wisdom and almighty power, work in her the good purpose of your perfect will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
“Give rest, O Christ, to your servant, Cheryl, with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting. Amen.”
Coram Deo,
Margot
[Written by Margot Blair Payne, January 10, 2012].
[Quotes are from the Book of Common Prayer.]
In her book, “A Victorian Flower Dictionary,” Mandy Kirby notes that the Camellia is “the Empress of Winter,” bringing lightness and gaiety to a dark time of year.
“It was the belle of winter flowers, gracing dinner parties, balls and concert rooms,” Kirby writes, and soon came to represent “a simple expression of feminine beauty and love.”
The Camellia:
The Empress of Winter
The Belle of Winter
The Rose Without Thorns
Qualities: Longevity, Evergreen, Symmetry
Feminine Qualities: Elegance, Loveliness, Beauty, Lightness, Gaiety, Trust
Masculine Qualities: Protection, Excellence, Steadfastness, Trustworthiness
Qualities of Love: Strong, Pure, Everlasting
Other: Admiration, Perfection, Gratitude
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Filed under Life and Death of a Friend
Dear Family & Friends: Here are a few photo highlights from 2011:
The Payne & Stewart Family Vacation: June 2011 Beech Mountain, NC: [Daniel and Benjamin @ Pond Creek]
October 22, 2011: Benjamin [@ 2.9 years] meets Lucy Elanor [@ 1 day old]
October 22, 2011: Uncle Garrett meets Lucy for the first time.
December 2011: Daniel, Haley, and Lucy:
The annual Stewart tradition of choosing a Christmas tree in South Georgia.
Christmas Morning 2011 @ the Stewarts: Benjamin and Lucy
Christmas Morning 2011 – Brunch @ the Paynes: Garrett, Stephen, Benjamin, Lucy, Margot, Haley
[Daniel is taking the photo.]
Just another typical New Year’s Eve for these three socialites: Stephen, Margot, and Garrett @ Davis-Stewart Wedding Reception @ Governor’s Club, Tallahassee, 2011. [Stephen & Margot stayed awake until 12M!]
January, 2012: Lucy
Yes, she still has blue eyes, even though Daniel & Haley each have brown eyes.
For more photos and highlights, see:
http://www.carrotsformichaelmas.wordpress.com
http://www.3ftmoviecritic.tumblr.com
Preview of 2012:
Stephen will retire from FSU but will continue consulting with Marquis Software.
Stephen & Margot will celebrate their 60th birthdays and their 39th wedding anniversary. They will travel to California, to visit family and attend a wedding. While in CA, they will travel north, from Santa Barbara to Carmel and Big Sur.
Filed under Family Photos
Four doors, located north, south, east, and west, opened up from the hall, into various rooms.
The hall contained the stairway to the second floor.
I climbed the stairs and located two doors, one on either side of the landing.
I opened one of the doors, which revealed a guest room.
Inside the room, I opened an interior door, which led to a clothes-closet or “wardrobe.”
I stepped inside: It was small, dark, musty, and crowded with hanging clothes.
I pushed aside the hanging clothes and discovered that – lo and behold! A secret door was hidden at the back of the wardrobe!
I squinted my eyes, to adjust to the brightness.
I positioned a chair underneath a large window. I climbed up and opened the window latch.
I stood on tip-toes to scan the wide, clear sky and to breathe in the crisp, cold air.
No; I was not lost — but I was a wanderer for 25 years, within the “hall” of contemporary evangelical churches, which endeavored to be inter-denominational or non-denominational.
I began to yearn for a more permanent residence: one that embraced Community and Creed, Doxology and Theology, Faith and Reason.
Fires: Here was the warmth of community with believers, not merely contemporary and local, but also historical and global.
Chairs: Here was the sturdy foundation of Doctrine, based upon the Authority of Holy Scripture, assisted now by Faith, Reason, and Tradition.
Meals: Here also was nourishment, not only from the reading and preaching of the Word, but also from the real and living Presence of Christ, in the Holy Eucharist.
As a child, I attended Liturgical Worship Services, which shaped me in ways that were subtle, yet strong and sure, for as N. T. Wright reminds us:
“The Liturgy is a means of grace; it is God ministering to us.”
The Language of Liturgy slowly unveils to us the meaning of its metaphors.
The Words of Worship strengthen and sustain us; they form and transform us.
The Language and Words, vast and ageless, are filled with Light and Life.
“I hope no reader will suppose that ‘mere’ Christianity is here put forward as an alternative to the creeds of the existing communions – as if a man could adopt it in preference to Congregationalism or Greek Orthodoxy or anything else. It is more like a hall out of which doors open to several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms [whichever that may be] is, I think, preferable. It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considerable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that is good for him to wait. When you do get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good, which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all, you must be asking which door is the true one, not which pleases you best by its paint and paneling. In plain language, the question should never be, ‘Do I like that kind of service?’ but ‘Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me toward this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?’
When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house.”
Filed under Advent, Christmas Eve
Dear Family & Friends,
My Guest Blogger today is my daughter, Haley Stewart. You can find her blog at: Carrots for Michaelmas.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel has always been my favorite carol. I love the ancient chant-like melody and the images it conjures: monks singing by candlelight and waiting to celebrate the coming of the Light of the World, while a cold, dark winter lingers on. It has many beautiful verses but the first and most familiar is:
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel
It is, of course, a particularly fitting verse for Advent, when we prepare for the coming of Our Lord. This Advent, I have come to understand better what it means because it’s been a dark Advent. In November, dear friends lost a child at birth. Their incomprehensible grief and the loss we have all experienced, as we miss their daughter we will never have the opportunity to know, made the uncertainty of this life more present. We are not guaranteed lives free of pain, in fact, quite the opposite. We wait in exile. And in exile there is grief. So I have struggled with the darkness of our exile. How do we live in a world of grief, pain, and uncertainty? How do we love those around us, knowing that we might lose them? What does it mean to wait for Jesus?
St. Bernard of Clairvaux writes of three Advents:
One is in the past: Christ was born to the Blessed Virgin Mary, when God Incarnate came to rescue the world.
One is in the present: Now is the time to prepare our hearts for Christ’s dwelling.
And one is in the future: Christ will come again in glory.
During the Advent season, I usually only consider the past Advent, Christ’s Nativity. After all, it’s complete and all that I need to do is remember what has happened and celebrate, on Christmas morning, what Our Lord has done. The other two Advents require more of me. How do I prepare my heart for the Son of God to enter it? And perhaps even more difficult: How can I bear waiting for Christ’s return, in exile, amidst grief, pain, and uncertainty?
In the Advent carol, the first step is to long for Christ. O come, O come, Emmanuel, God with us. We long for Him because we have come to understand the difficult reality of our situation. Until we realize that placing our security in anything of this life is fruitless, we will not be able to long for Christ as we ought. We are captives in this exile and we must understand our helplessness and need of a Savior.
I remember Zechariah, who was struck dumb during the miraculous pregnancy of his aging and previously barren wife, Elizabeth. Waiting. Yearning for new life as he anticipated the birth of his son, John the Baptist. And ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here . . . Our exile. It seems very dark. But we have been given a gift, a promise that our exile will not last forever. We have been given hope. And our hope is a Living Hope — for it is Christ himself. What makes the darkness and the waiting and the pain bearable is that it will come to an end. Zechariah will speak at the end of nine months. A woman in labor will not be in pain forever. Until the Son of God appear . . . In the darkness of our exile, we wait in joyful hope because He is coming. He HAS come. And He IS here. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. The redemption of the world has happened in the Incarnation, it is happening in us and in the world it will be fulfilled and completed.
How can we bear our exile? I think I am learning that the answer is hope. With hope, we can say with Lady Julian of Norwich, even through our grief . . .And all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
Hail, Holy Queen, mother of mercy:
Hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us;
and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
[Written by Haley Susan Stewart, Advent 2010; posted Advent 2011.]
Filed under Advent, Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve Services:
12.00 N
Candlelight Services:
5.00 PM
8.00 PM: incense
11.00 PM: incense
Christmas Day Service:
11.00 AM
Saint Peter’s Anglican Church
901 Thomasville Road
Tallahassee, FL 32303
850.701.0669
Childcare provided at all services.
Arrive early and enter the Sanctuary in silence.
Filed under Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning
Entrance to the Los Robles Historic Neighborhood: Built in 1921
Recently, I was driving my 2.10 year old grandson, Benjamin, from his home to mine, traveling along the same route I have taken him 100 times. On this particular day, he asked me:
“What is the name of this street?’
I replied, “Seventh Avenue.”
Benjamin: “Well, I call it ‘Home Street,’ because it leads to our home.”
By “our home,” Benjamin refers to the home of Stephen and me, his maternal grandparents, a place so familiar to him that he considers it to also be “his home.” In a similar way, he considers the home of his paternal grandparents to be “his home.” We are very blessed to live in the same town as they.
Benjamin was correct: Seventh Avenue or “Home Street,” a long, straight road, is the final leg of the short trip from his home to mine. It leads us to the Entrance [photo above] of our small historic neighborhood and then we are finally “home.”
“Out of the mouths of babes:” Young children remind us that behind a familiar name or word lies a greater concept, ideal, or reality.
For instance, the ancient Greeks had a word for “purpose” and that word was “telos.”
“A telos (from the Greek τέλοϛ for “end”, “purpose”, or “goal”) is an end or purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as Aristotle. It is the root of the term “teleology,” roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions.” [Wikipedia]
If we are going to be thoughtful and intentional about revisioning, restoring, and reclaiming The Season of Advent, we need to first discover the “telos:” the central purpose. Then, we need to conform to that purpose, by examining ways in which we invest our “heart, soul, mind, and strength” during this Advent Season.
Activity without purpose is merely “spinning our wheels:” This is why individuals experience the frustration of “spinning out of control” during The Season of Advent. Without an end, aim, purpose, reason, intention, goal, or objective, how can we hope to communicate — through our lives, families, and homes — the hope and light of The Season of Advent to the weary and often dark world around us?
[An English Cottage: Not my home, but lovely and welcoming, is it not?]
Our neighborhood stands at the convergence of two main artery roads and a one-way street. At the convergence, is a strange and confusing “Round-A-Bout.” When we first bought our home, seven years ago, I missed the Entrance a few times. I had to circle around, navigate one-way streets, and try the approach again. It was very frustrating: I could clearly see my destination yet I could not enter it. I had to stop my vehicle and study a map in order to find the correct path to my own [new] home!
It is like that with The Season of Advent: Before we approach it, we travelers must choose our path carefully, study our map, compass in hand, and write down the directions.
What is the “telos” of Advent? Am I aligned with that purpose? Am I investing my “heart, soul, strength, and mind” into that one central purpose?
Am I reaching my destination? Or am I merely driving around in circles?
One purpose of The Season of Advent is to form, conform, and transform us in Christian discipleship. To whom or what am I conforming this Advent Season?
A careful, genuine, intentional, and faithful observation of The Season of Advent will lead us “on the way home.”
As a fellow-traveler, I have offered these one dozen “Advent Lessons” to you, as a compass and map, as street lights and signposts, and, finally, as a lamp burning in the window, welcoming you home.
Filed under Advent
The Completed Advent Candle Wreath:
I used antiques: one antique mirror, one silver tray, and five candlesticks with bobeches.
I bought one 100% pure beeswax Advent Candle Kit from http://www.toadilyhandmade.com.
I purchased the ribbon from Cindy’s Chapeaux in Havana, FL.
I picked up [free] fresh evergreens from St. Paul’s United Methodist Church: Boy Scout Christmas Trees [Lake Ella].
http://www.Toadilyhandmade.com Advent Candles:
Benjamin, 2.10 years, rolling the Rose Candle.
I love the expression of accomplishment and wonder on Benjamin’s face,
after he completed the Advent Candles at his home: “I did it myself!”
The Tree of Jesse
The Tree of Jesse:
One wrought-iron “Winter Tree Ornament Display Stand,” spray-painted “Hammered Black.”
Hand-made-by-local-artists:Sstained-glass and beveled-glass ornaments. [Some are from Susan’s Stained Glass at The Cottage Shops at Lake Ella, Tallahassee, FL.]
Vintage velvet fabric.
A beautiful jewel box from Korea, from my friend Eun Kwak.
Inside the Jesse Tree Jewelry Box:
A velvet pouch, containing a pewter ornament, depicting the Holy Family.
This ornament is hidden until Christmas Morning, when we will hang it on the Jesse Tree.
Our Dining Room Table:
Antique bowl with pomegranates.
Our Dining Room Table:
100% pure beeswax votives.
Royal blue hemmed fabric for table runner.
A Simple Glass Nativity Scene, Made in Germany
Illumined from behind, with a 100% pure beeswax votive.
A hemmed square of organdy fabric veils the Nativity Scene, until Christmas Morning.
Nativity Scene
I bought this from Ten Thousand Villages, several years ago.
It is perfect for small children.
Inside the velvet pouch are wooden figures of the Holy Family.
We will add the Holy Family figures to the Nativity Scene, on Christmas Morning.
The Completed Nativity Scene with Holy Family Figures.
Nativity Scene:
A simple wooden stable and wooden image of the Holy Family
It would be easy to make the stable.
I bought the Holy Family wooden image at Ten Thousand Villages.
The Holy Family wooden image will stay hidden, inside an organdy pouch, until Christmas Morning.
A Simple Wooden Bell-Shaped Ornament,
with figures of Holy Family and sheep.
From Ten Thousand Villages.
Simple Ornament: Angel
From Ten Thousand Villages.
An Olive Wood Ornament: Dove
From Ten Thousand Villages.
Advent Calendar Book:
I do not know if this book is in print anymore.
It is a very sturdy Calendar/Book, which you can use every year.
Day One [A] of Advent Book
Day One [B] of Advent Book
The Very First Christmas
This is a book from Hallmark, from my dear friend, Ida Jean Sapp.
It is perfect for grandparents: Record the story onto a microchip and your grandchildren can hear your voice,
every time they turn the page!
This is a great book for families with children, godchildren, or grandchildren.
Filed under Advent
Tallahassee Friends!
Here is a perfect way to reclaim, revision, and restore the Season of Advent! Not in Tallahassee? Google “Messiah Sing” and your zip code to find a community-wide Messiah Sing.
Events > 23rd Annual Handel’s Messiah Sing-Along > Tallahassee, FL > Tallahassee Democrat.
Filed under Advent
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Margot’s Corner 
Film Review: “War Horse”
I assure you that I have not yet read any commentaries regarding the film, War Horse. Therefore, I will share with you my unalloyed and brief review: This film contains a clash of contrasting images: violent and horrific vs. nostalgic and sentimental.
The film scenes re-creating World War I are horrible, violent, and bloody. The images and sounds assault and torment us [the viewers] as the film confronts us with the horrors of man’s inhumanity to man.
This film also explores relationships between: villagers, neighbors, friends, comrades, humans and animals, grandparents and grandchildren, parents and children, and husbands and wives.
I remember when I first watched Schindler’s List, which Stephen Speilberg brought from print to film. I said at the time, “This is a film we need to view. If brave, courageous people had to live — and suffer and die — through this horror, the very least we can do is to watch it, no matter how difficult.”
We must be repeatedly reminded, in the most brutal way possible, if necessary, of the horrors of war and genocide.
It is likely that film reviewers will sneer at the nostalgia and sentimentality of the “schmaltzy” relationship scenes. I disagree with them.
The ancient Greek philosophers knew that the intellect must “reign in” the emotions, as a rider “reigns in” a horse. We must, therefore, train our emotions to respond appropriately to whatever the intellect first determines to be virtuous and true.
This film encourages us to indulge in the “relationship scenes,” in order to remind us of the hope that, one day, the created order will be made right. The Hebrew Scriptures declare: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” [Amos 5.24]
We cannot live without the hope that the created order will one day be restored: wars between nations will cease, human dignity will be restored, human life will be protected and valued, and humans will be reconciled with God and with one another.
The “schmaltzy scenes” of the film serve not to merely manipulate our emotions. Rather, those scenes represent a “keyhole” preview into a world of the future, when justice and righteousness will reign forever.
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Filed under Film Review
Tagged as Amos 5.24, ancient greek philosophers, film commentaries, film reviewers, Hebrews Scriptures, human dignity, justice, man's inhumanity to man, movie commentary, reconciliation, righteousness, Schindler's List, Stephen Spielberg, War Horse, World War I