Despite everything, I found myself spending a good deal of the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday secretly bemoaning the fact that the Mass received what I considered short-shrift in Mr. K's blog a day or two later. It was puzzling because he tarried far longer after the so-called, "Postlude" than I'd ever seen him ( Read more... )

Last Saturday, Pale male helped me break my Pandemic length fasting from indoor dining drinking by bravely crossing the East River to have drinks at the City Point food court near DeKalb Avenue. The city-wide ban had been lifted for less than a week, but the cellar kiosks and booths were doing a booming business ( Read more... )

Well, we're in it. It's not Lent. But, it might as well be. It's the first week of Advent. We were treated to the traditional Gospel reading from Matthew 24 where Jesus warns his disciples to be alert to the coming of The Son of Man, comparing it to The Flood. A reckoning on the same order. Essentially, it is an allusion to death ( Read more... )

Brunch Saturday went pretty well. I got up and went around the corner to get some perseco and orange juice to make mimosas. The only problem is what do you do with a bottle of perseco once you open it? It's not like regular wine; you can't just recork it and save it for later. Suffice it to say, I was drinking mimosas for the rest of the day ( Read more... )

It's never been explained to me completely to my satisfaction whether Episcopalians believe in transubstantiation or not; in other words whether the wine and bread served at the altar really turn into the blood and body of Christ? Regardless, I have made it a point to treat them with the same respect that I would with any powerful relic. I won't ( Read more... )

Unfortunately, post-Moonlight cocktails at Barracuda combined with a curious lack of food most of the day resulted in my first blackout in maybe twenty years. To my complete disappointment, I woke up the next morning alone in my own bed.

This was one of the sanest Intersections I've spent worshiping in - I have to say it - years. No crazy people were there. Where they went, I have no idea; it just seemed as if they all woke up and got the same e-mail: skip St. Mike's this evening. And, you could feel the difference. There was a palpable air of relaxation throughout the service. ( Read more... )

I should point out that lots of other things happened over the weekend. I mentioned that the monastery was every bit as bucolic as any co-counseling site; but, what I didn't mention was how much historic value the surrounding river valley brought to the table. We were literally within a few miles of the FDR presidential library. The view of the ( Read more... )

This is one policy decision that caught everyone by surprise, but the fact is, our events are frequented by a handful of raging alcoholics who will drink themselves sick if a bartender is not around to cut them off and the At Table arrangement isn't suitable for having one. Last year there were people (including, Crosby and Hyacinth) who missed ( Read more... )

There's been a lot of e-mail traffic lately regarding church service and various aspects of providing food and drink before during and after it: Saturday Kitchen is once again in need of volunteers; the Rector would like an At Table service before the calendar stretches too long; and the call has gone out for someone to replace one of the regulars ( Read more... )