“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2016 Labyrinth Walks (Walk 9/40), Davidson College Labyrinth – Davidson NC, Hobart Park:
Will have a little bit of time today before meeting Molly for lunch at Kindred. I thought about striking out to find a new labyrinth. But I thought again and decided on such a glorious day it would be very nice to spend a little time on Davidson’s campus.
The labyrinth is not exactly peaceful right now. There is a major construction project just on the other side of Faculty Drive. As I walk the labyrinth, I noticed several of the construction workers looking at me strangely. I always want to ask them if they’d like to walk. One day I will.
As I completed my walk, I rang the Japanese bell. I’ve taped it. It really does make a nice way to end a walk.
Afterwards, a quick drive around campus. Hello, Tom!
Walking the Labyrinth, Matt Rawle:
I remember the first time my mind wandered aimlessly
Pacing the turns inwardly while releasing
My fears and transgressions with each step accompanied breath
The Spirit unfettered, wholly showing me the quest
With my feet unbridled,
I idled at the entrance
Penitent and unworthy to tread with God’s presence
Unknowing what’s before me, I bravely try to stride
On the path of my past I hold fast to hide
On the first purple line the silence is deafening
The candle wicks flicker, the only light transpiring
Guiding me pensively toward my first inward turn
With the world now behind me, my thoughts unfurl
Is beauty universally seen alike in all eyes?
Is beauty left to context, morality, or time?
Is beauty a Godly thing, the Trinity’s inner splendor?
Or is it human construct based in race, class, or gender?
Revelations abound drowning out my reality
As the labyrinth’s simple path winds almost seamlessly
Begging the question of what’s melting away
Is it reality or falsity that’s truly giving way?
Ash Wednesday Labyrinth Idea:
From the ashes of this world you were born to journey with God. Eventually from the gift that is your life, So will you return to the the ashes of this world. Now, as you receive these ashes tonight, may you be reminded that however many or few years available to each of us, Life is short and we do not have too much time To bring joy to the hearts of those who travel this way with us. So be swift to love! Make haste to be kind. In the gifts of grace and peace which Gd offers to all of Gd’s children. Amen.
Source: Ash Wednesday Labyrinth Idea
Kindred Restaurant, James Beard Award Semifinalist, Charlotte Magazine: I’ve been 4 times and I must admit until today, I had something that was fantastic, but I also had something that not great, marginal at best. So I went again for lunch today and told my waitress Tia of my previous experiences. She made sure I had an exceptional experience.
Joe and Katy Kindred opened their Main Street restaurant early last year, quickly gaining national attention when Bon Appetit magazine named them one of 2015’s best new restaurants. With that number seven slot, expectations (and hopes) rose. Charlotte has not had a James Beard Semifinalist since 2009, when Chefs Bruce Moffett and Mark Hibbs (who no longer resides here), both made the list. While many things could change for the Kindreds with today’s announcement, we expect that their priorities won’t be one of them. When I reached out for a response to the breaking news, Joe asked for a little time. The reason: he was on baby watch. The Kindreds not only opened a restaurant that garnered national attention over the last year, they also welcomed their third child, Graydon James, to the family. Graydon’s middle name comes from Joe’s longtime mentor and friend, Chef Jim Noble of Rooster’s. Also unlikely to change: Kindred’s family restaurant mentality. Although the category is titled ‘Best Chef, Southeast,’ Joe is quick to recognize the entire restaurant staff, making it clear he could not have gotten to this point alone. Says Kindred of the news, which he learned at the same time as everyone else: “I’m still just trying to soak it all in. I don’t really think it’s hit yet.” Perhaps it will by this Friday, when Kindred restaurant celebrates its first birthday.
A little Lenten history, The Presbyterian Outlook:
For some Presbyterians, celebrating Lent is not intuitive — it may not have been part of their family’s pattern growing up. It is, however, connected to the way in which the Christian celebration of Easter evolved. “What is most helpful for all Christians and Presbyterians in particular to remember is that the time of Lent came into being after Easter was decided upon as an annual celebration,” said Jennifer Lord, a professor of homiletics and liturgical studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. “We think early on that the Christians celebrated Easter, celebrated resurrection, weekly.” The Council of Nicea, in 325, set Easter as an annual celebration tied to the timing of Passover — a link to the Jewish tradition of following the lunar calendar. Easter is set for the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon after the spring equinox. “The development of Lent was to prepare people to be baptized on Easter,” Lord said. At that time, baptism was for adults, and Lent became 40 days of baptismal preparation — counting the days from Ash Wednesday to Easter, except for the Sundays in Lent, because “Sunday is always resurrection liturgically,” Lord said. In the Christian tradition, the number 40 is significant, “being this great number, used again and again … 40 in the Old Testament is always signifying time beyond time, this extraordinary time.”
Lent is for Presbyterians too, creative connectional disciplines, The Presbyterian Outlook:
Disciplines. Some Presbyterians think of Lent not in terms of “giving up” something (Facebook, coffee, alcohol, sweets) but in becoming more committed to practicing a spiritual discipline — including the traditional ones of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. “This is not a forced discipline,” said Jennifer Lord, a professor of homiletics and liturgical studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, but discovering “What’s the gift in this?” of a consistent spiritual practice. Some focus on the contemplative — beginning and ending each day with a time of prayer or silent mediation, or praying the liturgy of the hours (set times of devotion throughout the day — done in communion with others praying around the world). Some congregations hold Wednesday night soup suppers with a different charity designated each week to receive donations. Westminster Presbyterian in Durham last year used the weeks of Lent to introduce congregants to six spiritual practices. Since then, some of those practices, particularly silent meditation, have been incorporated into other aspects of church life — such as an Advent study looking at opposites, including chaos and calm; making space and filling space; suffering and joy; darkness and light. “My sense is that sometimes these practices can get connected to a particular faith tradition that might not be our own faith tradition,” so Presbyterians don’t naturally consider them, said Heather Ferguson, Westminster’s director of Christian education. When they learn some of the history, they find “actually it’s rooted much more deeply in our tradition” — so some begin to make space. She has found that silent meditation practices resonate with “a wide variety of people — male and female, older, younger, those with children, those without, empty nesters.” Westminster offers a silent campus during Holy Week — with no committee meetings and with the staff practicing stillness, calm and quiet. Some (including one extrovert from her congregation who lives alone) find the experience of collectively being in centering prayer or sitting in silence with other people to be powerful. Lectio divina — a meditative focus on a particular passage of Scripture — appeals to some who fear they don’t know enough about the Bible to contribute much or feel comfortable in a discussion-based Bible study, Ferguson said. Her hope was that at the end of Lent, “they would walk away with just one little thing they might try” the rest of the year. “Invariably there are a lot of chaotic things going on, either in the news or the lives of people. We try to give them some options for practices they can do that fit with whatever they’re experiencing.”
Source: Lent is for Presbyterians, too: Creative, connectional disciplines – The Presbyterian Outlook
Anatomy of a Scene: Darcy’s (first) Proposal: A look at how three adaptations of Pride and Prejudice handle the first proposal scene.
But imprinting aside, I believe there’s a reason Colin Firth is the Darcy of our hearts (and it’s not just his lush head of curls, strong chin, or his wet shirt). Firth gets it. He gets what makes Darcy tick and what makes his female audience tick: a throbbing heart trapped under layers of shyness, pretension, and social convention a meter thick. Up until this point Firth gives a relatively restrained performance but in this scene his Darcy literally cannot sit still. When he comes to call on Elizabeth at the Collins’ home, she sits down and invites him to follow suit. He does, for a moment, but he’s immediately up again. He literally cannot sit still: one minute he paces the room and the next turning to face Elizabeth, and then the next turning his back on her. Firth’s performance gives the impression of a man beside himself; a man overcome, undone, and nearly helpless. Ehle’s Elizabeth, by contrast, barely moves, the controlled flash of an eye or tilt of the chin conveying the range of emotions she is experiencing. The actors’ performances, combined with Langton’s skilled blocking, suggest the power dynamics between Lizzie and Darcy. Throughout the scene, Elizabeth is seated while Darcy stands but rather than shoring up Darcy’s power, this contrast undermines it. Darcy may have the higher some interesting standing, but he is still the one literally out of control. Elizabeth can remain seated and still have command of the scene. Firth’s delivery mirrors this indecisive, frenetic action. Several times he opens his mouth to speak before thinking the better of it. By the time he actually does work up the courage, he’s practically gasping. His line delivery, always clipped and abrupt, is hurried here, as if he is trying to push the words out of his mouth to get it all over with.
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