Maggie on Elm

Happy New 2012 Year

2012-01-03T12:11:00.002-05:00

Simple resolution this year.
To find delight in each day.
But, it's me...so I have a complicated formula with activity codes (including 0.12 Other_________Please describe) and a star rating divided into hours.
Any score of one or above is good.
Look out for days in the decimals; example: 0.50!!!

St. Margaret's Day

2009-11-17T13:18:00.007-05:00

St. Margaret's Day Festivities included
bringing in the Haggis.

Ross carried the tray.
Our Piper and Drummer played.
Mack served.
And Betsy took the photos.

Addicted. . .

2009-09-15T23:00:00.004-04:00

It was so bad.
I stood in front of Jacalyn who was waiting to take my order dressed in her Rita's tee and cap.
I couldn't make up my mind.
Mango is good.
Pumpkin spice might be the ticket.
And I always enjoy cherry.

What to do?
I bought all three.*
(*With my "Buy two, Get one FREE" coupon.)

Fortunately, Sue was there to eat one of them!
Thanks, Sue.

Award Winner!

2009-02-10T21:24:00.004-05:00

I am just home from the Artists' Reception for the Parkland Art League show at the Jewish Community Center, Allentown. Here's my news. Micala Cardinale won fourth overall for her pastel. Yes, the very same basket of flowers you first saw on this blog. Did I call it, or what?

See June 02: "now the eyes of my eyes are open"

2009-01-31T11:25:00.003-05:00

M.C. blew M.S. and I away when she showed up with this almost complete pastel. If you look at my previous note for June 2, 2008, you'll understand.

This arrangement was a birthday gift for M.C. Now all three of us have done drawings of it.

And as I see it, this is the most successful one.

2009-01-14T00:16:00.002-05:00

with and again

Everyone's invited. . .

galeria perdida
projects:: para/site
elonda billera
with and again

artist's reception january 17, 2009
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
2519 holman street, houston, texas

Here's the thing. This is my daughter's show. I'm the proud mama and I'll be there!!!

http://galeriaperdida.com/projects/current/parasite/with_and_again.html

Holidays and Campaigns Keep Economy Going...IMHO

2008-11-08T23:02:00.003-05:00

Recently, when someone has noted the huge campaign expenditures this year, I have quipped, "Hey, don't knock campaign spending, it's probably keeping the economy going."

Then I read these two bits in a weekly digest called THE WEEK:

P. 20
"The 2008 presidental campaign and congressional races cost an estimated $5.3 billion, shattering all previous records, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. While that's a lot of money, it's less than the $6 billion Americans spent this year on Halloween candy, costumes, and decorations." Report from USA Today.

YIPES, do we really spend that much on Halloween!!! Does that include the people who brought hot dogs and hot chocolate at our Church stand during the Emmaus Halloween Parade? And the five dollar donation I gave to the Emmaus Halloween Parade Committee?

I look at page 21...and there in the lower left corner is "Poll Watch" and this item:
+70 % of Americans think too much money was spent on the 2008 presiential election.
+57 % said they support campaign spending limits while
+ 38 % said candidates should be allowed to spend as much as they can raise.

I'm starting to think "Spend, Baby, Spend."

But not really....
Candy corn and campaign buttons are not my idea of the abundant life.
Faced with very real needs of people all around us...the homeless and hungry...and we don't even know what we spend and what it means.
Jesus says,
"Where your treasure is there your heart will be."
Maybe one of the strands to tease out of this granny knot which is the global economy is to finally realize how each one of us handles our money. What decisions are we making? What is the lost opportunity cost of those decisions?

Try this recipe!

2008-11-03T07:29:00.002-05:00

PUMPKIN HUMMUS

This dish offers a seasonal twist on the traditional Middle Eastern spread.
You can find pumpkinseeds--also called pepitas--in groceries and Mexican markets.
Prepare up to a day ahead, and refrigerate.

4 (6-inch) pitas, each cut into 8 wedges
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon pumpkinseed kernels, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place pita wedges on baking sheets; coat with cooking spray.
Bake at 425E for 6 minutes or until toasted.

Place tahini and next 7 ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth.
Add parsley; pulse until blended.
Spoon hummus into a serving bowl; sprinkle with pumpkinseed kernels, if desired.
Serve with pita wedges.

Walking in Beauty

2008-10-17T19:23:00.002-04:00

I walked through my favorite e. e. cummings poem this afternoon.

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

The Poole Wildlife Sanctuary is one mile from my home. For two hours, I spotted birds and wildlife, gawked at autumn foliage and watched leaves surf to the ground in a easterly breeze. I tried to breathe it all in. Then I realized I was not the main actor.

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

The beauty and truth fell into me. It was a moment of prayer.

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of all nothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

And it was a moment of awe, wonder, praise and thanksgiving.

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

You're All Invited!!

2008-08-29T12:17:00.003-04:00

I am framing this watercolor after lunch today. It's one of my favorites among the 20 pieces I am taking over to the Dick Blick Art Store at South Mall on Lehigh Street. The staff will put them on display. I am one of the two featured artists from the Parkland Art League for September. Yep, that's me....Miss September!! I am excited. I'm inviting everyone to the artists' reception next Saturday, September 6 from noon until 2 p.m. There will be some refreshments and even better a preferred shopper's discount of 20%!!
Just when you think the weekend couldn't get any busier, here I am with this invitation. Next Friday evening and Saturday all day are the Heritage Days in Emmaus. The Emmaus Rotary Club is sponsoring a trolley which will circulate to several historic sites. Main Street merchants will have outdoor sale tables. There will be crafters and artisans near the 1803 House. And on Saturday, throughout the Borough families will be holding porch and yard sales as it's a "no permit required" day.
I am going to be saved from the seductions of bargains from around town. Friday night, I will be staffing the Rotary table in front of the "Clock" building. Saturday morning - I'll help serve the community breakfast at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church on the corner of Keystone and Elm. And then I'll fancy myself up for the artists' reception. Hope to see you there, or there, or there...

Summer Reading - Not!

2008-07-21T13:36:00.004-04:00

Just finished a good book.
But it is not a summer beach book.
It is a non-fiction page turner by a Canadian journalist, Carol Off. It is entitled:

Bitter Chocolate: The Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet

About 300 pages. Milton Hershey, of relatively local note, and the Mars father and his very secretive son who brought us my personal favorites: Milky Way, Snickers and M & Ms are in it. You can read about the 1946 Children's Strike in Canada for the return of the nickel candy bar. You will come to see how the cocoa tree can grow around the globe near the equator and how it is picked and dried for shipping. You can trace the big names in chocolate from the Cadburys to the multinationals which now dominate the food industry.

But here’s the one thing I didn’t know...since the time of the ancient Mayans, cocoa beans have been grown and harvested using the labor of enslaved, oppressed and ill used people. Yes, up to the present time...those who plant and pick the raw material for chocolate do not get a living wage.

The bathroom scale does not depress my appetite for chocolate. But the information in this book may. Glad I read it.

now the eyes of my eyes are open. . .

2008-06-02T20:28:00.006-04:00

e e cummings

Perhaps my favorite poet.
Reading and rereading his words, I always see something new.

Like today.

Monday, June 2...

Three of us often paint together on Monday afternoons.

MMS, MC and me.

We encourage each other and support each other.

Today.

MC brought in an arrangement of flowers in a basket.

It was a birthday gift.

"Happy Birthday, MC."

She set out to make a small picture of poppies with oil pastels.

So, MMS and I took up our brushes and began sketching the arrangement in the center of the large table around which we work.

Two hours later, MC looked at our work and expressed amazement that our pieces were so different.

MC even noted that we had used similar colors. Once again I wondered and marveled about sight and insight. Seeing and overlooking. And I considered how much I like taking photographs and drawing/painting.

Before the invention of the camera, in the preface to the second edition (1843) of his work The Essence of Christianity, Feuerbach observed that "our era...prefers the image to the thing, the copy to the original, the representation to the reality, appearance to being" and he asserted that a society becomes "modern" when one of its chief activities is producing and consuming images.

So, friends, what is the difference between stopping to smell the flowers, stopping to photograph the flowers and stopping to paint the flowers? None of these make us master gardeners. But do these activities help keep us grounded even if our hands are not in the soil?

WELCOME HAPPY MORNING. . . An Easter Dream.

2008-03-23T06:38:00.004-04:00

I had an Easter dream early this morning.

Maggie Jo, my Chocolate Lab puppy, and I were walking in woods that looked like the Little Lehigh Parkway. She was off-leash. When one of you [C.N.] asked if I’d given up trying to train her. "Never," I said. And called my dog.

Who raced up to me, wagged her tail and went on by me to sail into the deep, deep, wide Little Lehigh River??. . . . She joined other dogs and people who were swimming.

Suddenly, a big mastiff got her collar and swam off with her. I ran along on the bank of the swift river trying to get the attention of the dog’s owner. Maggie Jo was just going along for the ride.

Ages, ages later the big dog let my dog go. Just as the river divided. I was standing on a penisula and watched as Maggie Jo was swept in the current and rapids past me and around to my left. [Remember how dreams are...]

The current took her back past me. I retraced my run on the other side of the spit of land. I was watching, helplessly, in horror as Maggie Jo struggled to stay up. Then she went down. And didn’t come up.
I was numb. Shocked.

Then I went into the water but couldn’t find her.
I went back on the land.
And ran along with the current.
The strength of the water eased.
It looked like the Little Lehigh near Poole Wildlife Sanctuary.
Just a little deeper.
I went back into the water.
It was calm and waist deep.
I couldn’t find Maggie Jo.
I was crying.

A homeowner came out and encouraged me to keep looking.
Then he said, "Look. Is that your dog?"

And there Maggie Jo was back up stream washed up on the far shore.
I ran to her. I think I called out her name.
The water was knee deep, when she stirred. Stood. Shook off.
The spray of water from her coat was back lit from the sunshine and broke into prisms of rainbow colors.
I called out "JO!"
She looked and came running.

As she ran she was all four of the dogs I’ve known as pets and friends.
Sturdy Sam. Child of a champion black Lab female who "got in trouble".
Elegant Belle. A retriever mix rescued from the Allentown Shelter.
And Lumpy. A tiny terrier who would lick you to death in greeting, if you let her. She had been abandoned and made her way to hide under one of our cars when we lived on the farm in New Jersey.

The homeowner said, "Yep, that’s your dog."
And Maggie Jo leapt right into my arms.
I was crying and laughing as we twirled around in the water.
And she wasn’t heavy...
...she was my 65 pound resurrected puppy, restored to me.
That’s Easter.

Happy Easter.
Rejoice that Christ is Alive.

Peace to all.

Do not delay...return your overdue library books today

2008-03-18T18:25:00.004-04:00

I thought I'd heard it all.

A Wisconsin woman recently spent 6 days in JAIL for unpaid library fines!

Now, I always have to pay a fine when I return my library books. I just count it as a contribution to either the Emmaus or Allentown Library. I haven't yet tried to take those fines off on my income tax return, though. And libraries regularly have a line item for income generated by the payment of fines-- like mine.

So I read with amazement the story of Keely Givhan, a mother and college student, who was pulled over for not having a working light bulb over her license plate only to be told she also was wanted for unpaid library fines ($159) and unpaid court costs ($172). Having no cash to pay her fines, she spent six days in jail.
I hope she had a good book to read.

Police captain Bill Tyler said a violation is a violation "whether you've got dope or library books."
So I'm picturing a sizzling frying pan with a sunny side egg: This is your brain on books.

A Snowy Friday

2008-02-22T17:53:00.001-05:00

It snowed. School's were closed.
At first I was bummed out because it is my day off and I had errands to run.
But the snow fall was really pretty. The flakes were fluffy and laid in the branches and on the wires. I settled in for the morning. I read. Played with the dog. Caught up with family email. Then ventured out to shovel. We had about three inches. I timed it well as the sun was just beginning to warm the snow, making it wet and heavier. The only nasty bit was getting the car out as the borough plow had humped snow up off the middle of the street.
Done shoveling, I went to the grocery store and made the classic mistake of food shopping when I was hungry. So this afternoon, I made oatmeal raisin cookies. Now there is a 5 pound stuffed chicken roasting in the oven. Smells good. And it looks good when I baste it. Looking forward to dinner with a glass of Pinot Grigio.
That’s the east coast.
On the west coast, both my daughter’s car and her roommate’s car were hit during the night by a drunk driver. Her day has been very frustrating as the drunk had a suspended license for a previous DUI and was driving his girl friend’s father’s car...of course, unknown to the father. So far there is no insurance company ready to step up.
So how’s your day been?
Coasting? Frustrating?

Beyond "Twelve Bags Full"

2008-02-08T11:00:00.000-05:00

Well, this is one for the books.
Actually, it is from a novel I'm reading.
Last Known Victim by Erica Spindler

Spindler has a continuing series of books about Detectives Stacy Killian and Spencer Malone which are set in New Orleans. This most recent story is a post- Katrina look at New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I'm about 100 pages into it and what a great start!

Tracking a serial killer, the detectives have to go to the "Refrigerator Graveyards".
When residents evacuated for the hurricane, they left behind stocked refrigerators and freezers. When they came home, these applicances had been without power for weeks. Most people just strapped the doors shut and put them out on the curb for the city to collect. Many people didn't even take the magnets and photos and drawings off them.
There were ten thousand units already in the city compounds where they were emptied, pressure washed out and given over to the EPA to dispose of the freon in the coils and compressors, when the detectives were called to the scene.

Spindler writes that the expectation is that over a 1/4 million applicances will have to be dealt with before the city is done with this one piece of clean-up. This huge undertaking continues on today. Estimates are that the trash and debris from this one storm is going to match 34 years of regular New Orleans debris. One hundred million cubic yards. Enough stuff, dead stuff, to fill the Superdome twenty-two times over.

This gave me pause.
I remembered the coffee table photo book published in 1994 by the Sierra Club entitled Material World: A Global Family Portrait, by Peter Menzel, Charles C. Mann and Paul Kennedy. Households were asked to bring their possessions outside to have them photographed. People put their pots and pans on a blanket. There might be a table and chairs. Some bedding and some clothing might be added as the people enjoyed more prosperity.
Until the photographers got to the first world nations like England, France and the USA!

Can you image all your stuff outside your home?
Piles and piles.

Somehow I just don't think this is the "abundant life" that Jesus brings. Trying hard not to sound like a preacher here, wink, wink...the abundant life is about the quality of our relationships and the actions we take for the commonwealth.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

12 Days of Christmas = 12 Bags of Trash

2007-12-31T12:06:00.000-05:00

Mid-December, we begin asking each other, "So, are you ready for Christmas?" And we understand that to mean putting up lights and garlands, baking cookies, decorating the tree, mailing cards, buying and wrapping presents. So I overlooked one important thing: getting in an extra box of kitchen size trash bags.

And you won’t believe the disruption in the normal flow of my life that caused.Or maybe you would. Maybe when you remodeled your kitchen you took to heart the opening line in one magazine article that said the most important thing in the kitchen is the location of the trash can. Place that important element well, and the rest of the design flows seamlessly. Well, I read the article. And I did consider that advice. I did relocate my container. I no longer have to go out on the back porch to dispose of a used paper napkin. The container is bigger. Prettier. And I just have to step on a pedal to open the lid.

Anyway it turns out that having 12 trash bags was not enough. I met the perfect storm of no recycling collection for two weeks and extra trash– gift wrapping and an open house!! I read that if we all wrapped two less presents in colored paper we would save tons and tons of trash. I didn’t manage to do this. All my gifts were as "Martha Stewart" as I could get them to look. However, I watched my Sister-in-law make no apologies as she pulled out naked gifts from a laundry bag and handed us wind up flashlights and other fun gifts. More about gift wrapping later.

Meanwhile, the back porch became a storage for12 bags full and a recycling bin that overflowed and flowed. . .The 12 bags went out last Thursday. But the recycling doesn’t get collected for another eight days!!! So much for the twelve days of Christmas.

More. Later. Gift wrapping. We hoot and holler and tease about this but my sister has become addicted to the drawstring cloth bags I first made for her about ten years ago. I just wanted to damp down her stress about gift wrapping. It seemed to be overwhelming to her. Then she asked for them again and again and again on her Christmas wish list. Now the thing is...when you unbag your gift from her...you must return the empty bag. She threatens to never give you another gift if you stiff her on the bags.

This year, my Daughter wrapped her modest gift to her Aunt inside three cloths bags she had sewn. It was like the Russian nesting dolls. Bag inside, bag inside bag. Then my Sister gave my Brother some very fine bourbon that came in a bag inside the box inside the Christmas bag belonging to my Sister. He asked if he got to keep the bourbon in its bag. She said yes, but give me back my wrapping bag!

We laugh. But I’ve been thinking about the tons and tons of wrapping paper going into landfills. I think I’m going to spend the merry month of May sewing lots and lots of cloth drawstring bags to give to all my family and to use myself. So ask me in May, "How’s it going?"

Being Green - LOL

2007-11-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

Is anyone else watching this Green Week on television?
Just saw the opening sequence on ER.
Such fractured factoids.
And then the doc with the new hybrid runs into the open door of the parked yellow Hummer.
I found myself laughing out loud. Or LOL.
It reminded me of that stupid tv commerical....the runner who keeps ramming into the parked car. I'm never sure what they are selling....

Mirror, Mirror...What is the best read of all?

2007-11-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

Just finished reading the novel Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire.

He also wrote Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which is now on the stage. This book was a faster read and just as engaging.

He sets the tale of Snow White in the early 1500s with Lucrezia Borgia as the hag who tries to do in beautiful Bianca de Nevada. One of the best parts for me was Maguire's treatment of the seven dwarves...or stone men who come to individuate and grow stronger as Bianca "imagines" them. No Walt Disney here. No Grumpy, Sneezy, Dopey or Doc. No Bashful or Happy or, what's that last dwarf's name? There is also an element of the quest that brings you home again. The TS Elliot elements of our beginnings and our endings and knowing before and beyond knowing are here. The prose in the novel is often mystical and poetical. And, best of all, always fresh.

When I checked out at the Emmaus library, the volunteer told me I'd really like the book.
I started reading the book the next day during a late lunch at the Cafe 29 and had a lengthy conversation with one of the staff whose is a Maguire fan.

So - anyone else reading Gregory Maguire?
What are you all reading?

Sorry, but I'm a proud "auntie"....

2007-10-29T18:19:00.000-04:00

It's October, and I get to brag a little.

My nephew Jan A. Koziara is the Manager of Hockey Operations
for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation
3601 S. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148
Office: 215-952-5271

And he's going to be on television!
What a job!

Here's the press release.

COMCAST SPORTSNET TO AIR THREE-PART SERIES ON ED SNIDER YOUTH HOCKEY FOUNDATION’S TRIP TO CANADA FOR KEITH PRIMEAU’S HOCKEY CAMP: SERIES DEBUTS ON OCTOBER 31

Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia will air a special three-part series entitled “Northern Exposure” on Wednesday, October 31, Thursday, November 1, and Friday, November 2, about the 15 young boys and girls of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation (ESYHF) who traveled this past August to Oshawa, Ontario (Canada) to attend former Philadelphia Flyers Keith Primeau’s hockey camp. The segments will air as part of the nightly SportsNite shows (6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.) and repeat the following mornings on SportsRise.

The 15 boys and girls earned the unique opportunity through their attendance and performance both on-the-ice and in the classroom during the past year’s ESYHF School Day program. The seven-day excursion was the first ever trip out of the City for many of these youngsters, who mostly come from underserved, inner-city neighborhoods. The group traveled by bus, allowing for stopovers at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, and a Buffalo Bisons baseball game along the way. Comcast SportsNet was there for every moment of the trip and will highlight the adventure in the three-part “Northern Exposure” series.

The first segment, airing on Wednesday, October 31, highlights the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and its initiatives of building skills to inner city young boys and girls both on and, more importantly, off the ice. The second segment features the trip and the many stops along the way, including the highlight for many, seeing Ed Snider’s picture at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, and a minor league baseball game. The third, and final, installment features the Durham Hockey Institute camp and watching the kids interact with Primeau, and skating alongside hockey players from Canada.

Philadelphia Flyers founder, Ed Snider, created the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation as a personal commitment to introduce children to skating and the sport of hockey, as well as to impart important life lessons. The program stresses the importance of education, teamwork and character development.

The Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation uses the sport of ice hockey to bring a diverse population of children together enabling them to enjoy a top-notch sports experience coupled with an array of educational activities and a nationally acclaimed life skills curriculum. Snider created the Foundation in 2005 with 500 participants. The program rapidly grew to include over 1,000 participants in 2006, and with the November 2007 launch of its citywide After School Program expects to serve more than 3,000 youngsters in the coming year.

The mission of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation is to impact the lives of inner city youngsters in the Greater Philadelphia Region by developing programs that incorporate on-ice and off-ice activities, stressing citizenship, academics and life skills. The programs are provided to boys and girls who otherwise would not have opportunities to enjoy ice hockey. The Foundation provides equipment, ice time, and experienced coaching at no cost. The Foundation partners with the School District of Philadelphia to fund the cost of adding ice hockey instruction as part of the School District of Philadelphia’s physical education curriculum for 800 elementary school students from 25 Philadelphia public schools.

Reading the Morning News

2007-09-22T08:43:00.000-04:00

Hey, Guys.
Check out the story on B-1 of today's Morning Call.
It is entitled "Linking Logs in Lehigh County".
The teaser on the front page, left, is "Hidden in plain sight..."
I posted here on last month! See September 1st.
The Shelter House is one of the historic
log cabins that would be on the county driving tour.

Welcome, Mark

2007-09-13T22:28:00.000-04:00

I asked Mark to help update some stuff here. Let's see if it works.

One Sight You Don't Want To See. .

2007-09-13T06:17:00.001-04:00

Marley Meet Maggie Jo!

Red Sky At Night. . .

2007-09-12T09:02:00.000-04:00

Red sky at night, should be a fan's delight, right?

It was another case of seeing and not seeing.

I wanted to see a Phillies victory.

But was denied the sight.

Alas.

Hands on. . .

2007-09-10T11:39:00.000-04:00

Isn't this weather wonderful?
Saturday, I went to the Memory Day and Craft Fair in Emmaus.
It is sponsored by the Friends of 1803 House.
There was good food, musicians, a balloon-shaping clown, face painters, lots of crafts for sale and
several artisans demonstrating their work.
One was Ivan, the blind potter.
You could watch him shape a pot on his wheel.
Some people put their hands on his to feel what he "saw" as the pot formed.

More thinking about seeing.
In the psalms and in the prophets, like Jeremiah, we read that God is compared to a master potter who holds us and molds us. God sees the best in us and pulls it out of us...if we are willing to rest in God's hands.

The 1803 House was built by a Revolutionary War soldier and shoemaker-- Jacob Ehrenhardt, Jr. It is located on South Keystone Aveue and is one of the oldest structures in the borough.

On A CLEAR DAY. . .

2007-09-10T10:43:00.000-04:00

Friday, I hiked up to the North Lookout at Hawk Mountain Sancturary near Kempton, PA.
This is the view toward Allentown. Often I can spot the PPL Building on Hamilton Street.
Not this day. It was hazy.
I have heard that on a clear day, you can see for about 30 miles.
Sometimes you need distance to see clearly.
Isn't this true in our own families?
Where we are so close that we don't notice that a child has grown until clothes no longer fit.
Isn't this true with some difficult problems?
When we need to look away and refocus before we can see a solution.

I'm pondering seeing and really seeing.

On this day, the flight was light.
We saw kestrels, sharpies, coopers, red tails, osprey.
Some would say it was a poor day.
I say, any day at Hawk Mountain is a good day.

Hidden in Plain View

2007-09-01T22:23:00.000-04:00

I've heard that natives of Philadelphia have never seen the Liberty Bell. And that it is possible to live and work in Manhattan and never go to the top of the Empire State Building. So if you don't know where the "Shelter House" is in Emmaus, it's okay. Sort of.

This is an oak and chestnut loghouse built in 1734. It "sheltered" community members in times of Indian raids. Families lived in it until 1952 when it was purchased by a preservation society. Emmaus Borough now owns it and the Shelter House Society helps maintain it. Extensive repairs where made in 1991. Occasionally, it is open for tours. Don't miss your chance

to see this unique German colonial farmhouse.

There are treasures all around us. Eyes wide open, please!

But Clouds Got In My Way

2007-08-28T08:01:00.000-04:00

"So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way."
- Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell

My Daughter reminded me that last night there would be a total lunar eclipse. Living in L.A., she would have the better view as the full moon would be high in the dark night sky.

Here in Pennsylvania, I would only see the eclipse until the sun rose at dawn. But I forgot to count in the clouds which almost eclipsed the eclipse.

We watched it together. Quietly comparing our views on our cell phones.

I had gotten out my birding scope and took a few pictures through it with my digital camera.

I was struck by how many people were up and moving around here in the Lehigh Valley. The trash collectors stopped at my curb and took away two bags. The newspaper carrier put the Morning Call on my porch. My neighbor walked out to his garage and then left for work.

And I wondered, did they know? Did they realize that the earth’s shadow, cast by the sun, was falling over the full moon.

In all fairness, at times you could not see much as the clouds hide the moon and as the sunlight washed it out. Birders talk about a "naked eye" bird. That means you do not need binoculars or a scope to see the bird. Well, this was not a "naked eye" eclipse. You had to look.

How many times don’t we look?

The phrase "clouds got in my way" came to mind. I smiled thinking of the classic Charlie Brown strips when Lucy comes in from right field with any number of variations on the old excuse, "the sun got in my eyes."

But where did that phrase come from? It was a song. Donovan? Judy Collins?
Ahh... Joni Mitchell.
Great song. I just read the lyrics.
I think copyright thingees prohibit my posting those lyrics here.
But you can Google them.
The song is "Both Sides Now".

Then let me know if you really know clouds, love, life.
At all....
Not to mention the moon, sun and sky.
Or the tender love of Mother and Child.
Peace.

Life Lists

2007-08-26T22:45:00.000-04:00

I read in the NY Times today that Rachael Hubbard, a preschool teacher in Oregon, has published her life list of 78 things she wants to do before she dies. She's now 24 years old. Her list includes things meaningful to her: like, "see a dinosaur fossil".

Now, I'm a birder. I have a life list already of the birds I've seen.

And, I've already seen the dinosaur fossils at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Some were of a newly discovered kind of dinosaur-- so new, that the museum was still going through the process of naming the new find.

So, I got to thinking about my own Life List. And I was reminded of my biggest desire. I want to travel across the country. Taking my time. Not using the Interstates. Meeting people. Opening myself up to adventure.

One of my Christmas gifts last December was the latest edition of Frommer's USA-- the one with the cowboy on the cover. It has lots of useful information like: Don't Get Side-tracked: Big Bend Ranch State Park is different from Beg Bend National Park. Who knew?

So I'm working on a travel plan. My goal is one that includes the Ramsey Canyon Preserve in Arizona which is home to 14 different species of hummingbird and excludes any formal Disney place. Yes, I'm shunning the Mad Mouse.

They Raced in the Rain

2007-08-19T17:02:00.000-04:00

Sunday, after worship at St. M's on Elm, I went over to Ridge Street. For the second day, there was a soap box derby being held. Boys and girls raced in the rain. I like the contrast in this photo between the youth, color, and speed of this contestant in contrast with the solid grey of the background. The cars were clocked at 16 to 18 mph at top speed near the end of the downhill run. But sometimes speed does not get you where you need to go. Sometimes you just have to go slow. The trick is knowing when to go slow and when to let go.

It's All Happening Along Keystone Avenue

2007-08-18T21:45:00.001-04:00

Whew! A busy day all along Keystone Avenue. There was a Peach Festival at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church on the corner of Keystone and Elm. Over on Ridge Street, the annual soapbox derby was in full swing. The Emmaus Library had to be closed for the day.

Then, the intrepid could take Keystone north all the way to Fish Hatchery Road where the 27th Year Anniversary Roasting Easrs of Corn Festival was being held at the Museum of Indian Culture.

We arrived in time for the exhibition dancing on the pow-wow grounds. My favorite are the Grass Dancers. This traditional men's dance is fiery and fast and colorful. Some say it has it origins in the practice of scouts and warriors going ahead of the people to trample down grass on the praire to make the tribe's way easier.

It is also a dance done for healing. Often it is the first dance after the grand entery to prepare the sacred circle for dancing. The dancers wear sweet grass. They move with each beat of the drum.

Third Annual Peach Festival Draws Crowds

2007-08-18T21:15:00.000-04:00

By 10:30 a.m., the Kitchen Crew had sold 28 homemade peach pies and there was a short wait for Crystal, the Face Painter. The weather was almost perfect for a summer day in August. People lingered at tables enjoying peach crisp, peach cobblers and peach muffins. Some walked the Labyrinth. Children earnestly completed drawings at the "Coloring Contest" center.

It's Peachy....

2007-08-17T15:16:00.001-04:00

Friday morning, I bought peaches in South Jersey for St. M’s Third Annual Peach Festival and Churchyard Sale. The peaches are beautiful this year.

Here’s some good news. The Zee peach farm has not been sold to Walmart. It has been sold to Rowan College (formerly Glassboro State). Somehow this seems like a nobler land use to me.

My first job was packing peaches on the Zee’s Farm. My brother and cousins picked the trees in the orchard. Two cute college guys drove the fork lift truck in the warehouse. They brought boxes of peaches from the fields to the conveyer belt and took away the packed and "ringed" peaches to be stored in the cooler. We could eat as many peaches as we wanted on our breaks and take a bag home at night. Another day, another blog entry - my search for the "perfect" peach.

It is hard to visit the area and see the sprawl. New housing developments are named for fruit and animals and habitat they have displaced. There are fewer working truck farms in the Garden State. . I cheer each time I see a Gloucester County farm preservation sign.

My Grandparents and four Aunts moved across the Delaware River to live here in Elk Township after World War II. Five households. We were visitors. Literally, coming "over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house". We took the Chester-Bridgeport Ferry.

Which farm produce stand had the sweetest corn? best Jersey tomatoes? juiciest peaches?
My aunts knew. Respectively, Mood’s, Sorbello’s and Heritage Farms. The real trouble begins in the Fall when the apples are harvested!

Two years ago, Carol B. asked if I’d ever heard of anyone else doing a Peach Festival. I said sure but could not name a single church or fire company or women’s club that held one. So today...there it was ---the Methodist Church in Richwood is holding their Peach Festival tonight.

And of course, tomorrow-- Saturday, August 18th,
St. Margaret’s holds it’s Third Annual Peach Festival. That’s the corner of Keystone and Elm in Emmaus.
The pies are waiting!!

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo...

2007-08-11T09:03:00.000-04:00

+ + + + + + + +

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

How about you, you, you...

Do you want to come too, too, too?

I'm going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

+ + + + + + + +

August 9th, I went to the Philadelphia Zoo. Not for the first time. I've been there with family and school groups as a child. I even mangaed to get lost once...but that's a tale for another day. I've been to the Zoo on dates, with my spouse and several times with my child.

I was disappointed to learn that our country's oldest zoo is giving up on housing elephants. By this autumn, there will be no elephants at the Philadelphia Zoo. I understand. It's decisions about resources and how best to keep the large mammels. Our standards of housing animals in cages has changed to one of letting animals move about in larger spaces that resemble their native habitats.

Change. Few of us like change. And even fewer of us handle it well. The passage of time and the gaining of understanding through information both help. Sometimes venting and whining is necessary.

The other big change at the zoo was the new "Big Cat Falls". No more lions and tigers in cages. Guests of the zoo walk along paths that show the edges of green habitat with the cats moving around the enclosed area.

Trivia for this post. What's the difference between "big" cats - lions, tigers, cheetahs and the black leopard --and "small cats"? Two things. Big cats can roar and the pupils of their eyes close to a circle, not a slit- like the small cats' eyes do.

Historic Route 6 - Our Detour

2007-08-03T22:50:00.000-04:00

My Sister and I stopped here on our way home from Keuka Lake where we visited with family. The Red Rose Diner is on historic Route 6 in the town of Towanda PA. It was built by PJ Tierney and Sons in 1927 and lovingly restored by its current owner. We had a piece of a tasty homemade blackberry/raspberry pie and we could taste the butter in the crust. Worth a stop if you're traveling that way.

My Puppy

2007-07-23T21:23:00.000-04:00

Bearing One Another's Burdens

2007-07-11T14:42:00.000-04:00

So, I'm pondering...
When I walk the puppy, I take my cell phone, the front door key and baggies for cleaning up after Maggie Jo.
I know. I know. More than anyone wants to know.
But hear me out...
Inspired by Ken Noguci I am thinking about carrying an extra bag.
Here's the train of my thoughts which left the station during the scripture readings Sunday in Church.

Right there-- separated by just two sentences-- Paul covered all the bases in the reading from Galatians.

Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
AND
For all must carry their own loads.

Good ole St. Paul. No word left unpenned.
What's a woman to think?

With that tension in mind, I settled in to read the Sunday newspaper and the Sunday comics.
And there it was right under Hagar the Horrible....
The Kid City feature was on "Trash Mountain".
It seems that since Hillaray and his Sherpa Norgay first climbed Mount Everest in 1953, there have been over 3,000 other ascents of the Himalayan mountain. The Japanese climber Ken Noguchi has led five expeditions to pick up the trash left behind. In the last few years, he and his companions have collected 19,800 pounds of tins, tents, and old food. Yipes.

I remember taking walks with my Grandparents to get penny candy or ice cream at a Mom and Pop neighborhood store about four blocks from their home. They were scrupulous about putting our wrappers and soiled napkins in our pockets to carry home. Littering was a big no-no. We would pick up the occasional bit of litter we might chance upon.

My Aunt and Uncle who live in the L.A. area take a morning walk. And as they walk and talk, they pick up litter. Lots of it.That covers my maternal and paternal sides of the family. So I guess it's in my DNA. And an extra bag will have to go on the canine outings.

FIREWALKING

2007-04-29T18:16:00.000-04:00

Saturday, April 28, 2007

The fire did not "kiss" me.
The fire did empower me.
I feel braver.
Ready to risk.
Ready to reach and stretch.

So many moments to capture.
My yoga teacher was there.
Her yoga teacher was there.
A chain of women.

Our mentor brought his family with him.
We witnessed their interactions of love.
We watched them encourage each other to grow and to try new things.

Words like love, peace, friendship, freedom, and hummingbird became our mantras for the night.

I arrived early.
In time to help build the fire by stacking the wood and stuffing the holes with wads of newspaper. The split wood was laid carefully in stacked towers five layers high. Three towers across and seven down. Twenty one.
Later, the people who came "on time" would each lay one more log on the formation. Each log was to be laid with intentionality and joy.

Then Andrew gathered us into a circle. We passed a gallon container of cooking oil from one and other. We were each to pour some oil on the dry wood in front of us. It represented the slough of our lives, all the things that clogged and slowed us....tonight we would burn it up.
We began singing.
The first song was to the tune "I have decided to follow Jesus".
Andrew said it was an African song....I have decided to follow the FIRE!!
We all lit the fire with torches of newspaper.
It flamed up immediately. Hot. Roaring. Bright.
We were given seeds and told we could throw them on the fire with our prayers.

Then we moved up to the farmhouse.
Where we all signed releases!
Releases which held everyone exempt from any burn or injury we might get.

Andrew Steed is English and has a Celtic spirituality.
He first walked fire in Ireland. He studied in LA and in France to teach/lead firewalks.
He’s walked fire in Australia and India and here, on the Cameron’s property on Tollgate Road near the Cab Frye restaurant.

Andrew was a hoot. With his accent and enthusiasm.
He had just been given a t shirt that had the word
IMPOSSIBLE stenciled on it.
No. Not impossible.
There was an apostrophe between the I and the M.
It read

I’ M POSSIBLE.

He addressed our fears...of getting burnt, of not being ready to walk the fire, of doing it and finding we’d changed.
He addressed the things that held us back...ego, competition, phobias, addictions.
What are you walking away from?
And...
What are you walking toward?

There were three distinct stages.
Standing before the fire. There we were to name for ourselves what we were leaving behind.
On the other end of the fire....past the coals...that’s where our dreams beckoned.

In Celtic spirituality the question is asked, is there a horizon beyond the horizon?
He encouraged us to dream big dreams. And to walk toward them.
Between where we stood and our dreams was the barrier of the fire.
Walk the fire.
All is possible.

Then Andrew led us back outside. The fire with leaping flames was in sight. We sang some more. Andrew said we had to get up num, our energy up. We had to match the heat of the fire which he said was 800 to 1000 degrees.

He and his son demonstrated breaking arrows on soft spot of your neck.
Others did it.
He and his wife demonstrated bending a rebar (!) on the soft spot of your neck.
Others did it.

Then it was time to go down to the field.
The fire was ready to be raked.
There were still flames.
The burning logs were pulled to the sides.
Coals were raked out into the center.
Andrew tamped them down with a shovel and opened the fire.

We sang. The big drum kept time.
Slowly first one and then a second person went.
We sang. The big drum kept time.
Then a third person went.
Singing. Drumming.

My yoga teacher’s teacher went.
My yoga teacher went.
I stepped up.
And stepped onto the coals.
And walked across.
And never looked down or back.

Now we just walked.
Some danced.
Andrew and his son did this warrior step.
Some others held hands.
A few hurried, almost straight legged.
Others slowed down and seemed to drift.
Sparks caught on feet and were carried to the grass.

Twice Andrew "closed" the fire so that new coals could be raked unto the path.
For awhile the drums were stilled and we went silently offering prayers for peace and healing and our loved ones.
Then we circled the fire to sing, pray and end with the exchange of hugs.

We drifted up to the farmhouse where there was coffee and muffins.
Some people looked up the message of healing from their "kisses" which are places were the fire burnt your sole. The reflexology chart would tell you what part of the body had received some healing.

Throughout the night, a reporter and a photographer from the York newspaper (Andrew’s home town) were present. Over muffins they wanted to interview people and take down our names.
I declined. Most people talked to them. The photos and article will be on the newspaper website in a week or two.

I’m energized.
And glad that Loni suggested I write this all down.
Must get some sleep now.
Tomorrow is Sunday.

It isn't easy being green...or being unplugged!

2007-04-26T07:52:00.000-04:00

How are you all doing?
My faith community, where many teachers worship, reminded me that it was National Turn Off TV Week.

So what the heck. I'd done it several years ago. And it was fine. I'll do it again.
This time...it wasn't the mindless violence or the mind numbing content or the materialistic messages that all my problems could be solved if I talked to my friendly pharmacist...I was interested in reducing the carbons I produced.

But something has changed ... I now live alone. My daughter is out in LA.
So this Spring. Wow! It's hard.

I wake up and don't know what the weather is without poking my head outside. Then I wander around my back yard where the daffodils and tulips and violets are blooming. The puppy drinks out of the pond. I rake leaves out from under the lilacs. Now I know what the weather is.

I come home and the house is quiet. How can I unwind from work? I made some decaf green tea and the puppy and I go out on the front porch. My neighbors are out. The young kids are riding bikes. The older ones are gathering and making plans. Then the adults come out. Bringing out trash cans and recycling bins. We start to talk. I'm glad to learn that Shirley's health is better. And I didn't know that Joey was at Camp Lejuene. So I copy down his address.

I walk past the television and remember that the Phillies are playing. Maybe I could plug the t.v. in just for the game.
No! Radio. So I adjust to eliminate the static and hear Chase Utley get five hits and the Phillies win! What fun!

Maybe this isn't so hard at all.
I lost my defaults and presets and am making choices about the use of my time at home.
I' ve heard that the base of spirituality is intentionality. Choice is good.
So I' ve been reading without back ground noise and going to bed before Leno's monolog...
I don't believe I missed any news. Actually, I' m more up on the news in my neighborhood.

Maybe this isn't hard.
Maybe it's good.

How are you all doing?

Peace,
Canon Lexa +

Cluttered Hearts

2007-03-14T23:27:00.000-04:00

I have been promising myself that I would de-clutter my home.
Piles of books and papers. Winter coats and boots and gloves.
A rolled yoga mat. Art work which has come home from a show only to
find that as nature abhors a vacuum other pieces have filled in all the
available wall space. Car keys rest on one newel post. My prayerbook/bible is on the other.
There's a box of dog biscuits by the front door, past the barrier which keeps the
chewing puppy in check. Dog toys litter the living room rug. DVDs from Blockbuster,
Sudoku books, hand cream, remotes and a Tibetan singing bowl rest on top of the t.v.
And where is my cell phone?

What if this is all a sign of something much deeper?

St. John of Kronstadt (1829 -1908), a beloved Russian saint, wrote:

The purer the heart becomes the larger it becomes;
consequently it is able to find room for more and more loved ones;
the more sinful it is the more it contracts;
consequesntly it is able to find room for fewer and fewer loved ones--
it is limited by a false love: self-love.

So, I'm pondering.

Honk if you love Peace

2007-03-13T18:12:00.000-04:00

Today, driving past Allen High School, I spotted a large sign that read:

Honk to End War.

Well, hey, that's me. A flower child. A child of God.
I honked.
The tall man in a green army jacket flashed me a peace sign.
[You know, the two fingers in a V.]
I smiled and flashed him.
He smiled and waved and ran over to my car window to give me literature.

There is a march on Washington- on the Pentagon- this Saturday. March 17.
Forty years ago, my sister and I were there to protest the Vietnam war.
Four years ago, before we went into Iraq, my daughter went there to say "no, don't go."

More than 3,000 U.S. soliders have been killed.
More than 650,000 Iraquis have died since March 19, 2003.
I dare you. Let these numbers sink in.

Iraq costs the "coaliltion" $2 billion each month.
I double dog dare you. Let these numbers sink in.

Humility and Humour

2006-11-17T10:16:00.000-05:00

I'm back.

Specifically, I've spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Harrisburg at the
State Pastors' Conference. The theme was "It's a Different World: Global Community, Globallization and Our Local Churches."
Much of the content was bracing-- ethical questions about our priviledged place in the world were raised by both David Radcliff, Director of the New Community Project, and Rebecca Todd Peters, author and assistant professor at Elon University.
C. Michael Hawn led us in song as he introduced us to our "new stanza". One of his books is entitled: One Bread, One Body: Exploring Cultural Diversity in Worship (Alban 2003).
The Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Bethlehem offered hand made baskets and garments from the Mothers' Union of Kajo Keji in the Sudan (near the border with Chad). All the money returns to the Sudan to help fund training programs for women.

Special interest luncheons were held on Tuesday. I was priviledged to introduce Stuart I. Troutman, a Chaplain, who spoke on All Who Hear Will Laugh with ME: Sarah's Gift to the SSP and Chaplains.
He was delightful and vunerable. His talk was a fine piece of theological reflection which included personal experience, scripture study and a look at our culture.

But here's what I want you all to hear from his presentation on the healing power of humour.
Troutman said the first source of humour is ourselves.
We need to be open and humble.
He suggested we try this exercise to experience this connection first hand:
Stand in front of a full length mirror wearing only your birthday suit.
Then pray the "Serenity Prayer."

Hmmm....
I think I'll try it.
Then..
I'll be back.

Peace,
L.

Feast of St. Luke

2005-10-19T21:50:00.000-04:00

St. Margaret’s Emmaus
October 18, 2005

In the last seven days, I have been exposed to many of the fine outreach activities in our area. In the process, I have also learned much about the needs of the most vulnerable people among us: the homeless, the hungry, the mentally ill and children at risk.

The needs of these individuals and families should send us all to prayer.
Both our individual and community prayers must ask God to be with them and to send us the ways to be with them offering love, prayer, understanding and support.

Wednesday October 12th, at the invitation of Dave and Kathy L. who serve as volunteers for Daybreak in Allentown, I attended a luncheon at Asbury United Methodist Church for the Aspires Mentoring Program as part of the Lehigh County Conference of Churches "Together We Can" challenge. The featured speaker was The Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode, former mayor of Philadelphia. In retirement, he founded the Amachi Mentoring Program. He had everyone on their feet pledging to help support Aspires. This program keeps young people in school and helps them find a direction for their lives. This is just one of the LCCC s programs.

Thursday Oct 13th, Linda R. asked about the Sharing Tree and I realized we have not prayed for or supported the ministry of New Bethany in months.

Friday and Saturday, Oct 14- 15th , at Diocesan Convention, the Diocesan Episcopal Women and AWE Ministries asked all parishes to join in "Cruising to Equity". This year long schedule of advocacy and prayer begins with the national observance of Children’s Sabbath (for us October 23rd). The in-gathering of children’s underwear was the first salvo. Next we are asked to collect toothbrushes, toothpaste and other hygiene products.

Sunday, Oct 16th, I preached and celebrated at Christ Church, Reading as they celebrated Children’s Sabbath. The prayers moved me. The "joyful noise" made by the children made me laugh. The statistics found in the bulletin about the poverty of children made me heartsick.
Here’s just one: Over 9 million children in the USA lack health insurance. And today, I learned that federal government is cutting back on Medicaid funding in other to send $50 billion in foreign aid to fight avian flu. One of the first benefits cuts considered was mental health care for foster children. Foster children do not vote. We do.

Monday, Oct 17th, I had three meetings outside of the parish.
First, the Emmaus Ecumenical Ministerium met with Joyce Marian from the Borough Council and the Vice principal of Emmaus High School. Marian let us know that the Boro may have matching funds if the churches could find a way to contribute to the LV Coalition for Affordable Housing. Aside: did you know that by federal definition you are not homeless if a friend lets you sleep on their living room floor rather than sending you to a park bench?

The representatives from the East Penn School District told us about the "Angel Network" now in place in all schools in the district except 2 elementary schools, which they hope will be on board soon. This program gives at risk students: school supplies (calculators, book bags, and pens), clothing (gym shorts, bathing suits, warm jackets, and prom gowns), scholarships for field trips, hygiene supplies (toothbrushes, deodorant, and sanitary napkins) and baskets of cheer when a student experiences trauma or death of a family member. The district sent letters to over 200 households asking if they wanted to receive a Thanksgiving basket. They need people to help deliver baskets.

The mailing list represents all the households whose children and teens are enrolled for free or reduced lunch assistance and the homes of ESL students. Two facts to ponder: The principal at Jefferson School counted that students from that elementary school came from 20 different countries. US Government statistics show that 2 million children go to bed hungry each night in this country.

At noon, I ate lunch at the LCCC Soup Kitchen at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church at 8th and Walnut in Allentown. After we enjoyed our tuna salad, macaroni salad, a roll and ice tea, Charles B., Coordinator and Chief Cook, told us how more happens at the Soup Kitchen than just the feeding of the hungry. Linkage, Pathways, Pharmaceutical Assistance and Homelessness Prevention programs can be accessed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays when the Soup Kitchen is open and 80 to 120 people eat. LCCC has about 400 volunteers and is looking for more!

We saw a short DVD of the LCCC programs and I recognized several people including the LCCC Executive Director The Rev. Dr. Christine Nelson. She and Ira Faro, Development Director, spoke about the LCCC "Together We Can" campaign. The LCCC hopes to raise a significant amount of money for new and increased programs, for building matanince and improvement, and for an endowment for the future health of LCCC.

The first step of this campaign is to have the 140 member churches show their support by pledging toward it. Member churches are asked to consider pledging about twice their annual pledge. For us, this would be $700 over 3 years if our pledge of $350 remained as a flat figure in our budget for 2006.

After the member churches have shown support, the LCCC and its board which includes Dave Leber will go to foundations and major contributors to hoping to raise 2 million dollars. Talk about seed money! Our $700 adding and then multiplying into millions!!!
Through its nine programs, the LCCC serves over 14,000 clients each year. While these individuals come from all over Lehigh County, you can picture it this way—the population of Allentown is about 100,000. If those clients all came from Allentown, 14% of the city would be being served.

That evening, Evelyn C., her daughter and I attended the meeting with eight other area churches and a representative of the Lehigh Valley Habitat for Humanity at Faith Presbyterian Church. It looks like an Emmaus build is very possible. A steering committee has been formed. Individual churches are asked to consider what they might pledge over the next three years toward $50,000 which would build a new twin home or refurbish an older home.

St. Margaret’s has a history as "builders". In the 1990s two of our teens went with Holy Spirit youth to Maine to refurbish Appalachian homes. They then worked locally on Restoration House in Bethlehem. In 2000, we sent $3,100 to Episcopal Relief and Development to build a home in Honduras. In March of 2001, eleven volunteers traveled to work with the people of San Pedro Sula to build at the "Faith, Hope and Joy" project.

Our Vestry and Parish did not make a collective pledge toward the Episcopal Build last year. Individuals gave generously and a small group from St. Margaret’s feed the entire crew for one meal during the Blitz Week.

Tuessday, Oct 18, I ate lunch with 399 of my closest friends at the Candlelight Inn in Bethlehem Township. We were there for New Bethany’s annual "Souper Day". For $20, I got soup, salad, a roll and coffee. AND the renewal of my personal feelings of pride and affection for this ministry which was born from Bishop Mark’s vision of hospitality almost 20 years ago. The Rev. William Kunzie, Executive Director New Bethany Ministries, asked to be remembered to the people of St. Margaret’s and hoped to be invited to visit soon. He was last here on Sunday, November 10, 2002 when our church school children gave him the underwear they had purchased for the children of New Bethany from the proceeds of their bake and bean soup sale. Annually, we have helped the residents of New Bethany—children and mothers – have a more cheerful Christmas holiday by sending along gifts from our Sharing Tree.

As you can see, these have been thought provoking, rich experiences for me.

Tuesdsay night, on the Feast of St. Luke, the Vestry, Wardens and I had an extended conversation and developed a 3 year outreach plan.

Highlights include:
1. Committment to Prayer and Vigil and Education.

2. Participation in the Diocesan "Cruising to Equity" program.This Sunday, our children will make a "Joyful Noise" that will be dedicated to the East Penn School District "Angel Network".

3. Participation in an Emmaus Build for Habitat for Humanity of Lehigh Valley. Leadership votedcommitmentar committment of $500, $700, $900 for a total of $2100. There are people ready to volunteer to build. And to feed the work crews! Sara C. and Evelyn C. are our parish contacts and will serve on the steering committee of the nine churches.

4. Support for New Bethany: Maggie W. and Meta C. will coordinate with SMNS and New Bethany to get a wish list, set up the Sharing Tree and make sure packages got delivered.

5. Support for Lehigh County Conference of Churches: Leadership voted to increase St. M's pledge from $350 to $400 and to commit to $800 toward "Together We Can".

6. Reestablish Outreach Committee: All of the individuals interested in these outreach activities wil meet to build excitement, coordinate efforts and reform our Outreach Committee with Evelyn C. as Vestry liaison (not necessarily as chairperson) after church on Sunday, November 6 which is All Saints' Sunday.

May God bless us all.
Faithfully,
Canon Lexa