If you are more into listening than reading, Words Twice a Week is available, along with other good stuff, as a podcast from St Paul’s Episcopal Church. Click here.
Some days from the church calendar -
Oct 4 Francis of Assisi – he was the son of a wealthy merchant, but after having a vision of Christ asking him to rebuild his church, and several other experiences, he renounced his patrimony, some accounts saying he stripped himself naked as a sign. He lived a life of poverty, was close to nature, and arranged the first live nativity scene. His Canticle of the Sun is well known and loved, but - spoiler alert – The “Lord Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace” prayer, often attributed to St Francis, is not actually found in his writing, and in fact cannot be traced back farther than 1912! He founded the Order of Friars Minor – the Franciscans – and The Order of St Claire (The Poor Claires) and a Third Order for married men and women.
Oct 6 William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale were both involved in translating the bible into English and getting it printed. The scholars involved in translating the King James Bible drew heavily from Tyndale’s work.
Oct 7 Henry Melchior Muhlenberg – He was a German Lutheran pastor sent to North America as a missionary, requested by Pennsylvania colonists. Integral to the founding of the first Lutheran church body or denomination in North America, Muhlenberg is considered the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in the United States. Now, just a little side journey, Muhlenberg County of the John Prine song, which has been covered by just about everyone from John Denver to The Everly Brothers (Don was born there), Lynn Anderson, Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Buffett, and you and me and more, was not named after this Muhlenberg but after General Peter Muhlenberg, who was a colonial general during the American Revolutionary War. Just thought you would want to know. And, now we all know what we are going to be singing for the rest of the day – Daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County….
Also on Oct 7 – Bridgit of Sweden She was a lady in waiting to the Queen Blanche od Sweden. When Bridgit’s husband died, she joined the Third Order of the Franscians, and began to establish an order called the Brigittines. She went to Rome, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, and sent back “precise instructions for the construction of a monastery" now known as Blue Church, insisting that an "abbess, signifying the Virgin Mary, should preside over both nuns and monks.” Saint Bridget prayed for a long time to know how many blows Jesus Christ suffered during His terrible Passion. Rewarding her patience, one day He appeared to her and said, "I received 5480 blows upon My Body. If you wish to honor them in some way, recite fifteen Our Fathers and fifteen Hail Marys with the following Prayers, which I Myself shall teach you, for an entire year. When the year is finished, you will have honored each of My Wounds." The prayers became known as the "Fifteen O's" because in the original Latin, each prayer began with the words O Jesu, O Rex, or O Domine Jesu Christe. She had visions of the Nativity, which helped shape the way Jesus’ birth was depicted in art.
Oct 8 Thais – ok, she may or may not have been a real person. If she was, she was a courtier who repented, lived for three years in a convent cell and then 15 days before she died among the Desert Fathers and Mothers in Egypt. She’s kind of interesting, because there are a couple of novels, an opera, a ballet, a play, a movie and more about her life.
And some days from the world/earth calendar -
And we’ll sneak in a couple notes about today, Oct 3 –
+ Woody Guthrie died on this day in 1967. He wrote This Land is Your Land and a bunch of other songs. Have a favorite? Roll on, Columbia is one of my favorites, but really, he wrote so many it is had to choose. His autobiography is Bound for Glory. Anyway, it’s a day for singing.
You ought to be able to come up with a poem -
Once upon an autumn evening, channel surfing, not believing
all the news and sports and stuff that the station sends my way.
And I hunted for some snacks through the cupboards that were empty.
Suddenly there came a ringing, on the porch a woman bringing -
DoorDash! GrubHub! Pizza delivery, and as she turned away
Set the table, three red roses and a cognac -
the Poe Toaster Take Out Snack Food Buffet!
Best I could do – you could do better!
Oct 4
+ Rembrandt died in 1669. He painted a variety of biblical scenes – here’s a link to Judas Repentant, Returning the Thirty Pieces of silver,
+ Henrietta Lacks died in 1951. Her cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortalized human cell line and one of the most important cell lines in medical research. An immortalized cell line reproduces indefinitely under specific conditions, and the HeLa cell line continues to be a source of invaluable medical data to the present day. She was not aware of this use of her cells, nor was her family until 1975 – raising concerns about medical consent and privacy. The film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was released in 2017
Oct 5
+ James Bond debuted in Dr No in 1962, Monty Python’s Flying Circus debuted in 1969.
+ in 1947, Pres Truman gave the first televised presidential speech. He asked people to skip meat on Tues, eggs and poultry on Thursday, and to eat one less slice of bread each day, in order to aid Europe.
Oct 6
+ Alfred Lord Tennyson died in 1892. He wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade, and Crossing The Bar. “Sunset and Evening Star, and one clear call for me…..” A little different from Booth Led Boldly With His Big, Bass Drum (Are You Washed in the Blood of The Lamb), but both nice!
Oct 8
+ Yankee Don Larson pitched the first and only perfect game in the World Series. They beat the Brooklyn Dodgers
+ the Chicago and Peshtigo fires in 1871. As we heard on the radio this week, numerous parts of Michigan also burned that summer.
+ Frank Herbert was born in 1920. He wrote Dune and the sequels. Here’s a link to the 2021 movie, US release set for Oct 22.
Oct 9
+ John Lennon was born in 1940. Does it seem like anyone today is really trying to “Give Peace A Chance”?
+ Phantom of the Opera made it’s theatrical debut in 1986.
+ Che Guevara was murdered in 1967, after being lured by the CIA to Bolivia.
Oct 10
+ Brett Favre was born in 1969. Arron Rogers is really good. Brett Farve was more exciting – in my humble opinion.
+ John Prine was born in 1946. Just to nail it down – he wrote “Daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County….” Now just try to go the whole day without singing it!
That’s what I got for now…..
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