At a horrible time in my life, my local Anglican priest (a wonderful lady named Cathy), gave me a book called The Thirty-Nine Article, by E.C.S. Gibson. The book is the foundation, such as it is, of the Anglican Church.
It is mainly a limited reform of the Roman (Papalist) church combined with a resistance to more radical reforms (such as Puritanism or Calvinism, who wanted to do away with bishops, and kings along with them).
In the end, the Anglican church looks and sounds like a Catholic church even though the Pope doesn't so accept it, but there's a place in it for Purcell, Gregorian Chant, and Thomas Dorsey (Precious Lord).
My sister and I are both church musicians, and although I do not attend church often, I fill in for her sometimes.
I filled in for her on Holy Saturday (an evening service) and on Easter morning, we worked together for the first time in public
Easter morning is a good time to be in a church: a lot of people are there. Most of the mainline Protestant faiths include the wonderful hymn Jesus Christ is Risen Today.
The priest in his "address" (sermon) talked about how the women encountering Jesus' empty tomb were filled with awe. For myself, I'd suspect grave robbers. The women, include Mary of Magdal (Mary Magadalene) told their story to the disciples but were not believed. If the story stopped there, relying only on what women said, we might never have this story/legend/article of our faith.
This Easter Sunday gave my sister and I a rare opportunity to place religious music for a full church together. That is something to look forward to again sometime.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Today's books
Books read today:
A Victim Must be Found, a Benny Cooperman mystery by Howard Engel (just a few pages).
I read this book a long time ago just after living in the USA for a while as a student. I started encountering Jewish things. Of course I done this all my life through the Bible and social studies class at school, and a friend had married a Jewish girl, and my mother worried about serving non-kosher food. But she wasn't observant, as few of my Jewish friends are. However, a Jewish girlfriend in the USA convinced me to adopt some aspects of kosher living -- including avoiding pork and ham.
The relevance to the book is that the protaganist is a Jewish private-eye.
I'm also re-reading part of "The Worldy Philosophers" (Revised Edition) by Robert Heilbroner, which I bought used somewhere for $1 (US or Canadian, not sure). I now know there were several other editions, the final of which provides more references. However, right now, I'm considering getting The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes. Its principal assertions seems quite in line with the account I read in Churchill's history of WW2 that I browsed for a while at the San Franciso Public Library while waiting for a plane. I'd actually prefer that book but it's enormous. Maybe somebody has published a multi-volume edition.
Also Heilbroner has a noticeably incomplete account of Keynes' personal life, but what can I expect of a book from that era (1st ed 1943, Rev ed 1961).
A Victim Must be Found, a Benny Cooperman mystery by Howard Engel (just a few pages).
I read this book a long time ago just after living in the USA for a while as a student. I started encountering Jewish things. Of course I done this all my life through the Bible and social studies class at school, and a friend had married a Jewish girl, and my mother worried about serving non-kosher food. But she wasn't observant, as few of my Jewish friends are. However, a Jewish girlfriend in the USA convinced me to adopt some aspects of kosher living -- including avoiding pork and ham.
The relevance to the book is that the protaganist is a Jewish private-eye.
I'm also re-reading part of "The Worldy Philosophers" (Revised Edition) by Robert Heilbroner, which I bought used somewhere for $1 (US or Canadian, not sure). I now know there were several other editions, the final of which provides more references. However, right now, I'm considering getting The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes. Its principal assertions seems quite in line with the account I read in Churchill's history of WW2 that I browsed for a while at the San Franciso Public Library while waiting for a plane. I'd actually prefer that book but it's enormous. Maybe somebody has published a multi-volume edition.
Also Heilbroner has a noticeably incomplete account of Keynes' personal life, but what can I expect of a book from that era (1st ed 1943, Rev ed 1961).
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