Thu Jan 21, 2010
Persecution
I have been trying to blog everyday, and my time to do that is usually late night. But we have a parish council meeting (who knows how long it may go on) tonight and I have bootcamp early tomorrow, so I probably won't be on later today. This is a good article on persecution of non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries. I had not heard that about Ezekiel's tomb and will try to find more.
Wed Jan 20, 2010
Senator-Elect
We had an exciting election yesterday here in Massachusetts. Scott Brown became the first Republican to hold this particular Senate seat since Henry Cabot Lodge who, incidentally, was close with Fr. Dean's dad and was in attendance at Father's baptism. The seat was held for many years by Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was no stranger to our biennial Grecian Festival and Cathedral community. I met Scott Brown briefly in Worcester Sunday afternoon (handshake and very brief chat). Here is a picture I snapped of him with my phone in the rain. We pray in our service for our government leaders regardless of party, and I wish him Kali Dynami in the Senate.
Tue Jan 19, 2010
Ecumenical Prayer Service
Ecumenical Prayer Service
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 starting at 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
A celebration of the week of Prayer for Christian Unity
On Friday, January 22, 2010 Assumption College will hold a Ecumenical Prayer Service to celebrate the week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The service will take place in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and begin at 7:00 p.m.
Presenters will include the Most Reverend Robert J. McManus, D.D., S.T.D., Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Worcester; the Right Reverend Gordon P. Scruton, Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts; and His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston. All Clergy are welcome to vest.
The Assumption College Chapel Choir, under the direction of Ms. Ray Yu, associate director of music ministry and accompanied by organist /pianist Dr. Frank Corbin, director of music ministry, will perform.
A reception will immediately follow in the Atrium of the Janet and Richard Testa Science Center. Please respond to Sandy Bousquet at sbousquet@assumption.edu by January 18, 2010 if you plan to attend, or call 508 767 7322.
This event is sponsored by the President’s Office, The Ecumenical Institute and Campus Ministry of Assumption College.
Mon Jan 18, 2010
The Great War In Africa
My latest read is The Great War In Africa by Byron Farwell. The book is an engaging and fun read on a fairly obscure topic. You may remember that I blogged last year about An Ice Cream War, which is a novel that takes place in German East Africa. My grandfather (direct descent) fought for the US in WWI so perhaps my interest in the subject is some sort of atavistic phenomenon. In any case, below the fold is a sample paragraph that I chose at random to give a taste of how the book reads:
More...
Sun Jan 17, 2010
This Is Awesome!
Daniel Pipes has put on his site a book he wrote while a student of the Arabic language. You can download it and print it out for free. It is called "An Arabist's Guide To Egyptian Colloquial" and is designed for someone with a year or two of college Modern Standard Arabic. You can read all about it and download it here. Each Arab country has, for the most part, its own dialect of Arabic that is not really understandable to someone from another Arab country. Everyone learns Modern Standard in school (it is based on classical Arabic) but most people also understand the Egyptian dialect since most Arab language movies are made in Egypt and are thus in Egyptian Arabic. An easy way to recognize Egyptian Arabic is when you hear a g sound (as in golf); this replaces the j sound, so Gamal Abdel Nasser would be Jamal in Standard Arabic.
Juggernaut
Today our GOYA basketball team won 62-34 (I think) to raise its record to 3-0-1 (there is no overtime in the regular season, sadly). We were shorthanded this weekend because several of the boys were at winter camp at Antiochian Village but we will be at full strength next Saturday for what promises to be a big challenge - Mt. Carmel, playing on its home court. Here is the remaining schedule. Please consider coming out to support our boys!
Sat 1/23 12:20pm vs Mt. Carmel
Sun 1/24 2:20pm vs St. Rose of Lima
Sat 1/30 6:10pm vs St. Rose of Lima
Sun 1/31 4:40pm vs St. Mary
Sat 2/13 12:30pm vs St. Mary
All games are at Mt. Carmel. Playoffs begin at the end of February.
Sat Jan 16, 2010
The Latest
Fr. Peter has the latest on aid to Haiti, and as always it is a good read. Sunday we will be passing a collection tray, and our HOPE group will be putting together emergency kits when it meets next week. We should also be engaged in prayer for all of those who have been displaced; this is at the same time the most immediate and easy way for us to affect events as well as the most meaningful.
Fri Jan 15, 2010
Charity Scams, Haiti, And The FBI
I have noticed something peculiar everytime I go to one of the federal government's websites - I can never find what I am looking for, even though it may be the most timely and in-the-news thing. I have come across a bunch of articles and reports, such as this one that talk about how the FBI is warning people to be circumspect as to whom they donate during this crisis in Haiti. And of course there is nothing on the FBI site, nor when Haiti or charity is typed into the search engine does anything relevant come up. Our tax dollars at work! In any case, always be prudent and investigate charities before you give. Whenever a disaster strikes, scammers set up fake charities. Even if you are donating to a well-established and reputable charity such as IOCC, United Way, Red Cross, whatever, make sure that it is the real thing and not a pretender.
Thu Jan 14, 2010
More Haiti
IOCC, International Orthodox Christian Charities, has a page up on relief to Haiti here. Earthquakes are never good, but Haiti is about the worst place for one to happen.
Worcester Mag
Every Thursday I pick up Worcester Mag (formerly Worcester Magazine) to catch up on local events and also to see if my blog has been excerpted (I think it has happened twice). I was delighted to find that the person interviewed in the "Two Minutes With..." section was Kathy Tsandikos - check out the interview here. In addition Maddie B. is questioned in the "People On The Street" feature, so we have a good Cathedral presence this week in the mag. I have not been to Coney Island since going gluten-free a month or so ago, so I will have to figure out how I am going to have my delicious dogs next time I go...
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