Hieronymo's mad againe.

Here we are again- Lent. I've come back from church and I'm sitting here with my peanutbutter sandwich and purple toenails (yes, liturgical nailpainting is kind of a creepy idea, but it seemed worth trying). Last week I was en route to the grocery store and there was an interview with a local writer (who's name I can't remember) on the radio, and he was talking about how more people observe Lent now, but they observe it less strictly, emphasizing "reflection" and "stillness" rather than actual disciplines. In typical "me" fashion- it made me angry, and I'm reacting with a very strict Lent. Yet it seems to be what I need. Lent is my favorite of all the seasons. The waiting and preparation seasons (Advent, Lent) resonate more with me-partly because the world is waiting and preparing for Christ's return, for the ultimate fufilment of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and partly because life requires a lot of waiting and prepar

Once upon a time, my priest told me "Baptists make the best parishioners. They don't get hung up over 'we've never done it that way' ." I laughed and told him "well, if we were Baptist who cared about how things had been done our whole lives, we would have stayed Baptist" Over a year later, I'm visiting a church that's a different branch of the Anglican tree, and his words are a challenge to me. Because I'm really struggling with the differences in liturgy. I've been told there are three flavors of churches: "High and Crazy", "Broad and Hazy", and "Low and Lazy." My personal beliefs and preferences throw me solidly into the "High and Crazy" category. Honestly, this is a bit petty. It's the sort of sentiment one expects of people three times my age. I prefer the 1928 Book of Common Prayer to the current (1979) edition. Again, it's a bit petty, and almost on par with those who prefer the