Great Service...no Bull!

Thanks to the many people who attended St. Paul's Saturday Night worship event this past weekend.  The music provided by the band was awesome (thanks 123 Main).

It has been pointed out several times that the correct answer to the question:

How many cows would Noah have taken on the ark?

Should in fact have not been 2 - but:

1 cow and 1 bull!

Finding Our Way Again...

This is a book by an author named Brian McLaren...it has been helpful in preparing for this current series of services here at St. Paul's.  It is a neat introduction to the idea of re-contextualising ancient practices of the Christian Church for today.  There will be a copy available for anyone to borrow - just leave a comment requesting to borrow this book and we'll make that happen.  Peace.

Here, There and Everywhere...

Oh yes blogging world...I am off again. This evening I board a plane out of Toronto bound for Milan and then onto Accra, the capital city of Ghana. I will bypass the remainder of this lovely Canadian fall and return to snow and chill on January, 2008.

I'm volunteering through Global Volunteer Network with Population Caring Organization. I'm equal parts psyched and freaked - which I think is OK.

I'd love to say that this blog will stay chalk full of exciting updates, but I can't seem to do that in Canada. I am trying to be better at the time honoured art of mass emailing - so if you've not got something from me all ready about this trip give me an email and I'll make magic happen.

I'm sure that somewhere on this blog there is my favourite leaving quote by Tolkein, look it up and these eager feet with see you soon (well at least the eyes attached to them will).

clang clang rattle bing bang...

obstreperous - (adjective) noisy and difficult to control.

Bamboozle...

...is a verb. It can be used with an object;

1.to deceive or get the better of (someone) by trickery, flattery, or the like; humbug; hoodwink (often fol. by into): They bamboozled us into joining the club.

2.to perplex or mystify

or without.
3.to practice trickery, deception, cozenage or the like.

It may have origins in Scottish,

from bombaze "perplex," related to bombast.

or French

from embabuiner "to make a fool (lit. 'baboon') of.

If you speak Swedish you would not say "bamboozle"; you would say 'lura' or 'förvirra'.

I could claim to have known all this without consulting www.dictionary.com but then you might accuse me of trying to, hmmm...

It takes three to make a thing go right...

...it takes three to make it out of sight.


Here we are, the 2007 Directing Team of Ryerson Camp(Greg and Jen are the two people who are not me). It is currently well past 4 am and we are doing some last minute prep for an Accreditation visit tomorrow. Go team go!

One for the road...

Ahh it has been a while hasn't it (which likely means that no one will read this - but, just in case, on I go) and it will be a while still.

When I rise from this chair I will hop into my faithful station wagon and drive to Normandale, Ontario which will be my home for the next 3 months as I spend the summer as one of 2 Assistant Directors at Ryerson Camp.

Old Blue is bursting at the seams as I am taking almost everything I own with me. It's not that I can't bear to be away from all my neat stuff - but it's that when I return, Mom Fraser (a.k.a. Mary) will be living in China, on a two year quest with Amity and the United Church of Canada! So in tribute to her great quest (and my tinsy one) I leave you with two poetic 'odes to leaving'. The first, a favourite of mine which has appeared on this blog before is words from the esteemed Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (aged one hundred and eleven)...

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

(J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Rings)

The second, originally by Kansas, sung in this form by the University of North Carolina's Acapella team, the Achordants (my appologies for any copyright infringments).



It's not that I am suggesting that either of our paths are really wayward, but carry on we do.

There's nothing more to do now by rise, and softly call, goodnight and joy be to you all!