Old 100th sung Thursday, 28 May, in the Church of Saint Anne, Jerusalem by the Wheaton in the Holy Lands cohort. My niece Abigail Ellsworth, wearing a blue shirt and tan shorts, is sitting at the very base of the column on the right, visible in the first twenty-some seconds.

Built in the 12-century, Saint Anne’s is located over the traditional birthplace of Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. The church’s acoustic is exquisite intentionally: it was designed for Gregorian chant. My niece thus, like all these Wheaties, is singing under the long liturgical arm of Alcuin (20 May 804), Deacon, Scholar, and Abbot of Tours, whom we commemorated at Saint Francis on May 20 in the service of Holy Eucharist. Alcuin is a great figure (greatly neglected) in the history of education. Here’s the collect for Alcuin. 

Almighty God, who in a rude and barbarous age raised up your deacon Alcuin to rekindle the light of learning: Illumine our minds, we pray, that amid the uncertainties and confusions of our own time we may show forth your eternal truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

I wonder. A thousand years from now, if a collect were written about a figure among us, how would our age be characterized? I am reading a book my sister gave me, Miroslav Volf’s Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. In its forward, the Archbishop of Canterbury describes our age as “sour and anxious.” 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, on Easter. [Click play, then the HD tab.]

What this might just possibly have to do with pastoring, I cannot say.

Saint Joseph — whose feast day is today — Saint Francis, Saint Clare, Saint Nicholas, Saint Peter, the Martyrs of Uganda, all appear to Damien Cunningham in the movie Millions.

Arvo Pärt’s canticle Magnificat, heard here over scenes from Levittown, PA, will be sung by the Saint Francis Choir on Sunday, March 22nd, in a 5:30 Vespers service for Lent. The liturgy will include a chanting of the Great Litany of the Book of Common Prayer. Come, and bring a friend. [Disclaimers: No, your host did not create this video. No, the baby in it is not the Saint Francis Church choirmaster, Gary Davison.]

The University of Michigan and its faithful had given up March Madness for Lent not for 40 days, but for 4000.

Queme Los Barcos!

A camera records its trip around a sushi conveyor belt at a restaurant in 苫小牧市 Tomakomai-shi, Hokkaido, Japan. Note the woman decked in Haute couture at minute 1:40. ブルー行く!

Seven-day drive from Los Angeles to New York City compressed into 4 minutes, time lapsed.

Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, on Ash Wednesday and Lent as preparation for Easter.

The choir and congregation of Westminster Abbey singing Thaxted (“I Vow to Thee My Country”)

Setting: Gustav Holst. Lyric: Cecil Spring-Rice

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,

Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;

The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,

Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;

We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;

Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;

And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,

And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

Worcester Cathedral Shrove Tuesday Pancake Race 2009

Kevin Bacon talks with Lt. Col. Michael Strobl about the HBO Film “Taking Chance”