Seven whole days

This is fantastic. Make sure you give it 30 seconds or so.

Toss of the pillow to Lesley’s Blog, which you should visit regularly.

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This will be our opening hymn at the principal Holy Eucharist at Christ Church. Who says you have to sing dour hymns during Lent? Not me, that’s for sure. Check out the excellent videos at the bottom of this post.

The God of Abraham praise,
who reigns enthroned above;
Ancient of everlasting days,
and God of love;
Jehovah, great I AM,
by earth and heaven confessed:
I bow and bless the sacred Name
for ever blessed.

The God of Abraham praise,
at whose supreme command
from earth we rise, and seek the joys
at his right hand;
we all on earth forsake,
its wisdom, fame and power;
and him our only portion make,
our Shield and Tower.

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Palm Sunday is really, really bad for our planet. Most palms come from unsustainable sources. That means your church celebration is contributing to deforestation. But there’s an alternative. You can use Eco-Palms. As the website explains:

They are sustainably grown and harvested in Guatemala and Mexico. All of the harvesting communities either have or are in the process of obtaining an outside sustainable certification from SmartWood, a division of Rainforest Alliance. Please remember that the lack of certification of these palms makes them in no way less sustainable. The forests in which these palms reside are being protected from agriculture and logging because of the palms residence.

Why not place your order from Eco-Palms, if yours aren’t already on the way? (Alas, I didn’t intercept my own efficient Altar Guild in time.) Frankly, another — even better — option would be to use local plants. Of course, that would likely result in massive revolt, which would detract from what Holy Week is about.

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Wonder what’s coming after the iPad? Gizmodo has the answer. We have a few iPods around the house. We have two iPhones. I’m planning to buy an iPad. But then I’m stopping. I can quit any time.

Who needs the iMat? Well, it might have its uses. I’ll could download the “Holy Ground” app or the iLabyrinth, and then it could enhance my ministry. Hmm……

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The “d’jour” of course is the commemoration of George Herbert. Blogging buddy Christopher Orczy has composed some music in Herbert’s honor.

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What is it with conservatives and their love of the letters A, C, and N? Is this some sort of gnostic cabal among lovers of all things anti-gay? I can’t even keep track of the endless procession of new Anglican groups. There’s CANA, ACNA, AAC, and dozens more. Now USA Today reports that Lutherans are getting in on the act.

Last week, a conservative Lutheran group announced its plans to establish the North American Lutheran Church, a new denomination that will recruit dissident congregations. Rather than setting up a clear-cut choice, though, even some critics of the ELCA’s new policy say the move could further confuse already splintered Lutherans at a time when Protestantism in general seems to be moving away from a denominational model.

“North American Lutheran Church” — NALC. So Lutherans will be able to choose among ELCA, LCMS, WELS, and NALC. Apparently E, S, M, and W were judged too liberal. Patterning themselves after Anglican secessionists (can cranky dissenters establish a parallel “full communion” across Lutheran/Anglican lines?) these people will soon be slapping new church signs up with lots of Ns, As, and Cs.

These folks will complain about a “confused” faith even as they sow confusion. Mostly though, what this means is more bruising for the Body of Christ as people declare “our way or the highway” to fellow Christians. Pray, as Jesus did, that we might all be one. Surely we CAN all agree on that?

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Today is the feast day of George Herbert. Given the name of this blog, it would be hard to choose anything else for today’s installment in our Lenten romp through the hymnal.

King of glory, King of peace,
I will love thee;
and that love may never cease,
I will move thee.
Thou hast granted my request,
thou hast heard me;
thou didst note my working breast,
thou hast spared me.

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Uganda has famously draconian anti-gay laws, even without the over-the-top laws under consideration now. There’s a pastor who regularly shows “gay porn” during church services as part of his campaign supporting anti-gay laws. A Ugandan writer notes,

This makes Makerere Community Church the only place in Uganda where watching pornography is “legal”. According to Uganda’s laws, even mere possession of pornographic material is a crime. It would appear that Makerere Community Church has got a special license to show porn. Moreover, perhaps following Jesus Christ’s example of welcoming children, even kids can watch porn at Makerere Community Church.

Get that? Merely speaking of homosexuality is worthy of jail time, unless you are standing in a pulpit. Does anyone see the irony here? The church founded by Jesus with the commandment to “love one another as I have loved you” is the only place where something illegal can be done — when it’s in support of hatred.

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Emily Howell is taking the world by storm. She is the “offspring” of David Cope, who is a musician, composer, and software engineer. Emily, like her creator, is a composer. Her works are good enough that many people, in blind tests, cannot tell the difference between her works and those of human composers. Yes, Emily is software.

For years, so-called artificial intelligence designers have tried to write programs capable of composing beautiful music of lasting value. Most of the music sounds, well, artificial. It lacks soul. Cope has changed the rules, by coming up with new rules. As an article on Miller-McClune says, most composition software is based on both rules and broken rules.

It’s called intelligent misuse — they program sets of rules, and then let the computer introduce randomness. Cope, however, had stumbled upon a different way of understanding creativity.

In his view, all music — and, really, any creative pursuit — is largely based on previously created works. Call it standing on the shoulders of giants; call it plagiarism. Everything we create is just a product of recombination.

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We were thinking about Holy Week here at Christ Church. We wondered what it would be like to have a more realistic Palm Sunday procession. Naturally, we visited the following website.

http://www.rentadonkey.com/

That settles it then.

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Today’s epistle in the Daily Office lectionary has brought to mind this hymn. It’s not one I enjoy very much, but it seems fitting for a Friday in Lent and for today’s lections.

When I survey the wondrous cross
where the young Prince of Glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the cross of Christ, my God:
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?

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Today’s installment in the world famous Lenten Hymn-o-rama is a John Donne classic. It’s inspired by the appointed Gospel in the Daily Office lectionary. For variety’s sake, I’ve put the video above the fold this time. The singing is astounding.

Wilt thou forgive that sin, where I begun,
which is my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive those sins through which I run,
and do run still, though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
for I have more.

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