Christmas Crackers 7: Parish Magazine Howlers

Bertha Belch, a missionary home from Africa, will speak tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8pm in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill St Anthony of Padua!

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.

Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again', giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

For those who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing 'Break forth into joy'.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

The ladies of the parish have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

Low Self-Esteem Group will meet Thursday at 7pm. Please use the back door.

The year-10s will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the church basement Friday at 7pm. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

Christmas Crackers 6: Digital Nativity

Christmas Crackers 5: A remarkable puzzle

Some of you may remember this from four years ago. It deserves a second outing and if you know the answer already don't let it out until your friends have tried really hard to find all the books.

There are thirty books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, that he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john-boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, that she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the books are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a priest or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund-raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi-Lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, 'the books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight'. Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books called Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.

The solution will be published on 6 January 2011

Christmas Crackers 4: Cardinalmobile

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith returned to Sri Lanka with some style. The most eye-catching sight from the joyous welcoming parade in Colombo had to be the special custom float that he travelled in.



The newly -created Cardinal was greeted by thousands on the streets of the capital, including the Prime Minister and representatives of the other religious communities of the island.

H/T to the White Monks at Sri Lanka, who have lots pictures covering the event.

Chrismas Crackers 3: Snow Fight!

It is not often that the snow is plentiful in Dublin as it was back in late November and early December. Our brothers in the Irish studentate made hay while the ... well you know what we mean ...

Christmas Crackers 2: A friar's passion

As a Norwegian brother assigned for studies in Oxford for two years, I’d like to present one of my passions. And what could be more natural for a Norwegian than the Norwegian mountains? I was raised in the mountains of Telemark, and during the last few years, I’ve become more and more interested in climbing them. I’m not a very skilled mountaineer, but in fact you can manage quite well with the help of others who do know the art of ‘vertical walking’. The mountains have a special place in the Norwegian soul, and one of our philosophers, Arne Næss, who died in February 2009, stated that the mountains are not ordinary landscapes. They appeal to us in a special way. They are a place of refuge, of renewal, and a place of challenge. They appeal to our senses and to our spiritual life, and their powerful presence demands attention, participation and respect

The reflections of Arne Næss could also been a good description of mountaineering, and in fact he was a well skilled mountaineer himself. Standing in front of a mountain wall fills us with respect, presence and attention. Hanging by a single rope hundreds of meters over the ground wakes up your senses, it is an existential kick that takes you out of the ordinary way of living

The photos that follow are from the well known mountain Romsdalshorn in the north west of Norway. With its 1550 meters you have a beautiful view of the fjords and the surrounding mountains ...

Early morning before departure. Goal: the North wall.

 Midway!
 

 Maybe not a giant leap for mankind, but a great step for man!
 

Friends that made this adventure possible...

The famous "Trollveggen", The Troll Wall, at the other side of the valley.

Christmas Crackers 1: Linus tells Charlie Brown What It Is All About

I must admit that I love A Charlie Brown Christmas. I always try and watch it on Christmas morning. It is only in the last couple of years that I realised the depth and humanity that Charles Schultz gave to his characters. This scene below is one of my favourite. It is so unashamedly honest and true.

Saying all of that I still join in with the Peanuts dancing (got to Love Pig-pen's bass)