Orthodixie

Having been involved with a couple Lenten Retreats over the past two weeks, not much bloggin’ goin’ on. Pics from those events, with commentary, forthcoming.

Our Lady of Cicero, pray to God for us!

Though this week’s podcast is a serious one, dealing with sex … sex can be just plain funny.

Sex is the funniest topic, with the most serious consequences.

I was around 8 years old when I asked my mother the question — not how babies are made — but, having just welcomed a baby brother a year earlier, I asked her where the baby came out …

You know: “Mom, where did the baby come out of your body?”

I can still see her staring at me long and hard and, God bless her, she said …

The Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

REEDSBURG, Wis. (AP) – An elementary-school event in which kids were encouraged to dress as members of the opposite gender drew the ire of a Christian radio group, whose angry broadcast prompted outraged calls to the district office.

Students at Pineview Elementary in Reedsburg had been dressing in costume all last week as part of an annual school tradition called Wacky Week. On Friday, students were encouraged to dress either as senior citizens or as members of the opposite sex.

First of all, I was unaware that males and females dressed any differently these days. Secondly, how does one dress as the opposite gender? (Is that le dress or la tee shirt?)

A local resident informed the Voice of Christian Youth America on Friday. The Milwaukee-based radio network responded by interrupting its morning programming for a special broadcast that aired on nine radio stations throughout Wisconsin. The broadcast criticized the dress-up day and accused the district of promoting alternative lifestyles.

Ah, yes. It all started when Tom wore a dress for Wacky Week …

Oh wait! Sorry. Come to think of it, Tom actually dressed as a Senior Citizen.

The dress-up day was not an attempt to promote cross-dressing, homosexuality or alternative gender roles, district administrator Tom Benson said.

“The promotion of transgenderism – that was not our purpose,” Benson told the Baraboo News Republic. “Our purpose was to have a Wacky Week, mixing in a bit of silliness with our reading, writing and arithmetic.”

Transgenderism? But, but. I thought that was all the rage — what, with boys and girls all dressing the same these days. Jeans and tees. What are they wearing in Wisconsin?

The theme for Friday’s dress-up day came from students, Hayes said.

“It’s different every year. They basically present the ideas, and they vote on what they would like from Monday through Friday,” Hayes said. “… They did not mean anything by this day. They were trying to have fun and come up with a fun dress-up day.”

Fun?

Face it. It’s so hard to come up with anything both Wacky and unoffensive these days. Okay, I’ve got it!

Next year during Wacky Week the students can dress as different types of Christians:

MONDAY: Church of God.
Girls can tease and pile hair high (just not like Amy Winehouse). Boys can wear short ties and polyester sport jackets; toothpicks a plus.

TUESDAY: Menonites.
Girls can dress like girls, boys like boys.

WEDNESDAY: Episcopalians.
Doh! You see how hard this is?!

Here’s the whole news story.

Letters have been pouring into the Orthodixie headquarters over the past week, many of them dealing with what can only be said and not written. You’ve all no doubt heard it, it is pronounced “********.”

For instance, here’s a note from Penelope in Kentucky:

Dear Fr Joseph,

I am new to Orthodoxy, having been received into the church just last year. Though English is my first – and only – language, I have learned many foreign words and phrases since entry into the Church …

Xhristos Voskrese

Xerophagy

Orthros

and Tofu …

But this is the first year that I’ve ever heard the phrase “********.” Is this Orthodox? What does it mean?

Also, when someone says to me “********” how should I reply?

____________________

Ah, yes …

It’s beginning to look a lot like Lent’s here!
Ev’rywhere you go;
Take a look at those ladies and men frowning once again
With aches and pains and complaints galore.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Lent’s here!
Soy in ev’ry store
But the ugliest sight to see is the box of “********” that will be
On your own front door …

The Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

Image Source

Yesterday, April 1st, otherwise known as Rosalie’s birthday, I was blessed to once again travel with the Seniors of St George to make the annual Bluebonnet St Paraskevi Monastery pilgrimage.

Click pics to enlarge.

Here’s most of the pilgrims — birthday girl is third row back in the middle (others were still shopping in the monastery gift shop).

Monastic housing (aka notbadatall).

Last year’s pic (on the right) reveals just some of the work that’s been done in just one trip around the sun.

Now that’s just plain purty.

This, I believe, is an unfinished landing pad. (See the spaceship below.)

Another view of monastery dwellings.

The “choir stalls” (stasidia, in Greek) resemble other architecture (see above and below).

Patronal icon of St Paraskevi.

Monastery vineyards (click to enlarge).

Mama goat kept a watchful eye on hers and me.

Again, look back at last year and see God’s providence.

An image, carved in the door leading to the nave from the narthex, of St Paraskevi in a boiling pot.

Now that’s just plain funky. An upward view within the narthex.

This space craft is, I assume, destined to land atop the bell tower in the near future.

A cool view of planet earth on the monastery grounds.

Even better! Blue Bonnets a blooming!

I believe this is also found in the Bible. (Mama Goat’s apparently read it.) Please take note.

Just another day, wonderful (I must say), at St Paraskevi.