A blog of gold for the Feast of All Fools and the Dessert Fathers. We also remember F D Maurice (1805-72) Priest, Liberal Theologian and a founder of Christian Socialism, who preached at the Church of St Edward, King & Martyr, Cambridge, from the same pulpit as Hugh Latimer (1487-1555) Reformation Martyr.
My thoughts on a bountiful Easter Weekend, the Walk of Witness, Tenebrae, Easter Gardens and Storm Katie, are offered in an Easter Triptych for you to open and view.
And one I wrote earlier for Advent IV seemed appropriate in memory of Ronnie Corbett
Also the St Pythag’s April never-a-Crossword.
With 36 clues, many involving a P, most mentioned in St Pythag’s Blogs
over the past 2 years, 3 in Latin, some fairly silly, not sure how difficult it will be. Good Luck! Solution in a fortnight or so.
Allow me a lighter St Pythag’s moment, with some things that might have been overheard over Easter:-
Spring, when an old man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of gardening.
Why is Jesus riding on a llama, Daddy?
Because he’s the Llama of God, that takest away the sins of the world. (Have mercy upon me.)
It’s standard polyphony where the Sops go up and the Basses go down for the climax.
Jesus said, “Mary Easter!” and Mary replied, “Ravioli” which means Pasta. Jesus said, “Don’t tango with me.”
Or in another translation, “Don’t Klingon to me, for Scotty hath not yet beamed me up.”
Our Archbishop Josephine of Stonehenge, Primate of the Orthogonal Church of St Pythagoras, was so chastened and chased by the other Primates at the Tea Party in Canterbury in January that our Genial Synod has agreed to the Quod Erat Declaration that allows interchange of clergy between our Church and the CofE. This should allow a swift end to the interregnum at St Pythag’s and other exciting developments like the Shed of Pray down at the Allotments by the River Pyke, once I’ve had time to do some further writing. And how baby Carol, born to Jo & Mary in the Choir Vestry at Christmas, came back to St Pythag’s at Easter to be baptised.
Meanwhile, if you can cope with a bit of strong language and sexual references, I recommend Realms of Glory being blogged weekly by Catherine Fox. (You may have to scroll to bottom and hit older posts a few times to find Chapter 1.)
The name of St Pythag’s actually made it into print in the Church Times Caption Competition for Thurs 24th March, as the picture of the Bishop of Dudley putting on fireman’s breathing apparatus inspired “Full smoke, flame and water protection was advisable for Little St Pythag’s Patronal High Mass.” Kudos but no chocolate.
And as Archdruid Eileen of the Beaker Folk wrote during Lent – “The Genesis [a Rock Band, m'Lord] boys were just the right age to have grown up with optimism. The flower-power bunch thought that given enough love, enough drugs, enough sex, enough flowers and enough hair, the world could be put right. There was just one problem. Human nature.”
That’s why we still need Jesus, the Gospel, and Christianity. To take God seriously, but not ourselves too seriously. In the Happy Sundays of and after Easter, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Richard Barnes.