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The Highest Form of Hope

 

Beautiful Music













Sam Bean and his fabulous beard.



Here are some songs that you may or may not have heard before... I happen to love them, so if you're looking for some beautiful music to listen to you should give these songs a try.

1. Fireweed Patrick Watson "Wooden Arms"
I really can't say enough about this album, it's just beautiful. My favorite of 2009.

2. Beach Baby Miracle Fortress "Five Roses"
Not everyone's cup of tea but the lyrics intrigue me as do the whirling sounds in the background... Reminds me of my kids playing with toy helicopters bought at the dollar store.

3. Pretty Good Year Tori Amos "Under the Pink"
Heather introduced me to Tori Amos way back in grade ten - a great fit for a melancholy 15-year-old ("nobody understands me...") - Good memories! I am still vowing to one day learn this song on piano.

4. To Build a Home The Cinematic Orchestra featuring Patrick Watson "Ma Fleur"
Yes, the same Patrick Watson. Right now this song makes me very weepy so I'm currently not listening to it as much as I have in the past!

5. Resurrection Fern Iron and Wine "The Shepherd's Dog"
My favorite Iron and Wine album, Sam Bean's usually too mellow for my tastes but this album is great and as always the lyrics are fabulous.

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Don't Let the Terrorists Win!

This last month I have been completely obsessed preoccupied with finding the perfect ribs recipe. My “recipes” tab in my Safari bookmarks has grown substantially as I’ve

scoured the Internet for barbeque gems: All Recipes, Recipezarr, and a website completely devoted to ribs whose slogan was “Boil Your Ribs and the Terrorists Win”. I had no idea barbequed ribs was a matter of national security! Though perhaps you had no idea that I love barbequed ribs so much – but it’s true! I love barbequed anything and one of these days I’ll travel to the southern states to sample their fabulous cuisine (though I may pass on whole drinking buttermilk thing – gross!). I love Anselm Keifer and barbequed ribs – what can I say, I’m a complicated woman.

I finally found a recipe which was within both my budget and my abilities as a cook. I had high expectations: the recipe claimed that all who tasted the ribs would grant the cook the "respect you deserve". The jury's still out on that, but it was an amazing recipe. Unfortunately not from the “the terrorists win” website, I found it all too fundamentalist. They insisted on using charcoal and smokers… and I just can’t make t

hat kind of commitment. The recipe I chose seemed within reason, even though it ended up with a few improvisations. I used side ribs instead of baby back, and I did not add whiskey to the made-from-scratch sauce. I save whiskey for emergencies only I’m too cheap to buy a whole bottle and have it sit in my cupboard for eons… and I don’t like bread pudding that much. Nevertheless I spent all day making my ribs, and I did not boil them. All the work was worth it because we shared the treasured ribs (which turned out PERFECTLY by the way) with our close friends, the Dvoraks, on the evening before they moved to Winnipeg (or perhaps Regina, they did have some towing problems on the way).











It was a nice evening of visiting and laughing, and thankfully not many tears (maybe some tears were shed while I was laughing my head off)… I laughed especially hard at Brendan saying he didn’t wrestle with his brother-in-law anymore because he was (not too old, too mature, not none of that)… too aggressive!! We will miss you guys a lot and you will be in our prayers as you begin a new ministry in Winnipeg. And our boys will miss you too. I think deep inside they still believe that you’re both only 14 years old (I may also believe that too)!


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Lately

So this is what has been up with the Morgun's lately...


* Redberry Bible Camp: Paul was speaking at teen camp this week - which he did fabulously at! Sasha, Noah and I joined him for the first couple of days, but the new surroundings
and a new bed got the best of Noah and we soon were sleeping at home again. Here's hoping this isn't a preview of what moving will be like! Sasha on the other hand had a blast trying his hand at archery, skateboarding, wall climbing and swimming. Camp was almost too much fun! What an amazing staff they have out there - we were really impressed by how much the campers were cared for. We have several youth from Hepburn who were either campers of staff and we're so proud of them!

* No movement on our house yet, though we've had several (heartbreaking) close calls. We plan to keep it up on the market for one more week, but then we'll have to rent it out. Anyone looking for a house in Hepburn?

* I'm back painting amidst all this craziness. I'm working one painting for a friend, and I'm preparing for an art sale on August 9th (3:00- 6:00) so come on out! I'm planning to sell most of the stuff that up on my walls and some other pieces that haven't seen the light of day for some time. There's a wide variety of sizes, media, and prices (starting at five dollars or so) so there's really something for everyone.

* Sasha and Noah are eagerly planning their birthday parties which will be happening a little earlier this year. Noah has insisted that there be "NO BABIES!" at his party (he doesn't approve of his mother's baby-holding ways) and Sasha thinks that bringing all his friends to the swimming pool would be a good idea (this will likely not be happening). Despite having to work out these kinks, the birthdays should be lots of fun and for once Noah will be celebrating his birthday before Sasha (more friends are around if we do it this way!).


A few more weeks and we'll be on our way to BC... I can't quite believe it yet. Yesterday we said goodbye to some good friends who are moving away as well. A first goodbye of many... It's hard to take it all in.

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At its Heart

One of the supremely frustrating things about reading Rookmaaker's Modern Art and the Death of a Culture (besides the frequent dose of anti-Catholic statements) is his consistent neglect of mysticism. From Rookmaaker's perspective, mysticism is yet another facet of the gnostic heresy. As he tries to tie both art and theology together, his rejection of mysticism raised questions for me about both.

In his book God in the Gallery author Daniel Siedell points out that Rookmaaker interprets art as narratives, either for or against particular world views. This is certainly part of understanding art history, but it is only part. To see art as only a representation of a particular way of understanding the world is to see the work incompletely. And because Rookmaaker wrote Modern Art to inspire Christian artists to proclaim a "Biblical" way of seeing the world, this all makes perfect sense to his argument. If art is primarily dialectic, than it should be the artist's prerogative to produce work that speaks the world view of the artist. But when one considers an icon, for example, can we understand it as purely dialectic? An icon is made for contemplation, not simply communication. And as Siedell writes, much of modern art is created for the same purpose - for contemplation - not merely to spread an ideology or belief system or even to challenge ideologies and belief systems.

This, along with Rookmaaker's views on mysticism, got me thinking... Do I, as a Christian raised in Mennonite Brethren Church and educated in an evangelical Protestant tradition, see religion as purely dialectic as well?


At its heart, I think, religion is mystical. Moses with his flocks in Midian, Buddha under the Bo tree, Jesus up to his knees in the waters of the Jordan: each of them responds to something for which shalom, oneness, God even, are only pallid, alphabetic souvenirs. "I have seen things," Aquinas told a friend, "that make all my writings seem like straw." Religion as an institution, as ethics, as dogma, as social action - all of this comes later and in the long run maybe count for less. Religions start, as Frost poems do, with a lump in the throat, to put it mildly, or with a bush going up in flames, the rain of flowers, the dove coming down from the sky.

- Frederich Buechner

My feelings about Modern Art so far aside, Rookmaaker's views are not an uncommon sentiment among Protestants, Mennonites included. We have a tendency to avoid or neglect the mysteries, the things we cannot put into words... Things we cannot put into words are dangerous and difficult to control. They are too easily misinterpreted and misunderstood. We cannot fully control the meaning of miracles, much less give evidence of miracles. And besides, if we hinge our religion on mystical or miraculous experiences what answers can give to account for our belief?

In The Alphabet of Grace Buechner recounts an experience that he had when he was forty three. He held his hand out into the darkness and prayed that God would reach out and touch his hand. Nothing happened. Buechner has no problem pointing out the ridiculousness of this - a middle aged man who wants to believe in magic. And we do things like this. I've done things like this - childish, ridiculous things. Sometimes I wonder if every time I create a piece of art, those pieces that are deeply personal and thought and re-thought and prayed over, if I am doing just that - reaching out into the darkness waiting for someone to take my hand. Maybe Buechner is right, this is religion at its heart - not argument, not ideology, not dogma... but a hand reaching out into the dark.


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Ressurexit, Anselm Kiefer 2006

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A Sampling of Snap Judgements

I tend to rush to judgement on things like books and music - usually in the negative (perhaps this is all hand in hand with being an art snob :)!). But happily in recent days I've had some very positive first impressions... save one. So I thought I'd share my recent snap judgements with you (a long as you're aware my opinions might change in the near future).

Books:

Modern Art and the Death of a Culture, H.R. Rookmaaker.

The cover of this book sports an image of Francis Bacon's screaming pope... which is my immediate response to this book (well maybe not quite)! Many many years ago in Bible College, my apologetics teacher gave me this book for a paper. I don't remember reading it the first time, but I do remember what I wrote - an embarrassingly anti-Catholic anti-modern art paper which I still cringe over today. Surely in my immaturity as naive 18 year old I must have read these extreme views into Rookmaaker's book, since I still see him being cited in various writings on art, culture and faith. But no, this is not the case. This book isn't very favorable to Catholicism, Orthodoxy, or to the tradition of icon painting and it paints an overly bleak picture of modern art. Hopefully there are some things to be gleaned from Modern Art and the Death of a Culture... I didn't mind the section on Dutch genre painting - but I really like Dutch genre painting.


The Alphabet of Grace, Fredrick Buechner

It's not often that I decide I like a book within the first three pages. I've decided I like it. A lot. Unfortunately right now I can't say as much as I did about Modern Art. I suppose not liking something brings words more easily to mind (unfortunately). I can say this: Buechner makes me want to put off packing and spend an afternoon writing poetry.


Music:

Wooden Legs, Patrick Watson

I've heard this album described as "electronica folk" if that is indeed a genre. It's quite beautiful. If you like Sigur Ros, you may enjoy this one. And you can sing along with it, which unless you're well versed in Hopplandic, is rather impossible with Sigur Ros!

Twice Born Men, Sweet Billy Pilgrim

If you want an album that will have you thinking for a long time, go out and get this one - though I'd advise not "shuffling" this album because it seems that the song order matters quite bit to the overall meaning. Experimental with superb lyrics... and their band and album name has me wondering.

Only by the Night, Kings of Leon

Paul got me into this one. We both agree that Followil (the lead singer and guitarist) has a great voice. After a more productive morning than usual, I've decided it's great music to clean the house to.

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On Atonement

A lesser known treasure of the Louvre.

In this months Herald, Tim Geddert writes an article on atonement, specifically addressing some of the discussions/arguments that have been popping up in the MB world as of late. In the article he gives a bit of clarity as to some of the different atonement theories floating about as well as some much needed perspective - like that it is unhelpful to call people who don’t agree with your perspective heretics (imagine that!). I also appreciated this perspective inducing quote: The Bible majors on images, symbols, and narratives while we split hairs over philosophical concepts and formulas. Well said indeed.

But with this dose of perspective he does not simply dismiss the issue. Rather, Tim Geddert explains where the obstacles to consensus are coming from and challenges some major assumptions. I found it a very helpful article in providing some context to other discussions I’ve been reading over the past few months.

If I were to throw my two cents in, there are a few pitfalls I could see in some of the discussions on atonement, or perhaps these may be more a throwback to how I was taught about salvation in my younger years. I suppose that one of the worst ways to talk about atonement is to somehow attribute suffering and death as being key agents in the salvation of humanity, that somehow God is complicit or even an instigator in the suffering of Christ. The whole point of the death and resurrection of Christ is the defeat of death, and I don’t think many are actually promoting that God is a bloodthirsty diety, though sometimes the language employed may unintentionally point in this direction.

Another point, though not right away obviously connected to atonement (but has been important in my own understanding), is the concept of God’s justice as forgiveness. The way some speak of atonement it would seem that God’s justice and his mercy are opposed – that there is some kind of internal dilemma. Seeing God’s justice and mercy as part of the same story has been helpful for me. The entire narrative of Christ’s life, death and resurrection must be read as one cohesive picture of God’s justice, which is forgiveness. This is the ultimate defeat the powers of darkness and death – to forgive.

The way I’ve best read atonement described is through the lens of the Trinity – that it is the way God moves in dynamism within the three persons… the Son gives up all to the Father and Father in turn gives back infinitely spilling over to us, inviting us into the love relationship of gift and response… just as in Article 5 of the MB Confession of Faith, it states: “God’s love is fully demonstrated in the life death and resurrection of Christ.”

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