TRINITY SUNDAY AND THE SPIRIT OF LOVE

Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In the Anglican tradition, the Creed of Saint Athanasius, part of the Book of Common Prayer, although not often said, is said in certain Church of England churches, particularly those of High Church tendency, only on Trinity Sunday.
Trinity Sunday has the status of a Principal Feast in the Church of England and is one of seven principal feast days in the Episcopal Church.
Thomas Becket (1118-70) was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury on the Sunday after Whit Sunday, and his first act was to ordain that the day of his consecration should be held as a new festival in honor of the Holy Trinity. This observance spread from Canterbury throughout the whole of Christendom.
When we were in Greece several years ago we purchased an Icon similar to the one at the beginning of this blog. It's called "The Hospitality of Abraham" and has the Holy Trinity on it. We purchased several Icons on that trip, but this one is one of my favorites. We were in Greece on a pilgrimage with Bishop Marshall and were following in the footsteps of St.Paul. Santorini sits high upon a cliff and as you approach it by sea, it looks like that top of the island is covered with snow. It's magical to arrive there and take a donkey ride up to the top and overlook the ocean down below.

I think that it was probably my very favorite island that we visited, but it's really hard to say as they are all so wonderful and very different from one another. We've made two trips to Greece so far and hope to possibly go again next year. You know that they say that the third time is the charm ;-)

I was first introduced to the Rublev icon of the Trinity, also known as the “Hospitality of Abraham and Sarah,” by a friend who said that her Spiritual Director kept a copy of the icon in his room. For my friend, it was an image of God’s hospitality. “There are three angels sitting at a table,” she said, “but the fourth place, the one towards you, is empty. They are making room for you to come in.” I spoke with my own Spiritual Director about this and he referred me to Henri Nouwen's book, "Praying with Icons". It was then that I better understood the meaning behind the paintings and how they were to be used as a spiritual tool as well as objects of beauty. "Nouwen says, "Icons do not easily reveal themselves. They do not speak immediately to the senses. But with the help of a guide, they can lead us into the inner room of prayer and bring us close to the heart of God."

It has been my personal experience that you do not pray "to" an Icon, but "through" the Icon as a way to communicate with God. I like to compare an Icon to a stained glass window. You must look beyond the window to see what's on the other side. Iconographers begin their paintings with gold first, and then put the colors on top of the gold. The colors are put on in such a manner that the gold shines through. I like to think of the gold as God's Glory and the saints that are usually depicted in Icons are praying with me. This is only my explanation of how I feel, but it helps me a lot.
Since today is Trinity Sunday, we had a guest preacher at St. Alban's. His name is Father Michael Heidt, and he preached an excellent sermon on the Holy Trinity. He explained to us that the main premise and the foundation of the Trinity is based on love. When I returned home after church, I decided to paint. I went out to my studio and came up with my rendition of the Holy Spirit as the angel of love.

The woman in this little painting is wearing a crown of glory and she is surrounded by love. I hope that you like her. I really enjoyed painting her.
XOXO, Pcasso

FIRES, FANTASY FIGURES, FRIED CHICKEN AND FUNERAL

The past week has been a very busy one. Our microwave bit the dust and by God's grace, our house didn't burn down! There was a short and when they came to install the new one, we found that the plug had literally melted where the old one had been plugged in. Once again, we have been blessed!

The new one is harder to program but it's so fast that I can't believe that we have been living with the old one for so long! Once we get used to this new technology we can eat twice as much in half the time!
On Friday some of my artist friends came over and the three of us spent most of the day painting together in my studio.

I have always been an admirer of Robert Burridge's style of painting and one of the girls gave us a "mini course" showing us his technique.

I was signed up for one of his workshops a couple of years ago but canceled as something else came up at the same time. At last I now have a general idea of how to paint like he does. I have purchased all of his video tapes as well as books, so with these guidelines I will hopefully get the general idea of how he paints and can adapt it to my own style.

We had a great time painting, took a break for lunch and then came back to finished what we started in the morning. We learned a lot as she is an excellent teacher and also lots of fun.

Here a two of the three small paintings that I finished.

The other 4 of mine that I started are still works in progress. They were very interesting to work on and I had a great time. In my mind ... that's what painting is all about, at least for me. When I stop having fun and enjoying what I'm doing, I'll stop painting.
Margie had to get back home as her family was coming and she was going to get to baby sit her precious grandchildren while the rest of the family went to the baseball ballgame.

After I cleaned up my studio, I hurried into the house and cleaned the paint off of myself so I could bet ready to go over to dear friends home for their annual Chicken Cook-out.
We had a great time at Dick and Betty's. They are certainly the "Host and Hostess with the Mostess". They have a lovely home and you couldn't ask for a better place to have a chicken cook-out. We were sitting in their gazebo by the pool, overlooking the golf course and watching the sunset which was spectacular as we had our appetizers and cocktails. What more could you ask for?

I have posted more photos in a slide show from the evening's events that follows this entry. We have all been good friends for many, many years and we always know that we will have a wonderful time when we get together. At this stage of our life, we all left to go home by 10:30. Times have changed over the years. We used to party all night and end up having breakfast together. Are we wiser now or just older???
This morning we went to Fort Worth to a funeral to celebrate the life of a dear friend and fellow Episcopalian, Harry Haagen. He was a wonderful man and this service was one of the most glorious ones that I have attended in a long long time. Harry would have loved it.

Most of the congregation have been active in Cursillo , which is a movement of the church. Its purpose is to help those in the church members understand their individual callings to be Christian Leaders. The leadership may be exercised in work situations, in the family and social life, in leisure activities, and within the Church environment. Leadership, in Cursillo, does not mean power over others, but influence on others; all of us need to be aware that we can exert a positive influence on those around us. The goal of Cursillo is the goal of the Church: to bring all to Christ. This is done when informed, trained leaders set out with the support of others having a similar commitment. It helps to renew and deepen Christian commitment.
We found ourselves surrounded by many old friends, glorious music and a true celebration of this wonderful man's life. We were very active in the movement for over 20 years.
Harry and his wife, Pat, would have been married 64 years tomorrow. They were and still are a beautiful couple and very dedicated Christians. The world would be a much better place if each of us patterned our lives after the witness that Harry and Pat had. I'm very thankful that I had the privilege of knowing him and working beside the two of them on many very special weekends. I even discovered today that we shared a birthday ... we were both born on the 13th of July!
Tomorrow will be another wonderful Sunday (probably my favorite day of the week). We will go to church, then out to breakfast with friends in our Sunday morning tradition. I plan on spending the rest of the day in my studio painting.
I wish each of you a happy and fun-filled week. I have a very busy week coming up and will check in later.
XOXO, Pcasso

Check out my Slide Show!

MOTHER'S DAY AND MARRIAGE

Yesterday was a very special day for me. We received a call from Franklin and Beth and they invited us to join them at Lombardi's Taverna in downtown Fort Worth to celebrate Mother's Day a day early.

All of you who have married children know that holidays can become complicated when you try to get everyone together on the actual day of celebration. Mother's Day is no exception, so we had our turn with the children a day early this year. We met them at 11:30 at the restaurant and had a lovely lunch. The boys were staying with friends, so this was an adult affair.

The restaurant is very nice and we had a great meal. Franklin and Beth had brunch and we had pasta which was delicious. It's nice to be able to make a choice as to which meal you want.

We all had "Bottomless Mimosas" and I can't think of a better way to start a celebration.

They also have pizza there that is cooked to order in this wonderful copper oven. The atmosphere is charming and we had a great time.

As you know, I'm never without my camera and you never know what might be just around the corner. Yesterday there were the loveliest orchids in the ladies room so I just HAD to take a shot of them. I should have been a Boy Scout because my motto is always, "be prepared" :-)

When we finished the meal, Frank took a photograph of me and my baby for old time's sake. Just had to record the moment!

This was an extra special weekend for everyone because Franklin and Beth were celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary. They had spent the night before at the Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, so that's how we ended up downtown for our Mother's Day celebration.Beth was a lovely bride. Being a professional photographer at the time, I had the pleasure of taking her wedding portrait. We had great fun at the sitting and the shots were really good if I do say so myself (with a subject like my beautiful daughter-in-law, how could I miss!) I didn't "shoot" the wedding as I decided many years ago that like the title of the Tom Cruise movie, photographing someone's wedding was very "Risky Business". Those were before the days of digital photography and you never knew what you had until it was developed long after the fact. I never wanted to do anything that I couldn't do over if necessary, and at weddings you only get one shot at it! Therefore, we hired someone else do that and it was a good choice as he was really a great wedding photographer.

They were married at St. Alban's and our beloved Bishop presided over the service. It was his first official function in the Diocese having just been consecrated Bishop the week before. We had all the "bells and smells" that go along with an Anglican service and it was wonderful.

The reception was at the Arlington Museum of Art and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time, especially the newlyweds. They ended the evening doing the Limbo! They were so happy then and their happiness grows as each year passes. They are blessed.

It's hard for me to realize that they have been married this long and that we will be celebrating our 50th this year. Time flies when you're having fun :-)

Today will be a quiet day. We went to church and then to breakfast and plan to watch a movie this afternoon and take it easy in general. When we returned from church I found a card on the front door from my granddaughter, Rachel and her family wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. It was such a pleasant surprise. I'm so sorry that I missed them but I had no idea that they were coming over. My life is so often filled with wonderful unexpected surprises and I am grateful for each and every one of them.

I hope that each of you have a lovely day with your families. Here is a Mother's Day blessing that a young priest friend sent me from New York yesterday. It touched my heart and I hope that it will touch yours as well.

BLESSING PRAYER FOR MOTHER'S DAY

God of Love, listen to this prayer. God of Holy People,
of Sarah, Ruth and Rebekah; God of holy Elizabeth, mother of John, of Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus, bend down Your ear to this request and bless the mother of our family.

Bless her with the strength of Your spirit, she who has taught her children how to stand and how to walk.

Bless her with the melody of Your love, she who has shared how to speak, how to sing and how to pray to You.

Bless her with a place at Your eternal dinner table, she who has fed and nurtured the life that was formed within her while still helpless but embraced in her love.

Bless her today, now, in this lifetime, with good things, with health.

Bless her with joy, love, laughter and pride in her children
and surround her with many good friends.

May she who carried life in her womb be carried one day to Your divine embrace: there, for all eternity, to rejoice with her family and friends.

This blessing and all graces, we pray, descend upon the mother of our family: in the name of the Father, and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

(Edward Hays, PRAYERS FOR THE DOMESTIC CHURCH. Easton, Kansas: Forest of Peace Books, 1979).

Have a wonderful and happy week.

XOXO, Pcasso

ARTISTS, ART SHOWS AND GOODBYES

Sunday was a very busy day for me. We attended early service, went out for breakfast with friends after the service as we always do and then I hurried home to prepare a gift for my little French friend who is moving to South Carolina in a couple of weeks.
My first art instructor, Maureen Brouillette arranged this gathering at the Upstairs Gallery where we all have painted together over the past 7 years.

Maureen is an excellent teacher and such a good artist. I was truly blessed to have started on my painting journey with her as my mentor. I learned a lot! She lives in Dallas now and continues to both paint and teach. You can find all about her on her website at Maureen Brouillette. artist & art instructor

Since it was also Ascension Sunday, there was a picnic and service at River Legacy Park here in Arlington. Frank went and represented the family since I had this previous engagement. It was so good to see everyone since I have been out of circulation for a while.
There were about 20 artists in attendance at the party and we all had a great time. Here are a few of us who were in attendance.

It was a bittersweet time for all of us however, since we really hate to see Corrine go. She will be moving to a beautiful part of the country and I'm sure will make new friends very quickly. here she is with more friends at the party as well as Margie Whittington (second from the left) who is also one of our teachers. She teaches on a regular basis at The Upstairs Gallery and is a good friend to all of us.

Corrine is such a darling girl with a great personality so I know she'll be fine. I'm really going to miss her and the fun times we had together, but hopefully she'll come back to Texas and visit from time to time. Here is a photograph of her with one of her dear friends, another precious French lady. Corrine is on the left.

I received a notice in the mail on Saturday that two of my paintings have been accepted in an art show next fall. The show is called Art in the Garden. The show and sale will be held from September 5-7 in the Deborah Beggs Moncrief Garden Center in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens.

The two paintings that were accepted for the show are entitled "Coat of Many Colors" and "Bartlett and a Bottle". The elephant is an antique artifact that I though would work well with the background that I designed. I really like it and apparently the committee did as well since they selected it to be in the show. Now let's keep our fingers crossed an hope that my two entries sell!

When I was a young girl, one of my favorite things to do was to go to the Botanical Gardens with my family and Zella, who took very good care of me, and have a picnic and feed the ducks.

It was always such a special treat! She was like my second Mother and worked for our family for 4 generations. She watched us all from the time we were born until we were grown. Here she is with my two older children when they were young. They would now be 52 and 55.

Zella came to live with us in the Quarters at my Grandmother's home as a young woman before I was born and stayed with the family until she sadly passed away. I have very fond memories of her getting me all dressed up in the afternoons to wait for my Mother to come home from a shopping trip or a meeting that she had been attending. We would sit on the front porch in the swing and count the cars as they went by. I still love to swing or rock and I give credit for that to Zella. This was a wonderful house and my Mother was born there. It is no longer standing and has been replaced with a medical building. Even though the building no longer remains, the memories will always be there.

Zella lived to see all three of my children and help take care of them. She was truly a jewel and I still miss her even though she's been gone nearly 40 years. Here is one more photograph of her with my granddaughter, Rachel. It's the last photograph that I ever took of her and it is very precious to me. She was a very special lady.

I have spent most of the past couple of days working in a commission for a client. Frank had an important meeting at the Diocese so that freed me up to paint. I spend all day yesterday in my studio and it was a real treat. I've really missed painting and am so glad that I now feel well enough to get back to my easel! I think that the new painting is turning out very well. I'll post it soon.
The weather has just taken a turn for the worst and it is pouring down rain so I'd better sign off and turn my computer off. I literally have thousands of images on it and I would NOT want to lose them!
Have a great week and I'll check back soon.
XOXO, Pcasso

BONNELL'S, BUFFALO AND THE ARCHBISHOP

Last night was my first night out since my surgery and what a night it was! We were invited by our Bishop to join him and the Most Reverend Gregory Venables for dinner at Bonnell's Restaurant in Fort Worth. Bonnells features Fine Texas Cuisine, as defined by Chef Bonnell, which is “a blend of flavors from our neighboring regional cuisines, combined with ingredients that are distinctively our own.”

Their main fare of certified Texas organic beef, wild game specialties and fresh gulf seafood exhibits regional style with spices that fuse Southwestern, Creole and Mexican influences.

The food was absolutely delicious. I started with roasted tomato & jalapeno Soup, followed by a salad, buffalo tenderloin which was a pepper-crusted buffalo filet, pan-seared and topped with a silky whiskey cream sauce, served with grilled asparagus and truffled pommes frites and finished with a heavenly rich flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and creme anglais. Of course we had the appropriate wines to accompany the meal ... what more could a girl ask for!

We felt very special. There were 18 of us and Frank and I were the only ones there who were not clergy! There were two Bishops and their wives, one Archbishop and his wife, the Dean of the Cathedral and his wife and other priests and their wives from our Diocese. What a wonderful and holy group of men. It was quite an event and both a pleasure as well as a privilege to be among them. Frank is the President of the Corporation of the Diocese of Fort Worth so that was why we were included in this very select group. I was just the "tag along" (and I just love tagging ;-)

Let me say a little about the Archbishop. He is a delightful man and a real charmer. I've always loved to be around people with a British accent and his was so charming. He speaks very eloquently and when that is combined with the King's English, it wonderful! Plus .. he's fun to be with!

+Gregory Venables is Archbishop of the Diocese of Argentina, and Primate of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. During the 19th century, immigrants to South America brought Anglicanism with them. The South American Missionary Society (SAMS) was formed to develop Anglican mission throughout South America, and it still has an important place in the life of the church. As the church and its mission grew, missionary bishops were appointed and dioceses were formed. Until 1974, these missionary dioceses were under the metropolitical oversight of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In 1981, the dioceses came together to form the Province of the Southern Cone. Originally, there were six diocese in the province, one for every sovereign country covered by the province, but the Diocese of Northern Argentina was soon formed out of the larger Diocese of Argentina. The province retains and celebrates its mission-focused, evangelical and charismatic roots.
The province consists of eight dioceses under the authority of a Presiding Bishop, currently British-born the Most Reverend Gregory James Venables, who represents the province to the rest of the Anglican Communion as its primate. Presiding Bishop Venables has been outspoken in support of a conservative position on homosexuality and other issues. Here is a photograph of +Iker with the Archbishop that was taken yesterday by Father Matkin, our assistant Priest at St. Alban's.

Everyone had a grand time at dinner and it was such a pleasure being with the Archbishop and his wife, Sylvia. Here is the group that was at our table. As you can see, it was a very distinguished looking group.

They put us in a private dining room so we could have the opportunity to visit with one another and not disturb the other diners. We started with cocktails and appetizers, so there was a lot of chatting on our part. In some respects it was like old home week as we have all know each other for such a long time. Bishop Iker has been our friend for many years, in fact I was one of his presenters when he was consecrated Bishop 15 years ago.

We met in Florida before he became Bishop and had a parish in Sarasota which was one of the Ministry Centers for the Anglican Institute. If you remember, Frank and I were Ministry Consultants for the Institute for 2 years when we were working with Bishop Michael Marshall. +Iker also married Franklin and Beth and is Connor's Godfather so we have a very special connection there. Their wedding was the first official service in which he participated after having been consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth.

After dinner we took the Archbishop and his wife back to their hotel and were home by 11:00. There is a meeting today so we all needed to get our rest. It was a long evening but a perfect one. I could not have asked for a better way to spend my first night out after 2 weeks of recuperation. I was truly blessed.

Have a glorious weekend and I'll write again when something interesting happens.

XOXO, Pcasso