The Nativity by Petrus Christus, c. 1445.
Photo taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus
Growing up Baptist, “Christmas” was just the one day (25 December), and after that, thoughts of getting ready for Easter come into play. Having been a part of the life of the Episcopal Church for almost six years, I have fully and gladly [...]

Though I have to say I’ve a friend who teaches at a Montessori school, sings in the Houston Grand Opera Chorus and sings at Palmer Episcopal.  She is every bit as busy as I and since she works with kids, her responsibilities are much, much greater than mine.
High Holy Days are once again upon us [...]

I’m taking a post-England break from my choir gig at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. Today I got to do something I had not done in a while: my first Sunday-morning attendance at my home church, South Main Baptist, since the last week
of December 2004.

Here it is, our first post-Deathly Hallows installment! Warning: massive SPOILERS
Rachael, Rose, and Chris talk at-length about the book, and various Snapecasters give their thoughts. I get quite a bit of airtime in this episode (is that a good thing?). Enjoy!
Jeff

If you live anywhere in the vicinity of southeast Texas, your world is not so bright as it was: Marvin Zindler, the most-iconic television news personality our area has ever had or ever will have, has passed away this evening from complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 85.

Snapecast Episode 19
A little belated, I know - I was in England at the time it came out.

Rachael.
The visionary behind the Harry Potter Snape-related podcast Snapecast, and an amazing person, I cannot find enough good things to say about her and Charles, her new husband. I’ve known Rachael since March 2006 when [...]

What a week.
What a week for the music ministry of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, having completed a week-long choral residency at the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew in Wells, England - it was the second-best choir tour I’ve been of which I’ve had a part (eclipsed only by that taken by the Bach Society [...]

The West façade of Wells Cathedral
I never thought this day would arrive: in three hours’ time, Dad will get me to the airport for the Palmer choir’s trip to Wells, England. Thanks be to God I had the good sense to make up a packing list: the first time I’ve done so. That, [...]

It seems to me with the combination of fantasy theme-park and corporate culture, perhaps no-one has a greater potential for utter schlockiness, pandering to the lowest common denominator, than Disney. This past Saturday, Dad and I saw Disney’s new Pixar flick: Ratatouille, and while it is certainly formulaic, how the formula is executed [...]

21 years ago this evening, at Youth Camp with South Main Baptist Church, I became a Christian. For a lot of people, I suppose, coming to see God as he truly is is a long process. For me, it happened rather quickly: realizing it was the thing to do. No hyper-emotion or [...]