Fungeye

Music news. Last night was the second time three of us, Harold (vocals, bass), Aras (guitar, keys, backing vocals), and myself (drums, backing vocals) got together to make music. What did we get done? I brought lyrics for 3 songs last night, and we began putting music to them. And the stuff rocks! After mulling it over for a couple of weeks, we agreed on the name: Fungeye. I'm very pleased with what we've done so far. I look forward to our continued effort and the finished product. The other project I have in my heart to do is to make worship music.


less than four days out,
br francis

More Than A Man

Long ago, there was a man who came
Came and died for you
You, you say you don't want to know
But I've got to tell you the truth


God, I will follow you because you died for me
Gave to me your life to set me free
Anyone who asks shall receive
Jesus in your heart
It's time for you to start
Giving God all the glory


More than a man, God almighty
He created you
He's the One, the One who rules the land
He is the One I choose



All of the glory today
No matter what some people say
All of your faith
And your life will start to change

--More Than A Man, Stryper

Beautiful Saturday

It's a week and a day out til my ordination. We're planning, getting the liturgy together, and I see a very good, authentic Mexican meal in our future, after. Mmmm. : ) We won't have our morning Eucharist that day, but have the Eucharist and ordination later in the day at 3 pm.

A couple of months ago, I inherited a stereo system, an older Fisher, that belonged to my great uncle when I was a kid. He added a Technics 5-cd changer to it. The amp was blown (thankfully not the speakers!), and it's been repaired. Time to go pick it up, hook it back up, and enjoy! The chants of monks, the music of J.S. Bach, and assorted kinds of rock will sound great on it.

I'm enjoying a beautiful Oklahoma Autumn day with my beautiful wife Shirley and our great God.

Blessings. Have a great weekend and good worship. Join us tomorrow for ancient-future worship if you're in the area.



under the mercy,
br francis

Thoughts today

Shirley has a new job this week. We both had Wednesdays off, but now she works Wednesdays. So we had lunch together earlier. I'm enjoying the day, and reflecting on God's grace 13 days out from ordination. Now that it's coming, it doesn't quite feel like I thought it would. Yes, I'm happy, and excited to a point; yet also with it is the sense of the seriousness of it. I will be set apart as a priest, or presbyter. It is a sobering thought. Fr. Joe shared with me that he had that same sobering sense before his ordination, and yet the joy was there, also. There has also been attacks from the enemy and his crew, just as there were before I took monastic vows. But He is, and we who are in Him are--victorious.

There is a trememdous joy that comes with obedience. And a peace.


under the mercy,
br. francis

Peace Prayer Of St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
AMEN.

This Morning

Fall is here in OKC. When we finished Morning Prayer this morning, and I stepped out the front door to go to work, I was hit in the face with the cold wind and the drizzle. And it felt great.

I like cold weather. Last December, right after Shirley and I married and moved here from Houston, we experienced an ice storm that really was unusual for this area. But we enjoyed it. We ended up not going anywhere for three days. Church was cancelled that weekend, and not only ours, but by I think everyone else around us (it was constant on the tv--one church after another announcing that their Sunday service was cancelled). If we had been working at that point, it would have proven difficult, if not impossible, to get to work. So we had sympathy for those who needed to work and couldn't get there. But for us, we enjoyed the quiet. No traffic on MacArthur, and I walked (slid!) around outside on the ice. Wonderful.

This morning, I dropped one of our hotel guests off at Will Rogers airport, and when I asked the skycap guy if he had his coffee, he said no, "This is Fall...wait 'til we hit Winter! Then I'll have coffee out here!" I answered, "Oh, yeah, I know...I remember last year!" I had my coffee in the van this morning. A good bit of my job requires driving our hotel guests in the shuttle van, either to and from the airport or to restaurants, the Super Wal-mart, 7-11, etc. I love it. I get to meet a lot of people from all over the world.

It's nice to be in a place where the weather changes from season to season. We get some snow here, which I love.

Praise the Creator for Autumn. I'm ready for the leaves to fall.


br. francis

San Damiano Song


"If you want your dream to be, Build it slow and surely. Small beginnings greater ends. Heartfelt work grows purely. If you want to live life free, Take your time go slowly. Do few things but do them well. Simple joys are holy. Day by day, stone by stone, Build your secret slowly. Day by day, you'll grow, too, You'll know heaven's glory."

-- San Damiano Song, Donovan, from the film Brother Sun, Sister Moon

For Brother Sun...for Sister Moon

"For Brother Sun who gives us warmth; to Thee, O Lord we give thanks...for Sister Moon who lights our night; to Thee, O Lord we give thanks."

--St. Francis of Assisi

New rock band

What a great couple of hours. The guitarist brought a couple of unfinished songs, i.e.without lyrics, and a singer. The guy plays bass and guitar, and had a couple of "songs in the raw" to add, too. We videotaped tonight. The guitarist will record guitar and bass this week. Next week we'll begin to lay down drum and vocal tracks.

It was nice and loud, rockin', and a lot of fun. We've got a tentative name. More as it comes.


br francis

The Presence of God

Bless all who worship you, almighty God,
from the rising of the sun to its setting:
from your goodness enrich us,
by your love inspire us,
by your Spirit guide us,
by your power protect us,
in your mercy receive us,
now and always.



-- from Sacred Space, the prayer book 2007, Jesuit Communication Centre, Ireland (Ave Maria Press, 2006).

Music

After a few weeks of trying to coordinate Shirley's and my schedule with two other guitarists' schedules, I ended the frustration with a phone call.

The guitarist of the failed band I had been a part of here in OKC answered, we spoke....and the world was healed!


OK, I'm being silly and dramatic. The world is, and will be, healed by Christ, directly and through us. But, the music news is, the guitarist and I will get together this Sunday night! We will work again on a couple of covers--Stone In Love (Journey), Temples of Syrinx (Rush), and the Rover (Zeppelin). I want to do a song we did in Stage Dive--"Technical Support." He will bring his 8-track recorder, he has chords ready for lyrics, and I have lyrics ready for chords! We'll video the rehearsals and recordings. I'll probable sing on the tracks to begin with, until we get a really good singer. And he will play bass on the tracks until we get a bass player. Lyrically, what will we do? Ah, it will be fun. Our plan is to do some poking around at problems in the world, do a little satire, as well as some serious stuff. I have pretty much infinite freedom to write as my mind and heart dictates. Musically, what will we sound like? Hard and melodic, I should think.

One new song I wrote (lyrics) yesterday pokes fun at crazy drivers, out of control cops, greedy businessmen, and need of reformation for the prison system. I call it, "I Treat My Dog Better Than That."

The other guitarist can jump in when he's ready, or there will be another music effort with him. We'll see how that plays out. But I'm excited to get it going.

The weekend is here--have a great one and good worship Sunday. Join us if you're here and looking for a place to be.


br. francis

Sunday 10/7

Wow, we had a great worship today. Our Eucharist, Blessing of the Animals, and lunch was great. And something happened today that I haven't mentioned yet--I led singing for Chapel of St. Francis for the first time today.

I have led singing many times before for a service we have done at a nursing home, but never when playing drums. That's difficult. I am told that I did well. Hmm. It's very difficult to play drums and sing at the same time. There are drummers who do it--the two I'm thinking of off the top of my head are Phil Collins (the obvious man to come to mind) and Joe English (former Paul McCartney & Wings drummer).

Playing drums for worship, especially for what we do--a mix of traditional and contemporary music--is a different animal than just doing rock, pop, and blues. I have to "back off my attack"--and play more softly, and be creative with other percussion instruments, i.e. shakers, and triangle, soft rods, and mallets (for cymbal rises). But to SING while doing all that is a difficult task.

But I enjoyed every minute of it. All glory to God.

Our Bishop is beginning dialogue with a bishop in another jurisdiction concerning a merger or concordat of sorts. We ask you who read this to be in prayer with us on this, if you would. Although division in the Church is, unfortunately, a given, and sometimes necessary, it doesn't mean we like it. Our goal, after leaving the larger jurisdiction we were a part of a few years ago (there was no way around it), has been to affiliate again with another that is similar to us. This bishop is known to many in the Anglican/Anglo-catholic/independent catholic parts of the Church. Thank you for your prayers.

Have a good week.


br. francis

bring light

Today is the feast day of Francis of Assisi, from whom I took my monastic name when I took permanent vows. Sunday will be St. Francis Sunday, with worship in Eucharist, the Blessing of the Animals, lunch and fellowship. Even Reba and Rabby, the rabbits out back, will have a blessing prayed over them: Bishop/Abbot Jim will go to their home--they live under our shed--and bless them. I would guess that they won't purposely show themselves or stand still for the blessing, much less let him lay hands on them........! :) All are welcome to bring their animals for blessing. It'll happen around Noon. Come as you are and worship, have your creature blessed, and eat and fellowship with us. (Normally, some of our animals are with us for worship anyway, as we are a Franciscan parish.)

It's a good day, being Francis day, but I was so sleepy I nodded off a couple of times during morning prayer this morning (once during Clare's homily). Brother Shorty (her dachshund) was already out, laying next to me. Sorry, Clare--your homily was good--my mind and heart said so, but my body said no. One point of the homily was that animals aren't far below us on the Creation order. We're sandwiched in between angels and animals, and it's a pretty thin sandwich.

"Most high and glorious God
Bring light to the darkness of my heart.
Give me right faith, certain hope, and perfect charity.
Lord, give me insight and wisdom,
So I might always discern
Your holy and true will."
--a prayer of Francis of Assisi

He would say, "What's all the fuss about? I'm just a human, a sinner like everyone else." He would credit God's grace for everything. And so should we. Have a blessed feast day of St. Francis.


under the mercy,
br. francis

military man

"Saw the light from the Man above
His heart pierced by a sword of love, military man....
He caught sight of the future shock
Defenses crushed beneath the Risen Rock
No more doing time, he tasted the new wine
no more reason to fight for the military man, no more military man"
-- Resurrection Band, Military Man, from DMZ