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24 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by victoriaperpetua in Uncategorized

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Episcopal, Episcopal Church, Film Production, Filming, Sundays

Getting ready to film a reader in Bainbridge, Georgia.

A decade ago, during the summer of 2019, and during my husband Frank’s sabbatical, he and I worked on a book for Forward Movement. It was a Lenten Devotional called, A Spring in the Desert, and chock full of information about everything from cacti to camels.

The plan, when we finished the book, was to create a 20-lesson class at approximately five minutes for each lesson that Forward Movement would film. We created the classes and then the person who was to film us had family issues that would prevent them from doing so. It was then suggested that we film the class via Zoom. I was already well familiar with Zoom, at the time, as it was how I met with my writers’ group when one of our members moved to California, and the Communications Committee of Third Order, Society of St. Francis, met that way, as well.

As pretty much everyone can now testify, meeting via Zoom is not the most stimulating way to either converse or teach. The thought of people watching two talking heads for 100-minutes-plus appalled us. I also rebelled at the thought of having to teach that way as we would have to use notes and read so much of what we’d be teaching because of all the facts and quotes related in each class.

So, we offered to film and produce the classes ourselves. We were already flying to Arizona in late September to be present at our daughter’s White Coat ceremony for vet school; we decided to extend our trip by a few days so we could film some classes in the actual desert. Because Frank’s Nikon and iPad, and our iPhones, were already sufficient for filming, we invested in a teleprompter and a portable recorder with a shotgun microphone and headed west. We managed to get about half of the classes recorded in Arizona and finished the remainder once we were back in the Diocese. By this point, Frank has also become proficient at using a drone (practice made perfect while filming a documetary on Deaconess Anna Alexander) and we were able to use some drone footage in our classes as well. We chose as our payment for having filmed them the ability for the Diocese of Georgia to view those video classes for free.

Despite all we knew, we also learned a lot along the way, particularly that it is very difficult to film outside as airplanes are flying overhead nearly continuously and teleprompters aren’t nearly as easy to work with as one might think.

Preparing to film the sermon in Quitman, Georgia.

Fast forward a third of a year, and suddenly we are at the beginning of a pandemic that would drag on, and is still dragging on, for a lot longer than anyone dared imagine in March of 2020. Fortunately, though, Frank and I were already set up for filming, and by the time he was consecrated Bishop in May, we had learned a lot more. I’ll reiterate: complete silence is not a thing and to err is definitely human!

That is how we became a two-person film crew. With rare exceptions like Advent and Christmas and a few Livestreams that taught us livestreaming is fraught with things beyond our control, the two of us have filmed every Sunday service since this past June. Our churches are as far away as five hours in the southwestern corner of the state and as near as 0.7 mile away in our hometown of Savannah.

I volunteer my time for these services, which also helps lessen the Diocese’s financial burden. We have learned so much since this past March that even our production time has been trimmed down to the bare minimum and Frank saved up and bought himself a Black Magic Cinema camera, which has really helped our production values. Often, we will film two services in one day to further lessen our time on the road. It will be quite a readjustment when we go back to ‘normal’ visitations because they will take so much longer and cost nearly double what our virtual visitations do now. On the other hand, I look forward to visiting with more than a few people at time.

The best thing about filming these Diocesan services, though, is that they are a Diocesan effort—from the lay readers and clergy who take part in the services (masked and social distanced, naturally) to the musicians around the Diocese who offer their talents for each service by filming themselves and sending us the files. It has been a joy to behold the amount of talent present in our Diocese—something those of us who ‘attend’ these services might not have known otherwise. It has also been fun to show the Diocese their churches in the context of where they are located as well as the inside of the churches themselves. Not a single church in this Diocese is like another, and what a blessing that is!

White balancing and checking focus in Augusta, Georgia.

TAKE THEM EARTH FOR CHERISHING

17 Sunday May 2020

Posted by victoriaperpetua in Cemetery, Christianity, Death, God, Music, Photography, Poetry, Prudentius, Uncategorized

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Music, photography, Poetry, Prudentius

Cemetery

Take them, earth, for cherishing,
To thy tender breast receive them.
Bodies of men and women we bring thee,
Noble even in their ruin.

Once were these a spirit’s dwelling
By the breath of God created.
High the heart that here was beating,
Christ the Prince of all their living.

Guard them well, the dead we give thee,
Not unmindful of God’s creature
Shall God ask it, God who made it
Symbol of God’s mystery.

Take them, earth, for cherishing.  .  .
Comes the hour God hath appointed
To fulfill the hope of all:
Then, must thou, in a very fashion,
What I give, return again.

Take them, earth, for cherishing.  .  .
Not though ancient time decaying
Wear away these bones to sand,
Ashes that we might measure
In the hollow of a hand.

Not, though wandering winds and idle
Drifting through the empty sky,
Scatter dust was nerve and sinew,
Is it given to us to die.

Once again the shining road
Leads to ample Paradise;
Open are the woods again,
That the serpent lost for men

Take, oh take them, mighty Leader
Take again thy servants’ souls
Grave their name and pour the fragrant
Balm upon the icy stone.

Take them, earth, for cherishing,
To thy tender breast receive them,
Bodies of men and women we bring thee,
Noble even in their ruin.

By the breath of god created
Christ the Prince of all their living.
Take them, earth, for cherishing.

~~Adaptation of “Take Him Earth For Cherishing”
By Prudentius (348-413) Christian Roman Poet
Translated by  Helen Waddell.
Adapted by Sarah Buxton-Smith, November 2001
(at that time Chaplain, House of Bishops Spouses)

This poem was set to music in the 1960s by Herbert Howells for a dual American-Canadian memorial service, held in Washington, to mark the first anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s death.  It’s been very popular in churches and concerts since.  Howells’s commission specified he could choose the text, and this is the poem he chose (in its original translated form “Take Him Earth for Cherishing”).  Howells had been aware of this poem at least since the death of his own (Howells’) son in the 1930s.  You can hear it here: Take Them Earth for Cherishing

The Run For the Roses

10 Sunday May 2020

Posted by victoriaperpetua in history, horses, Kentucky Derby, Uncategorized, writing

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history, horses, Kentucky Derby

TRFTR1

In 1970 (yes, I know, I’m dating myself), in the midst of my horse crazy years, my father gave me this little booklet prior to the Kentucky Derby that year. I remember we were houseboating that weekend and I had to listen to the Derby on my little electric blue transistor radio. Apparently, the booklet was an extra that came with the alcohol he had purchased:

TRFTR2

Honestly, I’m not sure I was aware of that until I retrieved this booklet from my bookshelf earlier this week after hearing that Secretariat had won the virtual Kentucky Derby on May 2. I remember watching Secretariat win his Triple Crown back in 1973, and I believe he still holds the record winning race time of 1 minute, 59.4 seconds.

After I confirmed that I’d dutifully noted his win that year:

TRFTR3

As I had every year through 1979 when I finally realized it was getting ridiculous and added some paper to make it all a little neater:

TRFTR4

And then never noted another win. Why? Probably college, first job, marriage, childbirth, etc., etc. By 1979, I had carried The Run for the Roses with me from California to Mississippi and then to Georgia, Hawaii and back to Georgia. Since then, it has traveled with me through at least 15 more moves.

So, looking at it this week, I had to wonder–why? With the internet, I can now easily look up who is winning the Derbies if I haven’t had a chance to see any. And now with digital photos and a blog post, I have access to this little bit of my history for the foreseeable future. The booklet has now been placed in the so-called “circular file” and that is one less object that will have to be dealt with upon my death.

And that is definitely one of the bright sides of this pandemic–it has helped me to refocus on what is really important to me.

A Prayer for Our Uncertain Times

03 Sunday May 2020

Posted by victoriaperpetua in Covid-19, Jesus, Photography, Prayer, Uncategorized

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photography, Prayer

 

Jesuscovid-19

May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake.

May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.

May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health and making their rent.

May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close remember those who have no options.

May we who have to cancel our trips remember those who have no safe place to go.

May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market remember those who have no margin at all.

May we who settle in for a quarantine at home remember those who have no home.

As fear grips our country, let us choose love.

And during this time when we may not be able to physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.  Amen.

~~Fr. Michael Graham, S.J.

There’s a certain Slant of light

26 Sunday Jan 2020

Posted by victoriaperpetua in Emily Dickinson, Photography, Poetry, Television, Uncategorized, Winter

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Tags

Emily Dickinson, photography, Poetry, Winter

Dickinson

Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld) writing poetry at her desk.

We are currently watching, with much enjoyment, the AppleTV series on American poet, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886). The series is based on Dickinson’s life but uses modern language (and some modern sensibilities) to treat viewers to a glimpse inside the life of this quirky poet.

Therefore, it seemed apropos to post one of her many poems:

WinterJekyll

A winter’s afternoon on Jekyll Island.

There’s a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons – 
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes – 

Heavenly Hurt, it gives us – 
We can find no scar,
But internal difference,
Where the Meanings, are – 

None may teach it – Any – 
‘Tis the Seal Despair – 
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air – 

When it comes, the Landscape listens – 
Shadows – hold their breath – 
When it goes, ’tis like the Distance
On the look of Death – 

dickinson-series

The cast of Dickinson having fun during The Shakespeare Club. Can you guess the play;-)

Trust in the Slow Work of God

19 Sunday Jan 2020

Posted by victoriaperpetua in Photography, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Uncategorized

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Tags

photography, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Trust1

Life cannot be contained~~Ian Malcolm

Above all, trust in the slow work of God

We are quite naturally impatient in everything

to reach the end without delay

We should like to skip the intermediate stages.

We are impatient of being on the way to something

unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress

that it is made by passing through

some stages of instability-

and that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with you.

your ideas mature gradually – let them grow,

let them shape themselves, without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on,

as though you could be today what time

(that is to say, grace and circumstances

acting on your own good will)

will make of you tomorrow. Only God could say what this new spirit

gradually forming within you will be. Give Our Lord the benefit of believing

that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself

in suspense and incomplete.

– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. (1881-1955)

Trust2

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