Rev. Dr. Mary's Blog

My sister is coming home!

2011-02-11T00:35:00.000-05:00

My sister has been living down south. In just a few more days she is moving back up here to PA. I was at her new home today to check the electricity etc, and be sure things were ready for the movers to arrive. I am so excited for her and her girlie girls, 2 lady doxies named Megan and Jamie. My little boy doxie is excited too. He loves the girls. Everyone is spayed and neutered so that's OK!

Barnes & Noble - Books, Textbooks, eBooks, Toys, Games & More

2011-02-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

Barnes & Noble - Books, Textbooks, eBooks, Toys, Games & More: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Check out the Nook Color. It's great. I have actually quit all my regular book clubs. I can even access the web and my email etc right thru the Nook devise. It's a great idea as a present for those who have trouble reading regular type print because you can adjust the size of the print on EVERY thing you read! It was the best present I have ever received!

February 1, 2011

2011-02-02T00:38:00.001-05:00

I know I haven't posted in quite some time. Unfortunately the rest of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 have carried on in the same vein of loss and depression for myself and my family. My husband had some additional health issues that began with a cold. A man with one lung has to be careful of even the slightest sniffle and of course, being a man, he ignored it. Well, needless to say he ended up with an episode of emphysema and breathing troubles that required a weeks hospital stay. While in, they did a work up on his remaining lung and found a small nodule in the pleura. He refuses chemo and/ or radiation so that is being monitored for the time being. He is now on 4 new meds to aid breathing (2 of which alone cost over $500.00!) Thank God for his VA benefits.
We also suffered the loss of our son-in-law on New Years Day. He was battling alcoholism and losing. He and our daughter had separated so he could live at a rehab home that was supposed to be drug and alcohol free. They apparently take the word of the people staying there to keep sober, etc. Well my son-in-law was so drunk that he fell down the outside steps, hit his head and crawled over a snow pile. He wasn't found for 8 hours and had died of hypothermia. He was 46 and our daughter, now a widow, is 43. Such a tragedy for both of them.
For me another very difficult funeral to preform. I am hoping and praying for the tide to turn to more pleasant times for all of us.

Remember to help yourself

2010-07-26T03:30:00.000-04:00

I have had the winter and spring from hell. I have done more funerals since the New Year than all the total funerals I have done since my ordination. (4 years now)
One of these was the husband of a close friend. He had been ill a short time and his passing was not a surprise. It was however, painful to see the complete loss felt by his family and friends. There were 5 more to come in close succession.
Another funeral was the most difficult funeral I ever hope to do. My best friend and closest companion of 34 years died suddenly and totally unexpectedly. I didn't even know she had gone into the hospital. The first I knew of it was when I got the call that she had passed away. I was devastated! I didn't know how I was going to be able to get through her service without falling apart myself. I believe when something like this happens, to put the whole matter squarely on God's shoulders. I did and S/He saw me through.
After the fact was even more of a problem. I went into a very dark place. My hubby said I wasn't eating or drinking. I had become so depressed and I didn't even realize what was happening.
I was useful to the family of my friend and frequently counseled them. I met with her husband many times and helped him, but I forgot about one person entirely. ME!
Thank goodness others around me saw what was happening and stepped in. It is an important lesson to be learned. Remember, as a spiritual counselor, you too may need some help along the way. When you are overwhelmed by the losses of others, you cannot help them if you are not together yourself. I didn't realize how deeply I had been affected by 6 funerals in less the 4 months and for the last one to be someone so close just threw me off my stride.
I have learned that as the spiritual base for others, you too need to have a support structure for yourself.
Maybe this will help some others out there who fact this situation too.

2007-07-15T22:47:00.000-04:00

Click on this link to down load my newest cross stitch pattern. It's called "A Tribute to Mary Magdalene".

A notice to my loyal supporters

2007-05-27T19:54:00.001-04:00

Currently, this site as well as my other religious based sites are under a verbal attack by a certain man who I believe is trying to cause my seminary school as much trouble as one man possibly can.
At no time have I ever presented myself as an academic. My ordination and my doctorate degree are from a religious seminary. They are religious credentials.
As Dr. Martin Luther King was a Doctor of Theology, so am I.
Since this man has what might be considered internet knowledge, I will be slightly altering the names and hometowns of those who post to my BLOGS, contribute to this Ministry and in other ways identify themselves to the world through any of my web sites. This is necessary, in my humble opinion, to protect my wonderful supporters from any attack, verbal or otherwise, from this person’s questionable behavior.
Please pray that God touches this man's heart and that She will stop him from any future harassment.
Thank you,
Dr. Maggie

Our Prayers & Sympathy

2007-04-18T18:50:00.000-04:00

Our Deepest Sympathy and Prayers to all those who lost their lives at Virginia Tech. We also offer our prayers to innocence lost; to those who survived this tragedy but will never be the same.

I thought this was thought provoking, to say the least!

2007-02-26T16:38:00.000-05:00

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate.It seems prayer still upsets some people Please read.....When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard;"Heavenly Father,We come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good" But that is exactly what we have done.We have lost our spiritual equilibrium And reversed our values.We have exploited the poor and Called it the lottery.We have rewarded laziness And called it welfare.We have killed our unborn and called it choice.We have shot abortionists And called it justifiable.We have neglected to discipline Our children and called it Building self esteem.We have abused power And called it politics.We have coveted our neighbor's Possessions and called it ambition.We have polluted the air With profanity and Pornography and called it Freedom of speech and expression.We have ridiculed the time Honored values of our Forefathers and called it enlightenment.Search us, Oh, God, And know our hearts today; Cleanse us from every sin And set us free.Amen!"The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest.In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from around the world.Commentator Paul Harvey repeated this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story," he received a larger response to the program than any other he has aired.With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our Nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "one nation under God."

Link to a great site.

2007-02-04T21:38:00.000-05:00

This web site" Christian + Feminist " has lots of great links to articles and books on Women in Religion. Check it out!

A question about liability insurance for the clergy

2007-01-13T23:01:00.000-05:00

Today I read a posting on my Seminary School's Yahoo Group for their Ordained Ministers. It was about the need and availability of liability insurance for pastors, ministers, etc. Please post a comment if you have and info on this topic. I'll re-post it for all to share. In the web search I did today, I came up with tons of questions but no specific answers! Help!

This was written by a cloister-mate of mine from the Order of Mary Magdalene

2007-01-11T13:11:00.001-05:00

Poem for Mary Magdalene
I was lost in a fog-
What is real?
Her voice came to me-
a whisper on the wind.
She is the secret-
She is the key-
She is the wisdom-
She is the tower divine.
(Written in a style to pay homage to Emily Dickenson)
Gössel

Woman Presiding Bishop

2007-01-04T09:41:00.000-05:00

Just recently Katharine Jefferts Schori of Nevada was elected as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopalian Church USA. Thirty years ago at another Episcopal Convention, the U.S. introduced the ordination of female priests. Schori's election to this office puts her on a par with the Communion's 37 other national primates, including the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury. Just imagine, a female Arch-Bishop of Canterbury! Only ten years ago the idea would have never even been imagined! Of course there are many male Arch-Bishops adamantly opposed to such an unspeakable idea and these fearful men are threating to mutiny en masse. In my humble opinion, let them go! We all know they aren’t going anywhere. They are just posturing and hoping by doing so that women in the Church will just disappear. That’s not going to happen.

You've Come Along Way Baby!

2007-01-03T22:39:00.000-05:00

LONDON (Reuters) - The guardians of Britain's historic Tower of London are enlisting girl power for the first time in their 522-year history.

The Tower's Yeoman Warders, commonly known as Beefeaters -- whose ceremonial dress is a distinctive scarlet and gold tunic, white ruff, red stockings and black patent shoes -- have appointed the first female member to their ranks.
"There were six candidates -- five were male and she was the only female," spokeswoman Natasha Woollard said. "She was the best candidate for the job."
Woollard said the woman, whose name has not yet been made public, was serving in the armed forces and "will join her new colleagues in the Yeoman Body at the Tower of London in summer 2007."
The new Beefeater's full job title will be "Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary."
Beefeaters, believed to have earned their nickname from their daily ration of meat, date from 1485 when King Henry VII formed a bodyguard.
Historically their duty was to guard "the Tower of London and all things within it" -- a role which included the supervision and care of state prisoners.
Now there are just 35 of them, plus the Chief Yeoman Warder and Yeoman Gaoler, and one of their main tasks is to give tours to the two million visitors from around the world who come to the Tower each year.
They are also responsible for the Tower's ravens -- six coal-black birds which, according to legend, must always reside in the fortress on the banks of the River Thames to ensure the future of the Kingdom of England.
The Tower of London was first built in 1078 by William the Conqueror. Its primary functions were as a fortress, royal palace and a prison, but it has served as a place of execution, an armory, a treasury, a zoo, a mint and -- since 1303 -- the home of the Crown Jewels.
To apply to become a Beefeater, candidates must have a minimum of 22 years' service in Britain's armed