I sometimes wonder whether it is worth adding to the vast amount of material written - especially when so much of it ends up in the second hand bookshop (if you are lucky) or the scrap heap waiting to be pulped. Isn't it extraordinary to think of the human struggle and engagement
Lunch in Marshall, Field and Co (MACY’s)
Posted on by James Woodward
I have been waiting to catch up with Sam, an Episcopalian priest friend, and we decide on lunch in the large department store in the centre of town - Macys - on the fifth floor in a restaurant called The Walnut Room! It is good to chat about the sabbatical, church life, ministry
To speak or not to speak on a lazy Sunday?
Posted on by James Woodward
We all have our habits and mine is a large coffee absolutely first thing. Thankfully we have a Starbucks a block away and it has become my regular haunt - ' Its my English sugar' exclaims the waitress 'speak to me - I love that English accent' - friendly but a bit forward if you
The Art Institute of Chicago
Posted on by James Woodward
Not quite the full picture of this spacious building but an impression for virtual visitors - you could, of course, visit the web site and never move from the living room chair ( if you have a lap top) - if this is you preference the ignore the following and visit www.artic.ed
In praise of ……
Posted on by James Woodward
DISCOVERY!
I am woken at 5 30 am by an extraodinary combination of noises - the wind off Lake Michigan, a helicopter and police sirens. Life in a city - as the clamour dies down and I come to I think that I am in my own bedroom in Temple House and then realize that I a long way
The University of Chicago
Posted on by James Woodward
I see that Mr Brown has had an inevitable thrashing at the polls - I hope it causes a wake up in some sort of shape. From this distance and looking at the newspapers here I have come to see that there is some poverty to the quality of politcal debate in the UK. And these levels o
Montgomery Place
Posted on by James Woodward
About a mile or 15 minutes brisk walk from Brent House is Montgomery Place - a continuing Care retirement community and (much to my surprise) a place where I thought I could live. I am invited to lunch by the Director of Pastoral Care, Bob Petite, an Episcopal priest who has be
Welcome to Chicago
Posted on by James Woodward
I confess to a certain unease about flying - I never quite know how and why the plane manges to get off the ground - and this particular plane did seem to be oddly noisy! It doesn't help sitting over the wing where if you look closely things do wobble a bit. However, American
Goodbye and thank you to VTS
Posted on by James Woodward
By the time that my English friends read this I should be in the air flying off to Chicago - how time passes! American Airlines from Ronald Regan airport - how many of you remember him??
I am full of gratitude to Virginia Theological Seminary for its warmth and hospitality ov
If music be the food of love …..
Posted on by James Woodward
play on - play on. It is heavy rain here in Washington and I can hear the sound of the water on the roof above me that has woken me up. I shall miss this small room that has been my home over April. The blogs have been part of my morning routine - I am surprised that I usually
Megachurch on a Saturday evening
Posted on by James Woodward
Megachurch is the term given (surprisingly) to a church that attracts over 2,000 people at a weekly service - they are indendepent Wvangelical churches - and in the USA there are about 50 Churches that manage to attract between 10,000 and 47,000 each Sunday.
So - the statistics
Successful Ageing?
Posted on by James Woodward
On the 25th of April I shared with you some random musings about age - let me try this concept which is all the rage here in the USA - successful Ageing. Close your eyes and think of an image that best captures this concept. Or perhaps you can think of a person that encapsula
In praise of …
Posted on by James Woodward
Spring!
This is my last weekend at VTS and I prepare to fly off to Chicago on Wednesday. I do not quite know where the month has gone - but I am full of deep gratitude to the community here for its space and hospitality. I take away many happy memories of people and conversati
What is he doing with all that time??
Posted on by James Woodward
Well - you may wonder and so do I!! Time passes by - sometimes we notce and sometimes we don't. This space has given me valuable time to read and listen .... and that leads for me into writing. I have started some reflections on age for the more general reader and I thoughT tha
Color as Field – American Painting from 1950 to 1975
Posted on by James Woodward
A decision to escape the activity of a community for a more solitary pursuit paid great dividends today in the shape of the discovery of Color Field painting. I travelled into he city to enjoy the National Portrait Gallery and its majestic space and exhibitions. Wandering
Earth Day
Posted on by James Woodward
On Sunday morning I travelled to Washington National Cathedral ( ee 9th of April) for the Morning Eucharist at 11am. I would have guessed at 2,500 people or perhaps more - for worship that was much more than a spectator sport. The fact that I couldn't see very much didn't matt
I know why the Caged Bird Sings
Posted on by James Woodward
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,
When he beats the bars
Social Injustice
Posted on by James Woodward
What makes you angry - and I do not mean just cross but really angry? What parts of the world around us should webe wanting or working to change?
I am a great admirer of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and their social research that can hold a disturbing mirror up to us and the
In praise of ……
Posted on by James Woodward
THE T SHIRT AND ITS SLOGAN!!!
Time for a smile - (I hope). I popped into Alexandria this morning to sort out a few things - and to buy a couple of T shirts. It is very warm.....
In the land of slogans here are some of my favourite ones that have found their way onto the fron
In praise of …….
Posted on by James Woodward
READING BOOKS - ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE YOURS!!
The sun is high in the sky and doing its work without any hindrance from the clouds. I think that the temperature must be somewhere in the early 80's and I buy some sun cream as a precaution. I will sit in and wor