Molded
Molded
June 8, 2025
My artistic skills leave much to be desired. But I have always loved looking at art, and art history was one of my majors in college. Since then, I have relished visiting numerous museums whenever I travel. Perhaps because I lack any artistic skills in any medium, I appreciate those with talent to create art. The fact that I have no talent or skills in this area was pointed out to me by my fifth-grade art teacher. I do not recall the exact assignment, but I vividly remember painting a picture of a vase with flowers. The vase that I painted had no base at its bottom, but instead came to a V-shape. The art teacher was quick to point out that my creation was silly, as the vase was incapable of standing up without a base to hold it up and therefore would collapse. My eleven-year-old ego was somewhat bruised after the negative comment made by the teacher. Only decades later did I think of a retort. If Picasso could paint a woman with one eye and three breasts with flesh in several colors, why couldn’t I paint a vase that rests on a point? (more…)
Are you a fan of or afraid of the dark? My husband and I frequently have a “battle of the lights.” Bright lights bother my eyes. Also, I was raised in a time when leaving any lights on in an unoccupied room would elicit a negative comment from my father about the high electricity bill. On the other hand, my husband never met a light he did not want to illuminate, and I frequently accuse him of holding stock in our local electric company.
The recent Olympics in Paris were quite a spectacle. From the unusual opening parade on the Seine River to the amazing story of US gymnast Simone Biles, the Olympics were an impressive competition to behold. Nevertheless, the event was not without its controversies. What struck me, in particular, was the storm surrounding the women’s boxing match and the boxer from Algeria.
A good friend of mine passed away not too long ago. I should actually call him a former friend because when I left the active priesthood, no longer able to be alone in my life, this friend stopped communicating with me. He was so distraught that I left the priesthood, for a “homosexual lifestyle” that he stopped speaking with me. He was even further upset by my decision to marry the man that I love, and have now been with for over twenty years. Unfortunately, we never reconciled before his death. When finding out about my relationship, one of the questions he had about us, that he voiced to a mutual friend, was “Who is the wife? Someone has to be the wife!” 
The architectural layout of a traditional Orthodox Church is something that I have always loved. Usually, the conventional interior design of an Orthodox church has three main sections, the narthex or vestibule, the nave or main part of the church/temple, and the sanctuary or the altar area. While I imagine that most people do not think much about the vestibule or narthex section of a church, traditionally it is an essential part of the liturgical rites of the Orthodox Church. Those preparing for baptism, the catechumens were to remain in this area and were prohibited from entering the main part of the church. It was also the place penitents were relegated to stand during the Divine Liturgy until the end of their penitential period. Today, many of the divine services and mysteries of the Church, begin in the narthex. For example, baptisms, marriages, funerals, and certain Lenten and Holy Week ceremonies are called to start in the vestibule. Today, in many Orthodox Churches the vestibule is the place to purchase and light candles or find parish bulletins, but rarely is this area given much of a second thought by most Orthodox Christians. The important sections are usually seen as the nave or church proper as well as the sanctuary, behind the iconostasis or icon screen. 
Quite frequently this website receives emails from LGBTQ Orthodox as well as their family members and friends in and outside of the Church, asking if I see any hope or signs that the bishops were either open to or making any changes when it came to their usual harsh rhetoric towards gay people. As Christians, we are called to be a people of hope. We hope for the resurrection of the dead and life eternal in Christ. We hope in our daily lives to live a life that Christ has called us to live, one that loves others and does not judge before removing the log from our own eyes. (Matthew 7:5)
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a British movie, released in 1994, about the romantic adventures of Charles, played by Hugh Grant, and his lively group of friends as they support each other through a series of life events. Perhaps one of the most touching and memorable scenes takes place at the funeral of one of the friends, Gareth. It is revealed at the service that Gareth was not only gay but in a relationship with another member of the circle of friends, Matthew. In his eulogy, Matthew said “Gareth used to prefer funerals to weddings. He said it was easier to get enthusiastic about a ceremony one had an outside chance of eventually being involved in.”