NEW BLOG ADDRESS----> theparsoncarson.blogspot.com

NEW BLOG ADDRESS----> theparsoncarson.blogspot.com

To follow the journey of (almost) Parson Carson :-) through seminary and beyond!

Moon and Venus, December 7, 2015

Canon Powershot 50X, not too shabby for a powershot!

A Birthday Rhyme-fest for My Bishop

A Birthday Rhyme-fest for My Bishop, Morris K. Thompson

11th Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana

~ by Caroline Carson

There once was a bishop named Morris

Whose care was eternally for us. 

He led us with grace from the tip of his mitre 

And showed us God’s love, it was always the brighter.

He sang all the hymns with such excellent gusto,

That folk were inspired to sing with robusto!

He walked with his crozier

With quite the composure

As he blessed all the people

‘Neath many a steeple

The kindness he shows to all those he meets

Is valued far more than this poem now greets.

For my friend and my bishop, I’m truly most blessèd

With his coolness and humor I’m also impressèd

I’m glad you were born and I’m glad that we met

For you make our lives better and help us not fret

I can hear you right now with a smile, in the Kirk

Saying “Life is short, be ye well, do ye good work!”

So THANK YOU this day and I hope you enjoy

Getting good wishes as THE BIRTHDAY BOY!

PS. I hope I won’t be excommunicated for all the rhymes! :-)

Riding in the Krewe of Cleopatra!

Retro-post: A look back at Mardi gras 2015! (from Feb.) For three years now, I have had the great pleasure of riding in the New Orleans Mardi gras Krewe of Cleopatra. The first time was when I turned 40 and many of my friends here got together and paid for my membership in the group! How FANTASTIC! Two of my friends also just happened to have a garage full of boxes of beads which they wanted get rid of....so I could actually buy some things like stuffed animals and other items to throw from the float. The krewe was extremely friendly and I got to have a spot next to three of my friends. The ride was AMAZING! I felt like a rock star!

video - I can't find my video, but will keep looking!

I skipped a year and then the Cleopatra parade last year (2014) became an Uptown parade instead of rolling on the West Bank of NOLA. Wow, what a change! This year, we were still an Uptown parade route and it was my third time riding! SO. MUCH. FUN.

Our party at Generations Hall began around noon on Friday, Feb. 6 and we didn't begin to load the floats until 4/4:30. By then, many of us had been eating, dancing, and enjoying refreshing beverages since 12/1:00! :-) Wheeeeeee!

We got to Tchoupitoulas Street and halfway down it when our float, 8-A had a flat tire. The policemen circled our float on their motorcycles (a bit like sharks, LOL). Soon after it wa sfixed, we continued our route down Tchoup, up Jefferson, over Magazine, up Napoleon, and finally to St. Charles. 

This year, it was a bit cold and I didn't see more than a few of my students and friends out, but it was still insanely fun! 

When you're on the ground attending a parade and actually trying to catch some of the "throws", you want to avoid ladders and children, but when you're on the float, there is nothing you can do to lessen the cute attack and you cannot help but give your stuffed animals and spears or hearts or flowers to the kids! It's adorable! I try to look for folks standing off by themselves, perhaps thinking they can't find a spot up at the front or maybe just watching and taking it all in. I try to throw them something that lights up or a cool signature throw.

If you've never done this sort of thing, I highly recommend it - its a TON of fun and the Mardi gras ball the Krewe throws is FANTASTIC! A fancy night of being social, seeing the lieutenants and captains and other "officers" being introduced, excellent food, open bar, and lots of dancing!

THE WHISKEYPALIAN

Good evening internets,
Welcome to The Adventures of a Whiskeypalian!
Welcome to the new name of my blog.
But wait, what is a whiskeypalian, you ask? (It's also spelled whiskypalian and whiskapalian....heck, even whiskopalian! For those who like spelling debates, check it out here - Whisky or Whiskey or even see it here in a Grammarist post!)

"Where you find four Episcopalians, you're sure to find a fifth..."

Fine, fine.....a whiskeypalian?
It's a term, said among some Episcopalians themselves, used rather humorously to refer to the fact that many Episcopalians don't shy away from having a drink (or two or three) every now and then. It holds that our denomination doesn't prohibit the consumption of alcohol among its members or clergy, within reasonable limits and consequences. Here's a "Christianease" definition. In fact, similar to groups of choir directors at conventions, groups of X, Y, or Z, I'd venture to say that terms like it apply to a fair amount of folks. I've heard it all my life and while it might upset some, it doesn't upset me. In fact, I love it! 
I am a whiskeypalian! I chose the version of spelling that contains the "e" so I can say it is for Episcopalian :-)
Oooooooh.....consider this: whiskey in your coffee! 
(YESSSSSS! Irish coffee)

It makes me love Episcopalianism even more. We can laugh at ourselves when being teased! Here's a great post "Ten Reasons to be a Whiskeypalian" by The Observer in Texas at the blog "Observations from the Side Aisle"
While I'm actually more of a coffeepalian, I definitely enjoy a good whiskey sour or Jamison on the rocks every now and then. I've been thinking quite a bit the past two years about the benefits of my "coffee with God" times and realized that I also genuinely like to write, however unrefined my skills. My blog posts are full of ponderings as well as puns. I crave a kaleidoscope of posts, tossing about in a sea of photos. Somehow, this translated into wanting to change my blog name. 

It may or may not have popped out of my mouth over an actual glass of whiskey...

I originally used Carsonia as "Caroline of Carsonia", but have always had some issues with Carson, Iowa and results. I've never been there, but I should, seeing as how we have that connection. I did figure out how out to preserve my old blog so Carsonia is still alive. It gets tons of hits on old posts. Who am I to stop that from happening? ;-)
So anyway, I'm giving this new name a try: 

"The Adventures of a Whiskeypalian"
I rather like it. Here I shall place the typical Caroline-ramblings, some serious thoughts, VSG life, puns, space jokes, Episcopal prayers, discernment thoughts, and ever so much more. Beware, YOU might want a whiskey after reading! As for me, CHEERS y'all :-)

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

LMEA adjudication of Large Group Choral Festival

So honored and excited to adjudicate for the LMEA (Louisiana Music Educators Association) Large Ensemble Choral Festival (Tuesday, March 11 - Thursday, March 13). Excellent leadership and organization by Dana Lux and helpers!

They have about 50 choirs abd I'm hearing a wide variety of repertoire ranging from excellent to schlocky! Such royal treatment from District IV! Hot lunches & dinner, accommodations, little snacks, parking, and fun! First Baptist of Baton Rouge is also a SUPERB host! So friendly and helpful too!

Here's to choral music in the schools! 

"Parade Sunday" at St. Paul's 2015

The Sunday before Mardi gras is known as Bacchus Sunday or "Parade Sunday" in NOLA. Yesterday was Samedi gras and tomorrow is Lundi gras with Tuesday being Mardi gras. I haven't heard anyone calling today Dimanche gras and it just sounds weird so I'm sticking with Parade Sunday and Bacchus Sunday. I had the idea to tell my St. Paul's Episcopal Choir to bring beads and headresses, wigs, throws, and the like to church today. 

During the final hymn, (which was #460 in the Episcopal Hymnal "Alleluia! Sing to Jesus" to get plenty of Alleluias out before Lent), we recessed and threw beads, stuffed animals, toys, and lots of things to the congregation! It seemed like they really liked it. I saw more people smiling than in a long while! Also, I made absolutely sure to do it after Fr. Rob's blessing so the Liturgy itself would be only minimally disturbed (no worse than announcements, I daresay).

I also asked Fr. Rob to wear these gigantic pink beads on the way out. One of our sopranos, Tanya, brought them and it just seemed perfect.

Here is one of our tenors, Ernell, rocking a purple wig

Here is Tory, a soprano, dancing up the aisle!

I also felt that it would be a good idea for our choir tot take a photo out by the St. Paul's Church sign and it turned out GREAT!

A super fun ending to the morning!

Flying to San Francisco

I am on my way this evening to San Francisco for the wedding of two dear friends. I've never been and I'm thrilled to be going and that so many friends, about 35, will be there for this couple! 

Having never been to SF, I'm hoping to see a lot on the Hop-On / Hop-Off city bus tour tomorrow and then go to see Muir Woods and the famous redwood trees on Tuesday. I've heard all sorts of stuff from well-meaning friends who are "seasoned" San Francisco visitors about how that's not "the real" redwood area to visit or that I'll never have time etc. To that, I hold that since I only have a little bit of time and who the heck knows when I may be back out here again, that it's better than nothing! LOL!

This post shares some photos from my flight from NOLA to DFW to SFO. I love flying! The sunset was much more stunning than the picture below shows.