Fire Works

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Co Writer

Andrew is helping me write my Sunday message.






He likes helping complete puzzles too.




More Andrew tidbits here

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Farewell Joan

Posted by Li Robbins on Saturday October 16 2010

Complete text at:

http://tiny.cc/kct9l


The world lost one of its great voices last week, when Joan Sutherland died. The aria she sings in the video, from Bellini's "I Puritani," is just a glimpse into the the vocal powers of "La Stupenda," as she was sometimes called.

To learn more about her life you may want to read the excellent overview by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times, Joan Sutherland, Flawless Soprano.

To hear more about her life, you can listen today as SATO presents a tribute to Ms. Sutherland in the final hour of the programme. You may recall that her husband, Richard Bonynge, was on SATO last year when he was conducting "Norma" in Vancouver, and you'll hear some of what he had to say about his wife, as well as thoughts from others in the opera world.

Of course if you treasure her recordings or a memory of hearing her singing live, we'd very much like to hear your thoughts about Joan Sutherland.

Location:W 50th St,Kaw,United States

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Calendar 2011

Dear Friends,

Our Center has created a beautiful 2011 calendar using photographers from our own spiritual community. The calendars are now available at Stepping Stones.

http://steppingintotheblog.blogspot.com/

Martha Salazar

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Scenes from Operas and Operettas

You are invited to

An entertaining Recital of

Scenes from Operas and Operettas

featuring Mary Beard, Susan Witt-Butler, Beth Freeman, Gael

Reed, Bonnie Brooks, Michael Fontaine, Will Meyer and Melody Caspari

There are two dates on which to join us for this delightful event:

Friday November 5, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

at the home of Gwen Churchill, 2280 Chancery Ct., Santa Rosa 95403

where light refreshments will be served.

Space is limited so please email Mary at mehbeard@sonic.net

to reserve a seat or for more information.

(to call: Mary 546-8782; Gwen 526-3653)

Saturday November 6, 2010 at 4 p.m.

at CazSonoma Inn in Cazadero (www.cazsonoma.com).

Phone 707 632-5255

There will be a no-host bar during intermission

and you are invited to stay and have dinner

in their fabulous restaurant afterwards!

This recital is part of the Salon Series of the Redwood Empire Chapter

of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and is a

Fund-Raiser for their Scholarship Auditions

$20 suggested donation

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Sonoma Bach Opening Recital: Night Draws Near

Greetings Everyone, Concert season begins again and I am singing quite a few concerts this year with various groups and ensembles. I'll let you know more about those as the season goes on but did want to get the word out about this one as it's coming up soon. Our men's vocal ensemble, Clerestory is about to release its first studio recording call Night Draws Near, and our first concerts of the season will be based on this CD release. For info on our Bay Area dates, Oct 23rd (Berkeley) and Oct 24th (SF) you can go to our website: www.clerestory.org And for those of you in Sonoma County, we'll be performing the concert on Oct 30th to open Sonoma Bach's season. All info is below and you can read more about their incredible season (lot's of new and exciting ensembles and performances planned, and I'll be performing with quite a few) you can go to their website at www.sonomabach.org Hope to see you at a concert! Christopher Fritzsche Sonoma Bach Opening Recital: Night Draws Near Featuring Clerestory The Bay Area's acclaimed eight-man classical a cappella ensemble performs music from the new CD, Night Draws Near. This rich exploration of life, death, and mysticism features music you already love, coupled with music you don't know you love...yet. The concert includes celebrations of Halloween, All Soul's Day, and El Dia de los Muertos, with music by Victoria, Tavener, Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Rautavaara, and Paul Crabtree. Holy Family Episcopal Church 1500 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park Saturday October 30, 8:00 pm      For tickets, click here

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God in America

"Just started this series tonight--looks like another home run from PBS and a very good American history lesson about our founders and their ideas/positions about religion. Jefferson believed in individual rights and a broad view of religious tolerance. What a concept. Hope you're watching it; it will probably be released on CD at some point. I think this is a landmark television work."   MW

Excerpted from the home page:

Since the days when the Puritan "city on a hill" beckoned on the horizon of the New World, religious faith and belief have forged America's ideals, molded its identity and shaped its sense of mission at home and abroad.
For the first time on television, God in America explores the tumultuous 400-year history of the intersection of religion and public life in America, from the first European settlements to the 2008 presidential election.

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"Reading the news and it all looks...." Joni Mitchell

I've been reading about awareness regarding climate change and it seems that there is less doubt now that it actually happening.  I was inspired to read that China is talking about some strong changes in environment practices, connecting green energy to new businesses.  (http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/16/china-green-energy-business-energy-china.html.)

Sadly, on the other side (this side, USA) I read that a massive number of senate candidates deny that global warming is happening (http://www.grist.org/article/2010-09-13-deniers-gop-senate-candidates-global-warming) and are opposed to action to limit global warming pollution, and they question the validity of climate science.

I was surprised to learn (ah reading is so much fun) that China is the world's biggest carbon emitter (sfgate article no longer available) followed by the US, India, Russia, Japan, Germany, Canada, UK, South Korea, Iran, Mexico, Italy, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia (2007 listing).

From Earth Policy Institute:

"Though economic growth slowed throughout much of the world during 2001, world carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels continued their relentless upward trend, surpassing 6.5 billion tons. As a result of the consistent growth of emissions, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased from the preindustrial level of 280 parts per million (ppm) to today's 370 ppm, a 32-percent increase. In the last 20 years, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased at the unprecedented rate of 1.5 ppm a year."

The major sources of carbon emissions are generation of electricity, transportation, industry and residential/commercial use.

In our offices we're turning the lights off in workrooms, passages and offices when we no one is present.  Friends and I are walking more.  I'm educating myself about recycling - taking time to learn exactly what goes where and thinking twice about products in crazy packaging.  Someone asked me if it is enough. 

What do you think?

Entries mentioning Joni Mitchel click here

 

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Prayer for wholeness

Spirit is all there is.  The source of all being.  It is wholeness, completeness, and fullness.  It includes everything, every detail, every thought, event and every state of being.  

I am part of Spirit’s expression of flawless wholeness, drawing upon Its ease and state of equilibrium.  I trust in the ever available peace of Spirit.  I trust in the way It unfolds in my life and in all life.

From this perspective I clearly see my life as a point of revealed wholeness in the mind of God.  This instills in me a keen awareness of the abundant completeness at the center of my body, mind and soul, with every action and function fitting in to the flawless wholeness of Spirit-guided life.  In this wholeness, healing continues to reveal itself easily and effortlessly.

The realization of this fills me with a peaceful celebration of the rightness of things and I delight in the sensation of health and abundance that is being established in me regarding the life I am living.

I release this prayer into the Law of Mind which establishes it as real.

And so it is.

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Prayer for focus

Spirit is all there is.  The source of all being.  It is always perfectly at rest while seemingly producing all activity.  It is wholeness, completeness, and fullness.  It includes everything, every detail, every thought, event and every state of being.  

I am part of Spirit’s expression of flawless wholeness, drawing upon Its ease and state of equilibrium.  I trust in the ever available peace of Spirit.  I trust in the way It unfolds in my life and in all life.

From this perspective I clearly see my life as a point of effortless focus in the mind of God.  This instills in me a keen awareness of the peace at the center of my mind, with every action and function fitting in to the flawless wholeness of Spirit-guided life.  In this wholeness, being present comes easily and effortlessly.  Being present shows itself as natural and desired.  Being present unfolds in ordinary activities and yields an experience of oneness.

The realization of this fills me with a peaceful celebration of the rightness of things and I delight in the sensation of oneness that is being established in me.

I release this prayer into the Law of Mind which establishes it as real.

And so it is.

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Prayer for a busy schedule

Spirit is all there is.  The source of all being.  It is always perfectly at rest while seemingly producing all activity.  It is timeless and ageless.  It effortlessly produces all action in faultless timing.

I am part of Spirit’s expression of flawless timing, drawing upon Its ease and state of equilibrium.

From this perspective I see an abundance of time as the natural state of being and this vision instills in me an keen awareness of the peace at the center of life’s activities, with every action and function fitting in to the flawless timing of Spirit-guided life.

The realization of this fills me with a peaceful celebration of the rightness of things and I delight in it.

I release this prayer into the Law of Mind which establishes it as real.

And so it is.

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