Witnessing a Roman Catholic ordination was not something I had planned to ever do. Until just recently, I didn't even know the Catholics had ordinations. But on a beautiful Saturday morning in mid-May, the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia filled with a thousand or more well-dressed worshippers (standing-room-only) celebrating the ordination of nine young priests, and I was there too, loving the music and trying not to accidentally cross myself. A few weeks ago, I … [Read more...] about Mennonites Walk Into a Cathedral
Friends
Spying Out Washington, D.C.
"Oh, Susan. You've never been to the Spy Museum? You should go," someone told me recently. Later, I related the conversation to my friend Martina, and she said, "I've never been there either! Let's go, I'll drive!" So last Saturday was the chosen day for Martina and I to visit the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. I get to Washington D.C. about every three years or so, and there's always so much to see, especially for people like Martina and I, interested in news and … [Read more...] about Spying Out Washington, D.C.
Literature Camp: Writing, Reading, and the Castle Oil Built
Why literature? Why poetry? Why a literature camp in a castle? For years, friends raved about the annual "Lit Camp", and last weekend I attended for the first time. We left at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. I drove, and with me were two sisters from New Holland, Dorcas and Annetta. None of us had ever been to Lit Camp before. The trip to western Pennsylvania took five hours. I hope this is worth it, I thought. The details were sketchy: a mansion in Franklin, PA, lots of great bookish … [Read more...] about Literature Camp: Writing, Reading, and the Castle Oil Built
Summer/Fall Collage
Happy Autumn! Here's a collage of summer and fall highlights— my friend Arlene's wedding, a poetry reading in an off-the-grid farmhouse, and making balloon animals at the New Holland Fair. Bridesmaid Duty VI On July 29, a dear long-time friend, Arlene, got married! Her husband, Erny, celebrated the occasion by blowing the shofar horn he bought in Israel, the same horn he blew at a New Year Eve's party, at the start of 2020. I don't think he and Arlene had even met back then. Arlene … [Read more...] about Summer/Fall Collage
Alexander Caverns
We stood in the thick darkness deep in the earth, only feet away from an underground river. We knew the water was flowing, but the surface was still and there was no sound. Normally, I don't descend into the depths of the earth any deeper than the cellar. But earlier this month, when my friend Regina arranged for us to visit Alexander Caverns in the Kishacoquillas Valley, I was an enthusiastic proponent. "It's on a Nebraska Amish farm," Regina told us. "They don't have phones, but I … [Read more...] about Alexander Caverns