Stay Gone

I'm not sure anyone still reads this, but just in case, here's my latest effort.  This is a great tune by Jimmy Wayne from a few years ago.  It's about the prettiest kiss-off song I've ever heard.

Death Cab For Cutie

This is my newest video.  It's a few years old so there are probably a ton of versions out there already.  But I like it and I think I just heard it for the first time this morning.  One of my students asked me to do a Death Cab For Cutie (worst band name ever) song, and this might even be the right one.

Thanks for listening.  I'll try to do better the next time.

Jesus... for Good Friday

This is a Rich Mullins song I love very much.  I hope you like it as well.

My oddest music post yet

I decided to try posting one from YouTube just for fun.  I hope you all like this goofy one!

Thanks for reading (and listening).  I'll try to do better next time.

What's going on with my church?!

Time to vent about the situation in my church.

The person in charge of the Diocese of Phoenix has stripped St. Joseph's Hospital of its status as a Catholic hospital. I can't imagine that will affect the day to day operations a lot, but he chose to do it. This is another in a line of decisions which have come in opposition to fact and for the sole purpose of showing the riff-raff (or, as I prefer to think of us, the parishioners) of the Diocese who is boss.

A year and a half ago, I was forced out of the Newman Center when the person in charge of the Diocese of Phoenix took over the Newman Centers at NAU and ASU. Apparently, the people who ran the Newman Centers had turned them into such dens of iniquity, the person in charge of the Diocese of Phoenix felt that he needed to be more directly involved in the day to day affairs. In explaining this overthrow of the Dominicans and the Flagstaff parish, the person in charge of the Diocese of Phoenix said in a letter dated December 12, 2009 that the new priests in charge at the Newman Centers were to see "that the faithful and those who perform genuine liturgical ministries are imbued with the spirit of liturgy." This explanation indicates that the previous ministers, including me, were neither genuine, nor "imbued with the spirit of liturgy."

I would like to think that the 10 plus hours I volunteered to spend each week in prayer and work on music ministry at the Newman Center were genuine and imbued with the spirit of liturgy. I certainly tried to make them so. I followed all of the directives put forth by the parish, Diocese, and Vatican, even when those directives seemed arbitrary to me. I also chose music and music ministers with an eye toward the reverence and beauty of the Eucharistic celebration, as well as the joy of celebrating with the youth of NAU. Apparently this was not enough and I was not imbued with the spirit of liturgy. Perhaps I did not sing in Latin enough for the person in charge of the Diocese of Phoenix.

I can only imagine that the people who run St. Joseph's feel as shut out and betrayed by the person in charge of the Diocese of Phoenix as I do. They were even asked to have a theologian provide an ethical analysis of the case which brought about today's action. They did so and, despite being found to have acted appropriately by the duly appointed Marquette University theologian, the person in charge of the Diocese of Phoenix stripped them of their designation. Just as in my situation, they did what they felt they had been asked to do and they were savaged for it. I understand that neither of these situations make much difference in the grand scheme of things, but they certainly impact a few of the faithful.

There can be no ultimatum or profound moral stand at this point, in which I state my case and get returned to my post by acclamation of the faithful; that only happens in the movies. I know that the person in charge of the Diocese of Phoenix will never see this, but my friends, who may have wondered why I am less involved in the church I love than I used to be, will see it and, I hope, they will understand.

Thanks for reading. I'll try to do better next time.

These (birth) Days

Happy birthday Jackson Browne. I've always loved the Tom Rush arrangement, so that's how I do it here. One of the few songs I can actually play on guitar. (Don't get used to it.) Also, if you're reading this on Facebook, Either find the video elsewhere on my wall or follow the link back to my blog. FB doesn't transfer the video, just the text.

Anyway, thanks for listening. I'll try to do better next time.

Another video

I chose this one because it's one of Katie's favorites. Things have gotten better in Belfast since Nanci Griffith wrote this, but it's true of too many other places in the world, including Arizona, I'm afraid.

Thanks for checking this out. I'll try to do better next time.