I know there are people who do this all the time, but this was my first time: I got up yesterday at 3:20 to catch a flight to Minneapolis in the morning, was the speaker for Confessio—Piety and the Lutheran Confessions—sponsored by Concordia University St. Paul, and then flew back home and arrived in Hamel just after 10:30 p.m. I am still wiped this morning! Oh, and I was greeted in Minneapolis by this icky white stuff that I thought we were done with! It was a great day, though. Got to visit with so many folks, signed more books than I can remember, and sing Matins and Vespers and l ..read more

…this wonderful little prayer book at The Law of God Is Good and Wise conference. It’s compiled and edited by Joseph Klotz, a faithful layman of the LCMS from Hodgkins, IL. The book, as its preface states, “was produced to provide the layman with a resource, in one volume, which will enable him to engage in regular, systematic prayer, which is in line with the liturgical traditions and rhythms of the Church.” p. ix. Said another way, this little volume can indeed serve as a simplified breviary or office book. It contains the entire NKJV psalter, pointed for chanting and with music, and sprea ..read more

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Well, I guess I’m supposed to have a thesis statement. It is this: Included in the gift of Christ as sacramentum is always the gift of Christ as exemplum. He both gives Himself to us and then invites us into communion with His life, doing things His way. A little known feature of the old The Lutheran Liturgy (Altar Book for TLH) is that it provided a collect for each epistle and gospel reading. So I went to the thirteenth Sunday after Trinity and found this prayer for the Good Samaritan gospel which I invite you to join me in pray ..read more

That’s what my RUDE wife always tells me when I complain about a packed schedule, saying: “I just want to return to normal.” So last week we had some excitement with Dave winding up in the hospital for a couple days with chest pain. It turned out NOT to be a heart-attack, and we got him home on Thursday. Friday, we flew over to Denver where we met up with Lucy and Laura, and headed up to Estes Park for a wonderful few days together in the Word with Norene Linke’s wonderful Northern Colorado Women’s Retreat. And there I got my marching orders from Rosa! (Ha! See, I haven’t forgotten!). We got b ..read more

And wow seems entirely inadequate to describe the Triduum at St. Paul’s this year. Choir sang at the Maundy Thursday evening liturgy, including Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus and Stainer’s “God So Loved the World.” Good Friday’s Chief Service was up in attendance at noon. It wasn’t too quiet because of the joyous noise of little children. At Tenebrae Vespers that day Megan Pellock gave us an outstanding setting of Handel’s “But he was wounded” and the choir sang the entirety of Schalk’s St. John Passion. Saturday the vigil was probably our best attended ever. We gathered in the courtyard of the sch ..read more

….not THAT one, the “after” feast. My friend Jamie wanted to know what the Weedons were serving, so here is this year’s menu:  Appetizers of assorted cheeses, crackers or pork rinds, with sliced summer sausage. Main course is roast lamb loin for those who care for that, and then lots of ground lamb-beef-feta balls for those who find the lamb by itself to be a little offputting (that would be me!). The lamb-beef-feta balls will be topped with either tzaziki or alfredo (I’m going with the alfredo myself). Side dishes include Saganaki (cheese doused with brandy and set alight, though ..read more

Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion was originally written to be performed in the Good Friday Vespers liturgy. I did not know that there was an English version of the Passion until today! It’s available in either Apple Music or Spotify (just search for St. Matthew’s Passion; Jeffrey Skidmore). And if you’d like to learn a bit more about the Passion, here’s a fine article. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more

…for sharing this beautiful picture with me. It's looking from Dr. Lee Maxwell's grave back to the old St. John's Lutheran Church in Maryville. Lee served there as pastor for many years, and was preceded there more than a century before by none other than the great Friederich Lochner. It's also the mother parish of St. Paul's in Hamel. Sadly, the church was closed a few years after Lee's death. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more

…that is what I think every time we are blessed to visit Mexico. Here are some pics from our latest adventures:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more

…that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more