Letters from Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary

Here are words of a great hymn, words by William Williams, translated by Peter Williams (in the public domain) : Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but thou art mighty; hold me with thy powerful hand; bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me now and evermore, feed me now and evermore. Open now the crystal fountain, whence the healing stream doth flow; let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through; strong deliverer, strong deliverer, be thou still my strength and shield, be thou still my strength and shield. When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside; death of death, and hell's destruction, land me safe on Canaan's side; songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee, I will ever give to thee. -- and because it's all about the music too, I share this from my friend Taylor Harvey   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lANNykCVkGA [The little wren on her nest

Janie and George decided to take a late morning nap in the sun . . . "definitely beats chasing rabbits," they say! Stay safe and well . . . naps, sun - all good for staying healthy.

Another rainy day - the ducks are rejoicing! And the pollen count is down . . . that's something to rejoice about, too. Stay safe, stay well.

On his blog, Clergy Confidential, Fr. Tim shares  The Top 10 Reasons to Attend Online Church  . . . and reason 11 is that there is no collection! However, churches still need funds, so please send in those donations. Piper and Janie sleeping through the online sermon and all the other boring parts of life - On a more serious note, as someone who can almost never attend a real, physical church, I offer these two prayers: Prayers taken from the  A Form of Spiritual Communion  of the  Diocese of Malaita  of the  Anglican Communion  are as follows: In union, O Dear Lord, with the faithful at every Altar of Thy Church, where Thy blessed Body and Blood are being offered to the Father, I desire to offer Thee praise and thanksgiving. I present to Thee my soul and body, with the earnest wish that I may ever be united to Thee. And since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, I beseech Thee to come spiritually into my heart. I unite myself to Thee, and embrace Thee with all the aff

 Happy First Day of Spring! In spite of Covid-19 and cloudy weather, today is the Vernal Equinox - a definite time to celebrate! Our chicken Verna has lived with us for a year now and in spite of a health scare earlier this year, she seems to be doing quite well. She is looking forward to even more Spring-like weather when she can go outside to search for bugs in the grass. Stay well, stay safe, and enjoy the Spring!

Social distancing?   No, we don't even understand that concept!

It is with much sadness that we said farewell to Jenny - she had appeared perfectly healthy last night, but this morning we found that she had left us for the Rainbow Bridge. Jenny came to Sanctuary House in February 2011, saved at the last minute from death row in an animal facility in North Carolina. When we first met Jenny she was an adult, thin and scraggly, but she gained weight here and became a most beautiful white and orange cat. Jenny loved her solitude; she didn't mind being near other cats, but she was a loner even in the midst of a group. With me, she was talkative and friendly, although she did not like being held. She knew her name, and always came when called. . . something that cannot be said for many cats! Oh, Jenny - perhaps she has found our friends' beagle Lucy who left only a few days ago. Tesser well, Jenny; catch up with you later!

The Rt. Rev. Barbara Clementine Harris The Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris, at her historic consecration service on Feb. 11, 1989. Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts Photo: David Zadig