My friend Elise killed herself.
Tim gave me the news yesterday. I think it happened Sunday (or maybe the prior Sunday, but I wasn’t really tracking dates). (more…)
Personal
Archived Posts from this Category
November 9, 2011
All Saints’ Day Sermon
Posted by johnmangels under Communion, Personal, Saints, Sermons, St. George's | Tags: by John Mangels, Saints, Sermons, spiritual search |Leave a Comment
“… Do not go gentle into that good night
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”“Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so …
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
and death shall be no more …”
I thought of these words, from Dylan Thomas and John Donne respectively, when my friend and colleague, Marcia, died just before this All Saints’ Day. I think they capture some of the tension I feel between my sense of loss and anger when someone dies and my belief in the promise of fullness of life with God in the communion of saints. (more…)
October 19, 2011
My friend, Jill’s, father died recently.
Turns out his first name was William. Maybe I knew that once? But he was really just Jill’s dad to me. And he was a character. He worked at Cal Tech, and for a while he was in the Guinness Book of Records as the inventor (builder?) of the world’s smallest working machine. (They eventually did away with this category.) When a group, including Jill and I, were arrested for civil disobedience (in protest of the use of antipersonnel weapons in areas with civilian populations during the Vietnam War) he took (I believe) a still photo of the TV coverage (back when cameras were not digital) as a memento for us. I wonder if Jill still has it — she keeps that kind of thing. (more…)
January 31, 2011
Snow Geese?
Posted by johnmangels under Personal | Tags: Birding, by John Mangels, spiritual search |[2] Comments
I went to the Snow Goose Festival in Chico with Anne over this past weekend. It was nice to get away with her (and to supply in Paradise on Sunday). It was good to do a bit of birding. And going to the festival brought to mind one of the “great” experiences of my life. Which involved snow geese — I think. I’ve talked about this experience before, but I don’t believe I’ve ever written it down. (more…)
January 21, 2011
Approaching One Year
Posted by johnmangels under Gastric Bypass | Tags: Gastric Bypass |Leave a Comment
Went to the support group for those who’ve had bariatric surgeries put on by the group that did my preparation and surgery early last February. I think that’s the fourth time I’ve attended (which means I’m getting there about every three months). I may be able to get to some of the once a month Saturday during the day sessions (rather than the late evening monthly sessions I’ve been attending). But, frankly, I probably need to supplement with a closer group (most such support groups are open to anyone who’s had this kind of surgery) if I want to be more regular. And regular participation in such a group seems to make a real difference in how things work out long-term. It’s also a chance to give back. (more…)
January 20, 2011
The Chico Snow Goose Festival is not this weekend, but next week (Thursday through Sunday) and looks like quite an event. To see what’s going on, click here: Snow Goose Festival.
January 3, 2011
Further Reflections on the Christmas Season
Posted by johnmangels under Christmas, Personal | Tags: by John Mangels, Christmas, Daily Office, spiritual search, St. Helena Breviary |Leave a Comment
I have a strong sense of Advent from a year ago. It was a time of real renewal for me. Part of that was from being able to participate in the Benedictine Weekend Retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch in Healdsburg (which I would love to be able to do regularly). Part of that was beginning to get immersed in the monastic version of the St. Helena Breviary. I haven’t been able to maintain that level of immersion, but I think that’s still really feeding my spiritual life. Much of it was sheer grace – simply a gift.
On the other hand, I have very little sense of Christmas from a year ago. (more…)
December 2, 2010
Ten Months and Counting
Posted by johnmangels under Gastric Bypass, Personal | Tags: by John Mangels, Gastric Bypass |[4] Comments
You may remember (if you’ve been following) that I had gastric bypass surgery about 10 months back. Mostly, things have been pretty status quo for a while — so while it continues to be something I deal with every day, I really haven’t had much to say about it for a while.
But I heard last night about another guy who had the same surgery, and had pretty much the same complications I’ve had (more…)
