December 06, 2001 - 10:21 a.m.
Our internet connection, though professed uninterrupted by Cox Communications, has been up and down all week - usually down from about 5pm to early morning. But at least it's up part of the day. I remarked to Mike, after calling the Cox information line and checking with tech help to confirm that there was an area outage (since it was not mentioned on said information line), that since we've had cable modems I've spent more time on the phone with technical assistance than all other time we've had internet access combined.
"But this is so much faster," he replies, incredulous that I can't see the obvious reasoning.
Anyway - the week's been busy enough to keep my mind off the connectivity craziness. Zack and I drove to Richmond on Tuesday so he could visit his grandparents while I dropped by their church for a labyrinth walk.
My parents are Baptists and have finally found a church as disgusted with the Southern Baptist Convention as they are. The sign out front barely proclaims any association with the SBC, instead listing their denomination as (Baptist). Their preacher stood up to the Fundamentalists at the1985 convention, much to the pride of his congregation, and I think they may have been one of the first churches to leave after The Takeover.
About 4 times a year, the church rents a large canvas copy of the labyrinth at Chartres and sets it up in the fellowship hall for a few hours. Generally it's there twice during Advent and twice again over Lent. The room is lit only by candles and a recording of chant is played for the duration - partly for atmosphere and partly to dull any noise coming from other parts of the building. Either way, it's a marvelously meditative environment.
The walk, at a moderate pace with time to reflect in the center, takes about an hour. There's more information on labyrinths at Grace Cathedral's website.
Also - for any interested, I've found a pretty spiff Advent Calendar.
