Bracha for Bloggers? (A Ramble)

The thing about being a Southern native, especially with a web site and email addy using the word Dixie, is: Some folks make assumptions about you — a sort of profiling, if you will.

Not all folks think this way. These days, lots of folks think being Southern is cool.

To paraphrase Barbara Mandrell: “I was Dixie … When Dixie wasn’t cool.”

Having recently returned to Houston from my home state of North Carolina, I’m still amazed at how overgrown with vegetation the Ol’ North State is. Compared to Houston, even the more “urban” areas of NC look way too green. (That’s a good thing.)

And nuthin’ could be finer than the accents in Carolina. Just plain cool! Like others with a spare twang, I can polish mine up and sound like the rest when surrounded by the best. (Okay, so I couldn’t hide mine if I tried … but, you know what I mean.)

Two weeks in North Carolina coincided with two weeks of occasional television. I thank God that this opportunity is rare. Then, scanning the radio dial while traveling, I had the misfortune to hear a new country song by Hank Williams Jr., That’s How We Do It in Dixie!

Still another misfortune befell me when I saw a piece of the song’s video on the tellie.

Y’all, that ain’t how decent folks do it in Dixie. (I’ll bet ol’ Hank don’t even do it that way!)

But, as you all know, there’s many facets to one’s culture. And in the Kingdom, there’s room for all — Democrats, Rednecks, Roman Catholics, even Yankees! (Okay, how ’bout three out of four?)

The way I read the Scriptures and understand the teaching of the Church is that God’s “profiling” is concerned more with what we DO out of love than where we’re born, who we voted for, or whether we believe in States Rights or the Western Rite.

We can argue about those — and a host of other — topics. But, given that we all seek a common Kingdom, we all have the same King. And He plainly states that we are to pray for our enemies, do good to those that hate us, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.

In these times of war and chaos it’s nice to be reminded that God is with us — no matter our culture!

Concerning a little ol’ church in Appalachia, this from Symeon …

At the beginning of the service we stood and sang the old hymns from well-worn hymnals. We sang attentively, with feeling. I don’t know exactly how to explain the way Appalachian people sing in their churches. Try to image a room full of men and women with thick Appalachian accents singing “Amazing Grace” unhurriedly, deliberately, almost mournfully, with a sense of reverence, remembrance, and hopeful yearning. The rich harmonies underlie the moving melodies. They skillfully bend the notes with their mountain dialect. Perhaps this is the Scotch-Irish version of the blues. As they sing, the words sometimes make grown men cry. A lot of our culture’s music is about going to heaven. Appalachian people embrace the reality of suffering and death, but also look forward with hope to a time when there’s no more of pain and sorrow.

What would happen if Grapevine Chapel became an Orthodox Christian temple?

Read it all H E R E.

Then, all the way up in New York City, the beauty of it all dawns …

“Excuse me, I need to say a brucha,” he said. “There’s a man approaching who is an unusual shape.”

His eyes flashed toward my right and I looked to see the shortest grown man I’ve ever seen, a fellow in his 20s or 30s who was about three feet tall …

H E R E.