Bearden: Sisters will teach you a lesson, all right

From Ann Rodgers via Facebook. Originally from Tampa Bay-


We make decisions every day in life that could have a profound impact on our future.

The one that forever altered my stint on this Earth came on the playground at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Birmingham, Mich.

"Let's draw straws to see who will throw the pie in Sister Martin Mary's face," one of my classmates whispered conspiratorially. (A boy, naturally.)

I was in eighth grade, on the brink of being sprung from Catholic school forever. My parents had promised that if I got good grades and stayed out of trouble that final year of school, I could go to the public high school.

No more nuns! No more ugly plaid uniforms! No more daily Mass!

I held up my end of the bargain. And then, on that last day of grade school, with freedom just hours away, I agreed to join the dissidents in this act of rebellion. Only we thought we could pass it off as a humorous send-off. Ha, ha, Sister Martin Mary. You were really tough on us all these years, and we wanted to show our gratitude with this shaving-cream pie.
More here-

http://www2.tbo.com/lifestyles/faith/2012/may/13/banewso1-the-sisters-will-teach-you-a-lesson-all-r-ar-402759/?referer=None&shorturl=http%3A%2F%2Ftbo.ly%2FJrK2G0

Congregation at historic Falls Church moves on

From Falls Church-

Thousands of members of a historic church in northern Virginia held their final Sunday services in their centuries-old home after losing a long-running court battle.

Members of The Falls Church Anglican, a congregation of 4,000 worshippers, have been ordered to vacate the historic church property for which the city of Falls Church is named. The congregation traces its roots back to George Washington.

On Mother's Day, parishioners at the Falls Church Anglican spent their final Sunday attending services before leaving the building for the very last time. The church was established in 1732.

The congregation went through a nasty split precipitated by divisions within The Episcopal Church over the ordination of a gay bishop and other theological issues.

Parishioner Liz Mullen, who's been attending the church for 13 years, said she has "mixed emotions."

More here-

http://www.wtop.com/149/2702400/Falls-Church-congregation-moves-on

Decades old stained glass window finds home in Wilmington church

From North Carolina-

A stained glass window, decades in the making, has finally found its home in a Wilmington church.

The Church of the Servant, an Episcopal church, dedicated the "Healing Window" during a service Sunday morning. The window includes parts of a window made by artist Rowan LeCompte for an Episcopal church in Maryland in the 1950's. After the church burned down, the window sat in a box for more than 40 years.

LeCompte along with Wilmington glass artist, Susan Tharin, added onto the window to help it fit into its new frame.

"When I stepped back and looked at the whole thing, it was just overwhelming to me," Tharin says. "That he has had the faith in me to accomplish this and it's just a relief to have it done and that everyone has been so receptive."

LeCompte has completed 42 stained glass windows for the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. Tharin, who also owns Airlie Art Glass, says its an honor that he picked her to help with the project.

More here-

http://www.wwaytv3.com/2012/05/13/decades-old-stained-glass-window-finds-home-wilmington-church

Mother's Day celebration has roots in U.S. history

From Wisconsin-

As families in dozens of countries around the world celebrate mothers today, a lot has changed since the holiday first began more than a century ago, historians say.

Although some of those celebrations can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman festivals and later a Roman Catholic commemoration of Mary, the mother of Jesus, many historians give credit to a West Virginia mother of 12 and her daughter for establishing the first modern Mother's Day celebration more than a century ago.

In 1868, Anna Reeves Jarvis created a committee to establish what she called Mother's Friendship Day, "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War," according to the National Women's History Project.

More here-

http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20120513/WRT0101/305130094/Mother-s-Day-celebration-has-roots-U-S-history?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CWRT-News

Departure Bittersweet for Member of The Falls Church Anglican

From Falls Church-

The departure of the Anglican congregation by close of business May 15 from The Falls Church leaves Bill Deiss with mixed feelings.

In 1985 Deiss, parish administrator for the last 16 years, wed his second wife in the church. His son also married there. He watched the Baptism of his grandchildren inside the church.

Now the Anglican congregation has been asked to leave the premises.

“It was always a possibility but we didn’t think it would actually happen,” Deiss said Friday. “It’s sad but exciting as well.”

The Anglican congregation of more than 4,000 worshipers will hold their last service at The Falls Church on Mother’s Day at 11 a.m.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows told The Falls Church and six other congregations in the Northern Virginia area in December to give their church property to the diocese they divorced years ago. The 113-page ruling came after almost five years of litigation and hundreds of thousands of dollars in congregation-donated defense funds.

The Episcopalian congregation at the church will continue worshiping at the historic location. The Falls Church has been around for almost 300 years.

More here-

http://fallschurch.patch.com/articles/bittersweet-departure-for-member-of-the-falls-church-anglican#photo-9902256