Prison Art

Somehow, in the prison meeting this week, we started talking about churches, and especially the difference between the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (and of course, in Russia and the other variations of that branch of Christianity). On one side of the table were two men from Latin America, and on the other, two from Ukraine. I think it all started when I asked if they knew the 10 Commandments. They knew the first one, more or less, but the second one was a complete mystery to them. When I explained that the second commandment prohibits the making of images and statues and bowing down before them, I mentioned the difference between the Western Church (Rome) and the Eastern Church (the Orthodox Churches). The Catholic Church adopted the use of statues, while the Orthodox Church prohibited statues and uses paintings instead, the icons that hang in the churches.

I talked about our impression of the orthodox churches we visited in Ukraine...the most notable difference perhaps being the almost complete absence of pews in the Orthodox Churches. The people stand for the religious ceremonies, which could last well over an hour, I'm sure. The architecture of the orthodox churches is also quite unique. At that point Mishah asked for a pen and he drew a typical Orthodox Church. One other difference: the churches and chapels tend to be round or octagonal. The drawing gives that idea, too.

It's already been a year since we were there. (See the archives for June 2005 for photos and notes on the trip.) Will we return? Only the Lord knows. Meanwhile, for those who have any interest in, or knowledge of, the World Cup (Football to the World, Soccer to the US), Ukraine is still in there for the quarterfinals. Admittedly, I'm not a fanatic for the sport, but with Portugal and Brazil still in, as well, that's three teams out of eight that we can still root for with some sort of personal interest...since the US team didn't fare so well.

I Admire Those Who...

blog every day. Or two or three times a week. Or once a week, without fail. At the present time, I do not qualify.

I have a couple of draft posts ready, and tried to upload one of them with pictures, but right at that time, on that day, my internet connection failed me. I have to find the pictures again that I was going to post.

In the meantime, besides faced with constant translation work, I had to help prepare the visit to Madeira of the US ambassador to Portugal when he came on an official visit a week ago. It was the culmination of months of preparation and programming and was actually called off the week before his visit---for about 24 hours. Fortunately, the cancellation didn't stick, and the visit went ahead as planned. Otherwise we would have been having to do all the preparation all over again. So the last couple of weeks before his visit and the two days he was here were fully occupied.

Last Thursday (the 15th) was a holiday here in Portugal, and the church took advantage of the opportunity to go to the mountains for a day. There were about 50 of us up there enjoying the clouds, drizzle, fog, and a moment or two of sun. Actually, we enjoyed the food and activities planned by Marcia and Gil-Lene more than we did the weather.

On a cultural note, Abbie and I attended a concert on Friday night. An Austrian trio, playing guitar, harp, and zither made beautiful music together. Abbie studied the harp for a year and marvelled at the ease with which the harpist produced beautiful music on the harp. That's not easy at all, she said. I, who have been attempting to learn to play the guitar on my own for a couple of years, observed the lady playing the guitar. She made it look easy, but I know better. Looks are deceiving. And the man playing the zither! Since neither of us has ever tried to play one (nor had ever seen one played for that matter), we could sit back and enjoy the music without feeling the sort of personal frustration we sensed watching the other performers play instruments we have done battle with.

But all that is in the past. The early hours of another Sunday are upon us, and we look forward to what this day will bring. As for the blog, I still aspire to be counted among those I admire, if only for writing at least once a week.