June 12, 2010
Vacation, Day 13
The Lord be with you
If I wasn’t on vacation I would post something today about the Council of Nicaea. This council adopted the first version of the Nicene Creed, which was adopted in its final and current form at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. This council and creed affirmed that Jesus is the eternal Son of God in harmony with the scriptures and the consistent teaching of the Church since the Apostles. Instead, I will ask a trivia question.
What bishop, who is known to virtually everyone in the USA over the age of two, attended the Council of Nicaea and voted in favor of it? (The answer is at the end of this post.)
Now, on to vacation news. Today we celebrated my mother’s 90th birthday. In reality she will not turn 90 until November, but now is the time many of us could gather. The day started off with final preparations. People began to arrive around 10:30 AM. We had Lasagna for lunch with fruit salad. There was ice cream and cake. Memories were shared. My brother George, who was not able to be here, sent a great letter that was read. Mom received cards and gifts. She clearly appreciated the gesture. Things carried on until around 2:30 in the afternoon. Many hands made clean-up a breeze.
A number of the participants met again at Mission Bay for a bon fire around 7:00 PM. Rachel and the kids joined that group. Before they went to the bay they went to Pacific Beach. I took Rachel’s car and got the oil changed and the tires rotated, in preparation for our return trip. Kitty, Diane and I went to dinner at a place called Soup Plantation (only they spell it as one word).
There were a number of us who were taking pictures. However what will no doubt always be considered by me as the “official” picture of this gathering will be one taken by my daughter. That is because she 1) brought a tripod to mount her camera, and 2) her camera has a timer so everyone could be in the photograph. Therefore the group picture below is one she took. All the other photographs were taken by me.
The pictures below are:
1. The group photo, taken on the stairs out back.
2. Rachel, Cathy, Diane and Rebekah looking at Rebekah’s wedding album (Kitty in background)
3. Mom blowing out her candles (we put nine on the cake)
4. Mom opens a present as Rebekah looks on
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
(The answer to the trivia question is: Saint Nicholas, AKA Santa Claus)
It was a great day, full of memories and thanksgiving. The thing Elena's children were most thankful for was the gift of faith in Christ Jesus that they credited her for bringing to them by bringing them up in the Church. That is a present that doesn't stop giving; it gets passed on from generation to generation!
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