Thanksgiving Eve Dinner Ideas

If you're like me, expecting Thanksgiving Day guests to arrive on Wednesday, you are not only planning the food for that day but for the night before.

Since I need to do a lot of prep work tomorrow, today I am going to make a huge pot of chili that I will serve Wednesday evening to all the out of town guests. That way I just have to heat it up, add some tamales and a salad, and serve! Hopefully there will be enough left-overs for anyone wanting lunch the next day since we are having dinner in the late afternoon. Plus Portia will bring some chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies for dessert.

I don't really have a written recipe for my chili--good native of San Antonio that I am--but here is an attempt to document it:

3 lbs chili ground beef
2 lbs stewing beef, cut in bite size chunks
2 large onions, chopped
head of garlic, minced
2 cans tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes or diced tomatoes with jalapenos
6 to 8 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons cumin
salt to taste
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons harina or flour
2 cans pinto beans

Saute the chopped onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil until soft and transluscent. Add the meat in batches and brown. Return all browned meat to the pot and add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the salt, chili powder, cumin and cocoa powder and combine well. Cover with water and simmer until the meat is tender.

Once the meat is tender, add the canned beans with their juices. Simmer another 10 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Combine the harina or flour with equal amount of water and stir into chili to thicken. Cook until thick. Serve!

Note: this is not very hot chili, so offer sliced jalapenos or hot pepper sauce for those who like it very spicy. The cocoa is a traditional Mexican ingredient.

What do you do for dinner on Thanksgiving Eve? Go out? Have a favorite pre-Turkey Day recipe you would like to share? Let the cooking begin!

Book Review: Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel won the Booker Prize (the UK's top literary award) for achievement in fiction this year. Since it is a historical novel about my favorite period of English history (the Tudors), I snapped it right up.

The story centers on Thomas Cromwell, a commoner who rose from very humble beginnings to become a lawyer, secretary to Cardinal Wolsey and ultimately was named Earl of Essex by King Henry VIII. Cromwell had enormous influence on the course of English history during the decade in which he was in power as the closest advisor to the King. This was the period that saw Catherine of Aragon set aside for Anne Boleyn; Anne Boleyn executed; her successor Jane Seymour die after childbirth and the disastrous match with Anne of Cleaves.

It is also the period that saw great changes in the English government and society as Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic church over his desire to divorce his first wife. Cromwell was one of the most influential figures of this period. He was sympathetic to the Reformation movement, but was always a realist.

Wolf Hall focuses on the rise of Cromwell, who fixed his star to Anne Boleyn, and ends just before her arrest and subsequent execution. Although the book has received a lot of fulsome praise by critics, I have some problems with it.

First of all, it really demands that the reader have a good background in the history of the period. Most historical fiction writers supply enough background along the way so that the reader who is not familiar with the period and people depicted can follow it. Wolf Hall does not.

Secondly, I found the writing style awkward. Too often I found it difficult to figure out who "he" was. In fact I almost gave up reading it about half way through out of frustration.

Thirdly, there were so much extraneous detail and so many minor characters that the main themes of the novel were overshadowed.

I did learn a lot about Cromwell's influence on the reformation of both the English government and the English church. He was a canny politician who used his methodical and logical mind to rise to power in a cynical and treacherous court. Ultimately, he fell from favor and lost his head--but that is a novel for another day. I read somewhere that Mantel plans a series for this character.

Writing a historical novel about Thomas Cromwell was a great idea but I think Mantel should have focused the narrative more tightly on her main character. I'll probably read her sequel, if there is one, in the hope that she does that.

Landscaping Completed!

I'm excited that we completed the landscaping in the back yard of our new house just in time for Thanksgiving!

Since I miss having a pool here, I designed this "water feature" that was completed a couple of days ago. Beatrice thinks it is her personal drinking fountain and a worthy replacement for the Pool Dragon that she used to chase at the old house.

This type of fountain is called a Bubbling Pot, even though these are more like big Southwestern style urns. Woo-hoo!

Who Wore It Better, Redux

Over at Portia's blog, Olivia is demanding a recount!

PresbyBloggers Adult Bible Study Post

Go over to Presbyterian Bloggers today to read my post about the Bible Study Discussion program at my church and hopefully, a good discussion in the comments about what makes a successful adult Bible study program.

Striving To Be a Starfish Presbytery

(From Rev. Mike Cole's State of the Presbytery address last Saturday available at www.pbyofnewcovenant.org)

THIS WORLD IS:

• tired of war and needs a people committed to peace
• weary of fearfulness and needs a church which is courageous
• jaded by self-serving charlatans and needs people who hold fast to that which is good and renders no one evil for evil
• frustrated with survival of the fittest and needs those who will strengthen the fainthearted and support the weak
• fatigued from all the “isms” and needs a church which helps the afflicted and honors everyone
• tired of bad news and needs a church which loves and serves the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit

THIS WORLD NEEDS A RE-FORMED/RE-FORMING CHURCH AND PRESBYTERY WHICH IS:

• starfish-like in character
• decentralized in its power and knowledge
• able to regenerate new life even when losing part of its body
• Flexible and fluid
• where relationships and trust matter more than structure and statutes

To which I say, Amen!

Dachsie Holiday Fashion Quiz

Portia bought Olivia an outfit for Christmas this weekend, so of course Beatrice had to try it on, too.

Who wears it better?

OLIVIA?

or

BEATRICE?

Sailing Retreat

Last Thursday and Friday I was on retreat with fellow Bible Study Discussion leaders from our church. Our leader was my good friend Mary Marcotte, who is also an Associate General Presbyter for our presbytery.

Mary's theme was Sailing Lessons for Leaders and I'm still pondering all the implications of it. Mary talked about how the sailboat was a symbol of the early church: the mast is in the shape of the cross; the boat is the church itself which is tossed on the seas of worldliness, disbelief and persecution with its precious cargo of human souls which it transports to our heavenly home.

The power of the sailboat is in the wind--and the power of the church is in the Holy Spirit which is known as the ruah or breath of God. We spent time discussing how often we are furiously trying to row the boat of the church with our own power, ignoring the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Then we wonder why we get frustrated!

It was a powerful retreat and I was doubly blessed by being with the wonderful BSD leaders and being led by my good friend. Now I'm going to try to find a place to store those oars and see if I can leave them there for a while. My arms are pretty sore!

Presbytery of New Covenant Report: Overture and IKE

Our presbytery had its last meeting of the year today. Attendance was the highest we have seen in a long time, perhaps because of the overture brought by First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Here is the text of the overture:

The Session of First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood, Texas, requests the Presbytery of New Covenant to overture the 219th General Assembly (2010) to:

“joyfully reaffirm the historic, biblical and Christological teaching of the Church on the topic of marriage as a gift from God to bless humankind. As God created man and woman, so does God call some men and women to live together as husband and wife. God’s very order and design defines the institution of marriage.”

It passed by a written vote of 107 to 86. There was a good discussion before the vote. This overture will now be forwarded by Presbytery of New Covenant for consideration at next year's General Assembly. There is no doubt there will be other overtures on this subject on both sides of the issue that will be sent from other presbyteries.

The presbytery also showed an outstanding video about Hurricane Ike recovery (or lack of it) in southeast Texas since that storm hit just a little more than a year ago. You can view the video on the presbytery's website here. Then if you are inspired to come assist, here is more information about bringing your team down to this area to help with the rebuilding effort: Bring your mission team to Texas!

Donations for Hurricane Ike relief have been LESS THAN 1% of what was contributed for Hurricane Katrina relief. Yet Ike was the third most destructive hurricane in American history. It hit Galveston Texas with force 2 winds but a force 5 storm surge. It is estimated that it will take at least four more years to complete the recovery effort.

At lunch today I visited with a woman whose daughter and son-in-law had left Galveston and relocated to San Antonio after Ike because there was so little infrastructure left in the community. Now she is trying to establish a medical practice and he is trying to establish a law practice in a new town. There are many more stories like this one.

It was a good presbytery meeting--the music was provided by the Calabash Choir, an African group that is part of the church hosting the meeting. They had the frozen chosen moving around more than a bit!

Honoring the Nisei Vets

Monday at the CE Chicks luncheon, we discovered that the father of one of our group was a member of WWII's fabled 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up of Americans of Japanese descent.

That unit broke through enemy lines and rescued survivors of the First Battalion of the Texas 141 Regiment (the Lost Battalion) and led them to safety after they had fallen into a trap of Nazi forces in the mountains of northern France in October, 1944.

Last week there was a big dinner honoring the surviving members of the 442nd and 441st in Houston. I read this story in the Houston Chronicle about it, but didn't realize that one of the men quoted in the piece was my friend's father. The photo here is from the Chronicle's story.

She attended the dinner with her father and said it was a wonderful evening. Recently a couple of journalists from Japan came to her parents' home to interview him about his experiences during the war and take pictures. Like many veterans, he never talked about his wartime service so she heard new stories about this time in his life.

God bless him and his comrades for their service to our country during a time in which Japanese Americans were interned and treated with suspicion and discrimination.

Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!

Book Review: Mennonite In A Little Black Dress

You can't blame a girl for going home to Mom and Dad after suffering a botched hysterectomy; having her husband leave her for another man; and being seriously injured in an auto accident within a few weeks' time. Rhoda Janzen returned to her Mennonite roots (her father is a Mennonite pastor and seminary professor) used her skills as a poet and teacher of creative writing at Hope College to write a memoir about growing up and away from her roots in the Mennonite community.

When I was offered a review copy of Mennonite in A Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen, the publisher's marketing folks highlighted the rave review from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of one of my least favorite books.

So I almost declined, but then was intrigued with the Mennonite angle since some of my father's family were Swiss Mennonites and I don't know much about them. For the record, Janzen is a WAY more sympathetic author than Gilbert and there is very little similarity between their two books.

Janzen wants us all to know that Mennonites are Not the Amish. They are too liberal for the Amish who split off to go their more conservative way back in the day. But the Mennonites are definitely much more like the Amish than most of us are, and Janzen offers some very witty and wry observations that made me laugh out loud.

I particularly enjoyed the top 5 Shame-Based Foods for Mennonite lunches, which included Platz and Borscht. Her ancestors were from the Ukraine, but I bet if they had been Swiss like mine she would have had cheese and chocolate instead!

Although the book has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, it also has thoughtful reflections on how her upbringing shaped her later life and that of her siblings. Interestingly, Janzen says that she once applied to a Mennonite seminary to study theology but changed her mind after hearing from the only female student there. She writes that she still believes in God but questions much of the conservative theology she grew up with. Becoming thoroughly secular in her marriage to an atheist, she never replaced that religious viewpoint with anything else. Nevertheless she portrays her Mennonite family, community, religion and culture with sympathy, affection and loyalty.

Mennonite in A Little Black Dress is written in a conversational style that is witty, insightful, thought-provoking and never whiney. I really enjoyed reading it and would like to read more from this author.

How about a Mini-Tree?

It's still two weeks from Thanksgiving, but my mailbox overfloweth with catalogues featuring Christmas decorations. And that made me start thinking about how to decorate the new house for the Christmas season.

I threw out my old spindly fake tree when we moved. Portia and Babs had made fun of it for years because they said it was shaped like El Jefe--tall and thin. But it fit perfectly in the living room at our old house!

The new house is so Mediterranean/Texas Hill Country in style that I'm rethinking my traditional decorations. I don't think I want to have a large tree anymore, so maybe a tabletop size would be a good idea, something like this:

Family allergies prevent bringing in a real tree, so it has to be fake. But I could use a rosemary bush if I wanted something real. Like this:

Luminarias would be pretty at the front entrance and down the loggia, particularly if I can find battery-operated ones and not have to use the candles that will make El Jefe very nervous that the house will burn down!

It will be a very different look! Are you thinking about making changing your Christmas decorating this year?

Honoring Those Killed at Fort Hood

The Texas Governor ordered all flags flown at half staff in the state in honor of the soldiers killed yesterday at Fort Hood by one of their own officers. (And yes, he has the authority to do that.)

Yesterday we also learned that my nephew, who is a surgeon in the US Navy, will be deployed to Afghanistan early in January. His wife is expecting their first child in mid-December. We are proud of his service and will do everything we can to support his family while they are gone.

My prayers are with all of those families who had loved ones killed or injured yesterday.

Whither Synods?

~PresbyPolityGeek Alert: this post is about synods~

Two interesting overtures and one proposal about synods emerged in the last couple of weeks.

An overture from Rocky Mountains presbytery would restructure synods so that more responsibility is returned to presbyteries, while the overture from New Hope Presbytery calls for the elimination of synods altogether so that the PCUSA would have three levels of polity rather than one.

Meanwhile Presbyterians for Renewal are calling for the formation of
a new non-geographic synod for the conservative/evangelical wing of the denomination.

That's a lot of early focus on synods. When I attended Moderator Training a couple of years ago, I heard many stories about synods that are not able to function well, or at all, because of lack of funding and lack of interest in participating in their work.

It seems to me that synods are a relic of the nineteenth century. Back when travel depended on horses or trains, it was expensive and time consuming to gather on a national level and the "super-regional" grouping of the synod made some sense.

I don't think it does any longer. Not only is air travel fast, safe and generally affordable, but more and more connections are made via the internet, email and cell phones than anyone ever dreamed when synods were first created.

Isn't it high time to eliminate synods? Their functions can be assigned to presbyteries, General Assembly, seminaries or other organizations within the denomination.

As for the PFR proposal, although I am often sympathetic with their viewpoint, I think it would be a mistake to perpetuate synods for the purpose of allowing the more conservative churches and pastors to withdraw into their own subgroup.

Withdrawing into an "affinity synod" without leaving the denomination doesn't make any sense to me. If we had a "conservative" synod, then why not create "liberal", "progressive", "centrist" and "emergent" synods. That would be a polity nightmare, wouldn't it? Aren't we called to be salt and light to each other? And doesn't that mean we won't always agree on everything?

More overtures on synods will probably be submitted before the next GA. So far I like the one from New Hope.

Heart-felt Thanks

Going through the mail after being away for the weekend, I opened a thank-you note from a recent bride who is a long-time friend of Portia and Babs and the whole family.

The details are unbloggable for a lot of reasons, but suffice it to say that it was a powerful reminder of the truth that St. Paul wrote in Galatians:

" let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

I'm verklempt. Talk among yourselves. I'll give you a topic:

The little things we do for others are neither little, nor just things.

Discuss.

Lincoln in Springfield

Here are some photos from our weekend trip to Springfield with El Jefe's Civil War Aficianados group.

The wax figures of the Lincoln family greet you at the museum adjacent to the Lincoln Presidential Library. The exhibits there are very well done. I was very impressed with the replica of the White House (its 3/4 scale) and the video presentations that have been created for the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.

We found this bronze statue of Abraham and Mary Lincoln just outside the building where Lincoln had his law offices with his partner, Herndon. The statues are life-size, so the group had El Jefe stand next to it to show that he is a bit taller than Lincoln was.






This is the home the Lincolns lived in while in Springfield. They rented it out while in Washington, DC because they planned to return there after he left office. Most of the furniture in it is their original furniture and the colors of the house are carefully matched to the original. It is a comfortable 4 bedroom home that would have been very luxurious for the day--despite the lack of running water or indoor plumbing. There was a "necessary" out in the back yard.

We also visited New Salem, about 20 miles from Springfield, where the young Abe Lincoln lived for a few years and kept an unsuccessful store. The site is a reproduction based on documents from the original settlers there. El Jefe observed that people living there in the 1830's led lives that resembled their ancestors of the 1530's more than their descendants of today.

Across the street from our hotel was the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield where the Lincolns worshipped. Mary Lincoln was a member but Abe never formally joined. There is a pew in the sanctuary marked as the "Lincoln" pew. We had hoped to attend Sunday service there but had to leave early to drive back to the airport in St. Louis. This is still an active congregation today.

Lincoln and all of his family (except his oldest son Robert who is buried at Arlington Cemetery at the behest of his wife) are buried in this impressive tomb in the Springfield cemetery. The structure evolved over several decades. The interior is covered with marble and decorated with bronze statues. Because there was a ghoulish attempt to kidnap Lincoln's body some years after his death, his grave is many feet below the surface in a steel container.

We were all very moved by our visit. We learned a lot of details about Lincoln's life and times that I have never heard anywhere else. For example, Stephen Douglas who lost the Presidency to Lincoln had a man from Georgia as his running mate. Douglas died 6 weeks after Lincoln was inaugurated, so if he had won his vice president would have been very different from Lincoln in his policy and point of view. Although if Douglas had been elected, the civil war may have been delayed it is doubtful it would have been avoided. What would have happened if his running mate had then been president? Would he have adopted Douglas' views on popular soveriegnty and let the South secede? We'll never know, but it gave us a lot to think about.

Halloween Wishes

Land of Lincoln Tours

El Jefe and I are off tomorrow at o'dark thirty with a crew of fellow Presbyterian Civil War buffs~known as the Civil War Aficianados~to tour the Lincoln Historical Museum and other sights in Springfield, Illinois like his law office, the site of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the Lincoln family's burial site.

The Aficianados read and discussed A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White before the trip and they focused on Lincoln's life as a lawyer and his spiritual life. I've got the book safely stowed on my Kindle for the trip!

It will be Halloween weekend, so I wonder if we will see goblins dressed as John Wilkes Booth or poor, mad Mary Lincoln in the historic park there. If so, I'll post photos.

Talking About Jesus

Our Vice- Moderator, Rev. Byron Wade, puts his finger on one of the causes of the decline of the PCUSA with his recent blog post: Is It Just Me or Are We Supposed To Be Talking About Jesus?

Hat tip: Presbyweb.

It Is Finished!

After about 6 months of effort the church's policy and procedures manual is finally finished! The session approved it at yesterday's meeting. There were a couple of last-minutes changes, but nothing substantial.

So the great opus will be posted on the website and the master copy will go to live in the church office.

Will anyone ever look at it again? We will make a "reader's digest" version to show the new elders at their training meetings. But its just too long to go over in any detail. And that would be a real MEGO (my eyes glaze over) experience anyway. I do think the revision is more "user-friendly", relatively speaking, and hopefully will be easier to update in the future.

It was a good exercise for me since I am relatively new to this church because it forced me to learn a lot about the way it is organized. Now the challenge will be keeping it current because there are sure to be changes big and small to procedures and policies in the future.

But for now, I'm just glad it's done!

Great Reviews for The Diva!

Friday night's performance of The Elixir of Love was fabulous! The Houston Grand Opera production was very entertaining and fast-paced. The singers were great and we all had a wonderful evening.

My niece Catherine Martin, a/k/a The Diva, is indicated with the blue arrow on this photo. They put her in a truly heinous black 40's style wig and a dress that looked like it was from the sale rack at St. Vincent de Paul. (The Diva is really a blonde.) And let's not even mention the shoes. No, let's not. But as you can see from the photo, that was the vision of the set and costume designers.

I was amazed at the number of people in the chorus that fit on the stage and how well they moved around without falling over each other. The acting was also superb.

And now, a look at the early reviews. You'll pardon my auntly pride as I post the excerpts about Catherine, you can go to the links to read the whole review. Drumroll, please:

Catherine Martin’s Gianetta was also beautifully sung..

(from ConcertoNet.com)

Rounding out the cast was HGO Studio Artist Catherine Martin in a small but worth noting role. Her beautiful mezzo-soprano voice in some ways outshone her leading lady with its crystal clear quality and focused, rich sound. She is sure to have a promising and prosperous career... Houston Examiner

And no, neither her mother nor I wrote that second review!

Opening Night at HGO!

We're all all-flutter Chez QG about the Diva's debut tonight. She will perform the role of Gianetta in Donizetti's The Elixir of Love in Houston Grand Opera's production.

Her mom and sister will be on their way from San Antonio to join El Jefe and I. We also get to go to the Opening Night dinner afterwards and will be all dolled up in our black tie duds which we hope we won't burst with pride!

I'm not sure we'll be able to follow the convoluted plot of the opera, even with the English subtitles that HGO projects during performances. The Diva tells us her role is small (about a two page solo) and she is the "head chorus girl", but she is the only one in the cast from the Young Artists program, so we think she is the star!

Review to follow....stay tuned.

Checking In and Prayers Please

It's been a wild couple of days since coming back from our trip to Pennsylvania for the weekend.

Please pray for my friend Martha, seriously injured in a car accident yesterday. She suffered multiple fractured ribs, a concussion and an injured lung. She faces a long, painful recovery.

Also, prayers for my patience in dealing with last-minute changes to the church's policy and procedures manual would be appreciated. It gets voted on at Monday's session meeting. Yeah!

In other news, I see the Vatican is wooing disaffected Episcopalians. Aren't they concerned that expanding the exception allowing married priests will generate more pressure to permit all priests to marry? Which would be fine with me, but I'm not Catholic. What do you think?

Olivia Responds: Bea Wasn't So Good Herself

Woof Yourself!

Olivia Here.

Beatrice is a Big Tattletale. So there!

And she isn't so good herself, either. Portia made us both spend Saturday afternoon in Time Out in the yard because Beatrice kept chasing DK's cats.

Okay, so I chase them too. But Beatrice started it!

Yours for setting the record straight,

Olivia

Beatrice Blogs: Olivia's Poor Deportment

Woof! Beatrice here.

This weekend QG and El Jefe were out of town so I went to stay with Portia and DK. But on Thursday and Friday they had to work so QG found a Doggy Day Care facility near our house.

I'm very sad to report that Olivia disgraced the family name by snarling at the other dogs in the day care area so we had to spend the day in the time-out room (a/k/a day boarding kennel) instead of being able to hang out with the other pooches.

Portia was mortified when she came to pick us up and learned that Olivia got an N (needs improvement) in deportment. Now QG is wondering what's the best way to teach her better behavior around other dogs. She is pretty good with one or two small dogs her size but acts up when the dogs are larger or there are more of them.

Embarrassingly yours,
Beatrice

Deciding When to Say NO

Sometimes it is really hard to say NO when you're asked to do things that you are very interested in and enjoy doing. Especially when those things are church-related.

The last week found me sorely tempted to say YES to requests from my church and from Greater PresbyLand (and, no, the Presby request wasn't from anything GA related). Because I was already feeling a bit overwhelmed by existing commitments, I prayed and thought about it first instead of impulsively agreeing, for a change, and finally declined both.

Good Friend Dorothy and I often remind each other when we think its time to get our virtual NO refreshed on our foreheads. She will be very proud of me!

So I decided to make a list of reasons I said no, even though I would have liked to say yes, for future reference:

• Number and scope of previous commitments
• Time of day ( already have too many evening meetings)
• Number of trips to Houston per day added (part of the price of living in the suburbs-- I can't tolerate too many 2 trip days)
• Complicating Sunday mornings for the family
• Remembering that too much busy-ness is bad for the soul, even when it is at church. Maybe especially when it is at church!

When you say no when you would like to say yes, what influences your decision?

Our New Doors

This is why recent visitors to our new house are calling it The Cloisters.

Door to the "casita"-- the little guest house.












Looking down the loggia to the front door.








Looking the other way down the loggia towards the street entrance.







Maybe I need to get a couple of black robes to wear around the house, although I would much prefer a lavish medieval gown like this one.

Twitter Worship Follies

From Sunday's Houston Chronicle article Praise for Technology --Tweeting during worship services gets blessing of pastors:

(Pastor Kerry) Shook, of the nondenominational Woodlands Church, is still easing into Twitter. During the first interactive service, his wife, Chris, took questions from the congregation via Twitter, and he contributed a tweet of his own: “Chris Shook looks really hot tonight!”

His son tweeted in response: “please don't broadcast your attraction to mom across Twitter — kind of embarrassing.”

Shook is learning through experience.

“I forgot it went out to the whole twittersphere. I was so embarrassed...,” the pastor said. “But I can see this becoming a real part of the service.”

Gentle Readers, I rest my case.

From those that tweet twitter and text in worship
And cell phones that ring the Aggie War Hymn during silent prayer
Good Lord Protect Us!

Fears of Contagion Change Church Practices

Lauren Winner writes in today's Wall Street Journal that Swine Flu Spells the End of the Common Cup. When I saw the headline I immediately remembered how horrified Babs (my little Presbyterian) was when we attended the opening worship service for entering freshmen at All Saints Chapel at Sewanee and she was offered a common cup. She like to died!

Winner notes in her article that the chaplain at Sewanee continues to use the common cup but no longer allows communicants to dunk the bread pieces in the cup on the theory that the mouth has fewer germs than the hand. That would not have mollified Babs, who decamped to a Presbyterian students' group when Eastern Tennessee presbytery made a retired Sewanee professor a Commissioned Lay Pastor for a ministry to Presbyterian students and friends. And I have to admit that I'm not a fan of the common cup, either.

Although Presbyterians have a long tradition of using what Winner calls "shot glasses" -- don't you love it?--rather than the common cup, even we are making some changes in response to concerns about H1N1 (the politically correct term for swine flu).

World communion Sunday last week saw us using both shot glasses and pre-cut pieces of bread. I didn't think about it at the time, but that was obviously a response to H1N1 because we usually tear bread off a loaf and dunk it.

Another change came at the end of the service when the pastor usually asked the congregation to hold hands as he delivers the benediction. Although a number of people continued that tradition, he didn't mention it.

In our Bible Study Discussion groups we traditionally hold hands for intercessory prayer and we haven't changed that custom. If someone has a cold, they just excuse themselves and we count it as a "virtual" hand-holding.

If you ask me, the biggest center of contagion is in the church nursery where parents will often bring a sick child that they wouldn't dream of sending to school. I assume churches are being more careful about this as well, but don't know for sure because I don't have children or grandchildren in nursery care these days.

Has your church made changes in liturgy or practice in response to fears of spreading flus of any type?

Book Review: Sacred Hearts

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant is a novel set in a convent in 16th century Ferrara, Italy. While one of the stock characters of historical fiction of the medieval European period is the formidable abbess who exercises power and commands respect that women outside the convent will never achieve, the fate of those forced by circumstance or by their families into convent life is seldom examined.

The author says that her research shows that roughly half of the women of noble birth in 16th century Italy were forced into convents because the market for marriage doweries became so inflated that even wealthy families could not afford marriage for more than one daughter. Although convents received doweries from wealthy families also, it was more affordable. Girls who were disabled in any way, or not attractive enough, or too attractive, spirited, or intelligent were usually the ones families "gave to God."

Women "given to God" in this era were basically incarcerated behind the walls of the convent for the rest of their lives. They did not teach, nurse, help the poor or serve in the community. The choir nuns (from the noble families) sang, prayed, embroidered, or copied manuscripts. The lay sisters (from poorer families) did the everyday work and acted as maids for the choir nuns.

Sacred Hearts is marketed as a love story, but it is really much more than that. Dunant creates several very complex characters--the novice Serafina whose father beats her and forces her into the convent because of an unsuitable love affair; the Abbess Madonna Chiara who is a brilliant spiritual and political leader; the infirmarian Zuana who developed medical skills in the convent that would have been forbidden to her otherwise; and the novice mistress Umiliana who seeks a stricter rule for the community.

The transformative power of prayer, music, learning and community are major themes of the novel as they illuminate the motivations of the main and lesser characters here. Dunant emphasizes the value of a holistic spirituality as opposed to a narrow religious fanaticism that would starve the body in order to feed the soul.

I really enjoyed reading Sacred Hearts. It has a complex plot although the ending is somewhat telegraphed just before you get there. As all good novels do, it leaves you with a lot to think about after you finish it.

Full Disclosure Time

Here's a heads-up for all my blogging friends from the QG Bureau of BlogLaw: the FTC now requires you to reveal your freebies if you write about them. More info HERE.

So, okay, FTC, here's mine. I got a free copy of a book that I reviewed, which I disclosed in the review. Yes, that's redundant but I'm following El Jefe's guidance to his corporate clients with regard to SEC filings which is when it comes to disclosure, you need boots AND suspenders.

Clearly I'm not a very successful blogger if the FTC is concerned enough about blogging freebies to make this rule. (Note: I do understand that there are advertisements that are disguised as blogs.)

Is there something you need to disclose? The FTC wants to know....

Thoughts on the Gift of Administration

And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:27-29

Although I like to think of myself as having other spiritual gifts, it seems that I am mostly called upon by the church to exercise the gift of administration. Checking the above passage from 1 Corinithians, I suppose it is a good thing that it is listed ahead of speaking in tongues since most of us PresbyTypes don't do that.

For the last couple of months I've been immersed in revising the Policies and Procedures manual for our church. This is done every other year and assigned to the newest Senior Administrative Officer (a/k/a SAO) in the 3 year SAO chain. That would be me this year.

The old P&P was a mish-mash of styles and formats which made it hard to read and use, so we decided to create a standard format for ministry and committee descriptions. My inbox has been filled with comments from elders and staff after I emailed the new versions to everyone and asked for any additional policy documents that weren't there in the first place.

Master drafting responsibility is mine, and did I mention that as a word processor I am a great lawyer and a better singer? I confess that frustration with editing did have me speaking in tongues--just not the kind in 1 Corinthians! Fortunately the church communications staff agreed to format the manual after the text of it was in a final draft form. Whew!

Although we've joked about how the best manual would be two pages long rather than the 100+ pages this one is morphing into, I'm now convinced that it is important to have everything in one place somewhere. The fact is that if a policy or procedure is approved by the session and is only recorded in the minutes, it is likely to be forgotten within a few years when the membership of that group has turned over. What we are doing here is creating institutional memory and consistency and that is just as important for a church as for any other group.

When the master P&P is finished, we plan to create "condensed" versions that will refer the reader to the church website for links to the lengthier policy documents such as teacher and employee handbooks, accounting and financial guidelines, etc. We'll also post the P&P on the website, probably in the condensed version that will include live links. Since the church is "reformed always reforming" its policies and procedures, the challenge will be to keep it current!

Having to revise and live by this manual is difficult--but not doing that would be far more difficult because not operating under agreed upon policies and procedures invites the chaos, dissension, and misunderstanding that undermines the ministry of the church.

And that's why administration is one of the spiritual gifts.

MOB Redux Update: Cake Tasting

Yesterday Babs, P-Dubya, Portia and I went to a cake tasting. This is one of the most fun parts of the wedding planning! The baker was recommended to Babs by a couple of recently married friends and we loved the website (isn't it cute?).

Babs requested samples of an almond cake; white chocolate and strawberries cake and a white chocolate cookies and cream cake. Unlike most tastings where you get a see-through slice of the cake and several separate frostings and fillings to sample, we were served regular portions of the completed cake. Yum! All were super delicious.

Babs has a firm NO FONDANT policy because she doesn't think it tastes good. She is all about buttercream! So they chose the cookies and cream cake for the bride, to be decorated with fresh flowers.

The grooms cake is still being debated, but Portia suggested that the almond cake in the shape of her dachshund Olivia (who is crazy about P-Dubya) would be an excellent choice. I'm betting on the almond cake, but not the dachsie shape!

The DCE: Last of the Mohicans?

Yesterday I had a delightful lunch with several of the gals I know around the presbytery who served their churches as Directors of Christian Education during the same time that I did--about 3 years ago.

Note the past tense. None of us are acting in that capacity today. Three of us retired for personal reasons. One was "made redundant" when the church decided to hire an associate pastor for education instead. One is now employed at the presbytery level.

Discussion revolved around plans for a DCE retreat later this month. When we talked about who was going to come, I realized that only one was currently employed as a DCE in a church and that her position was tenuous due to financial issues there.

Eight years ago when I first became a DCE there was a sizeable group of us in the presbytery. We served "program" size churches for the most part. The largest churches had associate pastors overseeing their Christian Education programs and the smaller church CE programs were covered by elders and interested lay people. Based on the discussion, it seems that DCE's are going the way of the albatross.

One of the problems, of course, is the odd position the DCE has in our polity. If you pursue the certification courses and become fully qualified as a DCE then your minimum salary in our presbytery is the same as that of a first-call pastor. Efforts to have the position of DCE become an ordained position, like that of a minister of Word and Sacrament, have been rebuffed at the last two General Assemblies and are unlikely to be successful. One of my friends pointed out that if you completed all the certification courses you only needed two additional courses to qualify as a Commissioned Lay Pastor and there is much more demand for CLP's in our presbytery than DCE's because small churches can afford them.

Although I took a couple of the courses, I made the decision not to pursue the certification because I believe my call to work in the church is not as a church professional but as an elder. I am sympathetic to the fact that without the protection afforded by being ordained under the Book of Order and having a formal call to serve as a DCE the educator can be underpaid and lack job security. But the demographics and financial realities of most PCUSA churches are not conducive to change.

Program size churches looking for DCE's find that their best (or only) candidates are found within their own congregations and will be women who can afford to work for part-time pay and no benefits. In these cases the church can't afford to cover continuing education costs for the DCE, so she either does it on her own or doesn't do it at all. Neither option is good.

The PCUSA has a surfeit of pastors seeking calls in urban and suburban areas and a decreasing number of members to support them. That doesn't augur well for the future of the DCE. And it is a shame, because when I looked around the lunch table yesterday I had to give thanks to God for the energy, intelligence, imagination and love my friends have given to the church as Christian Educators par excellence.

About Numbers

Here's my latest Best of the Blogs column for the October issue of Presbyterians Today. It's About Numbers.

The biggest challenge in writing this feature for PT is that the deadline is 3 months in advance of its publication--an eternity in the land of the blogs! However the annual decline in the PCUSA's membership numbers is always a timely topic for discussion.

I've been asked to continue the column next year, so I'd like to ask my Gentle Readers to give me suggestions for blogs to feature that would be of interest to PT readers or any other ideas you may have in the comments.

Muchas gracias!

In Which QG Indulges in a Fashion Rant

This weekend I was surfing my favorite online shopping sites looking for fall clothes. Yeah, I know, it was briefly fall-ish here (below 90 degrees) and I'm sick of wearing my summer stuff.

I could not find anything. At. All.

What is up with the clothing industry? I couldn't believe all the flimsy, floaty tops in wild prints that I saw. Like this one. They look like maternity tops, but they're not. And no, I'm not looking at the junior department but at staid sites for "women of a certain age and size". I can't think of anything that would make me--or many of my friends--look worse.

And while I'm at it, I have a word for Coldwater Creek, which I generally like because they have some tall pants that fit me perfectly. Why can't you make some skirts that are in sold colors, not wild flimsy prints with uneven hems? And how about some blouses in a nice print and not just solid colors? I think you have it all backwards!

~rant over, as you were~

Book Review: Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom, the best-selling author of Tuesdays With Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and a slew of other books, has a new non-fiction book coming out September 29: Have a Little Faith: A True Story. When one of his publicists emailed and asked me if I would be willing to read an advance copy and write reviews for my blog and Presbyterian Bloggers, I was flattered and agreed.

I haven’t read any of Albom’s books except Tuesdays With Morrie. There are a lot of parallels between Tuesdays With Morrie and Have A Little Faith. Albom wrote a memorable character study of his beloved professor in Morrie and he writes another excellent character study of his beloved Rabbi Albert Lewis. Albom develops a very close relationship with the “Reb” over several years after he agrees to the Reb’s request that he deliver the eulogy at his funeral and so visits with Lewis frequently in order to gather material for that purpose.

Albom’s first chapter “The Great Tradition of Running Away” will resonate with every religious leader or layperson who has ever said to God “Why me? Choose somebody else.” Although he professes to be mystified about the motive behind the rabbi’s request, it isn’t hard to conclude that the Reb wanted to have a well-known writer with a gift for characterization represent him at his service and to re-engage Albom in his Jewish faith.

Albom says that he was brought up in an observant Jewish home and studied his religion extensively, even leading youth groups while in college, until he graduated and, in his words, “pretty much walked off from it.” Lewis succeeds in both of his objectives--Albom includes the eulogy he delivered for the Reb in the book and it is truly memorable.

The story of the developing relationship between the author and the Reb is interwoven with the story of Henry Covington, an African American pastor in Detroit struggling with a poor minority congregation in the inner city and his own criminal past. Gradually the author comes to trust and respect the authenticity of Henry Covington’s faith and life and his need for atonement.

By far the stronger parts of the book are those that deal with Henry Lewis, the Reb. Albom shares a personal history, cultural, educational and religious affinity with him, so that is not surprising. I did not find the arrangement of the two different narratives helpful, but distracting, since almost every other chapter switched the focus. Sometimes two disparate narratives like these cannot be forced into one coherent whole.

Evangelism is a much-used and abused word in Christian circles these days. Have A Little Faith reinforces the proposition that true evangelism comes from developing relationships with others. As Albom said about Rabbi Lewis, “he had stirred up something in me that had been dormant for a long time. He was always celebrating what he called ‘our beautiful faith’...Maybe the faith didn’t mean that much to me, but it did to him, you could see how it put him at peace. I didn’t know many people at peace. So I kept coming...”

Or as the old saying goes, “preach the Gospel, use words if necessary.”

I’m sure the book will be well publicized. I’m told Mitch Albom is already booked on Dr. Phil, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends and other venues to talk about it. It will probably be a best-seller and many people will find the two men described in the book inspirational figures. When I finished the book, though, I was left wondering whether the author ultimately reclaimed his faith in the God of his fathers, or just found faith in the idea of faith.

UPDATE: I edited the post to reflect the shows Albom has confirmed bookings on. I'm told there is not yet a confirmation on the Oprah Show.

(Cross posted at Presbyterian Bloggers).

Landscaping and MOB Updates

Landscape Update: Thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions for our back yard! I'm thinking about planting a red oak and an elm for shade, adding some sweet olive near the back porch, moving the knockout roses now at the back of the house to a sunnier area and replacing them with azaleas, and adding Mexican firecrackers and dark red crepe myrtles to the oleanders and knockout roses along the back brick fence. Then I'll put in a Meyer lemon near the courtyard. Pictures will be forthcoming when we get this done--which could be a few weeks.

MOB update: Babs scheduled a cake tasting next week! Yum. The best part of the planning! She and P-Dubya previewed a rehearsal dinner venue yesterday in the driving rain, so I'm not sure what they thought of it. Music for the reception is the next issue to settle, but that will be fun, too. Then all will be quiet on the MOB front until the New Year.

Aside: don't you just hate it when Blogger's scheduled post feature doesn't work? I had to save a book review I want to post tomorrow morning instead of scheduling it because the darn thing keeps publishing it. Check back tomorrow for an advance preview of Mitch Albom's new book Have A Little Faith, which will be published September 29.

Landscape Question

Here's a question for my Gentle Readers With Green Thumbs, especially those of you who live in my southeast Texas area. What trees do you like in a back yard?

We need to put some in this fall, but El Jefe doesn't want trees that drop lots of leaves to rake (this is our "retirement" home after all) or that drop nuts or other stuff to pick up. I'd like something that will grow quickly so we will be able to enjoy it. Any tree down here needs to tolerate heat and occasional droughts.

I do miss my old yard with its very mature bushes and trees!

So, what do you recommend? Crepe myrtles? Any type of oak? Something else?

Book Review: The Center Cannot Hold

If it weren't for my daughter Babs, I never would have read The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn R. Saks. This is the compelling story of a brilliant law professor who has battled her own diagnosis of chronic paronoid schitzophrenia since young adulthood.

The descriptions of what it was (and is) like for the author to experience periodic episodes of this devastating mental illness are just amazing. She is able to give the reader some understanding of how this affects her perceptions, thoughts and emotions. Saks makes it clear that her condition can only be stabilized with treatment but not cured. From time to time, the illness will re-assert itself.

The progression from the early emergence of the symptoms when she was an undergrad at Vanderbilt to full-blown psychosis as a graduate student at Oxford University and later at Yale Law School resulted in many forms of treatment--some quite brutal. Finally a combination of drug therapy and psychotherapy bring her life into a manageable but fragile balance.

I'm awed by this woman's intellectual brilliance and strength of character. Most people with this diagnosis are unable to live independent lives and are often institutionalized. She has fought an incredibly difficult battle and is honest about the limitations her illness forces on her everyday life. Although she has found happiness in marriage and success in her profession, she cannot have children and maintenance of mental stability requires a strict adherence to routine, schedule and medication.

One continuing theme of the book is the ongoing struggle that those with chronic mental illness have with the temptation to go off their medications. Professor Styn recounts many times in her own life when she tried to cut back with disastrous results.

Another major theme is the importance of the consistent loving support of friends and family in achieving and maintaing this fragile stability. Surely there is a special place in heaven for the author's friend Bill, whose patience and concern was undeterred by distance or time over the course of her life.

One of our best friends and his family have had to cope with the tragic impact of a similar illness. This book helped me to understand the situation better. I highly recommend it for anyone with a loved one who suffers serious chronic mental illness. Thank you, Babs, for giving it to me to read.

Congratulations to Babs

Last night we celebrated with Babs and P-Dubya the news that she just received her unrestricted Licensed Professional Counselor designation from the State of Texas. That means she no longer has the "intern" label on her license and therefore does not have to be supervised by an LPC at work.

It takes 2000 hours of supervision on top of her master's degree to get the LPC. We're very proud!

Now we're just hoping she doesn't spend too much time practicing on us.

Things I Didn't Anticipate

This morning I'm contemplating the things I didn't see myself doing twenty years ago. Things like...

• Running a doggy day care for Olivia and Beatrice
• Writing a column for Presbyterians Today
• Attempting a major revision of the operating manual for one of the largest PCUSA churches in the denomination ~sound of teeth grinding~
  
• Living near my daughter and son-in-law
• Learning how to cook from my Babs
• Being involved in sewer controversies in Calhoun County, TX
• Seeing my niece become an opera singer
• Having my very own study (love it!!!!)

How about you? What didn't you anticipate twenty years ago that is part of your life today?

Friday Fun: Pet Rapture Insurance

You know, what with trying to follow the health care reform controversies in the news, the beginning of BSD, planning to move The Diva to her new abode in Houston and the coming of the Inconvenient Cold, I have totally forgotten to make provision for Beatrice and Olivia when the Rapture occurs.

Think about it. When we're all RAPTURED, who will care for our pets who will be LEFT BEHIND???? There's nothing in scripture that says our pets get to come with us. Now, I know there are some of you who will tell the Angel Gabriel at the last trump that you aren't going if Fluffy and Fido can't come too, but let's be realistic. If you are pre-destined to be raptured, you're going to be raptured. Fluffy and Fido are not.

Hat tip to Houston Chronicle blogger Jill Carroll for solving our dilemma--Eternal Earth Bound Pets USA provides for your peace of mind by offering Rapture Insurance for your pets.

For a mere $110 one-time premium, Eternal Earth Bound Pets will guarantee a forever home with a loving atheist (who of course will also be Left Behind) if the Rapture takes you within 10 years of your payment date. For a small additional fee of $15 each, you can insure multiple cats, dogs, birds, rabbits and small caged mammals. Sorry, no reptiles or amphibians are covered.

Unfortunately, at this time no pet-loving atheists in Texas have registered with EEBP so this insurance is not available here yet. If you live in Texas and have a pet-loving atheist friend who would take good care of Beatrice and Olivia, let me know!

An Inconvenient Cold

Razzlefrackzit!

I caught Portia's cold yesterday. Tomorrow is the big kick-off for BSD and I don't need to be red-nosed and sneezing while I hand out curriculum to a couple hundred women and try to make a good impression as leader to my small group.

And it seems I don't have any tea bags, either. Must have pitched them in the move. Dang.

Double Razzlefraczkit.

MOB Redux Update: Yes to the Dress

Portia, the Diva, SIL, Babs and I had a wonderful time Saturday shopping for THE dress. And yes, we found it. It was clear by the way Babs' face lit up when she modeled it for us that it was the ONE.

We also found the dress for the matron of honor (Portia) and bridesmaid (P-Dubya's sister) in a beautiful saturated shade of coral. There was a darling flower girl dress as well. Now the question is, one or two flower girls?

We had a wonderful day and it was all topped off by the wedding of Dr. O's eldest daughter, Valerie! The ceremony was just perfect (Babs was one of the readers) and the reception a joyous celebration of the joining of two families and cultures from opposite ends of the word --that would be Nigeria and Australia--right here in the heart of Texas.

For us, Labor Day weekend was chock-full of blessings.

Friday Fun: Pastor Warning

Today's Friday Fun comes from the inimitable SpookyRach at Skewed View.

PresbyReaders can substitute "elders" for "deacons."

Mom of Congress: Opening Day Assignments

Dear Congress Boys and Girls,

CongressMom hopes that you enjoyed your August break, even though some of you had a better time than others. I have been getting everything ready for the first day of the new session.

CongressMom was saddened to hear that some of you exhibited very poor deportment over the break. Shelia Jackson Lee, I am talking to YOU! Hand me that cell phone right now. When you return, you are to report directly to the Time Out Room for the first week of the session.

Now, it has also come to my attention that a big clique has formed and will not work with those who are not in the clique. This is not acceptable behavior in Congress, boys and girls! We have to learn to work together and co-operate. Can you say "CO-OPERATE"? It is a big word, boys and girls, but it is a very important word.

CongressMom needs to teach each of you the meaning of that word, so when you return you will have assigned seats and be divided into groups to write your bills. The health care reform bills you wrote in the last session were so poorly written that poor CongressMom could not understand them, so she threw them away. You are going to have to start over boys and girls!

Each group will have liberals, moderates and conservatives and you will be expected to learn how to work together and write a bill that everyone in the group can agree on no matter how long it takes. Pay attention when you write that bill because you will be tested to see how much of it you remember after your group turns it in. Yes, that means you are expected to read it. All of it.

Enjoy the rest of your recess,

Mom of Congress

Book Review: In The President's Secret Service

Ronald Kessler, formerly a reporter for both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, has written a series of "inside the (fill in the blank)" books that have been best-sellers. He tackled the CIA, Congress, the FBI and now has written an "inside" book on the Secret Service: In the Presidents Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect. (Also available at amazon.com.)

I heard Kessler interviewed about this book on a radio show and thought it sounded intriguing. And it is! Kessler provides a history of the establishment and evolution of the Secret Service which began as an agency within the Treasury Department in 1865 to track down and arrest counterfeiters of US currency. He traces the evolution of the agency to its present day role as security provider for the President, Vice President and their families; Presidential candidates; and others as ordered by the President.

In the book's prologue, Kessler notes that

"because Secret Service agents are sworn to secrecy, voters rarely know what their presidents, vice presidents, presidential candidates and Cabinet officers are really like. If they did, says a former Secret Service agent, "they would scream."

Some of the revelations in the book are not new--JFK and LBJ were compulsive womanizers and Nixon was strange. Since Secret Service agents spend 24/7 with their protectees, it was interesting to learn which Presidents and Vice Presidents treated them well.

At the top of the list is Laura Bush. "I've never heard a negative thing about Laura Bush. Nothing. Everybody loves her to death and respects the hell out of her," Kessler quotes an agent as saying. Ronald Reagan, the Cheneys, George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, and the Obamas are also praised in the book for their considerate relationship with their agents. On the bottom of the list are Jimmy Carter, LBJ, Al Gore, and Hilary Clinton.

Being the child of a President has got to be tough. The two former First Daughters, Barbara and Jenna Bush, chafed at the Secret Service oversight over their lives and led them a merry chase for most of their father's term in office. My own daughters are the same age as these two and I can just imagine them reacting the same way. What college student wants a permanent security escort dogging them? At the end of W's term, though, Kessler relates that the twins had matured and showed more appreciation for their security detail. Agents thought Amy Carter was "a mess" and Kessler says that the least liked child of a president was Chip Carter.

There was a lot of praise, by contrast, for Chelsea Clinton who was a favorite of the agents. " In my career, Chelsea Clinton did it the best. Treated the detail right, told them what was going on, never gave problems that I know of," Kessler quotes an agent as saying.

Gossipy anecdotes and factoids aside, the book presents a forceful and detailed argument that the failure of the Secret Service administrative heads to adopt modern personnel practices and to advocate effectively for the budgetary needs of the agency is creating a serious security risk for those they are charged to protect. Kessler says that threats against President Obama are up 400 per cent compared with those against George W. Bush. If Kessler's analysis is correct then this is an issue that should be addressed immediately by Congress.

Kessler also documents several incidents of threats against recent presidents that were thwarted by the Secret Service which have not previously been publicized. It is interesting to see the different ways in which the agents get, analyze and act upon all the information that comes into them.

The downside of any "inside the" book is the fact that there is little or no named attribution for the facts and opinions of the "insiders". That is certainly true here, because the agents are sworn to secrecy about their day to day life with those they protect and the intelligence techniques that the agency uses. Are axes being ground by the unnamed agents Kessler interviewed? Probably. Caveat lector.

I enjoyed the stories about the different presidential families and learned a lot about the history of the service and the issues it confronts today.