A religious journey through NYC

I ran across this cool project to catalogue all the religious sites in New York City. http://www.nycreligion.info/

"We are exploring the postsecular city.

Join us as we travel down all 6,374.9 miles of our city's streets, every alleyway and quite a few hallways to map and photograph every religious site and to interview clergy and lay leaders at the sites.

We are a public square for the postsecular city. People of faith, people of no faith, liberals, conservatives--all are welcomed to journey together to make this city better for all people. Our warmest feelings are toward those who help the poor, the needy, and the abused."

Do check it out...

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Life is short, 9/11/01

All too often we are reminded that life is short. On this day, September 11th, most of us in my generation (and probably the generation older and younger), who were too young to remember Pearl Harbor, will most definitely remember this day 8 years ago. I remember well that I was speaking to the Middle School chapel at Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia and I was speaking about the power of prayer. A good friend of mine has a father who attributes the healing of his inoperable tumor to the prayers of those around him. I was offering this testimony as a way for students to think deeper than their usual skepticism and agnosticism about the power of God in our lives today.

As the chapel ended, the Upper School entered the chapel along with the Head of School and other teachers, and then announcement was made about the World Trade Center, the Airplane in Western Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon. The chapel was an appropriate place to be, and I am grateful that I taught at a school where the chapel was where we gathered for celebration, for worship, and for mourning. We took time for prayer and offered support to our students and faculty - some of whom had relatives who worked in the World Trade Center.

I remember well the strangely quiet, clear skies above Philadelphia on those days when we all looked to one another, flew flags in support of our common loss, and looked to find meaning in what appeared to be a hopeless time. May we remember the unity that we felt in those hours, and may we remember that life is short, so that we may Choose Life!

Life is short,
And we do not have much time
To gladden the hearts of those
Who travel the way with us.
So be swift to be kind,
And as we go,
May the blessing, the love,
the joy, and the peace
Of the Holy One
Who is in the midst of us
Be among you and remain with you
Always.
Amen

(adapted from the French Poet Henri Amiel)

Church of Corpus Christi, NYC - Where Thomas Merton was Baptized

Here are some photos I took in NYC this summer of the church where Thomas Merton was baptized:

~ The Rev. Peter M. Carey

More Neighborhood Sights

NYTimes Article ... Let Your Fingertips Be Your Guidebook, ...yea right....

So, today I'm on the train back to NYC and I start reading a discarded NYTimes and run across this article about how great the Wi-Fi is in New York City, and how you can be so hip to the scene at a moment's notice by googling all sorts of stuff. My experience has been that if you're willing to pay out the nose for T-Mobile at Starbucks, you are in good shape (provided that you don't need to walk 10 blocks to get to one), however, if you are not in Lower Manhattan, the Wi-Fi options are not so great ... still, an interesting article (even if it is a bit of a stretch)...

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June 29, 2008

Weekend in New York | Wireless Explorations

Let Your Fingertips Be Your Guidebook

By SETH KUGEL

IS it worth taking a laptop along when you visit New York City?

Not to check your e-mail at the hotel or to sneak in a few hours on a PowerPoint presentation for next week. That is definitely not worth it; you’re on vacation.

But what about a laptop as a guidebook-that-knows-all, at least when it can find a free Wi-Fi hot spot? New York is, almost certainly, the most well-documented city in the land; from Chowhound’s no-menu-unturned food discussion boards to HopStop’s subway directions to Wikipedia’s accurate-enough-for-tourists historical summaries of just about everything under the Manhattan sun. Not to mention the information on nytimes.com and its worthy competitors, as well as the omnipotence of Google.

Read the rest HERE...

Comedian is living in an Ikea store

I love IKEA so this article on CNN Caught my eye. I guess this is actually true. I've often thought it would be cool to live in one of those "furnished" bedroom setIt also reminds me of one of my favorite books, The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in which two kids camp out in the Museum of Natural History.

Check out the article HERE.

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PARAMUS, New Jersey (AP) -- When Mark Malkoff thought about where he could stay while his New York City apartment was being fumigated for cockroaches, he quickly ruled out friends' places (too small) and hotels (too expensive).

Mark Malkoff sits on a display bed in a showroom at the Ikea store in Paramus, New Jersey.

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Instead, the comedian and filmmaker decided to move into an Ikea store in suburban New Jersey, where on Monday he unloaded two suitcases into a spacious bedroom at the store.

At night when the store is closed, he says he'll play laser tag with security guards and even plans to host a housewarming party.

"The fact that Ikea is letting me do this is mind-boggling," said Malkoff, lounging on a bed in his new room. "There's no way I'm going back. I love this way too much."

Check out the rest of the article HERE.