Deenie update

Deenie is still alive, sleeping a lot more, weaker. She had a bad moment of panic the other day. The hospice is still not being helpful; they've now given her liquid meds but she really should be on a morphine drip at this point.

Please continue to remember Deenie in prayer as she slowly takes her leave. Mary, Mother of God, hold her in your arms.

Panagia Eleousa

Prayers for Deenie, who moves closer to death

The friend who keeps me posted on Deenie's condition writes that Deenie is getting weaker and is in greater pain. She says that Hospice has not been on the ball with the pain meds. Presumably she is now advocating for better palliative care. There is a private aide on duty with Deenie at her home, originally trained as a nurse on another continent, and she is great. Another friend says Deenie feels ready to go. She knows we are praying for her.

I had been thinking of Deenie more intensely the last two or three days and was not surprised to receive this news.

Deenie received the anointing of the sick from the Hospice chaplain a few days ago in the presence of several friends and a neighbor (who is also a friend). Today two women will visit her, including a mutual friend of ours who is a poet -- very glad she will be there, as she will be able to find the right mix of song, word, and silence.

Please pray in accompaniment of Deenie as she moves into her final days and hours.

Almighty God, look on this your servant, lying in great weakness, and comfort her with the promise of life everlasting, given in the resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for a Person near Death, The Book of Common Prayer

Deenie and Prayer Posse update

I visited Deenie yesterday for two hours. After some good weeks, she has begun to feel weaker and more sluggish. This new phase began two or three days before my visit. Her energy is lower than it was. She does, however, have all her marbles, but she is on heavy painkillers and that slows her down. We talked in catch-up mode, for the most, until a few minutes before I took my leave.

After those last few minutes of conversation, the kind you would expect from friends who are seeing each other for the last time, and hugs and kisses, I said to Deenie that the Prayer Posse and I were praying for peace for her. "Make it come quickly," she said, looking at me intently.

She meant, of course, that now that she is on the decline --which she had said explicitly earlier in the conversation-- she wants death to come speedily. I commend her to your prayers, that her end may be gentle and as swift as she desires. She has been a true friend to many, a wonderful aunt and godmother, a sharp intellect, a woman of deep spirit, and a lifelong worker for justice. I am not sure whether she will live to see her 70th birthday in July. I give thanks for having seen her alive on this visit.


I have had a rich week in Boston, staying with Parents of Acts of Hope at their retirement community but also managing to get into the city (sidewalks! public transportation!) and see a few friends, though not all the ones I'd hoped to see. I haven't had time to blog (I may yet, from the airport or before or after the conference, in snapshots) and am off to Halifax at the crack of dawn tomorrow for a four-day conference. Links to details of the conference in this post if you are interested in theological matters.

Adorable Godson update: Thank you for your continued prayers. The Adorable Godson (age 24) is back at work and at summer school, though of course he still has many weeks of healing ahead. He is recovering from the assault and fall and getting out and about as the leg and crutches allow.
Pablo Picasso: Dove with Olive Branch (1950)

Speaking of Senator Ted and Ms. Victoria and the dogs...

*****Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) returned to work in the Senate Monday after spending the past six months battling brain cancer back home.
***** A smiling, upbeat Kennedy made his second public appearance on Capitol Hill since he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was accompanied by his wife and two dogs, and attended a meeting in the same Russell Office Building room where two of his brothers declared their presidential candidacies.
***** "I feel fine," said the 76-year-old senator whose only other appearance came on July 9, when he cast the decisive vote on Medicare legislation.
***** Through video conferences from his Massachussetts home and a series of discussions with other senators, Kennedy has been laying the groundwork for a healthcare push early next year with the incoming Obama administration. On Monday, he wasted little time addressing the topic, the signature issue of his 45-year legislative career.

Read the rest of the story here in The Hill. Tip of the winter cloche (periwinkle blue, if you must know, 100% wool and made in Canada) to truthout.

Yes, lots on animals, bits of news items, and not a lot of deep thought from me these days. Bear with me. I'm just keeping my head above water. I will emerge.

J.T. weighs in

A form letter, via e-mail, but hey, I'll take my correspondence from James Taylor in any form. It arrived a few days ago but I was deep in the teaching week and last night I didn't have time to finish this post last night because I was engaged in shameless self-promotion about the book and study of the long, long, long North Carolina ballot so that I could go vote today.

Dear Jane,

I grew up in North Carolina. To me, it will always feel like home. And today, I'm not the only one with Carolina in my mind. In fact, the whole country is looking to our state to make the difference.

There's something different in the air this year. I've sensed it in the crowds I've played to, and seen it in the eyes of folks I've talked with. North Carolinians are hungry for a change. And for the first time in a generation, the presidential race could go either way in this state -- it's all up to us.

That's why this week I'm doing my part by traveling around the state I love, using my voice to tell everyone I can reach that it's time to vote for change. And now I'm asking you to do your bit. Find a Campaign for Change office near you and volunteer to talk to voters. The Obama campaign has a plan to win North Carolina, but they need 100,000 volunteer hours to pull it off. I'm going to give as many as I can, and I hope you'll join me.

We all know that we have some serious challenges to solve: The economy is in rough shape, jobs are disappearing, and quality, affordable health care is out of reach for far too many.

Across the country, folks are realizing that the only way to really tackle these challenges is to work together. If we let ourselves be divided by party, race, or fear, we'll fail. And the stakes are just too high to let that happen.

This spirit of unity and purpose is what Barack Obama's campaign is all about, and it's why I'm a proud supporter.

But proud support is not enough right now. We have to get out there, tell folks they can start voting today, and make sure they do. So please, sign up to join me and volunteer as much as you can this week.

[There was a link to "mybarackobama" here - I am replacing it with a universal link here so you can all log in and explore the possibility of volunteering. Remember there are many ways of volunteering and you can find one that suits you. You can also contact your local campaign office rather than poking around the Web. There are campaign offices all over the country. When you get to the main website, click on "states" to locate the office nearest to you. - JR]

Together you and I, and the great state of North Carolina, are going to put our country back on the right track.

Thank you,

James Taylor

Paid for by Obama for America


And here's your bonus: A much younger J.T. singing "Carolina in my mind."

Taylor is doubly a landsman of mine, since he now lives in Massachusetts and I lived in Massachusetts for many, many years.


11 days.

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Activated till the polls close on November 4.