Mark Knows It All

Psalm 19 is the Episcopal Lectionary Psalm for this Sunday.  It is better known as The Heavens are Telling.  Many of us are familiar with the great oratorio choral music pieces of Handel and Bach.  But the Creation by Franz Josef Haydn is a gem. Written in 1797/98...it celebrates the Creation of the world incorporating three content sources: The Book of Genesis / The Book of Psalms / and Milton's Paradise Lost.  The Heavens are Telling is the finale of the piece.  It is a lot of fun to sing...not particularly difficult.  It is almost hokey in its construction.  Every time I have chorally performed it I am smiling, almost laughing, at the end because the movement of the music is so predictable.  Hope you enjoy it. 

Lifeway Research provides many research tools and programs geared toward growing your church.  As attendance drops in all mainline Protestant denominations, especially the liturgical denominations, knowledge is power.  Here is some data provided by Lifeway Research as to the dynamic of young adults leaving the church.  You can reach the primary site by clicking here.  

10 Songs for a Snowy Weekend

It's a Sunshine Day The Brady Bunch I think i'll go for a walk outside now the summer sun's callin my name (i hear ya now) i just can't stay inside all day i gotta get out get me some of those rays everybody's smilin sunshine day everybody's laughin sunshine day everybody seems so happy today it's a sunshine day I think I'll go for a walk out side now the summer sun knows me by name (he's callin me) I gotta get out, gotta get out, gotta get away I gotta get away, get away, get away, get away... Into the sunshine day... can't you dig the sunshine Now its all but the same can't you hear him callin your name? Oh, I think I'll take a walk everyday now the summer sun has shown the way to be happy now I just can't stay inside all day I gotta get out get me some of those rays... everybody's smilin sunshine …

DO YOU KNOW THE SECRET CODES IN WADE IN THE WATER  by Calvin Earl Link to Original Article Here I was recently asked the question: “What does the song “Wade in the Water” mean in its entirety?” This is a question I have been asked many times and am always happy to answer. In fact, I’ve dedicated a entire page on my website http://www.calvinearl.com/wade-in-the-water/ to describe the meaning of the spiritual “Wade In The Water”. Not only is is an amazing spiritual, but it is one of the spirituals that is still widely sung today, both for educational purposes and Christian baptism practices. On my website page I explain the secret codes and meaning, their is also an educational video, a sound recording and lyrics of the song on that page. Take a look and listen to the sound recording. Let me know what you think! Below is a sample of the information on my website page. Peace and love all around. ***Wade In The Water is one of the spirituals that has many secret code...

Last week my wife and I were doing some shopping in a garden shop in Cleveland. It’s one of my favorite places to go with lots of pots and such to look at. The music being played over the speaker system was some “really boss” music from the 1960’s.  As I was looking at some fertilizer it started to play MacArthur Park sung by Richard Harris. You know… MacArthur Park is melting in the dark, all the sweet green icing running down. Someone left the cake out in the rain. I don’t think that I can take it Cause it took so long to bake it And I’ll never have that recipe again…Oh no!!! What an uplifting little ditty. Well…not really. But it was one of my favorite tunes back in the day. I used to play it on the piano driving my parents’ nuts, especially the rock bridge between the main melody lines. It was a long song lasting almost eight minutes. It gave the DJ’s a chance to use the facilities, so to speak. I remember there was a...

My two favorite Christmas videos Aunt Chippy Wraps a Present (Jimmy Kimmel) and NPR's Scweddy Balls (Alec Baldwin on Saturday Night Live)  I don't care for either of these individuals, but funny is funny.  They crack me up every time.   Chips Tips / Aunt Chippy Wraps a Present Schweddy Balls

I wanted to write something profound for this very important Thanksgiving holiday this year.  But my gut tells me there is something terribly wrong in the nation...at our nation's very core.  While I thank God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us, I also feel that we are on the cusp of losing it all as the commonality of belief of our nation's core values is being eroded from all directions.  That uneasiness makes it difficult to write.  Tonight I came across the address given by Bishop Mark Hollingsworth, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, at our convention two weeks ago.  The Episcopal Church is the most liberal of the liturgical churches.  That has caused lots of problems within the national and local churches.  Bishop Hollingsworth, however, acknowledged the problem, then gave a blue print on how the differences that are pulling our church apart can also be the path to bring it together. A great message for this Thanksgiv...

By Mark Mangie. Driving home this afternoon from my bi-weekly trip to Hogan’s with my little pal Vinny the Pooch, my radio happened to land on Channel 70 on Sirius/XM radio.   Those of you who are Hallmark Channel aficionados will know the significance.   Blaring from my extremely high-tech speakers was Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy, warbling Here Comes Santa Claus .   He first recorded the song in 1947.   He re-recorded it in 1953.   Why?   Who the hell knows.   The song sucked then.   The song sucks now. The second version conjures up one of my earliest memories…playing that Gene Autry gem on my little brown 45 rpm record player when we lived in a second-floor duplex on Prestwick Drive.   I was three going on four…in 1953!!!   That makes 65 years of Gene Autry singing "Click Click Click" ad nauseum.   It's time to bury Gene Autry once and for all.   I am oft reminded of what my grandmother told me years...

By Mark G. Mangie. Midst all of the political falderal this past week, this story was hardly discussed. The "List" of local Catholic priests with pedophile issues was a stunner and disturbing.  The population of Mahoning County has been historically overwhelmingly Catholic. Me too. I was raised Catholic, attended a Catholic school for 2 years, and CCD classes through high school. There are lots of jokes about going to Catholic school and the rules and regulations surrounding being a Catholic. Over my lifetime mortal sins evolved into venial sins then into no sins at all, depending on the circumstances. When I was 22 I decided it wasn't for me. I joined the Episcopal Church which was more in line with my personal belief system.  All of my ministers have told me...there is no such thing as a lapsed Catholic. The religion becomes part of your core. A Lutheran minister told me that as lapsed Catholics get older, they revert to their core beliefs. As he counsel...

I believe it is time for conservatives to support a modified single payer health system. It is coming whether we like it or not.  We can do it better than they do.   What happened in Washington last week was political theater at its worst.  It sounds all so complicated.  But the fact of the matter is that it is not complicated at all.  There two, and only two, big issues that must be resolved to solve the health care problem: 1)            Any health care insurance system must maintain a certain level of healthy participants in order to sustain payments to those who are sick.  Obamacare tried to resolve the problem by mandating participation of all citizens.  If you don’t participate, you get taxed (fined).  The problem is it didn’t work. People opted to pay the fine because the coverage that was offered was too expensive, and if you bought it the deductible was so high you coul...

Last week Denny Hastert, former Speaker of the House, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago for violating Federal banking laws and lying about it to the FBI.  Hastert had been withdrawing large sums of money from his personal bank account for a period of years.   Cash transactions over $10,000.00 must be reported to the Federal government.   Hastert was withdrawing $50,000.00 per.   When questioned by bank officials, Hastert then reduced the withdrawals to under $10,000.00.   That is against the law and was reported to bank regulators.   The FBI questioned Hastert concerned that he was being extorted. Hastert denied giving the money to anybody.   Further investigation discovered it was being paid to an unnamed individual who was blackmailing Hastert related to “sexual misconduct” when he was a high school teacher and wrestling coach prior to 1981. Total payments were $1.7 million. Hastert and his problems aside, this demonstrates the...

On Saturday night around 8:30 PM Officers Benjamin Deen (34) and Liquori Tate (25) were shot to death after making a routine traffic stop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  Deen was a former “Officer of the Year."  Tate had just graduated from the Police Academy in 2014 proud and anxious to serve his community.  As of today, four suspects are under arrest; two charged with capital murder and two more with obstruction of justice and being accessories after the fact. I saw the story late Saturday on the Drudge Report.  When I turned the news on Sunday morning I waited for the story to be reported.  I waited some more.  Then I waited some more.  Eventually it made the news…but always the 3 rd or 4 th story on the air, and that included Fox.  Monday night brought more of the same.  CNN barely reported it at all.  Fox had some righteous indignation, but that was it. One of the two deceased officers was black.  All of the arre...

David Cameron was just re-elected Prime Minister of Great Britain.  That matters to you how?   It matters because it was an epic battle between the Tories...Britain’s Conservative Party led by Cameron, and the Labour Party…led by Ed Miliband.   It matters because David Axelrod was imported to Britain to assist the Labour Party get elected.   It matters because one of the major issues in the election was Britain’s immigration policy.   And it matters because the pollsters got it wrong in a major way. Going into the election, polls showed a neck and neck race…dead even with neither party getting the necessary seats in Parliament to form a government.  It would require a coalition government. The pundits and American Press were giddy giving the advantage to the progressive Labour Party.  Surprise.  As I write this, the Conservatives not only won the election handily, it appears that they may achieve sufficient votes in Parliament to form a g...

Every 20 years or so America falls in love with liberalism.  It’s a feel good kind of ideology where Americans fraught with a combination of narcissism and guilt can wrap themselves in do-gooder's clothes while looking caring to those around them.  The old term was limousine liberals.  Ted Kennedy, the late liberal lion of the Senate, was a prime example.  While he was busy foisting busing on the rest of America, he was safely hidden behind the walls of his family’s compound in Hyannis Port sending his children to private schools. Barack Obama was supposed to be the pinnacle of liberalism….except now it is called Progressivism.  He was to be the Great Black Hope who could fix all the problems.  Buttressed by a fawning press which still refuses to examine his obvious and egregious flaws, he turned out to be nothing more than a throwback leftist 60’s radical who utilized Chicago style thug politics to punish his enemies and crony capitalism to rewa...

Do I sound bitter? Gee...do ya think?  I have always been a community minded individual.  I love the community in which I live. Over the years our community has oftentimes faced seemingly insurmountable problems so I tried to help in any small way I was able.  I tend to get overly involved and personally buy into whatever it is I am trying to do because I don’t do things half.  It takes 100% to get the job done.  Sounds good!  Well maybe not so much.  As the saying goes: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  I have learned some hard lessons.  Community Service is not for the faint of heart, or for those looking for the best in mankind, or for those actually expecting to accomplish something or make a difference.  It is tough.  It is hard.  And common sense is at a premium. One of my first do-gooder ventures involved a church council whose Sunday night meetings would go on ad-infinitum.  One Sunday...

                                                                       Today I am 65.  Milestone birthdays are not my favorite thing.  I got a telephone call from my Medicare Supplemental carrier today to answer a series of automated questions.  “Do you need help getting dressed in the morning?  Are you happy?  Can you bathe yourself?  Do you use a walker?  You are doing a good job.  We are almost finished now.”  The last question the machine asked was if I suffer from depression.  I answered "Yes"….I am 65 telling my health history to a machine.  Of course I’m depressed.  My Dad taught me to always look forward and never look back.  I try to live by that rule.  But on my 65 th birthday it’s hard to do.  When I was b...