Graham
@parishrecluse.bsky.social
Perquackey enthusiast. Formerly of tidewater Maryland. Anglican (TEC). Avoider of coffee hour. Interested in history, music, religion, politics, & where they intersect. ⚓️🏳️🌈
Pinned
Graham
@parishrecluse.bsky.social
· Nov 17
For the weekday crowd: An account of the life of a loyalist parson in Virginia in the 1770s
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
I do not understand why people sitting in waiting rooms find it necessary to have lengthy conversations on speakerphone.
Yes, I am a curmudgeon.
Yes, I am a curmudgeon.
February 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I do not understand why people sitting in waiting rooms find it necessary to have lengthy conversations on speakerphone.
Yes, I am a curmudgeon.
Yes, I am a curmudgeon.
Introduce yourself with the name your parents almost gave you.
I think mine considered two other names: Ira (after a great-grandfather who died roughly twenty years before I was born), and Alexander.
I think mine considered two other names: Ira (after a great-grandfather who died roughly twenty years before I was born), and Alexander.
Introduce yourself with the name your parents almost gave you.
No idea. I think as adopting (white, middle class) parents in the 60s they went shopping for an infant with the right characteristics (male, brown hair, blue eyes), and ‘background’ to name after their grandfathers. Family planning.
No idea. I think as adopting (white, middle class) parents in the 60s they went shopping for an infant with the right characteristics (male, brown hair, blue eyes), and ‘background’ to name after their grandfathers. Family planning.
Introduce yourself with the name your parents almost gave you
Jack if I'd been a boy.
So it was Jacqueline, but they always shortened it, and spelled it Jaq, so there we are. (apart from when I was in trouble when it was "JACKERLEEENA!")
Jack if I'd been a boy.
So it was Jacqueline, but they always shortened it, and spelled it Jaq, so there we are. (apart from when I was in trouble when it was "JACKERLEEENA!")
February 13, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Introduce yourself with the name your parents almost gave you.
I think mine considered two other names: Ira (after a great-grandfather who died roughly twenty years before I was born), and Alexander.
I think mine considered two other names: Ira (after a great-grandfather who died roughly twenty years before I was born), and Alexander.
Father Denroche’s first extant offering from 1904 is a consideration of the Holy Communion. (Link in comments) ⚓
February 13, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Father Denroche’s first extant offering from 1904 is a consideration of the Holy Communion. (Link in comments) ⚓
Reposted by Graham
⚓monastic wisdom from William of St. Thierry (died 1148)
"Let your question be your prayer."
from THE MIRROR OF FAITH ch 11 paragraph 3
"Let your question be your prayer."
from THE MIRROR OF FAITH ch 11 paragraph 3
February 11, 2026 at 11:44 PM
⚓monastic wisdom from William of St. Thierry (died 1148)
"Let your question be your prayer."
from THE MIRROR OF FAITH ch 11 paragraph 3
"Let your question be your prayer."
from THE MIRROR OF FAITH ch 11 paragraph 3
I think it’s important to remember that praying for the president needn’t imply that one prays for his success, or for his health, or prosperity, or whatever. I pray that he repents, and I have no qualms about praying for him in that regard.
All respect to the Most Rev, but it really is getting harder and harder to pray for the President during the Prayers of the People every Sunday
On the 10th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, read my @rns.org story about Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry, who spoke in November about being a presiding bishop, his family’s faith history and adjusting to retirement:
religionnews.com/2025/11/14/e...
religionnews.com/2025/11/14/e...
February 10, 2026 at 5:28 PM
I think it’s important to remember that praying for the president needn’t imply that one prays for his success, or for his health, or prosperity, or whatever. I pray that he repents, and I have no qualms about praying for him in that regard.
Reposted by Graham
Max Linder’s spoof has a hilarious title— but only if you say it aloud in an outrageous French accent
February 10, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Max Linder’s spoof has a hilarious title— but only if you say it aloud in an outrageous French accent
A problem with comparing political opponents to Nazis is that when a group begins behaving in demonstrably Nazi-ish ways, the reaction from many is to assume that one is over-reacting if one points this out. We're witnessing the consequences of this. 1/5
February 9, 2026 at 7:03 PM
A problem with comparing political opponents to Nazis is that when a group begins behaving in demonstrably Nazi-ish ways, the reaction from many is to assume that one is over-reacting if one points this out. We're witnessing the consequences of this. 1/5
Father Denroche's "Mr. Oldchurch" on a question that continues to vex Episcopalians even today: "Why are so many differences of opinion allowed in the Episcopal Church?"
Link in comments. ⚓
Link in comments. ⚓
February 5, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Father Denroche's "Mr. Oldchurch" on a question that continues to vex Episcopalians even today: "Why are so many differences of opinion allowed in the Episcopal Church?"
Link in comments. ⚓
Link in comments. ⚓
Father Denroche's "Mr. Oldchurch" on candles -- an appropriate topic for a week that began with Candlemas. ⚓
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
Father Denroche's "Mr. Oldchurch" on Candles
A Topic Appropriate to Candlemas
open.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Father Denroche's "Mr. Oldchurch" on candles -- an appropriate topic for a week that began with Candlemas. ⚓
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
If you let in a piano, can the drums and guitars be far behind?
a woman sitting in a chair with the words " the dowager countess does not approve "
ALT: a woman sitting in a chair with the words " the dowager countess does not approve "
media.tenor.com
February 1, 2026 at 8:35 PM
If you let in a piano, can the drums and guitars be far behind?
Not Catherine O’Hara!
January 30, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Not Catherine O’Hara!
For the October 1903 number of "The Easton Churchman," Father Denroche's "Mr. Oldchurch" discusses crosses, crucifixes, and communion bread. Link in comments. ⚓
January 30, 2026 at 12:48 AM
For the October 1903 number of "The Easton Churchman," Father Denroche's "Mr. Oldchurch" discusses crosses, crucifixes, and communion bread. Link in comments. ⚓
Roughly a foot of snow in central Ohio.
January 25, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Roughly a foot of snow in central Ohio.
The Church of the Holy Spirit, Gambier, decorated for… a wedding? Victorians really knew how to overdo the greenery.
January 24, 2026 at 1:16 PM
The Church of the Holy Spirit, Gambier, decorated for… a wedding? Victorians really knew how to overdo the greenery.
I wish I could really settle on a novel. I WANT to read fiction, but, lately, everything I try I end up putting down once I’m 20 pages in. They just aren’t holding my attention.
January 24, 2026 at 3:45 AM
I wish I could really settle on a novel. I WANT to read fiction, but, lately, everything I try I end up putting down once I’m 20 pages in. They just aren’t holding my attention.
In the latest installment of Father Denroche's essays on the Church and Her ways, he examines the membership size of the Episcopal Church, and raises some objections to its official name. ⚓
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
Fr. Denroche's "Mr. Oldchurch" on Church Membership
Father Denroche’s next surviving essay addresses the size of the Episcopal Church.
open.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:56 PM
In the latest installment of Father Denroche's essays on the Church and Her ways, he examines the membership size of the Episcopal Church, and raises some objections to its official name. ⚓
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
open.substack.com/pub/tidewate...
Grace and St. Peter’s in Baltimore in the 1920s. Note the streetcar tracks on Park Ave.
January 21, 2026 at 2:36 AM
Grace and St. Peter’s in Baltimore in the 1920s. Note the streetcar tracks on Park Ave.
I’ve had a chemex since March 2017, and I make coffee in it almost every morning, so I’m more than a little proud of myself for having managed not to break it yet.
January 19, 2026 at 11:56 PM
I’ve had a chemex since March 2017, and I make coffee in it almost every morning, so I’m more than a little proud of myself for having managed not to break it yet.
The Feast of Reason, a café formerly in Chestertown, Maryland. Everything cooked there. My go-to order was a rare roast beef sandwich on French bread, with homemade roasted garlic mayo. Pickled carrots. They had delicious soups & curried chicken salad, too. Fuslbous (their own creation) for dessert.
Sunday night timeline cleanse
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
January 19, 2026 at 2:11 AM
The Feast of Reason, a café formerly in Chestertown, Maryland. Everything cooked there. My go-to order was a rare roast beef sandwich on French bread, with homemade roasted garlic mayo. Pickled carrots. They had delicious soups & curried chicken salad, too. Fuslbous (their own creation) for dessert.