Saturday we went to a matinee performance of Eve Ensler’s new play, “The Good Body”. This production at Hartford Stage does not feature Eve herself as an actor, but instead Brigitte Viellieu-Davis plays Ensler, with two other actresses - Erica Bradshaw and Judith Delgado - taking on multiple parts. It was a sparsely attended performance, although having never attended a Saturday Matinee I don’t know if this is typical or not. I did note that as a man I was in a definite minority. For a long time I was the only man in the theater; by the time the play began there were still less than three dozen of us. This was probably more men than I saw at the production of “The Vagina Monologues” in the much larger Belding Theater at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.

Both Kathleen and I enjoyed the play immensely, it is about women’s body image from the point of view of Eve whose problem is her stomach which is not as flat as she wants, and dozens of other women from across the world who tell her their stories about their own special body part (or parts) with which they are unsatisfied and what they are doing about it. I particularly loved the Indian woman who finally kicked Eve off the treadmill. She told her she did not use the machine to loose her “jolly” (that is her fat) but because it gave her so much more energy for living. She tells Eve “We are all trees, be your own tree.” Eve seems to embrace this advice and tells her husband who travels half way around the world to be with her that she is a tree. He tells her he loves her tree and tells her several good things he loves about her tree, including that it is “sturdy.” “What do you mean, are you saying I’m fat”, and she is off again; he gives up and goes home.

I guess I can identify with her problem with her stomach since I have an issue with mine. My wife does not completely love and embrace this part of my tree. Sturdy is not the word she uses, rather she has said on several occasions that I look pregnant. Anyway it was fun, enjoyable, and hopefully good for every one who sees it.

Read a review of this production in the Hartford Courant or from the New York Times where it was published just last Sunday in the Connecticut Section.

Letty Russell, Family Visit, Picnic and Consultation.

I was much saddened to learn about the death of Letty Russell who has had a tremendous impact on the Presbyterian Church and particularly on the lives of women and LGBT folks. More Light Presbyterians has a nice tribute to her on their website, click here to read this. She served as co-chair of Presbyterian Promise here in this Presbytery for a while and was also active with Love Makes a Family. It was always a pleasure to be in her home for either business or social events.

Last week Kathleen and I had the chance to visit with our family including our newest granddaughter who was born on July 2, 2007. Here are some more pictures of her and her sister.

Last Sunday the Youth of our Church hosted a Picnic on the Church Lawn as a fund raiser for their mission trip to San Antonio, Texas (They leave on Saturday). Here are some more pictures.

And finally, playing catch up after not updating for a while, we had an exciting meeting of our Church leadership on Tuesday night. Twenty three folks attended this beginning event for an 18 month consultation/partnership with our Presbytery to look at the future of First Presbyterian Church, particularly in light of my retirement in a year and a half, and our growing realization that unless some radical changes take place we will have exhausted the unrestricted portion of our endowment in less than ten years. There was a lot of positive energy and hope, and people seemed gratified to hear our Presbytery executive talk about the strengths and the importance of this particular Church in the Capital of the state. (He didn't even mention that we were also the oldest continuously operating Presbyterian Church in the state.)

NEW GRANDAUGHTER

Our new granddaughter Abigail Ann Thormes arrived this morning at 5 AM. She weighed seven pounds five ounces and is 20 incles long. Here is a picture her father sent from his cell phone.

Her sister Hannah Marie also had some pictures taken last week. Click here to view them.