Oscars

I didn’t watch. Had better things to do. But the one movie I watched (on DVD) that had some nominations actually won some awards: La Vie en Rose.

Katherine Paterson in Houston

Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terebithia and other children’s books, is in Houston for a talk and book-signing this afternoon. We’ll be going. Her husband, John, was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Barre, Vermont, for many years. We were part of the same clergy association when I was pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Montpelier. I think I only met Katherine once; it was at a Holy Saturday breakfast at their church, and John had invited me to preach. We had a good conversation together over breakfast. I remember one quip of hers, that the Catholic Church was in need of a “Martina Luther” to carry out a new reformation. More later.

Update: It was a good afternoon. Katherine read from several of her books, answered questions from kids in the audience, and then signed. We were sitting near the front, and that’s where they set up the table, so we didn’t have to wait long. We chatted briefly about mutual friends, and then got out of the way for the 200 people in line behind us.

The Virgin Mary Pretzel

An indication this world is going nuts. Check out eBay to see the number of copycats, t-shirts, coffee cups, etc., piggy backing on this crazy thing. One self-proclaimed replica is currently going for $20,000.