St. David's Day is on March 1

I realized recently that another thing I miss about Philadelphia is the traditions I have with my mom (and sometimes dad) attending services at Arch St. Presbyterian church in the city on Welsh holidays. Specifically, St. David's Day.

During the service we sing Welsh hymns (and enjoy a Taebach after, which is Welsh for tea and cookies:), the same Welsh hymns that we've sung all my life with my mom's side of the family. At home, at memorials, at Gymanfa Ganu conferences over Labor Day. I'll let you google that one. I love Welsh hymns, they feel part of my DNA. The Welsh love to sing and are known for their vigor in signing and phenomenal welsh choirs. You would be amazed that many of the traditional hymns you hear in church were penned by the Welsh!

My mom called me and left a voicemail of everyone at Arch St. singing Penpark, one of my favorites next to Calon Lan, Cwm Rhondda Bryn Calfaria and Land of my Fathers. Just try and sit in a choir of a hundred people singing these powerful songs. You can't help but tear up or get goosebumps! She also mailed me the program from the service. Isn't she sweet?

Interestingly, Penpark which is one of the most beautiful and moving songs in often sung in funerals. I always loved the song and now get even more emotional because it reminds me of my Nain and Tiad (Welsh for grandma and grandpa) who loved Welsh music, Welsh culture and history and founded the Welsh Society of New Mexico. The Welsh society of Philadelphia meets at Arch St. Pres. See how that all came full circle?

The lyric of Penpark (in English) are:
Jesus, I live to thee,
the lovliest and best;
my life in thee, thy life in me,
in they blest love I rest.

Jesus, I die to thee,
Whenever death shall come;
to die in thee is life to me,
in my eternal home.

Whether to live or die,
I know not which is best;
to live in thee is bless to me,
to die is endless rest.

Living or dying, Lord,
I ask but to be thine;
My life in Thee, they life in me,
Makes heaven forever mine!

Can you imagine God being so real to you, knowing Him so intimately that you honestly can't decide rather to be here on this earth or in heaven with him!!!

I couldn't renditions of Penpark on youtube, but here are fairly good renditions of Cwn Rhondda and Gwahoddiad. You can listen while you continue to read these fascinating posts of mine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N82ktr-TVFo&feature=related
in welsh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za5fLVSsqz4
in english

St. David is the patron saint of Wales. You can read about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_David%27s_Day

Also you mainliners may be interested to know that Malvern, Berwyn, St. Davids, Narberth, Wynnewood, Bryn Mawr, etc are all Welsh names. There is even a hymn called Malvern! Benner often reminds me that he met Welsh men on the R5 who told him that Narberth translates to "Good for Nothing." I'm sure every Benner I know would be eager to contest that statement. The Benners love Narberth.

France!

France and Barbara, (friends of my mom's from New Mexico since before I was born- France is my Godmother.) came to visit LA for a counseling conference. They are both therapists like my mom and dad. Anyway, last year they came to visit their friends Charlotte and Arthur who at the time was dying of cancer. They introduced me to their friend Charlotte who has become a familiar face in my life and a dear friend. More on her later.

It was so sweet for us javascript:void(0)to meet up with France, Barbara and Charlotte at Charlotte's house in Beverly Hills. We enjoyed wine, cheese, a delicious dinner and fantastic company. It was fun to catch up and reminisce and of course celebrate (a little ate) France's birthday!

We brought her this chocolate raspberry cake. It was delicious. I wish I had gotten photos with Charlotte Barbara and Benner too. I must have been to focused on the cake:) (Not like me at all, I know!)

Here are some things that I remember about.remind me of France:
Her lace bedspread and the skylight in her bedroom of her adobe Albuquerque home
Chanel no. 5
finding European chocolates around the house
tickle back kisses
her silver spreading knives that we would use in her garden when eating
her garden
her pool
her old dog, Aimee (french for friend)
blue tiles and provencal patterns (how do i make a french c on a computer?)
the desert
your eclectic decor including your father's paintings

Happy Birthday France, we love you!!!


France meeting me for the first time, the day of my birth!


France and me at my baby dedication


with my mom. aren't they pretty?

Welcome Avery!!

Since moving to LA, we've been attending a church called Ecclesia. It meets on hollywood boulevard amidst cheap lingerie shops (I seriously counted 12 in a three block walk for hotdogs after church with Dani and Benner), many homeless wanderers, hollywood stars on the side walk, and just blocks from El Capitan, Graumann's Chinese theater and other hollywood tourist destinations.

The best part of Ecclesia (which is greek for church) has been our homegroup which has started meeting at our house since our leaders (David and Rachel) have welcomed a new baby girl into their family.

This is the same homegroup that we went to Yosemite with last year. Some people have left, others have joined and many have stayed on for year 2. It's such a cool thing to share life with this group, all of us with very different backgrounds and personalities, sharing a common pursuit of God and knowing him more. (Here's the website, you can download podcasts of sermons if you like: www.churchinhollywood.com)

I'm getting off topic, but its relevant to introduce you to the group to provide context for how this precious life has intersected with ours. Here she is, in all her tiny glory:
Avery!

Here we are just a few short weeks before her arrival:




Here she is, just hanging at homegroup night.





The first day we met her! (Just 2 days old!) And here's her gorgeous mama. You should hear her SING! Incredible. She was on American Idol top 50 a couple years ago and has music on itunes. We heart them.javascript:void(0)

New Years Eve, 2009

New Years Eve 2009 was one of the most anticipated and fun nights since 2010. Yes, I know technically it started in 2009 and doesn't count, but it ended in 2010 so I say it does!

After spending Christmas in Michigan with the Holtz side of the family, this Benner duo was fortunate enough to spend a brief stint in Philly for New Years Eve. We gathered close friends in the great room of the Lozano home and much laughter and fun ensued. Is if that weren't blessing enough, the Naylors Run Lozano quadrant spent some time ministering to us in prayer the next day, which was another highlight of the trip.

We loved spending time with you all and are so thankful to have you in our lives. How cool to merge different friends into one room and just hang out! This is but a sweet foreshadowing of the good times to come at Friends Weekend!!!! Stay tuned for more on that.

Here we are with our handsome friends. (I was taking the photo:) And thanks to Jeryl for introducing us to what is now one of our favorite alcoholic beverages: Root. Too bad you can only get it in Philly! It is now a mandatory gift for anyone who wants to come visit us:)

We crammed a lot into that short time but unfortunately didn't snag photos from all of it. Here are a few from our visit:

The big catch up

Well dear friends/family/blog readers, we kinda feel we owe you one. As someone who frequents other people's blogs for entertainment and to stay up to date with far away friends, I know that it can be a bummer to check in and continually find a lack of content. 2010 has been a busy one and we haven't invested in rhiandbenner the blog as we would have liked. Following this post will be a series of mini posts that should bring you all up to speed. We hope that in the months to come we can improve our track record. So check back in with us, and post a comment on our comments section now and then, so we know you're out there!

Love,
Rhianwen (and Benner)

Ps. This is a picture of us on our first hike around Hollywood Lake in January.