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Articles by Cheryl Mendelson
Cheryl Mendelson on Priest Thomas Cranmer & Her New Book, "Vows"
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer is known for many things, but, surprisingly, not for his most influential act. In 1549, Cranmer completed The Book of Common Prayer, the all-English, Reformationist revision of the Roman Catholic church service. He kept the wedding rite that some Catholic service books had included for centuries, but tweaked it. His most important change was to add the words “to love and to cherish.” The words sound familiar today, but back then they broke with tradition.
Couples, Stop Writing Your Own Wedding Vows Original
Vow-taking is the centerpiece of most American weddings. It’s an ancient tradition, probably secular in origin, that can be traced back to pre-Conquest Anglo-Normandy. There are 10th-century poems in Old English that allude to love and marriage vows. Over the centuries, the custom of wedding vows—formal promises of the terms of the marriage, spoken before guest witnesses—persisted and spread.
Africatown: America’s Last Slave Ship and the Community It Created
Nick Tabor. St. Martin’s, $29.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-250-76654-0 Journalist Tabor debuts with an eye-opening and often gripping history of more than 100 enslaved West Africans brought to America aboard the Clotilda in 1860 and the Alabama community they created.
Why Not Polygamy?
In the 19th century, Mormon polygamy shocked the American public, and Utah was only granted statehood on the condition that it prohibit it forever. Today, 80 percent of Americans still think it’s wrong according to a 2020 Gallup poll, but that number is trending downwards. In Canada, a 2018 Ipsos poll found that 36 percent of respondents approved of decriminalizing polygamy. Polyamory and polygamy are both gaining mainstream media respect, and are often treated as equivalent, but they aren’t.
The Players Centre Belongs in the Municipal Auditorium
Letters SRQ DAILY SATURDAY PERSPECTIVES EDITION SATURDAY MAY 28, 2022 | BY WILLIAM SKAGGS Since the May 16, 2022 City Commission meeting at which The Players Centre’s initial proposal for a lease agreement at the historic Sarasota Municipal Auditorium was discussed, my organization—the City’s first arts organization—is more energized than ever to seek a path forward in transforming the Auditorium into a world-class venue and community space.
Why Not Polygamy: the Debate on Legalization
In the 19th century, Mormon polygamy shocked the American public, and Utah was only granted statehood on the condition that it prohibit it forever. Today, 80 percent of Americans still think it’s wrong according to a 2020 Gallup poll, but that number is trending downwards. In Canada, a 2018 Ipsos poll found that 36 percent of respondents approved of decriminalizing polygamy. Polyamory and polygamy are both gaining mainstream media respect, and are often treated as equivalent, but they aren’t.
Decade of Giving Challenge Highlights Citizen Philanthropists
A decade ago, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s creation of The Giving Challenge marked the beginning of a personal philanthropic journey for many in our region. Never before had the spotlight shined so brightly on the nonprofit organizations working to strengthen the Suncoast — nor on the opportunity we all have to make their efforts and impact possible through generous support.
Prices Continue to Rise
Letters SRQ DAILY SATURDAY PERSPECTIVES EDITION SATURDAY APR 23, 2022 | BY MICHAEL MOULTON February chalked up another month in which sales and contracts signed exceeded the number of new listings. A recent report from Trendgraphix showed the Sarasota Real Estate Market had less than 500 existing homes and condos available for sale. In the chart shown here, you will see the dramatic decline in available inventory over the last five years.
New performing arts center will be a difference maker for Sarasota
The Sarasota City Commission recently took a significant step forward for our community and its dedication to the future of the performing arts. On Monday, April 4, the city commission approved the execution of a partnership agreement with the Van Wezel Foundation for the planning, financing, design and construction of the new Sarasota Performing Arts Center to be located in the heart of the Bay Park.
What Explains Today's Hostility to Marriage? Envy
“Everyone loves a lover.”1 Like many old saws, this one is only half true. When two people prefer each other to everyone else and form an exclusive bond of tender, passionate love, they’re likely to get some negative reactions as well as smiles and approval. Friends may feel envious or abandoned. A parent might snub their lover. Lonely strangers may look accusingly at couples glowing with love.
Can Homemade Slime Stain Your Furniture? These Cleaning Solutions Can Help
Your kids are on summer break and even if you're not with them all day, you need new ways to keep them entertained and not begging to watch TV. Making homemade slime accomplishes this goal, plus it's an educational activity that utilizes STEM skills. (It's also all over Pinterest.) The only problem is that if you're not careful, you'll end up with slime all over your house. Can homemade slime stain your furniture?
Writing Your Own Vows Is Not a Piece of (Wedding) Cake
Tradition assumes that marriage rests on a unique kind of love—love that gives and asks for an exclusive, sexual, permanent, tender, respectful, and protective regard. To get married, couples promise each other just these things in a few words spoken before one or more witnesses. Today, self-written vows so often replace traditional ones that young couples may almost consider them a requirement. Self-written vows have made for many a warm, wonderful wedding, but sometimes they go wrong.
Kerr, Jolie: 0884136289528: Amazon.com: Books
I don't like cleaning. There, I said it. I'm not one of those people who look forward to spring because it means I can get out the cleaning supplies and go to town.But I was intrigued by the title of Jolie Kerr's book My Boyfriend Barfed In My Handbag and Other Things You Can't Ask Martha. You gotta admit, that's a catchy title.
Paper Soldiers: How the Weaponization of the Dollar Changed the World Order
Saleha Mohsin. Portfolio, $30 (304p) ISBN 978-0-593-53911-8 The U.S. dollar has become a tool for manipulating other countries, according to this incisive debut treatise.
The Uptown Local: Joy, Death, and Joan Didion: A Memoir
Cory Leadbeater. Ecco, $28 (224p) ISBN 978-0-06-337157-6 Leadbeater debuts with a stirring account of his time working for Joan Didion (1934–2021) in the final years of her life. While growing up in New Jersey, Leadbeater endured horrific physical and psychological abuse from his father. To cope, he threw himself into reading and writing, and eventually gained admission to Columbia University’s English program in 2012.
The Time of My Life: Dirty Dancing
Andrea Warner. ECW, $15.95 trade paper (136p) ISBN 978-1-77041-741-0 Pop This! podcaster Warner (Rise Up and Sing!) presents an animated ode to the 1987 film Dirty Dancing.
Everything and Nothing at Once: A Black Man’s Reimagined Soundtrack for the Future
Joél Leon. Holt, $28.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-250-88710-8 “What does it mean to be a Black man, now?” asks Leon, creative director at the New York Times’s T Brand Studio, in his intimate debut essay collection.
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