John Allen

@knowtea.bsky.social

971 Followers 509 Following

Minister (PCUSA), Musician (conductor, composer, singer, pianist/organist, music director for musical theatre), Whovian, Teutophone, Swedish-American, Jazz aficionado, #faithfullylgbt, and stuff.

My ex-wife is very ill. She is going to have to quit her job, which means she'll lose health insurance. Our special-needs daughter, who lost her SSI (& we have yet to get it restored) lives w/her as do my 2 youngest. We haven't received the repair funds from the damage to the house a year ago (they are holding it in escrow & refuse to release it). House needs other repairs due to water damage, & driveway is almost gone & needs replacing. Situation beyond desperate. Please help if you can. Thanks
3 months after I took current job, my adjunct position was eliminated (I depended on that $ in order to make it here). 58% of every paycheck I send to my ex & kids. And it's not enough. W/o teaching job, I'm in the red constantly. Still haven't received ins funds to repair damage to house from last July. Now their driveway is almost washed away & will cost $5-7k to repair. Beside myself w/anxiety. Times are rough for everyone but if you can help, it's GREATLY appreciated.
A selfie I took in my Passiontide Red t-shirt fo Holy Week and my black ball cap with a clerical collar on it.
A description of Maximus the Confessor’s theology.
My 2026 word is “mortifying.”
Picture of “Peeps Plus” Carbon Lens Cleaner for eyeglasses.
Picture of Cher in her “Turn Back Time” era with the caption, “Turn back time one hour on Sunday: don’t forget to Cher with your friends.”
“Each pupil should sing so soft as not to drown the teacher's voice, and each part so soft that the other parts can be distinctly heard;—the Bass bold, full, and majestic; Tenor, firm, clear, and distinct; Alto, full open and plain; Treble, (now called Tenor,) soft, round, and mild. The Minor key tunes softer and slower than Major key tunes, with a lighter Bass. The high notes and quick notes should be sung softer than the low notes and slow notes.” (The part where it says that Treble is “now called Tenor” is highlighted.)
To everyone who told me 11 years ago that “it would get better” and/or “they will come around,” it didn’t and they didn’t.
On September 29, 1996, the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels—29 years ago—I was ordained as a Minister of Word & Sacrament
“All pleasures are guilty pleasures if you have a high enough anxiety.”
Update: they are able to get their water turned back on, thanks to so many of you. Thank you so much and God bless you!
“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. This isn’t about candles.”
Facsimile edition of William Walker’s “Southern Harmony,” published by the University of Kentucky Press
Musical examples of duple metre from “The Christian Harmony”
Cover of The Shenandoah Harmony
The Missouri Harmony (2005)
The Christian Harmony (2010)
Q&A 54 from the Heidelberg Catechism (1563)
A picture of me wearing glasses.
Doctor Zhivago
Marvin the Paranoid Android from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
A 28 year old me holding my oldest daughter.
Picture of me unbuttoning my white clergy shirt to reveal the red undershirt I wore today for Pentecost.
Trump Burger: Bellville TX (979-270-5062); Flatonia TX (361-865-3893); Kemah TX (281-532-6305); Houston TX (346-718-2850)
A screenshot of the YouTube video for my arrangement of “Holy Spirit, From Heaven Descended”
The actors who have played the Doctor on “Doctor Who,” when each of them was young.
Hyacinth Bucket (it’s pronounced “Bouquet,” à la française)
Heinz Beanz on toast
Screenshot of a text exchange with a “wrong number” text in which I was as obtuse as I could be.
Facsimile copy of William Walker’s “The Christian Harmony” (1873), known as the “Carolina book.”
Greek Orthodox icon of the Ascension
A copy of a hateful cartoon that has been making the rounds, with a caption I added: “This isn’t how Reformed theology works. If you’ve liked this and/or shared it, go ahead and unfollow me now.”
The cast of the sketch “Captain Space” on the 1980-81 show “Tush” on TBS, featuring Bill Tush and Jan Hooks.