My lastname is cooler than I thought…

Jones - Of Welsh Origin from the English patronymic name of John meaning “gift of God.” The surname means “Joan’s/John’s.” The feminine forename (itself a version of John) was introduced to Britain in the late 12th century, and achieved widespread popularity in the Middle Ages. The male form is of Hebrew origin (Yohanan: “Yah has Favoured” - Yah being the conventional contracted form of Yahweh, Jehovah), and was popular among Jews following their Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE. Use in Christian societies is primarily due to the story of John the Baptist whose reaction to Jesus bolstered subsequent claims of his being the Messiah. The forename was in occasional use in Britain before the Norman Conquest but it was popularised by returning crusaders who had discovered that it was common among eastern Christians. By the end of the 12th century various forms of the forename were in widespread use as surnames, throughout the country. The form Jones has been in use since the 13th century, and is especially common in Wales due to the spelling of John (Ioan) in the Welsh Authorised Version of the Bible.

One of the oddest things I found about Gaiman’s Neverwhere is that Gaiman, in two different instances in the book, mentions Door as reading Austen’s Mansfield Park. I wonder why he signals out that novel?

Just ordered Tim Gallant’s Feed My Lambs. Finally found a distributor that took Discover.

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by:
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary;
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth;
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel.

I went out to run some down-to-the-wire errands with my sister this afternoon, and ended up having to go early with her to my parents’ church, as she was the one driving and was slated to work in the nursery. So I sat in the Commons and read a book for an hour, waiting for my parents to arrive for the second service, which we were going to attend as a family. While sitting there I overheard many conversations between attendees bemoaning the fact that the coffee shoppe and bookstore were not open. It seems the consumer mentality this church has created has effectively influenced its populous to regard the church as a veritable Barnes and Noble, not a place of worship.

Becoming cold while sitting still, I decided to make the best of things and explore the new megachurch. It was quite the adventure. I became lost several times in corridors that resembled expensive and ornate office buildings, and found, what I would like to pretend, all sorts of secret rooms that no one else knows about. Every now and again I would come across another lone wanderer — two of which queried as to where that nagging coffee shoppe was located.

Finally, by an act of Providence, I happened to find the Commons once more and was promptly spotted by my parents. The service…well, it was about what I’ve come to expect. No sermon this time (of course, their pastor has recently been deposed, but still, that is no excuse; they have an interim pastor, plus, like, at least six other pastors on staff), but rather a dramatic monologue by one non-biblical person called “The Inn Keeper’s Son.” He told us about all the happenings that took place in his father’s inn that evening, and about how a Roman soldier tipped him a silver “schilling” for taking care of his horse. It’s amazing the things God forgot to include in the Bible…it’s a good thing this actor was kind enough to let me know more of the Christmas story.