Pentax 645 Medium Format Camera Expressions of Interest

Scanned from 645 transparency

I am looking for expressions of interest in my much loved Pentax 645 camera system for sale.

This is a film camera with 4 lenses, 3 120mm film magazines, an adaptor for mounting 645 lenses on pentax k mount cameras including digital.

These are all manual focus lenses but optically very fine and can be used on Pentax Digital Medium Format cameras.

Original instruction manual also included.

Ideal for Landscape work and in the past I also used it on weddings.

My intention is to advertise on other internet sites in the near future but would accept enquiries for more information now on 0417867476.

Here is a link to a youtube video I have made on this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-JKXRvuVQ&t=61s

Scanned from 645 transparency

"Emptying the Cross of it's Power"

This was the message I shared with both Renmark Uniting Churches on 17/3/19

Renmark West

Renmark Town Church

1 Corinthians 1:17-25 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom
¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”^[a]

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

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Sermon: Emptying the Cross of it’s Power

When I first started speaking in Churches it was at the Church of Christ in Grote Street in Adelaide.

Lay people in Churches of Christ are authorised to speak and conduct the communion service and do most things a minister would do provided the eldership thinks you are ready for such things.

I can tell you the first time I conducted a communion service my legs were  really shaking and trembling.

The congregation couldn’t tell because my legs were hidden behind the communion table.

I have since discovered I was in good company.

Paul tells us this in 1 corinthians 2.

“When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{[a] 2} For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.”

Todays sermon title and message comes from verses we had read out to us in the Bible reading.

 “For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Gospel.”

And not with eloquent wisdom “Lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”.

“Lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”.

And when you look at some of the other things that were said in these 2 chapters, you begin to see what this means and why it is so important to consider.

For the message of the cross he says in the very next word,

¹⁸ For the ^[g]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

¹⁸ For the ^[g]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Please note what this subject is dealing with is eternal life or eternal death.

Some believe that it doesn’t matter what we believe that we will all go to heaven regardless.

That is an idea called Universalism but this is clearly not right when we read our Bibles.

We have to make a choice while we are alive.

It is too late afterwards.

The message of the cross is the very power of God.

So what was Paul saying to us?

How can we,

 how could he have emptied the cross of it’s power?.

He was the amazing Apostle Paul,

Saint Paul who in all accounts was a very eloquent speaker and debater.

A man with much knowledge of the things of men and the things of God.

So what did he mean and why was he so emphatic about this?

One of the first things he is telling us is that we,

whether we be speaking from a pulpit,

or just sharing with friends and living normal lives in the community,

can empty the cross of it’s power.

It is the cross of Christ that is the key for us all and to all humanity.

The key to our salvation.

So how can a minister a preacher,

 like Paul

or even like me,

empty the cross of it’s power.

We can do so if we are trying to win you over as a friend,

Create a good impression,

Trying to gain brownie points by our clever dialogue,

 and even just being an all round entertaining person,

 who makes you feel good.

If that is all a preacher achieves,

 then they are making it all about them and not the cross.

They are emptying the cross of it’s power.

A famous book is “how to win friends and influence people”.

The principles of that book, no matter how helpful, will not bring someone to Jesus,

to the cross.

A preacher can’t save anyone no matter how much you enjoy having them at your church. 

It is the confrontation with the message of the cross that is absolutely essential.

An opportunity through the cross to meet Jesus.

One of the great preachers of old was George Whitfield.

He spoke to large crowds in a booming voice, long before the days of microphones and loud speakers.

Many responded to his Gospel messages.

I read once how someone came up to him as he was coming down from his speakers platform and said to him.

“That was a fine sermon Mr Whitfield”

He said “I know, The devil already told me that”

He knew the danger of him seeming more important than the message of the cross.

He knew the danger of emptying the cross of it’s power.

He knew the real power of the cross.

He knew the devil attacks us through pride.

Particularly ministers of the Gospel.

So what are some of the ways we have to guard against this emptying the cross of its power?

As Christians we can be doing this without realising it.

When people know we  are Christians we are being watched.

They are looking for us to slip up so they can say to themselves, I don’t need to be a Christian, those people don’t live up to what they are professing.

I am as good as them.

They say they are going to heaven so I will surely go there also.

They don’t realise of course that going to heaven is nothing to do with our good behaviour.

It’s about accepting Jesus and receiving Him as our saviour.

Our language can catch us out at times.

If we are in the habit of saying “Oh my God!” we are really indicating we don’t have a grasp of the cross of Christ,

 or our salvation.

That is pretty much the same as blasphemy where people use the word Jesus as an exclamation mark.

Emptying the cross of it’s power.

Christian bumper stickers were all the go once.

There was one that was popular amongst Christians.

“Christians are not perfect, just forgiven”

A true statement but not a reason or excuse for us to do what we like and then ask for forgiveness.

Emptying the cross of it’s power.

Sometimes people  wear a cross on their lapel or on a necklace around their neck.

The place to wear a cross is really in our hearts.

To some people it is just a piece of jewelry and means nothing to them or maybe something that makes them feel secure.

That they have some belief in God.

Emptying the cross of it’s power.

Another way we can be emptying the cross of it’s power is arguing about Christian things with each other and also people we hope to win to Christ.

Paul hints on this when he says he is glad he wasn’t known as one who did many Baptisms.

¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas^[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

While the doctrine of Baptisms can be an important thing to grasp on our Christian journey debating it with Christians with different ideas can be emptying the cross of it’s power.

 Arguing about issues is a waste of time.

Not when someone’s eternal life is at stake

It is not wrong for  a preacher to preach about such things but we need to let the Holy Spirit convict us of which way to go on some of these things.

Emptying the Cross of it’s power.

Some more wisdom from Paul.

Phillipians 3

15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained."

We can be emptying the cross of it’s power when we look to education and politicians and activists to make the world right.

Politicians will never get it right unless they apply directly the power of the cross of Christ in their policies.

That is not likely to happen as they want to remain in power and don’t want to appear foolish to non believers.

¹⁸ For the ^[g]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Education is great but education will not solve the worlds ills.

We should not be pinning our hopes on education.

I once heard a quote that said if you educate a crook all you will get is an educated crook.

There is no calling to repentance in Education.

You see education in itself will not change the hearts of men and women.

I could go on with many more examples how we can unwittingly be emptying the cross of it’s power but I want to finish on a very positive note demonstrating the power of the cross.

We have a neighbour,(just down the road) Rob, who at one stage was our Pastor at the Edwardstown Church of Christ.

He left that ministry some years ago as he felt God was calling him to minister in some way overseas.

He eventually settled on Africa and started up a ministry called Tree of Life.

This was more than 15 years ago now.

Pretty much Rob acting by himself but with some supporters back here in Adelaide.

He has made several visits to Africa.

Burundi, Kenya and Tazania are some of the countries he has been active in.

He has driven taxis and buses to help pay his bills.

His method has to been to identify young men with a heart for the Gospel and to equip them and train them with resources to simply share the message of the cross.

His trainees have largely been lay people with no formal training other than what he has delivered himself.

Many have been active in spreading the Gospel amongst the various African countries.

They have often been in danger from terrorist groups and some have been attacked and threatened.

They are not necessarily part of any organised church and don’t have the backing of some large missionary organisation.

Here is a recent email and photographs I received from Rob.

He says;

“Friends, have a look at this picture.

The man with the hat , Venance , is a recently converted witchdoctor. Word quickly got around that he had changed, and those who had previously

fled the village in fear of him came back to see for themselves.  In fact  Venance welcomed them

into his home and told them what the Lord had done for him. Jonas and Frederick then shared

the Gospel with them and they too believed. People in the village are wondering what power 

it is that is at work in  Venance and Paschal

 a man previously known for his bad behaviour

and drunkenness. Well we know the answer and we thank God.”

“The following group of people are Pygmies from a nearby area. Paschal and Frederick have been telling them how the Lord had changed them and they were very open to the Gospel.

Meschack met with 46 of these people and fifteen called on the Lord to be saved.

There was much joy.

There is now the responsibility to care these new believers and strengthen them in the faith. 

Please pray that God will give wisdom to  Meschack

 and his co-workers and that the Gospel will continue to spread.”

What is clearly demonstrated here is the power of the cross of Christ, the Gospel.

These guys are not using eloquent words of wisdom just the simple message of the Gospel.

Shouldn’t we all be doing the same?

A final challenge for us.

Have we made the move from those who are perishing to those who are being saved?

We do need to respond to the Gospel.

Respond to Jesus.

We are now going to sing our concluding Hymn.

ORDER OF SERVICE RENMARK 17/3/19 

Welcome : Geoff

Call to worship: Worship leader. Psalm 27:4

Hymn: “Morning has broken”

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 (NIV) val t at rw,Elaine Ledham in town

Hymn: Hymn 261 AHB  “Were you there when they crucified my Lord”

Offering:

Prayers of Invocation,confession and intercession various

Hymn: 258 AHB  “When I survey the wondrous cross”

Sermon: “Lest the Cross be emptied of it’s power”

Hymn:  “How great thou art”

Benediction

Vesper: “May our Lord,God of Peace.” Edelweiss tune

 

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"Thirteen Ways to look at Birds" -a review

Last saturday night my wife and I went to see this show,"thirteen ways---", at the Adelaide Town Hall.

As a birdwatcher and keen bird photographer I went with some enthusiasm.

Sadly we both came away un-inspired.

I will start with the positives first.

 The music was very brilliant as was each of the individuals making up the seraphim trio (Anna Goldworthy,Helen Ayres and Tim Nankervis), Paul Kelly,James Ledger and Alice Keath.

They are all brilliant artists and it was our first experience of Paul Kelly.

When we arrived and were waiting to get started I said to the lady next to me: "It is hard to imagine that all these people are bird enthusiasts or bird watchers."

When the artists came out on stage it was obvious to me by the audience reaction that they weren't here to learn about birds or necessarily celebrate them.

The audience was mainly older people and two couples in front of us were all the way from Sydney.

Such is the popularity of the Adelaide Festival.

There was much applause and an almost standing ovation at the end of the concert which brought all the artists out for an encore.

They were certainly brilliant at what they  did.

I asked my wife what she thought as we made our way out.

"Very dreary"

So my criticisms.

I will put a link below to an enthusiastic review of this show.

1. I thought we would have birds as the main event with artists supporting them with poetry and song and music.
Not a bird to be seen.
I was expecting a visual backdrop as is shown in the advertising material.
A brilliant sunset with a flock of birds.

2. Many of the poems were not Australian and featuring Australian Birds. The words were supplied ,with the programme, of the poems but it was too dark to read along with the performance.
Paul Kelly's singing and spoken word was lost in the acoustics and the at times surround sound.

3.Attempts at various bird noises were lost on me.

4. The music did not evoke anything to do with birds for me.

My hopes for someone doing this again.

1. Make the birds the focal point and vocal point.

2. Base your show on the many wonderful Australian writings about birds.

C J Dennis wrote a whole book of Australian poems about birds called the singing garden.
You can read it online here.
http://bushpea.com/bd/pg/all/bdbook01.html

There is also a wonderful book called "Birds of Paradox" edited by Jack Pollard.

Also any attempts at this should recognise that you can't out perform real birds.

And here are Thirteen Ways to look at birds.

1. Sit down in your back garden with a cup of tea and watch. It helps if you have established a bird friendly garden.

2. Go to a Zoo or specialist aviaries

3. Watch the myriads of bird programmes online.

4. Join a bird watching club or group. seek out friends who  love bird watching.

5. Take out your camera and perfect the art of bird photography.

6. Invest in some binoculars

7. By a good bird identification field guide

8. Go on a bird watching tour.

9. Buy a good DVD set on birds such as David Attenborpough's set on birds.

10. Travel overseas to seek out bird watching experiences.

11. Start breeding birds yourself.

12. Listen to all the beautiful bird song recorded on the "Listening Earth" website and be inspired.
         https://listeningearth.com/play/album/00Welcome.php 

13. If you ever get the possibility to see "Ode to Nonsense" about Edward Lear the nonsense poem writer and noted bird artist, do so.

And here is a link to a more positive review as promised.

https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/thirteen-ways-to-look-at-birds-adelaide-festival/


PS Paul Kelly did speak about our need to protect birds and contribute in any way we can. Good on him.

Why not be a Preacher? a book by Dr Arnold Caldicott

"Why not be a Preacher?"

That is the name of a book by the late Dr. Arnold Caldicott.

At one time he was our minister at the Church of Christ at Grote Street Adelaide.
That was where he last ministered before retirement.
His late wife Alice was also a wonderful supporter .
They were a great team.

 He was an evangelical protestant minister and passionate about His calling.

He wrote this book and a couple of other books:

"The Gospel under Canvas"

"The Vercoe Story"

Arnold Caldicot was my Minister for a number of years at the Grote Street Church of Christ.

 He was a wonderful mentor and friend  to me and a great encourager.

He  was often encouraging me to become a preacher.

 It is no small coincidence that later in life I've taken up that challenge and have become a lay preacher in both a Churches of Christ nursing home  and also in the uniting Church in Renmark, South Australia.
I fully Love doing what I do and realise that maybe I should've done so a bit earlier.

Arnold had a big booming voice and there's no way I could  replicate that here but I'm just going to read a little bit of what he says in this book in the preface.

"why write this book?  because I'm convinced that young people need a book like this.
 The years of youth  are decision-making years.
 Great numbers of young people are lost to the Ministry because their questions are not answered.
Satan often wins by urging youth to settle for second best rather than the best for God.
And ministers need this book to remind them that recruitment for the ministry depends greatly on them.
 No matter how heavy the load, ministers should not lose sight of recruitment and should allow time and effort for programming in this direction.
 Where ministers take time and effort to encourage young people to give themselves to the preaching ministry, a stimulus will come into the life of the minister as well as that of the church."

Here are the contents headings for each chapter.

1.How do I recognise God's call.
2. Start by being a cadet preacher.
3. Preaching and The beginning: can I do it?
4.Try this for sermon.
5. Advice  on those college years.
6. Dos and don'ts for the preacher
7. Don't squib on the invitation
8.On ministering to a Church
9.On submitting a time sheet.
10. Your question: can I possibly take a funeral?
11.You can use this wedding service .
12. Then don't give up on God, expect a miracle
13. The preacher and the other woman.
14. Loud and clear on what Bible study is
15. Called to be an Associate. preacher:What then?
16.A letter of invitation- For you too!

Dr Caldicott uses many other resources to make this book.

Even in this day and age it is worth considering.

It may be just the challenge that someone needs to take up what God is calling them too.

You may find it listed on the second hand market, it was published in 1979.

I have a spare one for sale and will accept offers until sold. Perhaps $25(Au).

"The boy with the shining face"

   

Welcome to Parkrose Village Congregation 3/3/19

This is the message I brought to the residents of our Parkrose United Congregation at Parkrose Village on 3/3/19.

“The Boy with the Shining Face”

 2 Cor 3  ¹⁸ But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.
Have you ever seen anyone glow?
We sometime make remarks about people we see in various circumstances.
We talk about them “glowing” or perhaps “Beaming”.
It can be a proud parent glowing in pride when their son or daughter has won a prestigious medal, award or competition.
It can be a bride and groom glowing as they exchange their wedding vows.
When I was a wedding photographer I used to stop couples half way down the aisle of the church ,just after they have been pronounced man and wife, to take a couple of quick photos.
My idea was to capture the “glow” from their faces.
What I call the newly wed glowing bliss look.
It was one of my must get shots.
When a young mum holds her new babe in her arms for the first time there is often a real glow notwithstanding the exhaustion.
When you see a group of performers taking their bows at the conclusion of a great performance, and they are given a standing ovation, they fairly glow with pride.
Particularly when their family and loved ones are in the audience.
We saw this  the other night at the Opera Tosca.
There were lot’s of people glowing this last Monday when people were presented with their Academy Awards.
And some of the people who came forward at the recent Franklin Graham crusade and their counsellors were probably glowing within and without.
And I could go on with lots of examples where we say people fairly glowed.
They have an expression on their face that radiates joy.
We have a passage read to us today that shows the experience of Moses who went from glowing joy when he received the 10 commandments to soon putting a veil over his face as the joy, the glow, was fading.
²⁹ Moses didn’t realize as he came back down the mountain with the tablets that his face glowed from being in the presence of God. ³⁰ Because of this radiance upon his face, Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to come near him.
³¹ But Moses called them over to him, and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation came and talked with him. ³² Afterwards, all the people came to him, and he gave them the commandments the Lord had given him upon the mountain. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face;^{[a] 34} but whenever he went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he removed the veil until he came out again; then he would pass on to the people whatever instructions God had given him, ³⁵ and the people would see his face aglow. Afterwards he would put the veil on again until he returned to speak with God.
And we read also.
¹² Since we know that this new glory will never go away, we can preach with great boldness, ¹³ and not as Moses did, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelis could not see the glory fade away.
He did not want people to see how he was really feeling.
He was perhaps thinking his people would never live up to these commandments.
Some have said that the people could not cope with seeing his face,his countenance ,glowing like it did when he had been in the presence of God in the Tabernacle.
He would put the veil on when he came out of the Tabernacle and remove it when he went back in as high priest to converse with God in person.
There has been much written about this veil Moses wore and also we think of what happened to the curtain, the veil, in the temple which was split from top to bottom when Jesus was crucified.
This signified that from that time on, through Jesus death on the cross, and His resurrection that we all had the opportunity to enter into the presence of God, made Holy by what Jesus has done for us.
Veils are still in use today of course.
Various religions have traditions about wearing a veil.
It was common once, and still is in some societies, for a Bride to wear a veil as she was about to be married.
Some say this was so the bridegroom was not distracted by her looks but was marrying her for the person she was.
As Christians today we are not precluded from the presence of God by a veil.
There is another passage that was recommended for this Sunday in the lectionary.
It is partly what suggested my title and subject matter.
I will read it for you.
It is bringing us forward to the ministry of Jesus.
³⁷ The next day as they descended from the hill, a huge crowd met him, ³⁸ and a man in the crowd called out to him, “Teacher, this boy here is my only son, ³⁹ and a demon keeps seizing him, making him scream; and it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth; it is always hitting him and hardly ever leaves him alone. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to cast the demon out, but they couldn’t.”
⁴¹ “O you stubborn faithless people,” Jesus said to his disciples,^[a] “how long should I put up with you? Bring him here.”
⁴² As the boy was coming the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion. But Jesus ordered the demon to come out, and healed the boy and handed him over to his father.
⁴³ Awe gripped the people as they saw this display of the power of God.
This is an encounter and healing that Jesus did with a man and his demon possessed son.
This family was in a terrible plight.
There were no joy filled faces here.
Not so until Jesus performed His miracle and set the lad free of his tormentors.
⁴³ Awe gripped the people as they saw this display of the power of God.
Can you imagine the joy that filled that father.
The glory of God was manifested here.
My imagination enables me to see this boy’s glowing wonderment, his shining face as he was set free.
“The boy with the shining face”.
We can only speculate what lay ahead for his boy.
We trust he was able to share his story with others to point them to Jesus.
We have all probably had our day in the sun where we beamed with joy in various experiences.
Even at our baptism perhaps.
I have witnessed many baptisms where the candidates were positively beaming as they rose up out of the water.
But how long do our shining faces last?
We can have a wonderful experience as we come into a real faith with the Lord Jesus.
The one who died on the cross for us.
But life is difficult.
We have many challenges along the way where we might lose some of our shine.
The cares of this world can at times overwhelm us
It is very easy to lose sight of the wonderful face of Jesus when we are in extreme difficulties or just a long period of hardship.
We could easily lose some of that shine in Parkrose.
We can get down in the dumps.
But the way back to Joy is to fix our eyes firmly on Him.
We can do that in these opportunities we have in our worship, as we touch heaven through our singing.
We can do it quietly in our rooms in prayer, and if we are able to read our Bibles, or have them read to us by a visit from the Chaplain or a Christian friend.
Or have fellowship with each other.
We can even minister to each other.
Here in this place.
We can forgive those that have wronged us.
That will always restore joy if we do it from the heart.
Shall we leave this place today with shining faces as we have been in the Lord’s presence?
¹⁸ But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.

Will we be like the boy with the shining face?
I hope so.
Our last Hymn is an old one that Lesley remembered from the Alexanders Hymn book.
"Brighten the corner where you are".
It is our challenge today, as Christians who largely have lost our mobility and ability to venture out into the world.
Earlier we sang “I hear you calling Lord, I will go where you send me.!” 
But most of us can’t go too far.
But we can indeed Brighten the Corner where we are.
Shall we sing it.

1.     Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar;
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.

o   Refrain:
Brighten the corner where you are!
Brighten the corner where you are!
Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;
Brighten the corner where you are!

2. Just above are clouded skies that you may help to clear,
   Let not narrow self your way debar;
   Though into one heart alone may fall your song of cheer,
   Brighten the corner where you are.
3. Here for all your talent you may surely find a need,
   Here reflect the bright and Morning Star;
   Even from your humble hand the Bread of Life may feed,
   Brighten the corner where you are.

 Here is the order of service for the day.

Parkrose 03/3/19  Order of Service
Welcome: Geoff
Call to worship:  Matthew 5:16
Hymn: “Shine Jesus Shine”
Announcements:
Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18,
Hymn: “Within the veil”  “Into thy presence we come.”
Communion:
Offering
Church Prayer
Hymn:   “I the Lord of Sea and Sky”
Sermon: “The boy with the shining face”
Hymn: “Brighten the corner where you are”
Benediction and Vesper

 

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