Sound over all wa­ters, reach out from all lands, The chor­us of voic­es, the clasp­ing of hands; Sing hymns that were sung by the stars of the morn, Sing songs of the an­gels when Je­sus was born. Blow, bu­gles of bat­tle, the march­es of peace; East, west, north, and south, let the strong quar­rel cease; Sing songs of great joy that the an­gels be­gan, Of glo­ry to God and of good will to man! With glad ju­bi­la­tions, bring hope to the na­tions, The dark night is end­ing,

*Title from book by Milan Kundera   Dear Friends,   Just when we think things can’t get any worse, another week goes by and guess what? IT GOT WORSE! To me it feels like some kind of absurd whack-a-mole game where no matter how much you do to respond or cope, another one pops up that you have to knock down …with no rest in sight.   We are emotional beings and whether we are letting ourselves feel things or not, we are absorbing chaos, grief, outrage and a gamut of other emoti

*Title of book by Marimba Ani, published in 1969 I was standing by my window On a cold and cloudy day When I saw the hearse come rolling For to carry my mother away Will the circle be unbroken? By and by, Lord, by and by There's a better home awaiting In the sky, Lord, in the sky   These words, written by Ada R. Habershon in 1907, highlight for me today the profound loss of Dr. Dorsey Blake who died a year ago tomorrow. The words seem to pick up on the grief that we still exp

A little more than six months ago, on June 1 of last year, I stood up here to be ordained, and I opened my sermon as follows:   The title on the order of service may cause you to wonder. If not it should. I have so much grey hair, and also with tremors in my hand and foot, that one would naturally expect me to have a sad ending ceremony, or maybe a “home-going” ceremony—certainly not a celebratory beginning ceremony, certainly not an ordination.   By December of last year, th