a prophetic voice-

    Here I sit, safe and comfortable in my room...well-fed...in need of nothing I can think of- except, of course, to have my "life" back. And yet, I know that it will be a long, long time before that happens...before life is some semblance of what we once thought of as "normal".  So I find that, as much as I would like to believe otherwise, I am in mourning, grieving for the life that once was and which may, realistically, never be again. Oh, I don't mean to sound pessimistic but let's face the facts- and they are actually very few: this virus is unlike anything medicine and science has seen before and regardless of where it came from or how it began, it is affecting the whole world to one degree or another. The experts in medicine and public health are not at all certain about more things than about which they are sure. Yes, they know this virus is especially communicable. That seems to be a given. But what they do not know is 1) how many of us are walkin...

I walked by a cemetery yesterday, row after row of headstones marking the final resting place of people much beloved by someone- and my heart began to break for those long-ago unknowns- at least to me...and my heart began to break for those who have died of this latest plague and the loved ones they have left behind...and my heart began to break for all the mothers giving birth alone and all the elders dying alone without their loved ones by their side...and my heart began to break for all the health workers, from doctors and nurses and CNAs to those who clean the floors and guard the doors- all of them risking themselves so others might have care...and my heart began to break for the postal workers and delivery people and gas station attendants and bus drivers who are keeping things going, even as we are supposed to shelter in place...and my heart began to break for those stocking the shelves and filling the prescriptions and making repairs and responding to call...

    Outside, the sun is shining. Oh, yes, it's much cooler than yesterday's seventies, and there is a persistent wind blowing, but the sky is blue and everything is in full bloom. All around me is green, green, green, in every imaginable hue, complemented by bright pinks and yellows and brilliant oranges. Nature at her most ostentatious, glorious best.       Inside, however, in spite of the colorful art on the walls...in spite of stacks of to-be-read books...in spite of a countless variety of offerings on Hulu and Netflix and Amazon Prime, a gray cloud seems to hang over everything...the cloud called Grief. Grief for the loss of what has been...grief for the church services and family gatherings which will not happen...grief for not being able to dye Easter eggs together...grief for not being able to plan a family meal with a Honey-Baked ham at center stage...grief for the hours and days and weeks which are slipping away, never to be recaptured...grief for...

     I'm thinking of my friend, Diane, this morning, as she is facing a bronchoscopy...of my  children and  grandchildren...of my sister, Susan... of our Gourmet Group, seven wonderful  women who meet together and  eat together and are missing each other terribly...of all the  people of  Emmanuel Lutheran Church in High Point, where I am presently interim  pastor... of far-away friends and family...of all health care workers...of  everyone working to keep us  comfortable and safe...of all those who serve invisibly and silently but so essentially to  maintain our well-being...of the people at the southern border, caught between here and there... of those in refugee camps throughout the world for whom uncertainty has become the norm...     I'm thinking of the future, wondering what it will bring- but it is so  uncertain that I can  really focus only on today- here...now. It is truly all  we have. ...

I was just thinking this morning about all those people who are keeping us well and safe and fed during these difficult days and I am offering them my thanks. I hope you will join me: health care workers, of course, doctors and nurses, but also the maintenance workers and housekeeping staff and security officers who keep the hospitals going. those keeping the electricity on for us, working in the power plants and on the power lines, so we can have the comforts we take for granted. everyone involved in supplying us with clean, safe water from the workers in the office to the plumbers who keep lines open in our homes. What would we ever do without them? gas station attendants and those repairing pipelines. grocery store workers, from those stocking the shelves to the checkers and baggers, to those working in the office, ordering supplies. pharmacists and drug store clerks. all those staffing the many drive-throughs continuing to supply us with food and drink. those bringing us ...

     Be assured that I am not judging here...after all, I recall over and over again the scripture which admonishes us to cast out the log in our own eye before worrying about the speck in another's eye. But even as I am for the most part enjoying and appreciating this holiday season, I have become aware of a modern phenomenon which both puzzles and saddens me, causing me to question many things about our society.      In my new neighborhood is being constructed yet another storage facility...a huge one, which will accommodate the "stuff" of many, many people. And this is just one of the considerable number of such facilities which have sprung into being in the last few years. Obviously, there is the "need" for them, else they would not continue to be built...which leads me to wonder "why?" Are we truly a people of so many possessions that we need these places in which to house the countless things which do not fit into the living spaces we occupy? D...

I preached this sermon at Grace Lutheran Church, Thomasville NC on November 24th. Luke 23:33-43 These are the LAST DAYS…of the church year… Next Sunday we will begin the season of preparation and anticipation-  Advent- the time of preparing our hearts, our lives, to receive anew the Christ who comes to us as a Babe in a manger…comforting…peace-filled…lovely. “Silent Night, Holy Night”, we will sing. But TODAY IS CHRIST THE KING! And while we might like to think about Jesus seated on a throne, or Jesus in the clouds, or even Jesus riding triumphantly into Jerusalem, our Gospel reading instead gives us Jesus on the cross.  We get the final hours before his death, seemingly at the lowest point of his life, when it appeared he had been beaten by everyone and everything, when it seemed that the powers-that-be had won. Just what is so Kingly about that?  There are a number of passages in the gospels dealing with Jesus’ time on the cro...

Dear Republican friends,       I write this because I am trying- really trying- to understand your seemingly-unconditional support of the man in the White House...a man who has and continues to lie, to twist reality into the image he wants...a man who denigrates women, who makes fun of anyone who disagrees with him...a man who has alienated so many of our allies and aligned himself with the Russian oligarch, Putin...a man who continues to challenge the freedom of the press by calling them "fake" when they report something he doesn't like. The list could go on and on.       I am asking you for some explanation for your continued support of this man who, in my opinion, is misusing and abusing the office of the Presidency of these United States- which are tragically more divided than any time I can recall in my nearly-seventy-eight years. You see, I view us all as Americans...would like to believe we all want the best for all the people of this nati...

It is now the middle of November and I...we...are in the midst of a major life change. To explain, "we" is my best friend, Mae, and I. We have been sharing this dear old house since January of this year, becoming accustomed to being housemates, quite an adjustment for me since I had lived alone for the past eight years. But friendship overcomes many little things which might become major in other circumstances, and learning to compromise and openly communicate in a different way from previously has been both a challenge and a gift.  In the midst of the heat and humidity of summer, faced with the inarguable fact of aging- of both us and the house- we began looking at apartments in High Point, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem, spending hours both on-line and driving to see possible places to live. It was exhausting but also quite exhilarating, as the prospect of this change-of-life became more and more real.  And then, in late September, we made a decision and applied to 2918 ...

It's a bright- if muggy- Sunday here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, and after a lovely worship service at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, I am sitting in my favorite chair, catching up on emails and snail mail correspondence (yes, I am one of those Luddites who still enjoys writing letters and sending cards), while trying to restore my sense of equilibrium and well-being. You see, I've been reading the new book by Madeleine Albright, Fascism- A Warning, and I must confess to feeling anything but stabilized right now. Albright is both an intelligent writer and a good historian, presenting the reader with a history of Fascism and the Fascist leaders in our century who turned the world on its head. Fascinating, I must say. But the very destabilizing part for me is the ways in which I am seeing reflected our own day and time, both here in the United States and worldwide. You see, I have never, ever been an alarmist... have never subscribed to conspiracy theories...never been a fe...

Some days... Some days, I'm not sure      who i am...           or      why I'm here           or      what my task is for today. Some days, I struggle to      find my place...           and      live my truth...            and      do the heart-filled deed. Some days, I long for      clarity of mind          and      peace of heart          and      strength of purpose. Some days...     but just for this day,     this one holy day, I rest, confident that answers will come...      and so, I open myself to      this moment, this amazing,      life-filled moment,           And BREATHE....

(I wrote this last week for an assignment in my writing group. It's about today.) If no pain, then no love. If no darkness, no light.   If no risk, then no reward. It’s all or nothing.   In this damn world, it’s all or nothing. ~ Glennon Doyle Melton Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. ~Desmond Tutu       The ringing telephone shattered the midnight silence. An almost-strange voice, choked with emotion, filled my ears with even stranger words- “This is Jamie, Shannon’s brother. I am so sorry…Carl was diving with Dan in a zenote in the Yucatan…he drowned. I am so very sorry…” the rest of the words lost in the roaring in my head, the dreadful tearing sound of my heart breaking, the harsh rasping of my sobs as tears streamed down my cheeks…as I sought for and grabbed at sanity in a world suddenly gone mad.       There was more conversation, I know…some details about official things- the a...

just live! Moral certainties make my hair stand on end, especially when expounded by those who seem to thrive on drawing battle lines and boundaries… whose goal seems separation and one-upmanship instead of reconciliation and compromise. Absolutes invite hypocrisy, as we have often seen among the “famous” of our day, as revelation of another’s feet of clay is met by judgment, anger, and buoyed by a sense of superiority by those whose own humanity has yet to be revealed. Life, my friend, is messy and confusion- a nd far too short to make it about “either-or”, “for-against”, “us or them”… no “one size fits all” garment covers every situation…no simple set of rules applies- unless it is the “rule” of love. For life’s complexity demands our openness… our acceptance of people different from ourselves…our unwillingness to change our minds and hearts when living proves us wrong…       ...