Monday Morning Musings

-
This week the congregation I serve is hosting the Worldviews Seminar in Dearborn, Michigan. It is the ten anniversary of this seminar, created as the brainchild of Lucinda Mosher, Episcopal Relief and Development, the former rector of Christ Church, and Claude Jacobs, professor at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. It is a week long continuing Ed opportunity to learn about world religions. My hope, as the rector of this church and a member of the planning team, was to be very present for this seminar.

But it seems that life has other plans. I now have an interment on Tuesday for the sister-in-law of a parishioner and then a wake and funeral for parishioner who has attended this church for over sixty years. The wake is Wednesday and the funeral with interment will be Thursday.

In addition we hosting a number of small group sessions for me to meet parishioners, two of them will be this week.

Then, on Sunday we plan to participate in the interfaith worship scheduled for June 26, by having readings and prayers from other faith traditions incorporated in our Sunday service with members of that tradition present to read and pray. I also hope to show a video clip from the work of Sakeena, Director of Hope International. Hope International has office space in the church building.


BUSY.

It will be an exciting week celebrating the fullness of life.

What about your week?


Comments

Rev Nancy Fitz said…
I will be thinking about you this week. I had several funerals last 2 weeks and it took its toll. I'm still recovering. I hope you can plan some time for yourself at the end of this week.
6/20/2011 10:49 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Bleeding-heart: a poem by Mary Oliver

-
Image
I know a bleeding-heart plant that has thrived for sixty years if not more, and has never missed a spring without rising and spreading itself into a grassy bush, with many small red hearts dangling. Don't you think that deserves a little thought? The woman who planted it has been gone for a long time, and everyone who saw it in that time has also died or moved away and so, like so many stories, this one can't get finished properly. Most things that are important, have you noticed, lack a certain neatness. More delicious, anyway is to remember my grandmother's pleasure when the dissolve of winter was over and the green knobs appeared and began to rise, and to cre- ate their many hearts. One would say she was a simple woman, made happy by simple things. I think this was true. And more than once, in my long life, I have wished to be her.
Read more

A Funeral Sermon: Healed by Love

-
Image
There a few elements of life common to all people. Basically they include living, loving, suffering, and dying. All of us experience these aspects of life. The quality of them we may describe as good or not so good. Regardless these elements of life form who we are in deep and profound ways. Gathered here today we celebrate all of these. We celebrate the life of Lynn, wife, mother, sister, daughter, niece, cousin, friend. We come her today to honor all the ways she lived and you knew her in life. We remember her love. We are relieved that her suffering has ended. And we mourn her death. What I know about you all as a family is that you will do this well. Today and in the days ahead you will celebrate Lynn’s life with funny stories and laughter, with tears and sorrow. You will grieve her loss and you will rejoice that you knew her. In life we all suffer times of great sorrow. Our lives are peculiar. For just when we think everything is great, life is wonderful, something happens. An ill
Read more

Luke: A Mary Oliver Poem

-
Image
I had a dog who loved flowers. Briskly she went through the fields, yet paused for the honeysuckle or the rose, her dark head and her wet nose touching the face of every one with its petals of silk with its fragrance rising into the air where the bees, their bodies heavy with pollen hovered - and easily she adored every blossom not in the serious careful way that we choose this blossom or that blossom the way we praise or don't praise - the way we love or don't love - but the way we long to be - that happy in the heaven of earth - that wild, that loving. poem from "Red Bird" photos from my personal file of my dog and a rose from one of our bushes
Read more