Class of 69, called to be alive! 😊🎶 Getting ready to head back to Dubuque, Iowa where Carol and I will gather with classmates and significant others for our Class of 69’s 55th high school reunion. Yes indeed! It’s time to reunite! Our reunion band is getting ready to play and sing some favorites when we gather with other classmates at Eagle Point Park Friday night, Sept 27th.
by paths as yet untrodden. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The prayer above is one of my favorites. It’s been around for decades and is attributed to an Anglican minister Eric Milner-White. Sometimes called the Prayer of Good Courage, it expresses the attitude of one desiring to live and be of service to the Lord wherever life leads.
This prayer became especially near and dear to me when after Denise, my first wife, died suddenly, I chose to venture from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest, ready to live into a new chapter of God’s call on my life. To my surprise, the unfolding of this new stage of life and service would include journeying to the end of the Oregon Trail, serving at Pioneer Presbyterian Church on the Clatsop Plains.
So, in many ways I’ve been on a pilgrimage for the past decade or more. Day by day, full of grace, the Lord leading me, God’s love supporting me and I amazed time and again at how I am blessed to be a blessing along the way.
Be it a new phase in life, a journey to a far-off sacred place, or simply taking an afternoon or a weekend away, spiritual growth and life-giving discernment await those who are willing to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage.
Once in a while I experience a fear of missing out on a dream to take music on the road
Then I have the experience like I did yesterday when together with friends we sang with folks In the memory care community just down the highway
And I realize that beyond my wildest imagination I’ve had an amazing lifelong journey of music ministry and any fear I may have about missing out is laughable
With a celebration of our country’s birth July is fast approaching. The life of our nation and of all countries around the globe is drawn from the health & well-being of Mother Earth
Many things are needed for the health of our planet. Here is one thing I have chosen to do this July: I will learn how to reduce single use plastics in my home and daily life from this month onward.
What will you do in July out of love for your country and for precious Mother Earth? What one thing for life now and for future generations? Consider joining me and millions of others to go plastic-free.
For those who want to dig into this pondering a little deeper, I offer this liturgy for the planting of flowers written by Douglas McKelvey in Every Moment Holy, Volume One:To read it simply click and expand. 😊