It’s boogie time with the ballot box;
The Him Behind the Hymn

Dancing with the Stars (and Stripes)
It’s time to boogie with the ballot box

The right to vote is freedom’s gift.
It gives us each the chance
to stand beneath the Stars and Stripes,
kick up our heels and dance.

To vote means leaning left or right,
then waltzing with our choice.
When we embrace what’s dear to us,
our values find a voice.

But tango-ing with campaign ads
leaves most of us worn out.
The dirty dance steps they employ
results in jaded doubt.

The rumba of election day
won’t come a day too soon.
I’m weary of the non-stop spin
each morning, night and noon

The Him Behind the Hymn
Remembering Martin Luther this Reformation Day

“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”
was Martin Luther’s hymn
that took aim at the sitting Pope
and at the Vatican.

That German monk expressed his views
about indulgences,
with pen and parchment nailed his point
to sparse and faint applause.

This lonely priest said, “Here I stand!
I can do nothing less.
I will not fleece my faithful flock
and charge when they confess.”

Ah yes, young Martin thumbed his nose
and turned his back on Rome.
Rejecting manmade “rules of God”
the seeds of faith were sown.

And so on Reformation Day
we thank God for a man
who stood up most courageously
with a hammer in his hand.

* October 31st is Reformation Sunday

The Covenant Triennial turns heads in D.C.;
Transformed for Service

A Capitol Phenomenon
The Covenant Triennial turns heads in D.C.

Not far from where Michelle Obama
wakes up every day,
eleven hundred women
have converged to sing and pray.

They have gathered from St. Louis,
San Francisco and Tucson
as well as from Seattle
(in the other Washington).

There are women from Chicago,
Dallas, Nashville and Detroit
(not to mention gals from Boston
New York City and Beloit).

They have joined their hearts
to listen to the Word of God proclaimed
and to protest human trafficking
that keeps young girls in chains

It’s a Covenant “camp meeting”
in the middle of D.C.
where the world can hear the heartbeat
of its Women’s Ministries.

Transformed for Service
The “unofficial” Triennial hymn

With unveiled faces they are reflecting
God’s awesome glory for all to see
They are a mirror of grace and goodness
and of the power by which we’re free.

With upraised arms they humbly acknowledge
a transformation from what they were.
God’s endless mercy new every morning
is ever faithful, steadfast and sure.

With outreached hands they join with each other,
sisters united in God’s great cause.
Theirs is His mission birthing potential
in those now victims of broken laws.

With grateful hearts they worship the Savior
who by His Spirit makes us all new.
We are His body remade to serve Him
in what we say and in what we do.

* the above can be sung to the tune for “Morning Has Broken”

** The theme of TXIII is Reflecting God’s Glory and is based on 2 Cor. 3:18 “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

*** to read more about The Triennial Conference of Women’s Ministries of The Evangelical Covenant Church, go to www.covchurch.org

A college graduate’s aspiration;
High School Graduation (Revisited)

A Step of Faith
A college graduate’s aspiration 

A step a faith into an unknown future
I now must take with prayer that God will lead.
My yesterdays morph into new tomorrows
where open doors invite me to succeed.
By stepping out I know I’ll make a difference
within a world of endless hurt and need.

A step of faith seems scary and uncertain.
It’s hard to trust in what I cannot see.
But all the same I long for things I’ve dreamed of…
a world at peace the way that it should be.
By stepping out with confidence and courage
dreams can come true if I will just believe.

A step of faith requires risk and reason
to take a chance that’s based on what I know.
What I have learned is prologue to my future.
Past opportunities have helped me grow.
By stepping out I’ll dance with countless choices
aware of God from whom all blessings flow.

* the above lyrics can be sung to the tune FINLANDIA

High School Graduation (Revisited)
Poetic reflections on a timeless rite-of-passage
 
In June of 1970
I clasped that parchment. Wow!
The world back then was so unlike
the way it is right now.
 
And yet some things seem locked in time
just as they were back then.
Take graduations from twelfth grade…
It’s like it’s always been.
 
The names are read while graduates
arrayed in gown and cap
parade across a high school stage
while parents cheer and clap.
 
With cameras focused on their child
each mom and dad express
a sigh of joy and some relief.
Their kid has claimed success.
 
Not much has changed in 40 years.
Commencements are the same.
There’s Pomp and Circumstance and then
how speakers place the blame
 
on world events like oil spills,
or inner-city crime,
political shenanigans,
how unemployment climbs.
 
They rail against the way life is
encouraging the grads
to challenge what the culture boasts
like fleeting trends and fads.
 
But how much of what speakers say
is heard by those in gowns?
My hunch is most of what is said
resembles senseless sounds.
 
And yet I’m not all that perturbed.
These seniors soon will see
just what it takes to change the world.
That’s how it worked for me.
 
A year or two away from home
at college or a job
will find these grads in “learning mode”
and calling out on God.

* In June 1970 I graduated from Wenatchee High School in North Central Washington State. I look forward to attending my 40th class reunion this summer.