How the church will look post-COVID

Our world has changed.
So too the means
to reach the least and lost.
I’m virtually beside myself
midst COVID’s mounting cost.

I miss the handshakes and the hugs
of those within my flock.
I long for times within their homes.
But, hey, we’d best take stock.

Has “doing church” as we have done
been one more causality?
Has COVID claimed
both lives and plans?
That’s what it seems to me.

Must we rethink
the bottom line
of what we’re all about?
Can we discern what’s time to go
and what still has the clout?

Is online worship here to stay?
Are chat rooms now the norm?
Will YouTube music take the place
of praise on Sunday morn?

What’s next will likely be a mix
of virtual and not.
We must make peace
with our new world.
Accept what COVID’s wrought.

I’m guessing what is past is past.
It seems “new wine” awaits.
So while there’s time let’s find new skins
before it is too late.

Celebrating the strength of our diversity

The fabric of democracy
may fray but never tear
though terrorized by those outside or in.
The warp and woof of freedom
boast a strength we can’t ignore
as we focus on what makes us one again.

God, unite us as a nation.
Join the pieces of our past
to create a quilt of beauty fringed with pride.
Heal the wounds that we’ve created
by our arrogance and hate.
Give us grace to listen to the other side.

Yes, Lord, teach us Kingdom values
as we work for peace on earth.
Help us ask ourselves “Just what would Jesus do?”
Prompt us to take risks at loving.
Shield our hearts from cold despair.
Guide our gaze that we might fix our eyes on You.

Remembering the CHALLENGER astronauts

It was a cloudless winter day.
Our hopes were high. We paused to pray.
The Challenger sat on the pad
prepared to make us proud.

And then out of the (morning) blue,
something went wrong.
Somehow we knew
what had begun with boundless joy
would end in tragedy.

We watched the launch in disbelief.
Our President helped guide our grief
inviting us with poetry
to “touch the face of God!”*

Peace to the memory
of The Challenger Seven!

*http://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=819

An Aaronic blessing to one of baseball’s greatest!

Oh Henry! I just heard you died
and I am feeling sad.
You left your mark in baseball and much more.
Your home run record beat the Babe’s
but mostly you stood out
by walking tall. That’s how you really scored.

You turned the other cheek, like Christ.
You wouldn’t let hate win.
You took your swings at racism with love.
By imitating One who died
(forgiving you your sins),
you voiced your values with a batter’s glove.

You took your cues from “42”
and also from a King.
Both civil rights and justice fueled your dreams.
You meant to make your life pay off.
You meant to make it count.
And so you did. You were a man of means.

Peace to your memory!

It’s a day for new beginnings

It’s a day to ask God’s blessing
on a man who now will lead
a nation quite divided (blue and red).
It’s a day to pray for safety.
It’s a day to pray for peace.
Though filled with doubt we choose to trust instead.

It’s a day for new beginnings.
It’s a day to take an oath.
It’s a day for our new President to speak.
It’s a day for him to calm our fears
and call us all to dream
of reaching noble goals for which we seek.

Like unity and kindness, too.
Like treating others fair.
Like honesty and giving folks a hand.
Like dignity and tolerance
and honoring the weak
while lifting up the wounded who can’t stand.

This is a day we start to heal
if we are so inclined
to put aside the rancor and forgive.
While differences won’t disappear,
the way we disagree
determines if democracy will live.

This day is what inaugurates
much more than just a term.
It terminates a season we survived.
A season marked by COVID,
riots, chaos and much hate.
A season marked by leadership that lied.

But this day we inaugurate
a President and more.
We have the chance to truly start again.
Bipartisan investments
in democracy’s account.
A blank slate now invites us to begin.