My Day: A Haiku Quintet

Friday afternoon,
My day off spent reading books:
Celtic history.
Overcast sky,
Not raining but dreary,
A cold afternoon.
I moved furniture:
The change reinvigorates
the fall-weary soul.
Cocker spaniels,
My two black and blonde puppies
Asleep on carpet.
Gaelic religion;
Interior designing;
And sleeping canines.

Early Winter Benedicite

Sing, windblown rain,
Sing the praises of your Creator,
Sing, rain-sodden wind,
Sing the praises of your Creator,
Sing, rain-soaked earth,
Sing the praises of your Creator,
Sing, icy sidewalk,
Sing the praises of your Creator.
In winter damp, cold and clammy,
‘Gainst bitter breeze, I make my way.
Cocker spaniels running happy,
Gladden my heart this joyless day.
Sing, prancing puppies,
Sing the praises of your Creator,
Sing, [...]

Desert Gaming, A Sonnet

Desert Gaming, A Sonnet 
Sagebrush, cactus, sandy, hard rock, scrabble,
Dancing rain driven, tempest beaten earth,
Purple sage, storm drenched, flash flooding, gravel.
Rocky, barren desert, place of my birth.
Water rushing over desolate ground;
Las Vegas in springtime; storms in the desert.
Creatures of arid wasteland drenched, drowned,
While in the city men hope for pay dirt;
Their backs on God’s natural bounty [...]

A Prayer

At each morn and end of day,
To God I sing the same refrain;
Each day I vow and each I pray
That in God’s presence I’ll remain:
“God of all light, God of all dark,
Lord of the night and of the day,
Enwrap my will, enclose my heart;
Never from your love let me stray.”
Yet, Lord, from you I wander [...]

Sermon for Proper 28C: A Bright, Brand New Day

 Revised Common Lectionary, Proper 28C, texts:  Isaiah 65:17-25 and Luke 21:5-9
If you’ve ever been here for the “Midnight Mass” on a Christmas Eve, you may have noticed that when we sing Silent Night, as we traditionally do at the end of that service, I don’t sing. It’s not that I don’t like Silent Night; [...]

Cold Silence

Cold Silence

Early morn, chill and dark …
A dog snores contentedly,
The coffee maker gurgles,
But the cold silence remains.
The pages of my book …
Each one whispers as it turns,
Words form pictures in my mind,
But the cold silence remains.
Somewhere in the basement …
A pilot lights the furnace,
Sheet metal ducts, heating, creak,
But the cold silence remains.
On the highway, a [...]

Autumn Vision

Autumn Vision
Red leaf
Falling
Floating
Dancing
Leaping
Cavorting
On laughing breeze
Diving
Dipping
Dropping
Stopping
Resting
On calm green grass

Preaching Extemporaneously

I did not post sermons for October 28, nor for November 4, because on both occasions I did not preach a prepared sermon.  In fact, I would have to say that I did not preach at all.
On October 28, I did what I called “a factual instruction” on tithing using some of the elements set [...]