A few more hours and the worship of "The Three Days" begins: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Saturday Vigil and Easter Sunday. Lent is coming to its 40-day finish, but I have not yet learned the 6th and last hymn by heart. (Learning hymns has been my attempted Lenten discipline.)This hymn is a newer one. The text is by Herman Stuempfle, Jr.How small our span of … [Read more...] about Swift Days
Archives for April 2011
On discovering the fifth hymn
Well, the fifth hymn for me to learn this Lent made itself known yesterday. This time I discovered it by flipping through the hymnal. How unoriginal! Why did I stop here at number 782? In fact, the main reason is a bit too intuitive and personal to post on a public blog. So I'll offer up second reason by saying that this was a choral piece I sang in high … [Read more...] about On discovering the fifth hymn
Singing 40 days
I set a goal for myself to sing my way through Lent this year, to learn by heart the text of a hymn each week. We've completed four Lenten weeks, and I've worked through four hymns. Bless now, O God, the journey (Sylvia Dunstan, 1955-93) is a hymn that tells how no matter where our life's path may take us---in the desert, on mountains or by still waters---Christ … [Read more...] about Singing 40 days
Bequeathing an inheritance
Tonight I write as a mother. I feel like I have bequeathed an inheritance to my son. But not in money. And certainly not deliberately. But, as so often happens in life, one thing does lead to another.My son, Jon, is hiking the Appalachian trail, a journey of 2181 miles. He is traveling alone, except for the prayers of his wife and his parents and all … [Read more...] about Bequeathing an inheritance