Posts Categorized: Pastor’s Ponderings

A benediction for St. Patrick Let those who have never known hunger Set down their forks. Let those who have never known cruelty Go as a stranger, alone, to a far place where they speak a different tongue. Let those who have never known pain Don boot and gloves, take up their shovels and dig… Read more

Without searching long I see much trouble in our world- So much wrong That ought not be, So little right Because we have not chosen To live humanely. But in a world of neglect and indifference I saw you speak greetings To a homeless man. In a world at war I heard you pray for… Read more

Lord you saidCast your net in the other sideAnd I saidOk this looks like fun.And it was and I could seeFish lively in the netBut they slipped outAnd my net was empty.But you said cast againSo I didBut my net was empty again.And you said cast againAnd I said I’m tired but okAnd I cast… Read more

Today the rain Reminds me of Alaska Steady All night and all day Smothering the giant hemlocks Soaking at the salmonberry roots Filling the reservoirs Overflowing the mountain lakes Bulging at the banks of streams Leaping over the edges of mountains and flying Through the air Rushing as fast And hard as it may To… Read more

The one who loves May be asked to endure hardship- He may need to survive Hardship and famine. Indeed, he may, If he loves long enough And painfully enough, Prevail over danger And persecution. But love Is its own reward. George R. Pasley February 9, 2021 Martin, TN

The sky is blue today. The seas are calm today. But I remember another day, The wind blew and the rain fell and I went walking with a friend In the woods. We got sopping wet. But in the woods, There was beauty and wonder And secrets undiscovered on sunny days And we left filled… Read more

On the cold weather days I remember The potato soup my Grandma made And served us, in her kitchen. I remember the low-lying winter sun That gave blessing to my mornings in Alaska. I remember the little iron woodstove Dad put in the kitchen, And stoked up every morning From November until March. I remember… Read more

Daybreak in Alabama by Langston Hughes When I get to be a colored composerI’m gonna write me some music aboutDaybreak in AlabamaAnd I’m gonna put the purtiest songs in itRising out of the ground like a swamp mistAnd falling out of heaven like soft dewI’m gonna put some tall tall trees in itAnd the scent… Read more

One windy afternoon I questionedThe abundance of grace-Does it really bound,Does it leap like grasshoppers in August,Does its aroma saturate life,Like the smell of chlorine at the pool? And if not, what then?For if grace only comes to the lucky,Why bother practicing mercyOr striving for righteousness? And then, out the window,A passing truck doused a… Read more

It hurts too much to laugh, Lord,And I am not too old to cry,Not when it hurts like this.But I may be too tired to cry. Oh Lord, there was a time when I blamed youAnd plenty of times when I blamed me,But blame does not take away the pain. And then I let a scab… Read more