“Sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, when I put out to sea... Twilight and evening bell, and after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, when I embark...”
After last Sunday’s service I need to thank the Vocal Choir who sang a gorgeous acapella version of Crossing the Bar composed by my college friend Rani Arbo. The Choir members put so much energy and focus into helping to lead and deepen the services twice a month under the direction of John Middleton-Cox and with the support of Assistant Director Christina Kennedy. We are lucky and I am grateful!
Thanks also to the Worship Committee for helping to honor the beautiful North Parish “cloud of witnesses” on All Souls. If you brought in photos of your own beloveds but did not take them at the end of the morning, they will be available on the windowsills closest to the back of the sanctuary this Sunday. I spent some time walking around the sanctuary this week before the photos were put away and realized I’ve known 60 of the folks who were surrounding us and led the memorial services for most of them. We are lucky that these beautiful souls were and will always be part of North Parish, and I am grateful.
If you missed the service, I suggested taking one small, pragmatic step at this time of year in recognition of our own mortality, and I’m happy to host gatherings to facilitate this. Some of the suggestions were to get at legal homework which so easy to put off: designating legal guardians for your children, filling out the Five Wishes form for yourself or someone you love, filling out a MOLST or POLST form regarding your DNR wishes, writing up or reviewing a basic will, an estate plan, or choosing organizations you want to gift money to… and letting someone know where all this information is kept!
Other suggestions were to facilitate the logistical work and the grieving process of those you’ll leave behind: deciding and writing down how you want your body to be handled after death, i.e. cremation, burial (and if you want a plain or fancy coffin), green burial (in a mushroom shroud or an organic burial pod!), or aquamation, and whether you have any specific wishes for the type of service or ritual conducted after your death, and/or wishes for specific music, hymns or readings you’d love to have included in a service. Forms for input into memorial services will be on the back tables again this week; feel free to fill one out for your family and if you wish, make a copy for the minister’s files. To further help the grieving process or to simply reflect on your life, there are additional steps one can take: writing a draft of your own obituary, writing up a paragraph about your ethical legacy, or thinking up a wild fantasy of what kind of annual tradition would be the best way to remember you.
Finally, I suggested that we also take the mortality of others seriously. Not because we believe in hell (Universalists don’t) but because we affirm life. There are more than 3,000 verses in the Bible calling for the care of immigrants, the marginalized, the oppressed and those who are hungry. A dominant theme in the stories about Jesus’ ministry was eating and sharing food. Our outreach this month will focus on the same thing: sharing food with folks who are hungry. Thanks in advance for your generosity to this outreach effort and to this congregation!
Yours in these windy days,
Rev. Lee