A Positively Poetic Priest

 "All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia." BCP 499 Last year at St. Peter's, I participated in 21 funerals. An average of 1.75 per month, though the experience was not as spread out as the average. It was a record year for me. As a parish priest, I lead or participate in a fair number of funerals on a regular basis, but even for the larger, well-staffed, parish I currently serve, we had a lot of funerals. Some of the additional funerals were because of previous COVID delays, but most were simply the passing on of church and community members. Many people tend to think that funerals are upsetting and sad, and they can be. They can also be a celebration and a gift of shared grief, human connection, and joy about life. A good funeral is a service of celebration and grief, a letting go and holding on, a paradox of the heart. A good funeral brings people together and allows the building of connection.  A good funeral...

As a priest in the Episcopal tradition, I deal with plenty of funerals and funeral planning situations. One of the best things you can do for your loved ones is make a plan for your funeral and make sure the paperwork and your wishes are known ahead of time. So many people feel uncomfortable talking about their own death and it leads to their loved ones having no idea what to do when they do inevitably die. All your loved ones want in that moment is to mourn. They don't want to have to make decisions. All funeral homes and churches are happy to help you plan your funeral ahead of time. We have forms which make it easy to go through all the steps and think about all the options, and we will even keep these forms on file for you. All your loved ones need to know then is which church or funeral home to call once your time has passed. So be proactive! Make a plan. Write it down. Put it together with your important bank information and other necessary documents for the time and let your...

I first met Robin Murray in April of last year. I was here for my interview visit and she and I and Kaycee and Kathy Rogers went to breakfast at Amazing Foods together. I remember that breakfast fondly for many reasons, pretty much all of which had to do with the company I found myself in and the conversation we had (and of course, partially because of the delicious food). What Robin told me that day was that she was a golf widow, which was also my first experience with that term. Kim, Bear to his friends, was seriously fond of golf. From what I have heard, he golfed three days a week, eleven months of the year. I have also heard that he only talked about two subjects, golf and Robin, for he had found himself a wonderful wife and friend in Robin. Kim was also a member here at St. John's and a participant in our weekly Wednesday night bible study group, a missionary representative on our Honduras mission trip and loved delivering Christmas presents with the Daughters of the ...