will not go gently

The pastor of my church in Connecticut is leaving. There's a nice article here, even though they misquoted him on the money thing! I love that there's a picture of Bob with the stained glass windows in that old sanctuary. The church was built of stone, by Episcopalians, in the middle of the Civil War. Those windows are to the left and right of the chancel, and the light would play through the windows in different parts of the sanctuary through the seasons of the years. I always loved to watch the gold and brown and red light in the sanctuary on autumn days. We'd drive to church through the spectacular New England fall, and the light seemed to dance behind Bob as he preached.

And wow, can he preach. Bob is one of the best people I know at speaking the truth in love, real love, without anger, with a profound humility that made him the perfect person to bridge gaps in our community. Even on the scary Sunday after 9/11, when almost everyone in our congregation knew someone who'd disappeared. But Bob knew what to say, and so did Angie in the children's sermon. The sermon he preached a week later, a continuation of the series on Romans, was on Romans 12 ("Bless those who persecute you." "Do not repay evil for evil." "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."). It's one of the best sermons I've ever heard.

They will be missed.