Come and Worship

Why do my eyes fill with tears

Why is my mouth drawn upward in a smile

Why do the words of song and psalm tremble on my lips

What draws me to these wooden pews

To sit beneath the stained glass gaze of saints and angels

To rise and sit and rise again repeating ancient prayers

What draws me is the beauty and the calm

The offered sacrament of wafer and of wine

The songs—some old as time; some new as Superstar

The blend of secular and sacred

Into something holy and mysterious

Invitation to a new place filled with the familiar

Oh, Father, thank you for this house

For the peace exchanged with friends and strangers

For the ancient wood doors that open and invite me in

From ordinary time to sit one hour in sacred holy space

Nancy Perkins

5/16/13

Thankful for St James Episcopal Church, where I've worshiped for the past six months.

Winds of Pentecost

Spirit wind blow

the seeds of new life and possibility

the blossoms of experience and pain

Holy Spirit wind blow

clear away the anger and fear

the broken dreams and heartaches

Spirit wind blow

make space for desire and friendship

bring new growth of love and light

Holy Spirit wind

Nancy Perkins

5/12/13

I watched the wind blow through the trees in my backyard, leaves and flowers flying everywhere. It reminded me of the passing of old, and promise of new.

A Psalm to Welcome May

It’s why I get up in the dark

on winter mornings

It’s why I grab my umbrella

and hurry to my car through April rain

This perfect May-first morning

gathers up all the angst of rain and winter

And for this morning anyway

it’s stored beyond the blue and forgotten

For who can be sad on this

 gorgeous May day

or in sadness—who cannot smile

The twitter-pated birds

 the flowering trees

renew and restore all that’s life

I sit on the stoop with coffee and cat

and I smile; even break into song

Alleluia! May Day! Alleluia!

Nancy Perkins

May 1, 2013 

Here is Love

Here is love, vast as the ocean
Lovingkindness as the flood
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten
Throughout Heav'n's eternal days

On the mount of crucifixion
Fountains opened deep and wide
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast a gracious tide
Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above
And Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love

I first heard this song years ago, sung by Eden's Bridge, and remember how it moved me. And now I know why. It embodies everything amazing about God's love and His priceless gift, celebrated at Easter. And it still moves me.

Nancy Perkins
Easter 2013

The Second Half

I just finished listening to a set of CD's by Richard Rohr and Paula D'Arcy called, Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. They have changed my life by giving me vocabulary and assistance in recognizing the changes that are already taking place in me. I wrote this poem after the final CD.

Oh Love of Loves

We have been reunited

And all that I have known of Love

is now complete.

My first Love—

You loved me when I first took form

inside my mother

and You breathed Your breath

into my tiny cells.

And all my life You’ve waited

through my wounds and pitfalls

through my staged attempts

at piety and faith.

And here at last

I finally fell across the threshold

into outstretched wings

that fold and hold me

in Your heart.

The blinders off

the scales removed

there’s no more wanting;

Your love flows through my heart

and out into my life

Oh, Love of Loves.

Nancy Perkins
March 2013

Winter Skies: Poems & Pictures

Everything is Gray
1/30/13

Everything is dead
and gray
and cold
Even the sun--
the brightest star
Can't break
through the
dense heavy gray.
Only my candle
glows with warmth
in my space
And tiny
purple flowers
bloom bravely
on the
windowsill.

It's Gray Again

2/8/13

It's gray again--

in fact grayer still

and now it's wet

as well

Yesterday

a bright pink streak

at the edge of earth

made attempts

to overcome

the clouds

but grayness won.

I take hope 

from the street light

and the sparkling

string of lights--

leftovers from

Christmas--

on my neighbor's tree.

Oh, Spring!

please come soon

and end this

eternal gray.

I passed by my quiet space

2/10/13

I passed by my quiet space

on my way to wash my face

and I was drawn

as with a child's tugging hand

to approach

and sit and bask

in the golden light

streaming through the

windows facing south and east

The mighty sun

has won the tug-of-war

with clouds and gray

and today reigns supreme

King of the sky

Even the bare winter

branches reflect the glow

and me,

I can't stop smiling

as I sip my coffee

and think about the day.

Redemption

 3/1/13

I'm not a fan of winter and yet, somehow this year,

while growling at the chill and cold,

my gaze was drawn upward and for once,

I noticed the beauty of winter skies.

I mean, really; I almost ran off the highway more than once

trying to get one more glance at an amazing streak or cloud.

From dawn until sundown--or shall I say from gray to grayer still--

the changing of the heavens could drive an artist to distraction, 

each pattern and design somehow more engaging and beautiful.

I still don't like the cold, but the skies have won me over...

Maybe it's redemption of those bitter January days 

When loved ones left this place

and moved beyond.

Hope Springs in February

I passed by my quiet space
on my way
to wash my face
and I was drawn
as with a child's tugging hand
to approach
and sit and bask
in the golden light
streaming through the
window facing south and east

The mighty sun has won the
tug-of-war with clouds and gray
and today reigns supreme
Queen of the blue sky
Even the bare winter
branches reflect the glow
and me,
I can't stop smiling
as I sip my coffee
and think about the day