Reading

   CONNIE.  Barb & Charles want to honor the profound influence their parents have had on their lives.

A reading from Kahlil Gibran, "On Parents".

You are the bows from which your children
     as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
     and He bends you with His might
     that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
     so He loves also the bow that is stable.

   BARB.  I want to thank my mom for wrapping me in her love all these years, through all of her sewing, and quilting, and crocheting, and knitting... for growing with me as I became an adult, with all of its ups and downs... and mostly for this deep-down feeling of being tremendously loved.

   CHARLES.  Parents try to teach us many things... but the things I learned from my parents were the things that they showed me by example.  My dad taught me that I could do anything that I set my mind to... that I could learn anything there was to be learned.  My mom taught me about the value of silence... and listening... long walks in the forest, just to listen to what the world had to say.  And that has stayed with me, all the time.

Anthem

Father Dearest	Traditional New Zealand
Vikki Appleton & Jessi Bell

Father, father, goodbye, and fare-thee-well mother (x2)
     Yes, I leave you now to begin with another (x2)
Don't know how to sing my feelings when I rise in the morning (x2)
     Yes, I leave you now to begin with another (x2)

Prev: Remembering our Losses

Next: Recognizing our Limitations