MORGAN'S MOMENT...
Printer Bill and I were talking…
    or maybe I was doing the talking
    and he was nodding agreement.

The subject was printed mailings
    like my blue sheet
    compared with e-mail attachments.

My opinion was that mailings
    which people pick up and read
    get more attention than e-mail.

If you’re like me (hopefully not)
    you skim e-mail messages
    wondering what’s in the next.

It’s unlikely you are reading this
    while on the computer
    or talking on the cell phone.

You may underline or tear out
    or pass on or copy
    or leave lying around.

Printed words have longer lives
    and more lives
    than e-mail.

Some get this via attachment
    maybe even printing out in blue
    and possibly are exceptions.

Notice Bill agreeing with me
    that e-mail may be faster
    even cheaper but not better.

— Art Morgan 

BOOK CORNER
Walter Isaacson has an important and interesting biography of Albert Einstein. I was in the midst of it during our last couple of weeks at the cabin, but didn’t quite get it finished before having to return it to the library.
It belongs on the same reading list with others I’ve mentioned that deal with cosmology and origins of the universe(s).
Virtually all modern physics traces its roots to Einstein.
For those who may want to get beyond all the recent books on atheism and move the discussion onward, I think this biography to be a good starting point.

MOMENT MINISTRIES
October 29, 2007

home address:  25921 SW Airport Ave.
Corvallis, OR 97333   541-753-3942
email at a-morgan@peak.org

FIRE!
We only lived in Los Angeles six and a half years, but plenty long enough to know all of those places we’ve been seeing on fire on TV.
Many of the homes and developments were built after we left. But we know the area. We don’t know of any specific homes or buildings that were lost but suspect that one of the houses on Lake Arrowhead was one we have stayed in.
There are at least 30 addresses on this blue sheet list that are within the fire area. We are sure they know of people who have been directly affected even if they were not personally.
So, all you down there, we’re keeping you in mind these days!

SETTING DATES…MAYBE
Some have wondered if/when/whether we will be getting our group together soon. Apparently not in October. Paul is currently in northern California somewhere, or maybe heading north. He should be back after Sunday. When we can find a date that works we’ll send out an e-mail notice.

MOMENT MINISTRIES AND MOMENTOUS MINISTRIES
People sometimes guess (wrongly) that the “moment” in Moment ministries is an injunction to live moment by moment. Of course, we should, but that’s not our thought. Our thought is that amidst all the moments there are occasional unbidden times of authentic meeting, experiencing, feeling that are almost mystical. “Moments” are those times that have a timeless quality, “moments to remember.” When tears come unbidden, or joy, or deep peace, or insight, you may be close to what we mean by “moment.” We can all participate in such unexpected moments if we are really present in the world and with one another. The story of Jesus is a story of “moments.”
“Momentous ministries” are of another dimension. Acts or gifts of service, whether to one another in daily life, or to outside needs and causes, can be listed as “momentous.” I know of many who are involved in extraordinary service in working on community needs like housing, hunger, health and community issues. There are lots of ways of giving, which we encourage everyone to do. Everyone can be a “momentous” minister as well as a “moment” minister.
Moment Ministries, as a corporation, has no committees, projects or fund raising per se. Our participants are doing all sorts of things as individuals. There are plenty of committees and groups in town  through which people can serve if they wish. Our low-demand style leaves plenty of time and room for varieties of service

 
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THE PAIN OF DELETING
        One of the computer keys I seem to hit most often is the one that says “delete.” I use it mostly on my own material. That kind of a deletion is usually a good thing.
        What makes for pain is when I’m fixing my mailing lists. I’m not very secretarial in the first place, but even if I were, deleting from my mailing lists is a pain.
        Since it is rare that someone voluntarily requests to be deleted, a deletion usually means that there has been a death among my colleagues and friends. The delete key is pressed, but not without pain.
        Most of my address changes are made in the fall when the blue sheet gets restarted. It is not unusual for one or two of the first mailings to be returned with news I had not previously known. I find myself missing their names when I apply the labels.
        In front of me I have labels stuck to the edge of my computer shelf as reminders of new deletes. I see Art and Eileen Olson, a great couple you probably don’t know but might wish you had. Another name is Dennis Savage. His death notice came to me first through the Pension Fund Bulletin. I read it each month with its reporting of clergy retirements and deaths. It is rare that I don’t know one or more.
        The most recent delete was for Robert Lemon. He and Dennis, and another of their classmates at the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, Bill Terbeek, participated in one another’s weddings. They were all bright, creative and successful clergy. I met them all over 50 years ago when I was part of Robert and Adelle’s wedding.
        With each delete my mind turns on the history channel. It is surprising what memories come on to the screen. And thoughts.
        For instance, Robert and Adelle’s romance, when he came to Seattle while I was a student at the University of Washington and active in the University Christian Church. He came to court Adelle in what was essentially a done deal. He left his church in Illinois and pumped gas during the courtship before taking her off when they got married. We’ve been in touch ever since.
        A lot happens in a half century. We never heard the half of it, but had the outline by way of Christmas letters, in between notes and occasional visits. So we knew of Robert’s Parkinson’s condition. We had times with them from its early stages. It’s a relentlessly cruel disease. Those who live with it have to be courageous. I marvel at both courage and grace. Like others I know, Robert kept on with things he cared about as he was able. I saw him at a lectureship where he excused himself to a padded pew in the balcony for a quick nap. But he returned when he was refreshed, totally interested in what was going on. He remained interested and concerned and a bit angry over the “war” and injustice in the world. I bet he was sending off letters to the end.
        Aging under any circumstances takes courage and some humor. People in Robert’s situation who maintain their interest and connection to life and the world are models for all of us. I told Adelle that we’d be in Berkeley for his memorial celebration. I think I need to be encouraged by him one more time.
        His close life-long friends, Bill and Dennis had their own stories of approaching the end of their lives. Each of us eventually has such a story. If we can accept our fate as humans without losing the belief that our lives matter in ways beyond our knowing, and that simply being alive in this amazing universe of 100 billion galaxies is a wonder beyond understanding.
        I’m told that even though I delete from my computer file, the name never goes away. I don’t understand computers any more than I understand the universe.  I too delete, but do not forget.                                                       
─ Art Morgan, October 25, 2007