Dear Friends, Sixty sounded so sinister to me; an ominous birthday.

Dear Friends, Chautauqua is a 425-mile drive from Westport, if it’s not raining. It rained, making the drive considerably longer. You know what I mean.

Dear Friends, I can see him standing there, talking to us as we listen appreciatively. He brought life to what might otherwise look like a pile of old stones.

Dear Friends, Each year we conclude our Coming of Age trip with a hike on Walden Pond to Thoreau’s cairn. This year the group was big enough to make a hand-holding circle around the huge pile of rocks put there by thousands of pilgrims in Thoreau’s memory.

Dear Friends, Remodeling begins with destruction. The old must be torn down, or ripped apart, to get ready for the new. The West Wing has been destroyed. Those funky bathrooms are no more. Gone for good. Literally. Gone to make room for good bathrooms, a new kitchen, offices and meeting space.

Dear Friends, Vickie Sue Robinson Good is gone. She left us last Thursday.

Dear Friends, Last Friday night I stood in front of the fireplace in the Northup Room and delivered some favorite pieces of poetry at Barbara Holder’s Lifespan gathering of poets. She invited me to be the first reader of the evening, then I listened with appreciation as others read from their work, putting personal pieces […]

Dear Friends, When I was in conversation with the Search Committee sixteen years ago I naturally spoke with each of the former ministers—to check references, the way they did with me. One of the things that each of them had words of praise about was the parsonage. Ed Lane said, “Westport has the best parsonage […]

Dear Friends,     Victoria Busnan, who recently started attending services, sent a little story by Julie Manham, which she called An Afternoon in the Park.

Dear Friends, I watched “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” thinking I’d see yet another indication of the decay of values in America. Not so; I was drawn in, answering multiple choice questions — the kind I liked when I took tests in school. You have at least a 25% chance of answering correctly whether […]