all saints day
saints small s
every day is their
followers
of God
who try
both to believe
and to act
patronage
of nothing in particular
no groups
claim our own
but the
relative
ease and simplicity
without notoriety
or beads
or rituals
simply leave it
to faith and action
anyone
believing
anyone who tries
a life of faith
with flaws
the Holy Spirit
will provide
kintsugi
c l couch
photo by Motoki Tonn on Unsplash
(x = space)
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Quiet Victory
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There is yellow sunlight
On things this morning
Or is it gold
Or is it wishful thinking?
Church is going on
I’m trying to listen
The advantage and the irony
Of virtual
If I’m distracted
If I distract myself
It sticks
(the distraction)
x
(Saint) Paul is confessional
I think that’s good
I was thinking yesterday
Of (Saint) Peter
And his qualities to lead
That are pretty awful
He leads anyway
Jesus said so
Called him foundational
To a new movement,
A new church
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We are flawed
And at our best
We do not deny our flaws
Because that is honest
Because vanity
And ego
Won’t win anything
The battle
Or the day
Or the age
Or the world
Or the cosmos
Better to be the silent planet
As Lewis has created
Until we speak in power
Due to love
And lead the battle
And the world
And the age
In love
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C L Couch
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Solar Eclipse
Photo by Obed Hernández on Unsplash
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I’ve been having trouble with WordPress. I can’t leave comments on your pages. I get an “error” block that tells me to go back and when I do I still get the “error” block. I don’t know if anyone has experienced this. Maybe the problem is with my computer. Frustrating!
This won’t fix the problem and doesn’t really address it; but if want to get in touch with me (especially while I’m not able to reach you via the blog), you may use my e-mail address, clcouch17055@gmail.com.
CLC
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x
(x = space)
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In Darkness
x
A child is born
Into this?
How cruel
Such cruelty
If God should call this down
A child of God
(a child?)
Then why not to cushions
In a palace
For a start?
Why not with special parents
In a prominent family?
Why not with
Advisors and with teachers
Frankly, generals
Standing,
Kneeling
By?
Why not with a well-known name
Conveying might
Mixed with celebrity?
x
Bethlehem?
There are two such places
You are inviting debate
And neither is a capital
An important place
For births
Unless by the mother stopped
By happenstance
On the way to Jerusalem
Or Rome
Somewhere we can argue is
The center of the world
Where we can triumph
(two drum beats)
Where are the triumphs?
x
Where are the angels
(bells)
Well, there are
The angels
We are frightened
They say
Don’t be afraid
(we are afraid)
Tidings,
Good news?
To our cynic selves we know
There is never good news
x
And who are the shepherds?
Smelly men
Who should be outside town
Yet they pass us by
With purpose
What?
Where?
x
Bethlehem, again
And we people of the world
Maybe we should follow
x
Or, you know,
We could wait for the news
When it’s official
The sky is dark again
With normal night
We have two years
And more,
Should something else
Happen
(two drum beats, bells)
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C L Couch
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A companion piece to yesterday’s. Another one tomorrow—there you will have a trilogy of liturgy for Advent and Christmas Eve. Or for some other reason. Or for none. Note this verse has sound effects. They can be left out, I’m sure.
CLC
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Photo by Lasse Møller on Unsplash
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(x = space)
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“Remembering Lorraine Bay”
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Newspaper headline
Human interest story
She was interesting
Loved her job
(with challenges)
As a flight attendant
x
She was on the flight
The plane that crashed
Near a small town in
Western Pennsylvania
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C L Couch
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Shanksville’s Main Street in July 2006
By Aude – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1007438
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Following Simplicity
Faith is not stupid
But it has to be gotten
(Be-gotten)
And owned by anyone
I can’t think of an
Authentic tradition
In the world of faith
That does not have
Its scholars
Faith is smart
With aspects of intelligence
That keep generations
Dealing in the finer
Points of interpretation
And practice
This work is nuanced
And important
But faith itself
Can be caught, cared
For, and grown
By anyone
For the blind can see
The deaf can hear
The lame can walk
The path can be traversed by
Whoever each is now
Whoever each is not
In fact, the less the better
To possess
On the way of faith
clcouch123 
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