The heavens declare the glory of God

Psalm 19 Caeli enarrant

1	The heavens declare the glory of God, * and the firmament shows his handiwork.
2	One day tells its tale to another, * and one night imparts knowledge to another.
3	Although they have no words or language, * and their voices are not heard,
4	Their sound has gone out into all lands, * and their message to the ends of the world.
5	In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; * it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber; it rejoices like a champion to run its course.
6	It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end of it again; * nothing is hidden from its burning heat.
7	The law of the LORD is perfect and revives the soul; * the testimony of the LORD is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent.
8	The statutes of the LORD are just and rejoice the heart; * the commandment of the LORD is clear and gives light to the eyes.
9	The fear of the LORD is clean and endures for ever; * the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10	More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, * sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb.
11	By them also is your servant enlightened, * and in keeping them there is great reward.
12	Who can tell how often he offends? * cleanse me from my secret faults.
13	Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not get dominion over me; * then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offense.
14	Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, * O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.

RIP Lacrosse Legend Peter Kohn - Human Being Extraordinaire!

RIP Lacrosse Legend Peter Kohn - Human Being Extraordinaire!

I learned today from the Middlebury College twitterer that Lacrosse Legend Peter Kohn died. I am posting links to several articles about this wonderful person, and my heart is heavy thinking about him. I agree wholeheartedly with Middlebury College Director of Athletics Erin Quinn who said, “Our world just lost one of its kindest souls, leaving us with the responsibility of carrying on his legacy of kindness and humility.”

The above picture shows Peter sprinting in 1991 against Jim Grube, who was the head coach at the time (found on Peter Kohn's flickr account)

I grew up in Middlebury, Vermont, where Peter Kohn spent a good deal of his life working at Middlebury College and I was a total lacrosse junky. I watched my first lacrosse game at the college field and I was lucky to be on the Middlebury Union High School's first team when I was a freshman in High School. I was an avid fan of the game as well, and got to know something of Peter's work as a manager, as a morale-booster, and as a wise guide of the members of Middlebury's lacrosse teams. He also had a role in many other lacrosse teams, All Star Games, World Championships, and summer league teams. Later, he served other teams at Middlebury College as well.



During my senior year at Bates College, we played Middlebury in a lopsided affair, coming up short against the juggernaut that was (and is) Middlebury College Lacrosse. I remember Peter Kohn well, as he cared for his team, and was also gracious, helpful and kind to those of us on the opposing side. Later that spring, I played in a New England All-Star game at MIT and I was pleased to see that Peter Kohn was serving as manager of my team. His wonderful humanity and kindness shined through back in 1991 and hopefully will continue to shine amidst all those who he was able to touch in his rich life. Tonight, while Googling Peter, I found the picture below in which you can see Peter on the left, and also me on the right. I didn't know the picture existed, but was blessed to find it on PETER's (!) flickr page. I was blessed to be able to know him just a bit, and I pray that he rest in peace and rise in glory and may all those who remember him in these days feel blessed to have known him.

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey
Middlebury Union High school "Tiger" Lacrosse, 1987
Bates College "Bobcat" Lacrosse, 1991



Keeper of the Kohn movie website


Keeper of the Kohn, an intimate look at an icon in the lacrosse world: Peter Kohn, the longtime field manager of the Middlebury College lacrosse team. But this isn’t a story about collegiate lacrosse — though Middlebury does go to the national championships in the course of the film. Instead, it’s the story of a simple man whose loyal friendship and love for the sport provided him with a family, a home and a sense of purpose. Along the way, Kohn made an impression on dozens of athletes, to whom he passed along important lessons about humility, patience and kindness.

Watch it HERE on Hulu


Peter Kohn's photos on flickr, click HERE or http://www.flickr.com/photos/kohn_archive/



Excerpt from the Middlebury College Athletics Website:

Peter Kohn Passes Away

August 05, 2009

Beloved lacrosse manager and longtime Middlebury College friend, Myron G. “Peter” Kohn passed away on Aug. 5 at University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. The lacrosse legend was unable to recover from a heart attack he suffered on a fishing trip near his home in Cape May, N.J., on Aug. 1.

“Our world just lost one of its kindest souls, leaving us with the responsibility of carrying on his legacy of kindness and humility,” said Middlebury College Director of Athletics Erin Quinn.

Peter Kohn was one of the most beloved and unique figures in the lacrosse world. For more than 50 years he was connected to the sport. The subject of a much-publicized documentary, “Keeper Of The Kohn,” he started as a field manager for the Park School in Baltimore in 1954. He was manager of the U.S. teams from 1978 to 1998, for the North-South All-Star game for over 25 years and for club teams in the United States Club Lacrosse Association for over 20 years. Kohn worked in the equipment room at Middlebury from 1981-1988, while serving as a manager of the men’s lacrosse team. He later began to spend his winters in Florida and returned to campus each spring to work with the team. When time permitted, Kohn also enjoyed helping out with other spring teams at Middlebury as well as teams during his brief visits in the fall and winter. Kohn is well-known throughout the lacrosse world, having served as manager of the U.S. National Team several times at the World Games.

Read the rest HERE

Excerpt from the Middlebury Campus student newspaper article today by Emma Gardner:

Middlebury lacrosse legend Peter Kohn passes away

Lacrosse legend Peter Kohn has passed away.

The Middlebury lacrosse field manager failed to recover after a heart attack on Aug. 1 that hospitalized him.

Kohn - part of the Middlebury family for over two decades - left an indelible impression upon those he met and inspired. Before arriving at the College in 1981, Kohn spent years mentoring teams and players at every level of the game. He managed six world teams and 32 all-star games, became known for his generous spirit and tireless loyalty and demonstrated a passion for lacrosse that touched generations of players. Today, the women's field-hockey and lacrosse field bears his name.

"He was the heart and soul of the lacrosse program," said women's lacrosse tri-captain Blair Bowie '09. "You could meet any alumnus from the past 40 years of Middlebury lacrosse and talk to her for hours and hours about Peter; he brought people together like that. Essentially, he represented the epitome of pure love of sport for no other reason than the joy of playing."

Kohn maintained a subtle but powerful presence throughout the lacrosse world. His far-reaching contributions to the sport were formally commended in 2004 when he was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Despite receiving numerous accolades and widespread recognition for his outstanding role in the lacrosse community, Kohn remained humble, genuine and focused on his players.

Read it all HERE

Reviving the art of preaching, essay at Episcopal Cafe

my most recent Daily Episcopalian essay also posted at Episcopal Cafe over the weekend

Reviving the art of preaching

by Peter M. Carey

“Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary, use words.”
~attributed to St. Francis

“A preacher should preach holding the Holy Scriptures in one hand and the newspaper in the other.”
~attributed to Karl Barth

As a kid, there were two things that most intimidated me about what priests did, what they did at the altar, and what they did in the pulpit. Growing up before the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, I remember well the “high church leaning” congregations of my youth and the reverence, mystery, hand motions way up there at the altar – often with the priest facing away from the congregation. As I grew older, I served as an acolyte, so I saw some of this up close, but the sacredness of it remained for me (and still remains today, thankfully!)

The preaching task seemed nearly as mysterious and puzzling. I wondered how the priests would be able to come up with something to say each week, some anecdote to connect the readings with the life of the people in the pews, some example or metaphor to connect the Holy Scriptures with the pastoral needs of the congregation. How did they do it every week?

In seminary, and before seminary, I heard the two quotes listed above quite often. I doubt whether St. Francis or Karl Barth actually said them. We have no way to know about the St. Francis quote, and at least two Barth scholars assure me that even if Barth said that second quote, it doesn’t seem to be consistent with his theology and practice of preaching. In any event, it seems that these two quotes are quite helpful for the practicing Christian.

The first quote, of course, points out that the Christian Life is more than just words; that we need to live out our faith, to “walk the talk” so to speak. However, there are times, of course, to use words. It is NOT merely ok to live well; it IS our calling to share the hope and Faith that we have in Christ Jesus. The fact is that people will see what we do, but they will also hear what we say. I read today that the Episcopal Church has cut its entire Evangelism budget, and without getting into a debate about why this line item was vetoed, I began to think about the need for grass roots Evangelism. To share our Faith with others, we need to live ethically, and we also need to speak with passion about the tenets of our Faith, to speak about God’s work in our lives. In essence, I believe, we need to recapture the ministry of preaching, and not solely for the seminary-trained clergy among us.

As our beloved Episcopal Church declines nationally in numbers, it will be essential for those of us who even have a bit of a spark of interest in preaching to PREACH IT! This means we need to “preach the Gospel at all times,” and it means we need to “use words.” It also means we need to hold our iPhone iBible application in one hand and our Kindle New York Times in the other hand as we connect our Faith with the life of the world and the lives of everyday folks.

Now that the focus of the Episcopal Church (and the Café) can turn away from General Convention, perhaps we can take on the challenge of preaching, teaching, practicing, and living our Faith, and having the courage to share it with a world in need. PREACH IT!

Read it HERE at The Episcopal Cafe

Daily Episcopalian essay also posted at Episcopal Cafe over the weekend

Views from a wonderful vacation

God provides

Mark 8:1-10 (NRSV)

In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, 2'I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. 3If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way-and some of them have come from a great distance.' 4His disciples replied, 'How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?' 5He asked them, 'How many loaves do you have?' They said, 'Seven.' 6Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. 7They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. 8They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

In Exodus, God provides for the Hebrews, they who had been set free from bondage in Egypt. In the Gospels, God provides for the people - Jesus gives thanks, broke the bread and gave the bread to the people. "They ate and were filled." God provides for us as well, every day and in every way, God provides for us, and we are also called to be Godlike and Christlike by working to provide for those in need. God provides for us, and we are inspired by God to provide for others. Enjoy the beautiful day, and all that God provides for us.

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey