Weeping for a Child
Each of us knows what it means to weep for a child. Some tears flow from our inability to rescue a child from sickness or tragedy. Some tears are for an unborn child. Or perhaps we weep in solidarity with parents who cannot provide adequate food or housing for their children. The sources of our tears are as countless as the shapes of snowflakes, but this issue of Hungryhearts does not try to name every grief. It does no one any good to compare one story of grief to another. The intent of "Weeping for a Child" however, is sharing, not comparing. If we could set aside the comparisons and simply listen to the stories, what might you and I learn from each other about the soul's journey toward hope?
Download the Spring 2008 issue  of Hungryhearts,
the Quarterly Journal of Reformed Spirituality.
Spring 2008 bonus material
Download the poem “Two Mothers” by Marlene Muller. Marlene Muller has published poems in several publications including Presence magazine (Spiritual Directors International) and Cistercian Studies Quarterly. She teaches third grade and serves as a spiritual director and retreat leader both at Holden Village and in Seattle. She also served for two years as poetry editor for Mars Hill Review.
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette and her husband, Bruce, were co-pastors of First Presbyterian Church in Pitman, New Jersey, from 1994-2004 when the grandson of one of the elders in their church was killed in Israel. Carolyn's "A Hymn for Peace" is dedicated to his memory. "Not From this World" is written by Bruce Gillette as a reflection on that event. Download the hymn and reflection. Bruce and Carolyn are now pastors of the Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware.
Download "Prayers of Lament" by the Rev. David Crowley. Crowley is the pastor of Kingston and Springhill Presbyterian Churches in Greensburg, Indiana. In this article he explores grieving as a spiritual practice.
Download an extended version of “Sharing Not Comparing” by editor Tammy Wiens.
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