Haiku to Mary

By George Delany

Through my Protestant
Lens you appear so dimly
Occupy my heart

George Delany is an artist, designer and co-instigator behind many special projects at Central Church – including this website.

From Mary

By Kathy Lowe Hart

“Really, God? You chose me?
But why?
I’m ordinary, young, uneducated,
Not married.
Why me for such a task?”

Then comes understanding.
Not the answer to WHY, but just THE answer:
“I am not alone in this,
And nothing is impossible with God.”

At worst, it’s terrifying,
At best, sobering………
And eventually joy-filled
To be selected for God’s service.

We are all Mary.
Accept being chosen,
For nothing is impossible with God.

Kathy Hart is the Director of Music at Greenwood Community Church, Presbyterian in Warwick, RI, where she is organist and directs the Chancel Choir, a teen/adult handbell group, and an elementary singing/ringing choir.… [Read More]

Poem for a Blue Page

By Janet Jagger

Once in a moon
Blue, Joni’s best, saddest
Songs are tattoos.

Baby blues and blue babies,
Postpartum hues
From powder to midnight, blues.

Little boy blue
Now fills his horn
With dusky blues,
The black man’s song.

Summer mothers paint blue shutters,
And reap the blueberry barrens,
A sky like Mary’s robe.

Janet Jagger writes memoir and poetry. She is also a mother, wife, reader, volunteer, business partner and antiques dealer. After working for many years in Development and Museum Events at RISD, she continues as a Museum Associate.… [Read More]

Mary

By The Rev. Claudia Demick

Sing praises to God little  Mary.
Sing songs of acceptance of God’s presence.
Sing what God has done  for you
And for all the generations
Of humanity.
You do not  sing
Of what God has done to you–
Not you!
In your child-like  wisdom
You see
That God’s Incarnation
Through you
Is for  you
And for all.
The lowly are raised up!
The poor are no longer  invisible!
Their cries have been heard,
And a Savior will  come
Through you, gentle girl.
A Savior for them,
And for you,
For  all…
Blessed be God’s name indeed!… [Read More]

Mother May I?

Mother Mary,
Help me embrace
The serenity of “Let it Be.”
Please may I?

I’d like to experience
Your calm resolve.
Mother May I?

My war-torn interior
Longs to live in peace.
Mother May I?

My anxious soul
Longs to find Divine repose
Mother May I?

My judgmental self
Longs to nurture acceptance
Mother May I?

Mother Mary,
Help me Let it Be.

Wings of the Dove

By Susan Swain Tabor

What was the sound of the Angel’s wings
Announcing your destiny for great things?

Did they beat loud and clear through the air
Did the wind they generated disturb your hair?

And did soft feathers touch your face so fair
Or were you so astonished you did not care?

What was it like to learn your fate
That you would live eternal within Heaven’s gate?

That you would the son of God bear
That you would the highest honor wear.

That you would be called Queen of Heaven
That in human prayers you would be leaven,

To assuage, help, and comfort man in sorrow
And your pious example so many would follow.… [Read More]

Mother of Us All

by Anna Tanalski

A figure in the light
Radiant as the moon
Hands outstretched , calling you
The Queen of Heaven has arrived

She calls you to a place of safety
She takes you under her wings and guides you through
You are not alone, there are no disguises
She is the mother you yearn for

The Mother of the Son
Chosen to bear the King
A gentle flower
The Mother of Us All

Anna Tanalski is 15 years old and in 10th grade. She has been writing ever since second grade.… [Read More]

Who is Mary?

By Gretchen Yealy

Is she the lucky little Sunday school girl (not me)
Who got to wear the beautiful blue headgear
And perhaps hold a real live baby?

Is she the woman of way too much great art
Staring off into the distance
Oblivious to the naked Son of God on her lap?

Is she the one who got madly mixed up with
Subject headings for the pop singer Madonna
In my online library catalog?

Is she the hope
That women like me might find
Something in the feminine worth worshipping?… [Read More]

Mater Dolorosa

By Ilse Kramer

Do you think often
Of His birth
And of His make-shift crib
Of shepherds in their loden coats

Of big-eyed cows
Their one-note song
And of the star which made
The whole world much less dark

Of three men with their
Wisely chosen gifts
And of a crowd
Of chanting angels

And did you think
You were too young
Too slow too poor
A servant not a lady

The Angel Gabe had told you
You were blessed
You kept those words
Forever in your humble heart

Yes you were blessed
Your loving and beloved Son
Died on the bloodstained cross
And then His Father gave Him life again

Ilse Kramer is the Poet Laureate of Central Congregational Church.