Vintage

Dear Parish,

I’ve found, now that the Search is over, I miss writing for the parish regularly.  I talked it over with Frank Rawlings, and he’s given me permission to take a shot at writing a sort of blog/column/meditation for the website and The Carpenter.  So I’m going to give it a try.  I don’t pretend to a profound theological education, nor am I planning to instruct anyone—my only credential for this is that I like to write and I like to think about faith matters—that, and the fact that many of you were kind enough to say that you enjoyed my writing during the search.  This will mostly be about stuff-I-think-about-when-I-think-about-being-a-Christian. Herewith, the first piece:

Forgiving

"Forgiveness is the economy of the heart... forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits."   -- Hannah More

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."  --Mark Twain

"To err is human; to forgive, divine."   --Alexander Pope

"Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much."   --Oscar Wilde

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."   --Mohandas Gandhi

"The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness."   --William Blake

"Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom."   --Hannah Arendt