Tag: hope

Story7 Comments

Lament for a Friend

Gary Furr

Fifteen years ago. On Easter weekend, I realized that I lost one of my best friends fifteen years ago. Like all losses, it alternates from being like yesterday to feeling like an eternity. He died, far too soon, at age 60 of a recurrence of a deadly cancer. Brilliant thinker, courageous pastor, unflinching leader. Philip Wise was a mentor, and encouraged my ministry for more than twenty years. He debated a future Pope, spoke out for racial justice and was a great preacher and teacher. On this anniversary, I want to share this remembrance, written in the midst of his … Continue reading Lament for a Friend

America, Citizenship, Culture, Ethics, Love, Politics, racism

Life After Elections

Gary Furr

Friends, I have voted. It is a precious opportunity we never miss. And tomorrow, I want you all to know that I will STILL be your neighbor and fellow countryman. I will still do all in my might for good. Vickie and I watched Henry Louis Gates’ series “Finding Your Roots” recently. In 2021 he did a show for singer and music producer Pharrell Williams. As he discovered the pain of his slavery past he was emotionally overwhelmed. Then he said something that knocked me over. “I love America. I just want America to love me back.” That was a … Continue reading Life After Elections

Christianity, death, easter, Grief, Holy Week, Hope, spirituality, Suffering1 Comment

Prayer for a Requiem

Gary Furr

I am grateful that I have served with three wonderful worship leaders over the twenty-seven years at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church before I retired–Dr. Milburn Price, Dr. Terre Johnson, and Rev. Marty Watts. Thanks to being in a church with these outstanding musicians, we were exposed to some of the great music of the Christian church. Terre Johnson asked me to compose a closing prayer following a presentation of the Requiem by John Rutter, a beautiful and somber remembrance of human sorrow. Before we can hope again, we must grieve honestly to reckon our loss, and the Rutter Requiem is … Continue reading Prayer for a Requiem

Calling, Christianity, Disappointment, God, Jesus Movement, Ministry, spirituality, Uncategorized4 Comments

Wobbling On the High Wire

Gary Furr

Holy Week has always  been special for me as a Christian and pastor.  Frankly, in the church year it always meant more to me than Christmas, though I adore Christmas for the deep cultural sense of family, baby Jesus and joy. Holy Week is not the same tone. It is juxtaposed with an equally perilous spiritual history, Passover, when the Hebrew people were delivered by God from slavery and oppression, but not without great anxiety and fear. For Christians, it is a somber week that strips away, day after day, one human pretension of pride after another until all that … Continue reading Wobbling On the High Wire

Americana, Children, Country Music, Death, Family, Folk, folk music, Gary Furr music, Grief, hope, Memory, Music, Songwriting, spirituality, Story, Theology, Theology and Life, Tragedy3 Comments

From Here to Okay

Gary Furr

This song speaks for itself. It came to me during the summer. The hook was a quote from a news story at a disaster scene, but my mind was on people I loved and knew who lost children. Their stories are the most courageous I have ever met. That they still have any faith at all after such losses is perhaps the closest to real miracles we ever see. It’s such a long, hard road. In my vocation I traipse alongside unimaginable losses, but children are the hardest from my perspective. It is the loss of love so intense, the … Continue reading From Here to Okay