Remembering a Friend

Last Sunday I attended the memorial service for my friend, Jerry Moye, at the Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham, Alabama. I met Jerry when I worked in Hong Kong back in the 1980s and our friendship continued through the years. Just as he had an exuberant approach to life, he had an exuberant way of welcoming people into his circle.

Jerry's heart was with the Chinese people of Hong Kong, and that is where his physical heart finally gave out shortly after his retirement after having served as a seminary professor and pastor throughout his career. Roger Lovette has written a beautiful tribute to his life that you can read on his blog site, Head and Heart.

   He was a gentle soul, yet larger than life.
   He was devotional as well as academic in his spiritual practice.
   He was a great intellect who led with his heart.
   He will be missed by all who knew him.
   For a life well lived, we honor his memory.

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(The picture above of Jerry Moye is from the family photo album. The picture below shows him in his professorial mode in the faculty procession for the 2014 opening convocation at Hong Kong Baptist Seminary)

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Monday Music.: Faith of the Heart (Star Trek Enterprise Theme)

July 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing by Apollo 11. During the month, I'll be posting some of my previous writings that celebrate our space exploration, including a few "poems from space."

When Star Trek Enterprise aired, they used a popular song as the theme (which some die-hard Trek fans objected to). I loved the theme, but I especially liked the visuals which created a continuity between the actual history of exploration and the fantasy of what space exploration could look like in the future. Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry, definitely pinned his hope upon the better angels of our nature.

This version is sung by vocal artist Russell Watson. You can hear Rod Stewart's version here: https://youtu.be/t1sYjDc8i4I (It was used on the soundtrack for the movie, Patch Adams).


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Saturday Haiku: Poems from Space: Apollo 8

[In celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing, I am re-posting some previous entries inspired by some of NASA's achievements. The Apollo 8 flight was the first time humans had orbited the moon. "Earthrise" is an iconic photo that was shot during that moon mission which inspired the haiku that I re-post today.]

Our first moon orbit;

we explored far reaches, yet

turning, saw ourselves.  

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Image: "Earthrise" (NASA photo)



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