Congregation Relations

A quote to ponder

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. - Elie Wiesel

This was a prayer given at the 50th Reunion of the Class of 1961:

A good evening to each and every one of you!
We begin our invocation this evening with the traditional greeting words, "The Lord be with you," and your response, "and also with you."  Let us pray.
O God, source of all life - you who have been present in all of our yesterdays - you who are with us here this night - you who promises to be with us to the end of the age;
We give you praise and thanks for this wonderful occasion - to gather once again as a class of proud graduates of a place we call Pacific Lutheran University - gathering this time, 50 years from that day in June, 1961 - fifty years of life and careers filled with wonder and amazement as wells as times of seemingly insurmountable challenges - times of sadness and sorrow. But most importantly are the minutes and hours and days and years filled with your abundant mercy and grace.  To you, Oh Lord, be the honor and glory.
We come tonight, thankful for the richness of the memories that delight us, thankful for the dedication of the faculty and staff who inspired and nurtured us, thankful for the gift of friendships that indelibly formed us in community, thankful for each of our life's journeys.
You know we love this place we call PLU - home of the Knights and the Gladiators - not just because of bricks and mortar, flowers and trees, paths and hills. We love her because of its students - its faculty and staff, its board of Regents, its thousands of alumni. We cherish her commitments to excellence, for justice, for faith and service, for building community.  We are grateful for ALL who have given and continue to give generously of their time, talent, and gifts to help sustain the life and mission of this place.
It is said that we live by memory and hope. So this night especially we wish to fill our hearts and lives with rich and beautiful memories.
But let us not simply reminisce about the past - let us honor the present and be inspired by hope for the future. Empower and enlighten us to be table setters for the next 50 years - to make the next 50 years as important as the year 1961 was to each of us.
We come this night also remembering all those of our class who have returned to our Lord's eternal care - honoring them with a moment of silence.
And so we pray that your blessing might be upon our time together here this evening, upon the meal that has been prepared and is being served to us. Bless our conversations that they may be to your honor and glory. Yes, we even ask you to bless our grayed and balding heads, our arthritic joints and fading memories.
Indeed you have blessed us to be a blessing to one another. To God be the honor and the glory!
Amen


May our prayers go with the class of 2012 as they look ahead to their future, and to their 50 plus years of serving with the gifts God has given them.