Just back from Reno

where my son married his sweetheart, with the help of my friend the Rev. Catherine. It was a wonderful occasion, everything went right, the bridal party was beautiful in kilts and tartans, I didn't cry (does tearing up a smidge count?), nobody got overly smashed, and it's over....at least this part of the marriage.

But in checking my voice mail at home, I learned that a member of the congregation who has been sick for awhile has entered the last days of her life. I called immediately upon getting the message, learned that she is sleeping most of the time, with heavy morphine available, and she will not live more than another few days. The line from Blake's hymn "Every Night and Every Morn" runs through my head: "Joy and woe are woven fine..."

So the joy of the day is tempered by the woe that a family in my congregation is experiencing. Isn't that life?

More later, with a picture of the newlyweds.