Visions
A Journey of Love and Respect
by
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After the service, she and Jim walked in step toward his office. “They have named an acting dean, but he is expected to decline the post though the president would like him to consider the appointment permanent.” They walked on in silence. “It will be some time until there is a regular chapel speaker. President Ryman has suggested that faculty members fill in for the time being. Will you take a turn, Morgan?”
Without hesitation, she responded, “Of course, I will.” They stopped on the corner by the park. “And I’ll go on home from here. Good day, Jim.”
The snow fell heavier and faster as the afternoon wore on, covering the gray drifts of earlier falls. The park was beautiful in its new covering, and the squirrels left tiny prints on the walkway as they scurried ahead of her. The world, at that moment, seemed a sadly beautiful and serene place.
Two weeks later it was her turn to speak at chapel. It was the memory of Reverend Mortenson’s beliefs, well lived, that caused her to choose a passage from a favorite book, Gibran’s The Prophet, to begin her remarks. “Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations? Who can spread his hours before him, saying, “This for God and this for myself. This for my soul, and this other for my body?”
She was silent for a moment. “There is a Presence in the life of each of us—well, most of us. To most of us, it may be known as God, Jahweh, Great Spirit, Allah, Buddha, Jehovah, however our upbringing has taught us or our truth-seeking has directed us. It is our guide, our strength, our comfort. It is our faith.”
She looked out at the solemn, quiet faces of those who stopped by the chapel made inviting by memories of the warmth and personality of the late Reverend Mortenson. “And it influences who we are—to ourselves and to our fellow men.
It is evident in our everyday deeds. It is evident in the respect and caring we extend to those around us. It is as different as the many names by which the Presence is known. It is as different as the edifice that houses its rituals, as different as the hymns or chants sung or spoken in praise or thanksgiving. By whatever name, edifice, ritual, hymn, or chant, however, we are all one with that which we recognize as greater than ourselves.” ......
And so began a journey of unintended consequences
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About the Book
Dana Morgan is an independent, self-confident, sixty-two-year-old university law professor, happily laboring in the comforting confines that are Haverton Christian University.
Her life’s path is forever changed when, along with other faculty members, she agrees to fill in at the traditional noon prayer—hosted in the chapel for the last thirty years by the recently deceased dean of the divinity school. What was delivered as a reasoned, thoughtful expression of her personal view of the role of love and respect in faith-based living, unexpectedly creates controversy, questioning, and attracts the lightning that is pre-millennium fear and uncertainty.
So begins a twelve-year journey that tests spirit and soul and ushers in the birth of a new era in man’s search for faith. Hers is a journey bearing testament to the law of unintended consequences—a law that is part of life itself.
About the Author
Harriet J. Pinnock put pen to paper for most of her ninety years. Publishing Visions on the eve of her passing, she lived a life that openly shared kindness, friendship, and love of family—but held close and hidden the pains and hurts she saw as hers alone.