PONDERINGS (ISSN 1041-0961 USPS 362600) January/February 2020, Vol. 51, No. 1 Publications Agreement No. 40036408 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: OnTrac International, 121 5th Avenue NW, New Brighton, MN 55112 email: file@ontrac.com Official Journal, The Moravian Church in North America, Northern and Southern Provinces Published eight times per year: Jan/ Feb, April, May, June/July, August, Sept./ Oct., November and December, by the Interprovincial Board of Communication, 1021 Center St., Bethlehem, PA 18018. Subscription rates: $15.00 per year, U.S.A. & Canada; $18.00 per year, all other countries. Individual copies available for $3.00 each. The Moravian is sent to the families of the Moravian Church as a privilege of membership. Periodicals postage paid at Bethlehem, PA. Circulation: 16,000 Postmaster please send address changes to The Moravian, 1021 Center St., Bethlehem, PA 18018. Continuing The North American Moravian, The Moravian and The Wachovia Moravian. Michael Riess, Editor Susan Kiefner, Communications Assistant Jill Bruckart, Customer Relations/Business Assistant Interprovincial Board of Communication Ginny Tobiassen, chair Terri Bischoff, Peggy Carter, Margaret Couch, Paul Knouse, Kat Lehman, Amy Linville, Dan Miller, Valerie Bean Wagner. Design by Michael Riess, IBOC. Address all correspondence regarding articles, subscriptions, or advertising to The Moravian, 1021 Center St., Bethlehem, PA 18018 FAX: 610.866.9223 Phone: 610.867.0594 800.732.0591 e-mail: moravianmagazine@mcnp.org www.moravian.org Contents © 2020, Interprovincial Board of Communications, Moravian Church in America. All rights reserved
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Poem gives flight to thoughts of God I notice birds more in winter than at any other time of the year. Maybe it’s because the bushes that hide them in spring and summer have lost their leaves, or that they show up better against the snow (although here in Eastern Pennsylvania, that hasn’t been much of an issue so far…). Or maybe it’s because I’m more attuned to the color and life they bring when the rest of nature has gone to sleep. My folks instilled a love of birds in me that continues to this day. I still have the field guides my mother used to identify the many different species that would come to the feeders outside their kitchen window. I’m not an ornithologist or even an avid birder. But this year, I put a small feeder outside the window of my office here at the Moravian Church Center to invite the neighborhood cardinals and finches to stop by. Along with the pesky squirrels, it has begun to attract more and more winged friends. Shortly after mounting my new feeder, I received a poem from Bill Gramley, a retired pastor and writer living in North Carolina. Bill and I have corresponded over the years, and he occasionally sends me his writings, which I always enjoy reading. He sent his latest poem, “Little Bird, Who Made Thee?” as a possible submission for the magazine. Now, I typically don’t run poems on their own in the magazine (perhaps I should rethink that rule?), but this time, it was different. Each issue, I seek inspiration to write my Ponderings. The poem’s coincidental arrival, a subsequent e-mail explaining its meaning and the growing number of birds visiting the feeder all collided to say, “Here’s your inspiration.” The poem reads: I saw a finch on a branch near our house swivel its neck like a child watching for traffic to pass, then free of that, flit to the feeder, pluck a seed, twirl the husk, and let the breeze have its turn in the dance.
The Moravian
