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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black">In this moment, it may be good to rehearse what Gene Marshall, Jack Gilles, and Bruce Williams had to say on the subject:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYRUNXdgdW0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYRUNXdgdW0</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black">Kindest regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Bradley Hand";color:black">Michael</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">From:
</span></b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">Terry Bergdall <bergdall2@gmail.com><br>
<b>Date: </b>Saturday, August 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM<br>
<b>To: </b>Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net><br>
<b>Cc: </b>OE Listserve <oe@wedgeblade.net>, Milan Hamilton <mellowmilan2@gmail.com><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [Oe List ...] On the Subject of Death and Dying<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks, Milan. These are powerful reminders of what we all know but often fail to remember. I appreciate you bring it again to our attention. Terry<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Aug 23, 2025, at 12:34, Milan Hamilton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">We watched a podcast last weekend by our "climate mentor" Nate Hagens interviewing Stephen Jenkinson, author of Die Wise: A manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), who quipped during the conversation "Yeah, everybody knows that somebody else
is dying." The discussion centered on our culture's baked in way of (not) dealing seriously with death and grief as deep experience (different from loss of someone or something and moving on). This of course brought up our history in the Order: Ecumenical.
Then to be smacked up against THREE of US making that transition in mystery in the same week! Will our grieving be able to honor them? Will our grieving for the earth and her beings be up to the task. Or will we just be sorry for the loss of them and move
on? I offer the following poem from our common library on the subject of death and dying, and one I wrote in response to the quote I mentioned.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="https://allpoetry.com/dying-is-fine)but-Death"><span style="color:#467886">dying is fine)but Death</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">e. e. cummings, 9written 1931, published 19350</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">dying is fine)but Death
<br>
<br>
?o<br>
baby<br>
i<br>
<br>
wouldn't like<br>
<br>
Death if Death<br>
were<br>
good:for<br>
<br>
when(instead of stopping to think)you<br>
<br>
begin to feel of it,dying<br>
's miraculous<br>
why?be<br>
<br>
cause dying is<br>
<br>
perfectly natural;perfectly<br>
putting<br>
it mildly lively(but<br>
<br>
Death<br>
<br>
is strictly<br>
scientific<br>
& artificial &<br>
<br>
evil & legal)<br>
<br>
we thank thee<br>
god<br>
almighty for dying<br>
(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody Knows</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“Everybody knows that everybody else is dying.” – Stephen Jenkinson</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%"><i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Written after listening to Leonard Cohen’s 1988 release he wrote with Sharon Robinson</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That everybody else is dying</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That the planet is frying</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That everybody else ain’t trying</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> The grim reaper is smiling</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That there is no buy-in</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That everybody else is lying</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That somebody’s crying</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> There’s no use in sighing</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That
<b><i>EVERY-BODY ELSE</i></b> is dying</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody knows</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Everybody knows . . .</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Milan Hamilton</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">August 19, 2025</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Here is a link to the poem put to music and published on my YouTube channel as part of my offering to our grieving and honoring process:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;line-height:115%"><a href="https://youtu.be/mbW87WBsObY">https://youtu.be/mbW87WBsObY</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="gmailsignatureprefix">-- </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Mellow Milan Hamilton<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">80 North Center Street<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Redlands, CA 92373<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Phone: (909) 943-1667<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">email: <a href="mailto:mellowmilan2@gmail.com" target="_blank">mellowmilan2@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">_______________________________________________<br>
OE mailing list<br>
OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<br>
http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net<o:p></o:p></p>
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