Chip Filson
This poem by Johnson captures that phase of life when we realize our powers are failing.
The author’s eye travels along a shelf of books not to be read, or records not to be heard, again.
Aging entails leaving behind earlier capabilities.
I’m not sure the voice is one of regret or just acknowledging the loss of past joys.
We will all come to this point where we “can’t all buy them again” unable to fully experience life’s richness as we once intended.
Standing by a Shelf
Brandon D. Johnson
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Last Thursday’s NCUA monthly board agenda seemed light. It started at 11:30 and lasted less than an hour. But the ultimate outcomes could be consequential.
The main topic required no action: the report on the NCUSIF 2021 yearend audit by KPMG. And an extension of PCA covid waiver.
However I believe seeds were planted that could have a significant impact on credit unions and the NCUA’s management of the NCUSIF for credit unions. Here’s why.
Chairman Harper opened the NCUSIF review with these words:
For nearly 40 years now, the NCUA has earned an unmodified opinion for the audits of its funds. This sustained achievement underscores the NCUA’s commitment to transparency, accountability, sound financial management, and the careful stewardship of the resources entrusted to the agency.
NCUSIF is the only federally managed insurance fund to require an outside independent CPA audit. GAO audits the FDIC and the FSLIC– when it existed.
An important difference is the establishment of a loss allowance account following GAAP accounting standards. The process took three years (1982-1984) for NCUSIF’s reserving process to be independently validated by the auditors with a clean opinion.
Harper then stated: As a regulator, we need to hold ourselves to the same standard that we expect of the credit unions we oversee.
The Chairman’s commitments to “transparency” and following “the same standard we expect of credit unions” could be critical if followed through with actions on topics raised by his fellow board members.
After noting the NCUSIF’s sound performance, he made the following comment:
The National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund is a mutual asset — both reported and controlled by the NCUA and an asset reported by the credit unions. Credit unions are required to supply the majority of the fund’s equity through a 1-percent contribution of their insured shares. Just like any credit union board, the NCUA Board has the responsibility to regularly review its investment strategy . And for the sake of transparency and clarity, to do so at an open Board meeting.
He asked questions about the fund’s current investment approach and how to respond to “critics” of recent decisions. The NCUSIF investment policy last updated in 2013, is now being posted with the audit. Hauptman committed to “working with my fellow Board Members on reviewing and updating the investment policy soon.”
I believe credit unions should also comment on the policy, especially the fund’s duration management. In the last seven years the NCUSIF portfolio’s weighted average life (duration) at yearend was reported as follows:
2021 – 1,306 days
2020 – 1,204 days
2019 — 971 days
2018 — 901 days
2017 — 951 days
2016 — 1,864 days
2015 — 1,815 days
Under one policy, these numbers show a 100% change from the lowest 2.5 year duration, to 5.1 years. Staff maintains this was just maintaining a consistent ladder, not timing the market.
In 2021 the investments robotically followed a seven-year ladder that extended the duration when the interest rate cycle was at an historically low point.
Effective investment management is critical to the fund’s operational design, but also, as Hauptman noted, for credit union confidence in NCUA’s oversight of their 1% asset. If the policy is updated for more effective monitoring and performance, this could be an important improvement. The sooner the better.
In Hood’s remarks he addressed the fund’s NOL (normal operating level ratio) “true-up” at yearend and its impact on the equity ratio. He pointed out a “timing difference” in that the 1% share deposit is from June 30, but the insured shares and retained earnings in the ratio are from December 31 numbers.
If the ratio used the same balance sheet dates, the NOL “pro-forma” would be 1.29% not the reported 1.26% at December 2021.
Each basis point (.0001%) is $166 million. This “timing difference” understates the actual financial position of the NCUSIF by $500 million at yearend.
In the dialogue that followed, the CFO said this understatement averaged 2 basis points over the last ten years, and has been as high as 6.
Hood then quoted from a memo by Cotton and Company: the memo produced by the outside accounting firm states that the timeliness and accuracy of data is required in the Federal Credit Union Act so this provision in the law “may provide some latitude from a strict interpretation that the equity ratio must be calculated based on the financial statements amounts, particularly given the knowledge of the timing effect on the calculation of the equity ratio…. Accordingly, it may be permissible to use the pro-forma calculation of the contributed capital amount, when calculating the actual equity ratio.”
When Hood remarked that he would like to see the full Cotton memo published, the CFO replied, “Okay.”
Improved investment transparency and management and better presentation of the NCUSIF’s financials would greatly benefit credit unions. Moreover, the NOL “true up” is just one of several changes that would make the financial reporting more useful.
In 2010 NCUA changed the accounting standard for the NCUSIF from private GAAP to federal GAAP practice. There are numerous presentation differences that make the federal approach more difficult to understand because that format was intended for entities that rely on federal appropriations.
Each of the other three funds managed by NCUA report their financial performance and audits using private GAAP. Given Chairman Harper’s intent that NCUA follow the “same standard that we expect of the credit unions we oversee,” changing the NCUSIF to the practice followed in its first 30 years would certainly be appropriate.
The context around the NCUSIF’s financials was all positive with the overall CAMEL ratings showing improvement.
After Harper’s opening recognition of the NCUSIF’s and credit union soundness, he ended with his obligatory theme of future fears: Nevertheless. . .
Yet despite these uncertainties none of the board members, including the chair, made any mention of assessing a premium which the board had authority to do as long as it did not raise the NOL above 1.3%. Given Chairman Harper’s previous statements about the fund’s adequacy, this is an interesting silence.
Moreover, the board’s acknowledgement of the yearend NOL at 1.26% (or 1.29%) shows their recognition that the NOL is a range with a low end of 1.2% and a high end cap, currently 1.33%. The NOL is not a single magic number, but rather an outcome with a “buffer” above 1.2% that varies depending on current assessments.
This silence after so much talk in early in 2021 about a possible premium, is hopefully a recognition of the flexibility and resilience of the fund’s design. When combined with enhanced board reporting of NCUSIF investments and a reexamination of accounting presentation, credit unions could be a much better position to understand their fund going forward.
The Board’s public commitments to transparency of the fund’s modeling, the Cotton accounting memo and its presentation options, and the investment policy enhancements would be vital steps to bring the NCUSIF into full cooperative sunlight.
Last Wednesday (February 16) in their 2021 yearend industry analysis Trend Watch, Callahan & Associates included a 12 minute case study of a credit union’s strategic transformation.
The CEO’s presentation was one of the most concise, informative and inspiring I have experienced.
He describes this effort as a two-phased journey. The second phase transformed the credit union’s performance on three critical dimensions: purpose, scale and financial performance.
The final slide shows how this strategic approach is both powerful and inherent in credit union design.
Please listen now.
https://iframe.dacast.com/vod/c94cf664f6abb2621f07f249b463a648/e05560a9-729c-7118-b2ac-4a2c170f0e8d
Everyone will listen from their singular perspective. Takeaways may be different. I would add two thoughts to ones you may have.
The first: a good example can be very contagious.
It’s hard to get a feel for the cooperative difference until we have met a person grounded in that effort. When we see purpose enacted, we become more purpose driven. When we learn the impact of values on employees and community, we become more value centered. When we hear someone discern clearly, we become clearer about our own metrics.
Secondly, powerful communication is more than a good story. It requires radical transparency. No topic is off limits. There is respect for differing views when values shared by all become the focus of common effort.
Clearwater’s results validate its vision, What We Believe.
Together, we own
Together, we empower
Together, we include
Together, we matter
Examples matter. Good examples inspire more. Great ones are rare.
They reawaken us to what can be accomplished- together.
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PS: This post from October 2021 tells the story of Clearwater’s role assisting the refugee community coming to the community.
One Photo, Hearts on Fire, a Credit Union and Community Respond to a Vital Human Need
There have been two noteworthy moments when Presidents have saluted the credit union movement.
One was by democrat and the second a republican president, 46 years apart.
Here is President Roosevelt’s “shout out” in 1936:
From 1934 through 1940, there were 4,793 new federal charters issued. A rate of 600 per year.
Since NCUA’s three person board was established in 1978, there have been 1,958 additional charters. A rate of only 45 per year. In the last decade that number has fallen to two per year.
The White House,
November, 17, 1982:
Dear Ed:
I want to congratulate you on the progress you have made as Chairman. . .
It was refreshing for me to learn of the accomplishments of the Board and the 17,000 federally insured credit unions across the country. . .there has been remarkable progress toward self-help solutions to the problems facing the credit union industry. I applaud your efforts to meet the growing competition among financial institutions through the reduction of unnecessary regulations, decentralization, and improved communications.
I especially want to note the way your were able to guide the credit union movement toward restoration, on its own initiative, of the financial health of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. . . (emphasis added) This effort illustrates a basic tenent of our administration, that, given the leadership and the opportunity, individual citizens acting together can often find solutions to their problems and need not turn to the government to bail them out.
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Signed Ronald Reagan
Source: NCUA’s 1982 Annual Report page 4
In April 1982, NCUA had completely deregulated the savings rules controlling all federal credit unions. From 1982 through June 1987, the credit union system’s share growth exceeded 15% annually.
In this same six years, 511 new federal charters were granted, a rate of of almost two per week.
The rules controlling bank and S&L deposit products were not fully ended until June 1987. The April 1982 NCUA board action gave credit unions a five year head start competing in the new era of deregulation.
I follow Jared Block’s blog. He was involved in the documentary described below. Looks like a special event for this evening. Let me know what you think.
Hey friends,
In addition to my thrice-a-week Surviving Tomorrow column, I also publish booksand direct documentaries.
One of those films is about an unbelievable hero that almost no one knows about:
But before all that, Josiah Henson was a slave for 42 years.
The film is called Redeeming Uncle Tom, and it’s narrated by Danny Glover.
This Friday night, the Indiana State Museum’s Levi & Catharine Coffin House is hosting an online digital screening of the film on Zoom. I’ll be introducing the film and doing a director-led Q&A afterward.
Register: Right here
Cost: $8
Date: Friday Feb 18th
Time: 6:00-8:30PM EST
Zoom link
Meeting ID: 857 5744 1006
Passcode: 326677
See you there!
Whole bank purchases:
“We’ve heard from clients that the offers from credit unions are better in many cases,” Silvia says. “One of the most important things to think about is what is the best thing for the shareholders, which is generally getting the highest price.”
Not only do credit unions often offer the highest price, he says, they will likely pay in cash.” Garret Reich The Financial Brand
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Buying things is an installed habit, especially for Americans. I have friends who use shopping as a kind of therapy, and their homes are filled with trash.
And, as a result, we have a lot of stuff, stuff we really don’t need.
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Ockham’s razor (rule): Given multiple choices, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. It’s also known as the principle of parsimony and is an academic’s way of saying, “When you hear hoof beats, don’t think zebras.”
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People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes.” George Orwell
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We are all quite capable of doing “horrid things,” especially in horrid situations. But before we do a horrid thing we must be quite certain that we actually are in a horrid situation.
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I’m convinced all of us, in one way or another—have an intense resistance to change. We like predictability and control. That’s one of the reasons addicts find it easier to have a relationship with a process or a substance rather than with people. Unlike objects, people are unpredictable.
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“The human person grows more, matures more and is sanctified more to the extent that he or she enters into relationships, going out from themselves to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures.” Pope Frances
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“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.” Joan Didion
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This Weekend’s Reading: The story of why the Howard Johnson (28 flavors), America’s most popular roadside restaurant company, disappeared.
One commentator on the rule which went into effect on January 1, wrote me:
“Regulatory net worth is a tax on asset growth. It requires resources be directed to reserves held idle on the balance sheet, instead of being used for investment in credit union products and services. . .
Increasing the regulatory capital erodes competitive positioning opportunities and makes it harder for credit unions to fulfill their chartered mission.
The other factor is the low interest rate environment. You can’t accrete capital fast enough by just growing assets anymore. . . This regulation is a death warrant for credit unions between $400 million and $1 billion. . . .”
How much is this initial tax to be CCULR compliant?
Between $30-40 billion of sequestered existing reserves or required new capital to be at 9%. That assumes no capital buffer is added. This total will be approximately double the industry’s total net income in 2021.
Two others wrote after reading Three Strikes a RBC/CCULR Should be Out:
Why didn’t someone sue?
I’m not hearing a peep out of CUNA or NAFCU over this change.
The December 2021 RBC/CCULR rule was the fifth formal rule-making effort spanning an eight-year period. The initial proposal was so badly put together the agency concluded that: After carefully considering the comments of stakeholders, Chairman Matz in September (2014) announced that the agency would make significant structural changes to the proposal and issue a revised proposed rule for a second comment period.” (NCUA 2014 Annual Report pg 12)
The final rule was proposed in January 2015. At that year’s GAC convention, credit unions were urged to Raise Their Voice in opposition to the rule.
With a booth encouraging action:
Despite widespread, continued credit union opposition, the Board approved RBC in a 2 to 1 vote in September 2015 with McWatters opposed. Ironically, NCUA’s 2015 Annual Report’s theme, “The Year of Regulatory Relief” was a PR fantasy.
So onerous was the rule that implementation was deferred for more than three years until January 1, 2019 to: “provide ample time for affected credit unions to choose to generate more capital while continuing to maintain their current portfolios, reduce risk, or execute some strategic combination of the two.”
In October, 2018, the Board approved a one year further delay in implementation. It raised the definition of complex in the rule from $100 to $500 million in assets, removing 1,026 credit unions from its requirements.
In 2019 the Board passed another delay of two years until January 1, 2022, described as a “win for credit unions.”
The fifth time was the charm. By a vote of 3-0 in December, 2021, the board passed RBC and CCULR with only a nine-day lead time before becoming effective on January 1, 2022.
One of the realities of public discourse is that when something is repeated often enough, people begin to think it is true. Especially if the misstatements are by persons in authority.
Credit unions filed 2,056 comments in opposition to the 2014 proposal. They filed just 21 responses to the new CCULR/RBC rule.
Was the low response due to regulatory fatigue? Did NCUA just outlast the widespread industry opposition? Perhaps.
I believe the pattern of reissuing, modifications and extensions all created the impression that the rule was both necessary and legal. It was neither.
It is an example of an “illusory truth effect” created by NCUA’s off and on again eight-year rule making campaign.
The agency had five different chairs in these eight years with no consistent policy process. This elongated effort created a regulatory “myth” distorting credit unions’ true capital adequacy and full compliance with PCA requirements.
Under 22 years of RBNW guidance, the agency summoned credit unions’ self-determined capital management, The result was a 3.5% average net worth ratio above the 7% minimum. RBC/CCULR imposed a new, higher 9% standard by fiat.
Credit unions’ initial response could be to give up any effort to change. Just attempt to live with it. Or merge. The reporting and tracking burden is so intense that NCUA has launched a 90-day period of industry webinars, examiner training and printed guidance. It has waived late filing fees for March.
At a time of rising interest rates, inflation, cyber worries, members’ economic uncertainty and continued technology disruption, credit unions are learning to fill out a new form. Five pages of data to calculate a single ratio.
Once this one ratio result is known, credit unions must then decide how to conform all of their decisions to this rule that rates the risk of every asset choice they make.
This rule was a leadership failure from the top down. To change will require action from the grassroots up.
A rule promulgated to enhance the future viability of the credit union system will have just the opposite effect. It reduces competitive options immediately.
Every credit union attending GAC can inform and rally peers, trade spokesmen, congressional contacts and the press about this unwarranted burden. Examples are critical; do the homework. Know your ratio and the choices you now must make to counter the rhetorical myths others may use to support the rule.
Press your case publicly-see the booth picture above. Privately, ask NCUA board members to see the consequences and change the rule before more harm is done. Board members Hood and Hauptman stated their responsibility for the rule’s consequences:
Hauptman: The Board intends to monitor the impact of CCULR and RBC on credit unions and the Share Insurance Fund going forward. I look forward to working with my Board members next year and the year after on quantitative analysis on a cost and benefits of our current approach to RBC and CCULR.
Why not begin this year?
One of the unique features of credit unions is their democratic governance. Whether in the oversight of the credit union via the board or in interactions with the regulator, democracy is fragile. It requires constant practice, renewal and involvement.
This rule is so obviously wrong from many perspectives that it is hard to understand how it got this far. But the internal appeal of governmental authority is strong, especially clothed with good intent.
The authority asserted in this rule is total, every asset and maturity decision now comes with a regulators’ risk rating. NCUA staff and board seem blissfully unaware of how this will impact credit unions. Somehow it is supposed to make the insurance fund stronger!
Changing this outcome will require an all hands and all voices effort. But then democracy was never meant to be a spectator sport.
And I will continue to do so!
The first question Hawaiian League President Dennis Tanimoto asked following my zoom speech to a conference in late November, had nothing to do with my talk. It was about an event two years earlier at NCUA.
His question: Do you think NCUA’s sales of the taxi medallion loans was a fortuitous decision?
NCUA had announced the sale pf the medallion borrowers’ loans on February 19, 2020 to Marblegate Asset Management LLC a hedge fund specializing in buying “distressed assets.’
I called the sales of these 4,500 loans a betrayal of the borrower-members in a post four days later. NCUA refused multiple FOIA requests for information the board claimed to have used when approving the decision. The cash payment for the portfolio’s book value I estimated at 31 cents per $1 from numbers in a WSJ article.
Marblegate received the discounted loans, NCUA got cash, the NCUSIF (credit unions) were charged for the difference ($700-800 million) and the borrowing members, nothing. Just more payments, at the loans’ remaining value.
NCUA’s McWatters said the agency would follow up to make sure the “winning bidder works with the taxi medallion loan borrowers in a transparent, good-faith manner and in full compliance with all applicable consumer protection laws.”
McWatters is gone. No such efforts were reported. NCUA declined multiple FOIA requests to provide the documents used in their decision. One month later, March 2020, Covid closed down the economy and with it virtually all transportation needs.
I assumed that was the context for the question. Did NCUA in retrospect make the right decision?
My response had two parts. The first was from whose point of view was it fortuitous? NCUA’s in exchanging cash for assets of uncertain value in the insurance fund? The borrowers, who were hit by the economic shutdowns? Marblegate, the purchaser?
I also responded that any assessment depended on what period of time you evaluate the outcome ? Here’s why.
In early November 2021 an agreement between the city, taxi owners and Marblegate was reached as reported in the press:
Under the new agreement, Marblegate will restructure existing loans to a principal of $200,000, with $170,000 as a guaranteed loan and the remaining $30,000 as a grant from the city and a 5% interest rate. The restructured loans will be on a 20-year plan with scheduled monthly payments, which will be capped at $1,122 for “eligible medallion owners.” The city has said they will act as a guarantor for the principal and interest — a longtime demand of the NYTWA — and will negotiate with other lenders to work out the same agreement.
The bailout applies to owners of fewer than three medallions. For those, Marblegate has gained an earning asset worth at least $200,000. This consists of a New York city guaranteed loan for $170,000, a $30,000 cash payment, and a fully collateralized earning asset at 5% for 20 years.
NCUA refused to disclose any details about the portfolio’s sale, but a Wall Street Journal article suggests the loans were sold at an average price between $75 to $100,000.
If accurate, Marblegate doubled their money in about 18 months while earning some interest and principal pay downs on top of this in the meantime.
These borrowers now have a reasonable opportunity to pay off their loans and own the medallion outright.
Only NCUA and credit unions are left with no upside. The NCUSIF loss remains fixed at $750 million in return for $350 million in cash earning 25 basis points (.25%) for assets with a face value of over $1.1 billion.
The hedge fund owners, not the members, received the benefit of this discounted loan sale.
The NCUSIF underwrote the deal in which the Wall Street purchaser more than doubled their money while putting member-borrowers’ fates in the hands of the same for-profit firm.
Credit unions had asked to manage the portfolio on behalf of borrowers, the industry and NCUA. McWatters response: The agency carefully considered a proposal for a public-private partnership to purchase the loans; however, with a firm offer already in-hand and no assurance when, if ever, the proposed partnership might be able to act, the agency could not risk losing its qualified bidder.
Credit unions have seen this picture before. It is direct from the corporate credit union playbook. The industry was denied the chance to resolve its problems as NCUA sought Wall Street financiers to take the responsibility off their hands.
Credit union and NCUA can learn how ignoring options can cost hundreds of millions in recovery potential when selling at the bottom of a market. NCUA continues to miss out on the critical advantage of cooperatives when resolving problems.
Cooperative structure allows time and patience so better options can be developed as markets change and cycles of value recover. As Warren Buffet noted:
“The true investor welcomes volatility. A wildly fluctuating market means that irrationally low prices will periodically be attached to solid businesses. It is impossible to see how the availability of such prices can be thought of as increasing the hazards for an investor who is totally free to either ignore the market or exploit its folly.” (emphasis added)
But if we extend the window out farther, might taxi owners still lose the “solid business” battle and the medallion ownership still remain devalued?
The competition in the on-demand public ride and delivery market is intense. Taxis are in a market disrupted by UBER/Lyft, among others. Can medallion owners compete with these billion dollar unicorns, venture-backed technology platforms relying on hundreds of thousands of gig workers to produce revenue?
One long time CEO medallion lender said the issue will be decided by the drivers, not institutional financial power. He suggested a way to think about the future is to ask: if given a choice between being an owner or an employee, which option would you choose?
His question resonated as I reviewed the latest Uber financial updates as of December 31, 2021.
Uber’s mission statement is now generic, not just ride share: “to create opportunity through movement.” The following are some operating and financial highlights from the report:
While interesting examples of the firm’s operating efforts, UBER has never made a profit and accumulated total operating losses of $23.6 billion.
From the company’s unaudited December 31, 2021 Balance Sheet
Accumulated deficit: $23.6 billion
Stockholders equity: $14.5 billion (total stock issued $38.6 billion)
Goodwill as an asset: $ 8.4 billion
Loss from operations in 2021: $3.834 billion
And one of UBER’s latest innovations to reach profitability?
Local taxis at the tap of a button
No need to try to hail a taxi from the curb. Request a ride from your phone with Uber Taxi.
That’s right, they now want to partner with the taxi drivers in various cities. I clicked on the button to see if any of the over 100 cities listed included a taxi option. I could not find an example. Or maybe they are just trying to hire the drivers, and lure them to abandon the quest to own their own medallion.
So if you can’t beat them, why not join them?
One further thought with this taxi partnering effort. To whom do you think Marblegate will try to sell their fully performing, guaranteed 3,000 to 4,000 medallion loans, to make another quick gain on the restored book value? UBER still holds over $4.0 billion in cash.
The author of this poem is perhaps best remembered as the composer of Lift Every Voice and Sing, often referred to as the black national anthem.
This 8 minute version by the students at Pearl-Cohn entertainment magnet high school in Memphis is a very contemporary arrangement with rap.
Weldon’s poetic spirit is combined with his love of music in the stanzas below calling out spirituals.
For me spirituals have a wholly different feeling than most other music. When sung, they are communal, emotional and revelatory. They tell of hope or longing. And they invite everyone into the experience.
This poem celebrating these songs from the soul was published in 1922.
by James Weldon Johnson – 1871-1938
O black and unknown bards of long ago,
How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?
How, in your darkness, did you come to know
The power and beauty of the minstrel’s lyre?
Who first from midst his bonds lifted his eyes?
Who first from out the still watch, lone and long,
Feeling the ancient faith of prophets rise
Within his dark-kept soul, burst into song?
Heart of what slave poured out such melody
As “Steal away to Jesus”? On its strains
His spirit must have nightly floated free,
Though still about his hands he felt his chains.
Who heard great “Jordan roll”? Whose starward eye
Saw chariot “swing low”? And who was he
That breathed that comforting, melodic sigh,
“Nobody knows de trouble I see”?
What merely living clod, what captive thing,
Could up toward God through all its darkness grope,
And find within its deadened heart to sing
These songs of sorrow, love and faith, and hope?
How did it catch that subtle undertone,
That note in music heard not with the ears?
How sound the elusive reed so seldom blown,
Which stirs the soul or melts the heart to tears.
Not that great German master in his dream
Of harmonies that thundered amongst the stars
At the creation, ever heard a theme
Nobler than “Go down, Moses.” Mark its bars
How like a mighty trumpet-call they stir
The blood. Such are the notes that men have sung
Going to valorous deeds; such tones there were
That helped make history when Time was young.
There is a wide, wide wonder in it all,
That from degraded rest and servile toil
The fiery spirit of the seer should call
These simple children of the sun and soil.
O black slave singers, gone, forgot, unfamed,
You—you alone, of all the long, long line
Of those who’ve sung untaught, unknown, unnamed,
Have stretched out upward, seeking the divine.
You sang not deeds of heroes or of kings;
No chant of bloody war, no exulting pean
Of arms-won triumphs; but your humble strings
You touched in chord with music empyrean.
You sang far better than you knew; the songs
That for your listeners’ hungry hearts sufficed
Still live,—but more than this to you belongs:
You sang a race from wood and stone to Christ.
Praying is a mysterious human activity. It can be experienced in many ways.
Sometimes more happens than listening to words whether said aloud or thought silently. There can occur moments of new awareness.
My internal concerns are intwined with a greater reality. In that larger space beyond our ego’s view, we find meaning. Perhaps purpose. Maybe a feeling referred to as Thou.
Last Sunday listening to a broadcast service and the morning prayer, I was moved.
The minister lifted the daily events we all share into greater hope.
Reading words apart from their live context may not be as poignant. I believe these below are worth a moment of your attention.
Prayers of the People
God in our future, we come before you each week reminded that we are not as we wish to be, reminded that we do not yet live in the world you desire. We pray each week, “Thy kingdom come.”
Free us from our illusions that we are separate from other people, from the earth, and from you. Teach us a new way. Let us hear the old lessons one more time. Call us into your work, together.
God in our past, we bring with us today all the hurts we carry and all the hurts we caused. Help us, in our own time, to put them down. Show us what we need to heal. Give us the courage to mend what we have broken.
Remind us that we have more to give the world than the worst things we have ever done. Let us be humble enough to think ourselves worthy of your presence. Deliver us from our false notion that anything we could do could make us any less deserving of grace, of care, of forgiveness, of redemption.
God in the news cycle, God in the aftermath, be with all those in crisis this morning. Keep watch over hospital rooms and under bridges. Bear divine witness on borders and in prison cells. Carry your people into another day when their burdens are not so heavy and their hope does not seem so far.
God in history repeating itself, God in unprecedented times, strengthen all those who try to help; who work in sixteen hour shifts to turn the power back on, who hold the hands of those who suffer, who cry out for accountability and against injustice. Let all of us who are inspired by and indebted to their courage also find it within ourselves to do what is right, to help where we can.
God in our midst, you see your church and you know who is missing. You search our hearts and you know whom we are missing. This morning, we lift up the blessed memories of those this community has lost. We lift up Sally Hansen. We lift up Howard Kay. We lift up Vincent Lee. We lift up Jim Roche. We lift the names of all who dwell in our hearts. Strengthen their memories in each of us. Let all who were touched by their lives carry their legacies always. Grant all of us – those who are grieving and those who are gone – peace.
Thank you, God.
Amen.
Harvard Memorial Church – Sunday, February 6, 2022 by Cheyenne Boon, MDiv II