Roots of Faith

My Paternal Grandmother attended the Pultneyville Dutch Reformed Church as a child and became the organist. (photo; 1946)

My Maternal Grandmother was a member of the Ontario Baptist Church.

My faith was born under the cherry or apple tree. As a child, Daisy was my teacher. She could teach about God by a smile, the way she held out her hand, how she listened to my stories, by her patience, and by the strength of her character and Spirit.

As a child, I understood nature, sensed how life should be, accepted what it wasn't on most days, placed hope in tomorrow by living today, and trusted my instinct to know right from wrong and direction.

She taught by her compassion and gentleness to judge fairly or not at all, by her tolerance I learned to look for the good in people, and that the best way to teach was by being or reaching for the best within myself. Daisy as my friend, I sensed early on that we are all God's children; that more makes us the same than different and the contents of a person's heart measures Soul and worth.

Give us this day,

our daily bread

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
Earth as it is in Heaven

Ons Vader,

Gi-j die in de hemel bunt,

Gi-j mot heileg genuump worde,

ow heerschappi-j mot ruumte kriege.

Wat Gi-j wilt mot gebeurein

de wereld aevegoed as in de hemel.

Geef ons vandaag en iedere dag

't brood da wi-j nodeg hemme.

En scheld ons kwiet onze schuldenkrek

as wi-j doen aan andere

die bi-j ons in de schuld staon.

En breng ons niet in de verleiding,

maor maak ons vri-j van kwaod.

Want van Ow is de heerschappi-j

en de krach en de glorie.Amen.

(Dutch; dialect by the North Sea)