Summer Sermons, Winter Thoughts

The "summer sermons" have been delivered in the Presbyterian Church of Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania, over a period of fifteen years. When someone first arrives in Eagles Mere for the summer, people ask how their "winter" has been--winter meaning the whole time that has elapsed since the previous summer. In the author's case, "winter" means Nashville, Tennessee, where he has lived since 1965 when he joined the faculty of Vanderbilt Divinity School, retiring after thirty-eight years.

"Winter Thou...