In his closing remarks to the congregation of St. Stephen's United Church on Palm Sunday, after having spend a consultative day amongst us, Paddy Ducklow shared a poem by John Blase titled "This World's Work." A trip to his website is a most worthwhile use of your time. His "About" page alone is a delight. The text of the poem is below.

Calm yourself. Listen.
What you’ll hear is the sound
of a world you did not make
but have been invited to join.
If you hear innocence then
you’re still not listening for
this is not an innocent place.
But once you hear the singing
of underground miners picking 
toward the prize then you know 
you’re on the right track for
there is work to be done, hard,
filthy, oh-my-aching-back labor
to find the veins of hope and 
then carry it to the surface.
This has long been this world’s
honorable vocation, the work
that both satisfies and sustains.