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    Dear Brothers: Letters Facing Death
    Dear Brothers: Letters Facing Death
    Dear Brothers: Letters Facing Death
    Ebook65 pages50 minutes

    Dear Brothers: Letters Facing Death

    By Richard L. Morgan, Howard Morgan and John C. Morgan

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    Sooner or later every person faces questions about death and whether there is anything beyond it. This little book consists of personal and sometime private letters between three brothers who realize their own lives may soon come to an end. The wisdom they offer is not only for their own families and friends left behind, but for others who have faced the loss of loved ones. Writing from different religious perspectives, the letters are nonetheless spiritual in the way they seek to wrest from a life lived in the face of death some wisdom for one another as well as others who have shared their struggles with life's deepest questions. When he was asked about the essence of his philosophy, Plato reportedly said, "Practice dying." These letters take his wisdom to heart in a series of heartfelt exchanges over the course of a year, concluding with each author's request for what his memorial service would be like.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherResource Publications
    Release dateJan 1, 2010
    ISBN9781630871642
    Dear Brothers: Letters Facing Death
    Author

    Richard L. Morgan

    Richard L. Morgan is a retired chaplain, pastor (PCUSA), and professor. He most recently served as a volunteer chaplain at Redstone Highlands, the senior living community where he resided near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Davidson College; a master of divinity, master of theology, and PhD from Union Theological Seminary; and a master of counseling from Wake Forest University, Richard was named the 1987 Man of the Year by the city of Lenoir, NC; awarded the 2013 Presbyterian Older Adult Ministry Award; and honored as the 2015 Volunteer of the Year at Redstone Highlands Senior Living Community.

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      Book preview

      Dear Brothers - Richard L. Morgan

      Dear Brothers

      Letters Facing Death

      Richard L. Morgan,

      Howard C. Morgan,

      and John C. Morgan

      RESOURCE Publications - Eugene, Oregon

      DEAR BROTHERS

      Letters Facing Death

      Copyright © 2010, 2012 Richard L. Morgan, Howard C. Morgan, and John C. Morgan. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Resource Publications, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      Resource Publications

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      isbn: 978-1-62032-201-7

      eisbn: 978-1-63087-164-2

      Manufactured in the U.S.A.

      All Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education, of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      The publisher gratefully acknowledges permission to quote from the following work:

      Hymn of Promise. Words & Music by Natalie Sleeth. © 1986 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

      Preface

      It is not often that three brothers share their most personal stories about life and death with others. These letters were written over a year when each of us realized that the time ahead of us was limited. Rather than waiting until one of us passed from this earth, it would be wiser to share our insights sooner than later, a preparation for our own departures from this world if you will and a testimony for those we love who are left behind. And so began an exchange of letters that has dealt primarily with our hard won understandings of the meaning of death, which is to say really what living has meant to each of us.

      While we share a rich Christian tradition, the grandsons of one famous preacher, G. Campbell Morgan, and one evangelist, Milford Hall Lyon, we’ve taken different paths.

      Howard, a banker, facing the untimely losses of two wives and a daughter, has been a seminary board chair and now chair of the Interfaith Youth Corps. Richard, a Presbyterian minister and college teacher, is a writer often dealing with the spiritual issues of growing old. John, once a Unitarian Universalist minister, now teaches philosophy and ethics at an inner city community college.

      Each of us shares a family tradition, but also different perspectives on the meaning of faith, especially when facing death. Richard and Howard tend to adopt a more Christian view, while John, a more skeptical one. Yet each of us accepts the other’s point of view while at the same time being truthful of our own. We believe this offers a good model for a world often torn apart over religious issues. We seek common ground even while acknowledging differences.

      Our initial intent in putting these letters together was to leave something behind for our family and friends. But as the letters seemed to point to a natural conclusion—each of our preferences for our own memorial services—we began to see that the informal, honest exchanges between us might be of use to others who struggle with some of the same questions we have brought to light. That is our simple hope and prayer.

      Richard Morgan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

      Howard Morgan, Chicago, Illinois

      John Morgan, Reading, Pennsylvania

      Letters

      August 19

      Dear Brothers,

      I sit here pondering the upcoming year and wondering what it will hold. I think as I near the three score years and ten mark, I am beginning to reflect more on the time remaining, wanting to make it meaningful.

      I know my attitudes about life and death have changed a great deal ever since I almost died after surgery not long ago. One can reflect about the deaths of others and even one’s own, but when death comes near you, everything takes on a deeper meaning. I know now that life is tenuous and death certain, so I need to make the most of the time I have left in a quiet preparation. One conclusion I have reached is that the best way to deal with death is to live well as

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