MARP Quotes

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"Scripture tells us to confess our sins to each other, and I wish that the poets I know would do this more often. They could use a little more humility, frankly. We humorists can't do the whole job alone." — Garrison Keillor (from interview about Keillor's new book, Good Poems) "As a preacher and teacher, I make my living telling stories. While I know people who say that they "use" stories to make important points, I am one of those listeners who consistently remember the stories and forget the points. That is because the points tend to be perfectly clear and well behaved, as very little in my life ever is, while the stories (at least the good ones) star flawed characters with muddy motives whom I recognize at once." — Barbara Brown Taylor ("Never-ending story" — from article written for Christian Century, 3/8/'03) Katie Funk Wiebe: "We don't 'grow old'; we become 'old' when we stop growing!" "Our new roles are that of wisdom-giver, encourager, dreamer, advocate for the elderly. We can take up causes and deliberately put content into age." Delores Friesen at Aging with Spirit retreat: "An illiterate man offered to God the alphabet and asked God to arrange them into helpful prayers." "How to be unhelpful — quiz, placate, interrupt, give unasked-for advice, concentrate on being helpful." John Paul Lederach (who has spent years in conciliation work in areas of protracted conflict around the world): "Using violent means to stop violence is like stomping on a dandelion after it's gone to seed." A Peace Quote - "God is as deeply moved by an Afghan who dies as by the death of an office worker in New York City." - Mike Derstine, Pastor at Plains Mennonite in sermon, The Cost of Following, October 14, 2001 "Unity is not two people clinging together because they both fear they're about to be annihilated. Nor, for that matter, is unity two people standing together and pretending there no differences between them. ... Unity is respecting difference, honoring difference, valuing difference, learning from difference, but understanding that difference is not destiny. … And that, if there are 10 things that divide us, there are 100 by which we are drawn together. If there are 100 points of contention, there are 1,000 of common cause." - Leonard Pitts, Jr. columnist for the Miami Herald (The above is excerpted from a speech made February 11, 2002, at the Friends Select School in Philadelphia.) For Fun - "If you wish to live long, you must be willing to grow old." - George Lawton "Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young." - Fred Astaire "Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force." - Dorothy L. Sayers "I'm not a magician. I can't make you young again," said Konrad Adenauer's physician, treating him for a cold when Adenauer was 90-years-old. "I haven't asked you to. All I want is to go on getting older." - K.A. "I must be getting absent-minded. Whenever I complain that things aren't what they used to be, I always forget to include myself." - George Burns   Thoughts to get you through almost any crisis: Indecision is the key to flexibility. You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the track. There is no substitute for genuine lack of preparation. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant. The world gets a little better every day and worse in the evening. Someone who things logically is a nice contrast to the real world. Things are more like they are today than they ever have been before. The other line always moves faster until you get in it. I have seen the truth and it makes no sense. To live forever, acquire a chronic disease and take care of it. One seventh of your life is spent on Monday. Jay L. Roth, Mennonite Association for Retired Persons 23 Homestead Drive, Lancaster, PA  17602 717-201-8391 ~ E-mail