Tag Archives: grief

January 29, 2025 · 12:16 am

28 January 2025

Most days no introduction to the playlist is provided. Today, as does every January 28, marks an exception.

About today’s playlist.
Fifty-one years ago today, my father, William H. Koenig, died in a plane crash. A private pilot, he was flying with a colleague to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to advocate for funds for the Grove City school district where they were working. My father served as the assistant superintendent.

They did not make it to the state capital. The plane went down. Both men died.

Prior to becoming a school administrator he had been a high school band director. He kept his hands in music as he career moved in a different direction. He played string bass in the pit orchestra for high school musicals and he was the first director of the hand bell choir at our church.

He also directed a community band for several years. For two years, I played baritone horn in that band.

One or another of the bands my father directed, played almost all of the songs on this playlist at some point. Many of them I played under my father’s direction.

Dad – since it fell unto your lot
That you should rise and I should not
I’ll gently rise and I’ll softly call
Good night and joy be with you

Walking. North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center.
Unless otherwise noted, the artist performing the songs is the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.
Light Calvary Overture – London Festival Orchestra
Semper Fidelis
The Thunderer
Washington Post
Hands Across the Sea
Radetsky March, Op. 228
Under the Double Eagle
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Stars and Stripes Forever
The British Grenadiers
Rule Bittania
The National Emblem
Rakoczy March/Hungarian March
March of the Toreadors from Carmen, Suite No. 1
Coronation March from Le Prophete
March from the Love for Three Oranges, Op. 33a
War March of the Priests from Athalie, Op, 74
Grand March from Aida
Procession of the Sardar from Two Caucasian Sketches, Op. 10
March from Symphonic Metamorphoses
Pomp and Circumstance
Scotland the Brave – The Pipes & Drums of the Royal Tank Regiment
Anchors Aweigh
Le Marseillaise
Fest March from Tanhauser
Colonel Bogey

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January 29, 2024 · 9:48 pm

28 January 2024

Most days no introduction to the playlist is provided. Today, as does every January 28, marks an exception.

About today’s playlist.
Fifty years ago today, my father, William H. Koenig, died in a plane crash. A private pilot, he was flying with a colleague to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to advocate for funds for the school district where they were working. The plane went down. Both men died. My father served as the assistant superintendent.

Prior to becoming a school administrator he had been a high school band director. He kept his hands in music as he career moved in a different direction. He played string bass in the pit orchestra for high school musicals and he was the first director of the hand bell choir at our church.

He also directed a community band for several years. For two years, I played baritone horn in that band.

One or another of the bands my father directed, played almost all of the songs on this playlist at some point. Many of them I played under my father’s direction.

Dad – since it fell unto your lot
That you should rise and I should not
I’ll gently rise and I’ll softly call
Good night and joy be with you

Walking. Apartment. Germantown.
Unless otherwise noted, the artist performing the songs is the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.
Semper Fidelis
The Thunderer
Washington Post
Hands Across the Sea
Radetsky March, Op. 228
Scotland the Brave – The Pipes & Drums of the Royal Tank Regiment
Under the Double Eagle
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Stars and Stripes Forever
The British Grenadiers
The National Emblem
Rakoczy March/Hungarian March
Light Calvary Overture – London Festival Orchestra
March of the Toreadors from Carmen, Suite No. 1
Coronation March from Le Prophete
Grand March from Aida
Pomp and Circumstance

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May 5, 2023 · 8:38 am

A prayer to bear one another’s burdens

God who bears the hurt of the world,

we pray for the grace, courage, and wisdom

to bear one another’s burdens,

to sit in silence with your children

who are in pain,

who grieve,

who endure heartbreak beyond our imagining;

to sit in silence

until a place of love is reached.

Amen.

inspired by a sermon preached by Elder Madison McKinney (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate and a descendent of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) for National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People (May 5), a part of the May 1-7 National Week of Action for MMIWG2S

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December 16, 2022 · 6:39 pm

A prayer in the face of disappointment

When disappointment comes, God,

and disappointment will,

may we find

strength to grieve,

patience to sit with the moment,

imagination to seek alternatives,

and courage, hope, faith, and love

to give them a try.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

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October 30, 2022 · 12:42 pm

An inadequate prayer in the face of tragedy in the Itaewon area of Seoul

God –

our minds stagger,

our hearts hurt,

our spirits sink

as we hear the news

of tragedy unimaginable

in the Itaewon area of Seoul.

Understanding falters,

words prove inadequate

and still we turn to you in prayer.

Comfort your children who grieve

for loved ones who died.

Work healing in your children

who are injured.

Support first responders,

medical personnel, and all who

provide care.

Guide the people of Itaewon,

of the Republic of Korea,

of the world,

as our spirits rage in anger,

and our minds flounder to process

to find appropriate responses.

Even in this time of profound grief,

perhaps especially in this time of profound grief,

help everyone – all your children – wherever we might be,

help us to love.

Amen.

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September 16, 2022 · 10:35 pm

A prayer for everyone who grieves – a prayer for us all

We pray, O God,

for everyone who knows grief

be grief recent and raw

or from long ago and seemingly buried,

be grief for a solitary reason

or a complex situation snarled from multiple causes,

be grief a dull ache of loss and longing

or a sharp, almost unbearable tearing,

We pray, O God,

for everyone who knows grief

and because impermanence and loss

are woven into the fabric of creation and life,

we pray for us all, even ourselves.

May we have the grace to grieve

in the ways that bring healing to us;

may we find the courage

to accept appropriate help as, grief-stricken,

we make our way through shadowed valleys.

May we restrain our judgements,

check our expectations,

and allow each person

the freedom and space

to grieve in their own fashion.

Grant each person

the strength to mourn

and the wisdom to rely on you

as they grieve.

We pray in the name of Jesus

who wept at the death of his friend.

Amen.

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June 18, 2022 · 1:06 pm

A prayer for the family, colleagues, and friends of the Rev. Dr. James Reese

The Rev. Dr. James Reese died on June 17 at age 98; he served over 70 years as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); he lived his life in ministry.

For the Rev. Dr. James Foster Reese (presente!):
for his life and love
for his faith and kindness
for his courage and witness
for his persistent challenge to white supremacy
for his insistent commitment to justice
for his consistent service to Jesus,
revealed in so many ways but particularly
as he ‘refused to leave the table’ where decisions were made
even when he felt pushed to the margins and ignored,
thanks be to God.
For his wife, Neola,
his family,
his friends,
his colleagues in ministry,
his mentees,
and all who knew and loved him,
we ask your comfort, God.
Keep his memory present and alive
as an inspiration and example to us all.
We pray in the name of Jesus
who the Rev. Dr. Reese followed.
Amen.

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March 16, 2021 · 11:20 pm

Words fail and tears flow

A prayer poem in the aftermath of the killing of 8 people of whom 7 were were women and 6 were women of Asian descent
Words fail and tears flow.
They squeeze out of the corners of my eyes,
roll down to tangle in the underbrush of beard
until they break free and splatter on the keyboard.
Words fail and tears flow
for Asian and Asian American women
killed in Atlanta; lives violently taken;
your beloved children too soon gone.
Words fail and tears flow
for mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers
partners, lovers, children,
family and friend
who bear this unspeakable horror tonight
and who carry this unbearable pain into the future.
Words fail and tears flow
for communities terrorized and intimidated
by this and countless other violent acts of hate.
Words fail and tears flow
tears of grief; tears of rage.
As words fail, tears
become prayers for
those who were killed,
those who bear wounds,
those who mourn,
those who know fear,
those who would honor your image in all your precious people
and who would work for a better world.
In the name of the one whose tears flowed
at the death of a friend and for the people of Jerusalem. Amen.

With thanks to the Rev. Dr. Christine Hong for the reminder to pray for the families of the women who were killed.

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March 13, 2021 · 3:32 pm

A prayer for Breonna Taylor

God for us all,
we remember your beloved child
Breonna Taylor.
We will not forget her,
we cannot forget her.
Nor can we forget the
countless other Black lives
so needlessly and callously taken from us.
We give thanks for Breonna’s life and love.
We cry out that Breonna is gone too soon –
unjustly killed one year ago.
Comfort Breonna’s
family, friends, and community
in their grief.
Inspire and guide those
who continue to witness and work for
justice for Breonna.
May their efforts touch the hearts of people in power
so they repent and reconsider
and heed the call for justice.
May we all work to demand accountability,
deconstruct white supremacy,
and allow justice and equity to roll down.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
this prayer draws on language from Senator Reverend Ralph Warnock

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January 28, 2021 · 9:45 pm

28 January 2021

Most playlists are created to reflect some level of diversity. Others focus on a specific day, event, person, or theme. Most days no introduction to the playlist is provided. Today, as does every January 28, marks an exception.

About today’s playlist.
Forty-seven years ago today, my father, William H. Koenig, died in a plane crash. A private pilot, he was flying with a colleague to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to advocate for funds for the school district where they were working. The plane went down. Both men died. My father served as the assistant superintendent.

Prior to becoming a school administrator he had been a high school band director. He kept his hands in music as he career moved in a different direction. He played string bass in the pit orchestra for high school musicals and he was the first director of the hand bell choir at our church.

He also directed a community band for several years. For two years, I played baritone horn in that band.

One or another of the bands my father directed, played almost all of the songs on this playlist at some point. Many of them I played under my father’s direction.

Dad – since it fell unto your lot
That you should rise and I should not
I’ll gently rise and I’ll softly call
Good night and joy be with you

Walking. Apartment. Germantown.
Unless otherwise noted, the artist performing the songs is the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.
Semper Fidelis
The Thunderer
Washington Post
Hands Across the Sea
Radetsky March, Op. 228
Scotland the Brave – The Pipes & Drums of the Royal Tank Regiment
Under the Double Eagle
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Stars and Stripes Forever
The British Grenadiers
The National Emblem
Rakoczy March/Hungarian March
Light Calvary Overture – London Festival Orchestra
March of the Toreadors from Carmen, Suite No. 1
Coronation March from Le Prophete
Grand March from Aida
Pomp and Circumstance

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