Princeton is alive with energy and joy as people return for Reunions Weekend. From across the country and around the world, they come back—to see old friends, to party, to reminisce, and to sing once again Old Nassau. There’s something deeply moving about remembering together: sharing stories, laughter, and those classic “Do you remember when?” moments.
But alongside the joy, there can be an experience of melancholy and pain. The passing of time brings with it the loss of beloved friends, and some relationships fade. This, too, is part of the tapestry of our lives.
This time last year, I began my sabbatical with a trip to Kentucky. On my first weekend there, I visited Walnut Street Baptist Church—the church of my youth. I stopped in on an adult Sunday School class and was greeted by those who had known me when I was a boy. Many of them are now in their late 80s and 90s. In that moment, I was no longer an adult visitor—I was again the young boy known as “Little Paul,” sitting in the church balcony with my parents, peering down at my grandparents below and spotting my sister across the way with the youth group.
Fifty years have passed in what feels like a nanosecond, yet so much has changed. And in our hearts and minds, through the gift of memory, we can travel through time and experience for but a brief moment, experience our own sacred reunion. I can close my eyes and return to Mrs. Paine’s Sunday School class. I can feel the waters of my baptism and feel Dr. Dehoney’s hands upon my shoulders. I can hear the congregation singing what we sang almost every Sunday:
There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord…
This Reunions and Memorial Day weekend, I invite you to enter into a sacred time of remembering. Let your heart be a place of reunion—a gathering space for the beloved cloud of witnesses who have walked with you on your journey of life and faith. Hear their voices. Feel their presence. Give thanks for their lives and the ways they continue to be with you.
How beautiful it is to remember. How holy it is to gather. How powerful it is to sing:
Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love…
Let us gather. Let us remember. Let us sing. Let us rejoice—for the gift of life, for the presence of the Spirit, and for the love that binds us together across the years.
Peace and Blessings,
Paul+
