Dennis Peay

Submitted for inclusion in the Faith Section of the Henderson Daily Dispatch Saturday, August 25, 2011 edition.

First, there were waterspouts along the southeastern coast of North Carolina. Then, there was a surprise earthquake outside Richmond, VA. Now, we await the Lady Irene and her hurricane force that will make her away up the Atlantic using wind, waves, and rain to leave a trail. A native North Carolinian friend said the earthquake helped his bucket list, where is the volcano? Continue reading →

Henderson Daily Dispatch submission for July 2, 2011

Freedom. A value celebrated in these United States of America on July 4th, our country’s Independence Day, with fireworks, parades, hamburgers, hot dogs, and gatherings of families and friends. The red, white, and blue will fly high. Patriotism will peak. Freedom will be celebrated.

“With freedom comes responsibility,” said Eleanor Roosevelt.  Freedom offers the opportunity to make choices. It provides a sense of independence; yet, with freedom comes a great weight. What will you do with that freedom? What will do with those choices? Continue reading →

Recently a high school friend, colleague in ministry, and mom of two called to my attention Julia Ward Howe’s 1870 Declaration for a Mother’s Day of Peace. My friend noted, as a mother, how much the Declaration was more about peace and justice than  mothers.

While Howe is more likely remembered as the writer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, her interests reached beyond poetry calling for peace and the end of war. Her Declaration calls for disarmament, the teaching of charity, the alliance of nations and the “amicable settlement of international questions.” In many ways she was a prophet of her time. Mother’s Day was first recognized in 1907 at a church in West Virginia and later declared in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson as a National observance. Continue reading →