What a wonderful 28 years these have been in Boston at Old South. I was asked if I might offer a couple of reflections on the ministry, and I am happy to do so. I must begin, however with a personal disclaimer. I will not touch on everything. I will overlook some things so very impor-tant, which you may well remember as significant. Were you to remind me, I would unquestionably concur. So let me just offer what can inevitably serve as only a partial reflection. We may well have more time to go deeper and broader.

In 1974 we were just a year or so beyond the Watergate implosion and the Vietnam debacle over the matter of truth telling. Those times were somewhat similar to ours, as those in authority abused their trust. We were living at a time when someone labeled the "Senior Minister of the Old South Church" would be perceived as having only a fragile trust. These days we stand back in shock as CEOs of large and trusted companies fall by the wayside amid astonishing and corrupt hanky-panky and even more startling, as those, mostly men, in the ministry and priesthood surface with gross betrayal of their flocks. Trust goes down the drain for everyone. Skepticism and cynicism take over. High ideals, honesty, integrity simply collapse. That’s what 1974 was like, when university presidents, elected officials in high places, ministers of churches-those in au-thority amid any institution found themselves suspect. None-theless, although some of us felt that way - I did - my experience here, with the readiness of that mid-seventies Old South congregation to make the most of ministry here as well as eager to work collaboratively, was a shining beacon amid a nationally shattering time. The officers and I worked confidently together amid a fragmented ethos. It bade well for the future.

But another sort of cultural drag made an impact on our kind of church. After WWII, across the country, millions of churchgoers who attend churches such as ours moved out of town. The suburbs grew like crazy. Remember? Schools, churches, vast housing developments sprouted up across the landscape - abandoning many downtown churches like ours for the paradise of suburban living. A theological mood of the time saw the inner city - including Copley Square - as a footstool of the Devil . This is where danger lurked, where poverty made an impact, where racial issues were up front, where housing, welfare, education and health issues surfaced with striking frequency. There was a decided Protestant anti-urban ethic. God’s country lay out in the suburbs and the wilderness. City churches of our nature faced an uphill battle. Some of you will remember the urban coalition headed by John Gardner, who became the President of Common Cause and Secretary of HEW in the Johnson Administration. He and his colleagues came up with an urban challenge to the nation: -"Give a Damn!" And this church did. It has always seen its ministry in the heart of a city. We began that way as our forebears witnessed the dying of the churches in second and third generation Boston because of strict and irrelevant criteria for church membership - and ever since, ours has been a witness to this city through generations of social and urban change.

Another broad cultural shift made a tremendous impact on churches. One of the shift’s harbingers lay in Betty Friedan’s polemic, "The Feminine Mystique." Wow! What an earthquake that triggered. And a good thing, too! That book and its offshoots were dynamite for what we called at one time, "Women’s Lib." It brought fiery controversy to all aspects of society, not least of all our churches. It’s consequences, opened up - as if a vast dam were breaking - a flood of women who possessed the call and competency to join in the Christian ministry. Since 1979 our staff has included absolutely first rate professionals who joined this ministry, some of them representing mid-career turnabouts, others of them moving through college and seminary into clergy ranks in a way much like us old timers did. In any case, we probably suspected in times past, but we know now that a multiple staff ministry must make every effort to include men and women. Though we may wish to deny it from time to time, there are often differences in mood, and tone, and approach, and presence between "girls and boys." Indeed, as a footnote, the major UCC seminaries today include more women studying for the pastorate than men. Some change!

But this change brought with it a concomitant challenge. The nature of power was at stake. And most of the "power" words in the English language made reference to male imagery. This was particular true in "God talk." Language and metaphors for God were (and continue to be in many traditions) almost exclusively male oriented. How break out of
this box? How come to understand that the vastness of God, the love of God, the nature of our God, the unfathomable depths of our God cannot be defined in metaphors, poetry, or doctrine excluding the feminine? And then, when we began to come to terms with our exclusion of feminine allusions to God, we discovered how our language and doctrine was in this wonderful world of ours: how Eurocentric, how it played down the full personhood of men and women who happen to be gay, how "white" meant pure and "black" meant evil. And so we, in the so-called majority, began to wrestle with how we talk about God and one another. Among other things, "The New Century Hymnal" tried to incorporate a fresh approach to "God talk." As an starter, you can read in the Hymnal (Preface and Introduction) about that new approach. It still troubles people. I know. But bless you, for coming back week after week to tackle this profound theological issue again and again. How shall we talk about God?

And how shall we talk about and treat each other? I believe the little reference we include on the back of our bulletin each week speaks most wonderfully of who we are. "A Note on the Inclusive dimensions of God’s Grace." The collaboration that went into that project included men and women from every sector of our church’s life. It declared we understand ourselves, as the Biblical text on our front porch indicates, as the church (coining the wonderful phrase used in last fall’s special gathering) of the "open door and open heart." Our Deacons affirmed that one night in the early nineties and to this day that we understand ourselves as a house where Jesus Christ is the host. We serve as Christ’s servants, ambassadors, representatives, envoys as we welcome and embrace the world wandering in our front door off the Square. It’s a splendid commitment, not always satisfactorily accomplished. But I am convinced we are a congregation fully committed to the broadest dissemination of the grace of God.

And just once more, I cannot close without reference to our polity. I include this endnote, because of what we see surfacing among our Catholic neighbors at this writing, with these questions. How do we make decisions around here? Where does authority and responsibility lie? Who’s in charge? The Sr. Minister? The Pastoral staff? The administration? The Council? The Deacons? The Trustees? The Congregation? Unquestionably, power can revert to any of these bodies - or individuals within them. But - but- we have designed here an institution - and let’s not be afraid to call it that, we have bricks and mortar, property, financial assets, members, legacies, a corporate memory. We have an institution rooted in a shrewd and I believe Biblical understanding of human nature with the latter’s risks and tendency toward self-deception inherent in untrammeled and unquestioned power. The bodies named above, in particular the Council, Deacons, Trustees, and Congregation are bound together in a polity where checks and balances, deliberation, the respect for differing opinions and approaches, clearances, compromise, consensus, the judgment of the Body, taking into consideration human frailty and fallibility makes a fair attempt to work out its priorities and serve the mission of Jesus Christ in this city and world. Our governance in this church tends to be representative, authority and responsibility are dispersed widely, the care and feeding of the Old South rests on many shoulders, continuity and change are always in the balance. We evolve, I believe, at a human pace, for some people too slow, for others just right, and for still others, too fast. Nonetheless, we are designed to get as many people on board as possible. We fail, of course, but our polity recognizes both the "True Head of the Church’" as Jesus Christ, and the rest of us as operatives on the front lines, servants attempting to act on the will of God we discern through the revelation of Christ.

"A Brief Retrospective" I called this. Too brief. Perhaps too abstract. If you would like a more complete reflection, call the church and ask for a copy of the sermon of April 28 or check Old South’s web page <www.oldsouth.org> for "Twenty-eight Years on Copley Square." That serves as a valedictory. Or, take a look at the closing sermon of June 2, entitled, "Never Lose Heart." [See excerpts, this issue.] They express my untold and profound gratitude for these nearly three decades among you. And if I may, in what purports to be a final Reporter article, I would paraphrase a former President of Dartmouth College, who at the close of his remarks at Commencement always said something like this: "And so, it’s not ‘Good-bye’ but rather, ‘So-long,’ for in the Old South fellowship, there is no parting." +

And thus, many of you know, as I look back on a certain Board of Directors Meeting taking place at Union Seminary, New York City, in November, 1973, I can attribute to luck, chance, coincidence, fluke, accident, and a conversation in a buffet supper line with Avery Post, at that time President of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ and a member of Old South. Our casual encounter began like this: "Hi Avery. What’s up?" "Oh Jim," he replied, "I’m looking for a pastor to serve a great, big old congregation in downtown Boston and . . . would you be interested?" Luck? Chance? Providence! And so began in that fall of 1973 a liaison with a probing, questioning, skeptical search committee, well-trained in interrogation verging on the third degree, and chaired by one of the great saints of this church or any other, Catherine Dauber, leading, if you will, to a sort of marriage between a man and a congregation whose 28th and final anniversary, May 1, we note in passing this morning.

Now, I trust you will forgive the personal nature of what follows. But these twenty-eight years represent exactly seventy percent of what will be on June 3, my 40 year career in the ordained Christian ministry - in some ways nothing unusual for this congregation, and in other ways pretty small peanuts. Indeed, you have called here just four ministers since 1884, 118 years, for tenures of 43, 18, 27 and 28 years (it doesn’t add up
because there were years you were looking for successors), and compared with Joseph Sewell’s 56 years. . . . In any case, when I arrived here one of the matriarchs of the congregation, Mrs. Leroy Parkins, Ted’s mother, Lida, sent a splendid, beautifully composed welcome note. It went something like this: "Dear Mr. Crawford. It’s nice having you among us. I hope you will stay for many decades." Many decades! When you begin to count the years in decades, I can imagine some of you muttering under your breath, "Jim, one is enough. Two is overkill. Three strikes and you’re out!" But let’s be on with it.

I think what I want to do with you this morning is to share the joys of the Christian ministry in this place. You should know this is a great job, in a wonderful church, at, what I believe, to be the greatest corner in North America. Why? Because as you have heard me expostulate a thousand times, we are at "the hub of the hub of the universe," and the diversity in this place provides both its challenge and its joy, its pain, and its promise. In a church like this, at a crossroads like this, we live on different wavelengths, socially, politically, and spiritually. People wander in here bearing a variety of needs and aspirations, expectations and concerns. Anyone serving a congregation like this and anyone joining a congregation like this finds themselves living within tensions unique to a relatively broad-based, pluralistic, shifting, churning, occasionally boiling, downtown church stew.

And I count it no less a privilege, walking with some of you through that last days of a friend’s or a spouse’s life, celebrating with prayer, music, personal reflection the meaning of that life and its now refashioning through the power and in the presence of our welcoming, transfiguring God. Of course, ministry here includes its odd little twists and ironies. How about preaching on a Reformation theme on the last Sunday of October - justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, the primacy of scripture, the whole kit and caboodle - and then later greeting a guest shaking my hand, enthusiastically saying: "Father, I enjoyed the mass."

Or carefully crafting an argument of war, peace or social welfare and then meeting someone later who turns your argument exactly upside down and backwards and who says, "I couldn’t agree with you more."
----June 2, 2002------
And finally, we never lose heart as we provide support and encouragement to one another. I want you to know I have appreciated the many notes coming across my desk from you on the occasion of my retirement. Some of them include references offering me great consolation. They refer to a moment of encouragement during some encounter over the years; they recall a nudge in a new direction or some word giving you a lift. For that, we can only thank God. But here’s a not irrelevant question: do you know who my favorite New Testament character is beside Jesus and Paul? No, not Mary, not Peter, not Mark, not even John, the beloved Disciple, whom I do love dearly. It is Barnabas: Bar-na-bas, Son of Encouragement. Barnabas! He saved the church in Antioch. He served as Paul’s advocate while the early church organized to throw Paul out, questioned his credentials, sought to put him on ice. I am pleased to have been a Barnabas to any of you.

But listen, you magnificent people: you have been Barnabas to me! Talk about encouragement! Oh, my soul! You for me: bail-outs, advocacies, taking the heat, running interference, intervening, covering for me, quashing a stupid idea, finding the money, giving the money, leading me by the hand through real estate labyrinths, construction contracts, renovation paperwork with nary a note of condescension, explaining bureaucratic complexities with zeal and transparency. And more: coming to church in blizzards (Oh, 90 year old Janet Halvorsen, how I treasured your presence in that pew when the rains came and the snow piled up!) Advice and counsel at six-thirty breakfasts, jumping into the pit and standing shoulder to shoulder when the going got tough, telling me when I believed a sermon to rate somewhere between E- and a flat F, that you caught the gist through the profusion of words, it altered your thinking and you were grateful for it. Incredible! You harbored the love of my life, Linda Lovett of Glendale, Ohio, with affection and respect, the aspiration of any pastor’s spouse. You taught my children in your church school, granting them a secure base and sensitivity to ethical issues making them all, bless you, liberal Democrats.

Yes, while I studied the numbers, some of you made them add up, never forgetting my confessing to you the deal my calculus teacher offered me in my freshman fall of 1954, "Mr. Crawford," that professor said, "If you promise to take no more mathematics at Dartmouth College, I will give you a D-." You brought determination for organizing paper-work, aptitude for finding stuff lost in my piles (and being nice, at least to my face about it.) You exercised gifts for representing this congregation at pressure points of public decision and public policy with intelligence, peripheral vision, clarity-always making me proud to be on your side.

O, my friends, when I lost heart, you never did! Barnabas! Children of encouragement! That is what you have been to me for 28 years. Fantastic! Thank you.

And so we close. I took the Red Line across the Longfellow Bridge the other day, and there on the other side of the Charles estuary with its sailboats sprinting across the water, there stood the silhouettes of the Pru, the Hancock, Copley Place, the new commercial fixtures of the Back Bay. And, yes, there, right in the middle of all that granite and glass, there stood the tower of the Old South Church in Boston -- our tower, right where we belong, on the greatest corner of North America, the Hub of the Hub of the Universe, the tower of the Old South Church in Boston, a congregation by God’s mercy engaged in ministry, living by the promise chiseled into the wall of our Boylston Street porch, "Qui Transtulit Sustinet,"  the God who Brought us Thus Far will continue to sustain us. Is it any wonder we never lose heart?! +

I treasure Jim Crawford's recitation of the psalm before the sermon, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight . . ." and the inverted "V" of Jim’s arms extended as he invited us to pray.
- Mary Riffe Hiss

Jim was always quick to write a personal note when we corresponded from Connecticut . . . but it usually took four days to read his writing! - Jim Riker

There is nothing more special and comforting than a wink, a hand squeeze, or a smile from the wonderful Jim Crawford. He is the best. - Karen Britton

I pinched Jim’s nose when he baptized me! - Nicolas Groff

I will always remember his undying faith in the Red Sox. Maybe this year . . . - Ben Davis

Jim turned me into an early-bird with his love for 6:30 a.m. breakfast planning sessions at Pop’s. I came to love those early morning bull-sessions on current events, sports, family - and uh, yes, even church business.
- Evan H. Shu

One Sunday in Advent, after Jim was up in the alter, I saw him come back down towards me, lean over and ask me "George, do you have any matches?" Apparently, we forgot leave matches to light the Xmas advent candle!
- George Delianides

He’s a really good whistler! - Amanda Grace Shu

I appreciate his wonderful support of the Poor Peoples’ United Fund - we couldn’t have done our work to provide for the homeless or hungry without it.
- Georgena Mattson

Jim served as a member of the Search Committee that invited me to become Executive Director of the Mass. Bible Society. It was not only a great committee but made a great choir as well! - Don Wells

In his many birthday cards and thank you notes over the years, his words have always meant a great deal to me - and it has always been fun trying to decipher his writing!
- Paige Hill

How well I remember the time that Ellen & I picked Jim up at the airport 28 years ago and drove him to Wellesley in Ellen’s small Ford! (The next day, he preached for our Old South search committee at Bob Denmott’s Church in Natick.) - Harris Watts

I appreciate that Jim took the time to talk privately with my 5 year old son about his worry, "Is it dark when you are dead?" - Molly Hunter

I found circled in our own masthead of the printed bulletin for the week, "The Untied Church of Christ." I don’t think Jim ever noticed - and I wasn’t talking!
- Joyce Campbell (former OSC Administrator)

Jim and Linda were there for one of the worst days of my life - AND for one of the best: my marriage to David Abrahams on June 23, 2001.
- Tommie Sue Abrahams

At a Christmas open house for friends, members and the workers who had worked on the interior restoration of the sanctuary, Jim read a poem in the style of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in which he mentioned every worker by name and noted the part of the restoration in which that worker had been involved. What a tremendous example of inclusiveness - an epic poem of thanks! A beautiful interior had been created to the glory of God and Jim let the workers and us know it. - John Dutton

We remember with gratitude Jim’s calls to us after our baby was born, to check in and send greetings. It meant so much to us that he was fathering all three of us!
- Rebecca & Larry Ehrhardt

We will always remember Jim’s comforting, soul-stirring sermons. In the aftermath of September 11, he reminded us of God’s grace even in the darkest hours.
- Laurel Smith-Doerr & Bill Doerr

The one thing I carry around with me (I can hear Jim’s voice inside my mind) is his frequent benediction phrase, "Honor all People". I hear that in my heart every time he says it. . . It’s funny, I’ve cried at so many of Jim’s sermons - when I hear the truth, I cry. - Marcia Gregg

I will always remember his Meeting House Sunday sermons: Sojourner Truth, William Dawes, Samuel Sewall (the Hanging Judge), Ben Franklin et al. - Bonnie Barrett

Recently, our conversation turned to clergy abuse and Jim fixed an intent gaze and exhorted, "It is never, never, never alright for clergy to take advantage of a parishoner!" His passion of justice, his commitment to integrity, and his caring for all of us was clear - it was vintage Jim Crawford. - Lorrie Herzberg

My wish to Jim is always for the best - and one Red Sox World Championship. - Paul Dutton

Even though I always run from reception lines, the one time I actually paused to shake hands with Jim after church, he knew the minister of the church where I grew up. At that point, I knew we had a lot in common and decided to make OSC my new church home. - Wendy Gale

My memory of him is that he is even taller than my husband Roger, and so I have to stand on tiptoe to give him a kiss!!
 - Maddie Burke
We asked him if we could plan our own wedding ceremony, and Jim said, "Yes, but make sure the music is good and that your vows must say, "unto death do you part". . . . now years, later, it continues to feel good!!! - Bonnie Barrett

1982, Boston Shakespeare Company, I am working as an usher for "Twelfth Night" and one of the season ticket holders just happens to be that tall guy - the one who is the senior minister at that church at Old South. Now, skip ahead a few years to 1985, when TAOS is being organized with Jim’s undying support at OSC. Then in 1992, I get to direct the TAOS production of "Twelfth Night". That’s how it is with Jim Crawford - things come full circle.
- Sue Gettum

He has taught me over the years to realize that as a gay man, God loves me just the way I am! With Jim’s guidance, I now do! - John A. Frisone

At Jim and Linda’s Christmas open house in 1999 we quietly mentioned to Linda that we had recently become engaged to be married. Linda said, "You better tell Jim". When we told Jim he stopped the whole party and announced our engagement to all. Unexpectedly, within a few moments, Jim and Linda were already celebrating our news making us feel very loved and cared for.
- Doreen & Curt Siddall

I appreciated his reading list of books on Boston and American history. - Stan Nikkel

Jim made every single person special. After one of our discussions about old vs. new hymnal words and the license to change an artist’s work, Jim enfolded me in that trademark hug, and our differences melted away. Jim never let anyone forget that "God loves you-YOU-always!"
- Nan Tull Wezniak

For us, the rarest and most valuable of the gifts that flow from Jim Crawford are his never-flagging optimism and positive outlook. - Coley and Bob Elder

A memory - Jim Crawford telling me and Stephen the secrets to forty years of loving marriage to Linda, and then
presiding at our wedding. -- Rachel Smith Silver +
 

Scripture: James 2:1-5
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also come in, and if you take notice of the one wearing fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

My friends, we are standing this moment on sacred ground. This land underneath your feet is some holy concrete. This land is holy because it has been prayed over, fought over, sweated over, cried over and because it has been loved.

In the 1960s, some people wanted to claim this land only for the wealthy of our world, to tear down low-income townhouses and replace them with luxury apartments and retail suites, much like what you can see all around you, Copley Place, Marriott Hotel, Nieman Marcus. Most people, good people, thought of the changes as a positive thing, bringing on "urban renewal" and "neighborhood improvement," without thinking of the consequences to the people who had their dwellings labeled "unsightly" and their poverty "unpleasant."

But there were prophets around, and those prophets spoke out and said "no." They said, this site is holy ground, and we claim this land for our neighborhood. We do not want a neighborhood where only those with gold rings and investment accounts and the latest fashion designs are invited to live. We imagine a community where those who have less and those who have more live and work and play together. We will build homes on this land, not a seven-story parking lot, not luxury apartments and retail stores, but homes for families of all types.

And those people put their own lives here as a start - activists from the South End set up tents on this ground, sleeping here and eating here and living here, protecting the land. Residents and community groups and churches and schools and politicians and businesses came together to think about their neighborhood, to think about all the people in their neighborhood, not just some. And then, my friends, God started to make it grow.

Protests over alienation grew into possibilities for changing the neighborhood, which grew into partnerships between once-distant groups in the community, which grew into promises for sharing resources and expertise, which grew into plans for this magnificent structure you see before you. A city of tents was transformed into Tent City, a thriving community.

Now, you should know, God doesn’t always grow stuff overnight. It took 20 years of hard work, long meetings, tight budgets and community negotiations to make this building you see before you. But now here we are, and the sacrifices and leadership of those people has transformed these three acres into holy ground, a model of the kind of community the Letter of James describes and God promises.

Now Tent City contains apartments available to people of all income levels. Forty percent of the people who live here are low-income, thirty percent moderate income and thirty percent pay market rate. And you know what? No matter what they pay to live here, they all get the exact same size and quality apartment. If you are poor or rich, when you live at Tent City you are on equal footing. This land now houses people of multiple races and ethnicities, more than 65% people of color. But community is not just about hou-sing, and Tent City shows that. Businesses thrive here, providing all the things we need, like places to eat and shop and get your dry cleaning done. Tent City houses space for community meetings, playgrounds, a pre-school, teen center, an innovative computer center open to the public & dedica-ted to bridging the technology divide between rich and poor.

Tent City represents the possibility of living out the vision the Letter of James describes, where people from all privilege and status live and work and thrive together. It is land that has been claimed for community.

So standing today on the sacred ground of Tent City, in the shadow of the cross on this Good Friday, we are reminded that there are many more acres of land and neighborhoods of people still calling out for such love and commitment. God charges us this day to go there.

Where are the places where our own interests are at odds with the interests and needs of other people, be they rich or poor? Go there. Examine your own blindnesses and open your eyes to the ways your actions impact those around you.

Where is it today that poor people are being shuffled aside, sent out the back door, mistreated and ignored? Go there. Struggle against favoritism and self-centeredness on behalf of justice and fairness for all people.

Where is it today where the rich are honored while the poor are shamed? Go there. Stake your claim in that place on the side of the poor, as a follower of the humble Jesus Christ who promised that poor will inherit the reign of God.

Set up your tents in places where the poor and rich are alien from one another, and build a community where all are treated equally. Work for the transformation into an Easter community, where rich and poor and in-between, where black and white and Latino and Asian, where the privileged and the invisible, where all people live in community together. The work begins here, in our neighborhoods, our churches, and ourselves. May God bless us and strengthen us for the task. Amen. +

I will miss . . .

. . . his handshakes!! I will always remember our confirmation with him, and how scared I was to say the "I do."
- Lauren Makholm

. . . Jim giving me a kiss on the forehead - it is magic!
- Laurie Stickles

. . . his firm handshakes accompanied by that glowing smile!
- Libbey Davis

. . . Jim’s wonderful, recurring phrases, oft repeated in sermons, prayers and remarks, urging us to be "agents of reconciliation," "returning no one evil for evil," and "Oh, my soul!" - each of these a sermon unto itself.
- The Fitzsimmons Family

. . . his ability to connect social concerns with religion.
- Mirna Lascano

. . . his sermons, fellowship, and inspiring presence. My favorite memory of him is at our confirmation retreat in Andover in 1981. - Randy Platt

. . . Jim’s long list of nicknames for me ranging from "honeybunch" to "hot dog." - Allison M. Corman-Vogan

. . . his sermons. - Sammy Schleipman

. . . looking at that beautiful, kind face with its shock of wavy hair. Chrissy, our 10 year old, asked us if Jim just did his hair that way special for Sundays! - Marcia Gregg

. . . Jim’s teachings, warmth, kindness, humor, humbleness, and even the occasional "mistakes" during the service - and his unwavering loyalty to the Lord, the Bible, and all Old South Parishoners. - Paul Dutton

. . . knowing he’s at home every Thursday writing his sermons - but I’m excited he’ll be available every day now to play golf with me. - Rob Crawford

. . . Jim’s uncanny sense of timing. Over the years, when I have felt down, or lost, or weak, he managed to hit the mark with a sermon that touched me, drew me up, and gave me hope again. Was it just for me? Did he read my mind? Seemed so! - Pam Roberts

. . . the way Jim made you feel like there was no one in the world he’d rather see or be talking too than you. What an incredibly amazing, loving quality for such a brilliant man to possess! - Catherine Burns

. . . Jim as a personification of Old South. Old South Church is known for its great tower and Jim was a tower of strength for us. His faith, like the tower itself, did not waiver. His very presence anchored us through many storms. Now we are called upon to be towers of strength for each other. - Lise Beane

. . . his sermons packed full of history, humor, and the Red Sox . . . his steadfast faith, hope and love of his congregation and Old South. He never "lost heart" - no matter what!! - Judy Fisher

. . . His deep humanity! . . . His love of hymnody! . . . His inimitable piano playing! - Gregory Peterson

. . . Jim’s wide knowledge of what is going on in God’s world. He reads. His preaching is always relevant. Do people know how rare this is?
- Dick and Elinor Yeo

. . . his A+ enthusiasm, whether it be in the giving of a sermon, the singing of a hymn or the shaking of a hand.
- Ellie Hadley

. . . the sound of his whistling in the corridor as he came to give me his notes for the Sunday bulletin. - Eleanor Jensen

. . . Rev. Crawford’s Thanksgiving sermons on historical topics, particularly those pertaining to the Old South Meeting House and early American history.
 - Elaine Pinches

. . . knowing Jim has been wrestling with the same text "in word and world" as we many who have been blessed to learn from him. The responsibility deepens. - Bill Jones

. . . not seeing him in the pulpit and awaiting his relevant messages during the periodic visits my late husband Ben and I made to Boston in past years. - Elsie Seetoo

. . . his strong leadership and his dynamic sermon style including topics such as Walter Rauschenbusch, Philo of Alexandria’s Logos, and the joining of Neoplatonic with Christianity. - Dylan Roy Tuckers

. . . Jim’s rich, velvety voice the most....the way he can shift an entire sermon by asking a leading question, waiting, then bending close to the mike and almost purring in that deep radio voice of his: "Not...on...your...life." . . . .Among other things, the voice, oh! - Suzanne Woolston Bossert

. . . him because he loved us! - Camille Platt

. . . the inspiration and hope Jim instilled in me at each church service. - Jennifer Lowe

. . . . his warm, generous, and compassionate presence, his sermons, and I am thankful for the support I have acquired from Old South as a whole. In 1997, while searching for a church home, it was a hands down easy choice when I walked into Old South and met Jim Crawford.
- Paula L. Jacobus

. . . hearing him whistling as he walked down the hall each morning. - Leianna Sugerman

Old South’s Book Discussion Group has made its pick for summer: Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. Published in 1997, Pope Joan combines legend with historical fact in a novel based on the two-year term of a female Pope, Joan of Ingelheim, in the ninth century. Bookseller Ingram writes, "There are few historical heroines as fascinating and controversial as Pope Joan, a woman whose hunger for knowledge and independent nature led her to pass as a man
and ultimately to attain the high seat in Rome. Pope Joan is a spellbinding tale of a woman who gave up everything, even her very name, for the sake of knowledge.

The group welcomes all who enjoy reading and discussing literature. Since we began about two years ago, we’ve read:

*The Red Tent;
*The Poisonwood Bible;
* Saint Maybe;
*The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe;
* Chocolat;
* A Prayer for Owen Meany; and
*The Screwtape Letters.

Fabulous book-related desserts accompany all discussions - a veritable chocolate decadence for Chocolat and, of course, "Devil Dogs" for The Screwtape Letters! Our sessions begin at 7:00 p.m. and run through 8:30 and we’ve been averaging three or four sessions a year.

Please join us for the next group discussion on August 20th in the air-conditioned Gordon Library. Pope Joan is the summer reading selection - any suggestions for dessert? For more information, contact Linda Jenkins at
978/740-0074 or <ldjenkins@aol.com>. +

Talking history, politics, theology, books - and baseball ... Christmas carols played JWC style ... Meetinghouse Sunday ... 6:30 am stewardship meetings ... Fenway’s Section 25 (between 3rd & Home) ... That great homily at our wedding.
- Steve Silver

On June 2nd (at the celebration honoring him), I truly felt like one of not four Crawford children but 500. We all admire him - and my mom - for basically the same reasons that the congregation does. - Rob Crawford

Jim came to visit me in the hospital when I had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I had had surgery and was awaiting the pathology results and had no idea how sick I was nor what a bad cancer I had. But Jim did, since he had lost two sisters to ovarian cancer. He came to my room and prayed with me, and his energy just flowed out of him to me. It was palpable and very uplifting. He came back a few days later and cried with joy with me when I learned that the cancer was Stage One, the most treatable level.
- Martha Byington

Between his sermons and his personality, Rev. Crawford always made me feel that we are ALL God’s children and ALL worthy of God’s love. - Michael Fiorentino

One favorite memory of Jim is his sense of humor. As a former regular in TAOS’ theatrical performances, we had, unfortunately, many an opening night that had lukewarm audience reaction - they didn’t seem to get the jokes or appreciate our fine comedic acting! However, we always knew that the night Jim and Linda attended it would be a howling success, because Jim always laughed at everything, basically! - Pam Roberts

The Christmas season open houses at the Crawford’s really boosted the spirits of Old Southers. Best of all was Jim pounding out his own music on the piano. But the lights, the singing of songs, and the food all contributed - Ron Eisner

He was always compassionate, thoughtful, kind, and he spoke with such love for his dear Linda and family. God bless him, always. - A contented and happy parishoner
Jim drove two hours back from New Hampshire to come to the hospital and pray with us as we had to painfully say good-bye to Melanie and before that to Noah, two of our triplet premature babies. But by invoking God’s rainbow promise of hope to the biblical Noah, he gave us much hope for the future - which has come to pass with the miracle of Amanda’s survival and continued health followed by the birth of her brother Nathaniel. - Evan & Annamarie Shu

Bonnie and I met with him for a number of times in preparation for our marriage. It was a wonderful sharing and getting to know him and he to know us as individuals. We will always be thankful to Jim and his help in developing a ceremony that that was meaningful for us and our families with their diversity. He also was helpful to me in making the shift from being a Methodist most of my life to becoming a member of the UCC and Old South Church. - Bob Clever

For me, the rarest and most valuable of the gifts that flow from Jim Crawford are his never flagging optimism and positive outlook. - Anonymous

My introduction to Old South Church was eight years ago on Marathon Sunday. Walter Platt and I, his family, and my brother visiting from Chicago (in town to see the Red Sox play the White Sox) met Jim in the alley behind the church. Walter and I were married that day, in the Gordon Chapel. I’ve always been one to enter by the back door, so thanks, Jim, for welcoming me into a "new home" at Old South.
- Lauren Dewey Platt

A favorite memory was Christmas at the Crawford’s house. It’s very lively and we all sang the Twelve Days of Christmas with Rev. Crawford at the piano. They made me feel like family at a time when there was uncertainty in my own family. - Karen B. Singleton

The Men’s Fellowship gathered as brothers to offer personal reminiscences of and gratitude to Rev. Crawford. Some had memories of Jim going back to his installation at Old South in 1974, while some have only spent a few years with him. Nonetheless, he knows every last one of us so well that offering vivid, picturesque personal observations couldn’t help but make us feel this was a special time. Thank God for Rev. Crawford, his wonderful ministry and his beautiful family and thank God for Old South Church.
- Michael Fiorentino

We were privileged to join Old South with Ministers, Jim Crawford, Bob Christiansen, Marcus and Joanne. Jim has the wonderful art of remembering everyone’s name.
- Judy Riker

My first term as deacon began in May 1974 and coincided with the arrival of Jim as well as the inclusion of women for the first time on the board (Clarence Dauber was the outgoing Senior Deacon at the time). The outgoing and incoming deacons met at the Keswick Street parsonage, guests of Adra and Louis Toppan, Associate Minister. It was a memorable beginning of the 28 years to come.
 - John Dutton

I recall in 1992 one of many times that he was up in the pulpit preaching and proclaimed that nothing but nothing can separate us from God’s love. And then he raised his long arm and pointed out into the congregation, from right to left, pointing at none of us and all of us, to convince us that it was exactly "we of little faith" he was talking about. I accepted this proclamation and promise for myself. I’ve never been the same since! - Read Sherman

I remember his patience and kindness when I came to join Old South after being newly separated from my husband. I had my kids with me and my son started playing with the paperweights on Rev. Crawford’s desk.
 - Karen B. Singleton

I always loved Jim’s playing the piano at Annual Meeting. Greg’s "re-enactment" of his style was a loving and wonderful ending to the retirement celebration.
- Mary Hunter

I am grateful for Jim’s kind, encouraging, and indefatigable support as I journeyed through the process of transferring my ordination to the United Church of Christ.
- Cal Genzel

He was kind and treated people fairly. He celebrated God with good cheer and an open, educated mind.
 - Kara Barrett

In South Africa, a cherished folk proverb asserts that "people are people through other people." Jim Crawford played a significant role in shaping who we are and who we have become. His words never conveyed a harsh edge, a callous judgment, or a bitter sentiment. Instead, he readily called attention to the deeds and characteristics of others worthy of praise. He knew when to offer comfort and empathy, while also knowing when to enliven with camaraderie and fun. We consciously or unconsciously would catch the spirit of his example and, in this way, begin to see what Paul meant when he spoke of the body of Christ. In the body, honor finds its just distribution. Dissension ceases. All suffer together. All rejoice together.
- Brooks Berndt  +

James W. Crawford, Minister Extraordinaire has proclaimed the "Good News and Christian Hope" from the Hub of the Hub at the grand Old South Church at the corner of Dartmouth and Boylston in Boston for the last twenty eight long years.

A family man of the first order,
Son, Husband, Father and Grandfather,
Also Counselor, Advisor and caring neighbor
Scholar, Teacher, Mentor and Theologian.

A Chief Executive Officer and Council Leader,
He opened and closed the meeting with prayer
And quoted Scripture when issues threatened to tear
He displayed an uncanny sense of hidden talents
And coached the reluctant as they stepped to the plate.

A man with no tin ear but rare musical talent,
He gave us the New Century Hymnal,
Composed many musical tributes and led the
Singing with his fine piano accompaniment.

No slaker at social service and community affairs,
He helped with the founding of Match-Up,
The Boston Community Loan Fund & YMCA Training Inc.
And as we are pleased to recommend Jim Crawford
And to applaud his character and accomplishment.
Good work Jim, and Thank you from our hearts!