Reflections on the Day

A Grief Observed Twenty years ago today, we buried my mother, Susan Peperkorn, née Troy. She died on January 10, 2005. It was simultaneously sudden (likely brain aneurism) and expected (melanoma cancer). She was fifty-seven at the time and had been fighting cancer in various ways for at least ten years. My family was in […]

Hattie Kerry Funeral Sermon 02-08-2014

Funeral Service for Hattie Kerry (February 8, 2014) Holy Cross Lutheran Church Rev. Todd A. Peperkorn Psalm 27:4 “At Home” Kenetha, Teanna, Shamari, Rashad, Family and Friends of Hattie, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for today is from Psalm 27 as follows: “One […]

Things That Time Cannot Mend, But Jesus Can

[Originally posted at I Trust When Dark My Road] “How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep…that have taken hold.” […]

On the Reason for Curmudgeonness

I often wonder why I get so, uh, curmudgeonly during Christmas time. It is one of the two highest feast days of the Christian Church. The music and Scripture readings for the season are sublime. In every measurable way, it is a time of great joy and happiness. Family gather together. There is festiveness in […]

The Forgotten Emmanuel

December 21st is the anniversary of when Kathryn and I lost our son, Emmanuel. It was 2009. And, of course, right before Christmas. Who has time to grieve when there is so much stuff to do? While the death of Nadia always makes me wish others would remember such days, Emmanuel’s death always reminds me […]