Author: Jeff Hampton

For Wilshire Baptist Church

I was listening to WRR-FM while driving to a meeting when the “William Tell Overture” came galloping through the speakers. The occasion was the 225 birthday of composer Gioachino Rossini. As I listened somewhat mindlessly to the familiar finale, I wondered if there was ever a time in my life when this melody wasn’t familiar. I probably first heard it as a kid watching reruns of “The Lone Ranger” on TV, but I don’t have memories of how I felt when I first heard it. Continue reading “Hearing for the First Time”

Icons and Ashes

When the appliance repair man pulled a small lump of debris out of the washing machine filter, I sorted through it and found that it was mostly just lint, along with a nickel, a penny, and a piece of corroded metal about the size of a quarter. The latter had a four-leaf shape and seemed to be etched with images, so I got my photographer’s loupe and gave it a closer look. Sure enough, each of the leaves bore an image: Jesus, Mary, Saint Joseph and Saint Christopher. In the middle was a dove.

Continue reading “Lenten Reflections”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

I have a cassette tape labeled “Wilshire Winds – Acclimation.” The label is incorrect because the piece of music on the tape is actually titled “Acclamation,” but I’ll go with “Acclimation” because that’s what the recording represents to me.

Continue reading “Acclimation”