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Dear Passing the Peace Readers, 

A few weeks ago, poet Andrea Gibson passed away after a long journey with ovarian cancer. Throughout their diagnosis and treatment, Andrea shared candidly and beautifully about their experience; writing poetry about illness, mortality, love, and more. One of the final offerings from Andrea was a poem titled “Love Letter From the Afterlife” that I felt was so powerful it had to be shared. I hope it will speak to the memory of a loved one you are grieving or that you can gift these words to someone who you think would appreciate hearing them. 

Andrea Gibson reading their "Love Letter From The Afterlife" (music removed) 

 

My love, I was so wrong. Dying is the opposite of leaving. When I left my body, I did not go away. That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, but a portal to here. I am more here than I ever was before. I am more with you than I ever could have imagined.

 

 

May the peace of Christ be with you in the sacred words written by poets, 

May the peace of Christ be with you in the softness of the summer breeze and the power of the summer storms, 

 

Yours in Christ, 

Rev Michiko

 

Photo: Karen Murray-Hopf