<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 4.1pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">A Prayer for the Post Office</span></p><div class=""><br class=""></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">This is a non-partisan prayer</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">about something as mundane as mail,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">as gentle as the swish of a letter</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">falling to the floor by the door.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">This is a prayer</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">for stamps and stamp collectors,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">the quietest of hobbies;</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">for pen-pals and thank you card writers,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">for grandparents who always remember your birthday,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">and love letters from the war,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">kept at the bottom of a drawer.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">This is a prayer</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">for the quiet dignity of the blue mailbox</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">standing like a sentinel on the corner,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">portal to anywhere, for just the cost of a stamp.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Walking to the mailbox</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">down the block and around the corner</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">was my daughter’s first independent adventure,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">the responsibility of an envelope,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">addressed and ready in her small, serious hand.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Her nervous departure from the front door, alone,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">and her triumphant return minutes later.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">“I did it mama, I mailed the letter all by myself!”</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Do you remember, the wonder of it?</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Dropping a letter in one place,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">mouth of the box swinging open and shut,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">eating the envelope like cookie monster,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">only to have that same letter reappear, days later,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">in another place?</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">It is a mundane miracle.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">When I was a teenager, learning how to drive</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">my mother set up garbage cans in front of our house</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">so I could practice parallel parking.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Our mailman, swinging by from house to house</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">stopped with a big smile to shout,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">“turn the wheel! Cut it hard, that’s right, now straighten it out!”</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">His brown arm waving in circles</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">as we both grinned with the joy of it.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">A simple thing, feeling like part of something -</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">a community, maybe - where mail carriers</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">and teenage drivers were all part of the same world.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">I remember how quickly he would run up and down the front steps, even in the hot and humid summer.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">This is a prayer for the carriers on their routes</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The clerk at the window</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The backroom sorters and the delivery truck drivers</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Moving mountains one piece at a time.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Passing along that which was entrusted to them:</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 4.1pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Electric bills,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">bank statements,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">birthday cards</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">…ballots.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Hear us, God of the taken-for-granted things,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Divine mystery of overnight delivery,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Spirit of Civic Life,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">may we preserve this minor magic</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">of letter and stamp, scale and package,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">sorting machine and postbox,</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">so that our children do not shake their heads</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">and wonder at all the things we allowed to slip away.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Rev. Julia Hamilton</div></div></body></html>