This past Sunday, I had the honor of delivering the church sermon at First Unitarian of Albuquerque.
After the introduction, musicians Tom Wofford and Vance Bass did a stirring rendition of Stan Rogers’ 1979 song, “The Mary Ellen Carter.” The song is an inspirational hymn about triumphing over great odds. It tells the story of a heroic effort to salvage a sunken ship, the Mary Ellen Carter, by members of her former crew.
While the ship’s story is fictitious, the song’s refrain provides valuable life lessons in resiliency. “Rise again… rise again… turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain, and like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.”
We ourselves can rise again in different ways: physically, emotionally and spiritually.
You can watch the video of the entire 20-minute presentation on YouTube:
