The Move, Last Chapel Service

"So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish" was the title of today's sermon (for the last chapel service here @ JMF). The inspiration came from the book and song of the same name by Douglas Adams. I also used the endings to each of the four Gospel accounts (just in case you'd thought I'd lost my mind). We had 12 there this morning, not a bad way to close the book on this chapter.

Karen, the organsit at JMF for the past 10 years or so, gave Belinda and I a lovely framed copy of the music to "A Cornish Blessing" with Cornish tartan around the border. It will take a special place of honor when we settle down in Nebraska.

http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/games/dolphin.html.

"It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than the dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons.

"Curiously enough, the dolphins had long known of the impending destruction of the planet Earth and had made many attempts to alert man to the danger; but most of their attempts were misinterpreted as amusing attempts to punch footballs or whistle for titbits, so they eventually gave up and left Earth by their own means shortly before the Vogons arrived.

"The last ever dolphin message was misinterpreted as a surprisingly sophisticated double backward somersault through a hoop whilst whistling 'Star-Spangled Banner,' but in fact it was this: "So long and thanks for all the fish."

-- Douglas Adams

SO LONG & THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH

So long and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this
We tried to warn you all but oh dear

You may not share our intellect
Which might explain your disrespect
For all the natural wonders that grow (around you)
So long so long and thanks for all the fish

The world's about to be destroyed
There's no point getting all annoyed
Lie back and let the world dissolve (around you)

Despite those nets of tuna fleets
We thought most of you were sweet
Especially tiny tots and your pregnant women

So long so long, so long so long, so long so long, so long so long
So long so long, so long so long, so long so long, so long so long
So long so long and thanks for all the fish

If I had just one last wishI would like a tasty fish
If we could just change one thing
We would all have learnt to sing

Come one and all
Man and mammal
Side by side in life's great gene pool

So long so long, so long so long, so long so long, so long so long
So long so long, so long so long, so long so long, so long so long
So long so long and thanks for all the fish