How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives… - Annie Dillard

About
By the way, that’s me in the hat and sunglasses.

Thanks for finding my site.

For many years, I ran two different webpages.

In 2007, I started an earlier version of larrypatten.com. Its primary goal was to highlight weekly faith-based reflections. I am a United Methodist minister, enjoy writing, and wanted to share insights on the lectionary scripture lessons. (If you have no clue about a lectionary, that’s fine!).

Maybe my essays would help a fellow pastor’s sermon preparation. Or they might inspire or irk a Christian seeking deeper, differing views about the Bible. That site also served as a home for other writing. By 2019, it felt right to stop the regular posts.

After beginning a new position at a Fresno-area hospice in 2012, I added a second website: Hospice Matters. Though my primary work was in grief support, I had contact with all aspects of hospice care. It was clear a bunch of folks were misinformed about what hospice does or doesn’t do. Between 2012-2020, I offered weekly views on all-things-hospice. I was a non-medical guy hoping to convey simple (but not simplistic) end-of-life information. Dying, death, and grief are subjects too often avoided.  In late 2020, I ceased adding new posts, but kept the site online.

I retired from active ministry in 2020.

But I want to keep a modest presence on the net. I am still writing. Still wondering. Still learning. So, I downsized and rejiggered this site. To find out more about my ongoing hospice writing, check out the Hospice Matters section. There’s also a place for my Other Stuff.

Fresno, California remains home. My wife and I are owned by a dog and two cats. Like everyone, the pandemic has disrupted our lives. Who knew people would hoard toilet paper or stock up on flour? Who would have guessed a global health crisis would create more, rather than less, division in our divisive society? Nonetheless, even with my grumpiness and cynicism, I continue to be optimistic. I still hope to inspire, inform (or irk) people with the words I craft.

Why the I wonder what I will learn today? on the home page? Ever since hearing a social worker ask that on his way to visit hospice patients, the words have resonated with me. What will I learn today?

If you want to email me, use larry (at) larrypatten (dot) com. Or use the form below.

The front picture is not far from my home: Yosemite Valley Photo by Andrey Grinkevich on Unsplash. And a thank you to Saurabh Sinha of Dreamhost Professional Services for his web design work.

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