On this Mother's Day, worship committee member Peter Palches will present poems by his mother, Lois Grant Palches, a woman who grew up in a Bible-centered parsonage, attended college during the time of the Scopes trial, was married to a Methodist minister for 70 years, and worshiped Emerson and Thoreau. Having things to say, in a time when the pulpit was for men only, she chose to be a poet, focused on “Life, run-of-the-mill life,” publishing widely and traveling the country giving recitals.

Peter will share his theory of how her influence helped him become an atheist. Liz Loucks, Christine Ferrone, and Steve Engh, and will read a few of her poems, chosen because they help define her Spirit of Life.