It is a pleasure to welcome Tom McDermott and Tom Piazza to our worship service this morning. This marks the second visit to FCCOL for McDermott, who also traveled on our most recent Tree of Life journey to Israel and Palestine. When he’s not in Old Lyme or participating in our partnership journeys, he keeps a busy performing and recording schedule as one of the most sought after pianists and musicians in New Orleans. This year, Tom is joined by his friend Tom Piazza, a novelist, music writer, screen writer, and musician. Piazza was one of the principal writers of the HBO series Treme, and his novels A Free State and City of Refuge in particular display a profound empathy for human lives undergoing the painful depths of the world, while somehow managing to retain a sense of grace in the midst of it all. Both McDermott and Piazza are acutely alive to matters of the spirit, and it is an honor to welcome them to our Meetinghouse today.
AUDIO PRESENTATION: Following is a recording of the musical and readings portion of the service. First is an introduction by Steve Jungkeit. Then there are four musical selections by Tom McDermott, each followed by Tom Piazza reading selections from his books.
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
“Tipitina”
“Dorothy”
“Sermonette”