Together, Separate

The bells ring out. We’re gathered round
outside the church. Unhallowed ground
is where we celebrate this year.
We celebrate, since Easter’s here

And we will consecrate this ground
six feet apart. We hear the sound
of pealing bells, since Easter’s here,
and we have overcome our fear

And gathered, moved, to hear the sound
of pealing bells. O let them ring,
and we will overcome our fear
and sound out gladness as we sing

Inside ourselves. Yes, let them ring,
and we will join them on this ground.
Together, separate, we sing.
The bells ring out. We’ve gathered round.

We’ve gathered round, and now we sing
inside ourselves on altered ground.
Together, separate, we sing.
As bells ring out, we’ve gathered round.

—Bruce Bennett

Dear Reader,

Can I be direct with you?

War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.

First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.

But we can’t do it without readers like you.

Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.


Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.

Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.

GIVE NOW

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Job and Her

J. Mark Mutz

It is said that Job lost everything, but she has lost more. All her possessions—the money, the…

Why the Death Penalty Is a Sore Point for Papal Authority

Joseph Shaw

Pope Leo XIV marked World Day Against the Death Penalty, observed on October 10, with the following…

The Myth of St. Francis

Gabriel Said Reynolds

At the beginning of his 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Pope ­Francis speaks of “an episode in the…