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Dear Reverend Billy On November 27, 2005 I saw you perform at the St. Marks church. I was there to support a friend of mine in the choir. Aside from weddings and funerals, it had been two decades since I'd attended a church service. I didn't know you and your choir from a hole in the ground and I didn't expect to care. I am a Western man, a secular man, a man of science, an atheist. So I was totally unprepared for how powerful your simple message would be. I did not expect what happened to me that night. And I certainly did not expect to be affected by anything happening in a church. Living in the modest spaces afforded to those of us with modest means in New York City for 15 years has forced me to become discerning about the material things for which I make space in my life. I have long since lost any great emotional attachment to most of the things I do keep. A few have sentimental value. The rest are merely useful. But they do not define me and I could do without most of them. Without knowing it, I was primed for your message. I was ready. "You do not have to buy a gift to gift a gift." The performance was exhilarating. The message challenged and resonated with me deeply. It has taken years for the seed you planted to grow. But it has and in the last year it has bloomed. Two years ago I cancelled my cable TV subscription. Without the constant, shrill, insidious demand of advertising that I share its material values I received a dividend of time, energy and money to put elsewhere. One year ago, I opted out of holiday gift giving. I asked my friends and family to buy me nothing and I bought them nothing in return. My birthday is this week. And for the second year in a row, I am having a "please no gifts" birthday party. I seek only the warm company and affection of those I call friends and family. But opting out of gift buying does not mean opting out of gift giving. On the contrary, with all the time I had wrested back from the evil clutches of my television I made the conscious choice last year to give as many gifts as I could ... the gift of time. I have tried to support as many friends and artists as I can this last year. If you have a show, I'm there. If you have a gallery opening I am there. If you're simply throwing a dinner party, I am there. I have come to understand that our time, attention, affection and love are the greatest gifts we have to give. We must seek every opportunity we can to give these gifts. We must give ... ourselves. As I have tried to give these gifts, I have received a glorious bounty in return. I am truly blessed that so many others have given me these same gifts in return. My gifts have been returned to me, tenfold. The gift you gave me, four years ago, was the gift of your message. The gift I give you this holiday season, is the knowledge that you changed a man's life. Thank you. Yours sincerely, Dale Sorenson