A Sad Week in the Family

It has been a sad week in the life of our church family. Over the past 10 days 4 of our parishioners have died.

St. Paul referred to the church as being the body of Christ and, when one part suffers, the rest of the body suffers with it.

When we live through times of sadness together, there is a sense that there is comfort and strength to be found from each other when we feel sad and perhaps a bit lost.

I think of the 4 ladies who died. They ranged in age from 61 to the early 90’s and they were all unique and beautiful people. They were fully human, too, in the best sense of that word, with their own quirks and individual ways of doing things and looking at the world.

They all played important and significant roles in the lives of others, whether as a spouse, a sister, a grandmother, a great grandmother and a friend. They all had their particular personalities and meant the world to those who knew and loved them.

When someone connected with the church dies, there are some things we do, and I share these thoughts for the benefit of those who look in from the outside and feel curious.

One thing that is immediate is we start to arrange a service. It might be in someone’s home, in a funeral home or in the church. Before that, ministers from the church and family and friends come to visit and extend their sympathies and condolences to those who have lost loved ones. Ministers spend some time with the family gathering stories and information about the person’s life, and weaving those stories into an address which will also share some thoughts about the Christian hope of life after death, and what the Bible teaches about this hope.

Very often, when people gather in the home on occasions like this, there is a mixture of laughter and tears as people chip in with their recollections and memories, and I always feel that, as a representative of the church, it is very holy ground to walk with people.

There are practical arrangements to be made. Often churches help in the most practical of ways by not only offering a space to gather and remember the person before God, but to offer some catering and hospitality to those who attend the service.

I’m very grateful to our catering team who, often at very short notice, provide refreshments to families in these difficult circumstances. Any funds raised are used to support those seeking to develop their education and resource communities with clean water in East Africa through the work of Fields of Life. Any food that may be left over is shared with the local Simon Community.

Musicians and singers are mobilised to help lead the worship at the service, and that’s a very beautiful thing. The church caretaker opens the doors, arranges heat and helps to hand out orders of service. Sometimes, the technology team are asked to help to stream services to other parts of the world when people are unable to be present. In that way, those far away geographically or those who are unable to be present because of illness or infirmity, can feel part of what goes on.

Tonight, I think of the wonderful lives lived by Heather, Joan, Agnes and Chris. I give thanks for all they contributed to the lives of their loved ones and families. I also give thanks for their faith and the way they trusted in God through the difficult days of their lives, through challenging circumstances, and in how they faced up to their own mortality. I thank God for the privilege of knowing them and spending time with them, and I give thanks for the assurance that nothing, not even death, can ever separate us from the love of God.

Can I ask you to hold in your prayers the families of Heather Lavery, Joan Crossett, Agnes Thompson and Chris Caddoo.

Heather’s funeral took place last week. Joan’s is on Thursday 15th October at 10.30am. Agnes’s funeral will be on Friday 16th October at 11am and Chris’s funeral will be on Tuesday 20th at 1.30pm.

Look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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