1 Thessalonians 2:11
“You know that we treated each one of you just as parents treat their own children.”
Prior to resuming in-church worship during this pandemic, the organist of Christ Church, Pompton Lakes, my wardens and I recorded the Sunday Service, via Facebook, inside the church building.
The following Friday the organist, Dave Christensen, called to tell me he was in the hospital after testing positive for the virus. Other than a slight cough and a slight fever, he was feeing fine.
Three days later, his daughter called to tell me that the doctor had contacted her, wanting permission for a DNR.
I’ve always wanted to do someone’s funeral before they died. We say all these nice things about people when they’re dead.
Hello? So I arranged for all five of Dave’s children to share their favorite memory of their father over the phone. He got it! There were whimpers. He died half an hour after the phone call.
That experience was so powerful that I’ve invited my entire congregation to write their children or their parents “my favorite memory.”
One of my daughters responded to my letter saying it was the most precious letter she has ever received.
She reads it 10 times a week and will never throw it away.
What a lovely “memo” to be left with after all this awfulness!
