A healthy religious community does many important things together: we celebrate and support our children and youth; we gather for regular worship and for holidays; and we honor and remember those in our congregation who have died. The memorial service for Don Rust on Saturday was an important event for the family and for the congregation.
For the family, the gathering was surely sad and difficult. Don’s surviving siblings, his surviving children and step-children, other relatives, and especially his wife Sharon are experiencing the sorrow of this loss. Many heartfelt remembrances were offered during the ceremony.
For the congregation, the death of one among us is an important milestone, a call to come together in mutual support. There is no greater purpose of a religious congregation than to offer condolence to the family of one who passes, as we offer continued support to Sharon – support that is just as important (if not more so) after the memorial service as before.
Don’s death may remind us of others who have passed away and awaken that grief. We may also be reminded of our own mortality, and grieving Don’s death may spark us to embrace life with more intentionality.
The memorial service included the following poem, a meaningful one to Don which evokes the mystery of what happens to us after this life, and the ways in which the living remember the dead:
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
-Christina Rosetti
This is, thankfully, the first death of a member of this Fellowship since the beginning of the global pandemic. The loss of Don Rust diminishes our congregation, and reminds us that we need one another.
PRAYER:
May the spirit of Don Rust rest in peace. May he live on in the memory and love of those who knew him. May we feel his presence with us as he influenced everyone he knew and every place he went.
Blessed be.
Rev. Andrew Frantz
For the family, the gathering was surely sad and difficult. Don’s surviving siblings, his surviving children and step-children, other relatives, and especially his wife Sharon are experiencing the sorrow of this loss. Many heartfelt remembrances were offered during the ceremony.
For the congregation, the death of one among us is an important milestone, a call to come together in mutual support. There is no greater purpose of a religious congregation than to offer condolence to the family of one who passes, as we offer continued support to Sharon – support that is just as important (if not more so) after the memorial service as before.
Don’s death may remind us of others who have passed away and awaken that grief. We may also be reminded of our own mortality, and grieving Don’s death may spark us to embrace life with more intentionality.
The memorial service included the following poem, a meaningful one to Don which evokes the mystery of what happens to us after this life, and the ways in which the living remember the dead:
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
-Christina Rosetti
This is, thankfully, the first death of a member of this Fellowship since the beginning of the global pandemic. The loss of Don Rust diminishes our congregation, and reminds us that we need one another.
PRAYER:
May the spirit of Don Rust rest in peace. May he live on in the memory and love of those who knew him. May we feel his presence with us as he influenced everyone he knew and every place he went.
Blessed be.
Rev. Andrew Frantz
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