urely God is in this place. God is also in these people. Each time we gather for a memorial service – a service of “witness to the resurrection and thanksgiving for life” – there is a solemn and tender awareness of the “spirit of the living God” that permeates all we see, hear, think, and do. It is evident in the loving preparations of the worship space, accomplished by a church member called to serve as sexton for the day, in the care that our ushers take in welcoming grieving family members and visitors alongside regular churchgoers, and in the words and music offered by each worship participant, weighed and held in the light of emotion laden remembrances.

Following worship there is often a reception in Fellowship Hall, where worshipers gather to share kind thoughts and celebrate the lives they have shared with family members. Here, too, volunteers – a team known as “The Marthas”—have lovingly created a space of welcome and nourishment for body and soul.

In the last two weeks these gracious servants, and all who worshiped here, have kindly supported three families in short succession. Thanks be to God.