A Reflection on Helen Yelton

A Reflection on the Occasion of

the Celebration of the Life and Death of

Helen Reid Poovey Yelton

February 23, 2013

All Saints Episcopal Church, Southern Shores, NC

Thomas E Wilson, Rector

Romans 8:14-19,34-35,37-39 Psalm23 John 14:1-6 

Today we gather together to do two different things which can seem contradictory but are really complementary.  We are here to say good bye to Helen Yelton and we are here to welcome Helen Yelton home and to have a meal with her. She has dies and we will not see her physical likeness again on this earth and so we give thanks for her life. In our tradition we believe that every time we celebrate communion, all those who we hold in our hearts are on the other side of the Table. Jesus is our host and Helen is the guest of honor. All are invited to come forward for Helen’s welcome home party.
 
Emily and Nancy  told me that with Helen's death, the family was struck with the poem by George Gordon, Lord Byron, She Walks in Beauty.

She walks in beauty, like the night

   Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

   Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

   Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

   Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

   Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express,

   How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

   So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

   But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

   A heart whose love is innocent.

The poem is supposed to have written in 1814 when Byron saw one of his cousins across a crowded room attending a party while dressed in mourning clothes. The image of the party full of sparkling women all dressed up latest brightly colored Regency dresses showing lots of skin celebrating the joy of life set off by this woman dressed in the black mourning clothes, all covered up in the old fashions of the past honoring someone who has died, By the next morning the poem was written with its startling images of light and dark in tension and perhaps even complementing each other. There is the beauty of the light which is the visible beauty of the woman and there is the beauty of the dark, the hidden, the interior of this beautiful woman. The outer beauty, the light, fades but the dark, the internal beauty, is what lives even in the midst of death.

Byron's friend Issac Nathan collaborated with him to publish Byron's poems set to Nathan's music in 1815 in a volume called Hebrew Melodies. Nathan set She Walks in Beauty to the Sephardic Synagogue tune Lcha Dodi which is sung on Friday evening before the Shabbat services where the Queen of the Sabbath is welcomed as darkness falls into the beginning of the Holy Day of Sabbath, the Day of Rest. A candle is lit as a reminder that even in the darkness God is with us. You may notice that we have a candle lit, the Christ Candle, which is dedicated at the first service of Easter, which is held in the darkness before dawn on Easter Sunday to remind us that life does not end into darkness but continues into the light of resurrection.

It is fitting that this service that we do is on the end of the Sabbath Day and we remember the poem as we remember Helen Reid Poovey Yelton, this much loved Southern Lady, who did hold on to, and honor a lot of things in the past, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Children of the Confederacy, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Civil Air Patrol, who has now entered into her day of rest, where we will no longer see the outer light of her face but are reminded of the internal beauty which continues to live on in the lives of people who were touched by her.

The lessons for today also fit the poem brought to mind this entering of rest. Paul's letter to the Romans is written to remind them that nothing ever separates us from the light of Christ. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Gospel lesson for today has Jesus remind the disciples that he is preparing a place for them, for in his Father's house there are many mansions. There is the old Hebrew Song/Poem which we know as the 23^rd Psalm where the Shepherd, the Lord,

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

I remember when I was in my Chaplaincy training at the Hospital in Chapel Hill, one of the assignments was to write about our own death. I finished my writing with coming face to face with God who greeted me like my father used to when I would come home back from college. God, which seemed based on my own father would sigh as if to say I finally made it home, what took me so long- and then would come the recitation of the things about which I had fallen short. Later on I started seeing God and myself in a different way as the foolish father in the Prodigal Son who wrapped the wandering son up in loving arms, all over him like a cheap suit; rejoicing that they were fully together again.

I have this vision that as Helen died, Jesus turns to his friend Lord Byron and says; “George look, its Helen! And like you said, she really does walk in beauty.

'She walks in beauty, like the night

   Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

   Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

   Which heaven to gaudy day denies.'”

Welcome home Helen!

A Reflection on telling stories

A Homily for II Lent All Saints’ Church, Southern Shores, NC February 24, 2013 Thomas E. Wilson, Rector

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 

The Psalmist for today urges us not to walk our own path but to find our meaning in life by being servants of God’s promise. It is a Psalm in which the singer is asking God’s protection against the enemies who surround the singer when even family disappoints. The singer begins and ends with verses of absolute dependence and faithfulness to God:

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear? *
the LORD is the strength of my life;
of whom then shall I be afraid?

And then the end:

O tarry and await the LORD'S pleasure;
be strong, and he shall comfort your heart; *
wait patiently for the LORD.

Let me do some translation of the poetry for you. The word “comfort” does not mean a soft pillow, but it comes from the Latin “with strength” or “cum fortis” meaning strengthen. “Heart” is not the place of emotion but the seat of will. “To wait patiently” means to Hope. The word LORD, all in capitals, is the singer’s attempt not to say the name of God out loud, and possibly in vain, so the singer uses, instead, “the LORD”.

I like Rabbi Robert Alter’s translation of the last verse: “Hope for the LORD!/ Let your heart be firm and bold and hope for the LORD” 

 

 Last Monday morning I did not get up early and go to exercise because Sunday night I stayed up late and watched the final chapter of this season’s Downton Abbey on PBS. I enjoy watching the series, which is basically a soap opera; the acting is average for British television, but there are a couple of actors who really impress. The costumes are splendid and the characters know how to wear them. The costumes are really important, for each show has at least one scene in which the character changes into clothing which will define their activity - either a servant putting on a uniform or a Master putting on a gown or suit. The clothes are not just ornaments, but they are ways the characters remind themselves about who they are and how they fit into the larger promise. 

 

The scripts have some flavor of a time long ago but with some tension between modern issues of change and how we adapt to a changing world. Servant or Master, these are really all servants - people who struggle with either being faithful to the position in which they find themselves or breaking away. The owners of the manor especially are struggling with the question of whether the land, or even their bodies, belongs to them to do with as they will, or if the land and their bodies belong to the descendants who will come after them. The servants see their lives defined by doing what is best for the Manor. Servant or Master, their lives are not their own, most seeing themselves as stewards for those who come after them. At times, watching the show is a guilty pleasure, an enjoyable waste of time, each episode having a beginning, middle, and end which teases us to the next episode and season. 

 

This year two characters died off, but the world will not be changed if characters die in a make-believe world. What is important is the story and what it says for their time and for ours. There was a good scene a couple weeks ago where both the Masters and Servants had to work together to win a cricket match - each player’s own agenda had to be placed aside for the greater good. Last week there was a theme of contrast between the characters who live and work in Downton Abbey and the characters who live and work in a castle in Scotland. The people in Downton have hope because they understand themselves as part of something larger, whereas the people in the Scottish castle have no hope because they are caught in the hopeless crossfire between competing agendas covered over with nostalgia. Maybe we need to hear these stories more often.

Real life, in the real world, continues nevertheless. The show ended a little after 11:00, and I could not get to sleep for another hour while I thought about the story. However, I’m glad I stayed up because it got me to think about how I might have responded in that time and place if I saw my life as stewardship for those who come after me.

I think that is the whole process of what we go through every week when we look at stories about people in faraway times and places. It can be a waste of time if all we do is hear the story without thinking about each of the people and what each has to do with our lives right here and now. Today’s scripture stories have to do with people who choose to go on a journey because they feel called by God, despite their uncertainty about the outcome of their trip. There will be times when they are not sure if they should continue. There will be times when they will be tempted to go down other paths. There will be times when they will not be sure they have the energy to continue; but they will wake up each day, put one foot in front of another and continue, not just for themselves but also for the people who come after them.

In the first scripture story for today, Abram has a promise and he holds on to his promise because it defines who he is. Day in and day out he cannot get away from that promise. He has left everything he knows, as his father had left Ur of the Chaldees and moved to Haran, and Abram hears the call of God to continue the life of a wanderer to go to a land that will not be his but will be for his descendants. He is a steward of the promise of the generations yet to come. Each day he will rise up again and live his life as if he was not the center of his universe, but a servant of the promise.

Paul in the letter to the Philippians warns his friends about people “whose God is their belly”. These are the people who just think it is all about them and what they can consume. He reminds his friends that joy is available if they live a life of stewardship to their Lord Jesus. He reminds them that they are “citizens of heaven” whose task is not to live as it was all about them but about the one whom they are called to follow. Each day they are to rise up putting one foot in front of another on a different kind of path and live their lives as if they were not the center of the universe but servants of the promise.

Jesus, in the story from Luke, is warned that he might lose his life and liberty, and they urge him to be safe. Jesus responds that it is not all about him. Each day he will rise up, put one foot in front of the other and live his life not as if he is the center of his universe but a servant of the promise.

When we said that we would be followers of Christ, we said that our lives are not ours to do with whatever we want. The promise is that we will live as if our lives are defined by God and neighbor being as important as ourselves. We promised that our God would not be our bellies, we would not be defined by what we consume. We accepted our part in the cosmic drama of real life, where we would not play the role of the “Lord of the Manor” but rather commit ourselves to the role of servants of the promise of the Lord of the Universe.

“Hope for the LORD! / Let your heart be firm and bold and hope for the LORD.”

Reflection of vestry retreat

The Vestry Retreat was going on last weekend and going well as there was an easy feeling between us. The church has plenty of problems but none that produced anxiety. We approached the planning for the coming year with awareness that changes would be made but change is the norm for living on earth.  We cannot go back to the past and nostalgia has never been our long suit. 

Wright House, Kill Devil Hills

We were at the Wright house, the cottage owned by the Judges and loaned to us for the day. It was a place full of memories for me. Almost 10 years ago this was the venue where the whole of the search committee had interviewed me. Pat had fallen in love with the group that had come to visit us in the previous church and had warned me not to screw up the interview because she really wanted to be part of this church. I was pleased with what I had seen but I thought it was much too soon for me to make a commitment. My prayer was that I would be actively listening to what God wanted for me and for the church. I was sitting in a seat with my back to the windows overlooking the beach and ocean as the committee fanned out in a semicircle facing me and the windows. I knew that the ocean was beautiful and I could hear the cries of the seagulls but I wanted to focus on what was happening in the room.

After several hours of questions and discussion, the chair of the committee asked me to give a homily which I had been asked to prepare. My calm evaporated as quickly as the World Series hopes for the Chicago Cubs evaporates each summer after Memorial Day since 1908. I froze as I remembered that I had indeed been asked to prepare a short homily. I asked for a moment of prayer. In that moment I asked that my mind be cleared of all the noise of the gulls, which had seemed to get louder since I had closed my eyes. Panic threatened to overwhelm me until I remember the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says: “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?^{” (Mt. 6: 26-27)}

The Spirit calmed me as it spoke through me of the need that both the committee and I had about not worrying about the outcome of the search process. Our task was to trust God for help in discernment. This was not a sales job by them or me; doors would open or not, what was important was that we remained faithful to God and to ourselves.

I do not know what tomorrow will bring for me or for this church. Doors will open or not but the task remains for us to stay listening to God’s Spirit each day.

Shalom:

Reflection on The Temptations- no not those guys

A Homily for I Lent All Saints’ Church, Southern Shores, NC February 17, 2013 Thomas E. Wilson, Rector

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Romans 10:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13

At last week’s convention the Bishop shared an experience of attending a meeting which began with the following question being asked: “How will what we do now affect the poor?” The question was followed by two minutes of silence and then discussion for three minutes on the question; then, and only then, could the meeting begin. This is how we started off the Vestry retreat yesterday morning. (Or if you are reading this before Sunday- it is how we will begin.)

The usual procedure in church institutions is to first see to meeting the needs of the institution, followed by the “needs” or desires of the parishioners, and then and only then, if we have the time, we ask how we might help the poor. The problem for us is that Jesus started off his ministry, continued his ministry, and ended his ministry asking how what we do here will proclaim Good News to the poor in mind, body and spirit. Jesus didn’t spend too much time maintaining institutions and very little making sure his disciples were “pleased”.

Today’s Gospel lesson from Luke is about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness into which Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. Actually the Greek word, “ago” which most translators render as “led” can also be translated as “driven”. Right now I am in the place where I like that variant translation for I think that the life of faith forces us into the lonely places where we must undergo all of the temptations that flesh is heir to - for where Jesus goes we are faithfully driven to follow.

So, what are we doing here today and how will what we are doing here now, being tempted by the darker angels of our nature, help the poor? Most of us are relatively well off, or at least present a good front. The temptations are about entering into three kinds of poverty. The first kind of poverty is the lack of material resources, and the temptation is to fill any lack - to be in control and self-sufficient (turn the stones into bread). The second kind of poverty is the lack of influence - power over others - and the temptation is to enforce our own political will (rule the nations of the earth). The third kind of poverty is the poverty of marginalization where the poor aren’t even noticed, and the temptation is to make a big splash and be noticed (throw himself off a high place and not be harmed). All of the temptations are about power and security, whereas poverty is about powerlessness and vulnerability. 

 

The three temptations are presented as a win–lose situation by the father of lies and false choices. The Liar, in each of us, says in the first temptation that we live in a creation of scarcity so we need to grab what feeds our hungers ourselves. Mother Teresa used to tell us that, as a matter of faith, there is enough food to go around for all people. Recent scientific studies tell us that 40% of the food supply in this nation is wasted and discarded. We, the relatively well off, lack the will to share, and we resist the will to change the way we consume. The good news that Jesus gives us - that life is more than individual consumption - could, if we listen and follow Jesus into the lonely places, turn into Good News for the poor - IF we will change business as usual and see ourselves as lovers rather than only consumers. 

 

The Liar, in each of us, suggests that the imposition of our political will over others is the way to peace of mind. I urge each of us to see into past history, and indeed present events, to show the bankruptcy of this lie. Every time we, the relatively well off, seem to win for “our” side, we seem to set up the next fight for control, and we use the poor as pawns, objects to be traded, to “win”. Has it never broken through to us that co-operation with our “opponents”, who we seem to like to call “enemies”, is the only way out of the constant political campaigns and wars we are waging? The good news that Jesus gives us - that peace comes when we serve God first – could, if we listen and follow Jesus into the lonely places, turn into Good News for the poor - IF we will change the business as usual of the “winning at all costs” mentality.

The Liar, in each of us, implies that the image we present is more important than the substance of who we are. Therefore, we waste all this energy prancing and preening as we sell out our souls for the approval of others. Each mask, or costume or image that we layer on our public persona contributes, not to greater invulnerability as we hope, but to alienation from the ultimate meaning of our lives and to the perception of others. Each role we take on keeps us from sharing ourselves intimately with another soul. When we, the relatively well off, look at the poor, we do not see them as full human beings, our brothers and sisters as broken as we are, but as stereotypes on whom we project all of our failings. The poor indeed do have problems, and the problem WE can do something about is us. The good news that Jesus gives us -a full vision of ourselves and our neighbor- could, if we listen and follow Jesus into the lonely places, turn into Good News for the poor - IF we will accept the healing of the blindness of our egos.

There is a fourth poverty, and it is the poverty of spirit as Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who know they need God, for theirs is the Kingdom of the Heavens.” This is the poverty which Jesus embraces, and it is the only poverty worth having. The temptations which Jesus undergoes are not the isolated events of 2000 years ago, endured by a superhuman hero in the desert. The temptations are daily events with which every human struggles: (1) allowing care for neighbor instead of feeding our greed, (2) replacing control with cooperation, (3) risking vulnerable intimacy instead of hiding behind structured alienation and (4) embracing the need to find our strength in a power greater than ourselves, as we sing along with the Psalmist for today:

We who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, *
abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

We shall say to the LORD,
"You are our refuge and our stronghold, *
our God in whom we put our trust."

Or if you attended the 10:30 service, we can sing the paraphrase:

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord, Who abide in His shadow for life, Say to the Lord, "My Refuge, My Rock in Whom I trust."

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings, Bear you on the breath of dawn, Make you to shine like the sun, And hold you in the palm of His Hand. 

 

Reflection on Valenbtine and Cyril and Methodius

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday where we had almost as many people at the 3 services  on Ash Wednesday as we had for the the one Pancake Supper for Shrove Tuesday the night before-- of course we did add in a Dixieland Band and that might have made a difference.
Today, by a freak of the calendar, is Valentine's Day-- which is not in Episcopal calendar-- actually it is St. Cyril and Methodius Day. While the Episcopal Church does not do Valentine's Day per.se.  the Church of England does.  From its Liturgy for Valentine Day:

 The Church’s commemoration of Valentine has nothing to do with lovers! It originated with two
separate people, both called Valentine. Valentine of Terni was a 3rd century bishop who was martyred at
Rome in 273. Valentine of Rome was a priest who was also martyred for his faith in the mid 3rd century.
It is likely that these two stories became confused over time, with the two martyrdoms becoming in
effect one commemoration.
The present-day custom of sending cards and flowers declaring love may owe its existence to John
Donne who wrote a marriage song for Princess Elizabeth’s marriage to Frederick V, Elector Palatine on
St Valentine’s Day in 1632. Donne’s marriage song merged the religious commemoration of Valentine
with fertility symbolism.

The Last stanza of Donne's Epithalamion reads:

VIII.
And by this act these two phoenixes
         Nature again restorèd is ;
         For since these two are two no more,
There's but one phoenix still, as was before.
         Rest now at last, and we—
As satyrs watch the sun's uprise—will stay
Waiting when your eyes opened let out day,
Only desired because your face we see.
         Others near you shall whispering speak,
And wagers lay, at which side day will break,
And win by observing, then, whose hand it is
That opens first a curtain, hers or his :
This will be tried to-morrow after nine,
Till which hour, we thy day enlarge, O Valentine.

Today is the day we celebrate love but I also remember Cyril and Methodius who were brothers born in Thessolonika who were asked in 862  by the King of Moravia asked for missionaries to the Southern Slavs and the brothers out of Love of Christ agreed and were dispatched. They laid the groundwork for an alphabet that was developed into what was called in their honor the Cyrillic alphabet. They created a Slavonic translation of  the Bible and Liturgies. Their missionary activities were complicated by the political machinations of German Bishops who opposed the effort and by the tension between the Greek and Roman churches. The churches squabbled and the hindered the work but the poeple were reached in spite of the churches political shennanigans.

Gods has this habit of redeeming all sorts of things that religious institituions do -- just imagine what God would be able to do if we didn't get int the way.

A reflection on Ashes

A Homily for Ash Wednesday 2013                           All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Southern Shores, NC February 13, 2013                                                        Thomas E. Wilson, Rector

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10                                                Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

Before I went to bed a couple of nights ago, I was thinking about Ash Wednesday. What do ashes mean? In ancient cultures, ashes were a sign of mourning and of loss.  The person who experienced the loss would put ashes on his head and walk around dressed in sackcloth because everybody knew that, if you suffered a loss, it must be that God was punishing you, and you needed to repent so that God would feel sorry for you.

However, as I was thinking of ashes, I remembered going to Jericho and looking at the huge pit excavated by archeologists. There are probably 20 layers of buildings shown in the pit going back to 9000 BC, which could make it the oldest city in the world. Many of the layers show new cities built on the ruins of the old, as the old building blocks were torn down and replaced by a new structure as the town expanded. There are also several burn layers, a thick layer of ashes which show that the city was destroyed in battle, and the survivors had had to build all over again with a new layer of clay bricks. I started to imagine the survivors digging into the ash layer to make a flat surface and putting down the new layer of dry clay bricks in the hot sun, brushing away the sweat of their brows with their ash-laden hands.  But for the survivors of Jericho, ashes were not a sign of mourning but a sign of rebuilding. They were survivors, and the ashes were badges of honor as they said, “Today I build a new life with God’s help. The past is over and only the present remains as we move into the future.”

After I fell asleep that night, I had a dream about my past. I had this pile of stuff, and I was searching for the office I had forty years ago. I kept going down hallways and up and down stairs and seemed to get no closer to my old office.  I realized that the past was closed to me; I did not belong there,. and all the stuff I was carrying around needed to be left in the past.

The original idea of Ash Wednesday and Lent was to be a way for sinners in the Christian community to come back into the life of the community, and they would be allowed to come back into the fold on Easter Sunday. The problem was not the usual “hot blooded sins”, but the fact that these people had betrayed the community during the time of persecutions. They were the ones who had buckled under Roman pressure and had proclaimed “Caesar as Lord”, instead of the Christian response “Jesus is Lord”, and had thrown a pinch of incense into the fire at the public service of Roman Patriotism. They had also given the names of fellow Christians to the authorities, people who were then picked up and pressure put to bear on them. The Christian community was divided into three camps. The first camp was the group who left town before the persecution hit; they were usually the ones who would say things like, “Well, if I had been here I would have resisted and not caved in!” The second camp was those who did stay in town and underwent the persecution and suffered torture, imprisonment, and death. The survivors were called “Confessors” for they had confessed their faith.  The third group was those who had not been able to stand up to the pressure and capitulated.

When the first camp, the absentees, came back into town, they looked at the second camp, the confessors, and thanked and honored them for their sacrifice, and then they looked at the ones who had folded and declared that they should no longer be allowed into the community of faith. However, the confessors, knowing how close they had come to folding themselves, said that they would talk to the ones who had folded and would guide them back into the fold. The penance would last a tithe of a year- 40 days- and in that time they would be excluded from Eucharist but be allowed to sit in the back of the meeting place. On Easter they would be allowed to begin a new life.

The church liked this “confessor” system, and they institutionalized it for all sorts of sins as Lent became a time for notorious sinners to repent, and ashes were instituted as an outward and visible sign for the penitents.

If you like to feel guilty, fine - but I like the idea that ashes are a sign of rebuilding and asking for strength to grow in faith. All of us screw up, but we are not called to dwell in the past.  We are called to rise up and move forward. I like the way the addicts  in recovery programs do it - they recognize that they are just one step away from a relapse, but the point of a relapse is not to feel guilt but to be taken as a sign that we need to work the program. Today I invite you to a Holy Lent where we together work and rebuild the program of “Doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God.”

Reflection on "How will what we do now effect the poor."

I went to our diocesan convention this past wek- I wish I could say that i look forward to being around a bunch of clergy but the old introvert in me holds on to the old saying which goes"Clergy are like manure- they need to be spread around in order to do some good , but if it is piled up in only one  place it burns the ground and stinks to high heaven!"

But one gem came forward this weekend when the Bishop, who is leaving, talked about a meeting he attended. The meeting started off in silence for 2 minutes and then had three minutes for discussion of the question: "How will what we do now  effect the poor." If the central message of Jesus was to proclaim good news to the poor in mind, body, and spirit; then it seems to make sense to ask ourselves that question on a regular basis.

I presided at a funeral for the husband of a parishioner yesterday. Over the past several years, I had only met him at his house because he did not come to church but his wife was a regular attender. He had been one of those people who had been fed up with institutional religion and had decided that he could no longer in good conscience be a member of a body which was so out of touch with the real world. He retired some years ago from had a busy OB-GYN practice and his patients had trusted him and I heard of  women who called his widow to tell her about how wonderful he had been in caring for them in the traumas - thirty, forty, fifty years ago. It was his very caring that got him in trouble with his church..His church preached, on the orders of the old men in the hierarchy, that  it was a sin to practice birth control and to make it available. He decided that it was a sin  to not make birth control available for his patients.  The pastors in the church were willing for a blind eye to be given to his successful practice but they wanted to regularly attack birth control as sin  to please their theologians. I saw his leaving of the church an honorable choice-- I would have preferred for him to fight within his church but I think he felt the cards were stacked against him.

During the service I suggested that on the final day when the "Son of Man" comes in his glory and he will say to those on his right "Well done, good and faithful servant for instead of prancing around the altar- you ministered to me when I was sick, or in labor, or in fear." Then this man for whom we had the service will say, "But when did I  minister with you when you were sick, or in labor or in fear?" And the "Son of man" will say; "If you did it to the least of these my sister, you did it to me. Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master."