Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

The cardboard numbers were well-worn, a clear crease in the middle and the corners tattered from altar guild members wrestling them into the hymn board.

335

The Hymnal 1982 opened to the page.

“I am the bread of life; they who come to me shall not hunger.”

A stole lay across the table. And a large can of beans. Dish towels and oven mitts and fine linens.   

Then we turned the corner of the line in the funeral home. The family waited ahead for our condolences.

Diana was the secretary for one of our previous churches. As my husband told her family, during his time as rector there, he really worked for her. She also was the head of the altar guild and a longtime member of the choir. She founded Loaves and Fishes, a feeding program. She weeded the garden, restocked the vending machines, organized amazing coffee hours, and worked with AA, NA, GA, and all the other acronym-groups. She decorated for Pentecost and swept the pine needles after the greening of the church. She knew where to find the candles for Christmas Eve and the chafing dishes for the funeral receptions. 

Most churches, if they’re lucky, have a Diana. And when that person suddenly dies, in mid-swing on a tennis court, without any hint of heart disease or that this spring afternoon would be her last, the congregation feels adrift. Especially when the next weekend is the church’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and Diana was the glue that held it together. 

And yet. 

“They who believe in me shall not thirst. No one can come to me unless the Father draw them.” 

Diana left a hole. In hearts. In the alto section. In the office. In the lives of her beloved husband, children, and grandchildren. But a life well-lived, one committed to the gospel imperatives of serving others, of feeding the hungry and caring for the sick, means that the hole will be filled by others inspired by her good deeds, by those who want to honor her legacy by continuing her good work. 

New life after death. This is the story and promise of Christ. And an opportunity for those of us who see and admire the example of Dianas in our midst. 

“And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.” 

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