SEASONS OF GRIEF

 To our sisters in faith, we entrust you to God who created you. 

May you return to the one who formed us out of the dust of the earth.

Surrounded by the angels and triumphant saints, 

may Christ come to meet you as you go forth from this life.

On Sunday, March 4, we will have two white roses on the altar at St. Luke. It has been our tradition to place a rose on the altar for deaths and for births of our members. The roses on the altar this month remind us of the lives of service that were given by 

Bonnye Sampson and Nancy Roman. 

I remember back to my early years serving at St. Luke. I would park my car in the parking lot and out in the back of the lot I would see Bonnye's car. I would right away know that Bonnye was weeding the two back parking lot islands. She had explained to me that she and her sons Eric and Mike were custodians of these parking lot gardens. She weeded them, added bird houses and garden art, and kept them looking good for the church. 

That was how Bonnye liked to work, behind the scenes. Bonnye would weed gardens, give out flu shots, attend Sunday School and offer a smile to all she encountered. She was not one to take center stage, but she loved and supported her church.

Nancy and Ben Roman joined St. Luke in 2014. They were relocating from Mobile and had purchased a home in Cordova. Both Ben and Nancy had been active at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Mobile. They both got involved at St. Luke and were active in many areas of church life. It was such a shock when Ben received news of cancer in 2016. While Nancy dedicated herself to assisting Ben with his cancer fight, she became sick herself. In a matter of months both Ben and Nancy were fighting aggressive cancer with surgery and chemotherapy treatments. We said goodbye to Ben in September, and Nancy died

 just this past week. 

When we think of the season of lent, we often think about death coming before the new birth of spring. It seems in life we have seasons of grief when the loss of loved ones is real. As people of faith, we turn to our God for strength and hope. We know in our heart that God will never leave us or forsake up. We trust in the one who formed us to be with us through each stage of life on earth and bring us with all your saints in everlasting glory. 

This year Holy Week will have special meaning. Join us for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Services. Let us grieve as a community for the sacrifices Jesus made for us, and grieve our St. Luke friends, and then come Easter Sunday, let us trust in the hope given to us by Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. 

In Christ, 

Pastor Cliff