Words to all

I will be away on an Emmaus walk this weekend. Normally, when I'm part of the team for a walk, I hand the blog over to my two favorite Guest Sandbloggers -- Steve and Jeff, but this time, Jeff is the chef for the walk, and Steve is helping him in the kitchen, so they will be as busy (or busier) than me as I serve as an Assistant Lay Director. So for the next two days, the automatic posting feature of Blogger will post images from my recent business trip to Oglebay Resort.

Words will return on Sunday, although they may be tired words.

I went to a funeral today for a member of our Board of Trustees. He was a well-known lawyer in town, and the church was almost at capacity for the service. I'm sure there were people from areas of his life who attended -- family, church family (and extended church family), neighbors, friends and business associates. The service itself was a worship service with scripture and hymns, as well as the pastor's witness to the man's Christian faith.

The pastor said, "If John were here, he would invite you, if you don't already have a church home, to come back on Sunday."

I liked that. I liked that the funeral was worship, and that it accomplished what many of us (me included) often fail to do. It was a witness to John's faith. We don't always do that when we are in the company of those who do not 'belong' to a church.