A Pastor’s Thoughts: In Life and In Death We Belong to God

A Pastor’s Thoughts: In Life and In Death We Belong to GodPictured are Bruce and Carolyn Gillette, pastors of the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, N.Y. since December 2018. Provided photo.

Pastor Carolyn Gillette, First Presbyterian Union Church, Owego —

God, in Jesus Christ, calls us to have abundant life here and now as well as in the future. Here on earth, we care for ourselves in body, mind, and spirit; we love others; we care for strangers; we care for what God has entrusted to us; and we plan for the future, trusting that God’s love is with us through it all.

One way we can care for loved ones, neighbors, and even strangers is to take a CPR class. Years ago, in another community, our church offered a CPR class. A young husband and father took the class. A couple of weeks later, he called us to say his wife had gone into cardiac arrest and was being taken to the hospital. He had done CPR on her while waiting for the ambulance. A few weeks later, that young woman was back at church, doing just fine, volunteering in the nursery, loving her husband and two young boys because her husband had learned CPR.

United Health Services is offering a CPR class that is open to us all. It will be on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Owego Fire Training Facility, which is on Creamery Lane off McMaster Street (behind Home Central). The training is free. Scott Gurney is the UHS Emergency Department Coordinator. He is a member of both the Owego Fire Department and Owego EMS. Please consider taking this class for those you love, and possibly for a stranger who may need your help someday.

This week, at the First Presbyterian Union Church, we are preparing for the funeral of a beloved church member, Sue Mahler. It will be a time of remembering and celebrating her life, and it will be a time to celebrate her life and God’s gift of eternal life.   

A funeral can also remind us of our own mortality. Because we have the promise of eternal life, we don’t have to fear death. One of the loving things we can do is to make things easier for our loved ones in the future.

An advance directive is a legal document that makes provisions for future healthcare decisions if you’re ever in a position where you can’t make decisions for yourself. The New York State Attorney General tells us that in New York, there are three types: health care proxy form, living will, and do not resuscitate order (DNR).  As pastors, Bruce and I have talked with countless families’ members who said what a gift it was that loved ones had prepared these documents.

Another way that you can prepare is to do some planning for your funeral service. While some people these days are tempted to “skip the funeral,” this sacred time of remembering, grieving, and celebrating faith can be another real gift that you can give to loved ones. Let them grieve together, in community. Let them remember the things that are most important. Let them celebrate that “in life and in death, we belong to God.”

It can be helpful to leave some detailed funeral instructions with your important papers, or specifically with a family member, or with your church. What are your favorite hymns? Do you have a favorite scripture reading or two? Are there certain people you would like to have speak at the service?  These instructions can be incredibly helpful to your family.

And what about a will? Do you have young children who will need to be taken care of? Who will care for them? Do you have money or possessions to give to loved ones or to share with an organization, church, or cause that you are passionate about? Would it help to write a letter of love, forgiveness, sharing your values, sharing your faith that your loved ones could read at a later time?

It is true: In life and in death, we belong to God. The ways we care for ourselves in life, and the ways we prepare for our death, can be an important part of a life filled with faith, hope, love, and joy.

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