Hello everyone,
What a grey drippy day it is today! I’m writing to you on Thursday because I will be at a funeral in Dunedin on Friday but I am sure Friday will be grey and drippy too!
Thank you for the supportive comments I received last Sunday. My tears were of regret that I had not been more vigilant over the years as was my responsibility to myself and others. It’s always uncomfortable for the audience however when the one meant to be holding it together appears to lose it! (Anyone not sure of what I’m talking about can look up the audio reflection on the website.)
Grey and drippy is the right atmosphere for going to a funeral. Our friend Elizabeth was an example of a generous woman who still always managed to be fully herself. She began life at the Waitaki River Bridge, North Otago, where her father was the bridge keeper. I first knew her in Gore, as a married teacher with two sons, then as a divorced woman continuing to teach on the same staff as her ex-husband and his new wife (this took a lot of grace). She came through that and later morphed into a school counsellor, completing a Masters degree in Counselling, then a PhD, her dissertation looking at how completing an AIDS quilt panel helped families with their grief processes. She battled to be allowed to do a qualitative research rather than depending on quantitative data. I benefitted from her learnings in that area.
Elizabeth remarried, to a man equally generous and open hearted. When they learned I would be travelling to Dunedin regularly for ministry training in the 1990s, they offered free board for the part of the week I would be there. I become a 3-day-a-week member of the family in their beautifully decorated Victoria style villa. Elizabeth was a staunch feminist (and could be feisty with it!) and a creative home-creator at the same time. In her retirement she further developed her considerable writing skills and has had several poems and articles published. She was working on her first novel when she died aged at 79 years of age.
Every now and then someone special comes along who is mentor, role-model, friend and just simply a beautiful and good person. Elizabeth was one of those. Roger and I will be away on Friday and part of Saturday attending her service.
I will be here on Sunday however, looking forward to the Parish Council’s take on Storm Sunday. I know much preparation has been put into this so it will be exciting to see what they present. After the meeting anyone interested is invited to join the 2020 commemoration Committee meeting, led by Lois Robertson. See you there Susan
To view the full e-news click on this link : https://mailchi.mp/35eaf4e97964/this-weeks-newsletter-from-st-andrews-on-the-terrace-1501573
