The next morning, just as I was about to
leave for the church office, the FedEx truck pulled up. He had an overnight
envelope for me from the Presbytery office. Inside were ten $100 bills anda
note from Rev. Sheetz.
“Joshua,
Take your time paying this back. You have been hit with so many punches that
most people would have been out for the count. I’m praying for you! Joe”
I was encouraged to know that Presbytery had
my back. At the church office I received some sad news. Mr. Wainwright had died
at the Arkansas Heart Hospital. I called the Wainwright residence to see if
Mrs. Wainwright was there. There was no answer. I called her best friend, Mrs.
Higgins.
“Mrs. Higgins, do you know if Mrs. Wainwright
has returned home from Little Rock?”
“Yes, she returned last evening, but this
morning I saw an ambulance and they took her away in it.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Higgins.”
I told the secretary that I was going to the
hospital. At the Emergency Room I asked about Mrs. Wainwright. They told me
that she was in Room 127 in the hospital. The clerk whispered to me,
“She had a panic attack and was so distraught
that the doctor thought she should stay overnight.”
“Thank you, Susie.”
HIPPA rules do not recognize clergy as part
of the healing team. It is illegal to give a minister any information about a
patient’s condition.
I went back to Mrs. Wainwright’s room. She
was a bit woozy and loopy, probably from a tranquilizer and sedative. I held
her hand and told her how sorry I was for her loss of Harold. I told her that I
was still hurting from the loss of Laura. Then I told her the good news of the
resurrection and the assurance we have that our loved one who were Christians
are now with the Lord in heaven. He has prepared a far nicer home for them than
they had down here. Then I prayed with her. She probably had not spoken with
the funeral director to make arrangements. I would have the secretary call the
funeral home tomorrow afternoon to find out the days and times for the viewing
and the funeral.
When I returned to the church office, the
secretary said that Mr. Fike called and wanted me to return his call.
“Mr. Fike, this is Reverend Sterner returning
your call.”
“Yes. Well, I just wanted to know how this
meeting on Sunday will go.”
“I will moderate the meeting…”
He broke in, “The Presbytery Executive won’t
moderate it?”
“If he is there, he will just be there to
observe.”
“Why would he want to observe?”
“It is customary in these circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
“The Session did ask me to leave. That is why
we are having this meeting.”
“Oh.”
“I will declare that a quorum is present.
Then, if you are present, I will appoint you as secretary for the meeting to
keep the minutes. I will announce the purpose of the meeting which is for the
congregation to vote on whether it desires for the pastoral relationship be
dissolved by Presbytery.
“If I then announce that I request the
pastoral relationship between myself and the Church be dissolved, then someone
from the congregation will have to make a motion that the congregation communicate
to Presbytery that it concurs with Reverend Sterner’s request.
“If I don’t announce that I request the
dissolution, then someone from the congregation will have to make a motion that
the congregation requests that the Presbytery dissolve the pastoral
relationship between Reverend Sterner and this church.”
“Well, are you going to announce that you are
the one requesting it or not?”
“I haven’t decided.”
“Of course you haven’t, you jerk.”
With that parting shot he hung up.
I wondered if it wouldn’t be better to force
the hand of those who wanted me to leave, by not requesting the pastoral
relationship to be dissolved. That would expose to the congregation who the
troublemakers are. That way, there was a distinct possibility that those who
wanted me to leave would lose. BUT, then I would have to stay in what would be
a pretty sticky situation. I will definitely request to leave, but I’ll keep my
intentions to myself and let Fike, Alfritz, Bigelow, Carrington, et al squirm for a while.
When I went home for the day, I divided the
$100 bills and put them in different drawers and coat pockets. Then I sat at
the table and made a grocery list. Because of Laura’s illness and with aides
and the nurse coming and going, I had been eating out a lot. I made a list of
foods for breakfast, lunch, and supper – enough for one week. Then I went to
the store. In times past, people would stop me in the store and want to talk. I
recognized some people and smiled at them, but no one spoke to me. In the
checkout line I heard someone say,
“A hundred dollar bill. He must have got that
inheritance right away.”
The next day the secretary found out that Mr.
Wainwright’s viewing was on Friday evening and the funeral was Saturday at 2
p.m. I would go to see Mrs. Wainwright this afternoon. I started work on my
sermon for Sunday, “Sola Fide”. The
funeral home called and told me that Mrs. Wainwright had requested that I
conduct the services for Mr. Harold Wainwright. I confirmed that I would
conduct the services. I worked hard on the sermon until I left for Mrs.
Wainwright’s house.
“Mrs. Wainwright, the funeral home called and
said that you wanted me to conduct your husband’s funeral. I’ve come over this
afternoon to get some information and also to offer my condolences.”
“Please come in Reverend Sterner. My
daughters are here. We can ask them to help us.
“Reverend
Sterner, these are my daughters Alice Cunningham and Rhoda Quatero.”
“I am happy to meet you ladies. I am sorry
for the loss of your father. I want to get some information on him for the
funeral service.”
Alice spoke up, “I want to read a poem in the
service.”
Mrs. Wainwright said, “Rhoda suggested that
we have the burial first with just the family members present and then have the
funeral service itself in the Church.”
“That is fine with me. Be sure to let the
funeral home know this as soon as possible. Call the church secretary tomorrow
morning and have her inform the Chairman of the Board of Deacons that you want
to use the church on Saturday afternoon. He will have to arrange for someone to
clean up the sanctuary for church services on Sunday.”
“Are we supposed to pay for that?”
“If you want to send a donation you may, but
there is no charge for church members. Now tell me some things about Harold
that I can mention in his memorial service.”
After they had recounted some anecdotes and
characteristics of Harold, Rhoda said to be sure to include “Abide With Me.”
She was sure that was one of her father’s favorite hymns. I had prayer with
them and then left.
At home I fixed some supper. After that I
continued work on the sermon for Sunday, Sola
Fide, “only by faith”. It is by faith alone that we are saved. It is by
faith we live each day in a way pleasing to God. Faith is the sum total of all
God has revealed to us.
That night I had a fitful sleep. In one dream
I was wrestling with Death. In another dream I was wrestling with the Devil. In
the third dream Mr. Fike, and Mr. Bigelow were both wrestling me while Mrs.
Alfritz and Mrs. Carrington were cheering them on.
On Friday Mrs. Alfritz called me at the
church.
“Reverend Sterner, I just wondered if you had
visited with Mrs. Wainwright yet. You know her husband is in a hospital in
Little Rock. It must have been too much for her because she was in the hospital
here overnight. I know you have had so much on you what with Laura’s death and
your own sons suing you, but if you can find the time, I’m sure that she would
appreciate a visit from her pastor.”
“I visited Mr. Wainwright in the Emergency
Room here and Mrs. Wainwright was with him. I visited both of them in the
Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock. Mr. Wainwright died. I visited Mrs.
Wainwright when she was in the hospital here after his death. I visited Mrs.
Wainwright and her two daughters in her home yesterday afternoon to plan the
funeral. The viewing will be tonight at 7 p.m. at the funeral home and the
funeral will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Church.”
“Oh, I didn’t know he died.”
“Good-bye Mrs. Alfritz.”
I went to the funeral home to pick up a copy
of Harold Wainwright’s obituary. I also asked for at least half a dozen copies
of Laura’s death certificate. I saw that the cause of death was the same as the
coroner had said, “Cancer; multiple organ failure”.
“By the way, I left a $15,000 life insurance
policy on Laura as a deposit on her funeral. Do you know how much I will be
getting back from it when the insurance company pays you?”
“Nothing. The funeral as you planned it would
have been about $9600. When the extra cost of the deluxe wooden coffin, a
family limousine, and some other additional services were added to it, the
final bill was $15,146. The owner, Mr. Murphy said that we would accept the
$15,000 policy as payment in full.”
“Thank you.” “Yes, thank you Matthew, Traci, and Thomas.”
Later that evening I came to the viewing and
stayed just long enough to pay my respects to Mrs. Wainwright and her daughters.
It was a quieter atmosphere than at Laura’s viewing. I had prayer with them and
then went home. I found some classical music on the radio and sat down to
relax.
On Saturday I worked on my sermon for Sunday.
I also wrote out a statement giving my reasons for desiring to end my pastoral
call to the First Presbyterian Church.
At one o’clock I left for the cemetery. I
arrived before the hearse and the Wainwright family. This was a very large
cemetery. I looked for a tent. I then looked around the open grave for the
little metal sign with the person’s name. It was “Wainwright” so I was in the
right location. When the hearse arrived, the family was in their own car
following the hearse. There were just three women dressed in black. Evidently
the daughters were not married or their husbands were at home.
I read several verses about the resurrection,
asked them to join me in the Lord’s Prayer. Then I had the Prayer of Committal,
said two additional prayers and the benediction. I shook hands with them and
started for my car. One of the men from the funeral home caught my sleeve. I
stopped and he handed me an envelope. I thanked him. I realized that since
there would not be a coffin in the church for the memorial service, the funeral
home would not have to be involved with it.
At the memorial service one of the daughters
place a framed photo of Mr. Wainwright on the table in front of the pulpit. I
read the obituary, then some Scripture verses. We sang “Amazing Grace” as an
opening hymn. Then I called on Alice Cunningham to read a poem. She had chosen
“Crossing The Bar” by Alfred Lord Tennyson
After that I read two Scripture lessons - Psalms
46 and a portion of Romans 8. My homily was on Christ’s triumph over death. I
had a prayer of praise and assurance. Then we sang “Abide With Me” as the
closing hymn.
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