Purple funeral

This week I assisted with my first funeral. It was for a beloved saint of Grace Lutheran Church. I mentioned before that we started planning it during the weekend when we should have been at the Church Youth Fest at Luther College. The visitation then took place in Faribault on Monday and the funeral at Grace on Tuesday.

I didn't have much opportunity to get to know Arlene well during the two and a half months I've been here. (This, of course, is the major drawback of dividing my time among eight churches.) But I did learn that her favorite color was purple, so I did my part in paying tribute:





I couldn't have guessed that I would ever wear purple tights to a funeral (nevermind the fairly large purple earrings), but it seemed like the right thing to do. Several family members and friends noticed and appreciated it, and many of them were sporting purple as well.*

It was one of the many ways we celebrated Arlene's beautiful and creative life. She was very artistic, mastering everything from quilting to woodworking to rosemaling. Pastor Judy wore a stole Arlene had made, and Arlene's husband gave me a bracelet she made:





It was a lovely service, full of both personal remembrances and the gospel of Christ. There is no better time than a funeral to proclaim the sure and certain hope that death will not have the final word, that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, and that in Christ we have peace.

Also, the ladies of Grace really know how to host a luncheon! Complete with lefse and Norwegian flag napkins. Perfect.



* Side note: I have now received "best-dressed intern" or similar accolades at three of my churches. Some might find such compliments trivial or demeaning, but I have fun with my clothes, so I appreciate them. At another of my churches, an elderly woman expressed appreciation that I always wear skirts. I'm a little more ambivalent about that one, though I can take it in the spirit in which it was intended. There's so much to say about gender, ministry, and clothing. Others are already writing about it better than I could, but I still might give it a shot one of these days.