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9.21.2012What Jack Said
Charlotte's Memorial was held on February 1, 1977 - her fifty-second birthday.
Her body was not in Newberg Friends Church - they sent it on for burial at Greenleaf Cemetery where the second service was held on February second.
A series of weighty Friends spoke at the Newberg service. I have listened to the tape, the grief is clear in each one. Neither Dorothy or Mahlon spoke.
Yearly Meeting Superintendent Jack Wilcutts brought the following remarks. (lightly edited)
How does one react when one who is so greatly
needed is snatched away, and whose friendship, and whose leadership, whose maturity,
influence and humility means so much to so many people. These are all questions that have no human
answer, and so faith and trust in the infinite wisdom of God take on a new
meaning just now simply because there is no other way. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,
blessed be the name of the Lord”
One can hardly think of any direction
in the life of our Yearly Meeting where the positive force of her faith and of
her influence is not felt. Her range of
concerns and her personal relationships touched every meeting of our Yearly
Meeting. Her friends among the youth and
the elderly and all of us in between found in Charlotte a totally trustworthy
confidant whose capacity for caring, sharing, for praying, and giving of
herself was simply astounding. She had
the rare gift of being almost everyone’s spiritual friend. The younger pastors of the Yearly meeting,
and not just their wives, looked to Charlotte for counsel and for
encouragement. When a problem in any
church, or any life was shared with her, she not only entered into prayer with
you about it, you frequently had the feeling that she had already been praying
about it. A lot is said about the gift
of discernment, it is great to have seen it demonstrated in such unobtrusive,
yet all inclusive ways.
In reflecting upon her leadership in
Silverton and the Board of Evangelism, the college and at Twin Rocks, the
unique quality that stands out is what has already been referred to as her
vision, and her courage to tackle impossible tasks. She did things that couldn’t be done, and in
preparing these remarks I tried to recall if I ever heard anyone say of her
work, “ Well, she does good work - for a woman”, I can’t recall it - her ministry and her accomplishments
were so singularly Spirit led that she lived above the arguments of little
people - about the place of women in the church and in the ministry.
Our Quaker heritage is filled with
examples of liberated leaders both women and men, and it is good to know that
this kind of Christian obedience and calling is still expected and is still
happening. There keeps creeping back into
the Evangelical church the curious opinion that leadership in ministry is only
for men. It
seems appropriate this morning to remind ourselves that to be like Jesus rests
on character and gifts and the grace of God in anointing those who he chooses
and calls. When Jesus said “Upon this
rock I will build my church” He was not referring to Peter’s masculinity, but
to his faith in Christ the Messiah, and it was this same faith to which the
Apostle Paul made reference when he was exhorting Timothy by saying “ This
faith was first in your mother Eunice and in your grandmother Lois”. And so we understand that in the kingdom of
Heaven there is neither male nor female, but we need to remember that the same
is true in the kingdom Heaven on Earth.
For God is no respecter of persons.
It should always be remembered that this truth is well explained in the
Book of Romans by none other than Paul himself.
So let us hope that in the next 50
years in our Yearly Meeting that we will not forget this splendid example that
we have remembered here today. Her
leadership and ministry among Friends represents something that we should look
forward to when we continue calling our pastors, our board and department
leaders, the selection of our college presidents, and of our general
superintendents
The influence of a Godly life is like a lingering
fragrance poured out in sacrificial willingness to the Lord she loved and
served so well. And while a prayer
chapel and the mountain overlooking the ocean are certainly appropriate
memorials of her life among us here, the living memorial of her ministry is
seen in the personal dedication of youth, of pastors, of the community of
Quakers, who in the spirit of a fallen leader decide to ask God today, to do what He wants with us
- with you, and with me
Death is not a hopeless end, but an Endless Hope
.
Comments:
This is such a powerful testimonial. What a life to have given. Just reading through these, I keep asking what does God require of me?
Thanks for sharing Charlotte's life. You painted it so well I was shocked and saddened to read her death, although I already knew intellectually that she was dead. And now she lives on in the memories of people she never even met in life. What a blessing on us all.
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 : September 22, 2012 12:30 PM << Home |
