Saturday, November 21, 2020
The Rev. Rob Stevens
Tribute to a friend
A year ago tomorrow, one of my best friends died. If I am honest, I was relieved. Not for me for sure, or for her beloved husband Jeff, or for her countless friends. No, I was relieved for her. She had suffered with this insidious cancer long enough and she was tired, so very tired.
Joanne Ferguson was definitely a saint. She held no doctrine or dogma, she was the member of no institutional or organized religion, instead she lived a life characterized by being kind and doing her best. She didn’t spend much time (if any) worrying about what will happen to her after she died. Instead, she focused on her life as she knew it and did her best to live it to the fullest. I learned a lot about being present to this life from her.
To be clear, Joanne was not perfect. She struggled to be a good human just like you and I do. Yet, it was her clarity about her own imperfection that drew people in and allowed them to simply be who they were. At her memorial service in Thaxter Hall last early December the cast of characters was like the Kingdom of Heaven. Devout 8 o’clockers who hadn’t missed a Sunday in decades and people who told me they hadn’t ever been in a church in their life. That was Joanne’s gift. Her light attracted light and drew people in.
As we head into this week that our society holds up as Thanksgiving and a week of gratitude, it makes sense to me that I remember Joanne and how grateful I am for her friendship. I miss her, that is for sure. Her corny jokes now come out of my mouth. Like when someone says its 2:30 and I now hold my mouth and say ouch! (Tooth hurty) Groan…She has left her mark on me. She continues to remind me not to worry too much about what’s coming next and to pay attention to the right now.
I ask you to pray for my friend Joanne, not because she needs it, but because we do. Pray for her and those that you love and see no longer, pray so that we may remain connected. As we lean into this time of GRATITUDE, I pray I will not shy away from grief by dreaming about the future or reminiscing about the past. I pray that I will feel deeply and completely right here, right now in the present. I believe my friend Joanne wants it that way.
*Joanne Ferguson was Parish Administrator at St. John’s from 2008-2018