HELLO!

As I was leaving the office today, I received a call from the funeral home in Halifax where I typically support families, I have never met to celebrate their loved ones. Only 24 hours earlier I had turned down a funeral on the same day the funeral home was hoping I was available for another funeral. My car is serviced in Bridgewater. My wife Kim loves the service she receives at the dealership where she bought my car. It takes the whole day, for Kim to drive it to Bridgewater, have it serviced, and then she returns. I typically have Fridays off, though I use that day to work on the bulletin and sermon for the Sunday coming in six weeks. But this funeral was a Woodlawn family and my responsibly is to offer pastoral care and worship to this church. I quickly responded I was available on Friday May 8^th. The funeral director was confused, as I had only said no a day before. I explained the situation, then called the widow, who is coming tomorrow to plan her husband’s funeral. Please keep Kerry Harding in your prayers, her husband Tony grew up at Woodlawn. Even though they lived in Halifax, Woodlawn was their home church, they were married here in 2014. Kerry and I spoke for an hour.

I share this for two reasons, so you can pray for this family and so you understand how quickly one’s mood can change when faced with another’s tragedy. I was not feeling my best today, a kind of melancholy had come over me last night and I could not shake it. There is no reason, or none I could think of, for this to happen. I rarely feel this way. In hindsight, I think I now know the cause, I had been looking at some old photos on my memory stick and saw quite a few of our dog Nova. She died on Labour Day 2025. I miss her. It was a profoundly joyful experience to come home, after working since 730 am, arriving 730 pm, greeted by Nova’s enthusiasm tail waging. Our walks together were always enjoyable, the night sky, the cool air, the quiet, Nova’s exploration.

But listening to Kerry and her broken heart helped me remember how fragile life truly is. Nothing lasts forever, except for love, love eternal, love everlasting, and I give thanks for those “thin places” where my “cloud of witnesses” appear to me, they are in heaven, but they are here too. And knowing this, experiencing this, provides peace. Strangely, I left the office the gray cloud lifted, my spirit fully engaged. Peace, Kevin