IN REMEMBRANCE

Every January, our church has a time of remembrance during the worship services to remember those members who have gone on to heaven during the past year.
They flash their picture and date of birth and death on the big screen with music playing softly in the background. It's a very sad and somber time. Yet, we do rejoice for those who are now in the very presence of our wonderful, Savior and Lord and Almighty God! They are happy, it is we who are sad because they are no longer with us. We lost at least 3 very dear friends this past year and one of them was remembered today at church. It is our responsibility as Christians to take care of widows and orphans but I feel we also need to take care of widowers.
All 3 of our friends left husbands here who loved them deeply and are having to try to go on with their lives. After the funerals are over, many of those left behind are soon forgotten or just ignored by their church family. This is not intentional, they just kind of get lost in the day to day needs of other members, etc. If your church does not have a ministry to widows and widowers, especially those who have just recently lost their spouse, then please start one or find someone else with the gift of compassion to head this up. The last church my husband served in, our pastor's late wife once had the idea for the MW's in the church (there were about 10 of us) to give a tea each year for all of the ladies who had lost their husbands during the past year. We did this for several years, even after our pastor's wife had passed away. One of our Bap. Women's group got involved and helped us make gifts for them one year. We used the good china and teacups and tried to make it a very special day for them. We had it in some of our homes some years and at the church some years, depending on the size of the group. Each MW was assigned a lady to invite and to stay in touch with after the tea. Years later, I still try to stay in touch with some of those ladies. We tried to get the Bap. Men to do something for the widowers and they said they would, but they never did. Hopefully, you can find a person or group in your church who will do something special for these men. Just a phone call, a card, or especially a personal visit will brighten their day. Invite them over for a home-cooked meal (especially the men) or take one of the ladies out for tea or a lunch. Let us not forgot those who have gone before us, nor the ones they've left behind!