ANOTHER MARTYR
Benazir Bhutto
21 June 1953 - 27 December 2007
* * *
This evening I am going to put on my clerical collar for the first time in more than a year and
officiate a funeral. The deceased is the husband of the daughter of a very dear woman who was president of the first congregation I pastored back in 1987. With my problems walking and breathing I pray that I have the strength and ability to perform the service. I am dedicating all of today to that end, so this is a very short post. To make up for its briefness, please enjoy the following video.
aaaw nick, thats a very sad thing to do over christmas...
ReplyDeleteGood luck and peace to the family.
ReplyDeletehere's hoping it all goes well for you and the congregation.
ReplyDeleteI hope the funeral goes well and that you feel pastorly once again!
ReplyDeleteI hope it all goes well for you, too!
ReplyDeletePrayers for this family and for strength for you in performing the service.
ReplyDeleteThese things are difficult over the hoidays... :(
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to you Nick. My condolences.
ReplyDeleteI'm saying prayers for you Nick. Thanks for the tribute to Bhutto, and the absolutely beautiful video. You made me cry!
ReplyDeleteNick, it is a very sweet thing for you to do this...I know it would be a honor to me if someone would do such for me. We will be burying a dear friend Saturday, she didn't make it through the holidays...brain cancer took her....you have me crying, but Lennon's Imagine will always do that. Reminds me of my dad, who I thought I would have buried so long ago...and he is still here.
ReplyDeleteBless you Nick, you are sweet kind soul!
Death and violence are always with us. One must be accepted as inevitable and the other should not be tolerared at any level. May God help us in our endeavers towards wisdom and peace.
ReplyDeletePeace be with you this Christmas and every day of the New year.
Condolences on the loss.
ReplyDeletePlease add my good thoughts and prayers to those wishing you the strength and endurance to see it through without any issues.
` Aw, Nick! So sad!! I am actually crying because I don't deal with death too well. And about Bhutto - that was just no-good.
ReplyDelete` I thought John Lennon was a nice touch. Never saw that video before.
(BTW, specking of videos, the one on my art blog was totally fake! Blargh to that!!)
Very nice of you to officiate over the funeral, even though i can imagine how difficult it is to do (not only in health but in mind).
ReplyDeleteI will be saying my "version" of a prayer, sending out good juju to you, so that you can stand for the deliverance, speak without a break and have your heart not sink to your belly.
Take care Nick, my condolences.
Nick, Bless You.
ReplyDeleteAnd 'Imagine' ....Beautiful.I watched that Bhutto all moring on the news, so very very sad.
Such sad news today. Somedays seem to have more than their share. My prayers are with you, as well as the family you'll be ministering to.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
Susan
I thank each of you for you comments and prayers. The funeral went well. I have officiated so many of them that one could say I’m an expert in them. I would much rather that expertise was in something else.
ReplyDeleteMy car is still not repaired—the last word I had was that it “might be ready on Saturday.” Thus, a friend of the deceased, a professor at UCLA, who had flown in for the funeral picked me up and brought me home.
I retuned exhausted. After feeding Alex, the furball and I retired for a long cat nap. I am now up to feed myself. I have already fed Alex again. After eating I shall return to bed, turn on CNN, and catch up with events in Pakistan.
I have respected Benazir Bhutto and her tragic family for years. Although wealthy aristocrats, they, like the Gracchi brothers in the ancient Roman Republic and the Kennedy family in the United States, took the side of the Plebeians, the peasants, and the poor.
More on all of this in the next few days. Good night, folks!
I'm glad you were able to make it through the funeral. I hope you're doing okay.
ReplyDeleteBless you Nick. You are a good man.
ReplyDeleteRev Saint, you “do” the best funerals of anyone I know. Even when you have never met the deceased, you seem to build the service upon his or her personality.
ReplyDeleteI hear you saying that the service exhausted you. I am sure that it did, not only because of your physical infirmities, but also because you put so much of yourself into your ministry.
I had not thought of comparing the tragedies of the Bhutto and Kennedy families with the Gracchi. I believe you may be on to something.
Blessings, my dear friend. Rest well.
Condolences Nick, albeit a little late. x
ReplyDeleteso sad
ReplyDeletewhat a sad thing to do over Christmas.
ReplyDeletePrayers are with you
Glad you had the strength to follow through with this sad rite for the family - may your strength grow. ec
ReplyDelete