AMAZON

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Back in the Collar Again

ANOTHER MARTYR


Benazir Bhutto

21 June 1953 - 27 December 2007


* * *

T
his 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.


24 comments:

  1. aaaw nick, thats a very sad thing to do over christmas...

    ReplyDelete
  2. here's hoping it all goes well for you and the congregation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope the funeral goes well and that you feel pastorly once again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Prayers for this family and for strength for you in performing the service.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These things are difficult over the hoidays... :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. My heart goes out to you Nick. My condolences.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm saying prayers for you Nick. Thanks for the tribute to Bhutto, and the absolutely beautiful video. You made me cry!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nick, 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.
    Bless you Nick, you are sweet kind soul!

    ReplyDelete
  9. 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.

    Peace be with you this Christmas and every day of the New year.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Condolences on the loss.

    Please add my good thoughts and prayers to those wishing you the strength and endurance to see it through without any issues.

    ReplyDelete
  11. ` 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.
    ` 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!!)

    ReplyDelete
  12. 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).

    I 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.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nick, Bless You.
    And 'Imagine' ....Beautiful.I watched that Bhutto all moring on the news, so very very sad.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 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.

    God Bless,
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  15. 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.

    My 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!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm glad you were able to make it through the funeral. I hope you're doing okay.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rev 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.

    I 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.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Condolences Nick, albeit a little late. x

    ReplyDelete
  19. what a sad thing to do over Christmas.

    Prayers are with you

    ReplyDelete
  20. Glad you had the strength to follow through with this sad rite for the family - may your strength grow. ec

    ReplyDelete