MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matthew 17:20)

My friend and guitar teacher Kors van Mourik died unexpectedly late last year of unclear causes, although a previously undetected heart ailment was likely. He had many friends but no family in this area. Although he was the bass section leader in our Chancel Choir a few years ago, he had no formal church affiliation. Because they knew I was one of his students, his friends and acquaintances kept asking me if there was going to be a memorial service. Lots of people wanted one but no one apparently wanted to organize it.

I found it so shockingly sad to allow his life to be swept away unhonored, as if he had just disappeared, I finally decided to take action even though I had never directed a memorial before. I did not feel this was a mission from God nor did I have much faith in my ability to bring this off—unless having a strong desire to make it happen was a seed of faith.

I sent a lot of emails to his friends and students to find out if anyone wanted to speak, sing or play an instrument at the service. Replies were slow in coming. For a while I thought I and the little guitar group I was in were going to be the entire show. I kept plodding ahead, setting a date, reserving Knox, hiring a caterer to do a lunch, getting some tips from Pastor John, all in a state of unbelief that any of this was going to work out. Eventually, I got some commitments from people to speak or perform. Now I worried some speakers would talk too long. Then I found out someone had announced the time and place of the service on Facebook and I had a new worry--would we have enough food?

The day came with me still anxious. People poured into the service, twice as many as expected. The service was beautiful. The speakers didn’t drone on. The music was lovely. The food was a little like the story of the loaves and fishes, except the caterer performed the miracle -- used to such problems, he brought extra. My little seed of faith had been rewarded.

Dear Lord, help us forge ahead with important ventures even when we think we lack the faith to make them succeed, recognizing that the desire to do them is a form of faith. Amen.

Barbara Hoover