Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message at the funeral for Bill R. Withers, M.D., on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church in Waukon, Iowa.
Literally until the day he died, Bill actively served as an ordained elder of this church.
In the Presbyterian tradition, ordained elders and pastors equally share in leadership, together making decisions big and small that enable the getting done of God’s work.
So the grief that I bear with you in part arises from my personal loss of a treasured colleague in ministry – like me, called by the Holy Spirit through the voice of this congregation to serve God and God’s people here in this place with imagination, intelligence, enthusiasm, energy, and love.
Bill gifted me and countless others with sharper understandings of those spiritual fruit. Such grace and favor arose by the words of Bill’s mouth and the meditations of his heart. His seat at the table is not easily filled, but his wisdom still swells the breeze like sweet incense. To wit –
As it relates to faith and belief, and the running of God’s business –
- An informed congregation is a happy congregation.
- Never mess with the Presbyterian ladies or anything in the church kitchen.
- Don’t worry, the money’s out there. God is good.
When we gather each month, at the start of our meeting, the elders take turns sharing a short devotional reading of their own choosing.
A turn in the rotation rolls around about once a year, and Bill always brought something special to the table – literally. Bill’s devotion always included some kind of prop – really more a giveaway, a knickknack or chotchke, a small token of learning and reminder intended to highlight the bottom line of Bill’s message.
A couple years back, Bill’s object lesson was a white hand towel. Emblazoned across one end, in thick, black script, was the name of our church: First Presbyterian, Waukon, Iowa. Bill had one printed for each of us and handed them out of the conclusion of his sharing and reflection.
Now, please understand that the First Presbyterians of Waukon, Iowa, 52172, never seem to gather without eating, and our many great cooks are quite generous in sharing comfort food with the faithful. Maybe, I thought, Bill’s white hand towels were to be back-of-the-house support for our ministry of hospitality, terry cloth destined for the humble service of wiping-dry roasting pans and soup pots.
Maybe, but no. Those white hand towels emblazoned across one end in thick, black script with the name of this church were ordained for more celebratory purposes. No mere rags for wiping down dirty counters and wet tables, these were rally towels – the kind you whirl like a cotton dervish to cheer on your favorite team from the bleachers.
What Bill was proposing was a flurry of towel-waving, to rally on First Presbyterian Church of Waukon, Iowa, using those white hand towels emblazoned across one end in thick, black script with the name of our church. To be clear, we weren’t between a rock and hard place. The First Presbyterians weren’t losing by six and lining up fourth and goal with one second left on the clock. Bill imagined not the waving of these towels to muster team spirit and win one for the Gipper. Bill rather envisioned celebration for the vibrant ministry of this church.
When you lead a church, it’s quite easy to tangle deep in the weeds of daily ministry and operation, mighty tempting to get sucked down rabbit holes like what color of push pins to buy for the bulletin board. So also, life beyond these walls, in the trenches of daily living, is, well, complicated. Thus the gift of Bill’s white towels aimed to remind daily of the grace of God that’s ever-present among us – the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding amid the turmoil of our days. Indeed, Bill. God is good.
So go ahead, wave your rally towels. Unfurl them in your hearts and minds, in your souls and spirits. Brandish them with your voice, your hands, your feet! Let their figurative spinning be your rallying prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of Bill’s time among us as disciple and elder, husband and father, physician and educator. God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!
So also let your rally towel dry the tears that well in your eyes and flow down your cheeks – rivulets of sadness, heartache, and grief that spring from the depths of your love and regard.
In the end, one’s joy in Christ Jesus is what overcomes sorrow. Attention focused first and foremost on the Lord is what heals the emotional wounds of life and fuels your spiritual walk. Thus you think more about the Lord than your difficulties, more about the spiritual riches in Christ than your poverty on earth, more of the glorious future when Christ returns than on painful past or unhappy present.
You and I must always live in a keen sense of fellowship with God – and with a precious awareness of God’s tender presence. We must always live in a caring sense of fellowship with friend, neighbor, and stranger – and with fruitful awareness of their valued presence. It’s a powerful prescription for healing balm: “I will see you, and I will hear you.” Perhaps that healthy and holy sense of daily presence is what inspired Bill to live and serve with such imagination, intelligence, enthusiasm, and love.
Bill’s now finished his leg of the earthly race and now passes on the baton to us. In his first letter to the Thessalonians (5:11, 13b-28), the apostle Paul posts a lovely verbal reminder of the call to service that God extends and fully expects us to answer:
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. Be at peace among yourselves.
We urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything. Hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.
May the God of peace sanctify you entirely; may your spirit, and soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and God will do this.
Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Listen to the Word that God has spoken.
Listen to the One who is close at hand.
Listen to the Voice who began Creation.
Listen even if you don’t understand.
Amen, and amen.