Today I had the unhappy task of playing organ and singing for the funeral of a beloved member of Holy Communion named Josie Beckett.  She was one of those people who was part of the heart and soul of the place – and it’s actually hard to imagine the place without her warm, vibrant spirit. She was so sweet-  so fun- and so committed to the Lord and His work.

She was also a very very diminutive woman – maybe four feet four inches tall at the most (I’m guessing) – but there was nothing small about her heart.

She was also Hispanic – married to a caucasian guy named Bill – and the great joy of their lives was the host of children,  grandchildren and great-grandchildren that surrounded them.    Kate Barrow, who also sang today at the funeral,  noticed something neat as the family was filing out right before the service began.   (The relatives filled five pews on both sides of the aisle.)   About halfway through their exodus,  Kate leaned over to me and said “just look at that amazing family-  you see every color of the rainbow there.”   And she was right about that.  The Becketts are about as color blind a family as you could possibly find, which is part of what makes them so extra special.   And I don’t know how commonplace it was 55 years ago for whites and Hispanics to marry;  I’m sure it was not as uncommon as marriage between blacks and whites,  but I suspect it was somewhat rare.   But true love has a way of not caring too much about such matters.

The funeral was beautiful.  Pastor Jeff presided-  Pastor Kathy preached-  Kate sang a spine-tingling rendition of “Amazing Grace” that left the congregation hushed and moved-  She and I joined together on “Softly and Tenderly”- but what was especially poignant today was the joint eulogy offered by three of Josie’s grandchildren.   They spoke with such a sincere sense of admiration and gratitude, and I am sure that Josie was looking down from someplace,  so proud of these young people and all the rest of her family.

One thing which Pastor Kathy mentioned in her sermon was that Josie was a big big fan of Elvis Presley – and last night at the visitation,  the song which played in the background of the video slide show of Josie’s life was “Love Me Tender.”  And either Pastor Kathy or perhaps one of the grandchildren mentioned as well that one of their favorite memories of Josie is of when she would sit in a rocking chair with a great grandchild on her lap,  softly singing them to sleep with “Jesus Loves Me.”   So in honor of Josie,  the piano music I played during communion distribution ended with one verse of “Jesus Loves Me” leading right into one verse of “Love Me Tender.”    Needless to say,  it’s not often that I turn to the musical legacy of Elvis when I’m making music at Holy Communion,  but this seemed like the right thing to do – and I’m glad I did it.   And frankly,  I played it so quietly and delicately that I suspect that it flew right over the heads of most of the people there.   But I hope that at least a few of Josie’s family and closest friends caught it and appreciated the tribute I was trying to make to one of the tenderest people I’ve ever known.

pictured above:  the aforementioned grandchildren giving their eulogy.