On our communion table is an altar cloth done by one of the women in our church. She passed away last week at the age of ninety-six. We didn’t always agree on every aspect of life, or even on the sermons I preached. But we did agree on being in church every Sunday and worshiping together.

I will miss looking out at the congregation and not seeing her in that one specific spot. I will miss her comments at the door about what I had just preached. I will miss her honesty.

Let us be truthful as men in the church. Much of our faith journey has been blazed by the women who have gone before. The mothers of faith both named and unnamed. The judges, missionaries, prophets, martyrs, and saints. We walk in a great company of women who have held our hands as we weep, lifted us up as we struggle to stand firm, that have taught us to resist evil with perseverance, wisdom and healing.

Thank you women for showing us the way. You who have kept and cradled the love of our Savior. Thank you for your service and I look forward to that day when I stand with all persons of faith, as we shout praises in the morning, as we rejoice with our Lord!

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