Funeral Manuscript for Dorothy Stotts, July 13, 2019

This past Saturday I presided over the funeral for Dorothy Stotts at Lampe Funeral Home here in Lake City.  Dorothy was a wonderful lady of 105 years, such a long and amazing life.  Please pray for her family and friends who will miss her until they are reunited in our Father's House.  God bless and comfort them all.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy

Order of Service – Funeral for Dorothy Stotts - July 13, 2019

Prelude: 

Call to Worship:
Heavenly Father, You have assured us that through Your Son all shall have eternal life. Trusting in Your faithfulness and mercy, we await that glory filled day when You raise us all to life in triumph and we shall stand before Your throne. Standing there with all Your creation made new in Christ Jesus, basking in the glory of Your eternal Heavenly Kingdom. 

Opening Prayer:
Dear Lord, we acknowledge Your presence here and come before Your throne this afternoon as friends and family of Dorothy Katherine Stotts. We are here because we loved her, and now miss her, and we want to cherish our memories of her, we want to honor her life, to honor her, and to support one another as we grieve her passing – a passing from life here with us to everlasting life there with you O Lord.

God, thank you for Dorothy, You formed her, you knew her, you walked with her through 105 years, and even now we have confidence that she is in your presence.
We thank you that you are a God of mercy, who promises to comfort us, particularly when we lose our loved ones, and so in these moments now, and in the weeks and months ahead, please bring comfort and mercy to us as we remember, and share fondly all that  Dorothy was to us.

In the mighty and holy name of Jesus, we pray.
Amen.

Special Music:

Scripture Readings:
Let us hear now a Reading from the Old Testament:
Psalm 23  King James Version (KJV)
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let us hear now a Reading from the New Testament:
1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

Prayer:
Let us pray.
Dear Father of all mercies and God of all consolation, you pursue us with untiring love and dispel the shadow of death with the bright dawn of life. Give courage to this family in their loss and sorrow. Be their refuge and strength, O Lord, reassure them of your continuing love and lift them from the depths of grief into the peace and light of your presence. 

Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by dying has destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life. Your Holy Spirit, our comforter, speaks for us in groans too deep for words. Come alongside your people, remind them of your eternal presence and give them your comfort and strength. Amen

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church 
Today I'm going to do something a little different with my message.  I am going to start off with a biography written for Dorothy by her daughter-in-law Linda.  Linda in her writing has touched on so much of Dorothy's life.

Dorothy Katherine Mapel, middle daughter of Thomas Layton Mapel and Eva (Gregg) Mapel was born April 14, 1914, at home in Lake Creek township.  She spent her growing up years playing with her sisters, Hazel and Ruth, doing farm chores, helping her mother around the house and in the garden, and riding their pony down the road to country school.  The family moved into Rockwell City during the time the girls attended high school.  Dorothy graduated in 1932, after taking Normal Training.  She accepted a position teaching country school in Lake Creek #5, down the road from her home.  Her sisters, likewise, took up positions in neighboring schools.

On April 30, 1939, Dorothy married Merle Stotts (an electrician), in the St. Francis rectory.  They lived in Rockwell City before moving to a small home in Sherwood (the little red house is still standing).  For four years, Dorothy ran the small grocery store out of the home and pumped gas.  The couple then moved to a farm northeast of Yetter, where they raised crops, milked a Brown Swiss dairy herd, raised hogs and chickens, and had a large garden.  Dorothy was active in all aspects of farming.  She taught Sunday school at the Presbyterian Church in Lytton.  They had three boys.  Michael was born in 1945, followed by Steven and David (both dying in infancy).

On January 21, 1968, Merle suddenly passed away.  Mike and Dorothy got the crop in that year, after which Dorothy made the decision to move into Lake City.  She took employment as a clerk at Ryan's Super Value for several years.  After living in several apartments, she purchased a small home on South Woodlawn.  She loved spending time with her grandchildren, Jennifer and Jason, and continued to garden on a smaller scale, adding beautiful flowers around her home.  She helped Mike and Linda during farming season, bringing out meals, helping them change locations, and watching the grand-kids on occasion.  She became a member of the Lake City Union Church.

About this time, her interest in painting bloomed.  She took classes from local artist Eileen Blaskovich, as well as other area classes and seminars offered.  She joined china painting clubs in Carroll and Fort Dodge.  Her skills grew as she did numerous oil paintings, beautiful porcelain plates, and dolls.  Her doll collection numbered over 50.  A small kiln was added to her workshop in the basement.

Dorothy also loved to bake, keeping the neighborhood kids supplied with fresh cookies! She also loved playing cards, joining several clubs.  Through friends Ruth and Sam Finley, she met Sam's brother Floyd.  They spent time together doing many social activities, including dancing.  Their companionship lasted until Floyd's passing.

After a fall, she entered Shady Oaks in the fall of 2014.  There she enjoyed the companionship of other residents and participated in the activities offered.  Church remained an important aspect of her life, attending whatever service was being offered.  Her health started to decline this past year.  On July 4, she said a final goodbye to this life.

She is survived by her son Michael (Linda) Stotts, grandchildren Jennifer Holloway (Derek Manchester) and Jason (Jecque) Stotts, great grandchildren Amanda, Amber, and Allison Holloway, and Jack and Dane Stotts.

Thank you, Linda, for preparing these memories to be shared today.

When I asked Mike and Linda to describe Dorothy to me they immediately answered that she was nice, that she never said a bad word about anyone, Mike never remembers her really being mad, she never complained, she wasn't one to ask for help, she was always active, she never smoked or drank, and her only vice was that she liked to go to the Beauty Shop regularly.  Oh, and they mentioned that she really loved her shoes, Mike said she had a least 90 pairs of shoes in her closet.

They told me how she'd overcome so much adversity in her life.  Her arm was caught in a wringer washer when she was a child and the doctor wanted to amputate the arm.  Dorothy's father Thomas wouldn't allow it, he took her to Chicago for treatment and there they were able to save her arm.  She lost one of her kidneys at an early age and went over 90 years with just one functioning kidney. Dorothy endured not once but twice the most heartbreaking event a parent can face, the loss of a child, her two sons Steven and David both dying as infants. She next lost her husband at an all too young of an age and then in that very same year, her mother passed as well.  Finally, in that last year of farming after Merle's death, Dorothy lost part of a finger in a stock chopper.

Still, through it all, she kept going and didn't complain.  She simply moved into Lake City and found new lines of employment and involvement. Dorothy just kept living and enjoying her life, as Linda said she met Floyd Finley and they shared many years of friendship.  She maintained her independence and kept driving well into her 90's.

Finally, though the time came that Dorothy had to move into Shady Oaks.  Mike and Linda said that they discovered that Dorothy would often forget to turn the timer on when baking cookies and only remember that she had something in the oven when the smoke detector would go off.  They wondered how many batches of cookies she burned.  She'd just dump the burned ones and start over again with another batch. Dorothy celebrated her 100th birthday at Shady Oaks shortly after moving in; and I have to say that having to move into a nursing home at nearly 100 isn't anything to be ashamed of, in fact, that in and of itself is quite remarkable.

There are so many, many stories that one can accumulate in 105 years of life on this earth, but I am going to let the rest of them be told by each of you during the time of gathering right after this service.

In closing, Dorthy was as mentioned, always devoted to her faith and regularly attended worship even after moving to Shady Oaks.  She had an unwavering faith in her Lord and a firm understanding of the importance of worshiping together.

Hebrews 10:19-25 (NIV)
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 

Hebrews 12:1-3  New International Version (NIV)
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Dorothy endured hardship, loss, and trails, but she never lost her faith nor her witness.  Ours is a great and wonderful God, a God who loves us and watches over us our whole life-long.  Let us, like Dorothy, never lose heart, let us always remember to smile and gently laugh, even while the world throws it's worst upon us... for we know that beyond all that we see and endure here, that our Lord and our Savior loves us.  And knowing that God loves us we are called to show, and express our love for Him and His children.

On July 4th, 2019, Dorothy Stotts was born anew into the Kingdom of Heaven and looked not only into the face of her husband Merle, and the faces of her two dear young boys Steven and David, along with the faces of all of her so many other loved ones that have gone on before her, but she also and most importantly looked upon the very face of God the Father Himself...  Praise be to God... 

Thank you, dear Lord, for giving us Dorothy to know and to love on this earthly journey.  Though we shall always miss her, we know that her gentle smile, today lights the very streets of Heaven, and its memory shall long be lit in the hearts and minds of those who loved her so very, very much.  Praise be to God.  

Special Music:

Final Instructions and Closing Prayer:
The family wishes for you all to join them in further celebration of Dorothy's life and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by gathering with them for snack bars and beverages in the room adjacent here at Lampe's.  The family will have a private interment at a later time.  Please allow this closing prayer to serve also as the blessing for the refreshments.  

Let us please pray:
O God, our Strength, and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.

We trust you. We love you. We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.

With confidence, we now entrust Dorothy to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own, enfold her in your everlasting arms, hold her for she is your child.
Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.
Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Benediction:

Lampe Funeral Home

May 18, 2019 - Funeral for James L. Bruce - God Bless Your Soul Our Friend.

This past Saturday was a very difficult and busy day for all of us here at Woodlawn.  In the morning we held the funeral for Jim Bruce and then in the afternoon, we buried Delores Krause.  Holding two funerals in the same day is not something that I wish to repeat anytime soon, it was a very physically and much more so an emotionally draining day. Our prayers go out for both of the families and I will post Delores manuscript in a separate blog post.

Jim Bruce was a very dear friend and though he and I didn't necessarily see eye to eye on many topics of our day, he was a man whom I both respected and loved.  He and I loved to trade jabs back and forth and I will miss my friend until I'm able to see him again in our Father's House.

In honor of Jim's capacity as "City Historian", I've scattered among the manuscript photographs of Lake City's past along with photos of the interior of Woodlawn Christian Church.  He did love this old Church so very much.

God's speed to you James!

In Christ,
Roy

Windows in Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA

Order of Service – Funeral for James Bruce 5/18/19

Jim Bruce, working the sound system during worship at Woodlawn Christian Church

Prelude:  

Procession: 

Call to Worship:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. 
(2nd Corinthians 1:3-5)

Greeting:
We have come together this morning to praise God for the life of James LeRoy Bruce; to mourn our loss with one another, to console each other in our moment of grief; to celebrate Jim's life and all that he meant to all that loved him; to celebrate God's love for Jim, and His love for each of us; And to commend Jim to God's everlasting love and care.

Hymn: Be Thou My Vision # 595

Opening Prayer:
Father of all mercies and God of all consolation,
you pursue us with untiring love
and dispel the shadow of death
with the bright dawn of life.
Give courage to all these who gather today in their loss and sorrow.
Be their refuge and strength, O Lord,
reassure them of Your continuing love
and lift them from the depths of their grief
into the peace and light of Your presence.
Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
by dying has destroyed our death,
and by rising, restored our life.
Your Holy Spirit, our comforter,
speaks for us in groans too deep for words.
Come alongside Your people,
remind them of Your eternal presence
and give them Your comfort and strength.  Amen.

Hymn: “Are Ye Able,” Said the Master #621

Reading from the Old Testament:
Psalm 145:8-19
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.

Reading from the New Testament:
Matthew 5:1-12  (NIV)
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad,because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Old White Church - Woodlawn Christian Church

Hymn:    How Great Thou Art # 33

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church
In the early morning hour of 6 o'clock on May 5th, James LeRoy Bruce left behind the world in which we reside and stepped onto the very streets of Heaven.  Jim's friend Gary Dooley was there to bless him and wave one final farewell as Jim crossed that threshold of bodily death to become one again with the Father.  Jim loved his Lord and we all must rejoice that Jim is no longer suffering and has truly and genuinely become a new creation today in the Kingdom of God.  Praise be to God!

Jim was born January 22, 1936, at the McCrary Hospital right here in Lake City, Iowa, this little town that he loved so deeply and about which he knew so very, very much.  His father was Roy Bruce and his mother Ruth Madden Bruce.  Jim spent most of his childhood growing up in the little grey house that still sits just kitty-corner from the church.  He was baptized by Reverend Shepard here in this baptistery on April 21, 1946, at the tender age of only ten years. Growing up Jim worked at various businesses here in Lake City, the Lake City Graphic, Osborn's Cafe, Bandy Studio, the Coast to Coast Store, and for Woodlawn Christian Church, serving as the Church Secretary.

Jim attended school here in Lake City from Kindergarten to graduating from High School in 1954.  Upon graduation Jim then attended and received a Bachelors Degree in Education from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, IA, graduating in 1958.  Jim served in the US Army after college during 1958 and 1959 where he worked as a Chaplain's Assistant.  After being honorably discharged from the Army Jim remained in the Army Reserve for a number of years.  After completing his time as active service military, Jim used his Teaching degree to teach English in both Albert City, IA and Cherokee, IA.

Jim's next move was all the way to Chicago where he first worked for Morton West High School, in Berwyn, Illinois, then he attended Indiana University working towards his Master Degree in Education, graduating in 1966.  While going to school at Indiana University, Jim also worked for the National Congress of Parents & Teachers, better known as the PTA.  

Some years later Jim felt a special calling to join the medical profession and he received his RN degree from Northwestern in Chicago, graduating in 1983.  His first nursing assignments were at Gary Methodist Hospital and Illinois Masonic Hospital.  He next worked as a nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and was involved in programs at the forefront of AIDS research and care.  Jim remained at Northwestern Memorial Hospital until his retirement.  Even after his formal retirement, Jim continued to follow the Nursing profession and kept his Nursing Insurance Policy active right up to the time of his death.  Most if not all of Jim's nursing career revolved around AIDS research and caring for AIDS patients.  Jim relayed to me several times how he was involved in the first studies that started to slow down the onset and progression of AIDS.  He was there as the disease went from being a death sentence to finally something that through the use of drug-cocktails could be managed for a lifetime.  Jim kept in contact with and maintained some involvement with the ongoing research at Northwestern until the very end of his life.

Almost exactly twelve years ago Jim decided to retire and move back home to Lake City.  Transferring his Church membership back to Woodlawn on June 3, 2007.  He purchased a home and became active with Historic Central School, here in Lake City.  Jim had attended school at Central as a child and after returning home he could be found right there most afternoons, working away, in what had once been one of his classrooms, digging through old news articles and working on his computer.  As part of his duties at Central School he wrote for many years the “Years Ago” column for the Graphic, in recent years he began sharing these duties with Gary Dooley.  Growing up Jim had worked for the Graphic here in Lake City helping out his mother Ruth who worked there for many, many years.  My understanding is that she once retired and the paper convinced her to come out of retirement and to come back to work because they couldn't find anyone to replace her.  Jim loved to comb through those old newspapers and hunt through the history that they retained.  I have long suspected that a part of Jim's devotion to those old Graphic articles was the memory of his mother writing and proof-reading them so long ago.

Jim was also very involved with the Cottonwood Preservation Committee sitting on the board and serving as the Treasurer, as such he devoting many hours of his time. The Cottonwood Committee was very appreciative of Jim's involvement and activity.  He was a very respected and much-loved part of their organization. 

Shirley Deuel Miller, the Chairperson of the Cottonwood Cemetery Preservation Assn., sent to me the following:

James LeRoy Bruce 1-22-1936 to 5-5-2019: 
Jim joined the Cottonwood Cemetery Preservation Association as treasurer in October 2012, just a few months after our official inception. He was a devoted and integral part of the board not only because of his accounting skills but also as a wonderful community historian. Jim’s love of Cottonwood Cemetery was due to the large number of family members interred there. 

One was his namesake, Civil War Veteran James W Bruce 1846-1916, whom we featured in a Cemetery Walk by a Civil War re-enactor. He was a kind and thoughtful person, blessed with a detailed, and near photographic memory that served him well throughout his years. Whenever we had an event or activity planned, he was right in the midst of it. He will be greatly missed! Rest in peace our dear friend.

As Shirley mentioned, Jim's great-grandfather and namesake James W. Bruce is buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery and was one of those figures that was highlighted during their re-enactments at the Cemetery.  James W. Bruce served in the Union Army and was wounded during the Civil War, shot through the chest with the bullet just missing his spine. Had I known this story before Jim's passing I would have teased him that he owed his life to a Confederate's poor aim... but I'll just have to hold onto that bit of ribbing until I see Jim again in Heaven. There is more information about Jim's great-grandfather James among the items in Fellowship Hall.  Please feel free to take a look during the luncheon following the interment. 

James W. Bruce - Civil War Veteran and Lake City Merchant

In addition to serving Central School and Cottonwood Cemetery, Jim also was a member of the Iowa Museum Association and attended their meetings and conferences.  He was proud of his family, local community, and State history and loved to explore and share the knowledge that he had gained.  We all mourn the loss of so much knowledge of and such dedication to our past.

Jim was a lifelong member of the Disciples of Christ Church, growing up here at Woodlawn and while away he was always involved with a DOC church somewhere.  While living in Chicago, he was a very active member of Austin Blvd Christian Church in Oak Park, and he told stories about them all of the time.  He served on their Church Council as Treasurer, and as an Elder, he was also at one time their Property Chairperson.

Jim was very involved with Woodlawn during his youth, among the items displayed for his visitation is a Bible given to him by the Reverend Howard Prather in 1958 for all the things Jim had done for Woodlawn.  Jim was a close friend with the Prather family and I believe he helped babysit their children.  Jim also told stories of playing in the attic of the Parsonage with the minister's children, I apologize that I don't know which minister he was talking about but perhaps if you ask members of the congregation one of them will recall.

When I would go out to visit Vera Mae Doty prior to her passing at Shady Oaks, I would always take Jim along.  Vera couldn't remember who I was but she remembered very well the CYF outings that she and Herb took Jim and the other youth from the church on back so many, many years ago.  It was a blessing to see her eyes light up as she and Jim talked about things they'd done for the Church so long ago.  Jim in those visits was certainly a blessing to Vera Mae and he was so very fond of both Vera and Herb.

Jim was among so many other things... very interested in electricity and electronics, and as a youth, he was always happy to help with wiring here in the Church building.  Some of Jim's handiwork from those days still persists here in this old building.

After returning home to Woodlawn Christian Church, Jim was at one time or another the Property Chairperson, the Church Council Secretary, for many years the Treasurer, and for a time volunteered as the Church Office Secretary.  Jim loved this old church and for many, many years he was the cook for the Sunday Evening Service.  For many years he not only did all the cooking for that gathering but he provided all of the food at his own personal expense.  It was to him a ministry.  He loved to cook and took great pride in serving up a meal for a group as economically as he could possibly do so.  After hearing of Jim's passing Kim Anderson, another one of our wonderful cooking soul's here at Woodlawn, stated: “well, Jim's in Heaven now showing Jesus how he could have fed 6,000 with those loaves and fish.”

Jim loved to serve... though he sometimes also loved to grumble about it... you could always tell though... he loved doing it.  There are few aspects of this Church where Jim wasn't involved at some point or in some way.  Jim was the Chair of the Search Committee that brought me here to Lake City.  He was the first soul that I met upon arriving in town to meet with the Search Committee.  You may not know this, but it was entirely Jim's fault that we had the tornado strike Lake City back in 2015.  You see, one of the first questions my wife asked during our meeting with the search committee was if there were ever tornadoes here in Lake City.  Jim did that little nod of the head and handwave that he so often did... and stated that there hadn't been a tornado in Lake City for fifty years... I was here for approximately two weeks... and that fifty-year hiatus came to an end... all thanks to Jim and his reassurance to my wife Gail.

I spent many hours since coming to Lake City in April of 2015, sitting and visiting with Jim, helping him with Sunday evening meals or clean up in the Church Kitchen.  He and I traveled together to Indianapolis for the Disciples of Christ General Assembly in 2017 and we had many great conversations on that journey.  We also spent about eleven hours in the Emergency Room after Jim tripped and fell giving himself a bloody nose.  In fact, we were in the ER twice on that trip due to that fall.  

Often when I was preparing for a funeral, I'd go and visit with Jim down at Central School and he would fill me in on the person's history and background.  There were very few times when Jim wasn't able to tell me about the individual, their parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents, and who their fifth cousins twice removed on their mother's side were... and what those cousins did back in the day.  Jim knew it all, even though he'd been gone for many years he kept up on the Lake City happenings by reading the local paper and by visiting with his mother Ruth.  He was very much a momma's boy, he was an only child and it was always my understanding that he was the apple of his mother's eye and that he and she were very close.

During High School, Jim had a group of girls that were his closest friends and he often jokingly referred to them as his 'Harem'.  Down in Fellowship Hall, there is a photo or two of Jim with his 'Harem' and I'm sure that at least some of them are here today and perhaps they can share more stories with you during the luncheon after the service.  There are far, far, far too many stories about Jim to share... far more than I could ever relay from the pulpit this morning.  All of us knew James... I always called him James and he always got a chuckle out of that... we all knew James and we all loved him.  Often, we loved him in spite of his cantankerous, and slightly eccentric ways... or maybe we actually loved him because of his cantankerous old eccentric soul.  It's really hard to say...

Roxy Crandall can tell you endless stories, and nobody can tell a story like Roxy, stories about Jim working the sound system during weddings. For years Jim ran the sound system and Roxy was for many years the wedding coordinator so she and Jim worked together many times... and it was no secret that Jim hated weddings.  He would make faces and comments to Roxy during the events and leave poor Roxy in stitches with his dry commentary.  Roxy told me that she'll always remember and always miss those days with Jim.

At the very end of Jim's life, his cousin Neal Miller and Neal's wife Virginia were, and still are, absolute God sends for Jim.  They took him to the hospital in Westlaco and fought hard to get him back home to Lake City.  It wasn't an easy task at all... and honestly, if it hadn't been for the efforts of Neal, Virginia, Gary Dooley, and finally but not the least Brooke Minnehan up at Stewart Memorial, Jim probably wouldn't have been granted his final wish, his desire to be back home to die.  I will always believe that Jim's stubborn soul held on long enough to make sure he was back in Lake City, back home, to go back home to Heaven.  On that early morning on May 5th, which I must interject that one of the most surprising things to those of us who knew and loved Jim, was that he passed in the early morning... we all knew that Jim never did anything before about 11 am and preferably afternoon... But seriously, that morning, was a lot like this morning.  It was a beautiful morning a nearly perfect morning, though we knew then and we knew now that there was rain ahead... at that moment when God called Jim home to heaven, it was about as perfect a day as they come on this side of God's heavenly home.  I'd like to think that on that perfect Sunday morning, James sat one last time in the pews of Woodlawn Christian Church and then took the hand of an Angel and went home to see our Lord and of course his mother Ruth who I'm certain has longed to see her darling little boy.

We all miss you James, perhaps those last few winters that you spent down in Texas... trying to get the chill of Iowa out of your bones... perhaps those months with you away helped to teach us here how to get by without you and your steadying hand.  God bless you, Jim...

Ecclesiastes 3   New International Version (NIV)
A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

Today... is the time for us all to say good-bye to James LeRoy Bruce, we will miss you Jim but we take reassurance in the knowledge that today you are in the very presence of our Lord Jesus Christ... by your faith in Him and your acceptance of Him... He has made you pure and whole... Praise God for His Mercy, Grace, and Love.

The old Fountain in the Lake City Square

Let us please pray:
Abba, Father... we thank you for the life of Jim Bruce, our friend, and fellow Christian.  Lord we know that Jim was not a perfect man, none of us are, we know that Jim did not live a perfect life, none of us has or ever will... we all fall far, far short of the glory of God.  We thank you, God, for the love, grace, and reconciliation that is ours through Jesus Christ the Messiah, and the Savior.  Thank you for leading Jim to Jesus at the tender age of ten years old.  Lord, thank you for all the years of service that Jim gave to You and to serving Your will.  Lord let us each strive to serve you as Jim strove to serve you, here in this place and far beyond.

All of this we pray to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Amen.

Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA - The Old White Church that burned down

Hymn: To God Be the Glory # 72

Closing Prayer:
Following the interment at Cottonwood Cemetery, the family invites you all to join them in further celebration of Jim's life and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by gathering with them for lunch in the Church's fellowship hall. For those who do not wish to attend the graveside service, please feel free to remain behind and wait here at the Church.  Let us please allow this prayer to serve as grace for our meal.

Let us pray:
O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given, but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.

We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.

With confidence, we now entrust Jim to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own, enfold him in your everlasting arms, hold him for he is your beloved child.

Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.

Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Benediction:

Postlude: 

Committal Service – James Bruce

Selfishly, we as mortals wish to hold on to Jim. It brings great pain to let him go. Living in the resurrection and hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the trust of a loving God and in the promise of eternal life, we now commit his body to its place of rest. We will continue to mourn Jim, but now his smile will warm the kingdom of God. We will continue to love Jim, but God will now take care of him. We will continue to carry Jim in our thoughts, but he will be kept safe in God's hands. Receive him in the arms of your mercy, O God, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of all your saints.

Psalm 139: 1-10
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
    Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.

Believing in the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now entrust Jim to the care of Almighty God and we ask Our Father to open the doors to his mansion and lead Jim to the room made ready just for him. As we now commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we commend his spirit to its new home. Rest eternal grant him; and let light perpetual shine upon him.

God has blessed and enriched our lives in giving us Jim to know and love here on this earth. Though our time together was not nearly enough, in committing his body to the earth, we give over to God the care of his spirit, and we acknowledge that we will one day reunite with him in God's Kingdom. The Lord bless him and keep him; the Lord make his face shine upon him and be gracious to him; the Lord look upon him with favor and give him peace.

Let us now pray together the prayer that our Lord and Savior taught us to pray...

Benediction:
May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His strong arms encircle you and uphold you in your hour of grief.  God's peace and strength to you all.
Amen

Military Ceremony, presentation of the flag:

Dismissal:
This concludes our graveside service.  Thank you all for coming.

Woodlawn Christian Church (DOC & ABC), Lake City, IA

"Life Ever-After" - Sermon from Thursday Night Service - February 28, 2019 "1st Corinthians 15:51-58

Here in these words in 1st Corinthians, Paul addresses the point that beyond the consideration of 'Substitutional Sacrifice', Christ's death and resurrection also addresses the Hebrew beliefs on death and what lies beyond our earthly passing.  Here, Christ has shattered any idea that there is nothing beyond our earthly life, rather He proves for us that there is life ever after.

During the sermon, I told the story of my Aunt Carol's 'Near-Death-Experience'.  Aunt Carol had a very traumatic event in her life that forever changed her and left her with no fear of death and the full knowledge that there is more for us beyond and after our time here in this world.  It also left her aching to be reunited with one so very dear to her in this world, her son David (Davey).  I, unfortunately, can relate to this portion of her story as I too long to be reunited with a son who waits for me beyond this world.  Gail and I lost a son Wyatt Christian Karlen, and I know the emptiness that my Aunt Carol carried with her for so many, many years.

Take a listen to the sermon and hear Carol's moving story... by the way this sermon was given on the same day as Carol's funeral.  I traveled back home to Reliance, South Dakota to help in the performance of Carol's funeral and then rushed back in order to preach that evening in Lake City.  It was a very quick trip home and but well worth the effort, fatigue, and discomfort.

God bless you Aunt Carol and I look forward to seeing you again someday!

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace,
Roy

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 Revised Standard Version (RSV)
51 Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.


58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

March Newsletter Article & More Reflections

I've attached below my Newsletter Article for the March Newsletter.  We've had a very interesting last couple of months with our weather and I'm certain we are all praying that it will just stop SNOWING... and being COLD!  As we look at the week ahead it doesn't look like we're going to have any warm weather at all and there appears to again be a chance for snow and ice by weeks end.

But just as we know that spring is right around the corner, we know that this week, this Wednesday, the Lenten season kicks off and the hope, grace, and resurrection of our Lord is right around the corner.  Praise be to God!

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace,
Roy

Pastor's Ponderings

If you aren't getting tired of winter yet, well... you're definitely in the minority here in the Midwest. It has been a winter to remember thus far with far too much snow and cold for most of our liking. We've had a number of cancellations of the Thursday night service, Sunday night service, and unfortunately Sunday morning as well. As I type this it's still snowing outside and hopefully, it will stop sometime this afternoon so we can clean the walks again as far as total snowfall, this one looks to be one of our largest of the season. Plus, they're predicting more snow for the weekend... you've gotta love the Midwest in winter. I know we've thanked Clyde before for his efforts on snow removal but we sure better keep lifting him up because he's a very vital part of our ability to function here after each snow storm. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Clyde!

The Concert Committee has set the date for the Concert as July 27th starting at 5:30 pm and plans are under-work to make this our best year yet. There will be a few changes and we're bouncing around some new ideas. At this writing we have booked two acts already, the 'Headliner' will be Jill Miller who performed for us last year as our second act. This year she will bring her entire band and will put on a great show. Everyone loved her last year when she performed an acoustic set and we're excited to hear her with her full band! Our second act will be Lisa Larsen a/k/a as 'High Heel', Lisa has been performing for nearly 30 years and is mostly known in the secular scene but she's recently taken on a more Christian focused performance. She will be bringing an unknown number of band members with her as she told me she has several friends and family members in the industry that want to come with her just to do our Concert. Lisa has a great deal of energy and I think you're all going to love her, she has a great testimony about her faith and she promised to share it with us all. Lisa has a wonderful voice and in fact, I had barely gotten the video of her singing started when Kathy Holm exclaimed: “she's good, hire her!” If Kathy says she's good well that says it all in my opinion! As I type this we're still working on booking an opening act but, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the opening act either. Please start telling everyone to make plans to come to this year's “Son Celebration” on July 27th right here at Woodlawn!

As I've been working on this article, I have received notice that Roxy Crandall has fallen again and unfortunately, she has now broken both bones in her lower leg. To make matters worse, this is the opposite leg from the bone she broke earlier in the year. Scott and Roxy are as I type headed to Des Moines where Roxy will be having surgery. As you all know this will take a long time for her to heal and we need to make/keep Roxy as a regular part of our daily prayers.

Tomorrow will be our February Soup Supper and I want to thank Kim Anderson for all her hard work on this event. I also want to thank all those who've pitched in and helped with all the other aspects of this important fundraiser. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Hopefully, the weather won't be a hindrance and we will have had a great turnout.
March 6th begins the 'Lent' season for us in 2019 and that evening we will have our Annual Ash Wednesday Service at 7 pm. We're getting a late start on the Easter Season this year but that's okay, maybe that will ensure that we'll have better weather for the Cross Raising and the Easter Egg Hunt... maybe, it will even be warm enough to have Sunrise Service out by the Cross this year! Please pray for that! Make plans to come and kick off the Lent season by attending the Ash Wednesday Service.

Lent begins, of course, the most Holy time of our Christian year and there can be no better time to implement a new practice of prayer or a daily time for Bible reading or reading a devotional. Think about adding something new to your daily faith journey!

As always... be a blessing to someone today!


In Christ, Pastor Roy

Jan 6, 2019 - Another look at Colossians 3:1-17, more about being a community

Last week on Sunday I preached over the verses found in Colossians 3:1-17, this week we went back and took yet another look at this passage. In the prior week the linchpin of the sermon was about the children... this week I considered us all.  We as Christians are called to be in community with one another, the very concept of the communion table and it's import for us as Christ followers should be sufficient to establish this facet of our faith.  I have referenced a number of scripture verses that speak to our needing to be in community, there are more verses that can be considered... many, many more.

One of the more conspicuous of these verses is to be found in: Proverbs 27:17 - "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another"  We literally need each other in order to remain... and more importantly to grow in our faith relationship with Christ.  Each of us brings a unique set of life experiences, observations, and yes bias to the scripture.  All of us have an innate tendency to view Christ in a different light.  In the sermon, I mention the influence that our dear late friend Evelyn Johnson has had on me.  I personally am inclined to view Christ as the Shepherd who walks with His sheep, going alongside each of us in this life's journey.  Evelyn, God bless her, reminded me (and continues to remind me) to keep Christ on His Throne... and I, in turn, reminded her to bring Christ down and walk with Him.  Literally, we needed each other in order to have a more full and meaningful experience with Christ.

All of us with our various views, ideas, experiences, and knowledge need to come together... as the body of Christ in order that all of us might have a fuller and more complete understanding of our Saving Lord.  We are the body of Christ, let us dwell in community...

Be a blessing to someone today! (bring them into the community)

In His Glory,
Roy

.

Colossians 3:1-17 New Century Version (NCV)
Your New Life in Christ
3 Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. 3 Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Christ is your[a] life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.

5 So put all evil things out of your life: sexual sinning, doing evil, letting evil thoughts control you, wanting things that are evil, and greed. This is really serving a false god. 6 These things make God angry.[b] 7 In your past, evil life you also did these things.

8 But now also put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and using evil words when you talk. 9 Do not lie to each other. You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before. 10 You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you. This new life brings you the true knowledge of God. 11 In the new life there is no difference between Greeks and Jews, those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised, or people who are foreigners, or Scythians.[c] There is no difference between slaves and free people. But Christ is in all believers, and Christ is all that is important.

12 God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. 14 Even more than all this, clothe yourself in love. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body[d] to have peace. Always be thankful. 16 Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.

Footnotes:
3:4 your Some Greek copies read “our.”
3:6 These . . . angry Some Greek copies continue, “against the people who do not obey God.”
3:11 Scythians The Scythians were known as very wild and cruel people.
3:15 body The spiritual body of Christ, meaning the church or his people.

Hebrews 10:24-25 English Standard Version (ESV)
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Galatians 6:2 English Standard Version (ESV)
2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Acts 2:42 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Value of a Friend
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Romans 12:3-13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.[a] 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

1 Corinthians 12:25-27 English Standard Version (ESV)
25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

1 John 1:7 English Standard Version (ESV)
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Proverbs 17:17 New Century Version (NCV)
17 A friend loves you all the time,
    and a brother helps in time of trouble.

1 Corinthians 1:10 New Century Version (NCV)
Problems in the Church
10 I beg you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree with each other and not be split into groups. I beg that you be completely joined together by having the same kind of thinking and the same purpose.

1 Peter 4:8-11 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 4:2-6 English Standard Version (ESV)
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Proverbs 27:17 English Standard Version (ESV)
17 Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another

Galatians 6:10 English Standard Version (ESV)
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Mark 10:45 English Standard Version (ESV)
45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”