February 20, 2010
1.
We were all worried.
It was a Saturday night, about this time of year.
The youth of Zion had prepared a spaghetti dinner.
The dinner was to begin at 6 o’clock.
It was now 6:10 and nobody had come.
Buckets of spaghetti and meatballs were ready to be served,
but no one sat at the tables.
Was Zion going to fail our youth this night?
At 6:15 a white Ford Taurus rolled into the parking lot.
Steve Vesce was looking out the window.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to us and announced,
“Its official, Norm and Ida have arrived.”
I kid you not.
Soon after Norm and Ida arrived, car after car rolled into the parking lot.
Fields Hall filled up.
And we were on our way to another successful spaghetti dinner.
When Norm and Ida arrived,
it was official,
the rest of the congregation could now follow.
2.
Ida Conrad was not an inactive member of Zion.
Ida Conrad was not a Christmas and Easter member of Zion.
In fact Ida Conrad was not even an active member of Zion.
She was more.
Ida Conrad was an official member of Zion.
Ida wasn’t vocal about her faith.
We struggled this morning to choose lessons and hymns because Ida never talked about favorite Bible verses or favorite hymns.
Yet as quiet and unassuming as she was, Ida held authority.
She didn’t wear her religion on her sleeve,
still she commanded respect.
Surely some of this official status was granted through Norm.
Norm was an imposing figure at Zion.
And Ida belonged to Norm.
In fact you hardly ever mentioned one without the other.
But Ida was not an official member only through Norm.
In recent years I suppose some of Ida’s official status was granted by her age.
One can’t help but bestow honor among one who lives beyond 100 years of age.
But here too Ida was not an official member only because of her age.
Ida Conrad was an official member of Zion Lutheran Church because of her faith manifested through her presence in the life of this congregation.
3.
Ida entered the hospital on January 18th.
I remember the exact date because it was the Monday before our annual meeting.
I saw Ida in the hospital on Tuesday.
She was agitated, confused, and obsessed over her dinner tray.
I gently try to calm Ida.
But there was no calming her.
I became upset for I had never seen Ida is this state.
But then in the midst of this confusion,
Ida looked at me and in a moment of perfect clarity said,
“Pastor, the annual meeting is Sunday. I’ll be there. I never miss the annual meeting.”
In this crisis I hadn’t thought of bringing the annual report to the hospital,
but something tells me that if I had
Ida would have read it.
Ida was an official member of this church.
While some choose not to get involved in our politics,
while some choose to blow off the business of this church;
Ida recognized their importance.
Even in her compromised state,
Ida had not forgotten the importance of conducting Zion’s business,
for the good health of this congregation.
4.
Ida’s official status was also revealed through her presence in worship.
Did Ida ever miss a Sunday?
Ida stood out because her seat in the choir loft was at the edge of the balcony.
Sunday after Sunday I had a direct shot of Ida.
I didn’t know how to handle it when Ida finally gave up the choir and moved downstairs.
But I was not the only one who noticed.
I received an e-mail from Amanda Blanken this week.
Amanda was a member of our youth group and has since moved to Alabama.
I never expected to hear from Amanda.
This is what she writes:
“I can't believe Ida died! I was in choir with her for 4 years. I just remember sitting across from her every Thursday and Sunday. She always was smiling.”
This is how official members of the church are remembered.
They are remembered by our youth who we don’t expect to care.
But they do.
They remember.
Amanda remembered Ida because Ida was present in her life.
5.
The attendance here at Ida’s service is so revealing.
Ida was not a matriarch with many great grandchildren.
In fact Ida had only one niece.
She did not have family.
She outlived her friends.
I would not expect many to gather for this service.
But look at us.
Ida’s presence in this church has made her an official member of our lives.
So now as Ida’s family,
it is time for us, to entrust her into the arms of the one in whose name we gather.
In this season of Lent following communion at 10:30,
we replace the post communion canticle with the words of Simeon
as he greets the baby Jesus in the Temple.
Simeon was an old man whose time for departure had come like Ida’s.
His song is Ida’s song this morning:
Now Lord, you let your servant depart in peace; your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people.
6.
Pastor Hub Nelson also wrote a note in response to Ida’s death.
I like what he writes:
I will always remember Ida. Ida was such a faithful member of Zion. It is fitting that Ida should finish her earthly journey on this anniversary year. She represented much of what we are celebrating this year. Zion is not a building, old or new, but a collection of faithful followers of Jesus Christ under all circumstances. There are a lot of "Ida's" woven into the 250 years of Zion's heritage. I thank God for Ida and for all of those who will be carrying on her legacy.
Ida is a legacy.
As Norm and Ida led the way to that youth spaghetti dinner,
now at Ida’s death may we continue to follow their lead.
Let us carry Ida’s legacy
as we worship, as we sing, as we conduct business, as we support our youth, as we build a new building,
and as we pass on our faith.
Ida has departed in peace.
We thank God for her long, good, healthy, life;
marked by faith in Jesus Christ
expressed through the life and ministry of this congregation.
Amen
