I have worked for over 25 years now in a day habilitation program for persons with physical and mental diabilities. In recent years this has often involved assisting them in doing community volunteer work, as in our state, persons receiving services are required to have a 'job' of some sort. As a result, we have worked in Catholic and Salvation Army food pantries, animal shelters, libraries, a nature center, a Vietnam War veterans museum and delivered Meals on Wheels. In my younger days I would probably have refused, or felt very uncomfortable doing so, but my constant prayer is that Jehovah will lead and place me where he wants me to be, so I've come to accept that as we are helping people, which is a Christian responsibility , we are doing his will. Recently one of our program participants passed away and yesterday I was assigned to take two others to her memorial service, which was held in a Catholic church. Again, in the past I would likely have felt guilty being there, but I actually found it quite interesting and restful.The deceased lady's siblings and some regular congregants were there. I had a slight jolt when it was announced that the opening song would be "Here I Am, Lord, Send Me", as there is a Witness song of nearly the same title. Seversl scriptures used in the service are often used by witnesses, Isaiah 41:10 and Revelation 21:4. I also found the 'rituals' interesting. I don't think I've ever seen the Eucharist performed before and the slight scent of incense in the air was intriguing. There were statues of saints around, and a statue of Jesus above one of the entrances, and looking at it, I wondered, how is looking at it any different than an illustration of him in the watchtower? The service was quite early in the day so afterward we went to our workplace as usual. At the end of the day as I was driving one of the young men home, he began asking me questions out of the blue- I don't think I have ever spoken to him about my being a witness - but he must have had some exposure as he asked " Who takes our body when we die...Jehovah God or Jesus?...Who makes them alive again...Jehovah God or Jesus?...What's it like in a casket...Scary?. I answered as best I could. No one takes the body, Jehovah and Jesus remember the person, and the body ultimately dissolves...Jehovah gave Jesus the power to make people alive again, so they both are involved, and for us, because we are alive, being in a casket would be scary because we would feel closed in but a person who has died does not see or feel anything, so they would not know they are there...
Strange, Interesting Day
by HereIam60 5 Replies latest jw experiences
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dropoffyourkeylee
Bravo, good for you. Doing the right thing has no boundaries.
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DesirousOfChange
Ever hear of paragraphs?
Just saying it would sure make it easier getting through this.
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HereIam60
Yes DesirousofChange...I am aware...when typing it in, I did try to arrange it in paragraphs but it posted all as a block. Just getting used to this. Sorry if it was irritating !
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jhine
I was told off for the same thing in my first post. 🤣.
Good on ya for realising that helping people is one of the parts of Jesus' teaching.
Jan from Tam
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NotFormer
HereIam60, glad you got to see a church service and not to be frightened by it. Unfortunately it was a funeral. Never the best time for anyone. But it sounds like you found it a fascinating experience.