Happy Father's Day

 Comments from people in our congregation in honor of fathers:

My husband became a father in an instant--by marriage. His patient acceptance, love, and support transformed an awkward-at-first relationship to a true father-daughter bond. 

---Julia McCready

Almost 54 years ago  my father walked me down the aisle to marry my childhood friend, Hubert.   I couldn't have been more proud of him on that day. 

---Mary Poe

My father, born in the South and the middle child of 11 children, fell in love with my mother on a double date with other people and made the North his permanent home after his Army service was over. My brother and I grew up saying "Yes, sir" and "No, sir," a reflection of his own upbringing, and were taught that work is its own reward. A softer and more humorous side of our father was frequently seen, and I well remember a particular parting admonition, always said with a smile: "Act like you ARE somebody." We took this to mean, you are a person of worth and integrity, and your actions should mirror this. My son likes to tease me by saying that I ruined his adolescent life by telling him to "be a gentleman" on any occasion when he was going out with friends; I guess I was expressing that same lesson that I learned from my father.

 ---Donna Swope

By way of explanation, this year at Thanksgiving, my father was not very conscious. We knew death was very close. In addition to giving thanks to God, we have always tried to give thanks to each other, and it was not at all clear to me whether Dad could hear and understand me. So, having organized my thoughts for talking to Dad, I also wrote them down and sent them to his best friend, Henry. Henry and my Dad were best friend from school days to the day Dad died, and shared most of the same wonderful traits. Here's to Dad and Henry.

Henry,

It's Thanksgiving, and I am giving thanks. Specifically, I am giving thanks to you for being a great role model. No, I'm not claiming you're perfect, any more than any of us are perfect. What you are is one of the few people whose lives I have been able to watch unfold for nearly 60 years. During that time, you have been an avid learner, always following up on new things and mastering those that interest you. You have been generous with your time and skills, sharing both liberally with your friends. You have nurtured and maintained strong social networks, both of deep friends and "mere" acquaintances. You raised a couple of great kids with a balanced mix of material and non-material care. As your friends have fallen slowly by the wayside to the ravages of age, you have refused to join them. You have stayed physically and mentally active, checking out whatever new comes your way to see if it is interesting and valuable or not. That does it, Henry. I want to be like you when I grow up.

--- Sue Carpenter

My dad was the most patient person on earth.  I was one of five and he made sure each one of us could take total care of a car ( points, plugs, carburetor, oil, tires.etc) before we could drive it. He let us help lay tile, hang dry wall, do plumbing, you know, everything you need to maintain a house.  Of course this meant it took 5 times as long as it should have and frequently had to be redone later but he never acted frustrated with all the "help" !  He was a true Seabee with a can do attitude that he past to all of us. He is gone now but I can still hear him saying you can do anything you make up your mind to do, and don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise.  I still believe it!

---Nellie Hill

(I wrote this a few days after my father died – in June of 2011)

In memory of my father - who died early morning of June 2nd, just after midnight... Simple Haiku style...

Rivers still flowing
Old memories left behind
I must say goodbye

I love you!

--Chad Kline

Thank you, Dad, for teaching me how to live a long, healthy and satisfying life.

---Richard A. McCready

It is now roughly 5am in morning and I have just gotten done cleaning bottles, changing diaper, and feeding Holton, and you know what, I wouldn’t rather be doing anything else in the world. 

I know I have gotten this love, the want, the need to care for my boys from my father. Being a single parent, I now realize the sacrifice it took, putting his life on hold, to make sure his kids were taken care of. It is already tuff raising kids with both parents, I can’t imagine doing it with just one. My dad, after a long day of work, would come home every day and cook a home cooked meal for us, help with homework, made sure showers were taken, teeth brushed, and tucked in bed. This was all done by 8pm.  I remember some evenings where I would wake up, go into the living room, and the TV would be watching him because he was so tired. Then having to wake us up in the morning to make sure clothes were out and we were heading to school before he went to work. He also made sure we went to church every Sunday no excuses. 

I could go on about my father regarding the great man he is to me, was he perfect, no, but the sacrifice, the unselfishness, the unconditional love that was shown through the care for my brother and I cannot be measured with any amount of words or money. If i can even be half the father he was to me and have my sons look at me as I look at my father, I thank GOD for that. 

---Howard Duncan III

To all the Fathers out there – literal fathers, father-figures, uncles, grandfathers,

Happy Father’s Day to you all