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The Pastoral Lens
Honourable Discharge for General Bob
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
I want to finish what I started in my column from last week about my good friend and ministerial colleague, Rev. Bob Whalls. As I mentioned last week, a public memorial service was planned for Bob and I want to take this space this week to give you a review of that special time. It was truly a service of honourable discharge for one of God's great generals.In anticipation of an overflow crowd extra preparation was made for audio/visual feed to a second seating area in the church. It turned out that we needed it as about 400-450 people came to say good-bye. The main sanctuary was mostly filled 30 minutes prior to the service, with many arriving more than an hour in advance. In a great gesture of kindness and appreciation to Bob, both of the funeral homes in town, Cavanagh's Funeral Home and Nicholl's Funeral Home, contributed resources and help for this service. They were not alone. In fact, people had to be "graciously" turned away who volunteered to sing or have a word to share. So many people wanted to convey their appreciation, but with the myriad of people whose lives were in some way touched by Pastor Bob, it was simply impossible to accommodate alol the requests.
The service began with a song that was chosen by the family and a favourite of Bob's, called "Above All." This was followed by a brief tribute from the members of Branch 18 of the Royal Canadian Legion, where Bob had faithfully served as padre for the last number of years. The choir that Bob sang with, called 'New Beginnings', did 2 powerful songs that were well known to Bob and his congregations. A few members of the ministerial also shared in the service. David Maxwell read Scripture; Larry Hutchins and his wifde sang a duet; Cheryl Kirk led in prayer and also shared a touching story from her days with Bob at summer camp when they were in their teens, and; Andy McMillen, the longest-serving pastor in the ministerial, shared personal highlights of his years serving with Bob. Bob's associate, Susan Woodhouse, preached a message from God's Word.
The service also had representation from the Christian Motorcyclist's Association, an organization that Bob belonged to over the years. At the family's request, an offering was received for this ministry and just over $1900 was raised. The service also featured a stirring rendition of "Amazing Grace" by the Denim Disciples, a group that led a fundraising concert last summer for Bob while he was recovering from a stroke. It would have been a memorable service all around if it had ended right there. However, as it turned out, the best was yet to come.
Just as the service seemed to be at its end, there was the phrase, "The Last Word...", printed in the bulletin. Susan Woodhouse stepped up to the pulpit and explained that in all the time she knew Bob it seemed strange to finally have the last word. After the audience chuckled, she went on to say that today would not be the first time. She would let Bob have the last word. With that, the final 7 minutes of Bob's last sermon ever preached, delivered just a day before his death, was played for all to hear. You could hear collective gasps from the crowd as Bob's clear voice spoke to us. He challenged us to embrace Christ while we had the chance, prophetic words indeed from a man who did not know that it would be his last words to those he pastored for 23 years. At the conclusion of the sermon, a favourite song of Bob's was played. A lot of tear-stained faces left the service that day.
The faithful ladies of Bob's 3 churches provided a fabulous lunch for the overflow crowd, which was no small feat. I heard a lot of conversations centred around how much Bob would be missed and how it would be difficult to carry on without him. He was such a faithful community pastor and he touched many, many lives in a variety of ways.
I want to conclude this "report" with a word of gratitude. Bob's wife, Shirley, and her children, are to be thanked wholeheartedly for giving their consent to having this public memorial service. They had already been through an exhausting period of visitation and a private funeral service the weekend prior. It was quite unselfish of them to agree to an extra service, something which allowed the rest of the community to have closure in this difficult situation. Many remarked how glad they were to have this service and remember Bob one last time. It really brought the community together. May we learn from Bob's life and thank God for every day we have, and may we take the sound advice we heard him share in his message to us. We must get serious with our relationship with Jesus Christ!
