Over the course of my years as a pastor, I have collected the stories of a lot of wonderful people. 31 years ago, I officiated at a wedding held in the church we were serving at the time in Boise, Idaho. I had known the groom since he started high school. He had been active in our congregation’s youth group. Prior to the wedding, I had been driving a van load of youth to a youth event in Oregon when he told me that it was his first time to travel out of his home state. Later, when we flew together to Hawaii for a regional youth event, I was with him for his first trip in an airplane. When he was a senior in high school, he skipped a few too many classes to graduate with his class. During the summer that followed, members of the church youth group took turns checking on him every morning to make sure that he got up and went to summer school so that he could full his graduation requirements. Through the years, the members of that youth group have been close to each other and supported each other through a lot of major life events. Weddings, births of children, and other major life events have been times when I have heard the news. A member of that group had a very difficult birth of twins, one of whom died after a long struggle. The youth group supported her and her husband through that time. When my wife had a close brush with death, the group rallied to offer prayers and support for us even though we had been gone from that church for over 20 years. When a member of the group suffered a stroke while skiing, the group rallied once again to offer support as she journeyed through hospitalization, rehabilitation, and an eventual return home.

Toward the end of next month, I’ll be with members of that youth group once again for a celebration of the anniversary of the couple of that wedding. There will be a party at their home, which is a surprise for the bride. They’ll be set up for a renewal of their vows that will include guests and attendants from their wedding, and I’ll officiate over zoom as we reenact and remember the proposal and the wedding ceremony. I’m really looking forward to the event and reconnecting with the members of that youth group. And if one of you, dear readers, has figured out who this couple is by now, I’m swearing you to secrecy. I know that the bride doesn’t read my journal. Please don’t spoil the surprise.

Not every bit of news of the people I have known is an occasion for joy, however. I remember the wedding of another couple that occurred not long after I began serving our congregation in Rapid City, South Dakota. He was a firefighter. She was a teacher. They had a very clear image of how they wanted their wedding to be. They were a delight to work with because each time I presented them with options they were really good at making decisions together. Like the members of that Boise, Idaho youth group, I got to follow them as they went through their lives together. I was honored to baptize their daughter and then a son. The son was a bit of a scare for us all. He ended up in the pediatric intensive care unit for a while after his birth. When we first met him, he was equipped with a monitor because he would occasionally quit breathing and a prompt response was required. I love carrying infants around the church fellowship hall during the coffee hour after worship and I’ve done it for a lot of young ones. I would carry their son, with the monitor slung over my shoulder around the fellowship hall introducing him to the folks in the church, keeping my eyes constantly focused on the various nurses, doctors, emergency medical technicians, and other first responders in the room so that I would have immediate help should he need assistance while I was holding him. Fortunately for him and for me, he kept breathing all of the time I held him. He grew up into an energetic and enthusiastic carrot-topped young man.

Once, after church, we discovered that their children had been left in the building when the parents had left in two different vehicles. I called their father on his cell phone and asked him, “Where are your kids?” He said, “They’re with their mother.” I replied, “Maybe you should call her.” Within 10 minutes both parents’ cars came rushing into the church parking lot. Each parent has been convinced that the children were with the other parent. No harm was done. The children hadn’t had enough time to be upset or worried. We laughed about that story from that time on.

The groom became the Chief of Fire Operations at the fire department and then the Deputy Fire Chief of the entire fire department. From there he became Acting Fire Chief and finally Fire Chief. I kept his cell phone number in my phone and he was always available for consultation about church and fire department events. When the Covid pandemic forced a sudden re-thinking of church activities, he was a well-educated and informed consultant.

We both retired the same month. He after 25 years of service to the fire department. Me after 42 years as a pastor, the last 25 of which had been in a church in that same town. We talked about our coming retirements during the months preceding the event. Part of his motivation for retiring early was that his brother had suffered a near-fatal heart attack and he promised himself that he would take time for his family before it was too late. I could relate because my wife had had a similar frightening event that brought us to the ICU.

Yesterday, we read the post of the Rapid City Fire Department about the death of the former fire Chief. The news came as a shock. It also triggered a flood of memories. He had lived a heroic and meaningful life. But he leaves his widow and children too soon. His daughter is a senior in high school this year. Our expressions of shock and grief to them are part of what I’m sure has become a flood of sympathy and support. Their journey of grief will be a really tough road for them. I pray that they, like me, will experience the powerful and healing rush of memories. I know they have many, many wonderful ones. I know I will be telling stories of his life for the rest of mine.