Dear friends and colleagues in ministry,
It has been a few days now since the difficult news of our colleague and friend Brenda Fawkes’ tragic passing. All grief is hard, and it’s not often that that grief is so intricately woven into the fabric of what it means for us to be the Church. Brenda knew the inner workings of both the human soul and the institutional church like few others, and we were blessed that her ministry lived at the intersection of both.
Thank you to all of you who have shared heartfelt tributes on social media. In my own grief, I have found great comfort and peace in pouring over your words. No person is just one thing, and your words help us expand our collective memory of Brenda’s life and legacy. It’s in our remembering that we give voice to what is lingering within.
I’ll be honest – I feel a bit silly writing to so many of you who first taught me how to navigate grief and loss. If anything, I hope my words can be a reminder of that which you already know and live out daily as people of the Way.
Be good to your heart.
Welcome the grief that you feel.
Sit with it – alone, and with others.
Breathe.
Listen to what it’s saying, and learn from it.
But also, when you’re ready, invite it to move along – pray it along to see what it becomes.
The work of your heart, whether in ministry, in your workplace, or in your neighborhood and community, can feel relentless. Whoever Brenda was to you, I hope you can find space in the midst of it all to catch your breath, and allow God’s grace to carry you, too.
The well is deep, and it’s for you too.
