In retirement I often find myself reflecting on the many, many people who guided me on my way. One of my favorite people to remember is Trudy. She came into my office my first week on the job as Pastor of Peace Church and handed me a green recipe box. I opened the little tin box and inside were not recipes, but note cards each with a name, enough cards for every member and friend of the congregation. The cards were in her meticulous handwriting and they were all in alphabetical order. On the note cards were pertinent information, not gossip but things a young pastor might need to know like who they were related too, how long they had been part of the church, what they were involved in.
We went over the cards together, Trudy really did know everyone and something of their history. She also knew the history of the congregation and wanted to share it with me. She truly was an angel to me, a scared young pastor, not sure of what I was doing or how I got there. She helped me to know the stories of this people of God individually and as a church community. I kept those cards in my top desk drawer for a long time, often going through them. When new folks joined the church, Trudy would make sure to give me a new card for them. She wanted to make sure no one was ever forgotten. Trudy helped me know the stories of this people, and she made sure I took the time to listen to everyone’s story.
When I think of Trudy, I remember the story of Samuel and Eli in the Hebrew scriptures. Samuel has been serving in the temple since he was a young child. He has been serving under the guidance of the much older Eli, whose sight is diminished but still is the critical link to the past. Young Samuel comes to Eli in the middle of the night and wakes him up. Samuel is not sure of what he has heard in his sleep, but Eli knows. It is the voice of the Lord. Eli knew that voice, he had heard it himself even though that voice had been silent for a long time. Eli alone was the link between Israel’s past and the future, he listened well. Trudy was often our link too. She saw how our past and our future connected. She trusted that God was still speaking in this congregation and she helped us to hear that word and rise up to follow. As Trudy told me, here are the note cards, take them, read them, pray over these people for God is still speaking in our time.
Trudy helped us listen for the word of the Lord. She helped us listen through our history, helped us to listen through music, helped us to listen through her love for literature. And all her reading made her a very good storyteller. I remember one story Trudy told of how in the 1940’s, when she was the church organist, a young mom and her son came to church early one morning and she greeted them. They were from Japan, coming here after WWII with a young American soldier who brought them home with him to his family in Arizona. His family did not accept them and so the young mom was forced to leave with her son, seeking shelter in Duluth with another Japanese family. They lived near the church and began coming regularly. Joe, the young boy, often came early and Trudy began to give him piano lessons. He learned “My Country Tis of Thee” using five fingers. Joe grew up and left Duluth and eventually found work singing with the San Diego Opera Company and directing the choir of a large Catholic church. He continued to write cards to Trudy until her death, saying each time you were my very first music teacher.
Thank you Trudy for teaching us how to listen to everyone’s story. Like Eli, you taught us to listen for God’s still speaking voice, music that causes us to rise from the night.
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