Down to Calgary...
Tonight after work Krista and I will be driving down to Calgary for Derek's Memorial. We'll be staying with our dear friends Ken and Darlene, seeing Heather, and so many others we know and love, and also praying at St. Peter the Aleut on Saturday and Sunday.
Again I say, along with Fr. Alexander Schmemann, "To love is to remember." May Derek's memory be eternal!
Grace & Peace to You all...
Love,
Matthew & Krista
posted by Matthew Francis at Friday, January 13, 2006
10 Comments:
see you soon matthew. just leaving for the airport now. xo
Here's a poem that Derek wrote that his sister posted on the Memorial Website:
THE CANDLE
By Derek Liebenberg
They say the light from a single candle
Can be seen for miles through the gloom
Of a black forgotten night.
They say that the heat from even one small candle
Can save the life of a stranded motorist
Held fast in the icy grip of a blizzard.
Strange.
That one so obsolete in an age of microchips and halogen lamps
Should possess the power
To give hope
To give life.
That the fragile flicker of a flimsy wick
Shines forth with a redemptive power
So much greater than the sum
Of its string and wax.
Imagine.
A billion candles blazing out
Defying the deathly darkness
Undaunted by their own frailty.
Myriads of tiny flames
Gathered in a city on a hill.
Glowing in a symphony of light
A beacon
Beckoning to the weary traveller
Bursting through the black
To fall upon the eyes of those
Whose lives are engulfed
By the grim chill of the night.
Lord.
Grant that the mysterious
Tongue of fire
Shall never become dull or simply peter out.
Ignite hearts yet unlit.
Together
May our fires unite
A burning reflection of your glory
To a generation of unseeing eyes.
Teach us to pass on the flame
To those who follow.
Make us truly
The light of the world.
I'm sorry I never met Derek, but in reading the experiences of his friends I get the sense that he ignited hearts wherever his flame passed.
Do I sound too much like my grandma if I say it was enough for me to just see your smiling faces, Matt and Krista? It was one of those times I come to myself and feel so happy just to be at worship with others.
It was great to see you and Jessica, too, James.
I hope it went well.
How is Heather? We continue to remeber them in our prayers, especially Heather and their unborn child.
krista, thanks so much for making the trip with matthew and for being with us, especially with the thick courseload.
memory eternal!
It was truly a blessed weekend. So good to remember Derek....and to come to know who he was a bit better.
matt, i've been going to the slideshow on the friesens site, just watching it through, about twice a day. children thanks for putting the link here. after, i look at tim's film of the township there with all the beautiful children so full of joy. we are so blessed for those God puts in our lives.
i came across a super old letter from abe and beryl while packing and it encouraged me. i think i will send them a note.
woop! one too many "children" in there. Yeah those kids though... just singing... so much joy....
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