[The McDowell Family Photo at Gene’s Memorial Service - May 20, 2023]
On behalf of the family, I want to thank all of you for being here today as we remember and give thanks to God for Gene and for what he has meant to all of us. I am one of several members of the family who will be sharing in today’s service. My brother, David and I are two of Gene’s cousins and we’re both United Methodist pastors.
Since our mother was raised Presbyterian and Gene was Presbyterian, I feel like I’m more of a “Methoterian,” a combination of the two. Pastor Tim graciously offered for me to lead us in saying The Lord’s Prayer later in the service, but as a Methodist pastor, I’d mess it up and forget to say “debts” instead of “trespasses!”
Gene gave me a wonderful gift just a couple of months ago when he sang happy birthday to me from his hospital room in Pittsburgh. It was through a FaceTime phone call and I was at my house in Athens, Ohio. Gene, the oldest of the 8 cousins singing to the youngest cousin. I will always remember that. Thank you, Todd, Vivian, and David for setting that up.
I also will always be grateful for times we got to spend together at Steelers games, at our family’s cottage in the mountains, and other family events over the years. Great memories. Our family got together for dinner last night and it’s been good for us to reconnect since we don’t get to see each other that often. We could sense Gene’s presence with us through the sharing of family stories.
Gene’s faith was important to him. I was reminded of this a couple of years ago when we visited Gene in his new place in Pittsburgh. We went out to lunch and Gene rode in my car. On the way back from the restaurant, (OK, it was really a sports bar,) we spent that whole time talking about our faith. And Gene asked me what I thought of the Book of Revelation. And I said that I have always really liked that book of the bible. And he said the reason he asked me was because he was enjoying being part of a zoom bible study on the Book of Revelation through your church here. How nice that you all provided this way of staying in touch with Gene.
I told Gene that for a lot of people, the Book of Revelation is kind of weird and scary, but that for me it’s comforting because it reminds us that a day is coming when all of God’s people will be reunited. That’s how the book of Revelation ends and we have this great verse in Revelation 21:4 where it says that…
God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
I think of how different things will look when that time comes. No more tears, no more need for oxygen masks, no more hunger, no more pain, no more heartache, and no more death, for the former things have passed away. This is the good news of our faith and I’m thankful for my cousin Gene who reminded me of this good news.
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