The pain of grief, the joy of release: Until we meet again, Mom

 

I lost my 96-year-old father, the Rev. Robert Mims, in January. On Friday, my mother, Katherine, 91, joined him.

Dad left this world while holding her hand earlier this year at Cheney (Wash.) Care Center. Their separation was brief, their reunion eternal.

Like him, she passed away in her sleep, her internal organs having finally failed, long after Alzheimer's disease had robbed her of her memories, and her ability to speak or understand. But, until the last couple weeks when she lost consciousness and remained nonresponsive, this horrible disease had not taken her smile, or her spontaneous laughter.

Like Dad, her passing was a mercy, the end of her suffering a blessing.

As an Orthodox Christian, I am again beginning a 40-day period of the Akathist Prayer to Christ for the Departed, an ancient vigil for her soul and peaceful reunion with Dad, in the light and love of Our Lord.

I wonder how she feels about that.

A Pentecostal preacher's daughter and wife, she is now the subject of the prayers of the Theotokos, her guardian angel, and her son, amid votive candlelight and soft, gray clouds of incense.

I would imagine she is delighted, surprised and in wonder at how truly indescribable paradise is.

I see her in my father's arms, bathed in the love of God, discussing it all.

That makes me smile, amid the tears.

---------------

Katherine Mims 1928-2019

Katherine Alberta (Powell) Mims, beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and wife of the late Rev. Robert Elliot Mims, passed away on June 28, 2019 of causes related to old age. She was 91.

Katherine, known for her open acceptance and love for all, especially those hurting from the sad vagaries of life, was a prayer warrior, unafraid witness for her Christian faith. Even as Alzheimer’s disease robbed her of memories, speech and physical health over the past few years, she always had a smile for visitors, especially children.

Katherine died at Cheney Care Center, where six months earlier she had held hands with her husband of 71 years, Robert, as he quietly passed. Their separation was blessedly brief, their reunion eternal.
Born Jan. 10, 1928 in Helena, MT, she was the daughter of the Rev. Luther and Bessie Powell, one of 14 children. Katherine is survived by one brother, John Powell (wife Kathleen), of Spokane, WA; one sister, Marlynn (husband Robert) Castor, of Lake Stevens, WA.; son Robert Mims Jr (wife Barbara), of Salt Lake City, UT; daughter Carolyn Mims, of Airway Heights, WA.;  two grandchildren, Robert A. Mims (Rachel), West Valley City, UT, and Brenda (Idal) Tchoundjo, Towson, MD; and great-grandchildren Joshua Mims, West Valley City, UT, and Lela, Gabriel and Nathan Tchoundjo, of Towson, MD.

Katherine, whose energetic gospel piano style was a perfect companion to Robert’s banjo, was also an equal partner in the more than 75 years of ministry they shared as a couple. Together, they worked first as evangelists, and then as a pastoral team with the Assemblies of God and Open Bible fellowships. Their last pastorate was non-denominational, at the Garden Springs Community Church in west Spokane, from where Robert retired from fulltime ministry in 1970.

Katherine worked for several years after that at Sacred Heart Medical Center’s switchboard, where her willingness to pray personally with co-workers and patients alike won her many admirers and friends.
A graveside memorial service is being planned for Aug. 22, 10:30 a.m., at Fairmont Memorial Park, 5200 W. Wellesley Ave., Spokane, WA.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to either the Life Services Pregnancy Resource Center & Maternity Home (https://lifeservices.org) or The Alzheimer's Association (https://www.alz.org/nca/donate).

 

'Peace Cross' controversy: This time, Supreme Court puts brakes on monument madness

As an Orthodox Christian, the cross is a symbol of my deeply held faith; indeed, during our services we venerate the cross, as we do icons of Christ, the Theotokos and the saints.

But outside the walls of our sanctuaries of prayer and worship, the cross has, over the centuries, become ubiquitous -- representing a final resting place, a memory of sacrifice in times of war, or roadside markers for loved ones killed in traffic accidents, medical facilities and disaster relief organizations like the Red Cross.

Such is the Bladensburg Cross, or "Peace Cross," which has stood as a memorial to World War I dead in a Maryland suburb near, but not in the secular governmental capital of Washington, D.C. That is stands -- and has done so for nearly a century -- on public land is what riled a group of atheist minority activists to challenge it's continued existence, based on what has, finally, turned out to be a specious claim that it violates separation of church and state.

Certainly, such claims are, occasionally, valid. Often, however, they are little more than thinly-veiled attacks on any expression of faith anywhere -- not just on public land, but recently even private property from where such monuments might offend the tender metaphysical skepticism of a passer-by.

So, kudos to the U.S. Supreme Court for turning back this latest attack on freedom of expression, and yes, some might argue, an indirect assault on freedom of religion itself.

This from the Washington Post: 

"The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a large cross erected as a tribute to war dead may continue to stand on public land outside Washington in the Maryland suburbs.

"The justices reversed a lower court that said the cross was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

“The cross is undoubtedly a Christian symbol, but that fact should not blind us to everything else that the Bladensburg Cross has come to represent,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote. “For some, that monument is a symbolic resting place for ancestors who never returned home. For others, it is a place for the community to gather and honor all veterans and their sacrifices for our Nation. For others still, it is a historical landmark. For many of these people, destroying or defacing the Cross that has stood undisturbed for nearly a century would not be neutral and would not further the ideals of respect and tolerance embodied in the First Amendment.”

The vote was 7 to 2, with several justices writing separate opinions. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented . . . ."