Turn, Turn, Turn

Yesterday saw me in church. Sadly it was for a funeral, for my Auntie Hilda, who passed away last week. I haven't seen her for many years, or indeed many of the family who attended the funeral. It was very moving, a beautiful eulogy was read out by her daugther-in-law Susan.
"She was a proper old fashioned mam" kind of summed up a beautiful, yet I guess at times often a hard life. I remember her laugh and the love she had for her family, even extended family like myself.
I remember playing there as a kid, and was amazed by how memory remains and returns of such long ago events. The wake afterward at the local Cricket club also stirred up memories,gazing out of the window into childhood misty territory.

It was there also I approached the Minister who conducted the service - Enid Gordon. I know her from her Palestine campaigning work, and we spent a good half hour discussing that situation, she has spent the last 40 years on that and other good works campaigning for justice, a true inspiration. She did a talk at Greenbelt 2 years ago which was very moving, she simply tells her story, and the stories of the people at the heart of injustice, and tries to move others into action and do something about it. Making it relevant to them is the toughest call. Getting over the 'what has it got to do with me' line...
We talked about last weeks Louis Theroux show on the BBC and shared the unbelievable outrage we both felt about how so called Christians can possibly be so misled and misguided into supporting so strongly the Zionist bullshit ideology in the ways that they do.

I also was touched by her reading at the service, which came from the Book of Ecclesiastes - when she started reading the words, I thought "I know that song!" Sure enough I did, albeit an updated reworking of the words by The Byrds. ' a time to keep silence, and a time to speak' especially rang true.