Jimmy Carter ~ A North Star
There are good reasons for funerals...
As a society, we have gotten away from the concept of funerals. We don't seem to even use the term any more, preferring the more euphemistic term "memorial" or the happier sounding "Celebration of Life." This morning, watching President Carter's funeral, I was struck by the appropriateness of the traditional proceedings. The eulogies written by his contemporaries and read posthumously by their sons, the scriptures that were so important to him, the music and the singers and the stories, told by people who knew him well from different parts of his substantial life, all give us a fuller picture of who this man was.
Over his 100 years of life, Jimmy Carter saw the world go through times that would certainly have given anyone reason to give up in fear and frustration. What struck me today and over the last week or so since his passing, was that through everything, he remained a smiling man of service and resolve. And although he was a remarkable man, he was also a humble man who lived in an unremarkable house, in a small rural town, a Sunday School teacher, a great grandfather who liked fishing and telling stories, being with family. He was a regular man who knew the power of love and expressed that in service. He never gave up hope that the world could be a little better and never quit doing his part to make it so.
We'll be back at Four Bullets on January 16th! It's only been two months but it seems like forever since we had our last meeting of 2024. Let's join and welcome the new year with resolve to face it with hope and a willingness to do all we can, where we are, to make a difference. We'll be hearing from Cathy Sweeny on "The Spirit of Hope". Click here for details and to register!
This month we honor Martin Luther King, Jr with a Day of Service. On January 20, we will be meeting and picking up trash as an act of hope in our small tribute to his memory. Every act of service is an act of hope. As Dr. King said, "We must accept must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." Join us by registering here.
We have our annual members meeting coming up January 28th. This meeting is for Patron Members, those who have donated to RAD in the past 12 months. If you have not renewed or want to become a Patron Member, please join now! We will be voting on Board Members and will get a treasurers report from 2024, as well as plans for 2025. The work we are doing is important and impactful, especially on the local level, where we have municipal and school board elections coming up this year! All who join or renew by January 15th will be included in this meeting. We welcome your input as this is YOUR club!
We have a new RAD t-shirt for 2025 as well! You can order yours for $30 or get a t-shirt and membership for $50. T-shirts will be available at our January in-person meetings or can be shipped in January. Our t-shirt design is an homage to Jimmy Carter, who said, "We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams." We'll also have bumper stickers!
~ Stronger Together ~
