Saturday, January 20, 2007

With all the saints who from their labors rest ...

We celebrated the life of Suzanne Smith Dragge today at All Saints Church. Born in 1922 and gone to Jesus December 31, 2006 Susie was was the kind of Episcopal Women the term "pillar of the church" was invented to describe.

In my five years at All Saints I think the only Sundays she missed being in the front row (pulpit side) were the ones she went fly fishing with her friend of 50 years Connie Smith. Susie was a Pasadena Valley Hunt Club Socialite who served as both Junior and Senior Warden at All Saints Church, wrote the check that made a free clinic happen in Pasadena in 1968 and helped found Union Station, one of the premiere homeless ministries in the Southern California.

She went to Washington and got arrested protesting the Viet Nam War in the 60's and gave the rector emeritus an earful last year when he allowed himself to be honored by the ACLU (not an organization she thought highly of!) She loved bridge and hated clapping in church and the celebration of her life today included testimonies from two of her children and Connie (her fly fishing buddy), a Dixieland Band and the 23rd Psalm (in "traditional language," thank you very much).

A fitting tribute to Susie's life of faithful, joyful service and a challenge to each and every one of us to "go and do likewise."

Give rest, O Christ, to your servants with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

No comments: