Springlike Saturday

Today is just beautiful. Birds singing, warm, not too hot. It was supposed to rain all day. I even got planting done. But the weather scared me off from running a race this morning, and now I'm sad. I guess if we had run it it would have been pouring.
Another funeral to do-- this makes five or six since the middle of February. It always seems like we have multiples when we have a death. The last time we had this was two years ago. It's so hard on the congregation. And our Memorial chair isn't handling the influx of donations too well. We keep getting calls from people who want to know why their $5 cheques haven't cleared. It's hard not to respond sarcastically to that--
Any way you look at it, Spring is here, and at the same time, folks are dying. What an odd juxtaposition.
Tomorrow is the last Dead Sea Scrolls Bible study, meaning I have to find a new one to start. I think I'll suggest we start the Sunday after Easter, though that might mean having to remind folks. It will be interesting to see who actually goes to see the scrolls. I think maybe we'll do a study on one of the books of the Old Testament. Who knows.

As this week starts, I am thinking about a eulogy for a church member. Two years ago our church lost 7 people in three months, and it was really hard on the congregation. I hope we aren't going that direction again. We lost a long-time member two weeks ago this Tuesday, and two more members today. Even though those who passed were not well, it's hard to lose church family members.
I guess it is interesting timing too, as we approach Ash Wednesday, when we formally repent for our sins. I have to admit I have always hated getting the ashes on my forehead; it's a vanity thing, really. But it has to be done. And having these recent deaths as a reminder of the condition of human frailty, it's probably good to do this.
On an "up" note, we had a good turnout again for the Dead Sea Scrolls Bible study. I don't know if I'm teaching anything other than vocabulary words, but I guess that's something. I just wish there was an existent one to compare to! There are too many documents to be able to copy things for the class, and I am probably hitting and missing a lot of the time. I keep waiting for feedback, but none yet.